Even after getting a 6 goal freebie win (they played the Coyotes), the Flames season is eight games old and Jerome Iginla leads the team with a paltry 3 goals. I harped on these guys in my last post but come on. Even the win over Phoenix had its soft spots, not the least of which was watching George Larouque make a mockery of Darren McCarty by pummelling him back to the 90's. I have a bit of a soft spot for ol’ George, having watched him tap on more than a few #### while on the Bulldogs. That guy can sure throw ‘em.

And since I brought up mockeries, leave it to effective pest/imbecile Darcy Tucker to lead the Maple Leafs in an exercise in regression last night. To date the 2006 Leafs looked slightly more competitive under up-tempo coach Paul Maurice, and Tucker especially has picked up his game immensely. The ghost of Pat Quinn must have been in the building Tuesday, however, because the Leaf’s looked like their ‘05 selves, more intent on taking cheap shots than staying in position and scoring goals. Tucker’s gutless mugging of non-fighter Eaves wasn't just a blatant (yet somehow uncalled) instigator penalty, it gave Ottawa an excuse to goon one of the new bud’s later in the season. Maurice won’t be only one upset if a smaller player like Wellwood or Stajan finds themselves taking a Chris Neil mitt in the grill, and everyone will know where the blame squarely lies if that happens. On top of all this came news that Tucker’s agent was in town, looking for a long-term no-trade contract for his hyper-active client. I said in my preseason predictions that you can’t rebuild a team with a strong veteran presence, and Tucker proved his ’06 makeover is far from complete.

Ice Chips on TSN.ca notes that Mike Babcock will be handing increased ice time to Hudler, Kopecky and Filppula this evening as the Wings tangle with the Sharks. The Wings took it in the teeth in San Jose last week, and I for one am impressed with Babcock’s decision. Fact is Datsyuk and Zetterberg aren’t getting it done, and neither one of them have earned the right to hog ice time hoping to find their groove. Until those two prove they can get it done on a non-loaded roster, they should be subject to icetime rollbacks. As for the game, I still think that Flippula especially is a few years away, but doesn’t mean that the Wings won’t play the Sharks very tough tonight, a game I’ll be watching courtesy of a TSN doubleheader. A big game from Hudler would go a long way in jump starting this squad.

The late game of that TSN doubleheader is Anaheim and Edmonton, with more than enough talent and sub-plots to keep me up past my bed time. Pronger and Lupul visit their old teams for the first time. Also, I've been waving the Chris Kunitz flag for a few years now, and he's starting to prove me right, leading the Duck's in points. While no goalie on either team has a save percentage under .930, I’m calling for lots of red lights tonight by way of the power play. Look for Anaheim to win big here, as emotions get the best of the Oilers.

The Pittsburgh Penguins keep rolling, winning with confidence despite a consistently porous defence. Must be that much-improved play of Marc-Andre Fleury, something yours truly was calling for. Their recent wins make me wonder, if Pittsburgh wins the cup, could they just save a lot of money and schedule the Stanley Cup parade and moving day at the same time? You know, throw some confetti, pose with the cup, march down the street… and just keep on going.

I'm still in awe over the bad luck of the Chicago Blackhawks. There's half an all-star starting line-up on their injury list right now. I heard the Havlat injury live on my satellite radio on Saturday night, it sounded bad. Here's hoping he can return somewhere around the 3 week estimate. It's not all bad news for the Hawks though, as there's a good chance Ruutu will be on the ice before next week, and Khabibulin may not be out that long either.