For one, it was a long-time coming, and the other, well, he was just happy to have the opportunity to play after a surprise re-call.

Cody Hodgson

The former Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League finally made his awaited debut with the Vancouver Canucks, skating on a line with Tanner Glass and Aaron Volpatti in a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars.

The 10th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Hodgson did not look out of place, playing 15 shifts with 9:52 of ice-time and two shots, while winning two of nine face-off opportunities.

Halfway through the first period, with Stephane Robidas in the penalty box, Hodgson got some time on the second power play unit with Mason Raymond and Alex Burrows.  After deflecting a shot from the point standing in front of the net, Hodgson almost slid one through the legs of goaltender Kari Lehtonen, but was stopped point blank.

Hodgson said after the game that he felt healthy and strong, and that he had fun in his first NHL game.

“It’s a dream come true to play in the National Hockey League and to be able to get that opportunity.  I just took it all in, I enjoyed it and it was a good time.”

It wasn’t all fun however, as he was given rookie treatment, not just once, but twice as the Canucks hid his helmet before the game, forcing Hodgson to skate the pre-game warm up – solo at first – without a bucket.

“We thought his first game he had to play with a cage so we’d let him skate in the warm up and let the fans be able to see his face and what he looks like,” Alex Burrows said of the prank post-game.

He was quick to compliment the soon to be 21-year old however.

“He’s a big part of our future and he’s playing right now for us and he’s doing a good job.”

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Scott Timmins

It was another dream come true for a former OHL’er Tuesday night, as Scott Timmins, three-time OHL champion and two-time Memorial Cup champion with the Windsor Spitfires, played his first NHL game for the Florida Panthers against his childhood team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With center Shawn Matthias out with a broken ankle, Timmins was re-called from the Rochester Americans of the AHL, in what was – to him anyways – a bit of a surprise move by the club.

“I did not expect this at all. It’s just amazing to be here,” said Timmins to the media in attendance at the ACC.  “Every Saturday night, I was watching the Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada. This is really exciting. I think I’ve had a pretty solid season in Rochester and this is a little reward. If I get into a game or two, I have to make the most of it.”

And make the most of it he did.

Even though there wasn’t as much fanfare as Hodgson’s debut in Vancouver, Timmins was solid playing center in a fourth line checking role, finishing with 14 shifts, a total of 10:25 of ice-time, and two penalty minutes.

The statistic that stood out the most however?  His 75% success rate on face-offs, good for tops on the team, and something that could help him stick with the big club for a little while longer.

Timmins, a sixth-round pick of the Panthers in 2009, has 10 goals and 21 points in his first season with the Americans, good for sixth in team scoring.

Panthers coach Peter DeBoer – who is the former coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers where Timmins played for 2.5 seasons before being traded to the Spitfires – knows what he can bring to the table; speed, smarts, and the willingness to go into the dirty areas of the ice.

“I’m real familiar with him,” DeBoer said in his post-game comments. “He’s capable of transitioning here. We need a center. We don’t even have a lot of wingers who are comfortable playing there.”

That familiarity could keep Timmins in the line-up.  At least, for the next little while.

The members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists. The winner will be announced Wednesday, June 23, during the 2010 NHL Awards that will be broadcast live from the Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms Hotel Las Vegas on VERSUS in the United States and on CBC in Canada.

Following are the finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy, in alphabetical order:

Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

Datsyuk is seeking to become the first player in League history to win five straight Lady Byng Trophies — New York Rangers legendary center Frank Boucher won it seven out of eight years from 1928 through 1935, including four straight seasons from ’28 through ’31. Brilliant at both ends of the ice, Datsyuk led Detroit in scoring for the fifth straight season and led the NHL in takeaways for third time in the past four seasons with a career-high 132. He is a finalist to win the Selke Trophy as the League’s top defensive forward for the third straight season. Datsyuk was one of only three of the League’s top 30 scorers this season who had fewer than 20 penalty minutes.

