Wrigley Field to host New Year's Day game

From Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

According to a knowledgeable source, it’s official. The NHL’s second outdoor Winter Classic will take place New Year’s Day at the storied Wrigley Field when the Blackhawks take on the Stanley Cup-champion Detroit Red Wings.

An announcement is expected next week in the days leading up to the three-day inaugural “Blackhawks Convention” at the Chicago Hilton.

Read the entire entry from Russo's Rants here.

Should be a fun New Year's day game. The fact that Wrigley Field is hosting the game makes it much more intriguing than watching a game at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Having Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane playing doesn't hurt either.

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.

Nightly Recap: Kane Continues to Lead Rookies in Scoring

-Chicago 3 - Detroit 2. Rookie leading scorer Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist and Jonathan Toews, second in rookie scoring had one goal. Robert Lang had two assists against his former team. Kane and Toews now have 21 and 14 points, in their rookie campaigns. Boy do they look like the West's version of Crosby and Malkin.

-Colorado 4 - Minnesota 2. Paul Stastny had two goals and one assist, he now has 100 career points in 99 career games, becoming the sixth player in franchise history to have 100 points in less than 100 games. Wojtek Wolski and Ryan Smyth had two points each for the Avs in the win.

Nightly Recap: Rangers lose 1-0.....again

• The Rangers lose another 1-0 game, this time to the Penguins. Who would have thought that goal scoring would be their problem early on? Malkin scored the lone goal for the Pens.
• Rookie Tobias Endstrom scored his first NHL goal, and Ilya Kovalchuk had 3 points. Leafs captain Mats Sundin also had 3 points. Kovalchuk scored the shootout winner for the Thrashers. Thrashers 5 - Maple Leafs 4 (SO)
• Red hot rookie and BEAST of the night Patrick Kane had 4 points and Tuomo Ruutu had 3 assists for the Blackhawks. Rick Nash continues to have a great year as he posted 3 points. The Blackhawks win in a scorefest over the Blue Jackets 7 - 4.
• Paul Kariya had four points and former Jet Keith Tkachuk had three, the St Louis Blues defeat the Anaheim Ducks 4 - 2.
• In Ryan Smyth's return to Edmonton, the Avalanche win 4-2 over the Oilers. Tyler Arnason scored two points for the Avs.
  
• The Kings throwdown on the Predators 6 - 0. Jason LaBarbera stopped 17 shots for the shutout and Mike Cammalleri continues to lead the NHL in goals adding two more tonight for a total of 10.

Tomorrow's Games (all times Eastern)
7:00pm: BUF@CAR, TB@WSH,
7:30pm: VAN@DET, PHI@FLA
9:00pm: MIN@CGY

Fantasy Watch: Top Performers of the Week

Stats from October 15th-22nd

F Jason Williams, Chicago Blackhawks
2 G, 4 A

Williams is currently riding a four game point streak scoring seven points over that span. His highest output came on Saturday, where the forward scored one goal and assisted on three others, leading Chicago past Toronto. Williams has been extremely successful on the powerplay, and should continue to receive several minutes on the top unit.

F Rich Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets
3 G, 2 A

The former first overall pick suffered an off year last season but has rebounded quite nicely, scoring nine points in his first seven games. Finally getting help from some of his teammates, Nash may be in for a career year.

F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
1G, 4 A, +1

This year's first overall pick has gotten off to a strong start, scoring five points in his last two games. Kane has meshed well with forward Jonathan Toews, as the two have lead Chicago to a 5-3 record. Those who nabbed Kane with a late pick in their fantasy drafts should reap in the benefits, as Kane may reach 60 points this year.

F Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
3 G, 5 A +3

Iginla has been on fire over his past five games, scoring five goals and six assists. Iggy has shown no signs of slowing down and will most likely be among the leaders for most points come season's end.

D Chris Campoli, New York Islanders
5 A, -2

Campoli had a career night this past week, assisting on four Islanders goals. On the year, the defenseman has scored two goals and dished out seven helpers. Only in his third season as a pro, Campoli has proved to be a great offensive defenseman, and should continue to pick up points on the power play.

G Martin Biron, Philadelphia Flyers
3 W, 2 SO,

Biron has been everything Philadelphia has hoped for, winning six of his first seven games, while compiling a goals against average of 1.57. He has posted two shutouts this past week, propelling the Flyers into first place in the Atlantic Conference.



For Illegal Curve, Im Jonny Remis

Saturday Night: Lightning Beast on The Thrashers

This is the abbreviated Saturday Night Recap

• Smart move by the Bruins organization to move the game to the afternoon to avoid conflict with the Red Sox. The game was 0-0 going into the shootout and Phil Kessel netted the only goal for Boston. Bruins 1 - Rangers 0.
• Chicago 2nd win in two nights comes against the rested Maple Leafs. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are reminiscent of the Thrashers' Heatley/Kovalchuk in their rookie years. They combined for 3 points tonight and Mats Sundin continues to rake for the Leafs (2 goals). Blackhawks 6 - Maple Leafs 4. Chicago's second third period comeback in a row. Chicago looks like they will be able to compete this year and may begin to fill the United Center, a playoff spot may be in sight
  
• Eric Staal and Justin Williams are able to beat red hot Marty Biron. The Canes are able to take the Flyers to overtime but bow out to Simon Gagne's winner. Philadelphia 3 - Carolina 2 (OT) Justin Williams only has 3 goals on the year now, but they have been snipes, in his age 26 season he is on his way to a career year
  
• Tampa Bay beats up on Atlanta for the second time of the year. The Lecavalier/St. Louis/Prospal line combines for 8 points. Lightning 6 - Thrashers 2.
  
