Illegal Curve Hockey

On the Beat

Curtis Zupke of the Orange County Register continues his interview series with Ducks netminder Jonas Hiller. Many fans may not know who Hiller is, but he’s pretty darn good.
Mike Ribiero tries to be diplomatic, but he basically says he wants to play with Jere Lehtinen. Of course he does. Ribiero is offense, offense, offense and wants someone with Lehtinen’s defensive acumen covering up for his risks and errors. If I were Ribiero, I’d want to play with Lehtinen too.
Dave Staples tells us that many Oilers fans see Erik Cole as the team’s new Ryan Smyth. Cole is a better “looking” player than Ryan Smyth when it comes to watching the game (definition: smoother) but Smyth’s hands are considerably better than Cole’s and that will become apparent to Oilers fans who watch him over the course of the season.
Ryan Stone wants out of the Pittsburgh organization and Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette doesn’t blame him. He has a good shot of being claimed on waivers by a team needing grit.
The Sharks had an eventful dinner on the team plane, even though the plane was never actually used to fly. As coach McLellan said, better to find out on the ground than the air.