Brian Startare is reporting that the Philadelphia Flyers are talking with the Atlanta Thrashers about acquiring superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk. The asking price is expected to start with Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux.

Kovalchuk will be an unrestricted free agent following this season, and wants a contract extension; however Atlanta are not willing to pay Kovy the money he deserves. He reportedly wants a 10-year contract worth $11.3 million—the maximum amount allowed by the NHL.

In 28 games this season with the Thrashers, Kovalchuk has tallied 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points. He averages over a point a game this year, which is something Philadelphia could desperately use.

The Flyers have been in one of the franchise’s worst free falls in history the past few weeks, a time period that has seen John Stevens get fired with Peter Laviolette replacing him as the head coach.

Paul Holmgren has already made a move in the coaching department with the hopes to spark a lifeless club that entered the year as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. It didn’t work. The only thing left that Holmgren can do to try to get this team going is make a major deal.

With last night’s 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, it could have very well been the last straw before one of the big pieces is moved to shake things up. Winning the division isn’t a realistic option anymore, but making the playoffs can still be accomplished, but time is running out.

The Flyers are quickly approaching the mid-season point with games getting more important as we go along. Losers of four straight and eight of their last 10, there’s nothing more Holmgren can do. It’s time to break it up, and start over again.

To acquire Kovalchuk from Atlanta, it will take an awful lot. Considering that the Thrashers got hosed by the Penguins a couple years ago for Marian Hossa, they’ll make sure they land a pretty solid package for their superstar this time around.

Carter, 24, will almost certainly have to be involved in the trade talks to land Kovy. The 24-year-old already has a 40-plus goal scorer on his resume in only four years in the NHL. This season, Carter has 12 goals and 26 points.

I don’t have a problem trading Carter, given the right deal. Now, what is the right deal? I have no idea, but to net Kovalchuk would be one of the guys who I wouldn’t have a problem with giving Carts for.

Atlanta will ask for another young player with a lot of potential like Giroux or James van Riemsdyk. These two are guys who Holmgren does not want to part ways with, especially in a case where it could end up being a rental.

Giroux is going to be a special player in this league someday. He has shown glimpses of brilliance in his young career with the Flyers, and has a bright future ahead of him. It would not help trading him, even if it means getting Kovalchuk—one of the best in the game.

In 34 games this year, Giroux has potted seven goals and 14 assists.

van Riemsdyk is another young player who has a future in front of him. Drafted with the second overall pick in the 2007 draft, JVR has been turning heads thus far in his rookie campaign. He has deposited seven pucks in opponent’s nets and has 13 helpers in 31 games.

Trading van Riemsdyk isn’t something that the Flyers will want to do because of his potential, but I have no problem shipping him along with Carter for Kovalchuk. Don’t get me wrong, I like JVR, but Giroux is a guy who I’m not willing to part with.

Due to the salary cap, other things will have to fall into order for the Flyers to acquire Kovalchuk. There are other factors than agreeing to a deal with the Thrashers on who to give up. Holmgren will have to consider how he’ll clear up cap space.

You have to assume that if the Flyers do try and acquire Kovalchuk, they’ll plan on signing him long-term. To do so, they’ll need to move another contract to fit under the cap. It’s believed that they’re willing to trade Daniel Briere or Simon Gagne, but it’ll be hard to find a suitor.

Both Briere and Gagne have no-movement clauses to go along with a high cap hit contract and a bad injury history. For Philadelphia to trade one of them, they need to find a place that they would waive their NMC’s for, and would could afford the contract.

Not a lot of teams have room to fit Gagne or Briere into their plans without moving a bad contract back to the Flyers. But in this case, they wouldn’t want too much money in return because it would cancel the salary dump of trading Briere/Gagne.

There are a lot of moving factors that have to fall in place before the Flyers could even entertain a Kovalchuk trade, but there will be a major trade in the coming weeks because the way they’ve been playing is unacceptable.

I was reading The New York Rangers Blog today and read a post quoting an article in the Ottawa Sun by Bruce Garrioch about Ilya Kovalchuk on the Atlanta Thrashers being shopped around the league before the March 3rd trade deadline. Towards the end of the Carrioch article he talked of “rumors”. Let me quote:

“When is somebody going to challenge the leadership of Rangers GM Glen Sather? The club hasn’t had a great record since he took over and things are going downhill fast this season. Here’s a rumor: Sather and coach John Tortorella out. Mark Messier and coach Wayne Gretzky in.”