• Edmonton continues to be the bitch of the Northwest Division going 0-4 against their rivals. Dion Phaneuf and Jarome Iginla were the first two stars with 3 points each and Kristian Huselius rounded up the back end with 2 points. The Flames show the Oilers who owns Alberta 4 - 1.
• In a rematch from last years playoffs San Jose shuts out Nashville 3-0. The Legend of Jeremy Roenick lives on, he scores his 3rd goal of the year and is two away from 500.

Tomorrow's Match Ups (All Times Eastern)
5:00pm VAN@CLB
7:00pm COL@MIN

Morning Musings: These new uniforms need to go

I know many writers on Illegal Curve have already weighed in with their opinion on the NHL's new RBK jerseys but I just can't hold back. First off, these jerseys are far too tight. The players look like they have to suck-in their stomachs to even get into the uniforms. Moreover, you are restricting the patented jersey tuck-in that some players, i.e., Wayne Gretzky, used to have as their staple. Secondly, the uniforms actually look horrid. Wow! I can't believe someone in the marketing department actually approved these with the expectation that the uniforms would be appealing to the hockey consumer. Has anyone seen the new Canucks uniform? The new Oilers uniform? The new Islanders uniform? They are all equally ugly. Due to the fact that these uniforms have just been tweaked and not totally remade (Washington aside), why would someone drop a couple hundred dollars on a jersey they probably already have.

The league needs a lesson in tradition and continuity. As a fan, all I ask is for less change. While I understand the desire to always improve and be on the cutting edge, in certain instances, that agenda can be taken too far. The NHL needs to stop changing uniforms, rules, etc., and stay true to the game.

On to the morning papers:

• Grant Kerr of the Globe & Mail has the story of Dustin Penner and the pressure that goes along with signing a huge contract. (Writer's note: A story on Dustin Penner!!! This is only the 33rd of the pre-season.)
• The Leafs have some decisions to make on defense writes Dave Shoalts in this morning's Globe & Mail.
• In camp without the security of a contract, 23 year old Tomas Fleishmann is ready to prove he is worthy of not only making the team, but making the team in a top-six forward role.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star isn't very convinced that the tandem of Toskala and Raycroft is that much better than the combination of goalies they have put together in Phoenix.
• Dan Boyle is coming up on UFA status and, in this instance, Jay Feaster is making an exception to his usual policy of not negotiating extensions during the season. (Writer's note: Dan Boyle may be the most underrated all-around defenseman in the game today. He really is better defensively than people give him credit for.)
• Youngster David Perron is hoping to crack the Blues' roster and avoid being returned to junior hockey; Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the story.
• Coach Ron Wilson decided to split up his three impressive rookies in Friday night's exhibition contest writes David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News.
• After being traded from Anaheim after their cup victory, Tim Brent is looking to stick in Pittsburgh as a 12th or 13th forward.
• Kimmo Timonen and Antero Nittymaki collided in practice on Friday, but the good news is that nothing serious came of it. Timonen is probable to play in tonight's contest versus the Rangers.
• Ted Nolan is very happy to see Radek Martinek healthy and back in the lineup writes Greg Logan in this morning's Newsday.
• The Rangers' youngsters looked impressive during the team's first exhibition tilt on Friday versus the Devils.
• Alex Bourret, profiled in the Prospect Pulse just days ago, was apparently sent down to the Rangers' farm team in Hartford, in part, because he didn't follow the team's off-season training program closely enough.
• Devils' goaltender Kevin Weekes had to be carried off the ice on Friday night at MSG, however, coach Brent Sutter says he'll be fine. After Weekes went down, there was a target on Sean Avery's back for causing the goaltender to leave the game.
• Confidence will be important for Marek Zidlicky in Nashville this season writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.
• Christoph Schubert can, once again, expect to play both forward and defense for the Senators this season.
• Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette has a great piece on the outrageous costs of attending an NHL game.
• Derek Boogard got a puck in the forehead in practice, but he was counting his blessings that it wasn't his eye writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.
• Kings' general manager Dean Lombardi explains why he placed Dan Cloutier on waivers in this morning's L.A. Times.
• Bob Stauffer of the Edmonton Sun claims that the Oilers lack toughness and, in fact, he believes they miss the presence of Georges Laraque to instill fear into opponents.
• With the regular season creeping up, these are nervous times for Oilers' youngsters who are looking to make the NHL roster writes Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal.
• Johan Franzen will be looked on to score more this season in Detroit.
• Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News informs us that the Stars will be spending this Sunday at the Air Force Academy to help improve team cohesion.
• The Jackets were quick to defend Nikolai Zherdev after he took a questionable hit during Friday night's exhibition game at Buffalo.
• The Hawks went five periods without a goal, and then scored four in the 3rd period of Friday's exhibition contest versus the Wild. Of note, Patrick Kane registered his first NHL point.
• Having dropped 20 pounds in the off-season, Cam Ward feels quicker this season. According to Luke Decock of the News Observer, Ward's quickness was evident in the Hurricanes' 3-0 shutout of the Predators last night.
• Adam Pardy is excited to still be around at Flames' camp writes Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald.
• Drew Stafford may miss a few days after leaving the Sabres' exhibition contest on Friday with an immobilized left arm.
• Milan Lucic is making roster decisions awfully hard for the Bruins' brass and says he wants no part of returning home to Vancouver.
• Kari Lehtonen has, once again, tweaked his groin in training camp, although this year he assures us it is not serious.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.