By David Strehle and Brandon Macdonald

The return of the Buffalo Sabres to the 2011 playoffs was not a given at any point in the season. After bringing in new owner Terry Pegula bought the team on Feb. 18 and relieved the team of their financial issues. No longer are the Sabres going to be a team that allows their top players to walk away come July 1, Pegula has made that clear.

With a solid run down the stretch the Sabres muscled their way in to the seventh seed and see themselves matching up against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Why Buffalo can win: The way of the Sabres goes with the play of Ryan Miller, which is no secret. However, with trade deadline acquisition Brad Boyes they have a guy who can put the puck in the back of the net in bunches. With a second full season under his belt rearguard Tyler Myers shouldn’t have shaken the nerves that seemed to have him playing scared last year against the Boston Bruins. Look for Myers to have a big role battling the big guns for the Flyers.

Why Buffalo can lose: Derek Roy, who has been out since December with a torn quad muscle, is not likely to return unless the Sabres makes a lengthy run. Roy is an intricate part of the Sabres offense, Thomas Vanek is going to have to be the game changer if they plan on going head to head with the high flying Flyers. Size is something the Sabres have to worry about, despite having the tallest player in this series. The Flyers are loaded up front with some big skilled players that are followed by swift snipers that burst through the holes created by their size.

If the Sabres play a tight defensive game and give their all-world net minder the help he needs they can beat the Flyers. However, if they get in to a physical matchup and find themselves running it’s likely they will be out muscled by the Flyers.

While you were sleeping, the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche we’re busy burning the midnight oil.

The two clubs found a way to trump Brian Burke and Peter Chiarelli’s moves. The Blues sent franchise cornerstone rebuilding block defenseman Erik Johnson, forward Jay McClement and a conditional 1st round draft pick to the Avs for budding power forward Chris Stewart, offensive defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and a conditional 2nd round draft pick.

Surprised? You have every right to be. Most of the NHL community was. However, signs pointing to changes beyond moving UFA rentals have been posted for a while.

When Doug Armstrong took over for Larry Pleau as General Manager last summer, everyone knew changes in philosophy were coming. Army was brought in to be the unbiased auditor. To see who plays their way in or out of the Blues future in order to get the franchise to the next level. Those that “should be” doing more and weren’t would be on the chopping block. A franchise hitting the end of a long, painstakingly frustraing 5-year rebuild was about to miss the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. The season that was supposed to be the turning point.

Instead injuries debilitated the efforts to produce a winning campaign. Countless man games lost to concussions and freak accidents to key players stressed those healthy to a breaking point. Under such pressure, “those who can” would rise to the top and “those who can’t” would bottom out. A harsh testing method not only for those would be rentals, but for the core prospects that are not kids anymore as well. Team President John Davidson has said before that not all the prospects can be held on to. That the Blues drafted the best players available and would let them develop. At some point they would blossom or wilt.

Is wilting too strong of a description for Johnson’s development? For some it can be. Then again, as the top selection any draft, the player is expected to surpass his positional peers and hit benchmarks faster. Even taking a season lost to a serious knee injury in to account, expectations have not been met. Before the golf cart accident in the summer of 2008, EJ was like a powerful NFL running back. A just right balance of speed, agility, strength and skill all wrapped up in a lean package. Following the injury he has bulked up to resemble a full back. A slight loss in speed, mobility and a reduction in the use (and confidence in) skill.

The future is far from all doom and gloom for the top pick in the 2006 draft and US Olympian. What Erik needs is time. Just with Chis Pronger before him, to learn how to play with a big body in a lightning fast game is difficult. There is a tremendous learning curve. Sadly, the Blues don’t have time to wait. Hard decisions have to be made. While strength on the blueline is important, so too has become finishing ability from all forward positions. An area the Blues lack greatly. Armstrong knows you have to give to get.

Chris Stewart, a 23 year old Toronto native, comes to the Blues as a well known commodity. The 18th overall selection in the 2006 draft has killed the Blues over the last two seasons. Amassing 8 goals and 15 points in 9 career games. He is the enticing rare blend of size, speed and skill. Able to beat defensemen by going around them, blowing through them or shooting it past them. Think along the lines of Jarome Iginla or Brendan Shannahan. A power forward in every sense of the word. Including the willingness to drop the gloves and throwdown. He doesn’t have the experience or maturity yet to lay legitimate claim to the two a fore mentioned legends, but all the tools are there. Assistant Coach Scott Mellanby will play a key role in helping Chris get there if he ever does.