I’m not one to speak on peoples credentials so I won’t. I’m not really sure what to think of this. I like Tort and would be sad to see him go to be replaced by Mr. Gretzky. But by all means…replace the current GM…get some fresh blood in there. Can we replace the owner too?

Some cold, windy weather in the City of Brotherly Love last week and yeah, they were trade winds. There were 16 scouts at the Flyers – Ottawa game last Thursday. The Flyers are 1-4 under Laviolette and came out with no jump in a 4-1 loss at New Jersey on Saturday, spotting the Devils a 3-0 lead before the Flyers realized they were in a hockey game. Things are turning into a major disaster in a hurry. If the team doesn’t decide that they need to play for this coach, management will not continue to tolerate the same lackadaisical, little-effort play that this team is producing. The decision will be made that this is not the “right” group of players. It’s interesting that a team that on paper looks really talented cannot produce and play at a higher level. It underscores the fact that it’s more than talent that wins – you need players that are willing to work hard and put out a true, consistent effort. Keep your eye on the next three games at Boston and a home and home with Pittsburgh. Lose those three or maybe just two of the three and I believe a major trade will happen at that point.

Who’s ripe to go? The first player I would ship out is Jeff Carter. Great wrist shot and scoring ability, fast, and versatile. No heart, too lackadaisical, floats, poor defensively, doesn’t bear down around the net. Could have put away game 2 in Pittsburgh in last year’s playoffs but nonchalanted a chance in close and Fleury got over in time to save it. In my opinion, his approach and attitude is the single biggest reason that this team is the laid-back, overrated entity that we are seeing on the ice. Dump him and his big salary.

Secondly, Dan Carcillo. Undisciplined and short-fused, he takes bad penalties at inopportune times and can’t play that well, either. Asham can play and he’s the only fighter we need.

Can’t figure out what’s wrong with Braydon Coburn. He looked great two seasons ago but is playing horribly this season. Looked really bad on the first Devils’ goal Saturday. If we get a defenseman back in a trade, he could easily go.

Ryan Parent is not developing as hoped. Looked like an up and coming promising player two years ago but looks lost now. He could go as well.

If the Flyers decide that they need another goalie, either to take pressure off Boucher while Emery recovers from surgery or in the case that a number one netminder is needed if Emery doesn’t recover well or implodes emotionally, the Flyers are interested in Jaroslav Halak of Montreal and the Islanders’ Marty Biron.

Finally, Atlanta is shopping Ilya Kovalchuk. Hmmm…

I have given up a few heartbreaking goals in my days of NHL on Xbox 360. Those of you who know me, know exactly how angry I get when I believe the goal is a load of crap. However, I dont slam my controller into a lamp-post directly next to my mother, and then on one occasion miss and hit her in the side of the head.

Keith Ballard had to learn this the hard way, resulting in becoming the biggest douche on the Florida Panthers. I mean, what are you thinking here? Your goaltender saves your ass once, then because Ilya Kovalchuk was smart enough to put in the rebound, you throw a tantrum. Maybe you didn’t realize, but your playing on the hardest of all surfaces that you could fire your stick at? Or did you forget that you can become a YouTube sensation by just breaking your stick in half over your leg? I’ve had my share of meltdowns while playing NHL, but at the end of them all, one common thing still exists: the people watching can laugh when its done.

Afinogenov is no longer with the Sabres, but his crap-tastic Buffalo seasons explain his low ownership.

After his one-goal, one-assist, +2 performance in Thursday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Bruins, Thrashers RW Maxim Afinogenov has jumped to the forefront of fantasy hockey watch lists.

Janet Eagleson sang his praises, pointing out that he is skating with Ilya Kovalchuk and that he now has 19 points in 18 games. To this we will add that the Thrashers are a scoring machine. Their 3.56 goals per game ranks second in the NHL, behind only the Capitals.

Given these circumstances, how is it that Afinogenov, 30, remains only 42.4 percent owned in ESPN formats and 43 percent owned in Yahoo! games?

While we at the Genius wholeheartedly endorse Afinogenov as a “must-add,” we would be remiss if we didn’t point out that he has frustrated us before — and that these previous frustrations are why his ownership remains so effing darn low. Let us enumerate the top two frustrations:

1. The 2007-08 season. Surely you remember: After back-to-back point-per-game seasons with the Sabres in 2005-06 and 2006-07, both of which included ample PPPs and shots on goal, Afinogenov submitted a 56-game dud: 10 goals, 18 assists, -16, six PPPs and 114 shots. His numbers in 2008-09 were not much better. Thus it was with plenty of justification that Maxim fell off the fantasy radar.

