Ovechkin Betters Crosby, Game Access Limited

The NHL’s two biggest stars took the ice against one another for the first time since their classic Eastern Conference Semifinal of a year ago. I’m talking of course of Sidney Crosby and the Penguins against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. This is not only a matchup of the league’s two biggest stars but also of two of the best teams in hockey. The game was a very entertaining contest that ultimately saw Washington shut Pittsburgh out in the third period to take the game 6-3, but the game itself is not the storyline. Unfortunately the bigger issue is the fact that the game was not televised on an outlet that people all over the nation could see. Sure it was being broadcast on the NHL network but the number of people who have the channel is limited not only in pure numbers but also limited to people who already love the game. This game needed to be on a station that would reach the highest number of people possible and while a weekday game would not be on NBC and I accept this it still could have been on Versus. Granted, the NHL does not have the best TV contract but they did not even maximize the potential of the deal they do have.  Hockey is a fantastic sport but people like me need not be convinced of this, it’s the casual fan who tuned into last year’s playoff series who need to see a showcase of the game’s best players again this year to draw them closer to the game; however, chances are they did not see the game because causal fans likely do not have the NHL Network. In stark contrast to this on the same night the NBA was show casing two of its biggest stars in LeBron James and Kobe Bryant on TNT which many more people have access to. This is simply an example of the NBA doing a much better job of marketing than the NHL. In my opinion at the very least the NHL has a product that is as good as that which the NBA fields every night it’s just a matter of better marketing on the part of the NBA. If the NHL wants to keep the game growing and simply take its great product to the masses (who will undoubtedly love what they see) then they have to pay attention to the details; otherwise the league will continue to take one step forward and two steps backwards when it comes to growing its popularity in the US.

In on ice news the Edmonton Oilers are not having the best year. There are many reasons why Edmonton has been struggling but there is also no doubt that no one has lost more heartbreakers than the Oilers. Edmonton’s matchup against the Dallas Stars on Friday night is the perfect example of such a heartbreaking loss. With just over a minute to go down a goal the Oilers pulled their goaltender in favor of a sixth attacker and with 1:02 left on the clock tied the game at three. The players were elated, the fans were psyched and it looked like Edmonton was going to at least steal a point from their Western Conference foes.  However, not even a minute later heartache struck Edmonton once again as James Neal banged home a rebound with just 23 seconds later to put Dallas ahead for good. Say what you want about the way Edmonton lost and how they’ve been losing games like this all season, but for one night it seemed like everyone in Edmonton would have reason to celebrate a valiant comeback rather than a last second defeat and yet…it was not meant to be. Feeling bad for professional athletes under any circumstance is hard but in this instance I feel bad for the Oiler organization and their fans, can they buy a victory?

Lastly I would be remiss if I did not mention the incredible amount of the success the upstart New York Islanders are having. Last season this was one of the worst teams in the league on the ice and dealing with a ton of turmoil off the ice in regards to its future on Long Island. Despite the continuing off ice issues the Islanders are putting together quite a season on the ice and are in prime position to make the playoffs. The credit could go to guys like John Tavares who was picked number one overall this past offseason or to hidden gems like Matt Moulson who has exceeded everyone’s expectations. There is also the stellar play of netminder Dwayne Roloson who despite his age has performed very admirably all season long. No matter what the answer is the Islanders have put together a team that works hard every game, continues to get better as the season goes on, and use their work ethic combined with their skill to perhaps steal games they should not otherwise win. Stealing a win every now and then is bound to happen with any young and overmatched team. In the case of the Islanders however beating teams like New Jersey and Detroit in very short order in quite convincing fashion (having shut both teams out) is not by accident. You do not win games against top teams but shutting them out unless you’re good, and believe it or not people the New York Islanders are a good team. I mentioned last year and early this season that I loved the way this team battles night in and night out and it’s finally starting to pay off for them. It’s possible that the Islanders will still fall short of the playoffs this year but if they keep playing the way they are the team will have nothing to be ashamed of and have something great to build on for next season. There have been a lot of feel good stories for teams who are seemingly overachieving thus far this season but none better than this New York Islander team. If you get a chance to watch them on any given night check them out, it’s a lot of fun.

Enjoy your weekend of hockey everyone!

