Player to watch
Dustin Penner, F, Edmonton
A key part of the Ducks’ Stanley Cup run in 2007, Penner had a target on his back the last two years after signing a controversial offer sheet with the Oilers. The 28-year-old regressed from 29 goals with Anaheim to 23 in his first year in Edmonton and then only 17 last year. He spent much of the season in the doghouse of former coach Craig MacTavish. Penner looks far more comfortable under new coach Pat Quinn with nine goals and 10 assists in 15 games. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound left wing is difficult to dislodge from the front of the net — a classic power forward.
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He said what?!
“It is not my thing to sit in the press box and watch the game with you guys. No fun … It’s boring time. Especially when [assistant coaches Bob Woods and Dean Evason] take me and [injured forward Eric] Fehr after practice to skate. Jesus — I don’t like that.”
— Injured Caps forward Alex Ovechkin, struggling to deal with sitting out.
Story lines
1. That hurts » Injuries continue to take a toll on star players in the NHL. Big names like Roberto Luongo, Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk were already hurt. Alex Ovechkin, Shea Weber and Eric Staal followed them on the shelf this week. Caps captain Chris Clark said Wednesday he doesn’t believe the compressed schedule — because of February’s three-week Olympic break — has anything to do with that. Teams have only played between 12 and 17 games so far, Clark noted. The Caps have 14 games in November, 13 in December and 15 in January — just one more than they played during the same three-month stretch last season.
2. Lightning target » He is the face of the franchise and yet it doesn’t feel that way anymore for Tampa Bay Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier. The 29-year-old center, who led his team to the 2004 Stanley Cup and has played in Tampa his entire 11-year career, shot down trade offers to go home to Montreal last year. And yet, Lecavalier has been a repeated target for coach Rick Tocchet, unhappy with his stars’ lack of physical play. Lecavalier had just two goals and 11 assists through 13 games. And his struggles come as 2008 No. 1 pick Steven Stamkos is blowing up with 11 goals.
3. Columbus blues » A report by the Columbus Chamber, a business group in central Ohio, says the economic model for the Columbus Blue Jackets is broken and that the city may lose the team if it isn’t fixed. Consider the source, of course. But this is not what the NHL needs to hear. The league has already had ownership issues in non-traditional markets like Nashville and Phoenix. Columbus is one of the new cities — the team came to town in 2000 — where hockey seems to work. Attendance has been relatively steady and the Blue Jackets made the playoffs last year for the first time.
Key game
Penguins at Sharks, Saturday, 10:30 p.m.
Two of the top three teams in the NHL. The defending champion Penguins led everybody with 24 points entering Thursday’s game at Los Angeles. San Jose — which played at Detroit last night — had won six straight and is finally done with a brutal stretch of nine road games in three weeks. A bit of star power is missing with Pittsburgh F Evgeni Malkin (shoulder) and D Sergei Gonchar (wrist) out. But the presence of star F Sidney Crosby (7 G, 16 A) and the Sharks’ formidable trio of Joe Thornton (4 G, 16 A), Patrick Marleau (11 G, 11 A) and Dany Heatley (10 G, 8 A) makes up for it. .
Examiner Power Rankings
| No. | Team |
Comment |
| 1 | Penguins | No Malkin, no Gonchar, no problem for Sid the Kid |
| 2 | Sharks | Survived two-week road trip and won six straight |
| 3 | Avalanche | NHL’s biggest surprise continues to roll |
| 4 | Sabres | Won nine of 12. G Ryan Miller USA Olympic starter? |
| 5 | Kings | F Anze Kopitar takes over NHL points lead (11 G, 13 A) |
| 6 | Devils | Already taken down Caps twice in season’s first month |
| 7 | Capitals | First test without Ovechkin marred by dumb penalties |
| 8 | Flames | F Jarome Iginla with OT winner Wed. Scored 2 G, 1 A |
| 9 | Blackhawks | G Cristobal Huet has played much better last four games |
| 10 | Canucks | Actually faring okay without star G Roberto Luongo (rib) |
| 11 | Stars | Offense is humming (50 goals in 15 games) in Big D |
| 12 | Rangers | F Marian Gaborik (11 G) back from injury — for now |
| 13 | Flyers | F Simon Gagne out 6-to-8 weeks after hernia surgery |
| 14 | Coyotes | No owner. Few fans. But Coyotes staying tight in Pacific |
| 15 | Blue Jackets | F Rick Nash with Ovechkin-like 21 points in 14 games |
| 16 | Red Wings | Winged Wheel shaking off slow start. 3-0-1 in last four |
| 17 | Islanders | D Brendan Witt’s two goals Monday first in 22 months |
| 18 | Oilers | Win over Wings last week only victory in last six |
| 19 | Bruins | Boston hanging on without injured stars Savard and Lucic |
| 20 | Predators | Can’t miss D Shea Weber and F Jason Arnott for long |
| 21 | Senators | Worries continue over health of C Jason Spezza (back) |
| 22 | Thrashers | Won 2 of first 3 without F Ilya Kovalchuk (broken foot) |
| 23 | Canadiens | Revamped Canadiens not looking like a playoff team |
| 24 | Lightning | Seen Steven Stamkos? 2008 No. 1 pick with 11 goals |
| 25 | Panthers | Have won 3 in a row entering weekend series with Caps |
| 26 | Blues | Last year’s darlings fighting both expectations, injuries |
| 27 | Wild | Shackles gone. Offense (31 G) still weak after 14 games |
| 28 | Ducks | Are Ducks finally cooked? Have lost six home games |
| 29 | Hurricanes | A stunning start for team that reached the conference finals |
| 30 | Maple Leafs | Rebuilding the Leafs might take longer than we thought |
