Early in the preseason, I trekked down to Pittsburgh on an expedition to watch Malkin play.  It was rookie camp, open practice and fans were psyched.  The young Russian forward strutted his puckhandling abilities on center ice.  "Don't get near him or we'll lose games this season,"  screamed a fan during a scrimmage game.  Malkin was checked by a teammate.

This season in six games Malkin has seven goals and four assists.  Is he the next real thing?  Mario Lemieux recently told the press that he was amazed at his offensive poweress.  "I wish it was 15 years earlier," said the 41-year-old Lemieux.  He would have loved to play with Malkin who is now playing as a natural centre joined by Crosby and Armstrong on the wing.

Malkin is the first player in the NHL in more than 89 years to strike goals in each of his first six games.

Is he the next big thing?

 

If you pair the Blackhawks and the Flyers this year, I'm positively sure that you would be squared away from the rink enjoying Halloween festivities instead of watching a dull game.  But, a catch of orange hair brought back my flighty attention.  So, went  by my Monday night as I watched the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks distract themselves from the real goal of winning hockey games, a tactic that  favored the Flyers. 

As everyone knows, the Philadelphia Flyers have a futile record.  They have attempted everything from firing the coach to sending Petr Nedved to the minors.  The team needed a wake up call so some bright marketing mind decided to break a world record for the most amount of wigs at a hockey game.  Smart idea for the day before Halloween, eh?  Fans found themselves wearing a bright orange wig for a piece of the Guinness and I am not referring to the Irish beer and tonic.   I wonder if the hair was supposed to resemble that of Bobby Clarke in his prime.  Regardless, it appears that the bright orange wigs distracted the Chicago Blackhawks who were shut out yet again in a consecutive game.

Interestingly enough, I was told by a die hard Blackhawks fan who specializes in obscure facts and operates like the Guinness Book of World Records that his team holds the real achievement for futility.  The Hawks hadn't been shut out in three straight games since 1974 when they were blanked by the Atlanta Flames, Vancouver Canucks and California Golden Seals.  The Blackhawks haven't been shut out more than four consecutive times since the 1928-1929 season.  The franchise record was eight times in a row which the fan claims is the NHL record. 

At the end, the record for futility is secure. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the end of last season, fed up with the media frenzy of being the media I had the bright idea of retiring from hockey writing.  It all started when the Chicago Blackhawks extended their losing streak closing on to a 1960s record.  Sadly enough, I sought solace in other sports such as baseball and soccer.  Now, that summer is over and the hockey season has started I've been anxious pondering what I should do in Pennsylvania through the winter months.

Before I dared take such a drastic step as being bored all winter long without hockey, my friend enticed me to visit the roots of the sport in Canada.  So, I took on the idea thinking that it was just October and that bad weather wouldn't hinder our plans.  Driving through sleet, snow and freezing rain I barely made it to Niagara Falls through a slippery demise.  The Canadian Border Patrol only asked us one question:  "What are you going to be doing in the country?"  My friend and I both answered in concert:  "Watching two hockey games, what else!"

Our first stop was in Hamilton, Ontario a town which many people in our whereabouts refer as the Johnstown, PA of Canada.   My friend, Nichole, who is a native of Johnstown and a direct descendant from a long line of Chief fans as in the movie Slapshot grimaced as she looked upon the fuming skyline of the steel city.  It was like Johnstown alright and she felt close to home.  This time around we prepared for the game as spectators not writers sitting behind the glass.

 Familiar faces skated down the ice as they winked, threw pucks at the glass and showed off their skills.  The ex captain of the Norfolk Admirals, Ajay Baines, smiled as he read a sign with a message from an old Admiral friend.  It was an inside joke which Baines understood as he chuckled his way back to the line up.  Baines who has never played a game up in the NHL is a hard working veteran who leads through example.  In his other community, down south in Norfolk, land of baseball and of David Wright, where he lived for five years, Baines educated his fans about diabetes, a disease he himself copes with everyday.  Baines now wears an A for alternate captain with his new team.    

A couple of slams against the glass later, and the Montreal Canadiens farm club lost the game as we cheered in the multicolored empty seats of the Copps.  Will an NHL club ever make it to Hamilton?  I asked my friends who are season ticket holders in the arena.  "The Pens might be playing here in Hamilton."  According to the media, NHL bylaws wouldn't permit another arena in Toronto's precious communications air space.   "It must be that the CN Tower needle picks up everything," I told them.

