Great Article from TSN's James Duthie

Excellent article from James Duthie of TSN on Matt Duchene and Cody Hodgson.

Check it out:

Boyhood pals Duchene and Hodgson now a world apart

Hockey in the States

Oh, to be a hockey fan in the States.

It seems like the only time ESPN gives hockey any air-time is when somebody either mutilates somebody else with a stick, gets hurt badly in a fight and they decide to talk about the validity of fighting, Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin have a big game, or something "ridiculous" happens in the hockey world.

I've come to accept this, and don't really expect it to change. There are plenty of other places I can get my hockey fix (mostly from north of the border), and most of the time I could care less that ESPN ignores hockey.

But sometimes something happens that just irritates the heck of out of me. For instance, tonight a hockey story actually made one of the top headlines on ESPN.com's main page.

The article is entitled "Puck naked: Tampa Bay Lightning strip it off for team unity."

Really?

Earlier today on TSN.ca, I saw a clip of Marty St. Louis continually missing penalty shots and having to take off an article of clothing with each miss. It was pretty funny. It was just a little side story, and far from a top-headline for TSN.

ESPN continually ignores hockey and then pushes this article onto the front page of their website?

Nothing about the Pens going to 8-1 and possibly losing Sergei Gonchar to a broken wrist? Nothing about the Habs snapping their five game losing streak? Nothing about Mikko Koivu being named Wild Captain?

Look, I can deal without these stories because I know most people in the States could care less. Nearly all of my friends, outside of those I've played hockey with, know very little about what's going on in the hockey world. If they see a game on TV, they're game to watch. They'll even admit nothing beats an NHL playoff game.

But, they just can't get as into it as they do for basketball, baseball, and football. I've fully accepted that. The bottom line is the game will never have the same roots in this country as a whole as it does in other places, namely Canada. Don't get me wrong, there are many U.S. cities where hockey thrives. But, there are nearly just as many cities undeserving of an NHL franchise.

I want to get across two points here:

For starters, ESPN, either report the game as it should be or don't at all. You made a quality play recently with the addition of Pierre Lebrun, and I thought you were on the right track. I understand that the only way hockey will ever make your front page headlines is if you're network is broadcasting the games. Until that point comes (maybe I should say, if it ever comes), please stop only featuring stupid, solely attention-grabbing headlines. It just makes our game look like a joke.

And lastly, NHL, cut the dead weight. There are plenty of Canadian cities who would love to get their hands on an NHL franchise. Phoenix, Atlanta, and Florida should definitely be moved, and there's plenty more that are candidates. Why try to build up a non-existent fan-base when there are plenty of cities north of the border that will unconditionally love an NHL franchise (ain't that right Toronto fans!). Not every city is going to be blessed with a Crosby, an Ovechkin, a Toews and a Kane, or a John Tavares. Fans in Canada will support their team even if their best active forward right now is Alexei Ponikarovsky (once again, sorry Toronto fans).

So ESPN, have some class. NHL (or should I say Gary Bettman), use some logic.

Quick Hits

- All good things must come to an end, and the Sharks made that mighty clear tonight versus the Rangers at the Garden. It was an ugly 7-3 loss for the Blueshirts that saw San Jose notch six straight goals. It's hard to call out John Tortorella, whose called all the right shots thus far, but starting Steve Valiquette when the Rangers haven't played since Saturday and not again until Thursday is definitely a questionable move. To put Lundqvist in to start the third period in a 5-2 game that you didn't deem important enough to start him in the first place (it being an out of conference game) is an even more questionable move. Valiquette failed to supply the Rangers with the big saves that could've changed the outcome of the game. Hopefully the Rangers just mark this one down as a stinker and keep playing like they have over their first eight games.

- Dany Heatley was playing on the "second" power-play unit. Expect a trade request shortly - his role on the team has clearly been diminished!

- Michael Del Zotto scored again. Four goals, five assists, and nine points in nine games - it goes without saying, very impressive.

- Tonight's game was easily Marian Gaborik's least effective as a Ranger. He was a non-factor, and saw his point streak to start the season snapped at eight games. It happens. Expect a big game against the Devils on Thursday from the Rangers' game-breaker.

- Dustin Penner has started the season strong with five goals and nine points in the Oiler's first seven games. How do you feel about that MacT?

- Ilya Kovalchuk has quietly put up seven goals to lead the Thrashers to a 4-1-0 start. I still don't think the Thrashers make the playoffs, but if you're a Thrasher fan (correction, if there is a Thrasher fan) you need to be encouraged with what you're seeing.

- Can Brian Burke do all us Yankees a favor and fire Ron Wilson...as Team USA's coach?