Kevin Shattenkirk is a player the Blues should be familiar with as well. The 14th overall pick in the 2007 draft was taken one pick after Lars Eller and five before Ian Cole. Two of the three Blues first round picks that summer. He was likely on their radar when picking up some important rebuilding pieces. The 22 year old Boston University product is have an excellent rookie season. Earning himself an appearance at the 2011 NHL All-Star game as part of the “rookie team”. Through 46 games Shattekirk has 8 goals and 26 points. Of which 2 goals and 8 assists have come on the man advantage. That’s 1 goal and 4 more assists on the power play than Johnson. Numbers may not always tell the story, but in this case they do. Where Johnson has struggled to develop in to a power play threat, Shattenkirk is making teams pay. Assistant Coach Brad Shaw will likely help Kevin develop and improve his defensive game as he did with another offensive defenseman,  Alex Pietrangelo.

The conditions for the draft picks are pretty straight forward. The Blues 2011 1st round pick will go to Colorado if they finish above of the bottom 10 in the final NHL standings. If the Blues finish in the bottom 10, the picks roll over to the 2012 draft. If the rollover occurs, the picks being swapped remain the Blues 1st round and the Avs 2nd round.

Don’t expect the Blues to be done. The days leading up to February 28th will likely be packed with a few more transactions. Once Jaroslav Halak returns form injury Ty Conklin will go back on the block. With the log jam on right wing, Brad Boyes, Matt D’Agsotini or BJ Crombeen could be moved (my money is on Boyes). Potential rentals Brad Winchester and Cam Janssen could be heading to new towns as well.

Keep you head up and avoid a blindside trade. They’re coming.

During his tenure with the Boston Bruins Marco Sturm was known for being a clutch goal scorer with blazing speed, a passion for the game and unfortunately having a problem with staying healthy.

It’s hard to talk about Sturm without mentioning he scored two of the biggest goals in recent Bruins history.

The pivotal piece in the Joe Thornton trade, Sturm lit it up in his early days as a Bruin, scoring 23 goals for 43 points in 51 games.

It’s safe to say he provided leadership on a Bruins team that was in disarray after trading away a the former first overall selection and future MVP (that season) in Thornton. With young players like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Boyes on the roster, it was clear Sturm was going to be one of, if not the, key part of the offense.

Random fact, it was also Tim Thomas’ first season as a Bruin after spending the previous year in the AHL with the Providence Bruins.

Although Sturm would never match his point totals from his first partial season with Boston, he did have back-to-back 27 goal seasons and high of 56 points in 2007-08.

With the impending trade to the Los Angeles Kings, with no return I might add, it seems only right to look back on Sturm’s career sporting the black and gold.

There are two moments that stand out during Sturm’s time with the Bruins and the first came during game six of the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs when he scored an extra effort game winning goal against the Montreal Canadiens net minder Carey Price, a series which the Habs went on to win. His most recent claim to glory was the magical game-winning goal 1:57 in to overtime during the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway against the Philadelphia Flyers.

It’s tough to give up a player with the heart and determination that Sturm showed, but for GM Peter Chiarelli it was an option that allowed him to keep young forward Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder, and who doesn’t want a player known for goal scoring during a contract year, so it makes sense.

The deal may leave a bitter taste in the mouth of some of the Bruins faithful, but in the salary cap era it was a deal that had to be made.

With the recent return of Marc Savard it was inevitable that a trade was coming and the return wasn’t going to please the majority. Trading Matt Hunwick was a start, but it wasn’t going rid the team out of their cap issues, although picking up Boston University rearguard David Warsofsky was a solid return.

Obviously getting back a conditional draft pick, which was the case in the original deal, would have been ideal, however with the injury baggage Sturm brings with him there was not going to be a plethora of buyers for the oft-injured winger.

A player that has always been known for his speed down the wing is not too valuable when coming off knee surgery. It would have been nice to get a few games in with the black and gold to prove he still has it, but that was not an option for Boston.

