Ouch! Red Wings Lidstrom Suffers Broken Nose

Detroit Red Wings 6-time Norris trophy winner, Nicklas Lidstrom will miss 3 pre-season games after taking a puck in the schnaz in the Wings first pre-season game against Montreal Canadiens. Result? One broken nose for the allstar defenseman. Lidstrom is expected to miss three games but should be easily ready for Detroit's season opener.

Ovechkin, Nylander Both Score Twice as Caps Whip Canes

Alexander Ovechkin picked up where he left off last night scoring 2 goals and adding an assist as the Washington Capitals whipped the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2.

Michael Nylander also popped in 2 goals after missing a ton of games last year because of a shoulder injury. The Caps scored 3 third period goals to put away the Hurricanes for the second night in a row after beating Carolina 4-1 the previous night.

Dan LaCouture and Ryan Bayda both scored power play goals in the first period giving Carolina a 2-0 lead halfway through the period, but the Capitals knuckled down and shut down the Canes for the rest of the game. In the second period, Michael Nylander scored with assists to Ovechkin and Chris Bourque before Ovechkin scored on a penalty shot against Canes goalie Daniel Manzato at 14:52 in the second to tie the game.

The third period was all Washington as Nylander scored at 2:20, followed by Chris Bourque scoring at 6:08. Ovechkin scored the backbreaker at 12:51 with a power play goal with a quick shot through traffic from the point.

Last Year's Top 10 Goalies Prepare For the New Season

As a new hockey season approaches, last year's top goaltenders are getting prepared to do battle once more. Here's a list of last year's top 10 and what they're up to. Some have retired and some have been traded, but all will have their eyes on the prize: the Stanley Cup.

1. Chris Osgood - Detroit Red Wings. Last Year: 27 Wins, 9 Losses 2.09 GAA. Coming off last year's 14-4 playoff record and Cup victory, Osgood has re-established himself as the Red Wing's number one goalie.
2. Jean-Sebastien Giguere - Anaheim Ducks. Last Year: 35 Wins, 17 Losses 2.12 GAA. Giguere posted his 33rd playoff victory during last year's playoffs.
3. Evgeni Nabokov - San Jose Sharks. Last Year: 46 Wins, 21 Losses, 2.14 GAA. Nabokov had a good year last season and was named as a Vezina Trophy finalist.
4. Dominik Hasek - Detroit Red Wings. Last Year: 27 Wins, 10 Losses, 2.14 GAA. Retiring last June at age 43, legendary goaltender Hasek is now out of the picture.
5. Martin Brodeur - New Jersey Devils. Last Year: 44 Wins, 27 Losses, 2.17 GAA. Brodeur enters the 2008-09 poised to overtake Patrick Roy in most career wins and possibly shatter HOFer Terry Sawchuk's career shutout mark if he can get 8 shutouts during the season.
6. Henrik Lundqvist - New York Rangers. Last Year: 37 Wins, 24 Losses, 2.23 GAA. Lundqvist, 26, enters the 2008-09 season as an 3-year veteran and a goalie on the rise. Likely to move up the list this year.
7. Pascal Leclaire - Columbus Blue Jackets. Last Year: 24 Wins, 17 Losses, 2.25 GAA. Leclaire, 25, has brought his GAA down from 3.23 in 2005-06 to a very repectable 2.25 while playing for the Blue Jackets. Another youthful goalie to keep an eye on.
8. Niklas Backstrom - Minnesota Wild. Last Year: 33 Wins, 13 Losses, 2.31 GAA. Backstrom turned 30 but he has only been in the NHL 2 years. Expect him to stick around with the Wild. They'll need a steady hand in goal this year.
9. Marty Turco - Dallas Stars. Last Year: 32 Wins, 21 Losses, 2.31 GAA. Turco, 33, has an impressive 33 career shutouts with the Stars and a career won-loss record of 207-103. Expect more of the same.
10.Cristobal Huet - Chicago Blackhawks. Last Year: 32 Wins, 14 Losses, 2.32 GAA. Huet, 33, spent last year with Montral and Washington before being snapped up by the rising Blackhawks. Expect to see Chicago use Huet like a workhorse.

