Some pretty big injury news around the NHL today, as the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins learned they will be without some key players for at least the next month.
In Boston, the Bruins will be without their top playmaker, center Marc Savard, for the next four-to-six weeks because of broken left foot, which comes just two days after power forward Milan Lucic had surgery on a broken finger, which will also sideline him for more than a month.
Chris Snow, director of hockey operations for the Minnesota Wild, is entering his fourth season with the team after spending a number of years covering the Boston Red Sox for the Boston Globe, and the Wild for the Star Tribune. He joined the team's hockey operations department when its general manager at the time, Doug Risebrough, was looking for something different in the front office.
"Doug was a really accomplished player," said Snow. "He played for a while in the NHL, but he was also a guy that was a free-thinker and really looked outside the box. He had a need for someone in the front office to do a variety of work, but I also think he wanted to look at the position with growth in mind."
In perfect 20/20 hindsight, the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames might regret their decisions to trade Marc Savard. One of the players at the forefront of the Boston Bruins' return to relevance the past two years, Savard was traded twice early in his career for what turned out to be (again, in hindsight) underwhelming returns.
On June 26, 1999, the Rangers, the team that drafted Savard in 1995, sent him and a first-round pick to the Calgary Flames for Jan Hlavac, a first-round pick (Jamie Lundmark) and a third-round pick. As bad as that might look now, that's still more than Calgary received for him when the Flames sent Savard to Atlanta four years later.
When the Detroit Red Wings signed Johan Franzen to an 11-year contract extension back in April, reactions were mixed. Some folks, like a number of the commenters at the Hockey's Future boards, thought the Red Wings were out of their minds for signing a soon-to-be 30-year-old forward to an 11-year contract. Others, like the good people at Abel to Yzerman, applauded general manager Ken Holland for not messing around when it comes to keeping the guys he wants.
We're only a month into the new deal, but the early results are stellar. Franzen has continued to excel as one of the better power forwards in the NHL, and has proven himself to be one of the best playoff, big-game goal-scorers the NHL has seen in quite some time.
The Bruins managed only 23 shots on the night, doubled by Carolina's total of 46. That included only four shots in the third period as the Canes continued to pour it on. Thomas gave the Bruins a chance to win, but finally, in the first overtime, Jussi Jokinen scored to give Carolina the win and a 2-1 lead in the series.
Going into tonight's game against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Boston Bruins hadn't played in eight days. There was the distinct possibility that they would come out rusty. On the other hand, the Hurricanes were coming off an emotional win in New Jersey on Tuesday night and might be a bit drained.
As it turned out, both teams came out pretty hard and competed but the Hurricanes seemed to be a step behind tonight. Turnovers and poor play in their own zone led to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Bruins, despite a somewhat evenly played game. Well, as evenly played as a game decided by three goals can be.
Bruins 4, Hurricanes 1: Recap | Box Score | Friday's Scores Boston leads series, 1-0 | Next Game: Sunday @ BOS, 7:30 PM ET
The Bruins and Hurricanes enter their Eastern Conference semifinal coming off completely different opening round wins.
On one hand, Boston absolutely dominated a hapless Canadiens squad with a clean four-game sweep. On the other hand, Carolina had to go seven games with the Devils, including a nail-biter in the deciding game that saw the Hurricanes tie it, and win it, in the final two minutes of regulation.
Let's just come right out and say it: the Canadiens are in trouble. The Boston Bruins systematically dismantled Montreal on Saturday night, putting on a clinic in their 5-1 win at TD Banknorth Garden to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
Marc Savard led the way with two goals and two assists, helping the Bruins chase Carey Price after two periods as the 21-year-old netminder surrendered five goals, including one to Michael Ryder with just under three seconds to play in the second period.
Exactly 1,230 regular season games have been played. We're down to the best eight teams in each conference. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Wednesday night with four series lid-lifters.
In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins rallied from a bit of a swoon around the All-Star Break to easily win the top seed. Even if you subscribe to the idea of Boston being favored because of their strong overall record, there are no sure things in these here playoffs. Who will threaten to knock the Bruins off their pedestal?
Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead. Hurricanes 4, Rangers 2: Carolina continued its winning ways with a 4-2 win over the Rangers on Thursday night, extending its current winning streak to seven games. Chad LaRose scored a pair of goals in the win, while Cam Ward stopped 36 shots, including 29 through the first two periods.
Some pretty big injury news around the NHL today, as the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins learned they will be without some key players for at least the next month. 
Chris Snow, director of hockey operations for the Minnesota Wild, is entering his fourth season with the team after spending a number of years covering the Boston Red Sox for the Boston Globe, and the Wild for the Star Tribune. He joined the team's hockey operations department when its general manager at the time, Doug Risebrough, was looking for something different in the front office. 
FanHouse's Adam Gretz takes a look at his top 50 players in the NHL. No. 24 is Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard.
When the Detroit Red Wings signed Johan Franzen to an 11-year contract extension back in April, reactions were mixed. Some folks, like a number of the commenters at the Hockey's Future boards, thought the Red Wings were out of their minds for signing a soon-to-be 30-year-old forward to an 11-year contract. Others, like the good people at Abel to Yzerman, applauded general manager Ken Holland for not messing around when it comes to keeping the guys he wants. 
For three periods, Boston's Tim Thomas proved why he was one of three NHL netminders nominated for this year's Vezina Trophy. He singlehandedly kept the Bruins in a game in which they were getting dominated. 
Going into tonight's game against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Boston Bruins hadn't played in eight days. There was the distinct possibility that they would come out rusty. On the other hand, the Hurricanes were coming off an emotional win in New Jersey on Tuesday night and might be a bit drained. 
