SPORTS

 

Around the NHL

Stephanie Smith, OP Sports Editor

Sometimes the NHL can surprise you. Last
season, the Ottawa Senators were hot. They

were a defence drive, goaltending mutant hav-

ing, scoring machine. This season they are
currently sitting in 13th place with a 5-8-1
record. There have been talks of a trade that
would send Anton Volchenkov or Christoph

Schubert to Vancouver for Brendan Morrison.

I wouldn’t count on it as it would be a bad
trade all around, but talks like this makes one
think that not all is well in Ottawa. Ah well,
they have 4 more games against Toronto, so
that would easily amount to 8 points and 4
wins. It’s not much, but it will do.

Another Eastern Conference super power,

Buffalo, is losing steam. After tying the
Toronto Maple Leafs record for best season
start (10-0) they lost to the Leafs on Nov. 4.
The score was 4-1. This has stalled the Sabres
a bit, as the next game they played was barely
won in overtime. But again, who knows. It
could just be the shock of a loss to the
Toronto Maple Leafs that caused them all to
lose concentration the next night, and they
could very well come back stronger than ever.
They could very well go 10-0 in their next 10
games. They could 0-10. I hope for the latter.
I hate to see a team I’m not cheering for
dominate so thoroughly.

Another team that is doing well is
the Anaheim Ducks. They are sitting
at the top of the NHL standings.
Yes, they have played more games
than the rest, but with 12 wins and 3
overtime wins, they are a force to be
reckoned with. Thankfully they are
not in the same division as the
Canucks, because losing 8 times to
that team would be humiliating, And
it looks as though that is going to be
the case. After the game Nov 9, I
cannot say what the Canucks will do
from here. A 6-0 loss, in ‘a game they
did not show up to. Ugh.

Strangely enough it’s the Leafs
that have been looking good lately,
having won 7 of their last 8 games.
For a team that no one had any con-
fidence in, they are showing they still
have something up their sleeve yet.
They're getting shots on goal, have
finally got adequate goaltending, and
their penalty kill has surrendered only
4 goals in their last 45 times short-
handed. This season is most definite-
ly an improvement on last year’s lack
of effort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canucks Comer

Stephanie Smith, OP Sports Editor
The Canucks are not doing so well. They
managed to pull together a win on

November 4, after Taylor Pyatt banged in a
power play goal with less than a minute to
go. It was a 2-1 win. However they had lost
the previous five games.

And they did not do much better on
Thursday Nov. 9. In that game against the
Ducks, if you can call it a game, they pulled
together for a 6-0 loss. Poor goaltending,
poor offensive play, and poor defensive cov-
erage led to what I would describe as a com-
plete and total failure. On top of all that,
they got into penalty trouble, most likely
because they were trailing by such a large
margin.

I don’t know what to say. I don’t know
what can be done. I know the defence will

clear itself up once Salo and Mitchell gat
back, but it’s the lack of offence that worries
me. With all the scoring coming basically
from one line, they need to get something
going. If they don’t then they are going to
suffer the same fate that did last year; an
early ticket to country club town.

Watching the Canucks lately has been a
bit like waiting for dental surgery; you know
you need it, you know deep down you want
it, but the prospect of that pain has you
nervous and on edge. Maybe it’ll get better;
maybe they'll kick it up a notch and turn
down the suck. I hope so, because I really
want to watch them actually make it to the
playoffs this year. And also I fear my room-
mate might go crazy with rage if they falter.
Go Nucks Go!

4 © THE OTHER PRESS NOVEMBER 16 20066

 

 

 

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