Steve Stamkos Suits Up For 1st Game With Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning's number one draft pick, Steve Stamkos, will be getting ready to play in his first NHL pre-season game tonight when the Lightning play Sidney Crosby and the Penguins at 7:30pm at Pittsburgh.

Stamkos had a great year last season with the OHL's Sarnia Sting with 58 goals and 105 points and it looks like the Lightning might keep him with the big club this year. He helped Canada win gold at the 2008 World Junior Championships with 6 points during his seven games. Stamkos hopes to emulate the season Patrick Kane enjoyed last year which resulted in Kane being named Rookie of the Year and being awarded the Calder Trophy.

Often compared to the likes of Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Patrick Kane, Stamkos states he just wants to stick with the Lightning and downplays such comparisons. Stamkos points to how Kane, along with Sam Gagne and Jonathan Toews were able to step in and produce some good numbers as how he hopes to approach the season.

Def Leppard To Appear At NHL Face-Off Rocks 2008 During Red Wings Home Opener

When the Detroit Red Wings have their home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday October 9, hockey fans at the game will have the classic rock group Def Leppard performance beamed in for the pre-game show. This will be part of the show also being held the same day called NHL Face-Off Rocks 2008. Kinda different than the usual boring banner raising that usually happens each year don't you think?

Tickets for the show cost $35-$45 and go on sale starting September 22 at 10am eastern time for the show titled NHL Face-Off Rocks 2008 which will be held at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. Fans in attendance with be treated to a broadcast of the Red Wings home opener and banner raising festivities, a performance by Def Leppard and "a soon-to-be-announced" special guest.

Teemu Selanne Signs on with Ducks

It looks like Teemu Selanne is getting ready for one more go around with the Anaheim Ducks. Selanne signed a tryout agreement with the Ducks and will skate with the team during training camp.

The former scoring ace has had some difficulty putting the puck into the net as last year he had only 12 goals and 11 assists in 26 games with the Ducks. Selanne's currently sitting at 23rd in alltime goalscoring in the NHL with 552 and he is 4th among active players.

Sabres Sign Sniper Jason Pominville to 5-Year Extension

The Buffalo Sabres finally snapped up 26-year-old Jason Pomiville to a 5-year, $26.5 million contract. Pominville, who had averaged about a point a game last year was set to become an unrestricted free agent had the Sabres not ponied up. Pominville had been making about one million per season until he picked up his game last year, which made him one of the best deals for any team in the league given his point production.

Pominville finished second on the team in scoring last season, posting career-highs with 80 points, with 27 goals along with 53 assists. He was also a team-high plus-16 and played in all 82 games for the second consecutive season. He also was a finalist for the NHL's Lady Byng Trophy.

Lightning Restore Vincent Lecavalier To Captain Status

Vincent Lecavalier, 28, has been named Team Captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the upcoming season. A 6-foot-4, 219-pound native of Ile Bizard, Quebec, Lecavalier has scored at least 32 goals in his past five NHL seasons. The franchise's All-Time Leading Scorer was previously captain for 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons.

Now in his 11th season with Tampa Bay, Lacavalier leads the Lightning after having scored 273 goals and 602 points in 710 games. Lecavalier posted 40 goals and 92 points in 81 games in 2007-08, becoming the first Tampa Bay player to record back to back seasons of 40 goals or more.

That came on the heels of his 52-goal season in 2006-07 which earned him the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal scorer. Tim Taylor served as Lightning captain the past two seasons, preceded by Dave Andreychuk (2002-03 to 2005-06).

