FanHouse Bryan McCabe

Long gone from the playoff race, the Atlanta Thrashers are busy playing out the proverbial string. While they did lose Thursday, 3-2 to Florida, there's no denying the Thrashers have been playing some pretty good hockey as of late. They're also feisty. In Thursday's game, captain Ilya Kovalchuk decided it was time to throw some punches, as he got into it with Florida defenseman Bryan McCabe. It was just the fifth fight of Kovalchuk's NHL career (second this season), but there's no doubt he more than held his own.

Panthers 6, Capitals 2: After a couple of blowout losses this past week, the Florida Panthers rebounded for a convincing 6-2 win in Washington on Sunday, thanks in large part to a 3-for-6 effort from their power play. After Alexander Semin gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead, the Panthers picked up three consecutive power play goals on their way to a four goal first period.

Bryan McCabe registered four points in the win, while Stephen Weiss picked up a goal and two assists. Jay Bouwmeester, Brett McLean and Keith Ballard also added two points.

Since the season began, it's pretty much been assumed that Florida Panthers defenseman Jay Bouwmeester would be the ultimate prize at this year's trade deadline. A 25-year-old defenseman just beginning to hit his prime, Bouwmeester is playing out the final year of his contract on a team that's been a perenial bottom-feeder in the Eastern Conference.

As it turns out, the Panthers are a pretty good hockey team, currently in a four-way battle for the final two playoff spots in the conference. It's unlikely that Bouwmeester is going to re-sign in Florida, leaving general manager Jacques Martin with quite a dilemma: does he keep Bouwmeester in an effort to make the playoffs, knowing he's probably going to lose him after the season? Or does he attempt to cash in his chips and deal his most marketable player? It should be a no-brainer.

Thanks to former Maple Leaf defenseman Bryan McCabe and his game-winner in overtime, the Florida Panthers pulled out a 4-3 win in Toronto on Tuesday night, helping push the team back into the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

The play of the game, however, was Niklas Hagman's marathon effort in the offensive zone, as the Leafs put on a puck possession clinic for nearly a minute. Honestly, I'm exhausted just watching it.



(H/T Puck Daddy)

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.

Jose Theodore stopped 32-of-34 shots in net for Washington, including 16-of-17 in the third period. The loss for New Jersey snaps its eight game winning streak, despite receiving another goal another Jamie Langenbrunner, who has now picked up seven goals in his past four games.

The Bruins and Capitals helped kick off the second half of the NHL season on Tuesday, and the top two teams in the Eastern Conference did not disappoint in Boston's 3-2 overtime win.

While it was an exciting game for much of the night, the best action came in the overtime period as goaltenders Tim Thomas and Jose Theodore exchanged incredible saves at each end of the ice. Following a Niklas Backstrom hooking penalty, David Krejci sent a pass through the slot only to have it bounce off Shaone Morrison's skate and find the back of the net behind Theodore for the game-winner.

Columbus goalie Steve Mason was perfect for 59 minutes on Friday night in his quest for his seventh shutout of the season. It was that one minute that proved to be the difference, as Travis Zajac and John Madden scored two quick goals to help lead the Devils to a 2-1 win.

Madden's goal, which proved to be the game-winner, came with some controversy as it needed a review from the infamous war room in Toronto. Mason appeared to have the puck covered long enough for a whistle, only to have Madden continue to dig and push the puck in as the net was dislodged. The call on the ice from referee Don Koharski was that it was a goal, and officials in Toronto apparently agreed, much to the chagrin of the fans in Columbus. Naturally, both teams had their own perspective on the events.

Of all the big offseason moves over the summer, Boston's signing of Blake Wheeler is looking to be like quite a steal. Wheeler, if you'll recall, was a former first-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes (fifth overall) and, well, it didn't exactly work out as he never signed with Phoenix, instead electing to become a free agent this summer. In early July, he inked a deal with the Bruins, made the roster out of camp, and thus far has been quite a contributor to the best team in the Eastern Conference.

The 22-year old forward scored a pair of goals in Sunday's 6-3 win in St. Louis, both of which came in the games first five minutes. Through Boston's first 32 games, the rookie has 11 goals and nine assists, placing him fifth among NHL rookies in points, five behind Columbus' Derick Brassard, who, by the way, could miss the remainder of the season due to a shoulder injury.

Anyway, back to the Bruins, they've now won five in a row, and 10 of their past 11, while scoring a boatload of goals in the process. During their current five-game winning streak, for example, the Bruins have lit the lamp 29 times. Granted, those games have been against Atlanta (twice) , Toronto and St. Louis, but, hey, 29 goals in five games is still 29 goals in five games.

Tuesday night's game against Edmonton is probably one that Columbus goalie Pascal Leclaire would like to permanently erase from his memory, seeing as how it's probably the worst game he's ever played in the NHL. Leclaire gave up seven goals on just 19 shots, as the Oilers rolled to a 7-2 victory, snapping a three-game losing streak.

Columbus finished with a commanding edge in the shots department, firing 39 shots at Dwayne Roloson -- he stopped 37 of them -- and still managed to skate away losing by five goals.

Seven different players scored for Edmonton, including Dustin Penner, who returned to the ice after being banished to the press box for the past two games for, well, not being fit enough to help the club. Penner was also a factor on Edmonton's first goal, as he parked his massive frame in front of Leclaire, providing a screen on Sheldon Souray's blast from the point. Andrew Cogliano, Tom Gilbert, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Shawn Horcoff and Lubomir Visnovsky also scored for the Oilers.

Kristian Huselius and Rick Nash scored the only goals for the Blue Jackets.

Every Thursday, Earl Sleek will conspire with his pen and scanner to bring you another installment of PuckToons. Hopefully you will find these amusing, relevant, well-drawn, or you're a person who is tolerant towards mediocrity.

I thought I'd turn my focus eastward this week, and make fun of new Florida Panther Bryan McCabe, who was traded this week along with a 4th round pick for defenseman Mike Van Ryn.

From my west coast perspective, McCabe is a defenseman who took some unfair heat from the Toronto media before he was traded, but still, he is a guy who did score on his own net in the closing seconds of overtime. That's never easy to live down, especially from hockey internet cartoonists who refuse to let it die.

For anyone looking for quality Florida Panthers blogs, I've recently started reading The Litter Box, which offers a cynical take on all Panther news. For a Leafs perspective, it's hard to go wrong with the level headed approach at Pension Plan Puppets. It should be an interesting year for both teams, it seems, as hockey fans don't anticipate either team qualifying for the postseason.