As the Canucks pull into Anaheim tonight, the team is on the crest of a three-game winning streak, one that's being authored in part by a rather unlikely duo. I'm talking about Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows, a pair of hard nosed forwards who have combined for 15 points in the last eight games as the Canucks have gone 4-2-2 and kept themselves inside the safety zone in the Western Conference playoff race.
Heretofore, Kesler was best known as a smooth skating prospect the Canucks had to
overpay to keep thanks to Bobby Clarke, while Burrows was best known for staying in shape in the offseason thanks to
plenty of ball hockey. But now, the emergence this season of both as players who can be responsible in their own end while still chipping in with some offense once in a while has given the Canucks an added boost while allowing them to save some money by shipping former uber-pest Matt Cooke to Washington rather than re-sign him.
The pair managed to shine the brightest in Vancouver's two most recent games, with Burrows striking for a goal and two assists against St. Louis on Saturday, while Kesler scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals in a 2-1 OT win over Los Angeles last night.
As a former first round pick, it wasn't entirely unexpected to see Kesler round into form. As for Burrows, a 26-year old bilingual native of Montreal, the route to a steady NHL job wasn't always as clear, with Vancouver head coach Alan Vigneault telling him as recently as the end of last season that if he didn't pick up his game,
he might be starting the season in Manitoba:
"I told him at the exit meetings last year that if he didn't pick it up there was a chance he wasn't going to start with the Canucks. He did everything he could to come to camp in great shape."
Last season, Burrows had all of nine points for the Canucks. As of today, he's got 29, including 11 goals, with 13 games to play. And their teammates are noticing the difference, with the recently returned Brendan Morrison saying that
the play of the pair has made all the difference now that
the team's big guns are misfiring.
For more on the transformation of Burrows into an uber-pest, go visit the invaluable
Orland Kurtenblog.
Earlier this season we took a look at the power play/penalty kill differential for every team in the league to gain a better understanding of which team may (or may not) benefit from penalty calls during games. When all was said and done, the Philadelphia Flyers were at the bottom of the barrel, while the Carolina Hurricanes were the most disciplined team in the NHL (again).
Let there be no question that the St. Louis Blues have character. They have guts. They have fire. Oh, and they have some great young players who will only get better as the years go by.
Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.
Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.
Rangers 3, Islanders 1: For one night, everything was great at Madison Square Garden as the Rangers picked up a much needed 3-1 win over the Islanders. Scott Gomez, Nigel Dawes and Fredrik Sjostrom all scored goals in the win, while Chris Drury picked up an assist on each score. 
Things haven't been going very well for the Vancouver Canucks and their newest addition Mats Sundin. After joining the team in early January, Sundin had a pretty rough start to his career on Canada's western shore. Through the first nine games, he had 3 points, was a -6, had 16 penalty minutes and, worst of all, the Canucks were 1-5-3 during that stretch. The team dropped to 11th in the conference prior to last night and out of playoff position. The free fall has created unrest within the team, fan base and the media, the latter of which has detailed how the sky is falling.
Capitals 5, Devils 2: The Washington Capitals took advantage of their three power play chances on Tuesday night, converting on all of them on their way to a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Mike Green and Brooks Laich scored a pair of goals with the man advantage just three minutes apart in the first period, while Michael Nylander picked up his second goal of the game at the 10:59 mark of the third period. 