With some smart drafting, Chiarelli and co. have setup the Bruins with some bright spots that will fill the void left by Sturm. With the likes of Jordan Caron, Joe Colborne and Jared Knight, just to mention a few, on the up and up the future remains bright in Boston.

Oh yeah, somehow Tyler Seguin is on the roster, not to mention a future top ten pick seems to be on the way.

Always a fan favorite, Sturm will be remember for being a bright spot during tough times in Boston. He without a doubt had an impact on the young Bruins and it would be hard to come by someone with someone bad to say about the forward, aside from his injury problems.

With the deal there is no more remembrance of the trade that shook Boston, which after thinking about it, could be a good thing.

Brandon Macdonald
NHLHS Editor-in-chief
bmacdonald@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter @bMacdonald8

After a four-day break between games, the Detroit Red Wings looked as though they had forgotten how to play proper hockey against the St. Louis Blues.

That is, until the third period.

Through the first two periods, they were unable to hold a lead for more than two minutes; Drew Miller kicked the scoring off in the third, but Brad Boyes tied it up ninety seconds later. In the second, Brad Winchester scored on the power play and it took the Red Wings five minutes to tie it up from a goal by Justin Abdelkader. Danny Cleary scored with four minutes left in the second, but Andy McDonald buried one not even forty seconds later.

It was at this point in the game, with the lack of being able to hold a lead and a young St. Louis team fighting for every inch of the ice, when I thought the Red Wings would be lucky if they got a point out of this game. Thankfully, they proved me wrong.

Whatever was said in the locker room during the second intermission must have been one of these options: a really inspiring speech made by one of the veteran players, coach Mike Babcock giving every single player his patented death glare and not saying a word, or the team casually conversing and saying, “Okay, let’s stop pretending to suck and play hockey for the third.” No matter what it was, it definitely resonated with the team.

Danny Cleary of the Red Wings

In the span of three minutes and fourteen seconds, the Red Wings scored four goals to blow the Blues out of the water. Cleary kicked off the scoring, followed by Henrik Zetterberg, Brad Stuart (on the power play), and Tomas Holmstrom (also on the power play). St. Louis didn’t have much time to recover.

The Michigan natives really had an impact in the game last night: Abdelkader and Miller both had a goal an an assist each, Brian Rafalski had three assists, and Mike Modano had an assist. The Red Wings’ fourth line has been working the hardest as of late and always seem to work together well, despite Miller and Patrick Eaves swapping as a healthy scratch every few games.

One thing the Red Wings need to take away from this game is that their power play still needs work. While they were two for five last night, their power play is hovering right around 15%. Babcock has made comments that they have been working on it in practice, but until the top line of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Holmstrom find their magic again, they need to keep working on it.

A special shout out goes to Jaroslav Halak for kicking the scoring off in the game. I really do like Halak a lot and it’s always a little humiliating when you toss the puck into your own net, but I can’t lie; when this happened, I just started laughing. Was it a premonition for a weird game? Maybe.

Additional notes/cool facts
- Cleary now has a six-game goal streak.
- Nicklas Lidstrom‘s eleven-game point streak ended after he was held pointless in last night’s game.
- The Red Wings are 9-0-1 when scoring first.
-Todd Bertuzzi is currently second in the league in plus/minus as a +13.
- Last night’s game was Ken Holland‘s 1000th as the general manager, and the team’s 600th win under Holland. Not a bad winning percentage.

Christina Roberts
NHLHS Detroit Red Wings Correspondent
Twitter: @franzenmuth
Email: christina.roberts@nhlhotstove.com

A forgettable stretch of games has darkened the skies and has started raining on the St. Louis Blues historical start parade. From a 9-1-2 mark and a stingy 17 goals against allowed to a three game losing streak where 16 goals have found their way to the back of the net. A 1.42 goals against per game to 5.33 per game.
Heading to Colorado was not the way to start a road to recovery. The Avalanche have dominated the Blues over the last two seasons. A trend that continued Monday night as the Avs perpatuated the Blues dismay. Putting six in Halak’s net and pushing the skid to four games in a 6-3 walloping.

