Rangers fail to make big moves in free agency

From Larry Brooks of the NY Post:

One year and two days ago, the New York Rangers signed blue-chip free-agent centers Scott Gomez and Chris Drury to long-term contracts worth more than $7 million per year.

Yesterday, the Rangers essentially turned the team over to them and to Henrik Lundqvist on a day two of this free-agent season in which much of the recent past was left behind, even if not necessarily by design.

Read more from Brooks here.

The fact is, the Rangers still have some money to sign a couple more players before the season begins. Even though Broooks criticizes them for not paying Sean Avery, Brooks Orpik or Jaromir Jagr, the Rangers still don't look bad heading into next season. So long as the Rangers can add two more wingers who are capable of scoring 20 goals each, then the team should be just fine heading into the fall.

The Outdoor Game may not be in New York

Larry Brooks: "The NHL needs to make commitment to the Winter Classic's host city within the next week or two. If the Rangers are awarded the game, it is believed they would meet the Bruins on New Year's Day in what would be the first of a home-and-home, with the return at Fenway on a year to be named later."

Here is the full article from the NY Post.

It appears the NHL's first choice is to have the game in New York and why not? However, the concern that the New York arrangement won't work does not seem that concerning to me as long as the NHL has Chicago and Wrigley Field as its second choice (which it does). Either of these two choices are terrific and whichever stadium is chosen to host the event, I'm sure will do a great job. As much mystique as the Rangers organization carries with it, an opportunity to watch Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane at Wrigley Field may be even more appealing than Scott Gomez and Henrik Lundqvist.

NHL Morning Papers: Playoff Teams (Thursday Edition)

Here the morning papers for the second round playoff teams:

Eastern Conference:

Montreal (1) versus Philadelphia (6):

• Carey Price had a little fun with the media on Wednesday, writes Pat Hickey. Meanwhile, Saku Koivu and Kimmo Timonen's friendship will be on hiatus until the Habs/Flyers series is complete.
• Here is a complete breakdown of both squads, courtesy of Ed Barkowitz. Barkowitz likes the Flyers in 7. The Flyers understand that playing the Habs is a lot different than the Capitals. Philadelphia is a different team now than the one that was dominated by the Canadiens during the season.

Pittsburgh (2) versus New York Rangers (5):

• The Penguins plan to ignore Rangers winger Sean Avery throughout their series. If the Pens want to score, they know they will have to create a lot of traffic in front of Henrik Lunqvist. On the injury front, Gary Roberts will be a game-time decision for the Penguins tomorrow night.
• John Dellapina of the NY Daily News breaks down all the aspects of the Rangers/Penguins series. With all the talk about the Penguins' youth, the Rangers think their young players are pretty good too. In an interesting article, Jaromir Jagr doesn't think Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby are in Mario Lemieux's league. (Writer's note: I agree.) Well, that sure did not take long; as you can now say goodbye to the Sean Avery shirt.

Western Conference:

Detroit (1) versus Colorado (6):

• The Wings are very excited to rekindle their rivalry with the Avalance, writes Helene St. James. This series includes arguably the two best players in the NHL when it comes to playing in front of the opposition's net, writes George Sipple. It appears the Wings will play Game 1 without Kirk Maltby and Brad Stuart. Helene St. James likes the Wings in 7.
• Terry Frei has a nice article about the turnaround of Jose Theodore's fortunes. The Wings are concerned about the Avalanche's impressive power play. The Denver Post has a full analysis of the series.

San Jose (2) versus Dallas (5):

• The Sharks and Stars are very closely matched, writes David Pollak. Here is the schedule of the series. Hockey is hot in the Bay Area as Tuesday's Game 7 was the region's highest rated hockey game since 2002.
• It looks like Sergei Zubov is close to returning to the Stars line-up. Many of the Stars feel like their final game of the regular season versus the Sharks really brought them together.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers: Playoff Teams (Saturday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the Eastern Conference playoff match ups:

Note: I am going to continue including teams that were eliminated from the first round under this post until the second round begins.