2. A +/- nightmare. While Afinogenov has scored consistently all year — as Eagleson mentions, he has a point in 15 of 19 games — he was a -6 after his first nine games. Since then, he has skated with Ilya. Lo and behold, he now stands at +3. Funny how that works.

So while we are all for adding Maxim to rosters, we must warn fantasy players that you’re adding a player who’s dependent on others. We love Thrashers C Rich Peverley as much as the next blogger, but if Thrashers coach John Anderson separates Afinogenov from Ilya, he will minimize Maxim’s value.

For now, though, Afinogenov is someone you should start with confidence.

photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

So for those of you not paying attention the Boston sports scene has fallen a little the past couple months. Not Kansas City bad but still there’s been a dip. The Sox lost in the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics have hit a mini two game skid, the Pats lost a close game on questionable coaching decisions in Indianapolis and now the Bruins have lost three in a row.

The same vaunted Bruins team that many had winning their division and a few had winning their conference have somehow turned into the Bruins team of a few years ago. Why? Well, injuries for starters. After losing Lucic to a broken finger the team almost immediately lost Marc Savard to a broken foot. Thornton has missed games here and there with undisclosed injuries and David Krejci had the Swine Flu.

Needless to say the season hasn’t started the way most of us wanted. But the good news in all of this is that despite losing all this offense, the team hasn’t forgotten how to play defense. The goalies have been standing on their heads and the overall team defense has kicked it up a notch. But a little offensive help wouldn’t be bad.

So my headline says send help and rumors are out there that the great (no sarcasm) GM of the Bruins Peter Chiarelli is on the prowl to get the Bruins some help. The biggest name that’s being floated around is Peter Forsberg. The rumor started at the NHL GM meetings back on the tenth but really not much has been said since. Here’s what Chiarelli had to say:

“I’ve had some discussions with Don Baizley [Forsberg's agent] on him and we had people scouting him last week. It’s something that we certainly would look at exploring.”

Then of course there was the rumor that the Thrashers had attempted to sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a long term deal and he declined the offer. That fuels the speculation that he will be gone before the trading deadline this year. Waiting front and center with more draft picks than they know what to do with? That’s right, your Boston Bruins.

Now Forsberg wouldn’t cost you any picks but he wants to win a Cup. The way the Bruins are playing right now, they don’t look like a Cup contender. He’ll likely go to where his chances to win are better. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Detroit (hard to imagine after all the Colorado/Detroit brawls of the late 90’s early 2000’s). They seem to attract veterans looking to win and mix them with their own young guys.

The Kovalchuk trade probably wouldn’t happen until later in the year just because the cap implications the team wouldn’t be able to take on his whole salary without going over the hard cap (paying attention baseball?).

So for now we wait in hockey limbo and hope that somehow the Bruins can snap out of this funk. Getting Lucic back soon and Savard after that will certainly help but one of these other guys may be that push that puts the Bruins over the top.

I was out to dinner and consequently missed the first period.  I hear it was wonderful.  It certainly sounds as though it was.  They finally scored on the power play?  Wooooo!!  The second period was fast, but I was not at all pleased with the lack of shots and the plethora of penalties taken by the Sabres.  Then Sir Christopher had to stand up for Ryan, as he’s a chivalrous soul and protecting his goaltender is one of his money duties.  Then the Flames tried to beat up Clarkey, then Goosie beat up Phaneuf.  I liked the last one a lot.  I don’t like Phaneuf, and I do like Goose, so I enjoy seeing the latter punch the first.  Serves you right, Dion.

It was really great getting to see Jarome Iginla.  He’s an incredibly talented player and we don’t ever get to see him because he’s aaaaallll the way on the west coast.

The Sabres took sixteen too many penalties tonight.  Good heavens, they looked like last year’s box-loving Caps.

I thought RJ was going to stroke out in the last thirty second of overtime.  Rick, you are not as young as you used to be.  Don’t overexert yourself.

The game ended up in the shootout, and, miracle of miracles, the Sabres pulled out the win.  Oooh!! Aaah!!  Weee!!  Good job, Sabres.  You ended up with a grand total of six shots on goal (going from the two periods I saw), but you managed the win.  Excellent, excellent.  I know this is asking far too much of you, but a win tomorrow night would be superb.  Philly is a scary, intimidating team, but I have complete faith in you.  Put your mind to it, boys, and you can do it.  All in all, though, tonight you played a highly entertaining game.  Much better than Wednesday night.  Thank you.

