Faceoff Factor

A Week Back East - November 4-10

Ashley Gallant | National Hockey League

Nov 11, 07:40 PM | Hype this story!

Quote of the Week
“A home town discount is very important, but what I am basically offering and what this organization is offering is more than that. I call it a Stanley Cup discount.” –Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk.

The Dominators
Cory Stillman, Left Wing, Carolina Hurricanes (4G, 3A, 3 games)
Stillman may be older than some of the stars in the NHL, but he can sure keep up with them. With a hat trick and 2 game winning goals, he is the top player in the East this week.

Vaclav Prospal, Centre, Tampa Bay Lightning (2G, 6A, 4 games)
Last week, I wrote about Tampa’s problems on the road. Well, things are starting to turn around. They have now won 2 games on the road (both coming this week), and are on a three-game winning streak. Prospal had 8 points this week, six of them coming in the last 2 games.

Johan Holmqvist, Goalie, Tampa Bay Lightning (0.933 SV%, 4 games)
Holmqvist started the week a little shaky, but he has posted a 0.955 SV% in his last three games – all of which he won. The highlight was a 5-1 win over Carolina, where he stopped 40 of 41 shots to give the Lightning its first win on the road this year.

The games that made you cheer. Or freak out. Or cry. Or all of the above.
Washington Capitals (4) Ottawa Senators (1) – Thursday, November 8th, 2007
We all know that the Senators are among the top teams in the league and the Capitals are, well, not, and many think that this should’ve been a showing of Ottawa’s dominance. Not so fast…Washington showed that they step things up. The Capitals scored 3 goals in less than 6 minutes and added another late goal in the 3rd. The lone Senators’ goal was by Alfredsson (who else?) just before the second intermission. I’m sure Ovechkin was glad to get the win and end Ottawa’s winning streak.

New York Islanders (3) New York Rangers (2) – Tuesday, November 6th, 2007
The Battle of New York saw the Islanders break the Rangers’ winning streak at four games. The first frame was scoreless, and Drury had the only goal of the second period, but there were 4 goals in the third, with Satan scoring the game winner at 11:12. DiPietro made 28 saves for the win, showing no ill-effects of the eye injury suffered in a game the previous Saturday against the Penguins.

New York Rangers (3) Toronto Maple Leafs (2) (shootout)– Saturday, November 10th, 2007
It was the second game of a triple header on Hockey Night in Canada, and it featured Sean Avery and Darcy Tucker going at it in the warm-up (surprise, surprise). Sure, there was a level of excitement, and good on Valiquette for winning his first game of the season for the Rangers, but there was more to this game than, well, the game. It was the ‘Hall of Fame’ game, with the on-ice introduction of the inductees (the four soon-to-be-HOF players were interviewed in the pre-game show). It was also a Remembrance Day tribute – lest we forget.

Injury Report
Dan Boyle, Defenceman, Tampa Bay Lightning – wrist…again
Boyle cut his wrist in a freak accident involving his skate back in September, had it surgically repaired, and then came back to the game. Unfortunately, it’s back to the OR for Boyle, as only one tendon was successfully reattached. The Lightning will really miss this guy (and his points) on the blue line.

Tim Connolly, Centre, Buffalo Sabres – abdomen; Adam Mair, Centre – ankle; Jaroslav Spacek, Defence, Buffalo Sabres – shoulder…again
Connolly and Mair are day to day with their injuries. Of these 2, Connolly will be missed the most. According to NHL.com, Spacek was placed on IR on November 10th because of shoulder problems…again. No telling how long he’ll be out, but the longer he’s out, the worse the Sabres will be.

Pavel Kubina, Defenceman, Toronto Maple Leafs – knee
Kubina injured the MCL in his right knee and is out indefinitely. This could be a blow to Toronto’s lineup, which just got back a number of players last week.

Odds and Ends
Toronto Maple Leafs: MVF – Most Valuable Franchise
The Leafs may not have won the Stanley Cup in 40 years, but they continue to be the most valuable franchise in the NHL, according to Forbes. The organization is worth $332M, “only” $26M more than the Rangers. Any guess as to the least valuable franchise? The Washington Capitals, at $127M.

Bergeron Speaks Out
In his first interview since being knocked unconscious by Philly’s Randy Jones, Patrice Bergeron spoke on how the players need to stop hitting each other from behind, and start showing a little more respect.

Ottawa sets new record
I must sound like a broken record with all this Ottawa talk, but their season has been newsworthy. Here’s another ‘Ottawa news’ tidbit – apparently their win over Toronto on November 6th meant that the Senators have had the best start of any team in NHL history. Cue the Stanley Cup parties in Ottawa…we all know the planning has started.

The Week Ahead
Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning – Wednesday, November 14rd, 7:30 PM ET.
Last week, the Lightning dominated the ‘Canes. Can Carolina return the favour?

New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers – Monday, November 12rd, 7 PM ET.
The Isles are going into this game having won their last 4 games, and the Flyers are looking to dominate the Isles like they dominated the Penguins (I know, it still hurts).

Montréal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs – Tuesday, November 13rd, 7:30 PM ET.
Sorry, the Habs and Leafs games are always a must-see, in my humble opinion.

A recap of the week in the Western Conference will be posted later tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.