Sometimes hockey takes a back seat….may the humidity come up a little sooner than what they are saying and the winds calm down a bit…so the firefighers can get some ice cold water down and put the fires out in Southern California. Just Northeast of San Diego…and all over parts of the Socal area including Malibu, Lake Arrowhead, etc…mass evacuations are taking place. One of my favorite fishing holes is going up in smoke as we speak…well parts of it anyway. As I speak….our Flyers Gm is nearly surrounded by fire. Hopefully all ends up safe for the guy….wait I’m wishing goodwill to a Flyers fan…hey it has happened before. A Flyers and Devils fan can co-exist….even if to some it seems an impossible concept to grasp. Hopefully the water gets to his place before the fires do.
From the fire and now onto the ice…anyone notice how some of the big-time goalies are getting off to slow starts this season? Brodeur, Luongo, Kiprusoff, to name a few are off to very shaky beginnings. Is this a harbinger of things to come?? Probably not but it is interesting to see and at the same time rather disturbing. All three goalies have a GAA of over 3 and a save percentage under .900. Even Dominik Hasek who’s save percentage has dipped a bit…is way off at .879. Some goalies are leaving right off from last season like Nicklas Backstrom and his 1.48 GAA and .943 sv pctg.
Out of the early start come two major surprises. Well not really if you look deeper into it. Cam Ward has already been named NHL Player Of The Week. His 1.97 GAA and .935 save percentage are proving that last year was indeed a fluke. He is twenty pounds lighter and his reflexes show it. No doubt the Carolina Hurricanes will be a factor in the Eastern Conference this year and Cam Ward is leading the way with his conditioning never to be questioned again. The other goalie that is stepping up and turning heads is Martin Biron. Honestly, I laughed when the Flyers signed him..after the trade…but I am laughing no more. Biron is 6-1 with the Flyers this season posting an eye-popping 1.52 GAA and .952 save percentage. His reflexes are way better than even in his glory days in Buffalo and his ability to see the puck is probably amongst the top 3 in the league right now. Look out it doesn’t seem like the Flyers or Biron are slowing down anytime soon.
Finally…it seems our own blogger Bill has ranted about the Sidney Crosby overkill that many have been hesitant to touch on. Mike Vogel, senior press writer for the Washington Capitals has linked it to his blog Dump N Chase. Check both out…it will be a surprise to some and not a surprise to most but always provocative on both sides of the debate. Enjoy the hockey tonight everyone and to all the Socal residents out there near the fires….stay safe!