There’s no way Lala starts tomorrow night.

The Caps played the Wild.  Perrault continued to be badass.  Mike Knuble broke his finger and is out 3-4 weeks and I am very sad.  I love Mike Knuble.  Mike Knuble is a good leader and he’s good at killing penalties and he liked my sign.  Poor Mike Knuble.  Varly is slowly working his way back into my good graces.  The Caps have issues to work out, but they’ve looked pretty darn good over the past few games (aside from giving up 3 quick ones to the Islanders and then borderline choking in the final minute against them and taking eleven rounds of the shootout to beat them).  I like it.

The Hurricanes lost their 14th straight game.  It used to be really funny when everyone was wondering if they’d make it to ten.  Now it’s just sad.  Should we send in aid?  Is there something we can do to put them out of their misery?

The Thrashers beat the Kings 7-0.  This is totes awesome.  Thrashers, you rock.  I love you.  Ilya, Evander, AND Zachity Zach all scored.  That’s what we call an awesome game.  I should have watched it.  I’ve never tried watching three games at once before.  I mis try this some time.  Atlanta is certainly worthy.

I got tapped last minute for  babysitting gig tomorrow night.  I’ll be able to watch the Sabres after the kiddies go to bed and they get CBC, but I will be unable to see the Capitals.  This pretty much guarantees that Alex will come back and score a hat trick.  Awesome.

Sitter här och funderar på hur i hela friden jag ska lyckas med den här kursen. Efter att ha läst och klarat en hel del utmanande kurser på SU så känner jag nu för första gången att ett E skulle vara en bragd. Makroteori är inget för den svage, dvs jag. Hua.

På ungefär samma sätt bävar jag inför matchen mot Thrashers, natten mot fredag. Jag har alltid tyckt att Atlanta har varit ett lag som lyckats lite oftare än vad dom borde, naturligtvis mycket tack vare Ilya Kovalchuk, en spelare som antagligen skulle överglänst de flesta om han spelat i ett bättre lag. Atlanta utöver Kovie har alltid varit blekt, och man har liksom aldrig lyckats förstå på vilket sätt dom spelar, det verkar som om det aldrig funnits en grundläggande spelidé. Det har snarare verkat som att laget alltid litat på att Kovie ska göra något extravagant i varje match, en föreställning som tyvärr inneburit en allt gråare himmel över Atlanta. Ilya är en “franchise-player”, det är inget snack om saken, men det går inte att lita på att han ska vinna alla matcher på egen hand.

Paradoxalt nog…

…så verkar nu rollerna vara ombytta – åtminstone så är dem på god väg att bytas. Från att Rangers har varit ett lag som sedan lockouten varit relativt stabila, med en klar spelidé (även om denna var vidrig i sig) och en relativt stark trupp (fram till 07-08 iaf) så har man plötsligt börjat sikta sig in på Thrashers plats i samvaron. Och vice versa. Jag ska erkänna att jag trodde att loppet var kört för Atlanta den här säsongen; värvningarna var för dåliga och jag gissade faktiskt att Kovie skulle stuckit till KHL vid det här laget. Men Atlanta spelar ganska bra. De är inget topplag, och kommer inte heller att vara det på många år, men spelmässigt så ser det ganska trevligt ut, stabilt och ganska starkt (bortasegern mot Devils var riktigt bra). Det verkar har infunnit sig någo typ av lugn och övertygelse i truppen efter att man sjunkit allt lägre i statistiken. Märkligt, eftersom man inte direkt skaffat sig spelare med hög lägstanivå (Antropov, Afinogenov). Rangers däremot, är ett lag som just nu inte vet varken ut eller in. Det som började så bra och såg så lovande ut har förvandlats till nån slags kladdig, illaluktande röra. Spelet är inkonsistent, Tortorella är fullkomligt rasande ena dagen – helt samlad andra, Dubinsky får oss att tro att han är en framtida stjärna vissa stunder och andra ser han bara ut som en hyfsad checking-line center, Gaborik är formidabel men bär ett alldeles för stort lass osv osv. På ett eller annat sätt kan man på varje position och i varje spelarkvalité hitta någon form av obalans på en annan position eller saknad av spelarkvalité. Detta ger intrycket av ett lag som inte har något fundament. Ingen identitet. Precis som Atlanta förra säsongen. Allt kan kokas ner till ekvationen Z = Y – F(i). Rangers – Thrashers alltså.

