11th Edition: 5+GAME

5+Game with Danny Boome 02 /11/09

5+ Game with Danny Boome is the new Article and Blog for Powerplay magazine.  The article will cover the 5 main events of the week – games, trades, players, coaches – and anything else that affects the NHL community.

11th Edition: 5+Game

Danny Boome

02/11/09

Atlanta’s No Guts No Glory Goalie pull saves out of thin air! Who will be the first coach of the season to get the chop? Where have the Usual Suspects gone, 7 top scores no where near the top 10! Attendance woes may change through performance and Zombie Penalty taking turn Anaheim’s start to the season into a nightmare! It can only be this Weeks 5+Game!

No Guts No Glory: If Atlanta Thrashers Kari Lehtonen thought his gig as Atlanta’s number one goaltender was safe, he should think again.  Ondrej Pavelec had the game of his life making 50 saves in a 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators.  A handful of his 50 stops were showcased in this wild flurry near the end of a 3rd period that saw the Senators outshoot the Thrashers 25-3.  Just over a week ago, Pavelec was the butt of jokes after letting in a 190-foot shot against the Washington Capitals.  But this week that mistake was long forgotten.  In the 2nd period, Pavelec made an amazing save that showed real guts and commitment as he took an Alex Kovalev shot off his shoulder without a mask!

Sticking With It!

Who could be the first to go? Less than 6 weeks into the season, the bush telegraph has already started rumbling about who could be the first coach to be fired this season.  Five names keep coming up: Peter DeBoer (Florida Panthers), John Stevens (Philadelphia Flyers), Randy Carlyle (Anaheim Ducks), Ron Wilson (Toronto Maple Leafs), and Rick Tocchet (Tampa Bay Lightning).  While there doesn’t appear to be a solid case for the termination of any one of the five in particular, one name keeps coming up when Huggy Bear and his hockey pool hold their weekly meetings – Philadelphia’s Randy Carlyle.  The Flyers are weighed down with inconsistency and underperforming talent.  If this team is to live up to its expectations, would new management be the key?

All Brawn but know Brains?

Scoring Drought: There are only 3 goal scorers from last season’s Top 10 who are currently in the Top 10 for this season: Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley (notes).  Among the M.I.A. snipers: Jeff Carter (4 goals in nine games), Rick Nash (6 goals in 10 games), the injured Marian Hossa and Thomas Vanek, and Eric Staal, who continues his early season struggle with 3 goals and 1 assist in 10 games.

Poor attendance may change? 10,699 is the average attendance for the Phoenix Coyotes (via ESPN’s imperfect count) in five home games, despite the 17,532-padded gate for the bargain basement home opener.  Will this change as the ownership situation is settling and the team is playing its best hockey in 4 seasons?  Things could be looking up!  For the New York Islanders, their lowest attendance of 12,065 isn’t too far off their average attendance for the past five home games, after finishing last in the NHL in reported average draws (13,773) last season.  With the demise of the Lighthouse project causing fans to believe that they could be without a team in Long Island next season, but with the team performing and John Tavares developing nicely, the fans may keep the belief!

Keep Out of the Box! The Anaheim Ducks have been shorthanded 55 times in 10 games this season, third in the league behind the New York Rangers (59 in 12 games) and the Carolina Hurricanes (58 in 10 games).  The difference between the three teams? The Rangers have drawn 51 power plays, the Hurricanes have drawn 45 and the Ducks have a paltry 34 man advantages – the third fewest in the NHL.  So the undisciplined and embarrassing display against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night wasn’t an aberration.

GAME

GAME ON: Columbus Blue Jackets have started the season off as they left it – with a strong work ethic and underdog power forwards delivering play-off contender quality.  Rick Nash, R.J Umberger and company are not to be taken lightly.  Monday night’s OT win against Washington spells out one word: FEARLESS!

Bring IT!

WHOS GOT GAME: Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke’s plan to unlock Tomas Kaberle’s play-making ability has finally paid off.  For the week, Kaberle had 2 goals and 10 assists in four games – the most points by any player in a single week this season.  He leads all defensemen in scoring and is in the top 10 among all players with 17 points, while averaging just less than 24 minutes a night.

He’s The Man

WHOS NOT GOT GAME: After a strong start, the New York Rangers have exposed a chink in their armor.  Two games without super shooter Marian Gaborik resulted in two losses.  Not a coincidence, as his goal in his first game back on Saturday sealed the Rangers first win in 3 games – a 1-0 win over Boston.

GAME OF THE WEEK: The rivalry between Montreal and Toronto was reignited on Saturday night.  In an epic 4-4 game, filled with passion I’ve never seen on the ice before, the Canadiens won the Old Firm Derby, 5-4.  It was the only game I’ve seen this season deserving of a shoot out!

WHAT GAME ARE YOU PLAYING @? The Anaheim Ducks need to get it together – and quick!  Running around like a bunch of penalty-taking zombies is not how to make the play-offs.  An unnatural disaster is the only way to describe the Carolina Hurricanes – their 9-game losing streak doesn’t seem to have an end in sight.

Check out this week’s Video Clips and News in the 5+Game Blog on www.dannyboome.tv

The information statistics and subject matter of articles is sourced from the official NHL web site NHL.com and it’s archives. The Hockey News.com, Yahoo Sports.com and ESPN.com. Research and quotations can at times come from other independent associated press.