Brad Richards, Dallas Stars

Richards won the Lady Byng Trophy in 2004, shortly after capturing the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He also was a runner-up to Datsyuk for the award in 2006. Seventh in the League in scoring this season with 91 points and fourth in the NHL with 67 assists, Richards was assessed only 14 penalty minutes while playing an average of 20:51 per game and appearing in 80 games. Consistently among the League’s least penalized and most productive players, Richards was named to the 2000-01 All-Rookie Team and won the 2004 Conn Smythe Award as playoffs MVP while never amassing more than 32 PIMs in any of his nine NHL seasons.

Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning

St. Louis has been the runner-up to Datsyuk for the Lady Byng Trophy the last three seasons. The Tampa Bay winger had a superb 2009-10 season, ranking sixth in the League in scoring with 94 points, the second-highest total of his 11-year NHL career. His 12 penalty minutes were the fewest among the League’s top 50 scorers and the fewest among the 88 players who appeared in all 82 games. The winner of the Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy in Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup season of 2003-04, St. Louis has eclipsed 30 penalty minutes in a season only twice in a career that has seen him score 30 goals five times and appear in five NHL All-Star Games.

History

Lady Byng, wife of Canada’s Governor-General at the time, presented the Lady Byng Trophy during the 1924-25 season. After Frank Boucher of the New York Rangers won the award seven times in eight seasons, he was given the trophy to keep and Lady Byng donated another trophy in 1936. After Lady Byng’s death in 1949, the National Hockey League presented a new trophy, changing the name to the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.

Announcement Schedule

The NHL will announce the three finalists for each of its awards daily. The remaining announcement schedule:

Thursday, April 22    Calder Memorial Trophy (top rookie)
Friday, April 23    James Norris Memorial Trophy (top defenseman)
Monday, April 26    Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (perseverance and dedication to hockey)
Tuesday, April 27    NHL Foundation Player Award (contributions to charitable causes)
Wednesday, April 28    Jack Adams Award (top head coach)
Thursday, April 29    Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP)

So why has his offence all of a sudden improved to the point where he was the NHL player of the month in March?

You can call it the curse of the Leafs, you can say it was a lack of chemistry, or you could just call it a strange fluke. Heck, you could call it all three. The fact of the matter is that Stempniak is not the first player to enjoy success elsewhere after floundering in Toronto.  And he will not be the last.

Alex Steen has bulged the twine 24 times in 65 games this season while the best he mustered in Toronto was 18 in his rookie year. He was given every chance to play with some skilled players – including Mats Sundin – but he simply couldn’t get it done. So this begs the question of why?

The problem herein lies with the Maple Leafs ability to make mediocre players good and good players mediocre. Take for example players like Darcy Tucker, Matt Stajan and Jonas Hoglund.

On a successful team they would fit the bill as a “role player”, not a first liner. Tucker was able to amass five 20+ goals seasons while with the blue and white yet he still hasn’t scored 16 goals in two seasons combined with Colorado.

Stajan is another example of a mediocre player who has been labeled as a great player. To his credit, Stajan played hard for Toronto and managed to stay injury free, but he is not a first line centre. The Calgary Flames found this out the hard way and it was a contributing reason to them missing the playoffs. Even Hoglund went from averaging 13 goals a year to averaging almost 20 for the Leafs.

Do you think Tuuka Rask would have 17 wins and the second best GAA in the league if he still played for Toronto? Highly doubtful. He more than likely would have taken a similar route to Justin Pogge and had his confidence shattered by playing for a bottom dwelling team with a terrible all-around game.  Do you think Brad Boyes would have scored 26 goals in his rookie season in Toronto? Not a chance.

Compare these prospects to veterans who were passed their prime when they came to Toronto but managed to put up respectable numbers. Jason Allison had 60 points after taking three years off of professional hockey. Despite not leading the Leafs to the Stanley Cup, Ed Belfour won 37 games in the 2002-03 season for the first time since 1997-98 with the Dallas Stars.

