Last season was an unmitigated disaster in Colorado. The Avalanche scored the fewest goals in the league and they gave up the most in the Western Conference.
So there was sweeping change in Denver. Out went general manager Francois Giguere and most of the front office, along with head coach Tony Granato and his assistants. In comes GM Greg Sherman and head coach Joe Sacco.
"It's been good," Avalanche center Paul Stastny told FanHouse by phone. "There's a little more structure. We don't ever want to repeat something like last year again. It's not just stricter, but everything is done to a 'T' -- either you're doing it right, or you're doing it wrong. Everyone is accountable. Everyone is still having fun, but we're making sure we do the job."
After jumping out to a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference Final, Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock held a press conference on Monday and fielded a variety of questions from the media. For the most part, it was your typical, run-of-the-mill press conference.
About half way through, a reporter started asking Babcock about how he once joked that he was ready for the salary cap to break up the young talent the Chicago Blackhawks have assembled over the years. In Babcock's mind, he wasn't joking.
I'm pretty sure I have said this before, but I'll risk being repetitive, because I think it's important. Coaches tend to get way too much credit when things go well, and even more of the blame when things go poorly. This has been especially true, for some odd reason, in the NBA and NHL over the years. Turnover is ridiculous.
Tony Granato is in his second stint as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. His first shot at the job lasted not even two full seasons, before Joel Quenneville was brought in. When Quenneville left, Granato got a second opportunity. Unfortunately for him, the help from management and the players has been horribly inadequate.
The Phoenix Coyotes will be hosting the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night, and it's likely they'll be taking the ice without defenseman Derek Morris. According to Darren Dreger of TSN, Morris has reportedly given general manager Don Maloneya list of teams he would be willing to accept a trade to.
Dreger also reports that until a trade can be made, Morris will not play for the Coyotes in order to avoid an injury.
We're less than one year away from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Once again, the NHL will take a mid-season break and allow its players to participate in the Games.
After a wonderful run to silver in Salt Lake City back in 2002, Team USA was nothing short of disappointing in Torino three years ago. The Americans went just 1-3-1 in pool play, including an inexplicable tie against Latvia, before dropping a 4-3 decision to Finland in the quarterfinals. Heading into 2010, general manager Brian Burke has plenty of decisions to make, mainly surrounding the question of age.
There are certainly at least two really good teams in the NHL's Western Conference. Defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit and fast-starting San Jose appear in the clear to duke it out for the right to play for the Stanley Cup later this year.
Of course, we know that anything can happen in a best-of-seven series. In addition, we still have half a season left to play. What we don't know is which team in this conference is set up to challenge either the Red Wings or Sharks. They've beaten - at least once - pretty much everyone who has stood in their way, including each other.
While the top of the conference appears to virtually locked in place at this point, there are still serious battles to be fought, especially for the last four positions in the West. Currently, eight teams are separated by just six points. St. Louis, the last-place team in the West, is just nine points out of eighth.
Another night, another win for the San Jose Sharks. What else is new? The Kings jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals by Matt Greene and Ted Purcell, but because they refuse to lose in regulation (or at any point, really) the Sharks managed to tie the game with tallies from Ryane Clowe and Patrick Marleau.
The game remained tied throughout the third period and overtime, leading to a shootout where the Sharks picked up goals from Clowe and Dan Boyle, while Brian Boucher turned aside two of the three Los Angeles shots, giving San Jose a 3-2 win.
The Sharks win, combined with Detroit's loss (more on this in a bit) gives San Jose an eight point lead for the top spot in the Western Conference. The victory also gives San Jose the best record in NHL history through the first 30 games of the season, as the Sharks currently boast a 25-3-2 mark. They haven't lost a game in regulation since November 9, which is a 15-game streak where San Jose has picked up at least a point.
Boucher made 26 saves in the win, while Los Angeles snapped its modest two-game winning streak.
As of right now, the NHL is the San Jose Sharks -- and everybody else. It remains to be seen how long they can keep playing at such a pace, and who knows, it may hurt them in the long-run that they're playing their best hockey in November and December as opposed to, say, May and June. But none of that changes the fact this is quite an incredible stretch of hockey. Kudos, San Jose.