Overachieving and Underperforming Teams

A proverbial “attaboy”  to the New York Islanders. There is a fair amount of turmoil plaguing the team off the ice concerning their future and they do not have the best team assembled and people do not expect very much from them. Despite all of that the Islanders are in the midst of a four game winning streak that they and their fans should be very excited about. Not only have they won four-in-a-row but they are beating good teams in the process including a 5-0 thumping of the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. John Tavares is of course expected to be great and so far he has progressed well but he also has help from the likes of Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo accompanied by solid goaltending from both Dwayne Roloson and Marty Biron (who despite a subpar record is putting up some good numbers). A playoff spot is unlikely to be in the Isles immediate future but as I wrote before (see: ) this team is going in the right direction in terms of its on ice play and has a very bright future.

Another “attaboy” to the Colorado Avalanche who are in first place in the Western Conference, which is a shock to everyone in the hockey world. The Avs are a team made up of mostly young guys who seem to be playing every game with house money because they don’t seem to know that they aren’t supposed to be any good. Perhaps the top story within the team is the performance of early season MVP candidate (yes I said it) Craig Anderson. Anderson has played all 15 of Colorado’s games and is posting staggering numbers including a .936 save percentage and 2.11 goals against average. It’s unlikely that the Avs can keep this going all season, but for now the fans in Colorado should enjoy being on top they’ve been a great hockey city since day one and certainly deserve it.

A major “tisk-tisk” to Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins who is not playing at all like the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. Over the years people have worried about Thomas’ style because it is kind of a free-for-all that resulted in him spending a lot of time in the minor leagues. Was last year and aberration? Perhaps, but if he does not get it together the Bruins will likely go looking for a replacement because expectations for this year are very high in Boston. Surely the Bruins’ early struggles do not fall solely on Thomas but he will be an easy scapegoat if the team fails to turn the corner.

Another major “tisk-tisk” to the Carolina Hurricanes. Last year they reached the Conference Finals, and this year with essentially the same team (if not a better one) as last year they have 7 points through 13 games… Enough said.

Early Season Salute

I have to give an early season salute to the Ottawa Senators. I didn’t (and still don’t) think they would be very good this year but I have to give credit where credit is due. The Senators are 3-1-0 which puts them atop the Northeast Division. Granted, the Senators have defeated three teams that are hardly playoff teams in Atlanta, Toronto, and the Islanders. Nevertheless, when you’re a team that has experienced the problems the Senators have over the last two seasons you take what success you’ve had and run with it. Will they build off of this and ultimately make it to the playoffs? Not likely. But they have won three of four so far and as a football coach once said you are what your record says you are and right now Ottawa is a 3-1 first place team.

Another early season salute to the Calgary Flames. There is a lot of pressure on them to win and win now; that said this is about as good a start as one could have hoped for in Calgary. Not only do the Flames start 4-1 but three of those wins are against division opponents including two against provincial rival Edmonton. Division wins always carry a little extra weight in the standings but it’s especially sweet to take two from their biggest rival in pretty short order. Mikka Kiprusoff has been solid thus far posting a 4-0 record as back up Curtis McElhinney was in net for the loss. Perhaps the best part of all in this strong start is that Jerome Iginla is fourth on the team in scoring, which means other guys are getting the job done. If Calgary wants to continue to be successful that’s the type of production they need to get from Iginla’s supporting cast; so far so good.

On the flip-side, an early season razz to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Nobody reasonably expected Toronto to be a great team but some thought they would be competitive and possibly contend for a playoff spot. But so far they have not shown up. Toronto has zero wins (one point thanks to an OT loss on opening night) and have looked terrible for the most part. The one good thing they have going is new goaltender Jonas Gustavsson who is currently injured which negates that for now and Vesa Toskala is dreadful. They’re so-so on offense, not so good on defense, and have an awful penalty killing unit, ergo he Toronto Maple Leafs stink, the end.

Eastern Conference Outlook

As the hour draws closer and the puckheads continue to salivate over the tease that is the hockey preseason it is time to supplement the appetizers before the hockey fest begins.

Eastern Conference Preview:

I’ll start by predicting who I think will make it to the playoffs (in no particular order) then we’ll look at least briefly at where each team stands. So here are the top eight teams in no particular order:
Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers (Carolina Hurricanes?), New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, and the Washington Capitals.