There are plenty of examples of this anomaly but few explanations. Perhaps it is fitting that mediocre players achieve hero status in Toronto. After all, the Maple Leafs seem to be very content with mediocrity.

At the end of the day it all comes down to motivation. The good players are not motivated to play in Toronto despite what they say. They get paid big bucks to play in front of a packed house that apparently doesn’t care whether the team wins or loses.

Meanwhile, the mediocre players need to step up their game to play their way out of Toronto. So kudos to the over achievers in Stajan, Alex Ponikarovski and Ian White; you played well enough to get out of Toronto.

Hopefully you can achieve success elsewhere but history would beg to differ.

For Open Ice Hockey, I’m Mike Zelek – Please Enjoy Responsibly

Then with just over 30 seconds left, the heart and soul (and captain) of the Flames, Jarome Iginla took a shot from the side of the crease and raised his arms in celebration as the referee signaled goal. The players, coaches and fans of the home team erupted. The players hugged, the normally stern faced coaches were cheering and each fan tried their best to high five every other fan within reach. It was like the Flames fed off the crowd’s excitement and used it to tie the game. Unfortunately upon review the goal was called back and the Flames flickered. On this night it was not meant to be, but the Flames faithful will be back.

It didn’t take long for me, a life long Leafs fan, to realize that this game would be different than any game I had attended at the ACC or the late Maple Leaf Gardens. They call the area around the Pengrowth Saddledome the “Sea of Red” and for good reason: almost everyone is wearing a red Flames jersey. I didn’t think the Sea would be too impressive for an insignificant regular season game but this Sea of Red was so strong that not even Moses could part it.

The Sea of Red was reiterated during the Star Spangled Banner when all the fans shouted out “Sea” as the singer said “Oh say can you SEE”. This was followed by a shout of “Red” when “the rockets RED glare”. There was no bulletin or message on the screen for fans to do this, it is just common knowledge (little did I know). When it came time for the Canadian National anthem the Flames faithful joined the anthem singer in a rendition of Oh Canada that would have given Stephen Colbert goose bumps. It was no wonder that Calgary got off to a fast start that game. The excitement from the crowd was contagious and only amplified by the pregame ceremony honoring Iginla and Daymond Langkow’s 1000th games in the NHL.

Aside from the Sea of Red, what really differentiated the Flames faithful from the Leafs was the type of people in the crowd. Instead of being surrounded by people in suits who drink lattes and talk business, it seemed as though the majority of the fans would have sold their soul just to be at the game. They were perceptive enough to distinguish a good shift from a bad one and their prolonged applause let the Flames know when their strong effort was appreciated. I expected to see lots of Flames jerseys but what surprised me was that many of the fans around me had jerseys without their star players on it.

Sure there were plenty of Iginla and Kiprusoff jerseys, but what impressed me was the amount of role players who were on the back of sweaters. Mark Giordano, Curtis Glencross, Robyn Regher and Dustin Boyd were among some of the lesser known players who had earned their way onto the back of a jersey. This was in addition to the throng of great Flames from the past like Roberts, Niewendyk and even little Theo Fleury.

With the Flames being down one and only minutes to play I was fully expecting people to begin to leave to beat the traffic. Once again, I am a Leafs fan and I am used to seeing this scene play out at NHL games. Hardly a soul left the building as the Flames still had work to do and the fans were with them until the bitter end. Regrettably for the Flames, crowd support cannot win you hockey games. After an empty net goal they ended up losing 3-1 and only then did the crowd disperse.

The support that I witnessed certainly helped them gain momentum which in turn increased their chances of winning. A lack of scoring and two “too many men” penalties proved too costly. For crying out loud, even the Montreal Alouettes only got called for too many men once.

