Thursday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets will begin their quest into the strange new world that is the NHL playoffs. To get an idea of the atmosphere around town, and to continue to learn more about this once anonymous franchise, we discussed its upcoming series against the Detroit Red Wings with Aaron Portzline, beat writer for the Columbus Dispatch. Portzline, one of the most net-savvy of hockey's beat writers, also helps run a blog for the paper called Puck-rakers and has an excellent Twitter page.
Portzline has covered the Blue Jackets since their inaugural season in 2000-01, and has seen all of the ups and downs the franchise has offered over the years.
You're going to hear about Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin quite a bit during the NHL playoffs (probably more than you care to hear about them) but they are far from the only players in the NHL that could make an impact in the race for the Stanley Cup.
Here are four under-the-radar players that could play big roles for their teams this postseason.
The Columbus Blue Jackets took a small step towards solidifying their status as a playoff team in the Western Conference by acquiring Antoine Vermette from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for goaltender Pascal Leclaire and a second round pick, as reported by TSN.
Vermette has always been filled with potential and talent, but he's never really put it all together on the ice. He's averaged 20 goals the past three seasons, but has only scored nine in 62 games this season.
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.
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.
Things have been bleak in New Jersey ever since Martin Brodeur went down with his elbow injury, and they didn't exactly get any better on Friday night when the Devils fell, 3-1, to Washington. The Devils are now 1-5 since Brodeur's injury, and have scored just five goals in the five losses. Perhaps instead of acquiring a new goalie to replace his injured star, Lou Lamoriello should consider picking up somebody that can actually fill the net. Just a thought.
Scott Clemmensen was the hard-luck loser for the Devils on this night, giving up only two goals on 26 shots (the third goal for Washington was of the empty-net variety).
It's already becoming a familiar script. A good effort by an undermanned Devils team, but the offense can't put the puck past a goaltender you wouldn't expect to play well and despite acceptable goaltending on their own end, it's all just good enough to lose. That's what's facing the Devils right now after their 3-1 loss in Washington, dropping them to .500 (7-7-2) just two weeks after being four games over.
Alex Ovechkin continued his recent hot-streak by scoring his fifth goal (empty net) of the year and also picking up an assist. He's now scored in three straight games, after going ten in a row without a goal. It was only a matter of time before he started to catch fire.
Unfortunately for the Capitals, the win came with a price as they lost the league's leading scorer, Alexander Semin, to an "undisclosed injury" in the second period. He did not return to the game.
There's a meme that has been circulating among hockey blogs and message boards for probably as long as those forums have existed that basically asserts that Martin Brodeur isn't a particularly talented netminder and that his frequently gaudy numbers are merely the result of playing in a painfully boring, but effective, defensive system. At least that's the meme in its current form, as the causal clause has had to be tweaked a few times (from "playing for Jacques Lemaire" to "playing behind Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer" to the more generic way it's repeated now) in order to isolate the true reason behind Marty's perennially minuscule goals against average (which is most certainly not the result of, you know, talent).
But whether or not Martin Brodeur is a fraud is a discussion for another day. Today we're taking a look at a guy -- Pascal Leclaire -- who just might be the heir apparent to Brodeur's throne. No, not in terms of all those wins, Cups, wives and Vezinas (though who knows?), but in terms of being called out as merely the beneficiary of a painfully boring, but effective, defensive system.
Unlike the cut-and-dry Lidstrom Norris Trophy race, the Vezina race, for the NHL's top netminder, is much more interesting at the half-way point. Looking at the top of the stats, we see that leader board is clogged like a gas station's toilet.
Roberto Luongo (who pwned Crosby last month, if you'll remember) should definitely be considered the #1 goaltender in the NHL right now. Besides the fact that he just continues to make so many saves, as The Puck Stops Here notes, he also has the largest workload out of the top performers. Over the course of a season, being able to 'bring it' night in and night out is extremely valuable, and means that a team doesn't have to rely on their backup goaltenders nearly as much.