Montreal versus Boston:

• All eyes will be on Carey Price tonight in Boston, writes Herb Zurkowsky. It looks like Saku Koivu may dress for tonight's Game 6. With Passover beginning tonight, if the Habs would have just finished off the Bruins in Game 5 they would have made it a lot easier on their Jewish fans. It looks like Claude Julien's special teams adjustments have paid off.
• Give Claude Julien credit, his recent rosters decisions have paid off. Bruins fans should not expect to see Patrice Bergeron suit up tonight for the Bruins. The play of Shane Hnidy has impressed Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. It is fair to say that coach Julien has the Bruins believing in themselves.

Pittsburgh versus Ottawa:

• Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette takes a closer look at the Penguins' Jordan Staal. Are the Rangers up next for the Penguins? If you wanted to buy second round tickets for the Penguins, it is too late.
• Apparently the Senators are interested in bringing back Wade Redden if the price is right. (Writer's note: Why would Redden re-sign in Ottawa? Seriously, this team has treated him like garbage for two years now.) While they have interest in retaining Redden, the Senators also have interest in ridding themselves of the distraction that is Ray Emery. Scott Morrison of Sun Media wonders if the Senators should rebuild?

Washington versus Philadelphia:

• Just like at the end of the regular season, the Capitals are back in must-win territory, writes Tarik El-Bashir. Forget lessons, the Capitals just want to win. Regardless of what happens in their first round series, the Capitals can take solace in the fact that the organization has a bright future, writes Bob Cohn.
• If the Flyers want to finish off the Capitals today, they could use some help from their struggling power play. Jimmy Dowd has been a very productive fourth line player for the Flyers.

New Jersey versus New York Rangers:

• "Of all the playoff series I've been in and all the early exits, this one hurts the most, for sure," said Devils center John Madden after last night's elimination loss to the Rangers. Losing in the first round hurts, losing in the first round to the Rangers hurts more. Here is a review of Game 5. Martin Brodeur snubbed Sean Avery during the post-game handshake.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post thinks that losing Scott Gomez last summer has stung the Devils more than any other free agent loss they've had. (Writer's note: Scott Niedermayer's loss to the Devils was FAR more important than Gomez's loss but thanks Larry.) Jay Greenberg of the Post says that Sean Avery did a better job of keeping his focus than the Devils did. The Rangers can thank Henrik Lundqvist for saving the game with his penalty shot stop on John Madden. (Writer's note: I love how the NY press always finds reasons for the Devils' loss and the Rangers' victory. Here is the reason: The Rangers are the BETTER team. They are significantly better on paper and have dominated the Devils all season. Sometimes the answer is that simple.)

The morning papers for the Western Conference playoff match ups are soon to follow...