Nonetheless, the Flames got doused by Dallas and continued their mediocre season. But you can bet that come playoff time that no opposing team will feel comfortable coming to the Saddledome. The Sea of Red has been known to overflow in April and May and has claimed the playoff dreams of many hockey teams in the process.

For now only one question remains; can the Flames feed off the crowd to even qualify for the playoffs?

For OpenIceHockey, I’m Mike Zelek.

If someone were to ask you what the most competitive division in the National Hockey League (NHL) was, how would you respond?

There is the ever famous Northeast division with the Toronto, Montreal, and Boston rivalry; the Northwest division with the ongoing rivalries between the teams in Western Canada and the Pacific division with all the teams anyone hardly notices.

To answer the question, it is the conference that people tend to ignore, the Pacific division, that is the toughest in the Western Conference.

For starters you have the San Jose Sharks leading the league in points. Not only are they in first place but they also have three of the top ten leading point scorers and one of the better goalies in Evgeni Nabokov (3^rd in save percentage, 4^th in GAA and 2^nd in wins). The Sharks have been a serious contender for the past couple of seasons and seem to be one of the favorites again this year to win the Stanley Cup.

The Anaheim Ducks are another great team that are out of the Pacific Division. After only making the playoffs twice in their first nine seasons, the Ducks have since made the playoffs five times in the last six seasons. Of those last five playoff visits, the Ducks have won the Stanley Cup (2007), made it to the Conference finals (2004), and the Cup finals (2003), only to come up just a bit short.

If the season were to end today three teams from the Pacific Division would make the playoffs (Sharks, Coyotes and Kings) followed closely by the Stars and Ducks. From first to last place within the division, all five teams are only separated by 23 points, as of Jan 24, 2010. This is the closest differential in the Western Conference, which is surprising when you consider it’s home to the first place team in the NHL with 78 points.

Supporting their clear dominance not only in the Western Conference, but within the entire league, the Pacific division generates the second greatest number of NHL Olympians with 27. The Central division has the most with 28 followed by the Pacific with 27, Northeast (24), Atlantic (21), Northwest (21) and the Southeast (19).

The Sharks look to be good for years to come; the Coyotes and Kings have their young talent blooming; and the Stars and Ducks seem to always a threat come playoff time, making this the more competitive division in the NHL today.

For OpenIceHockey, I’m your voice of reason, Greg Weeks

FIRST STAR — JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER, RW, NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Langenbrunner tallied six points last week (five goals, one assist), helping the Devils (29-10-1) win three of four games. Langenbrunner recorded one assist in a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers Dec. 28, notched one goal in a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Dec. 30 and tallied his club’s only score in a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks Dec. 31. The 34-year-old Cloquet, Minnesota native was honored with his second career selection to the United States Olympic Team Jan. 1 and celebrated a trip to his home state by recording his first career NHL hat trick in a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild Jan. 2. Langenbrunner ranks second on the Devils in scoring with 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 40 games, a pace that would challenge his single-season career high of 69 set with the Devils last season.

SECOND STAR — MIKE SMITH, G, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Smith stopped 89 of 93 shots in posting a 2-0-1 record with a 1.31 goals-against average and.957 save percentage as the Lightning (16-15-10) moved within one point of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Smith recorded 31 saves in a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins Dec. 28, stopped 33 shots in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens Dec. 30 and finished the week by making 25 saves in a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Jan. 2. Smith has posted a 9-10-6 record with a 2.89 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and one shutout in 25 appearances this season.

THIRD STAR — LOUI ERIKSSON, LW, DALLAS STARS

Eriksson scored five goals last week, helping the Stars (18-12-11) win two of three games. Eriksson recorded one goal in a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Dec. 29, notched his second career hat trick, including the game-winning goal, in a 5-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks Dec. 31 and tallied his club’s only goal in a 3-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks Jan. 2. Eriksson ranks second on the Stars in scoring with 40 points (17 goals, 23 assists) in 41 games, on pace to easily eclipse his career high of 63 points set last season with the Stars. He earned his first career selection to the Swedish Olympic Team Dec. 27.