Good fortune smiled on the Blues just 54 seconds in to the contest when a broken play ended up in an Alex Steen breakaway. Always playing with determination, Steen puts in his fourth on a second effort that slides in under Peter Budaj.

The rest of the game involved little smiling, at least for those wearing Bluenotes.

As the game opened up and roamed 200 feet both ways, the Avs woudl capitalize three times in the first. Twice from John-Michael Liles and once from Paul Stastny. All three goals coming from a similar methodology.

Forecheck > Win Puck > Back to Point > Shot Through > Melee for Second Chances

The size and speed combination made such a system possible. Progressiely outworking and hemming the Blues in their defensive zone. The inabiliy of the St. Lous defense to deal with the big body forwards crashing the crease created the screens and rebounds that lead to the scores.

A crucial power play at the end of the first period is squandered. The Avalanche are caught with too many men on the ice. the Blues continue to their out of sync nature with the man advantage. Period ends 3-1.

The secon period opens with the Blues controlling the flow. However, the Avs have tightened their game. Both the David Backes and Patrick Berglund lines create offensive zone pressure, but struggle to get shots through from  the point and fail to penetrate the Avs defensive box. Credit the Avs for limiting the speed in which the Blues could counter. With the limited size upfront, they couldn’t get in to well protected scoring areas.

Following an ill timed BJ Crombeen fight (taking an extra 2 minutes for no reason) the Blues kill the penalty and strike back. Carlo Coaliacovo nets his second of the season in his first game back after missing seven. Steen with an exceptional outlet to Berglund to beat the neutral zone pressure as Colaiacovo joines the rush. Carlo gets the puck in the high slot and snipes it past Budaj, across the grain to the far post.

Suddently its a 3-2 game and the next goal is just as important as the last.

As Colorado did all night, they push back harder than they were pushed. Less than three minutes later Colaiacovo is beat flat footed on the near boards. Matt Duchene finds Bradnon Yip streaking to back post. Carlo recoves to take the ice away so Duchene goes up. The puck hits Yip and sneaks past Jaroslav Halak.

Turning point.

The call on the ice is “no goal”. The play is reviewed. From the replay angles played on Versus, there doesn’t appear to be conclusive evidence that the puck didn’t hit the hand of Yip. Apparently the War Room in Toronto saw something else and overruled the officials call.

It’s a very different game down 4-2 rather than 3-2.

Shellshocked the Blues allow another defensive blunder. Eric Brewer is beat by David Jones and scores the prettiest goal of the game. Cutting in he pulls Halak off the post and puts the puck just under the cross bar from about 10 feet out. Colorado up 5-2.

Pressure finally turned in to scoring chances in the third. The effort was lead primarly by the Backes line. Cracks start forming and the Blues start getting in to the dirty areas. Brad Boyes is absolutely robbed more than once, but get’s his second goal in as many games by making a power move similar to Jones’. Drop the shoulder, cut in to the slot and scores far side.

The Avs answer again. Getting a little help by earning a power play in a scrum in front of the Blues bench, they cut down the Blues momentum. Not sure how the officials didn’t even that ruckus out. Chris Stewart took multiple liberities on Backes while he was tied up.

The final haymaker came when Alex Pietrangelo tried to break out of his own zone and was upended by Kevin Shattenkirk. He belly flops hard on the ice and is very slow to get up. Kevin Porter takes the puck back in the zone and beats Halak to make it 6-3.

Game Notes & Thoughts

- Budaj won this round of the battle of the Slovaks. Stopping 27 of 30 shots on goal while Halak struggled to stop 17 of 23.

- The Blues face-off abilities continue to be an issue. Winning just 25 of 56 total draws. Backes was 5 for 14, Berglund 6 for 12 and McClement 7 for 16. Several key offensive zone draws were lost by Backes.

- Offensive production came from the right sources, but team defense failed to counter the Avalanche attack in each period. A recurring theme during the losing streak. There was also a total breakdown in protecting Halak and giving him a chance to win the game.

- Nikita Nikitin may have been ended with and Eve Plus/Minus rating, but his play has been lacking. With Barrett Jackman out for two weeks or more still, Ian Cole may return sooner than later.

- Confidence is coming back to Boyes. He must start a hot streak and be a difference maker once again.

- Berglund, Steen and D’Agostini were a combined Plus-5 all logging second line minutes.

