Today is a sad day at NHL Hot Stove as we close up shop.

I would like to thank every one who has ever contributed, commented and read our site. It was a fantastic ride which unfortunately we can no longer keep up.

Myself and David Strehle are taking on bigger roles at RLDHockey.net while Dustin Leed and The Hockey Guys has been generous enough to give a home to our other excellent contributors. Please be kind enough to give both sites a read.

By Alexander Monaghan
President 

In the NHL, injuries are simply a part of the game. Yesterday, the injuries piled up with such notable names as Zdeno Chara, Ilya Bryzgalov and Claude Giroux hitting the injured list. However, the two injuries we want to focus on were especially gruesome and thanks to Twitter we have screencaps of the proof.

Option #1: Derek Dorsett lower left leg injury

Dorsett looks to have snapped something in his left leg after falling over Tim Thomas and tumbling to the ice. The problem was, he didn’t really take a tumble as much as actually falling nastily on his leg. Take a look at the gruesome evidence as Dorsett is expected to miss a significant amount of time.

Below is a screencap, courtesy of @The6000LE:

Option #2: Ladislav Smid hit in the teeth with errant stick

At 8:23 of the second period, Olli Jokinen was called for a high sticking penalty as he hit Ladislav Smid in the teeth. The impact caused Smid to bleed all over the ice and miss the rest of the second period. Smid would later return in the third period, further proof that hockey players are the toughest athletes in the world.

Below is a screencap, courtesty of ChicagoSportsJD:

So now we ask you, the reader, to vote on the most gruesome injury of the night.

The NHL announced tonight that they will change their current six-division setup into four conferences. For the first time since 1998, the League’s board of governors reached an agreement that not only alters the current outlook but also will allow every team to play a home-and-home series. The NHLPA will still need to approve the realignment but that appears to be a formality at this point.

These four conferences break down as the following:

Conference 1

Vancouver Canucks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Anaheim Ducks
Colorado Avalanche
Phoenix Coyotes

Conference 2

Winnipeg Jets
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Blackhawks
St. Louis Blues
Nashville Predators
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild

Conference 3

Toronto Maple Leafs
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Florida Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning

Conference 4

Pittsburgh Penguins
Philadelphia Flyers
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils
Carolina Hurricanes
Washington Capitals

The current playoff configuration will also change with the first two playoff series coming within the Conference. However, eight teams will still make the show but there should be much more parity. For example, a team in a ‘weaker’ division would not be allowed to grab the third seed if they narrowly make the playoffs.

Furthermore, the schedule works out well for all teams. Home-and-home series should account for roughly 44-46 games with the remaining games getting played in rivalries within the conference. This change, as well as keeping natural rivals like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia; Chicago and Detroit; Calgary and Edmonton; should pave way for more excitement and interest around North America.

Now that we have the details down, let’s get to the fun part. What do we name these conferences? Do they get the old names: Norris, Campbell, Adams and Patrick? Do we rename them something more current like Gretzky, Lemieux, Howe and Orr? Put your vote in below and give some write-ins into the comments.

I think it’s safe to say that the Stanley Cup hangover is officially over for the Boston Bruins. Although the B’s had a slow start to the 2011-2012 season, they have been dominating for most of November.

Their 6-0 win against Buffalo last night marked their 8th win in a row, and they’re not backing down anytime soon. The Bruins will continue on to play two more games on the road before heading back to home ice on Black Friday to take on Detroit.

This exciting winning streak has definitely gotten the fans pumped up, but losing focus is not an option at this point.

Despite all of the positive vibes, there has also been speculation this past week regarding goalie Tuukka Rask, and rumors have been flying that the backup goaltender could be sent to Columbus in exchange for high-scoring winger Rick Nash.

Although it’s highly unlikely that this type of trade would go down at this point in the season, it’s pretty clear that Rask has been a little bit on edge. He lost his temper big time after letting a point-blank goal in during practice at Ristuccia Arena on Wednesday, slamming his stick against the crossbar four times before skating of the ice and tossing his stick behind.

Head Coach Claude Julien assured the media the rant was only a result of Tuukka’s highly competitive personality, and that it’s unlikely it had anything to do with any current rumors being whispered around.