The Pittsburgh Penguins should probably be the favorites going into the season because their team is a lot the same and they are the champs until someone else wins the title. They did lose Rob Scuderi but overall you have to like their chances to defend their conference title.

The New York Rangers lost Scott Gomez but have added Marian Gaborik who—if he can stay healthy—will add scoring power to a pretty solid but not spectacular line-up. The nice thing about the Rangers is that even if they do not score a ton of goals Henrik Lundqvist will keep them in most games, will steal a few, and will overall give them a chance to win most every contest they are involved in. Having a chance to win every game is not actually winning them however and that’s where Gaborik is going to be important for them. If Gaborik stays healthy he scores enough goals to get them enough points to get them into the playoffs. In the event that Gaborik does get hurt that will leave New York on the outside looking in and will open the door for the Carolina Hurricanes to sneak into a playoff spot. Carolina too is a solid team but Cam Ward cannot do it alone and they will not be able to rely on Jussi Jokkinen to play all year the way he did in the playoffs. But if any team should fall off at all (i.e. the Rangers) that opens the door for the Canes. Either way, neither team will be a serious Stanley Cup contender.

The New Jersey Devils are channeling their inner 1995 by bringing Jacques Lemaire back to captain the ship. Nothing has changed for the Devils since 1995 and as a result they can continue like a well-oiled machine with their new, old, coach. New Jersey is very much a system team so with Martin Brodeur playing behind that system you have to pencil them into the playoffs and as championship contenders. Some players have changed since last season’s first round exit to Carolina but it matters not as the methodical Devils will be back in the playoffs again.

In each of the last two years the Philadelphia Flyers have put very good teams on the ice but have run into a freight train headed to the finals in the form of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers got tougher by adding veteran Chris Pronger  but their folly has arguably been in goal and that is an issue that still has yet to be worked out. Philadelphia went across the pond to lure Ray Emery back to North America so the verdict is still out on whether the goaltending problem is fixed (one might argue that Emery’s attitude will cause more problems than it will solve). Bottom line, the Flyers talent will get them to the playoffs and at that point all they’ll need is solid (not spectacular) net play to put themselves in a position to win the Stanley Cup.

Boston’s future is bright because their talent level is a lot the same as last year. Phil Kessel was traded for some draft picks which speaks to how confident Boston is with their team from top to bottom. They still have Chara manning the blueline and they can score at the drop of a hat. There were a lot of questions about Tim Thomas last year and he’ll have to answer those same questions again this year. If Thomas is able to play consistently well the Bruins will learn from their experience last year and should be considered favorites to at least reach the east finals.

The key for the Buffalo Sabres is to stay healthy. Last season Buffalo was a clear playoff team until injuries struck them like a wrecking ball and their playoff hopes came crashing down. So if the Sabres’ stars stay healthy they will be a force, if they do not then Buffalo is not a force… it’s that simple.

The Washington Capitals can score like none other. In the offensive zone 5-on-5 and on the power play they are just about unstoppable. The Caps are greatly lacking defensively but certainly score enough to make up for that over the course of a long season. The biggest downfall of Washington last year was in net and that is their greatest unknown once again. Semyon Varlamov was certainly much better than anyone could have expected in the playoffs last season but is he the answer long term? There is no doubt that Varlamov has talent but he is still young and with being young come growing pains that every player experiences. If Varlamov grows quickly then there’s reason to believe the Caps can win it all, but if he doesn’t then it the fans in DC will be “rocking the red” to the second round of the playoffs and no further.

The Montreal Canadiens did three very good things in the offseason: let Kovalev go, picked up Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez, and got rid of Kovalev (did I mention that already). Alexi Kovalev is a very talented player but he was too inconsistent and caused too much drama in a place that creates enough drama on its own.  Gionta and Gomez provide stability as leaders on the ice and can put points on the scoreboard. Both players spent time in New Jersey so each know how to play a role to perfection. As long as Carey Price can keep his confidence up and the fans give this team a chance they can be very dangerous.