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers (Saturday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• In his weekly notebook, Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail discusses the importance of the NHL Entry Draft, among other things.
• Tim Wharnsby of the Globe & Mail provides readers with details on Fabian Brunnstrom, a player the Leafs may very well have blown their chance to sign last summer.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• "He'll be out this weekend, and we expect him back next week sometime," said Thrashers coach and GM Don Waddell in reference to Ilya Kovalchuk's knee injury he sustained this past week.
• Marc Savard has been steady as a rock for the Bruins all season long, writes Barbara Matson of the Boston Globe. The Bruins have a statement game on their hands tonight, as the best team in the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings, comes to town.
• The Sabres blew a 4-3 lead in Atlanta last night with less than twenty seconds remaining in regulation and ended up losing 5-4 in a shootout. Sabres netminder Jocelyn Thibault may be forced into action over the next few games because Ryan Miller injured his leg in last night's contest.
• The Hurricanes are going to be without Matt Cullen for an extended period of time because the forward is having trouble with blurred vision.
• With last night's 3-1 victory over the Devils, the Rangers are now 5-0 versus New Jersey on the season, writes Mark Everson of the NY Post. The Rangers are getting closer to signing Henrik Lundqvist to a contract extension writes John Dellapina of the NY Daily News.
• The Flyers are looking at tonight's game versus the Ducks as a big test to see where they stand in the NHL hierarchy. Flyers winger Joffrey Lupul is expecting to return to the line up next week from post-concussion syndrome.
• After being picked up on waivers three times in three weeks, Kris Beech readily admits that he has had about as unpredictable a season as one could imagine. In other Penguins news, Marc-Andre Fleury is confident he will return before the 10-14 days the team has projected for him.
• Suffice it to say that Alexander Ovechkin is blowing the minds of his Washington teammates.
• Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel thinks Roberto Luongo should have been a Panther for the rest of his career. Even though Luongo may be the best goaltender in the NHL, last night newest Panther goalie Tomas Vokoun demonstrated why he was selected to the All-Star Game as he led the Panthers to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Canucks.
• The Habs have decided to ride Cristobal Huet for as long as he can take them and, as a result, the veteran netminder is probably earning himself a lot of money come this off-season.
• After last night's 3-1 loss to the Rangers, the Devils have now lost ten straight games versus the two New York teams, writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger.
• Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune talks about Brad Richards and his case of mono.
• With the Senators facing off against the Leafs tonight, Mark Zwolinkski of the Toronto Star says the match up is not what it used to be. In other Leafs news, the team is not going to get an apology from the NHL for its video review calls on Thursday.
• In Ottawa, Jason Spezza has matured to a point where John Paddock's public call out of him, doesn't shake his confidence.
• Ted Nolan says his team's effort has to improve, writes Erik Boland of Newsday.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• The Ducks lost 1-0 to the Blues in a shootout as Manny Legace and J.S. Giguere took part in an intense goaltending battle last night in St. Louis, writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register.
• Not even Craig Conroy the interviewer can get Dion Phaneuf to talk about his possible contract extension, writes Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald. Meanwhile, Steve Macfarlane of the Calgary Sun thinks the Flames may be best off letting Daymong Langkow and Kristian Huselius walk this summer.
• Blackhawks coach Denis Savard let his players vote on who would be the alternating captains in February, writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
• Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch takes a closer look at the new fighting trends in the NHL. Reed's colleague Aaron Portzline analyzes the Jackets trade of Curtis Glencross to Edmonto for Dick Tarnstrom. Here are the Jackets' probable lines for tonight's contest versus Minnesota.
• The Stars got Jere Lehtinen back in the line up last night and he helped them defeat the Oilers 4-1 at Rexall Place. Marty Turco was tremendous last night, writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• Dominik Hasek recorded his 80th career shutout last in his team's 2-0 victory over the Avalanche. The Red Wings continue to dominate the NHL and their long-sustained success is no fluke, writes Kevin Allen of USA Today.
• Wild coach Jacques Lemaire is not letting his team get overly excited about their last victory, a 5-1 dominating performance against the defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks.
• The Blues defeated the Ducks 1-0 on Friday night, but Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch wonders if the team can sustain its success without consistent scoring output. In other Blues news, rookie David Perron was a healthy scratch last night.
• Newest Sharks forward Jody Shelley is excited to debut with his new team but understands that he has to play within his role to be successful.
• The Coyotes acquired Radim Vrbata from the Blackhawks this off-season in what was an unheralded move, but boy has it paid off.
• John Glennon of the Tennessean provides readers with the details behind J.P. Dumont's newly signed contract extension.
• The Oilers lost to the Stars 4-1 last night but they deserved a better fate, writes Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal. Oilers fans will appreciate this spoof of the newest NHL commercial. (Writer's note: Thanks to Illegal Curve friend Dave Staples of Cult of Hockey for sending this along.)