John Tavares Prepares For One Last Season of Junior Hockey

Last season, Tavares broke Wayne Gretzky’s Ontario Hockey League record for goals as a 16-year-old, scoring 72 in 67 games in the top level of junior hockey. This is the season when he laces up his skates for the Oshawa Generals for the last time before he gets drafted in the spring. Tavares is expected to be snapped up as the number one draft choice and another stellar season with Oshawa will only increase the expectations. Anytime someone approaches the Great One's scoring records, let alone actually bests them, it will draw a lot of attention.

The 6 foot, 183-pound Tavares is already getting put into the "Next One" category and that kind of hype can wreck a player. Look what all the hype did to Alexandre Daigle. There are lots of number one picks who just never make the jump to the big leagues or become standard, journeyman-type players. Others blossom and others taken much further down in the draft surprise.

Ducks Mathieu Schneider Clears Waivers, Skips Camp

39-year-old Matthieu Schneider remains with the Anaheim Ducks after he cleared waivers. But it appears that Schneider has decided to skip the Ducks training camp and could be traded by the Ducks. His agent says that "Something is imminent accrding to the team, so there's no point in coming." The Ducks appear to be trying to free up some money to get Teemu Selanne signed. Looks like Anaheim feels the veteran defenseman could be a good fit for a team looking for a solid if rapidly aging player to fill a hole in the defensive depth chart.

The problem? Being 39 years old, Schneider needs to be moved quickly because other younger, cheaper bodies will be available. Schneider has already been with seven teams including Montreal, New York Islanders, Toronto, New York Rangers, Los Angeles, Detroit and Anaheim. He has played 1,197 regular season games and career totals of 212 goals and 490 assists. Last year, Schneider played in 65 games for the Ducks, and scored 12 goals and 27 assists with a solid plus-22 rating. He appeared in all six Anaheim playoff games, popping in one goal and posting a minus-3.

Toronto Maple Leafs Look To The Future

With the expected absence of Mats Sundin and the general housecleaning by general manager Cliff Fletcher, the Toronto Maple Leafs face the new season with a pretty bare cupboard. What does it look like for the Leafs in the short term? Grim according to most observers. Toronto may be the only team where you need to remind the fans that the team isn’t as good as fans think. History shows that very few risky player moves work out. If they did, you would be clutching your Raycroft rookie card right now. Here's who has left in the offseason:

Goalie Scott Clemmensen to New Jersey Devils
Defenseman Jay Harrison off to Europe
Center/Right Wing John Pohl also to Europe
Goalie Andrew Raycroft to Colorado Avalanche
Center Mats Sundin MIA somewhere in Sweden
Right/Left Wing Darcy Tucker to Colorado Avalanche
Center Kyle Wellwood to Vancouver Canucks
Defenseman Bryan McCabe to the Florida Panthers

And the big names added to the Leafs roster? Um, well... I can also see the headline back in Colorado "Avalanche Gives Leafs The Finger."

Defenseman Jeff Finger from Colorado Avalanche
Center Mikhail Grabovski from Montreal
Left/Right Wing Niklas Hagman from Dallas Stars
Right/Left Wing Jamal Mayers from St. Louis Blues
Right Wing Greg Scott signed as a free agent
Center Tim Stapleton from Europe
Goalie Curtis Joseph (again?) from Calgary Flames
Defenseman Mike Van Ryn from Florida Panthers
Coach Ron Wilson

Under-promise and over-deliver. The Maple Leafs will be woeful this season and for the forseeable future. But the faithful will continue to stream through the gates to see a mediocre team game after game. Meanwhile more and more Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins caps and jerseys will continue to appear on the streets of Toronto.

Of course when (When? Don't you mean if?) the Leafs finally win a Cup and end their 40-year and counting drought, all the Leaf fans will come out of the wood work to say I told ya so. Just don't count on it happening this season. I'd probably hide out in Sweden too if I saw what was coming this year in Leaf Land.