- Erik Johnson hasn’t been a bad player by any stretch. However, his offensive game is far from where it needs to be. Hopefully he takes notes on how Liles got shots through.

- Jay McClement and Crombeen have been very human in terms of their defensive play. A combined Minus-10 in the last four games.

- Kudos to Colaiacovo coming back strong with a goal and assist in over 20 minutes on the ice. Big bonus getting his offensive weaponry back. Especially on the power play.

Next Up

@Detroit Red Wings – 6:00PM – FSMW HD & 1120 AM KMOX

- In

Down 3-2 early in the third period, the New York Rangers had a glorious opportunity to tie the game, when they were on a 1:17 two-man advantage. But being that this is, infact the Rangers we are talking about here, the end result was as typical as it was painful.

Not only did the Rangers fail to score, they didn’t even produce a single quality scoring chance. And while they did briefly tie the visitng St. Louis Blues, with a blueline softie from Wade Redden (this isn’t a typo), the Rangers did inevitably fall victim at home, yet again, by the score of 4-3.

The game winning Blues goal came from the stick of Paul Kariya, the 400th of his National Hockey League career. Pardon the Rangers fans in attendance for not congratulating the 16 year veteran on this outstanding achievement, they were too busy lustily booing the team that has failed them time and time again this season. This now puts their Madison Square Garden record at a dismal 15-17-6. Not exactly home cooking on 33rd Street and 7th Avenue.

The contest started off on the wrong foot, when Brad Boyes scored, just a little over a minute into the first. To their credit, which is something they don’t deserve  much of, the Rangers responded with a power play goal by Ryan Callahan knotting the game at 1-1. Marian Gaborik, who by game’s end notched his eighth three point game of the season, put the Rangers up 2-1 late in the first period. That goal put him three shy of the impressive 40-goal mark.

In the second period though, the misery began.

Despite the Blueshirts escaping the first period with a lead, they were sloppy in their own end and allowed too much open space for the visitors to skate with. And since the Rangers were never known for having luck on their side, they lost the lead and in a hurry.

When you think of Mike Weaver, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Okay, like me, you must have answered a good stay at home defenseman that couldn’t shoot the puck into the wide side of the ocean from the edge of a pier…right? Well, on this night, we would have all been wrong, as he tied the score at 2-2, with his first goal since the invention of the automobile, pouncing on a Chris Drury defensive zone turnover. Erik Johnson, the standout United States Olympian, gave the Blues the lead that they would maintain until almost midway through the third period.

Early in that third period saw the turning point and the eventual downfall of the Rangers on this night.

With Johnson and fellow Blues defensemen Roman Polak both in the penalty box for delay of game calls, the Rangers, as I alluded to earlier, had a glorious chance to not only tie the game, but take momentum back from St. Louis. But these are the Rangers, don’t you know, why in the world would they want to make life easy for themselves? Inexplicably unable to find a good shooting angle, even being up two men, the Rangers managed just one feeble shot on goal and infuriate the loyal fans in the process.

That wasn’t the only thing angering the crowd. Henrik Lundqvist, who is usually the anchor on this team, sunk the Rangers on this night with probably his worst performance of the season. On just 16 shots on goal, Lundqvist allowed four pucks to find the back of his net. That kind of save percentage is good…if he were an indoor lacrosse goaltender. Not to say every goal was his fault, but there is absolutely zero margin for error for the man known as King Henrik. On this night, he let them down, but he knows he did and he is not making any excuses for himself.

“I don’t know what to say except that it’s really frustrating and disappointing not to get the two points tonight,” said Lundqvist, who finished with 12 saves. “I know that I have to play better.”

On this team Hank, you are not alone!

Brandon Augienello
NHLHS Senior Writer
brandon@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_B

When referencing the St. Louis Blues, a few names immediately pop up: T.J. Oshie, Erik Johnson, Brad Boyes, Andy McDonald, and David Backes. Among those players, only McDonald (32 years) is older than the team average of 27.96 years (the Blues tie with the Minnesota Wild as the sixth oldest NHL team).

McDonald, as one of the older players on the team, leads the Blues in goals and overall points. The Canadian-born center knows what it takes to win — he proved that by winning the Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. As one of the leaders in the St. Louis locker room, McDonald appears as a great model for his younger teammates.

