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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