Mike Richards Confirmed as Flyers New Captain

Mike Richards has been considered as a possible candidate for captain of the Philadelphia Flyers since he was drafted in the first round back in 2003. Now in his fourth year with the Flyers that time is now. The 23-year-old Richards has been named as the 17th team captain by general manager Paul Holmgren.

Richards signed a 12-year contract with Philadelphia last December so you can expect him to be skating for them for years to come, which is a nice change from recent history for Flyer captains as they burned through 4 team captains in the last four years. Last year's captain, Jason Smith, left after signing during the offseason with the Ottawa Senators.

Richards was named to the NHL Eastern Conference All-Star team in 2008 and was awarded with the Bobby Clarke Trophy after last season as team MVP. Richards also led the Flyers last year with 75 points, and 47 assists. Alternate captains for the 2008-09 season will be Simon Gagne and Kimmo Timonen.

Rod Brind'Amour Undergoes Knee Surgery

Carolina Hurricanes team captain Rod Brind'Amour went under the knife Sept 15th to remove some torn cartilage. Brind'Amour had reconstructive surgery last February on the same knee when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament and was lost to the Canes for the rest of last season. He expects to be ready for the start of the season when the Carolina plays their first game Friday October 10th against the Florida Panthers.

A seasoned veteran, Rod Brind'Amour has 427 regular season goals and 1,114 points up til this season. He also, led the Carolina Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup win in 2005-06 over the Edmonton Oilers.

Sid the Kid As A Young Minor League Star

There's a great YouTube video of the great Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby from when he was really Sid the Kid. It shows him playing hockey as a little guy just barely on skates up to his junior days. If you are a Crosby fan, you need to see this. His moves were beginning to take shape even then. Sorry, about the rave, but really, you should see why he had all the hype as a youngster. Here's a good Sidney Crosby tribute site for the Crosby fans.

Brodeur About to Surpass Patrick Roy in Career Wins

Martin Brodeur is poised to pass Hockey Hall of Famer Patrick Roy as the winningest goalie in National Hockey League history this season. Brodeur needs only 14 wins to pass Roy's benchmark of 551 total wins and become the all-time leader for total wins. He is also about to become only the 2nd goalie to have played in 1,000 games in his career. The four-time Vezina Trophy winner will also surpass Roy's 1,029 total games played and become the all-time leader for goalies in games played as well if he suits up for only 32 games for the New Jersey Devils this year, and he hasn't played in fewer than 62 games since his rookie year.

Brodeur to Pass Legendary Terry Sawchuk for Most Career Shutouts

But the most amazing thing Brodeur is likely to accomplish is snapping Terry Sawchuk's unbreakable record for most career shutouts. HOFer Sawchuk recorded 103 shutouts in his career and many (including me) thought that no one would approach such a lofty record. Brodeur needs only 8 more shutouts to complete the previous unthinkable. I don't think he will break Sawchuk's record this season, but I'd love to see it happen. Can you imagine the buildup to that moment? Maybe he has 7 shutouts for the season and its the last game of the season with the Devils up 1-0 and the seconds counting down... Magic. Watch for it.

Will Detroit Red Wings Repeat? I Think So

The Detroit Red Wings will likely repeat as Stanley Cup champions again in the 2008-09 playoffs. I'm making this bold statement now so I'll appear as the first to make this prediction. I know, I know, every Red Wing fan has been saying this since Bettman handed over the hardware after the Wings polished off the Penguins earlier this year, but I'm putting it on paper (... er, on the web).

Make no mistake. I am a Bruins fan and live and die with Boston, but I am willing to give a nod to a team that I feels is head and shoulders above the rest. I'd love to see the Bruins hoisting the mug in Boston, but I'm more of a realist. There's always hope of course, but harsh reality has a way of crushing pre-season dreams like Scott Stevens on Lindros (remember that hit?).

Nicklas Lidstrom, Zetterberg and Datysuk and the boys are going to win it in 2009. You've been warned.