Hot teams around the NHL

By Josh Martin, Sports Editor

month has passed in the NHL
At season, so here’s a

ook at three of the hottest
teams in the league that are going

under the radar.

LA Kings — They sit in the top spot
in the Western Conference with a
record of 8-3-0 and 16 points. The
LA kings are looking to improve on
a 101 point season last year where
they saw themselves get knocked out
by Vancouver in the first round of the
playoffs.

Jonathan Quick has been superb
between the pipes with a 1.84 GAA,
.936 SV% and a 7-1- 0 record
through the first month of the season
while Justin Williams, Jarret Stoll
and Anze Kopitar lead the team in
scoring, respectively.

The addition of Willie Mitchell
gives the young defence corpse some
veteran experience which will come
in handy down the stretch. The injury

to Drew Doughty has been a major
loss to the blue line but he is expected
to return to the line up very soon.
Predictions: If the Kings’ defence
stays healthy LA will finish third

in the Western Conference with
goaltender Quick backstopping the
Kings the whole way.

Boston Bruins — The Bruins
are smoking hot in the Eastern
Conference with a record of 6-2-0
and 12 points in just eight games.
They finished last year in sixth spot
and lost in the second round in game
seven to the Philadelphia Flyers after
blowing a 3-0 series lead.
Goaltender Tim Thomas has been
unreal in the crease so far, piling up
three shutouts while wianing all six
of his games. Thomas’ numbers are
the best in the league with a 0.50
GAA, and a .984 SV%. Rookie Tyler
Seguin, who was drafted second
overall by the Bruins last year, has
produced five points in eight games
which ties him up with first overall

pick Taylor Hall. The winger is
among the top scoring leaders on
the team with Nathan Horton, David
Krejci and Milan Lucic.
Predictions; Thomas will finish the
season as a Vezina Trophy candidate
and the Bruins will finish second in
the Eastern Conference.

Tampa Bay Lightning — Steve
Stamkos has been the story down in
Tampa Bay this year, racking up a
whopping 19 points in just 10 games
to lead the league in scoring. The
young 20 year-old is coming off a
career-high 51 goals last season and
95 points, and will likely improve on
those numbers this year with the way
he’s playing.

The Lightning finished twelfth
last year in the East but this year they
will thrive under their established
leaders; Vincent Lecavalier and
Martin St Louis who will be right up
there with Stamkos as the team’s goal
scorers again this season.

Without goaltender Antero

 

Niittymaki this year the goalie duties
have been split down the middle
between Dan Ellis and Mike Smith,
both of whom have not put up the
best numbers for their team. But if
any team can still manage to win
games without a consistent goaltender
it’s going to be the Tampa Lightning
with their offensive talent.
Predictions; Stamkos will explode
past the 100 point mark this year
and lead his team to fifth place in the
Eastern Conference.

 

 

By Josh Martin, Sports Editor

ell, it looks as though the

Canucks have bounced

back nicely to start off
November after a rocky month of
October. Roberto Luongo has seemed
to find his ‘A’ game again and the
secondary scoring has been thriving
of late, especially Raffi Torres.

The former Oiler lit it up last -
week, scoring a hat-trick against the
Edmonton Oilers and five goals in
three games. All of his shots seemed
to be prime scoring chances, and even
when they didn’t look like scoring
chances they ended up going in the
back of the net. But I guess when
you’re hot, you’re hot. Torres scored
his third marker of the night against
the Oilers with a weak backhand that
looked completely harmless. He shot
the puck on his backhand from in
between the blue line and the faceoff
circle and it slid along the ice right

is Raffi Torres the next Anson Carter?

through everybody straight into the
net. I have got to say, if that goal can
somehow get in then I don’t know
what can’t. It was such a beauty that
Edmonton fans even threw their hats
onto the ice afterwards to reward the
winger for his performance. This is
something that is rarely seen on the
road, but I guess being a former fan
favourite on the Oilers would have to
help.

Now, when a player like Torres
is producing the way he is, one has
to think that he is quite the bargain
for his price. Torres was signed in the
offseason for just $1 million US on
a one year contract. He has already
scored seven goals in 12 games and
is on pace for a career high that will
overcome his 27 goals that he reached
with Edmonton in the 05’- 06’ season.
It’s almost as if Torres is the new
Anson Carter.

Carter was the famous Canucks
winger who signed for a one year

deal worth $1 million in the 05’- 06’
season and exploded for 33 goals
playing alongside the Sedin twins.
He was instantly a fan favourite,
with his passion for the game and
his dreadlocks...what was not to
like? However, after his contract
expired that year he wanted to sign
a deal worth more money than what
the Canucks were willing to offer,
so he took off to another team.
Carter’s career went into a downward
spiral from then on, playing for the
Columbus Blue Jackets and then
the Carolina Hurricanes. He didn’t
have nearly as much success on
those teams than he did when he
was playing with the Sedin’s in
Vancouver.

Sure, we all know that it is just
November and there are over 60
games left in the season, but it all
looks so familiar. They both even
used to play in Edmonton...Let’s
just hope that if Torres does indeed

continue to produce goals down the
stretch of the season that he doesn’t
head down the same slippery slope
that Anson Carter tumbled down
several years ago.

 

 

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