Between his Flyers beating the Islanders on the road on Wednesday night and hosting Buffalo on Friday afternoon, rookie wing James van Riemsdyk squeezed in Thanksgiving dinner at home. Born and raised in Middletown, New Jersey, van Riemsdyk is one of the few American NHL players able to have a home-cooked meal on a day off between games.
"I'm very lucky that way," van Riemsdyk told FanHouse the other night. He was walking to the team bus 45 minutes after Philadelphia won on Long Island, the rare game in which he wasn't a major contributor. Considered only a possibility to make the Flyers' roster out of training camp after two years at the University of New Hampshire, van Riemsdyk has emerged as one of the top rookies in the league.
On Wednesday night, New Jersey Devils broadcaster Sherry Ross made history when she became the first female broadcaster to provide play-by-play in English for an entire NHL game.
Ross, who is usually the color commentator on Devils radio broadcasts, took over the play-by-play when fourth-year New Jersey announcer Matt Loughlin took time to be with his family after the passing of his father-in-law. Ross called the game, with former Devils forward Rob Skrlac serving as analyst.
There once was a time when an NHL season could be recalled by one major, frightening on-ice incident. Now it seems there is one a week. The new scenes are etched in a hockey fan's mind like a movie buff citing favorite acts of violence directed by Coppola, Scorcese or Tarantino.
Every Monday during the season two of our hockey writers will debate one topic. It's the 2-on-1. This week, Chris Botta and Adam Gretz break down who's for real and who isn't at the quarter-pole of the NHL season.
Zach Bogosian, the 19-year-old defenseman from the Atlanta Thrashers, has emerged as a serious candidate for the United States Olympic Team, a pair of sources have told FanHouse.
The 19-year-old Bogosian, a native of northern New York, has developed into a superb two-way defenseman with shocking ease, with just 64 NHL games under his belt. The third overall pick from 2008 already has eight goals this season, tops among NHL defensemen. He would be a natural for the up-tempo system Team USA coach Ron Wilson plans to install for the Olympics in Vancouver in February.
When he was 15 years old, phenom defenseman Cam Fowler locked in a scholarship to play college hockey at Notre Dame. Two years later, at the age of 17, the kid from Farmington Hills, Mich. made a phone call he said was "the toughest thing I've had to do in my life so far."
He broke his commitment with head coach Jeff Jackson and Notre Dame, electing to play Canadian junior hockey with likely 2010 first overall pick Taylor Hall and the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.
NEW YORK -- As Alex Ovechkin takes the pregame warmup at Madison Square Garden, an hour before scoring in his return game -- a Capitals' 4-2 win -- Rangers fans in blue and white jerseys stand 10-deep behind the glass. In a rarity for this most vocal of fanbases, hardly anyone makes a sound. They mostly just stand and watch and appreciate. Ovechkin is back after a two-week injury and he seems to have been missed not just by Capitals fans.
Bob Hoch attempts to focus on Ovechkin with the Canon 200 he's taken out of his jacket pocket. Hoch has been a Rangers season ticket-holder for five years, but he's an unabashed Ovechkin true believer. "I love Ovechkin and hate Sidney Crosby," Hoch says, as if there has to be a choice. "They're both incredible hockey players, but Crosby takes dives and avoids contact at all times and Ovie is old school. He's the guy you'd kill to have on your team."
The Columbus Blue Jackets drafted a super-skilled freelancing forward a year ago and are now wondering why he's not developing into Jere Lehtinen. So on Tuesday, Nikita Filatov took his sticks and went home to Russia and the KHL -- as the Blue Jackets always knew he could.
Now the big question is, where do the Blue Jackets and their "prized" prospect go from here?
NEW YORK -- Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin will make his return to the lineup on Tuesday night in Madision Square Garden against the New York Rangers.
Ovechkin, who is still tied for the NHL lead in goals with 14, missed six games over the last 15 days with what the Capitals termed an "upper body strain." His return is not just at one of the world's more famous arenas, but can be seen on VERSUS. In Ovechkin's three previous appearances on the league's national cable partner this season, he has a combined six goals and two assists. In his last five games at Madison Square Garden -- including last year's playoffs -- Ovechkin has four goals and four assists.
Dave Schultz will be inducted into the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame on Monday night. Looking back more than 30 years later, it's hard to believe Schultz was only a Flyer for four seasons.
"That's my only regret," said the man forever known as "The Hammer."
Just four years. Ask any hockey fan to list the men associated with the great and notorious Philadelphia hockey teams of the 1970s and you will hear Bobby Clarke's name first, followed maybe by Bernie Parent and possibly the coach, Fred Shero. But in that next group -- along with everyone from Bill Barber and Rick MacLeish to Gary Dornhoefer and Reggie Leach and the Watson brothers -- comes The Hammer.
Between his Flyers beating the Islanders on the road on Wednesday night and hosting Buffalo on Friday afternoon, rookie wing James van Riemsdyk squeezed in Thanksgiving dinner at home. Born and raised in Middletown, New Jersey, van Riemsdyk is one of the few American NHL players able to have a home-cooked meal on a day off between games.
On Wednesday night, 
When he was 15 years old, phenom defenseman Cam Fowler locked in a scholarship to play college hockey at Notre Dame. Two years later, at the age of 17, the kid from Farmington Hills, Mich. made a phone call he said was "the toughest thing I've had to do in my life so far."
NEW YORK -- As 
The Columbus Blue Jackets drafted a super-skilled freelancing forward a year ago and are now wondering why he's not developing into 
NEW YORK -- Washington 
Dave Schultz will be inducted into the 