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail has Ryan Getzlaf's reaction to his new five year contract extension.
• The National Post says that with parity like it is in the game today, trades are harder to complete than ever before.
• Kevin Allen of USA Today details the great job done by Islanders' GM Garth Snow this off-season.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Curtis Zupke of the Orange County register provides both management's and Ryan Getzlaf's perspective on yesterday five year contract extension. Both Todd Bertuzzi and Mathieu Schneider will be game-time decisions for the Ducks tonight.
• The Flames penalty killing was perfect last night as they defeated the Avalanche 4-1 at the Saddledome. David Moss finally got the monkey off his back last night scoring his first goal of the 2007/08 season writes Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun. Mike Keenan's new line combinations worked well in yesterday's victory writes Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald.
• The Blackhawks have made a big move on the Chicago scene by hiring away Cubs President John McDonough to be their team president. "I have great confidence that we are going to restore and reinvigorate this great franchise," McDonough said.
• The Avalanche held the lead in last night's game for a whole eight seconds before the Flames took over. Peter Forsberg's career may not be over writes Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
• Blue Jackets' winger David Vyborny is less concerned with his current struggles because the team is winning and that's all that matters writes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Meanwhile, Michael Arace of the Dispatch has an interesting piece on the Blue Jackets' first round draft record.
• Mike Smith will get his third consecutive start between the pipes for the Stars tonight but you won't see his goalie partner Marty Turco complaining because the team is winning.
• Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press has a story on the friendship between Kirk Maltby and Kris Draper. Chris Osgood will start tonight against the Blues, and Dominik Hasek will start tomorrow night versus Nashville.
• The Oilers scored a season high three power play goals on Tuesday versus Vancouver. "It was important that we got a win today based on our mental makeup," said head coach Craig MacTavish.
• If you look closely at the output of the Kings' offensive players, it is easy to see why the team is slumping.
• There have already been a number of heated exchanges between the Wild and Canucks and the teams haven't even stepped on the ice yet for tonight's contest in St. Paul. Mikko Koivu knows that teams have to stand up for each other, but he also wants his teammates to remember that the most important part about tonight's game is getting two points.
• Alexander Radulov's defensive game needs some work writes Jessica Hopp of the Tennessean.
• The Coyotes want to build on their Saturday afternoon victory over the Kings and win two in a row versus Los Angeles who is in Glendale to play the Coyotes tonight.
• A quarter of the way through the season and the Blues own the best penalty killing percentage in the league writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
• The Canucks were lucky to even get a point on Tuesday night versus Edmonton writes Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun. The Canucks focus now shifts to the Wild and the trash talking has already begun: "He's not much of a hockey player, so I guess he has to be a tough guy," said Ryan Kesler about Derek Boogard.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• There will be some new line combinations for the Capitals tonight as they try and breakout of their season-long slump.
• It couldn't have gotten much better for Tuukka Rask on Tuesday as the rookie netminder got his first NHL victory against the organization who drafted and then traded him. Damien Cox of the Toronto Star points out that injuries were never the issue with the struggling Maple Leafs who are still looking to find their identity.
• If Jordan Staal wants to breakout of his prolonged slump he has to starting going into the dirty areas says coach Michel Therrien. Meanwhile, Maxime Talbot will be lost to the Penguins' lineup for the next three games with a high ankle sprain.
• Martin Biron has made a point of working on his positioning the past few days in practice in order to get his game back to its top level. The Flyers will have a good idea of where they stand after they play both the Hurricanes and Senators this week.
• Chris Kelly looked comfortable alongside the combination of Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley on the Senators top line writes Alan Panzeri of the Ottawa Citizen. The Senators have been impressed with the play of Patrick Eaves so far this season writes Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun.
• The Islanders have shot down any suggestion of a Rangers hangover.
• The Rangers' best player Henrik Lundqvist says his team needs to start generating more scoring chances.
• In some good news, Colin White may suit up for the Devils tonight when they play the Penguins. However, he is on somewhat of a test run to see if he can still play NHL level hockey with blurry vision in one of his eyes. (Writer's note: Please mandate permanent visors on all player coming into the NHL already.)
• Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette reviews the first quarter of the Canadiens season in this morning's paper.
• As much as Olli Jokinen denies that there is a rift between him and Jacques Martin, the more you read about the situation, the more you think one of them won't be in Florida by season's end.
• The Hurricanes will be sporting the league's modified jerseys tonight as they take on the Flyers.
• Sabres' forward Thomas Vanek is hoping he can finally find his scoring touch sometime soon. Meanwhile, Tim Connolly could be in the lineup tonight as the Sabres take on the Senators.
• Tukka Rask stole the Bruins spotlight last night and deservedly so with his first NHL win writes Fluto Shinwaza of the Boston Globe.
• The Thrashers have been dominant in overtime this season, going a perfect 5-0 in the extra frame.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Nightly Recap: Lundqvist is Human

-The Islanders are able to solve red hot Henrik Lundqvist as they knock off the Rangers 3 - 2. Coming into tonights game, Lundqvist had not allowed more than one goal in his past four games. Miroslav Satan scored the winner and he now has 9 points in his past six. The Islanders scored all three goals in the 3rd period, the Rangers were out of gas, looking like a team that was playing their third game in four nights. Lundqvist is the only goaltender to have played every minute in each of his teams game this season, it is clear that these guys need a rest. (Except for Sean Avery, he is a ball of energy every time he gets out on the ice, his hustle earned him one assist tonight.)