As the 1,230-game schedule passes the quarter mark with tonight’s games, seven clubs that did not qualify for the 2008-09 Stanley Cup Playoffs currently hold a top-eight Conference position – four in the Western Conference (#2 Colorado, #4 Los Angeles, #7 Phoenix and #8 Dallas) and three in the East (#3 Buffalo, #6 Ottawa and #7 Tampa Bay). The Islanders and Thrashers are a whisker behind the Eastern pack through a first quarter-season that saw outstanding individual and team performances along with stunning last-minute, game-changing dramatics.

Just a few of the highlights through the season’s first 300 games:

Fantastic Freshmen

* 2009 #1 overall pick John Tavares of the New York Islanders (age 19), leads all rookies and his club in scoring with 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 21 games. Tavares also leads all rookies in goals, power-play goals (four) and shots (64).

* 2009 #2 overall pick Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning (18) leads all rookies and ranks second on his club in average ice time per game (23:59). Only one other rookie, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers, has logged an average over 20 minutes (21:19).

* 2009 #3 overall pick Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche (18) has appeared in each of his club’s 22 games and ranks second to Tavares among rookie forwards in average ice time per game (17:09). He has tallied nine points (two goals, seven assists), including one shorthanded goal, and is tied for third on the club in shots (41).

* 2009 #4 overall pick Evander Kane of the Atlanta Thrashers (18) has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 18 games, including three game-winning goals. He has posted a +8 rating, just behind rookie leader Ryan O’Reilly of the Colorado Avalanche (+9).

* 2009 #33 overall pick Ryan O’Reilly of the Colorado Avalanche (18) ranks fourth on his club in scoring with 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 22 games and leads all rookies in plus-minus (+9).

* 2007 #2 overall pick James van Riemsdyk of the Philadelphia Flyers (20) is scoring at more than a point-per-game pace in his first NHL season, ranking second to Tavares among rookies with 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 15 games. He also shares the NHL lead in game-winning goals (four), shares the rookie lead in assists and is tied for second among rookies in plus-minus (+8).

* 2008 #12 overall pick Tyler Myers of the Buffalo Sabres (19) ranks second among rookies and on his club in average ice time per game (21:19) and is third among rookie defensemen in scoring with nine points (three goals, six assists).

* 2008 #20 overall pick Michael Del Zotto of the New York Rangers (19) leads all rookie defensemen in scoring with 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 21 games, a 58-point pace over a full season. The last rookie defenseman to record as many as 50 points in a season was the New York Islanders’ Vladimir Malakhov in 1992-93 (14-38–52).

Super Sophomores

* 2008 #1 overall pick Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning (19) has 14 goals, just one off the NHL lead. Going back to last season, when he led all rookies in scoring over the second half, Stamkos has scored 23 goals in his past 32 regular-season games.

* 2008 #2 overall pick Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings (19), in his second NHL season, ranks fifth among NHL defensemen in scoring with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 23 games.

* 2008 #3 overall pick Zach Bogosian of the Atlanta Thrashers (19), also in his second NHL season, leads all NHL defensemen in goals with eight.

Amazing Finishes

There were two more last-minute, game-tying goals last night, increasing the tally during the first quarter of the season to 15. Erik Cole of the Carolina Hurricanes scored at 19:57 in a 6-5 shootout win over Toronto and Maxim Afinogenov of the Atlanta Thrashers tallied at 19:18 in a 4-3 shootout loss to Boston.

Cole’s was the fifth game-tying goal to come with fewer than three seconds remaining in regulation. Rene Bourque of the Calgary Flames cashed in at 19:58 in a 4-3 shootout win at Edmonton Oct. 8, Chris Phillips of the Ottawa Senators connected at 19:58 in a 6-5 overtime loss to Nashville Oct. 22, Travis Zajac of the New Jersey Devils scored at 19:59 in a 4-3 shootout win against Tampa Bay Oct. 8 and Bill Guerin of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored at 19:59 against Boston Nov. 14.