One of those younger teammates, Oshie, has yet to face the sophomore slump. Though an injury kept him out of the lineup for a substantial period of time last season, Oshie looks to break his rookie numbers of 14 goals and 25 assists (he currently has 13 goals and 23 assists).

Similarly, Johnson, aged 21, broke his previous goal total of five, and it appears likely he will do the same to the assist column. Johnson, however, is a strong defenseman for the Blues. His offensive addition helps the Blues, but his main focus remains protecting his goaltender and keeping pucks out of his team’s net.

The leadership (captain) Eric Brewer and (alternate captain) Barret Jackman provide to the defense corp certainly helped Johnson. To have two great players (as well as Darryl Sydor) to learn from on defense can help any young defenseman transition into the NHL. Brewer missed some time from injuries, but now is back and trying to finish the season strong.

The offensive production of both Brewer and Jackman are small, but like Johnson, their main focus is defense, and the offense will come when necessary.

Back on offense, David Perron, one of the three 21 year olds on the team (Johnson and Patrik Berglund), will break his career high in goals (as he currently has 15 goals), but his assists from last season greatly outweigh his current season’s assist column.

Last season, as a sophomore Perron put up 15 goals and 35 assists, great for a player who did not even play the entire season the year before. This year, he added fifteen goals and eighteen assists, but with only twenty games left breaking 35 assists may not happen.

Backes, however, does not seem likely to break his points from last season. For the first time in his short career, Backes played in all eighty-two games last season, and had an amazing offensive season. Scoring eighteen more goals than his career best, Backes finished the season with fifty-four points. He also finished second on the team in points, only behind Boyes.

Then, comes Boyes, an offensive leader, who struggled thus far. In only his fifth season in the NHL, Boyes suffered a large drop off in production (about a thirty goal difference from two seasons ago).

The offensive leaders on the Blues are either stagnant or worse when compared to last season. This alone can devastate a team.

Then, as two of the oldest players on the team, Paul Kariya (35) and Keith Tkachuk (37),  these two players have experience and lots of practice in the tough, pressure-packed games. Unfortunately, both players seem past their prime. Each player suffered brief injuries this season, but the real focus remains their offensive production, or lack there of.

Kariya’s point total seems average when compared to his previous seasons, but long gone are the seasons where he would put up eighty points.

Somewhat similar, Tkachuk’s production dropped this season. Last season he finished with forty-nine points, but this season (through 55 games played) he has twenty-eight points.

Their age appears to hinder these two players. Both great offensive forwards in their time, but now their best abilities will serve best by mentoring and helping the younger players to develop.

In contrast, the Blues cannot blame injuries for their lackluster season. Of the twelve players that missed at least one game to an injury, seven are twenty-eight years or younger. On the Blues, the majority of the players injured at one point during this season, were at the average team age, or younger.

Comparatively, the Wild had a similar trend in injuries and age. The older teams, like the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks, experience more injuries to the older players, but the younger teams begin to show a weak point in their youth.

Luckily, injuries did not plague the Blues too badly this year. Various key players, like Backes, Oshie, and Johnson suffered short injuries, but only three injuries were serious and long-term.

Largely responsible for the team’s success, Chris Mason backstops the Blues. He has twenty of the team’s twenty-eight wings, but his loss total (17) is too close to his win total to show a successful season. Finishing at .500 or slightly above represents a decent goaltending season, but finishing higher will only help his team make the playoffs.

As of the Olympic break, the Blues sit four points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. But, the Blues need to jump over four teams to grab that last playoff spot.

There are twenty games remaining for the Blues this season, and making the playoffs is definitely still within grasp, but the task will prove difficult.

The Blues will face many tough teams in the last stretch of games, but after a two-week break, the majority of the Blues (those not participating in the Olympics) should feel rested and rejuvenated.

The final few games will likely cement a playoff spot or hinder their chances at a Stanley Cup run. In the Blues’ case, their youth should propel them above their opponents, but only time will tell how they will react to having two-weeks between games.

Katlyn Gambill
NHLHS Featured Writer
kgambill@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @freezethepuck

In the beginning of the 2008-2009 season nobody in Arizona would think about trading away their top young player: Peter Mueller.  The former eighth overall selection potted 54 points in his rookie season, only two years after his draft year.