- Eric Staal - two goals, two points in seven games. Ryan Getzlaf - three assists, three points in seven games. Staal is a bubble player to make Team Canada, and you have to think Getzlaf was down as a "probable." Could both play their way off the team? It's only a handful of games, but with an ultra-competitive field of Canadian players in contention, every game is important.

- The Canadiens have lost five straight. What a shocker...

- While on the subject of the Northeast Division, how about the Sens? Despite a poor start by Jason Spezza, the Sens are sitting pretty at 5-2-0. Daniel Alfredsson has played well, and has seemed to have jump-started Alexei Kovalev. Milan Michalek regrouped from a slow start to register a hat trick on the 15th versus Tampa Bay. Playoffs? It's very possible. I said at the start of the season the Northeast would be very interesting - nearly everyone had the teams slotting in for fairly different finishes. The one team everyone expected to be a certainy was Boston, and they've looked nothing like their squad of last season. Now they'll have to deal with no Milan Lucic for 4-6 weeks - but, hey, he was pretty invisible for the their first seven tilts of the season, anyway.

- Every once in a while don't you just stop and question, "Imagine if Crosby and Malkin actually had legitimate wingers?" In the salary-cap era, it may never happen.

Early Season Power Rankings

We might be less than two weeks into the season, but it can't hurt to take a peak at where the teams are starting to stack up.

Here we go...

1. Pittsburgh Penguins - The formula of Crosby + Malkin + Staal + Gonchar + Fleury is still working wonders in Steel Town. I'm beginning to think it's not even necessary to add ( - Wingers) to the end of the equation.

2. New York Rangers - So long as Gaborik stays healthy and the defense holds up, the Rangers could present a very interesting story-line. Henrik Lundqvist looks to be in mid-season form.

3. Los Angeles Kings - The addition of Ryan Smyth is looking great. Just ask Anze Kopitar. Drew Doughty has rebounded from his opening night game (one LA writer described it as his worst game as a pro) to play some spectacular hockey.

4. Columbus Blue Jackets - Rick Nash can and should be a top ten player in this league. If the first two weeks of the season are any indication, this could be the year that comes to fruition.

5. Philadelphia Flyers - Matt Carle seems to be in store for a break-out season. Heck, if I got to play with Chris Pronger I might be in store for a break-out season.

6. Chicago Blackhawks - Not many teams in the NHL can come back from 5-0 deficits. Not many teams in the NHL have as poor a starting goaltender as Cristobal Huet.

7. Colorado Avalanche - Craig Anderson has been nothing short of amazing - but what I love about the Avs is the play of Matt Duchene. His play has been opening eyes all over the league.

8. Calgary Flames - 4-2-1 and Jarome Iginla isn't even going yet? If I was a Flames fan, I'd take it.

9. San Jose Sharks - The record's not great. Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley's numbers are. Good luck defending those two.

1o. Buffalo Sabres - The Sabres have only played four games, but are 3-0-1. Anybody who thinks Ryan Miller isn't a top flight goalie should tune into a Sabres game. It's looking like Thomas Vanek may not be out for too long, after all.

11. Edmonton Oilers - I still want to see Ales Hemsky take the next step. I'd also like to see him playing with someone besides J-F Jacques.

12. Atlanta Thrashers - They've looked surprisingly good. Ilya Kovalchuk is going to have a monster year.

13. Washington Capitals - The record's not great, but AO, Backstrom, and Semin have been. Better goaltending and a better Mike Green might help.

14. New Jersey Devils - Zach Parise is a beast. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

15. St. Louis Blues - Did they leave their game overseas? The youngsters (Oshie, Berglund, Backes) need to step it up.

16. Dallas Stars - Win a freakin' shootout, already. Am I the only one thinks Alex Auld could steal the starting gig from Marty Turco? I feel like every shot is going to find twine on this guy.

17. Phoenix Coyotes - Surprisingly not bad. Dave Tippet plays a safe, secure system. The young 'Yotes seemed to have bought in.

18. Tampa Bay Lightning - Marty St. Louis is a man on a mission. You want to bet against him? I don't. Victor Hedman is going to be an absolute stud on the back-line.

19. Boston Bruins - Where is that spark that was so evident last year? David Krejci, returning from an injury, looks like a ghost, and Milan Lucic's play has been less than inspiring.

20. Ottawa Senators - Paging Jason Spezza. Are you there Jason? Can you hear me?

21. Detroit Red Wings - Look, their goaltending blows, they're defense isn't exactly young, and they've lost their top returning goal-scorer for four months. All that said - if the Wings are ever this low in my power-rankings again, I'll eat my hat.

