Lots of news doing the rounds in the hockey world today, so here’s a quick recap of the most important headlines:
New Jersey
Not surprisingly, given their tired roster and insipid performance, the New Jersey Devils have fired their head coach Peter DeBoer, who was never able to recapture his first-season genius, the year that the Devils, with Martin Brodeur in goal, went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, losing in six games to a very good Los Angeles Kings outfit.
Long-time General Manager Lou Lamoriello – who some believe is the real problem in Newark, and should be following DeBoer out the door – has decided to fix the situation by hiring three coaches. Yep, that’s right, three. He’ll do some of the work himself, his third stint behind the Devils bench, and has recruited Devils legends Scott Stevens and Adam Oates, former assistant coaches in NJ at one time or another, to help shoulder the load.
Apparently the rest of this season is an audition, not just for the coaches, but for the players as well. The Devils have one of the worst rosters in all of hockey, with very few star players and not much in the cupboard in terms of young guns coming through the AHL. When your best player, Jaromir Jagr, is well into his forties, you know you’re not doing something right. Interestingly, Lamoriello plays a major part in the make-up of the roster, and he’s still hanging around…
New York Rangers
Just quietly (and pleasingly for me), the Rangers might be the best team in the NHL at the moment. Certainly, they’re right in the upper echelon. Henrik Lundqvist celebrated his 600th game in the Rangers net with a 3-1/19-save victory over the reeling Devils last night, thanks to a hat trick from Derek Stepan. That means the Broadway Blueshirts have won eight in a row, the longest Rangers winning streak in 40 years!
Barry Melrose, speaking on ESPN last night, thinks that this Rangers squad is a team of destiny – so there goes any chance we had of winning anything this year!
Washington
The Capitals are hitting their stride days before the Winter Classic outdoors at Nationals Park, beating their modern-day rival, Pittsburgh, 3-0 on Saturday, thanks to a rare two-goal game from Eric Fehr (who also did it against the Pens in the 2011 Winter Classic, so he’s a Pittsburgh specialist, apparently!) and a not-so-rare solid game between the pipes for Braden Holtby, the Capitals net-minder who is slowly becoming a real key part of this team. It’s the first time Washington has beaten Pittsburgh in nine attempts, dating right back to January 22, 2012.
There’s a lot to like about the Caps at the moment. Barry Trotz has got his team humming along on all cylinders, and if they continue in this vein, we could be watching the Caps deep into spring’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. I wouldn’t mind seeing Ovechkin hoist Lord Stanley.
As good as the Capitals look, the Chicago Blackhawks appear just as ominous, so the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day should be a corker. Speaking of...
Chicago
The Blackhawks saw defenseman Brent Seabrook break a second-period tie against Colorado on Saturday, and Patrick Kane scored twice in what was eventually a 5-2 win, and the Hawks continue to roll nicely as they head towards an outdoor collision with Ovechkin’s Capitals on New Year’s Day.
The fact that Seabrook, perhaps the team’s best blue liner – or certainly tied with Duncan Keith for that honour – is jumping into the offense is a scary proposition for other teams.
Indeed, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville thinks Seabrook is in career-best form. He has two goals and four assists in his last six games, and, like just about everyone else on the roster, is rolling. The Hawks might be the best team in the NHL at the moment.
Johnny Gaudreau
The kid they knew as Johnny Hockey when he was a Boston College Eagle winning Hobey Baker Awards is on a tear for the Calgary Flames. He’s netted six goals in the last three games, including his eleventh and twelfth of the season in a 4-1 victory over Edmonton, condemning the woeful Oilers to their ninth-straight loss. This kid has all the moves. He’s going to be a star.
Dallas
The Stars, who were tipped to be Western Conference contenders this season, had a shocking start to the season, but are now starting to turn things around. They’ve won five or their last six, and had won four straight before a pre-Christmas loss to Toronto.
Dallas’ latest win was a 4-3 triumph over St Louis (who have troubles of their own), and with the defensive end of the ice starting to play solidly to complement the ridiculous scoring power of Tyler Seguin, this is a team to keep an eye on heading towards April.
NHL Road To The Winter Classic
Sure, it’s no longer on HBO and people around the hockey world are searching high and low for the Epix Channel, but the signature Road to the Winter Classic documentary series, four episodes following the Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks in the lead-up (and immediate aftermath) of the Winter Classic game is nothing short of spectacular. It’s the sort of warts-and-all documentary series that other sports should learn from and emulate wherever possible.
The fact that cameras take fans everywhere, from medical rooms to inside players’ homes, putting us right amongst their family, helps turn guys like Ovechkin and Toews from just great hockey players into normal guys. Okay, maybe not normal like you and me, but the cameras show these superstars being themselves away from the rink, and it’s a great way for the NHL’s players to connect with their fans.
Special mention for the great unfiltered on-ice audio. You hear pretty much everything, and, for hockey nerds like myself, it’s fantastic. I can’t get enough of this doco. It’s one of the best parts of the Winter Classic.
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