FanHouse John Paddock

Panthers 5, Hurricanes 0: With the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference on the line the Florida Panthers went into Carolina and pulled out a 5-0 win. The Hurricanes actually held a commanding edge in the shots department, firing 42 shots at Tomas Vokoun, who stopped them all to pick up his fourth shutout of the season.

Florida managed only 23 shots on goal, but was able to get four behind Cam Ward and another past Michael Leighton. The Panthers now hold a three-point edge over Carolina for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Ottawa Senators are currently on their third head coach in the past two seasons and sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. The one constant over that time has been general manager Bryan Murray, and one of the former coaches is pointing the finger directly at him for the team's recent failures on the ice.

John Paddock, fired by the Senators on February 28, 2008, blasted his former boss saying, among other things, that he's now "next in line" to take the fall.

The release of the hotly-anticipated Care Bears - 25 Years of Caring DVD couldn't come at a better time. The world has lacked a force that can battle all of the hatred and anger in the world with the power of love. The world has generally been an angry place, as we've seen by such hateful incidents as the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, or just about anything the Philadelphia Flyers do.

As hockey is a physical sport, we expect some members of the league will harbor a lot of anger, more so than they really ought to. Despite the fact that the NHLers are some of the best in the world at what they do, and get well compensated for their efforts, it just doesn't seem to be enough to make them truly happy.

Since we all lack the power to stand together and radiate light from our respective tummy symbols, we can, instead, give these gentlemen a good ol' Happy Holidays Hug.

1. Dion Phaneuf (pictured). Despite the fact that he's one of the brightest young stars in the league, and probably has enough groupies to fill up ten Persian palaces, Phaneuf has a permanent sourpuss look on his face. Perhaps he's pissed off that his mother named him 'Dion', or he's tired of listening to Keenan's tirades. Still, that's no excuse to go skating around with a bug up your ass like life sucks. Try smiling sometime, son!