Islander Mike Comrie's speed in the offensive zone, along with his puck handling ability lead him to 2 assists this game, including the tying goal on the powerplay. Here is Comrie setting up Ruslan Fedotenko to tie the game, he fakes the through the legs drop pass and it throws off the defenders, giving him room to make the play. He had been trying to pull dangles like that all game, The Rangers defense gave Comrie room to move and he made them pay.

-The Ottawa Senators completely outplay the Toronto Maple Leafs and win 5 - 1. The Senators scored two quick goals in the first period off defensive miscues by Toronto and didn't look back. Ottawa's offense was working on all cylinders as all five goals were scored by five different players. Marty Gerber continues to play well stopping 30 of 31. The win gave the Senators the record for most points after fourteen games with 26 (13-1-0).

- Todd White scored his 100th career goal to give the Thrashers the 2 - 1 victory over the Capitals. Entering the game Ilya Kovalchuk needed a hat trick to be the first player in history to score three hat tricks in consecutive games, while he was unsuccessful, he did manage to score one goal.

Tomorrow's Games (all times Eastern)
7:00pm BOS@BUF, PHI@PIT (TSN),
7:30pm NSH@DET, FLA@TB,
8:30pm CLB@CHI,
9:30pm EDM@COL (TSN)
10:00pm PHX@ANA
10:30pm DAL@SJ

Nightly Recap: Cory "the natural" Stillman

-BEAST of the night Cory Stillman scored a natural hat-trick and Eric Staal put up three points as the Hurricanes beat up on the Capitals 5 - 0. Cam Ward recorded 35 saves for the shutout, it was his first of the season.

-There was another 5 - 0 game on tonights schedule, the Penguins took down the Devils. Pittsburgh snapped a two game losing streak and Dany Sabourin made 20 saves for his first career shutout. New Jersey coach Brent Sutter felt that his teams commitment in the game was "unacceptable". After Sidney Crosby scored the fifth goal you could see on Sutter's face that he is not impressed.

Saturday Night Recap: Kovalchuk Beasts on the Lightning

-Mike Fisher scored two goals including the game winner. Ottawa 3 - Boston 2. Tim Thomas made an amazing 42 saves for the Bruins and Chuck Kobasew added two goals in the loss.

-With two powerplay points Matt Cullen was Carolina's first star. Roddy Brind'Amour and Jeff Hamilton were stars two and three with two assists each. Richard Zednik scored for Florida, he now has 5 points in his past three games. Carolina 4 - Florida 2.

-Rangers 2 - Devils 1 (SO) Who says 1-1 games can't be exciting? Henrik Lundvquist continues to play phenomenal stopping 28 for the Rangers and Marty Brodeur was no slouch keeping 26 out of the net. The Rangers have had major offensive problems this year only scoring more than 3 goals in a game once, but King Henrik has been their MVP and has now allowed 6 goals in his past 7 games. Petr Prucha scored the shootout winner for the Rangers. Game Notes: Sean Avery returned from injury this game and was a a complete ball of energy on the ice. Jaromir Jagr played sparingly in overtime, he came on for one rush and then went off immediately, I'd keep an eye on him.

-Miroslav Satan scored two goals for the Isles including the game winner. Islanders 3 - Penguins 2. Rick DiPietro had to leave during the game for an injury that the team says "wasn't serious". Wade Dublewicz came off the bench and stopped 7 of 7. Al Arbour returned to the bench tonight to coach his 1,500th game. Game Notes: This game had a very unusual play; It appeared Tyler Kennedy of the Penguins had scored, all of the Penguins on the ice began to celebrate, but the referee did not count it as a goal. The teams played it out for 4 minutes until a whistle and then there was a review. It was counted a goal and the clock had to be reset to the time of the goal and then the puck was dropped. But, If the Islanders had scored during those 4 minutes, their goal would not have counted because of the Kennedy goal. My question is, what would have happened if the Penguins scored again after that play? Also just one goal?