No lead was safe in the season’s first quarter. The Hurricanes’ shootout victory over Toronto last night marked the fifth time that a team won a game it had trailed by three or more goals and was the 36th winning comeback from a two-goal deficit. The most dramatic comeback occurred Oct. 12, when the Chicago Blackhawks allowed five goals in a span of 5:29 during the first period vs. Calgary but roared back with six unanswered tallies for a 6-5 victory. It was the biggest comeback in Blackhawks history and tied the NHL record for the biggest deficit overcome.

Colorado Avalanche Revival

Starting the season with a new general manager (Greg Sherman), new head coach (Joe Sacco), new starting goaltender (Craig Anderson) and a pair of 18-year-olds (Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly) after placing 28th overall in 2008-09, the Colorado Avalanche lead the Northwest Division (13-6-3). Anderson has appeared in 20 of Colorado’s 22 games, posting a 12-5-3 record with a 2.40 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.

Phoenix Rising

The Phoenix Coyotes (12-9-1) are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race despite a turbulent off-season. Head coach Dave Tippett, who joined the club less than a week before the start of the regular season, has the Coyotes on pace to post their lowest goals-against average in a decade and third-lowest in franchise history (2.43).

Return of the Kings

Led by fourth-year center Anze Kopitar, the Los Angeles Kings (13-8-2) are making a serious run at their first playoff berth since 2002. Kopitar leads the NHL in scoring with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists), recording points in 18 of 23 games. It took the 22-year-old Slovenia native 40 games to reach to his current point total last season (Jan. and 50 games to reach his goal total (Feb. 5).

Sabres Top Northeast

The Buffalo Sabres have surged to the top of the Northeast Division thanks to the goaltending of Ryan Miller and a balanced scoring attack. Miller is tied for the League lead in victories (12-3-1) and ranks second overall in goals-against average (1.97) and save percentage (.931). The club’s top seven goal scorers are separated by just two goals (Clarke MacArthur, Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek have six; Tim Connolly, Paul Gaustad, Jason Pominville and Derek Roy have four).

Thrashers Flying In Southeast

A veteran star and key waiver acquisition have helped the Atlanta Thrashers (10-6-2) post the Eastern Conference’s sixth-best points percentage. Left wing Ilya Kovalchuk, who tallied his 300th career goal Oct. 8 at St. Louis, is off to the best start of his eight-year NHL career with 13 goals in 12 games. A supporting cast led by center Rich Peverley kept the club in contention during Kovalchuk’s six-game absence with a foot injury. Peverley, acquired on waivers last season, leads the club in scoring with 8-15–23 in 18 games.

Red Wings Seek Another Century

The Detroit Red Wings have won eight consecutive division titles, one short of the NHL record set by the Colorado Avalanche from 1994-95 through 2002-03, and are vying to extend their NHL record of nine consecutive 100-point seasons.

Canadiens Work Overtime

The Montreal Canadiens are 8-0 past the 60-minute mark (4-0 in overtime, 4-0 in shootouts). The Canadiens could challenge the mark of the 2007-08 Edmonton Oilers, who recorded the most combined overtime/shootout wins in a season (19). The Oilers went 4-2 in overtime and 15-4 in shootouts.

Gaborik A Hit on Broadway

Five-time 30-goal scorer Marian Gaborik is off to the best start of his nine-year NHL career in his first season on Broadway. Gaborik shares the League lead in goals with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (15) and in power-play goals with San Jose’s Dany Heatley (seven). He has recorded points in 17 of 19 games and ranks second in the League scoring race (15-12–27), five behind Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar (14-18–32).

