Thank you Tim Wolcott for this great pic from Big Bear Lake.
Snow…the great equalizer of the world……so can ice and cold at times. As always, there is hockey…and its heating up as we hit December. So time to get right on to it….as we examine the latest melted drippings from the Ice Water Cooler.
First up…the hottest thing in the NHL right now…the New Jersey Devils. Winners of seven straight games, they have vaulted themselves from the basement of the Atlantic Division to a second place tie…..only points away from the New York Rangers. The Devils have been led by Martin Brodeur who has won all 7 of the games and two shutouts along the way. Zach Parise, with the recent hot streak, is now up to 28 points in 26 games. Worthy of all the accolades…he will be a top 10 forward in this league one day and maybe soon. The return of Colin White has anchored the defense enough to at least get back over .500. Now at 14-10-2…one has to wonder what the Devils can do in a fairly mediocre Eastern Conference…who knows but it will not be dull for the Devils nor easy…that is for certain.
Next up….everyone knows about the new, balanced schedule. However, the twist is the latest from Ottawa. Losers of six straight…the latest being a 5-2 setback against the Rangers. Ottawa is in Florida for 2 games against the Panthers and Lightning. The minor injury to Alfredsson has merely masked the fact that Ottawa’s defense and goaltending have taken hits in the last couple weeks. The drop in play has been noticed by all in Canada and beyond. From 13-1-1 to 16-7-2…just like that. Speculation has grown again that Ottawa may trade for defensive depth and/or a goalie. Ottawa’s problem is simple…..confidence! A few wins in Florida may just do the trick. If not…Paddock may just be next.
Now in the hole…the Edmonton Oilers…the Anaheim Ducks best friend suddenly. Well as compensation from the Dustin Penner offer sheet…the Ducks do get the Oil’s first round pick. For awhile there…it looked like the Ducks might strike gold as the Oilers were the worst team in the league. However, behind the solid play of late from the Oil’s youngsters as well as Garon, Horcoff, and Hemsky…the Oil have taken 4 of 5 and gotten themselves out of the league basement. The question is for how long as really it may be between them and the Los Angeles Kings for the 2008 #1 pick.
Finally….The NHL Arena one year anniversary is coming up this week. There will be more to come as the week goes on. Congrats to the forum that rattles the boards and then some!! Till then, stay cool out there….till the next Ice Water Cooler!
