Video of the week

“I told him to do that” Some announcers get really excited because Martin Biron results in Erik Christensen’s success in a shootout on Dec. 24 in this video.

Players, Trades, and General Management

Jacques Lemaire to begin third stint as Devil’s Coach

Coaches jobs are more and more on the line these days and after leading the Devils to last place in the entire league, New Jersey Coach John MacLean found himself replaced by two-time Devils coach Lemaire. Lemaire is a former Montreal Forward and former coach of the Devils, Canadiens, and Wild.

Injuries around the League

Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings, broken hand

Center Datsyuk is out with a broken hand after Wednesdays home game against Vancouver. “He’s got a broken hand or wrist, or something like that,” coach Mike Babcock said as quoted in this NHL.com story. And I’d say that pretty much wraps it up, he’ll be out about four weeks.

Derek Roy, Buffalo Sabres, torn tendon

Roy will miss the rest of the season with Buffalo with a torn left quadriceps tendon. He was injured during Thursday’s game against the Florida Panthers after taking a hit into the boards from defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. He is expected to have surgery in the next few days and take about four to six months to recover.

Shootout Stars

There must have been something in the ice last Thursday, as four games went into shootouts, some of them proving to be nerve-wracking competitions.

Ryan Malone, Tampa Bay Lightning

In the twelve round shootout to decide the winner of the New York Rangers Tampa Bay game tied at three, Malone got past Lundqvist. The shootout began with each team scoring twice and riding tbis tie for shooter after shooter until Malone, originally from the Pittsburgh area, notched one for his team.

Marc Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins

Fleury made an incredible number of saves stopping the Capitals in Washington on Thursday night. He gave up the first goal of a seven-round shootout to Alex Ovechkin and then continued to make the saves look too easy until Pascal Dupuis bested Neuvirth. Fleury’s save on Mike Green during the last leg of the shootout stopped some Caps momentum and helped earn him number one star of the game. That’s some good goal tending.

Alex Tanguay, Calgary Flames

Left Wing Tanguay scored the only goal in the Calgary defeat of the Flames in a three-round shootout on Thursday. He slipped it past Kari Lehtonen, who with a .916 save percentage has been helping the Stars on their way to a successful season. After being tied at 2 throughout the overtime period, the Flames win it 3-2.

Jonathan Quick, LA Kings

Quick made the difference for the Kings in their six-round shootout against the Oilers. Both Quick and Edmonton’s Devan Dubnyk had a .931 save percentage and during the 2-2 game sending it into overtime. Quick made the save when it mattered giving the Kings a 3-2 victory.

Games to Look forward to

Penguins v. Capitals, Winter Classic

The 4th Annual Winter Classic will take place on 1 p.m. New Year’s day on NBC, as everyone knows. Despite it just being an awesome feat to transform a football stadium into a rink in just a couple of days, it should also be some really good hockey. Both teams are strong and both teams want to win it very badly, so this will be a new year’s game to remember.