Name
Team
GP
MIN
W
L
OTL
SV%
SO
C.Osgood
DET
23
1356
19
2
1
0.932
2
T. Thomas
BOS
27
1608
13
9
3
0.931
1
R. Luongo
VAN
34
2014
19
12
3
0.930
6
P. Leclaire
COB
28
1557
13
8
3
0.928
7
C. Huet
MON
22
1335
11
6
5
0.926
1
Chris Osgood continues to astound with what can't be considered but anything than a cosmic outlier. One would have to think that he'll be coming down to Earth any day, once his contract with Satan (not Miroslav, mind you) expires. Osgood also gets a few demerits for playing behind the elite team in the NHL and facing so few shots every night.
The race for second place is then between young Pascal Leclaire and old man Tim Thomas. Both goalies have done an amazing job carrying rather poor teams to competitive levels. If shutouts are your thing, Leclaire already have seven this season, and may break double digits. The league's GMs, who vote on the award, seem to love shiny shutouts. Thus, I'd rank Luongo first, Leclaire second, and Thomas third.
As we wrap up the holiday season tomorrow, the cleanup of the mess that has been the last month of our lives will soon commence. For different people that can mean different things. Whether you'll be throwing out the Christmas tree, trying in vain to accomplish your New Year's resolutions, or recovering from a hangover, this week has a different meaning to us all.
One thing that a lot of us will be doing though is sorting through and possibly even throwing out holiday cards. While going through the trash behind NHL headquarters (I know, I live such an exciting life) I found quite a few holiday cards in the dumpsters*. Today, I'll share the text from some of the best holiday cards I found.
(* - by that I mean this is all fictitious, of course)
---- To: Gary Roberts Postmarked: 12/29 in Leg Bone Heaven
Gary,
Sorry I couldn't make it to see the New Year. Not all of us are as indestructible and manly as you. Happy holidays!
Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.
It wasn't so long ago that Pascal Leclaire was a struggling young goaltender who let in more things between his legs than a Parisian call girl. All of a sudden, Leclaire is stingier than Scrooge McDuck and continues to pile up the shutouts.
Last night was blank sheet #7 (a 2-0 win over the Thrashees) for the young Blue Jackets netminder this season, continuing a string of dominating performances that Pascal has put out since the season started.
At 25 years of age, Leclaire is at the point where most goalies are just starting to establish themselves. It shouldn't be a surprise that Leclaire is finally showing his potential, even after years of being shell-shocked behind a poor Jackets D. With his skill-set, Leclaire should be able to maintain a high level of performance as long as his team can continue to play a stifling style for coach Ken Hitchcock.
What a difference a year can make ... from struggling goalie to Vezina candidate.
You're going to hear about 
The Columbus Blue Jackets took a small step towards solidifying their status as a playoff team in the Western Conference by acquiring 
Tuesday night's game against Edmonton is probably one that Columbus goalie 
Things have been bleak in New Jersey ever since 
There's a meme that has been circulating among hockey blogs and message boards for probably as long as those forums have existed that basically asserts that Martin Brodeur isn't a particularly talented netminder and that his frequently gaudy numbers are merely the result of playing in a painfully boring, but effective, defensive system. At least that's the meme in its current form, as the causal clause has had to be tweaked a few times (from "playing for Jacques Lemaire" to "playing behind Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer" to the more generic way it's repeated now) in order to isolate the true reason behind Marty's perennially minuscule goals against average (which is most certainly not the result of, you know, talent).
Unlike 
As we wrap up the holiday season tomorrow, the cleanup of the mess that has been the last month of our lives will soon commence. For different people that can mean different things. Whether you'll be throwing out the Christmas tree, trying in vain to accomplish your New Year's resolutions, or recovering from a hangover, this week has a different meaning to us all. 
Every day from Monday to Saturday, 