Alexander Monaghan
President

By Teravolt (Talk)

On Saturday night, Ryan Miller took a big-time hit at the hands of Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic. The hit, which was rendered at the 13:12 marker of the first period, knocked the starting goalies’ helmet off but did not immediately knock him out of the game — leading to further controversy. At this point you have likely seen the hit and offered differing opinions on the play. At no point in the rulebook does it state that Miller was out of bounds by playing the puck at the top of the circle yet viewers either feel he was either ‘fair game’ or ‘brutalized’. Certainly a hot topic.

Regardless of your thoughts on the subject, Miller is now out indefinitely with a concussion. Miller left Saturday’s game after the second period, not the first, playing over 26 minutes in the process and furthermore ignoring the NHL’s concussion protocol. If you are unfamiliar with the process, here’s the official statement from NHL.com:

In the past, a player suspected of having sustained a concussion would be evaluated by the team’s trainer or a doctor in the bench area. If a concussion was suspected, the player was moved to a quieter area for further evaluation.

So the thought process at this point is Miller either never knew he was concussed or chose to ignore the protocol. However, what interests me further were his comments to the media. The protocol would further explain that the said player needs to be “removed from the game and sent to a quiet place free from distraction so they can be examined by the on-site team physician.” Miller was neither removed nor free from distraction. In fact, he made himself immediately available to local media in his now infamous rant over Lucic’s lack of respect.

According to John Vogl of The Buffalo News, Miller waited around for the media to arrive just to rattle off expletives regarding Lucic. “However, he sat in the dressing room in a suit until the media arrived following Buffalo’s 6-2 loss.” Once again, protocol dictates he remain away from distraction which certainly includes the team’s media.

We understand that the concussion symptoms did not arrive immediately and would prefer not to argue the merits of his infliction. We’ve seen cases such the David Perron concussion in which a player immediately returns to action and plays well. Sidney Crosby played a game following his concussion. Marc Staal played the entirety of the season after his blow to the noggin. Nevertheless, he either comes out and is unavailable to the media or he stays in without a concussion. It’s that cut and dry. Nobody feeling so poorly would immediately speak to the media — that would and likely should have been disallowed by the Buffalo Sabres public relations personnel.

Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News would further explain that Miller felt worse as the game progressed, which makes sense considering he allowed three goals following the incident. Then again, he already sports a GAA hovering around 3 (2.86) so it could just be an extension to his struggles. Nevertheless, here is how Harrington explains it. From Sabres Edge:

Miller felt increasingly worse during Saturday’s game in Boston after the hit by Milan Lucic and was removed from the game following the second period by Bruins doctors under the NHL’s head injury protocol.

So he felt worse, was removed from the game and put through head injury protocol then waited for the media to immediately sound off on the incident? Something sounds a bit off.

If he wasn’t injured then the team would announce his status as healthy or even day-to-day. If he had a concussion, why wasn’t he brought to a local hospital for further examination? Considering Miller was concussed last season, the team would have made a bigger deal out of his malady opposed to saving the news for the following day amid pointing even more fingers at Lucic.

The Sabres failed to retaliate against their divisional rival and therefore took to the media in which GM Darcy Regier deflected all news from the concussion on Miller specifically to concussions in general. His vitriol, however, appears pointed at the wrong people in an issue that simply is not there. A goaltending injury due to a collision is rare at best. Alex Ovechkin is not suspended for the multitude of times he’s bowled over netminders. Neither is every opposing forward looking to crash the net who is nudged by a defender. In fact, a goalie is typically injured more for fights or pulled muscles than a forward driving the net.

Playing net is a dangerous position. Not only does a frozen piece of rubber hit you at every angle, the opposition is always bearing down on you. There are more than 30 worthy starting goalies in this league enacting a survival of the fittest mentality. Is Niklas Backstrom complaining that Josh Harding is always injured? No, because it guarantees 60 starts per season. Would Cory Schneider be ultimately hurt should he start another game more due to a minor tweak by Roberto Luongo? Again, no because backups deserve to play.