As for the rest of the conference there is very little to talk about. The New York Islanders are clearly rebuilding so the best anyone can hope from them is that John Tavares and company just improve from game to game. In my estimation the Islanders have far more problems off the ice (on the business end) than they do on it. The isles know they are rebuilding and are taking steps toward becoming a good team in time. This is in contrast to the Lightning, Thrashers, Senators, Maple Leafs, and Panthers.

Tampa has a lot of talent but did nothing with is last year and do not have a goaltender that can take them anywhere. Atlanta is just plain bad and probably will not improve very much in all likelihood. Ottawa keeps changing coaches, do not gel as a team, have lost one of their best players in Dany Heatley, and decided that adding Kovalev was the best way to stabilize/improve their team (very dumb). Toronto cannot decide whether they want to try to win now or build for the future. Last year they had enough talent to stay at the top of the non playoff teams for most of the year and this year they are in about the same spot. Lastly are the Florida Panthers who do not have a whole lot of talent (after having lost bouwmeester ) do not get much fan support which makes for a very bad situation.

So that’s the east in a nutshell (believe it or not). Tune in next time for the west preview as well as my Stanley Cup Finals pick and winner.

Tavares Top Pick, Pronger and Boumeester Traded

Day one of the draft has wrapped up without any major surprises as far as the draft picks themselves go.  John Tavares, despite all of the secrecy, was eventually  selected first by the New York Islanders and Victor Hedman second to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Perhaps a bit of a surprise was Brian Burke not wheeling and dealing to get Toronto into that top spot as some speculated but it probably depends on who you ask. Biggest trade of the day was certainly Chris Pronger to Philadelphia for Joffrey Lupul which means the Flyers are putting a lot into next year as Pronger may or may not play past next season and Lupul just signed a four year extension. One might think the Flyers would try to dump salary but Pronger’s salary is much bigger than Lupul’s and Pronger probably will not play much longer. What the Flyers ultimate plan is will play out when free-agency stars July first but for now it’s a bit of a questionable move in my view.

Day two of the draft has started out with a bang as Jay Boumeester has  been traded to the Calgary Flames for Jordan Leopold and a third round pick. Finally the Boumeester saga can end as rumors have been floating around about him since the latter stages of last season. Calgary must see an awful lot in Boumeester for not only have they essentially traded two players for him but the deal includes Jordan Leopold whom the Flames picked up at the trade deadline in March. Calgary certainly needed to sure up their defense if they want to make a serious push in the playoffs for that was a major let down last season. Although Boumeester is still set to be a free agent come July 1^st the Flames will more than likely make him a lucrative offer that Boumeester will want to take as he is from Western Canada and is rumored to really want to play in that area. If the Flames do sign Boumeester that should make them favorites to win the Northwest Division as long as Kiprusoff can stay fresh by playing much less than 76 games.  As times goes on we’ll see how big these moves really are but for now they are the most newsworthy changes of the offseason.

Isles On the Clock; Coaching Coral Beings

The Stanley Cup Playoffs (previews: EAST, WEST) are off and running and has been quite entertaining thus far. There will be much more on that come this weekend when all of the series have gotten underway. In the meantime there is some news not related to playoff teams to be discussed. First off, the New York Islanders won the NHL’s draft lottery earlier this week officially putting them on the clock. Many think the Isles will take young sensation John Tavares who has had an enormous amount of success at the junior level. I got a chance to see Tavares play in the World Junior Championships in December and if that is any indication of the potential he has the Isles would be foolish to pass him up without some incredible trade offer on the line. Tavares is the type of player who can be the start of the resurrection of a team who is down but has a very strong tradition. Although the Isles made the playoffs just two years ago, that seems like it was decades ago as on ice success has been hard to come by and the future of the team on Long Island is in the balance. Drafting Tavares can give Isles fans hope for a better future, at least giving New York a strong base to build upon for the future. The situation on Long Island is similar to what the Penguins faced in Pittsburgh when they drafted Sidney Crosby. There are indeed a lot of other factors to put the Islanders in a better situation to give them a more viable long term plan; however, drafting a player who can give them hope for a successful on ice future can be a great catapult toward a solid future.

