A look back at the week that was in the NHL...
Stamkos:
Just a freak of nature, Steven Stamkos. Another 50-goal season and he's barely old enough to shave. The kid is 22 and he's scoring with insane ease. It seems simple enough going into a game against Tampa Bay: you just slow down Stamkos and you can win. It's easier said than done. Stamkos scored goals 49 and 50 on the season during the Lightning's 6-1 rout of Boston on Tuesday - they scored three goals in the first 5:00 against the Bruins, chasing back-up netminder Marty Turco and then Tim Thomas - and is in a neck-and-neck race with Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin for scoring lead. Tampa Bay are on the outer as far as a playoff appearance goes, but their disastrous early start had this season looking much, much worse than it has turned out to be. I shudder to imagine what Tampa's record would look like without Stamkos a part of their team.
Bryzgalov:
Remember the HBO 24/7 Road To The Winter Classic when Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov became something of an Internet sensation with verbal essays on the galaxy, tigers, vodka, defencemen and Siberian huskies looking like gorgeous women? Remember how he seemed to implode on the ice as his new found fame changed everything? Yeah, that was December January. This is March, and, finally, Bryzgalov is looking just like the sort of guy Flyers management envisioned him being when they threw truckloads of cash at the Russian during the summer. Gone are the TV hi jinks, and in it's place are shut-outs; many of them in March. As goalies like Tim Thomas seem to be slipping backwards around playoff time, Bryzgalov is on the way back up.
Islanders vs. Capitals:
The old adage that hockey is a sixty-minute game has never been more true - at least this week - than it was in the Washington vs. NY Islanders game. Out of the box, the Isles went on a tear. John Tavares thought he had a had-trick, and instead had a 3-point game (2G, 1 A) and his team was up 3-0 at 9:05 of the second period. From there, the Islanders, aside from a third-period tally, basically went to sleep. Alex Ovechkin led a remarkable Washington comeback, scoring two goals, and the Caps left Long Island with a 5-4 shoot-out win thanks to a Matt Hendricks winner. Remarkable collapse; remarkable comeback. Hard to know what's the bigger story.
Boston:
The week started badly for the Bruins, giving up a 6-1 decision to Tampa Bay and, continuing a bad Florida trend, let the Florida Panthers put 6 pucks into the net, losing that one 6-2, yanking recently-signed back-up Marty Turco for starter Tim Thomas, who didn't do much better and was replaced by Turco. Unfortunately for Bruins fans, Turco looked a lot like he did last year in Chicago. There's a reason he was playing in Europe, everyone. Oh, and does anyone else think that Tim Thomas looks barely a shadow of his 2011 Stanley Cup/Conn Smythe-winning self?
Then the defending Stanley Cup champions recorded a gusty win against Philadelphia and completely demolished Toronto, to sweep that season's series, outscoring the hapless Maple Leafs 36-10 in the process. I'm sure that every Bruins fan is wishing their team had a few more games to come against the Leafs. Maybe that's just what Tim Thomas needs to get back into some good form.
Crosby:
Yes, for a second time, Sidney Crosby is back on the ice for the Penguins, and even this Rangers fan is glad of the extra eyeballs that his return in time for the playoffs is sure to bring to the National Hockey League. I am not Crosby's biggest fan, not by a long-shot, but you need to have your most marketable and recognisable player doing what he does best, so from a league-wide standpoint, this is good. It's great for Pittsburgh, who're are stalking the Rangers in the East and are probably - as much as it pains me to say - the best team in the East. They might even be the best team in the entire NHL.
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