22. Carolina Hurricanes - They got off to a crappy start, but haven't looked so bad of late. It's time for Eric Staal to take charge.

23. Anaheim Ducks - I haven't liked what I've seen. Ryan Getzlaf doesn't look 100% coming back from his injury, and that defense is very weak after the loss of James Wisniewski. That being said, Teemu Selanne showed he still has some jump in Philly.

24. Nashville Predators - The Preds have to be the most vanilla team in the league. Barring a break-out from their secondary scoring, they just don't have the fire-power to be a playoff team - but Barry Trotz will always field a very competitive team.

25. Vancouver Canucks - The secondary scoring will really be tested with Daniel Sedin out for 4-6 weeks. Kind of early for the Sami Salo injury this season, no?

26. Montreal Canadiens - No Markov. No defense. No playoffs.

27. Minnesota Wild - The come-back opening night win was nice. But they've stunk since. Martin Havlat, Mikko Koivu, and Brent Burns are each a -4. Ouch.

28. Florida Panthers - Does the "Quebec Panthers" have a nice ring to it? How about the "Winnipeg Panthers?"

29. New York Islanders - They haven't played too badly despite being 0-1-3. But, good teams find ways to win games, bad teams find ways to lose games.

30. Toronto Maple Leafs - Ugh. For further information visit, tsn.ca, espn.com, sportsnet.ca...

When The Levee Breaks...

"Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move."
- Led Zeppelin, When The Levee Breaks

Nothing can shake up a team's chemistry and aspirations like an injury to a star player. If that injury happens to hit a team in an area they are already weak, the consequences could be even more severe.

The first ten days of the season have already seen their fair share of black and blues. Perhaps the biggest three fatalities are those of Andrei Markov (torn ACL), Daniel Sedin (broken foot), and Johan Franzen (torn ACL).

These injuries could have dire ramifications for Montreal, Vancouver, and Detroit. Who will be able to perservere? Who will be unable to rebound?

The Resilient
Detroit Red Wings
- Detroit lost Marian Hossa, Jiri Hudler, and Mikael Samuelsson in the off-season. Add the '08-'09 goal totals of those three to Franzen's, who is out for somewhere around four months, and you're talking 116 goals. Yikes! While losing your top returning goal-scorer from the year prior in addition to the fire-power the Wings have already lost may seem insurmountable on the surface, the Wings should be able to stay strong. Guys like Ville Leino and Valtteri Filppula are deserving of the bigger offensive roles they will now assume. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are perfectly capable of elevating their games. Last night's game against the Capitals was a reminder to the rest of the league that when Datsyuk and Zetterberg are on the same line, you're number one line is destined for an uneventful offensive night. Detroit has the leadership, and still has enough offensive depth to stay strong even in Franzen's absence.

The Downtrodden
Montreal Canadiens
- Andrei Markov has been the Habs' "Mr. Everything." Of their returning players, he's their leading scorer. He is their best defenseman. He runs the power-play. He's a team leader. Well, for the next four or so months, I'll have as many points for the Habs as he will. The Canadiens were already weak at defense before the loss of Markov. To compound matters even further, Ryan O'Byrne is also out due to injury. A defensive corps of Hal Gill, Paul Mara, Jaroslav Spacek, Josh Gorges, Roman Hamrlik, Marc-Andre Bergeron, and Yannick Weber is....ugh. If the Canadiens are going to overcome the Markov injury, they will need a handful of things to fall into place. For one, Carey Price will need to play like Patrick Roy. Second, they will need offensive production anywhere they can get it from the back-line - no one man can fill Markov's shoes, but as a group they have some offensive potential. To me, Markov's loss makes the Habs an after-thought in the East. If they can just manage to stay in the playoff picture until his return, that will be a victory in and of itself.

The Questionable
Vancouver Canucks
- As if starting 1-3-0 wasn't bad enough, the Canucks were just dealt another blow. Today the team annouced that leading goal-scorer Daniel Sedin will be out 4-6 weeks with a broken foot. The Canucks offensive group was already weak, and something I felt would prevent them from being a contender out west. Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows shouldn't be the third and fourth best forwards on an NHL team. Now they are the second and third best. The reason the Canucks aren't as bad off as the Canadiens is because A) Sedin is out 4-6 weeks, not four months like Markov, and B) if Roberto Luongo can get hot he can steal games like nobody else can. But, how will Henrik Sedin fare without Daniel? What will their power-play look like without one of the twins? The secondary scoring will need to find a way to chip in. Bottom line - if Luongo can elevate his game, the next 4-6 weeks might not seem so long in Vancouver.