The Quarter Season NHL Review

"For now, it's Gerber's position to lose."

That's a quote lifted from my previous column. After reaching the 25-game mark, perhaps it's time for an NHL first-quarter review.

As of this writing, the Ottawa Senators have lost seven straight games, their last a 4-3 shootout bruising by the Tampa Bay Lightning. (Martin Gerber was pulled twice in the last week.) The Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be turning a corner on their season, finally making a push to equal, if not surpass, last season's 105-point campaign. (The Pens' 26 points are the same as this time last year.)

The Philadelphia Flyers' Riley Cote was suspended for three games for a leaping elbow to the head of Dallas Stars rookie defenseman Matt Niskanen. It's the team's fifth suspension this season and has earned it a stern warning from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and disciplinarian Colin Campbell, NHL Vice President of Operations. (The previous four: Scott Hartnell and Randy Jones, two games; Steve Downie, 20 games; Jesse Boulerice 25 games.)

Howard Berger, the Toronto reporter who claimed New York Rangers loud mouth Sean Avery spewed over-the-line, cancer-related trash-talk to Toronto Maple Leafs forward and cancer patient Jason Blake, has retracted his statements from earlier last month, claiming his "reporting does not appear to have been accurate."

And that's all happened in the last 96 hours. So it's been a busy NHL season thus far. Some things haven't changed, like the Senators and the Detroit Red Wings leading their respective conferences. Other things have: last year's Stanley Cup-winning Anaheim Ducks have fallen to the 11th spot in the West (28 pts); and the Flyers' abysmal 2006-2007 performance led to changes in goal, defense, the heady addition of free agent Daniel Briere, and possession of the No. 4 spot in the East (30 pts). [1]

Of course, for DirecTV subscribers, the launch of the NHL Network has provided the best highlights on TV (NHL: On the Fly) — even if that means tolerating endless reruns of awful commercials. (Particularly the "NHL fights cancer" clip with raging huge nerd Josh Groban as the soundtrack, and the devastatingly tired Darryl Sittler interview where he discusses his pre-game meal and whether or not it led to his 1976 record-setting 10-point game as a Maple Leaf.)

The NHL's Board of Governors addressed general league concerns last week, including the ever-present drop in scoring. The first post-lockout season average of 6.2 goals per game has fallen to 5.4 so far in 2007-2008. Bigger nets and size restrictions on goalie equipment have been the dominant alterations suggested. [2] However, Bettman assured observers that no immediate decisions would be made, "No conclusions were reached, but we're continuing to watch the trends, obviously. Scoring is down a little, and we're looking at that." The two most substantial developments to surface were the approved sale of the Nashville Predators to a local group of investors and the 2008-2009 schedule adjustments.

With the influx of high-caliber rookies entering the league in recent years — Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Jack Johnson, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane — fans have been clamoring for their teams to host the new talent, a desire often incompatible with the current schedule. Unlike the previous three seasons where the NHL has attempted to stoke interest and forcibly create divisional rivalries, starting next year all 30 teams will play at least once. No longer will teams compete against their division opponents eight times per season, as they do now. Teams will play 24 divisional games, 40 against the rest of the conference, and 18 against the other conference. Each team will face all 15 from the opposite conference, with three home-and-home matchups.

United States players have a new legend to look up to. Mike Modano surpassed NHL great Phil Housley (1,232 pts.) as the highest scoring U.S.-born player in the NHL, posting his 1,233rd career point on November 7th. Modano struggled early, as the weight of the record grew heavier. "There was a lot of stress. Once I got it, I was able to just go out and play my game," Modano explained. The speedy 37-year-old has since tallied 10 points and his Stars have amassed an 8-2-1 record. Barring injuries, Modano's 1,243 career points (515g, 728a) will likely increase. (How much this has to do with the firing of team president Jim Lites and general manager Doug Armstrong, and the hiring of co-general managers Brett Hull and Les Jackson, is unknown.)

Not to be entirely outdone by his Team USA teammate, Jeremy Roenick (JR) surpassed the 500-goal milestone. The flashy forward sits at the number three position, behind Housley, with 1,183 points (501g, 682a) — a slim 60 points behind Modano. But JR's health continues to plague his efforts to move up the list. Speculation involving his retirement has become a regular offseason conversation.

Some teams have ostensibly found their footing after early season firings put new coaches behind their benches. Although Dave Tippett avoided getting axed along with his former bosses in Dallas, others were not so lucky. Bob Hartley was the first casualty of the season. The Atlanta Thrashers went 0-6-0 under Hartley, who was replaced by general manager Don Waddell as interim coach. Atlanta has gone 12-7-1 under Waddell, and left wing Ilya Kovalchuk is leading the league in goals (22) and second in points (37) behind Tampa's Vinny Lecavalier (41). Kovalchuk was named the NHL's "First Star" for the month of November. Rare does a player's offensive potency buckle a goalie's knees like Kovalchuk's. (And he's started getting physical, too.)

After sinking to the bottom of the league, the Washington Capitals sent Glen Hanlon to the coaches' unemployment line. (Something last year's Flyers know a little bit about.) Hanlon was canned 21 games into the Caps' worst start since 1981. "He understood that it had to be done. [We] had some concerns about whether he was losing the team," remarked general manager George McPhee. Bruce Boudreau, who was coaching the Caps' American Hockey League affiliate Hershey Bears, was promoted to interim head coach. Said Boudreau, "It's unfortunate because Glen was a good friend of mine ... but at the same time, I've [waited] 32 years for this opportunity." Although Washington remains dead last in league points, improvements have accompanied the coaching change and Ovechkin has continued to score, ranking second in goals (20) and ninth in points (32)

And in an admirable decision of cut-the-shit proportions, Wes Walz finally hung up the skates after an honest self-inspection of his game revealed he could no longer perform at the level of play the NHL demands. Drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1989, Walz played for the Flyers, Calgary Flames, and Red Wings before a four-year stint in Switzerland. Upon his return, Walz played 438 of his 607 NHL games with the Minnesota Wild, the most in team history. Only Marion Gaborik remains from the team's inaugural roster.

These are only a few noteworthy comments from the first quarter of the 2007-2008 season. The Hall of Fame inductions of Ron Francis, Jim Gregory, Al MacInnis, Mark Messier, and Scott Stevens were nothing if not timely. Surely, there will be more to discuss at the halfway mark — teams that have soared or have flailed; emerging offensive and defensive threats; more coaching and front office changes; you name it. Will Teemu Selanne, Scott Niedermayer, or Peter Forsberg have returned? Will the rumors of Scotty Bowman's pending arrival as Toronto's president and director of hockey operations come to fruition? What about the salary cap discussions between the league and the general managers? We'll see. But one thing is certain, there's more than enough time for anything to happen.

*****

[1]: Yahoo! Sports writer Ross McKeon recently wrote about the Western Conference's dominance over the Eastern. At the conclusion of Sunday's games, McKeon notes, "West teams held a 20-13 edge over the East (two wins after regulation), which almost matches the tally in terms of home ice (West teams have hosted 19 of the 33)." The talent disparity is evident with the Ducks having a mere two points less than the Flyers despite being behind three teams for the final playoff spot in the West.

[2]: For an interesting perspective on a way to boost scoring without all the goalie tweaking, check out Scott Burnside's December 3rd column at ESPN.