Hockey Hermit’s NHL 3 Stars For Dec 19th

 Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, three-stars  No Responses »
Dec 202008
 

Well, with the exception of a nasty leg injury to Teemu Selanne last night's NHL action was pretty tame. In fact, there was only one fight in the NHL last night. I guess NHL hockey players, with the exception of Chris Neil and Jay Leach, are in the festive spirit already. Either that or they don't want a black eye for those family Christmas photos. Though the intensity might have been lacking a little the skilled players were still doing their thing. Here are the best performers from last night's games:

3rd Star - Zach Parise - Pierre Maguire may not be right that often, but he was bang on when he chastised NHL general managers for ignoring the potential of this kid when they bypassed him until the 17th pick of the 2003 NHL entry draft. Parise has been steadily improving and enjoyed back to back 30+ goal seasons in only his 2nd and 3rd seasons in the league. This year, however, he has broken out in a big way and quietly has worked his way up the statistical leader board to sit at 4th overall in the NHL scoring race. He had another great night last night, chipping in 4 assists as his New Jersey Devils walked all over the scoring challenged Senators 5-1. Who needs Martin Brodeur when you've got offensive punch like this?

2nd Star - Ryan Miller - This guy doesn't look like he's eaten in a month, but he must have had a good pre-game meal before last night's game because he stopped all 40 shots the Los Angeles Kings threw his way. Miller's performances over the course of his career have resembled the action of a yo-yo. He appears to have the ability to be one of the premiere puck-stoppers in the NHL, but ever since Buffalo's great playoff run in 2006 he can't seem to consistently put together a string of great games. Unfortunately for Los Angeles they hit him on one of his good nights.

1st Star - Jonas Hiller - Well, after a couple of nights when the shooters dominated the goalies got their revenge yesterday. As good as Ryan Miller was against the Kings he couldn't match Jonas Hiller's masterful performance against a desperate Edmonton Oilers team. The Oilers pumped an incredible 53 shots at Anaheim's back-up goalie, but still weren't rewarded for their efforts as Anaheim walked away with a 3-2 victory. Hiller is making a good case for a number one job in Anaheim. He hasn't allowed more than 3 goals in any game this season, and his 2.07 GAA and .936 save percentage are significantly better than Giguere's numbers.

 Posted by at 11:30 am  Tagged with: , , ,

NHL 3 Stars For Wednesday, December 17th

 Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, three-stars, Vancouver Canucks  No Responses »
Dec 182008
 

A pretty light night in the NHL last night, and normally I might just skip the NHL 3 Stars, but there were enough great performances last night to warrant a list, so without further ado here are the best of the best from last night's puck action:

3rd Star - Michal Rozsival - The always underrated Rozsival was quietly putting up another great game last night. After getting blown out 8-5 by the New Jersey Devils the other day, the Rangers have shown they are still an attractive option for coveted free agent Mats Sundin, putting up back to back wins against both Anaheim and Los Angeles to tie Boston for the points lead in the Eastern Conference (though the Bruins do have 5 games in hand). Rozsival had 2 goals last night, including the game winner in overtime to help seal the win for the Rags.

2nd Star - Steve Mason - Wow, this kid is for real. Last night he started against what has been an unbeatable San Jose Sharks juggernaut, and well, he beat them. That's not to say that victory game easy. San Jose's snipers fired a whopping 48 pucks at Mason last night, and he stopped 47 of them, helping Columbus to a 2-1 OT win. Mason has been nothing short of spectacular this season, going 9-5-1 with 2 shutouts, a sparkling 1.91 GAA, and a save percentage of .929. Just a year after having a pretty spectacular season himself it looks like Pascal Leclaire is going to be relegated to the role of backup. Mason has just been too good to justify keeping him out of the starting role.

1st Star - Daniel Sedin - It was a pretty special night last night at GM with the Canucks retiring Trevor Linden's jersey. Usually, following these lengthy ceremonies, the home team, desperate to get a win for the honoree, instead comes out flat and more often than not the retired hero has to watch his old club lose. Well, Daniel Sedin wasn't about to let that tired old scenario happen again last night. He put the Canucks on his back and popped 2 goals and added an assist to make sure his good buddy Linden got a victory on his jersey retirement night. Even sweeter that it came against bitter divisional rival Edmonton Oilers, who would have liked nothing better than to spoil Linden's party.

 Posted by at 9:57 am  Tagged with: , , ,

NHL 3 Stars For December 11th – Hat Trick Edition

 Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, three-stars  No Responses »
Dec 122008
 

While there were some spectacular performances by the goalies last night, the men behind the masks were completely overshadowed by the snipers. Goals were coming fast and furious in a bunch of NHL games last night, and when the dust settled four different players had put up 3 goal performances. Unfortunately, only three players can make our list, so one hat trick hero will have to be the odd man out. Read on to see which snipers made the cut:

3rd Star - Pascal Dupuis - The Pittsburgh Penguins really revved up the offensive engine last night, but surprisingly it wasn't Crosby or Malkin who did all the scoring. The Penguins pounded the hapless New York Islanders 9-2 last night, and a pair of Pens turned the trick last night. Petr Sykora scored 3 times and added an assist, so should arguably be in this spot. However, Sykora's talent should ensure him several appearances on our 3 star list, so I decided to give the nod to a guy who had a career game last night.

Pascal Dupuis has incredible speed and has shown flashes of offensive talent in the past, but he is just one of those guys who doesn't seem to have much puck luck. Well, last night luck was finally on his side as everything he touched turned to goals. He netted his first career hat trick to help his team crush the Isles.

2 - Dustin Brown - Now here is a player who has a ton of potential. Not only can he score goals, but pound for pound he lays some of the hardest hits in the league. Dustin Brown would be a star on any Canadian NHL team, but has labored in relative obscurity in Los Angeles, where hockey has been dying a slow death ever since the departure of Wayne Gretzky. Still, the Kings bear watching over the next few years with exciting young players like Brown, Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov. If they can manage to solve their goaltending issues look for Dustin Brown's Kings to look eerily similar to the Chicago Blackhawks.

1st Star - Scott Hartnell - The Philadelphia Flyers made an incredible comeback last night against the Carolina Hurricanes and Scott Hartnell was the catalyst in that comeback. Hartnell netted a natural hat trick to help his Flyers erase a 5-1 deficit and tie up the game. The Flyers would then go on to win the game in a shoot out. Surprisingly the game marked the first time in Flyers history that the team had come back from 4 goals down at home to win a game.

 Posted by at 10:12 am  Tagged with: , , ,
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