The Minnesota Wild are probably the last team you would expect to be involved in a 6-5 game, but, hark, here we are. Paul Stastny scored a pair of goals and picked up an assist for the Avalanche, as they snapped the Wild's modest two-game winning streak on Monday night.
Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom had what was, perhaps, his worst night of the season, giving up six goals on 26 shots through the first two periods. He didn't come back out for the third, as Josh Harding took over and stopped all five shots he faced in the defeat.
Bouchard scored his second goal of the game just 22 seconds into the second period, giving Minnesota a brief 3-2 lead. Just three minutes later, Stastny picked up his first, as the Avalanche would fill the net three more times in the period, ultimately chasing Backstrom from the game.
Minnesota head coach Jacques Lemaire called the first 40 minutes the worst two periods he had seen, as Colorado was not only leading 6-4, but also holding a commanding 26-12 edge in shots on goal.
Every week there are moves and stories around the National Hockey League that tend to fall through the cracks. Consider this our weekly roundup of those stories from the previous week, all wrapped up in one neat little package.
On Monday, the Colorado Avalanche announced the signing of Paul Stastny to a five-year, $33 million contract which will begin during the 2009-10 season. Stastny, 22, is currently leading the Avalanche with 15 points in 16 games, after leading the team in scoring with 71 points a season ago as a 21-year old.
Stastny said he was in a state of shock about the deal because just two years ago he was in college, and now he's signing a contract for $33 million to play hockey. Two years after I was in college I was sitting in a cubicle pounding out reports about product movement and how they might help promote long-term growth in the marketplace. I should have spent more time working on my skating.
Stastny's deal is worth slightly less annually than the seven-year, $47 million deal Kings center Anze Kopitar signed prior to the season. Both players are playing in their third seasons, and were selected in the 2005 entry draft, with Kopitar going No. 11 overall, and Stastny going in the second round, No. 44 overall.
Alexander Semin, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom put on a clinic last night as the Capitals pounded Carolina, 5-1. Semin had a part in every Washington goal, scoring two and assisting on three, as he took over the NHL's scoring lead from Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, in what is sure to be an exciting scoring race all season.
Ovechkin scored his fourth goal of the season, while Backstrom finally ended his season-long drought, picking up his first tally of the year. Between them, the trio combined for 12 points and a +12 on the night, as they tortured Carolina Goalie Michael Leighton.
The Capitals Blog Japers' Rink offers a nice breakdown of the game, including how this Capitals team can still get better, and a less-than-flattering performance by the oldest Staal brother, Eric.
I don't think I've ever seen a "superstar" have a worse period than Eric Staal did in the first. He botched tap-ins on an extended 5-on-3, lost a key defensive zone draw that led to the Caps' second goal, and just flat out stunk the building up. It's probably a different game if he has a better opening stanza.
Last season was an unmitigated disaster in Colorado. The Avalanche scored the fewest goals in the league and they gave up the most in the Western Conference.
After jumping out to a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference Final, Red Wings head coach 
I'm pretty sure I have said this before, but I'll risk being repetitive, because I think it's important. Coaches tend to get way too much credit when things go well, and even more of the blame when things go poorly. This has been especially true, for some odd reason, in the NBA and NHL over the years. Turnover is ridiculous.
The Phoenix Coyotes will be hosting the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night, and it's likely they'll be taking the ice without defenseman 
We're less than one year away from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Once again, the NHL will take a mid-season break and allow its players to participate in the Games. 
There are certainly at least two really good teams in the NHL's Western Conference. Defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit and fast-starting San Jose appear in the clear to duke it out for the right to play for the Stanley Cup later this year.
Another night, another win for the San Jose Sharks. What else is new? The Kings jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals by 
The Minnesota Wild are probably the last team you would expect to be involved in a 6-5 game, but, hark, here we are. 
Every week there are moves and stories around the National Hockey League that tend to fall through the cracks. Consider this our weekly roundup of those stories from the previous week, all wrapped up in one neat little package.