In other news, the Edmonton Oilers have fired long time skipper Craig MacTavish after missing the playoffs again. The Oilers enjoyed a lot of success under MacTavish including a 2006 finals appearance where they ultimately lost t Carolina in seven games. And in related news the Minnesota Wild decided to fire General Manager Doug Risebrough after coach Jacques Lemaire decided not to return to the team following the Wild’s ninth place finish and first playoffless season in three years. These are the first of what will undoubtedly be many offseason moves for teams across the league. The interesting part to make watch here is who each team puts into their vacant positions, what player changes are made (if any) and how long they let the changes stand before making a change if things improvements are not made right away at the commencement of next season. That’s all for now, we’ll see you for playoff talk this weekend. Enjoy the games everybody!

Win or Lose It’s All About Passion

One of the greatest things about sports generally is the passion every person associated with any sporting event brings to the table. Whether it’s the fans, players, front office, media, etc. there is something intangible about the passion brought out in people via sports. That being said, that passion is one thing that has made this NHL season one of the best I have ever seen. A lot of that has to be contributed to the tight playoff races in both conferences. It seems like every game is of the utmost importance toward determining who will be where at night’s end as every point makes a WORLD of difference. But going beyond the teams vying for playoff spots there are a number of teams who have been virtually eliminated for quite some time but are still putting up an incredible fight night in and night out. For example, the New York Islanders have been out of having a legitimate shot at a playoff spot for quite some time. The Isles have traded some of their better players away (namely Bill Guerin) and have played most all of the season without their star goaltender Rick DiPietro. They have every reason in the world to pack it in, simply show up every night to take their spanking then move on. Instead the Isles are playing some of their best hockey right now which includes wins against teams in the playoff race including a 7-3 trouncing of the New Jersey Devils. This is great not only for the fans in attendance but for the future of the Islanders on Long Island. They are continuing to fight for a new arena with city officials and that has put their future in doubt; but by winning they are showing their frustrated but passionate fans that there can be brighter days and that the team is worth fighting for.

In a similar manner the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Thrashers in the east along with the Colorado Avalanche and Phoenix Coyotes in the west are competing hard every single night. Those teams aren’t all playing their best hockey right now but they are giving it their all every night and a few have stolen more than a couple games from teams who are very much in the thick of things. To see these teams work so hard is very reassuring. To know that teams who are not Stanley Cup playoffs bound still battle hard along the boards, get into scuffles to protect star players and goalies, and they still get so frustrated when the take penalties. There is still incredible joy when they score goals and win games along with equally intense feelings when they do the opposite. To see guys still playing hard for each other and their fans and to see the fans still getting just as into some of the games now as when the playoffs were still a possibility is so reassuring. There’s something special about moments like those and it only makes me enjoy each game that much more.

Therrien Out. Schneider to Habs. Rangers Seek Avery?

Every now and then I do a sweep around the league commenting on various topics and I think now is the time for one of those sweeps.

Therrien out – Michel Therrien has paid the price for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season of gravely underachieving. Despite having the league’s top two scorers in Malkin and Crosby respectively, the Penguins are in 10 in the East and are coming off losses to out-of-contention Toronto and the lowly New York Islanders. Therrien is hardly to blame for Pittsburgh’s struggles but coaches are usually the ones to take the blow when a team is struggling because firing players is hardly an option. Baby Penguins (Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate) boss Dan Bylsma has been called up to lead the team for the remainder of the season. Therrien stated he believes the now Bylsma led team will make the playoffs but now having lost two in a row to teams they should have beaten it certainly seems unlikely. The good news for Pittsburgh is that a lot of teams in front of them have been struggling to win games as of late keeping the Penguins in contention.

Rangers sliding – The New York Rangers have hit a bit of a rut lately losing eight of their last nine, including a five game losing streak and a 4 game slide that was extended Monday night with a loss to home-standing St. Louis. Tom Renney’s job is in jeopardy and the Rangers are considering making a move for Sean Avery of all people to help turn them around. When a team looks to Sean Avery to “right the ship” that team is probably in a hole they will never dig out of.