In this instance, Miller’s backup, Jhonas Enroth, might have gotten the starting nod tonight due to simply playing better. For all we know he may have came into the game to awaken a flat team that simply did not react to a fallen Miller. The ‘guilty’ party Lucic reviewed the play ’100 times’ and does not see how Miller could be concussed. From Big Bad Blog:

“I’ve looked at the hit 100 times because he said he got a concussion. I looked at it, and his shoulder hit my chest, so there was no hit to his head. His helmet came flying off, but his head didn’t hit the ice and later on in that period, one of their guys lifted [Tyler Seguin]‘s stick and threw him into the net as well, so who knows what it was? It was obviously unfortunate to hear that he got hurt on the play.”

His coach, Claude Julien, would offer a similar explanation when describing this bang-bang play from his power forward. From NHL.com:

“I saw the same thing [as Lucic explained],” Julien said. “It certainly wasn’t our plan to run him over and for what it’s worth, Looch has done the same thing to one of our coaches [assistant Geoff Ward] last year. He buries his head when he chases the puck, by the time he lifts it up, somebody’s there. Last year was a coach, this year was Miller.”

While this news doesn’t absolve Lucic, it does explain how he did not necessarily get out of the way. He is currently meeting with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan over the incident which is probably something that would not have happened if Regier did not alter the agenda. The penalty was two minutes on the ice. No match penalty, major or misconduct. In fact, if Lucic’s hit is to be reviewed, the swinging stick of Ryan Miller deserves a look as well since that could have permanently injured Lucic as well.

We should find out the ultimate verdict soon. The two-plus hour delay is actually somewhat telling at this point. Regardless, should Lucic get suspended, Does it open up a wormhole concerning goalies being on or off limits? Something certainly sounds fishy about the entire situation whether it be Lucic’s intent, Miller’s actual injury or the team’s cover-up. At this point there are no legitimate cut-and-dry facts for us to ascertain which makes this perhaps one of the season’s biggest storylines.

One thing is for sure: You’ll want to tune in the next time these two teams faceoff — Wednesday, November 23rd at 7PM EST.

By Brandon Macdonald
Editor

When a rope has too much pressure pulling on it, it snaps. When an animal is cornered something makes it go off and attack. When a hockey team is under the pressure of the fans, coaches and most importantly themselves, something has got to give.

That has been happening to this season’s edition of the Boston Bruins. After a remarkable Stanley Cup Championship run, the team has found themselves off to a rocky start in the 2011-12 campaign. Through only six games the team’s record is 2-4-0, losing three of their last four games.

The lack of goals scored (10) has led to the team pressing and getting more and more frustrated. With only two goals with the man advantage  — a recurring enemy from last season — the squad’s past demons continue to haunt them.

Frustration has set in with the club and it’s showing on the ice. In their most recent game, when they hosted the Carolina Hurricanes — who already beat the Bruins 3-2 in Raleigh on October 12 — the team faced their breaking point. The boys in black and gold surrendered nine power play opportunities to the Canes, who were successful on two of those chances, as well as five misconducts. The team even had to serve a penalty for the home crowd throwing debris on the ice. Clearly it’s not only the players getting frustrated with the teams struggles early on.

It hasn’t been for a lack of goaltending, as both Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask have played solid hockey, but the Bruins can’t seem to find that extra punch and finish off their oponents. The only example of emotion and spark the team has shown was in the shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks, which also featured a third period comeback. Aside from that it has been lackluster performances from Boston.

Getting production from the top line is essential for any team to succeed. The Bruins have gotten two goals from the first unit of Milan Lucic, David Krejci (currently injured) and Nathan Horton. The frustration from Horton and Lucic boiled over against the Canes as both forwards picked up a combined total of 28 PIM, while the captain Zdeno Chara nabbed 19 alone.

While we are only six games into the season, the team has not detracted naysayers from saying they are doomed for a season of Stanley Cup hangover. However, the product on the ice thus far has not been what you would call elite. On any given night the Bruins will be facing a team looking to take two points from the defending champs and they have failed to step up to meet their effort thus far.

Brandon Macdonald
NHLHS Editor
bmacdonald@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter @bMacdonald8

By Alexander Monaghan
President

Yesterday, we let you in on our contest to play a ‘One Day FREE Fantasy Contest‘ to win $100 in cash prizes from Draft Steet. Well, I signed up, How about you?