After I talked to my friends during intermission, I realized the importance of the game.  It brings people together.  In the vast province of Ontario, hockey spectators drive miles just to meet up with others.  It is a social event that encompasses hours broken down into three periods and two intermissions meant for socializing.  During those two breaks, you catch up with everyone you haven't seen since the last game.  At this level, the hockey is still homely.  Many fans greet the players as they hop on the bus waving goodbye preparing themselves for the next game, the next adventure, and the next town.   

Here in Hamilton, I hadn't seen my friends from Selkirk in over two years while Nichole hadn't seen her friend Cliff in over a year.  He showed up from Waterloo after the game and posed an interesting question.  "What would happen if the Pens moved to Waterloo?"  I had to think twice about Ontario geography.  In my mind, I imagined Napoleon's Waterloo with the ABBA soundtrack in the background.  It was the wrong image.  Cliff proposed that the Pittsburgh Penguins might be moving to Waterloo which is the birthplace of the Blackberry (that do it yourself wireless gizmo) empire and the home of its new owner.  Cliff was excited but Nichole squirmed at the thought of her beloved team moving out of town.  For her, it was the equivalent of the Pittsburgh Steelers losing Big Ben.  It was a devastating thought.  Nichole was raised a Pens fan despite the fact that she is from the home of the Johnstown Chiefs and had watched Slapshot too many times to count.

The next day we headed over to Toronto under a hail storm to the Hockey Hall of Fame.  I posed next to Bobby Hull's glass memorabilia and strolled over to the Canadiens locker room.  It smelled refreshingly clean unlike most fetid dressing rooms in the NHL.  I then attempted to shoot a puck at Eddie Belfour in his hologram form in the interactive goalie section.  Of course, I won. 

But the highlight of Toronto was returning to our hotel with the harbor front view of the city.  Around 4pm, we ran into some well dressed men waddling through the lobby.  "It's Jarome Iginla," Nichole told me as we lounged with our shopping spree bags layered around the lush carpet.  "Sure it is," I said.  Nichole is always kidding around except this time.  Jarome greeted us with a huge grin on his face.  I guess it was a warm welcome for him in the city of his rivals, the mighty Toronto Maple Leafs.  That night we decided to attend the game and cheer on for the Calgary Flames.  Maybe we would bring Jim Playfair's team some luck.

The game turned out to be an action pack sequence where Kipper saw pucks flying around his crease like popcorn.  At the end, Mats Sundin's team prevailed as he struck his 500th goal to win in overtime.  History was made in the ACC and the next day we were to return back home.

On our return trip on a Sunday afternoon, we decided to make a stop at the International Hockey Hall of Fame.  It was closed which isn't surprising since it is located on the outskirts of Kingston next to the town's old memorial arena.   This is Don Cherry country with a huge giant square puck as the only landmark for the hall of fame.  Nevertheless, after a stop at Tim Horton's, we escaped the aftermath of the storm in Buffalo by cruising through the winding back roads of upstate New York.  It was a memorable trip.  Maybe it isn't time to retire my number just yet. 

The Buffalo Sabres are about to win an NHL record for the best start in a season.  They are undeniably undefeated and the rest of the league is just plain jealous.  They have a secret and it's not just eating Wheaties.   

The Buffalo Sabres play as a team.  Yes, even Saku Koivu, captain of the Montreal Canadiens, admitted to the fact that the Sabres do not make mistakes. "If they do, they're little ones and yes, they know exactly what to do with the puck," he said to the reporter of CanWest. 

Mind you I've only driven through Buffalo on my way to Canada in drenching snow, but their 9-0 start makes me want to stop and watch the record breaking moment.  I would celebrate like Jessica Simpson eating Buffalo Wings. 

Interestingly enough, the record of the best start is carried by the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs going 10-0.  Some Leafer fans are upset since back then in the day in pre-lockout era the shootout did not exist.  The NHL office was inundated with calls from the Toronto media.  Would the Buffalo record break still be legit?   

 

 

It seems that the world is topsy turvy in the NHL.  Neil Smith was just fired from his job on the New York Islanders.  Was it too much pressure for the GM hired June 8th?  Did he make the write signings adding Andy Hilbert, Brendan Witt, Chris Simon, Tom Poti and Mike Sillinger?  What really went on behind close doors in Long Island for a goaltender, Garth Snow,  to be hired as GM?