Fast forwarding a year and a half later and the kid seems to be lost.  A understandable sophomore slump continued into what now appears to be a brutal third season.  Mueller seems to be the only player adversely affected by the necessary coaching change, unable to adapt to coach Dave Tippett and his defensive system.

Through 45 games the 21-year-old managed 13 points, with only three of those touching the back of the net.  Ranger GM Glen Sather expressed interest in Mueller earlier in the year, offering a scavenger deal centered around Bobby Sanguinetti or Christopher Higgins.  While Sather might wish to fleece his former assistant and acquire the troubled young player, GM Don Maloney seems poised to receive fair value.

The Boston Bruins moved a similar player in Brad Boyes three trade deadlines ago.  At the time Boyes came off a career year only to fail to produce.  They team moved him for a similarly struggling yet established young player in Dennis Wideman.  The Coyotes most likely would require a young NHL player with similar success and experience to lessen the blow of losing a once bluechip prospect.

If he can regain his scoring touch Mueller may become a top talent in this league one day, as expected.  For one he needs to restore his confidence and playing on the third line will not do this.  When your linemates are Lauri Korpikoski and Robert Lang respectively, most players would not score 30 goals or more.

Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Editor
amonaghan@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @NHLHotStove

Central

• Tim Sassone of The Daily Herald writes on the success of the Sedin twins.  The Hawks face the Canucks tonight in what should be an exciting match.
• Recovering from an elbow to the face from Michael Ryder, Jacub Voracek will miss Saturday’s game.  For more injury information as well as starting goalies visit dailyfaceoff.com.
• With the Flames recent struggles the Red Wings find themselves back in playoff position. Things look up for them with the imminent return of Niklas Kronwall and Tomas Holmstrom next week and their return to a fluid puck possession style.  ”I am not worried one bit about us scoring goals,” said coach Mike Babcock.
• The Predators took an unprecedented 10 penalties leading to two powerplay goals for the Avalanche.  With the entire team’s fathers in attendance the team fell 2-1.
• Brad Boyes broke a month long goalless streak on Thursday.  ”Finally,” Boyes said. “It’s been a long time, huh?” Dan O’Neill compares his streak to the gestation period in a rabbit, pretty funny.

Northwest

• Are the Flames that same team that lost in last year’s first round? Head coach Brent Sutter shows his frustration with his team. “You look at what we’ve been through this year. There are ups and downs but, at some point, you need to figure it out. We’re at that point. It’s important that we do respond the right way. It can’t be a wishy-washy thing. Responding is the right wording for it. Actions speak louder than words. All the right things are being said but there has to be production,” said Sutter.
• The Avalanche hold on to the Division lead with an ugly win over the Predators.  ”It’s an ugly win, but it has to be an ugly win against them. They’re a tough team,” said Avs defender John-Michael Liles. The team squeaked by 2-1.
• Devan Dubnyk and the Oilers took a hard luck loss last night, falling 4-3 with less than a minute left in regulation. The rookie goaltender seemed disappointed in not locking down at least one point as James Neal potted the goal to seal the victory.
• The Wild lost the last four games, mostly due to starting the game slow. Brian Stensaas of The Star Tribune analyzes the teams first period woes.
• Ben Kuzma of The Province reports Kyle Wellwood returns to the lineup tonight.

Pacific

• Without Teemu Selanne, the Ducks powerplay continues to struggle.
• Tom Wandell recently injured his knee leaving the Stars with a gaping hole up the middle.  The team already misses Mike Ribeiro and will look at Steve Ott and Jamie Benn amongst others to fill the gap.
• LA Kings Insider with Rich Hammond runs down round three between the Kings and Red Wings.
• If Ilya Bryzgalov and the Coyotes win tonight they will surpass their win totals of two years ago.  The Russian netminder surely will break his career high of 27 wins this year.  Still Ovechkin and the Caps will not make it easy.
• Two familiar faces, Mike Grier and Craig Rivet, return to San Jose when the Sabres play the Sharks. Both players find success in Buffalo following their stints in California.

Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Senior Writer
amonaghan@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @NHLHotStove