-It's always exciting when the Habs and the Leafs get together, Matt Stajan scored with 1:34 left in the 3rd to give Toronto the win. Toronto 3 - Montreal 2.

-BEAST of the night Ilya Kovalchuk, so hot right now. He scored 4 points and now has 7 in his past two games. Marian Hossa also got on the board with two points. Atlanta 6 - Tampa Bay 4. Martin St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier had 3 assists each in a losing cause.

-Calgary has now lost three of their past four. Minnesota 4 - Calgary 1. Marian Gaborik had 3 points with two goals and one assist.

-Jonathan Toews had his 10 game point streak snapped, but Patrick Sharp's two shorthanded goals help the Blackhawks defeat the Blues. It was the first time a Chicago player had scored 2 shorthanded goals in a game since Steve Sullivan in '01. Chicago 3 - St. Louis 2.

-Ryan Getzlaf and Chris Pronger had 3 points each for the Ducks and J.S. Giguere stopped 30. Ducks 5 - Coyotes 2. Coyotes' Alex Auld stopped 34 in the loss.

-Vancouver 4 - Colorado 3. Colorado loses for their first time at home, and how have a 6 - 1 record at the Pepsi Center. After being called out by Coach Alain Vigneault, the Sedins combined for 6 points.

-The Sharks split their home and home with the Kings winning tonights game in Los Angeles. Jeremy Roenick scored his 4th goal of the year for San Jose and is now only one goal away from 500 for his career. Joe Thornton added two points in the win. Jason LaBarbera started in goal tonight for Los Angeles and made 25 saves in the losing effort. San Jose 3 - Los Angeles 1.

Tomorrow's Games (All Times Eastern)
5:00pm STL@CLB
7:00pm OTT@BOS, NSH@CHI

Fantasy Watch: Goaltender Starts

November 5th - 11th

Anaheim Ducks (3) – Giguere and Bryzgalov are continuing to split time.

Atlanta Thrashers (3) – With Lehtonen still sidelined with a groin injury, and Hedberg struggling, expect to see more of rookie Ondrej Pavelec

Boston Bruins (3) – Fernandez is day-to-day with a knee sprain, so Thomas will be getting most of the starts this week.

Buffalo Sabres (4) – With a busy schedule, Thibault should see playing time in at least one game.

Carolina Hurricanes (3) – Ward has been playing phenomenal and will most likely receive all three starts this week.

Calgary Flames (3) – Recently resigned to a long term deal, Kiprusoff will look to continue his string of consecutive starts.

Chicago Blackhawks (3) – Khabibulin has struggled to begin the season, but is still Chicago’s #1 goaltender.

Columbus Blue Jackets (3) – Leclaire has been fantastic so far but Columbus may elect to rest him due to two games back-to-back

Colorado Avalanche (3) – Theodore has been getting some starts, but Budaj is still #1

Dallas Stars (4) – Expect Dallas to give Turco a rest with back-to-back games this week.

Detroit Red Wings (3) – Backup goaltender Chris Osgood is currently 6-0-0.

Edmonton Oilers (3) – Roloson has not played well this year, but backup Garon isn’t much of an upgrade.

Florida Panthers (3) – Vokoun has been up and down this season but should appear in all three games this week.

Los Angeles Kings (1) – LaBarbera has been getting the nod as of late, but things can change with an extended layoff.

Minnesota Wild (2) – Backstrom is currently day-to-day with a groin injury but may be able to make one start as Minnesota has five days off in between games.

Montreal Canadiens (3) – Huet is currently riding a four game win streak.

Nashville Predators (2) – Mason has struggled but the Preds are still sticking by him.

New Jersey Devils (3) – Brodeur had his best game of the year this past week, surrendering only one goal on 22 shots.

New York Islanders (2) – Expect to see DiPeitro in both games this week.

New York Rangers (4) – Lundqvist's goals against average and save percentage are up there with the best, but unfortunately the wins aren't coming.