Oilers’ Penner A Force

6-4, 245 lb. Edmonton Oilers left wing Dustin Penner is on pace to smash single season career highs in all offensive categories. Penner leads the Oilers in scoring with 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 22 games and also has posted the club’s top plus-minus figure (+11). Penner tallied 37 points in all of 2008-09, his lowest total in three full NHL seasons.

Pronger Doing It All In Philadelphia

Acquired in a draft day trade last June, defenseman Chris Pronger is proving to be a perfect fit in Philadelphia. Pronger leads the NHL in average ice time per game (26:56), ranks third in plus-minus (+14) and is sixth among defensemen in scoring with 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 18 games.

Garon Boosts Impressive Shootout Record

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Mathieu Garon has won both shootouts he has contested this season, improving his career record to 18-4. He has stopped 61 of 75 attempts for a save percentage of .813.

Brodeur Continues Record Chase

New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, who last season became the NHL’s all-time victories leader, is continuing his assault on the League record book in 2009-10. Brodeur recorded his 102nd career shutout Oct. 17 vs. Carolina, closing within one of Terry Sawchuk’s NHL-record 103. With 1,017 career games and 60,116 career minutes, Brodeur also is bearing down on Patrick Roy’s NHL records of 1,029 and 60,235, respectively. He also is on pace to match Roy’s record of 13 career 30-win seasons. Brodeur has started 18 of the Devils’ 20 games, posting a 12-5-1 record with a 2.19 goals-against average and .921 save percentage.

Lemaire Return Has Devils Surging

Head coach Jacques Lemaire has made a successful return to New Jersey after nine seasons behind the bench of the Minnesota Wild. Lemaire has guided the Devils to the Eastern Conference’s top points percentage (14-5-1), including victories in each of their first nine road games. As head coach of the Devils for five seasons from 1993-94 to 1997-98, Lemaire went 199-122-57 and captured one Stanley Cup.

Ovechkin Dominant

Two-time reigning NHL MVP Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has been dominant over the first quarter, tallying 15 goals in 15 games. He shares the League lead in goals, has posted the top points-per-game average (24 points in 15 GP, 1.6) and ranks second in shots (87).

Capitals’ Supporting Cast Shines

The Capitals continued to win games and score goals during Alex Ovechkin’s absence due to injury. The Capitals went 4-2-0 without Ovechkin and scored an average of 3.67 goals per game. That’s slightly above the club’s 3.64 average over the 14 games with Ovechkin in the lineup. Nine players have tallied game-winning goals for the club this season, tied with the Buffalo Sabres for the most in the League.

Sharks’ Thornton, Heatley Form Dynamic Duo

San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton, the League’s premier set-up man in three of the past four seasons, has formed a productive partnership with new linemate Dany Heatley, a two-time 50-goal scorer. Thornton has 20 assists in 23 games, tied for second in the NHL, while Heatley is on pace for another 50-goal season with 14 tallies in 23 games.

In his fourth season with the Blue Jackets and 14^th in the NHL Hitchcock has an impressive 520-351-129 record. He is one of 13 coaches to have reached the 500-win mark, a 4-3 victory over the Maple Leafs on February 19 of last season.

Hitchcock’s first head coaching gig was for the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League. Hitchcock still remembers going to his first interview with the Blazers.

“I was so ill-prepared because when I phoned to Kamloops to go for the interview, I called from the airport, and they said, ‘Make sure you bring your résumé with you,’” explains Hitchcock during a conference call. “I started gulping. I wrote the résumé for that job on a piece of paper in pencil. They still have a copy of it.”

He spent six winning seasons with the Blazers, from ’84 to’90, before joining the Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant. After three unsuccessful seasons in Philly, Hitchcock had lost his confidence and claims he had forgotten how to be a head coach. Luckily for him the Kalamazoo Wings of the International Hockey League came calling.

“When I went to Kalamazoo, we were in an older league with a lot of really good players in it, a lot of kind of borderline NHL players,” says Hitchcock. “We had these young teams. It felt like I was coaching back in Kamloops again.”