Here’s my lineup, I challenge you to beat this roster:

LW: Zach Parise — $11,018
LW: Daniel Sedin — $14,799

RW: Bryan Little — $5,941
RW: Martin St. Louis — $13,081

C: Mark Letestu — $5,990
C: Valtteri Filppula — $6,118

D: Niklas Kronwall — $6,547
D: P.K. Subban — $7,817

G: Jonathan Quick — $20,665
G: Brian Gionta — $7,976

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On Tuesday, the Boston Bruins announced that they have re-signed center/wing Rich Peverley to a 3 year deal worth $3.25 million per year.

The undrafted 29-year-old from Guelph, Ontario arrived in Boston via a trade in February, 2011 and played a key role in the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup championship. Peverley scored four times and added eight assists in the 2011 playoffs. He has tallied two goals in the Bruins’ first three games of the 2011-2012 campaign even though the Bruins have only amassed two points in the standings.

Peverley’s offensive career highs in the NHL came in the 2009-2010 when he put up 22 goals and 55 points. Following the trade to Boston, Peverley scored only four goals and seven points through 23 games while playing primarily on Boston’s third line. Following the retirement of Mark Recchi, the Bruins are counting on 20+ goal, 50+ point production on a consistent basis from Peverley on Boston’s second line, centered by two-way stalwart Patrice Bergeron.

With the three-year extension awarded to Peverley, the Bruins have a total of seven forwards (not including forward Marc Savard, who is on LTIR, recovering from multiple concussions), five defensemen, and starting goalie Tim Thomas under contract for the 2012-2013. Those 13 players carry a combined cap hit of $41.87 million for the 2012-2013 season. Assuming a $3 million rise in the cap ceiling to $67.3 million, the Bruins would have over $26 million in available cap space to sign 10 players.

One player expected to use a significant portion of that available cap space is first line center David Krejci, whose current contract expires at the end of the 2011-2012 season. Krejci will likely command a cap hit of $5 million minimum on an extension, which would leave the Bruins with $21 million (again, based on the assumption of a $67.3 million cap ceiling for next season) and nine players to sign. If the current Bruins play to the level of their contracts, they should have no trouble filling out a roster for the 2012-2013 season with $2 million or less cap hits.

Stick checks, face washes, and slew foots are welcome on Twitter @Gordsie.

If you haven’t heard, there is a new trend in the world of fantasy sports. Fantasy enthusiasts all over the country are now participating in daily fantasy leagues for cash on DraftStreet.com. We’ve partnered up with Draftstreet to do a FREE one-day fantasy league with $100 in prizes exclusively for NHL Hot Stove readers.

This is a salary cap league where everyone tries to assemble the best team out of the available players. You will have a $100,000 budget to build a team of 2 LW’s, 2 RW’s, 2 Center’s, 2 Defensive players, 1 Goalie, and a FLEX. Each NHL player has been allocated a price based on their expected fantasy performance. For example, star LW Alex Ovechkin costs $14,331 where as RW Jarome Iginla costs $12,256.

You can adjust your roster up until the contest start’s on Thursday 10/13 at 7:00pm ET at which time your rosters will lock and the Live Scoreboard will be available.

CLICK HERE to sign up for free and register for NHL Hot Stove $100 Freeroll on DraftStreet.com

By Jeff Quirin
NHL Hot Stove Associate Editor

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Did you miss NHL on the Fly this week? Couldn’t catch all the games? Well, if you love goal scoring, NHL Hot Stove has you covered. Here are some of the best finishes of the first week of NHL action in the 2011-12 season.

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Number Five

Anze Kopitar (LA Kings) with a great forehand backhand move to beat Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres) after a pretty cross ice pass.

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Number Four

Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning) rifles his 300th career goal past good friend Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins) on a breakaway.

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Number Three

Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins) with a terrific partial breakaway move to beat Ilya Bryzgalov (Philadelphia Flyers).

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Number Two

Claude Giroux (Boston Bruins) attacks Tom Thomas (Boston Bruins) with a brilliant backhand forehand marker.

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Number One

Brad Richards (New York Rangers) roofs the puck over Jonas Hiller (Anaheim Ducks).

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Just had to throw one more in for good measure. Welcome back to the NHL Mr. Lombardi.

Matthew Lombardi (Toronto Maple Leafs) beats Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens) for a shorthanded goal. His first goal after missing virtually all of the 2010-11 season with a concussion.