Ottawa Senators (3) – Both Emery and Gerber have only yielded one loss combined on the year.

Philadelphia Flyers (4) – With four games on the schedule, Nittymaki should appear in one game.

Phoenix Coyotes (3) – With Aebischer gone, Tellqvist and Auld will be splitting the starts.

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) – Expect Sabourin to get a start as Pittsburgh plays back-to-back games this week.

San Jose Sharks (3) – The Sharks may give backup Dimitri Patzold his first start as the team will not want to use Nabokov on back-to-back games.

St. Louis Blues (1) – Legace is the #1 goaltender in St. Louis and should receive the lone start.

Tampa Bay Lightining (4) – Holmqvist is the #1 in Tampa but expect Denis to start once this week with back-to-back games.

Toronto Maple Leafs (3) – Toskala is gaining #1 status but Raycroft should make an appearance in one game as Toronto plays on Friday and Saturday.

Vancouver Canucks (2) – Due to back-to-back games, Sanford may make his second start.

Washington Capitals (4) – Washington may give Kolzig a break this week with a rather busy schedule.


For Illegal Curve, I'm Jonny Remis

Fantasy Watch: Goaltender Starts

October 29th – November 4th
# of games in brackets

Anaheim Ducks (2)– With two games on the schedule expect a split between J.S. Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov

Atlanta Thrashers (3) – Lehtonen is still on the IR with an injured groin, so expect to see more of Johan Hedberg, but Ondrej Pavelec may steal a start or two.

Boston Bruins (3) – Tim Thomas has outplayed newcomer Manny Fernandez early on making his case for the #1 job.

Buffalo Sabres (2) – Miller has struggled to begin the season, and with two games back-to-back, look for Thibault to start one of them.

Calgary Flames (3) – With no reliable backup, expect Kiprusoff to get all the starts.

Carolina Hurricanes (2) – Ward has not lost a game in regulation this season.

Chicago Blackhawks (3) - Khabibulin is #1, but playing back-to-back games will allow Lalime to steal a start.

Columbus Blue Jackets (3) - Leclaire has been quite a surprise thus far, already compiling four shutouts.

Colorado Avalanche (2) – Budaj is slowly putting to rest any controversy in Colorado.

Dallas Stars (3) – The Stars may give Turco a rest this week.

Detroit Red Wings (2) – Osgood should be given both starts as Hasek is day-to-day with a sore hip.

Edmonton Oilers (2) – Although Roloson is struggling, he's still #1.

Florida Panthers (3) – Playing on Friday and Saturday should give backup Craig Anderson a
start.

Los Angeles Kings (3) - With several goaltenders vying for the #1 job, your guess is as good as mine.

Minnesota Wild (3) – Backstrom has Minnesota fans forgetting all about Manny Fernandez.

Montreal Canadiens (3) – Huet is allowing Montreal a chance to bring Price along slowly.

Nashville Predators (4) – Mason has struggled recently and with four games on the schedule expect backup Dan Ellis to get a start.

New Jersey Devils (3) – Weekes should see action as the Devils play back-to-back games.

New York Islanders (4) – Expect Dubielewicz to receive a start during this busy week.

New York Rangers (3) – Lundqvist has started every game thus far.

Ottawa Senators (3) - Gerber is still red hot and should continue to see plenty of starts come his way.

Philadelphia Flyers (3) – Biron is leading the Flyers back into contention.

Phoenix Coyotes (3) – No clear #1 as of yet

Pittsburgh Penguins (3) - Fleury will most likely receive all the starts.

San Jose Sharks (3) – Nabokov has lead San Jose to first place in the Pacific Conference

St. Louis Blues (4) – With back-to-back games, Toivonen should steal a start.

Tampa Bay Lightining (4) – Holmqvist has performed well thus far, but with four games, Denis may make an appearance.

Toronto Maple Leafs (3) – Toskala is slowly emerging as the #1 guy.

Vancouver Canucks (2) – Luongo has played poorly, but expect him to turn it around sooner than later.

Washington Capitals (3) – Backup Brent Johnson should see some playing time as Washington will probably opt against using Kolzig on back-to-back games.

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