The move to Kalamazoo for the ‘93-’94 season would prove to be beneficial for other reasons as well. The Wings were the farm team for the Dallas Stars. After just two and a half seasons in Kalamazoo Hitchcock was back in the NHL, this time as a head coach of the Dallas Stars and only three and a half seasons away from winning the Stanley Cup.

“I really got invigorated and confident coaching that group that was in Kalamazoo,” said Hitchcock. “A lot of that group ended up playing for the Stars, [Jamie] Lagenburner, [Richard] Matvichuk, [Grant] Marshall, [Marty] Turco, [Manny] Fernandez, [Brad] Lukowich. A lot of those guys ended up playing for the Stars. I got very confident being able to coach that young group there in a veteran league.”

Hitchcock was fired from Dallas 50 games in to the ‘01-’02 season. He had a winning record. The following season the Philadelphia Flyers re-hired their old assistant coach. He spent three winning seasons in Philly and eight games into his fourth season Hitchcock was fired once again. He had a 1-6-1 record. The Blue Jackets didn’t hesitate and he has been with them ever since.

To be as successful as Hitchcock has been you have to be able to adapt with the league you’re in and players you have. From the high offense of the ‘80’s to the defense first of the mid-‘90’s Hitchcock has done it all.

Now, however, it’s not what you’re selling to the players but how you sell it to them.

“Before when you had older teams, you could sell it as structured defense to create offense,” he explains. “Now the sales part of it is how fast can you play to create your offense? How fast can you create defense? How fast can you get through the neutral zone to create your offense?”

He explains that the speed of the game has really changed the way you have to coach in today’s game.

“The players want to know what they can do to get quickly into the offensive zone,” continues Hitchcock. “When you got young players, you’ve got to try to sell them in a different way now than you did, say, five, ten years ago.”

Hitchcock is in no rush to step away from the game. That being said if he loses his desire he won’t hesitate to step away either.

“For me, I feel like as long as I’m energized to teach, as long as I don’t lose that energy, that fire to teach and build teams, I feel like I can do this at a high level for a long time,” he said.

“I think if I lose that energy, I’ll just knock on the GM’s door and probably just leave, you know, because I think the minute you lose the energy to build your team, your days are pretty much numbered.”

After making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season now Hitchcock’s challenge is proving to the NHL that his Columbus Blue Jackets are legit night in and night out.

It’s the one thing that NHL GM’s struggle with during trade talks. There’s something to be said about not disrupting a locker room.

“You have to be careful there,” said Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli. “We went through that in Ottawa where we thought we were getting the best player – and we were – and it just didn’t fit in the mix of things.”

The deal that Chiarelli is talking about involved forward Peter Bondra back in ‘04. Bondra managed to put up 14 points in the final 23 games before being held pointless in the Sens’ seven playoff games. He never played for the Sens again.

Chiarelli says that you have to rely on your staff to let you know who will fit and who won’t fit in with the team.

“You talk to your coaching staff at length about the room and how these players will interact and how they will react,” he said. “Your have look at it very carefully.”

“There’s a lot more than just what the player brings on the ice that we look at and discuss.”

“There’s a lot more than just what the player brings on the ice that we look at and discuss,” said Chiarelli. “You have to be very sensitive to that.”

Panthers’ GM Jacques Martin has made a lot of changes to his team since last June when he shipped out captain Olli Jokinen. So, he knows how important it is to find the right balance of age, skill and chemistry.

“It’s important to get somebody that’s going to fit into the chemistry,” said Martin. “I think that we have a great chemistry as a team. I think we have a good balance of young players versus veteran players.”

The research that GM’s are currently doing will greatly factor in to which players are brought in to an organization. For every deal that happens today a GM has done countless hours of research into how the player will fit in with his team.

No GM wants to have a failure like the one Brett Hull and Les Jackson had to deal with in Dallas earlier this season with Sean Avery.