By Sporsnet Connected /
As the National Hockey League season moves towards Christmas, Sportsnet Connected experts weigh-in on how some of the Canadian teams are doing.
Edmonton Oilers
With Gene Principe
According to Rogers Sportsnet Connected reporter Gene Principe, “the Edmonton Oilers are in trouble.” A short but not so sweet statement to describe the situation the Oilers find themselves in these days.
First, let’s start with injuries and the team took another big blow last week when it was announced that Ales Hemsky is likely done for the season because of a shoulder injury. He will undergo surgery in a couple of weeks and will be out five to six months.
The club is also still minus starting-goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin.
Principe says it’s no surprise the team has fallen to near the bottom of the West.
“The Oilers are precariously close to being at the bottom of the conference,” said Principe. “It is a far cry from the not too distant past when they were 6-2-1 to start the season.”
These are desperate times for a team that’s hurting both on the ice and in the standings.
On the bright side, Dustin Penner is top ten in the league in both goals and points and young forward Gilbert Brule has seemed to establish himself as an NHL regular.
Calgary Flames
With Roger Millions
“The Flames are feeling right at home…on the road,” says Flames reporter Roger Millions.
“It was a November to remember for the Flames as they finished the month with a 10-2-2 record, 10 of those games were away from Pengrowth Saddledome.”
Millions also points to the fact that as the month of December begins, the Flames trail only the San Jose Sharks for the best road record in the Western Conference.
“The Flames have set a franchise record with points in 10 consecutive road games, some thrilling come-from behind victories while others were complete domination like the win over Nashville to end the month of November.”
Millions points to two players as the reason for this ride, captain Jarome Iginla and goalie Miikka Kiprusoff.
“Iginla finished the month of November with 20 points to take over the team scoring lead while Kipper is tied for the league lead in shutouts while sporting a goals against average of around 1.50 on the road this season.”
Vancouver Canucks
With Dan Murphy
The Vancouver Canucks have posted an impressive 10-4 home record at General Motors Place, so now the Canucks must prove they can win on the road. The Canucks are currently in the midst of a four-game, nine-day road trip.
“We will learn from this road trip just how good this team is,” said Dan Murphy, host of Canucks Hockey on Sportsnet. “The Canucks now are healthier team than they have been all season long (the only projected roster player out is Pavol Demitra), so the time for cutting this team some slack is over.”
Murphy said that Kyle Wellwood appears to be coming out of his early season slump that saw him record just one point in his first 17 games. Wellwood picked up five points in five games recently.
“The return of a healthy Daniel Sedin has had an immediate impact on Alex Burrows, who scored twice since in Daniel’s first four games back,” said Murphy. “They will need Burrows and Wellwood in top form if they expect to make a run for a top-four playoff spot.”
Meanwhile, defenceman Christian Ehrhoff has been perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the season, with six goals and 17 points through 26 games played thus far.
Toronto Maple Leafs
With Barry Davis
With the Toronto Maple Leafs success on their recent road swing in Florida, Rogers Sportsnet Connected reporter Barry Davis points to a number of reasons why the Leafs got off to such a terrible start to the season.
“The goaltending was suspect, they couldn’t put the puck in the net and they were falling behind early in almost every game,” said Davis. “They are now playing their best hockey of the season, despite giving up the first goal of the game on many occasions.”
So why the turnaround? While the goaltending is better, it’s been the play of Phil Kessel and Nik Hagman that have rescued the team from the NHL’s basement.
“Hagman has been on a tear of late scoring seven times in a stretch of six games to lead the club in goals,” said Davis. “And Kessel has scored eight times in first 12 games since debuting as a Leaf.”
As big a hole the Leafs have dug themselves in, Davis believes those who wrote this team off back in October should stay tuned. This thing isn’t over yet.
Ottawa Senators
With Ian Mendes
Senators’ reporter Ian Mendes is mildly surprised as Ottawa reaches the quarter pole of the season in a playoff spot and challenging for the division lead.
“The Sens are receiving offence from a variety of forwards which has really offset the loss of Dany Heatley this season,” says Mendes.
“Mike Fisher has been the club’s most consistent forward to date, Milan Michalek has emerged as a consistent scoring threat and Daniel Alfredsson has shown no signs of aging while averaging a point-per-game all season.”
While throwing laurels at some of the Senators offence, he still has darts for others.
“Jason Spezza and Jonathan Cheechoo have each only scored two goals this season while Alex Kovalev’s offensive statistics have fallen short of the club’s expectations.”
Considering this is a team that missed the playoffs last season, Mendes has liked what he has seen so far this year.
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