Mathieu Schneider to Canadiens – The Canadiens—another team in a free-fall—have acquired defensemen Mathieu Schneider from the Atlanta Thrashers for two draft picks. Schneider, now in his 20^th season, returns to the Canadiens after being a part of their last Stanley Cup team in 1993. Perhaps Schneider’s presence will serve as a morale boost but not much more than that. The defense may be sured-up slightly with him in the lineup, but in the end the Canadiens’ problems stem from Carey Price’s collapse, not being able to score on the power play, losing Robert Lang, and Kovalev having an extremely average season. If those pieces don’t shape up then it won’t matter what Schneider does because he cannot carry this franchise to the promised land alone.

NHL Standings Basement Battle

In the battle for futility on Long Island Tuesday night the Atlanta Thrashers defeated the New York Islanders 4-2. The game was actually pretty close essentially a one-goal game with a garbage empty-netter to close it out. And while this game perhaps shows that Atlanta is just a little better than the Islanders, the Isles do in fact have a brighter future and it’s not just because they will have a better chance at winning the draft lottery.

The Islanders’ future on the island is very much up in the air at the moment as they wait out the passing of the “lighthouse project” that will determine its long-term outlook. But for the moment let’s table that just for the sake of conversation and focus on other aspects of the two teams. What the Islanders have as an advantage over Atlanta is a rich history with great tradition. The Islanders won 4 straight Stanley Cup titles in the 1980s making them one of the premier hockey teams of the time and historically one of the greatest runs for a team in NHL history. While they have never quite reached that level since they have been competitive at times and their fan base is still pretty much intact. All the Islanders need to do is win again and their building will begin to fill up, fans will start having faith in their team again and there will be a buzz again on the island for their beloved hockey team.

Atlanta has an awful hockey history to accompany their mediocre present. The Atlanta Flames were not a viable team and ended up moving to Calgary after losing their fair share of games and money. Now they have a new team who has been mediocre at best in a city that couldn’t care less about hockey and barely supports their NFL team when it’s good. As the economy worsens the fate of the Thrashers in Atlanta is up in the air no matter how many games they win. So despite the score Tuesday night it is Islander fans who have reason to celebrate.

Trouble in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the middle of a fairly rough stretch losing five of the last seven and with the exception of a 9-2 thrashing of the lowly New York Islanders scoring has been a problem. For most of the season to this point Pittsburgh has had trouble keeping opponents off the score board but were able to post enough goals to win games 6-5, 7-6, etc. However, not only have the defensive struggles continued but now the Penguins are not scoring a lot of goals. Games they have been able to come back to win or overcome blown leads by basically “scoring” their way out of it simply is not happening anymore. Injuries have seemed to plagued this team from day one of training camp and despite all that they currently sit sixth in the east but the standings will not be forgiving for much longer. No matter the amount of injuries, long road trips, normal slumps of a long season or otherwise the excuses have to stop. There is no position in the playoffs reserved for the team who had the most injuries but still did “pretty well” considering the circumstances. Last year’s success has no bearing on this season and no one is entitled to anything because of what they have done in the past in professional sports (see the 2007 Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes of the last two years). There is time to right the ship but it better be righted quickly or Pittsburgh will have a bunch of talented hockey players populating golf courses everywhere come mid April.

Russian Stars Soar, Toskala Shines

Let me start by saying I hope everyone had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving Day. There was not much action in the NHL on Thanksgiving, but since it was not Canadian Thanksgiving there were two games on the night one featuring the battle of Ontario, Toronto vs. Ottawa. Vesa Toskala has been taking an awful lot of criticism as of late (from the likes of me mainly) and his play certainly warranted that criticism. However, I have to give credit where credit is due and on Thursday night Toskala came up with a lot of key/great saves and although the Leafs lost 2-1 in a shootout if not for Toskala it could have easily been a two or three goal regulation loss. So I salute Toskala’s performance against the Senators, and if he plays like that more often the Leafs can be a dangerous team.

Unlike Thursday, Wednesday had a full slate of action including two great performances by Russian stars Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin. Led by Ovechkin’s hat trick the Washington Capitals ended their three-game-losing-streak by defeating the Atlanta Thrashers 5-3. Also on Wednesday the Pittsburgh Penguins were down 3-1 in the third but Malkin’s natural hat trick helped the Penguins get the come-from-behind 5-3 win over the suddenly surging New York Islanders. Sure there are a lot of other stars in the league but we should be very thankful to have them playing in the NHL because not that long ago both men would have remained hidden behind the iron curtain that was the Soviet Union.