Lets Go  c1+Y(i)(T-G)=xf(Md)+i!

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UPPDATERING;

Det verkar som om Thrashers får klara sig utan Ilya Kovalchuk i matchen i MSG. Han tränade tidigare idag, vilket implicerade att han skulle spela, men han lämnade snabbt träningen (innan den var över) på grund av sin fotskada, vilket i sin tur tyder på att han kommer att stå över matchen mot Rangers. Om bara makroekonomin kunde gå och skada foten också, vilken värld det skulle vara…

Blue Jackets LW Raffi Torres is an ideal spot-starter for Wednesday night's games.

The Blue Jackets host the Red Wings on Wednesday night, and I’m recommending a spot-start for Jackets LW Raffi Torres.

Here’s why:

1. He’s hot. He has four goals in his last four games — specifically, he scored twice at Atlanta Nov. 5 and twice at Washington Nov. 1.

2. He’s available. He’s only 2.8 percent owned in ESPN leagues and six percent owned in Yahoo! formats.

3. Other left wings are on the shelf. No one yet knows the availability of Stars LW James Neal or Caps LW Alex Ovechkin. Never mind the injuries to Kovalchuk, Sedin, and Gagne.

4. He has a strong track record against the Red Wings. In five games against Detroit last season, Torres scored two goals and tallied one assist. He also logged eight penalty minutes.

5. Jackets G Steve Mason can handle the Wings. In the regular season, that is. Last year, in five games, Mason went 3-2 with a .930 save percentage and a 2.38 GAA.

So get Torres in your lineup. If he doesn’t score Wednesday night, you can guiltlessly drop him.

photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

I think third periods must have slept with the Caps’ girlfriends or something, because this team does not like them and do not play well in them. They’re really lucky that Varly came through for them and managed to prevent Zachity Zach from single-handedly winning the Thrashers.

I wish Alex would just score a hat trick already.

The Thrashers don’t look as good without Ilya. I hope he comes back soon.

Lars is so good at hockey.

I hope this doesn’t happen when they play the Islanders tomorrow night. That would be quite upsetting.

In other, Sabres-related news: TYLER IS STAYING!!!!!!! AAAHHH!!! TYLER! I LOVE YOU!

This wasn’t a surprise to me, but I’m still insanely excited. TYLER YOU SHALL SAVE US ALL!

Not that we’re putting to much pressure on him or anything.

Canucks G Roberto Luongo is only expected to miss one week.

1. Canucks G Roberto Luongo (ribs) is expected to only miss one week.

2. Thrashers LW Ilya Kovalchuk (broken bone right foot) is out four weeks.

3. Rangers RW Marian Gaborik (right knee) missed last night’s game at the Islanders, a 3-1 loss for the Manhattoes. He has not been ruled out of tomorrow night’s game at Minnesota. If he misses that game, don’t sweat it. Start to sweat if he misses Sunday afternoon’s game when the Bruins hit the Big Apple.

4. No need to think about Canucks LW Daniel Sedin (foot) until November 6 or thereabouts.

5. No need to think about Bruins C Marc Savard (broken left foot) until November 14 or thereabouts.

6. Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews (concussion) did not practice yesterday and is not expected to play tonight at Nashville. He may also miss Friday night’s game vs. Montreal. You need not worry unless he misses the Nov. 5 game at Phoenix.

7. Blackhawks RW Marian Hossa (right shoulder) is practicing. Based on all we have read, the Genius projects the Nov. 15 game vs. the Sharks as his return date.

8. Devils C/LW Patrick Elias (groin) has not yet practiced with the team. He may start doing so next week. Until then, keep him in your IR slot.

9. Sharks RW Devin Setoguchi (leg) has missed the last two games. The Sharks host the Avalanche tomorrow night, and he may be back — check the San Jose Mercury News to see if he returns to practice.

10. Sharks C Joe Pavelski (left foot) has returned to practice. He could return to real games any day now.

11. No need to think about Panthers LW David Booth (concussion) until November 10 or thereabouts.

12. Kings RW Justin Williams (lower body) has missed four straight games. He could return tonight vs. Vancouver. He has practiced this week.

13. Oilers D Sheldon Souray (concussion) still is not skating. No need to think about him until Nov. 5 or thereabouts.

photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

I know that this was exactly how Buffalo started out last year and I know it’ll all start going downhill soon enough (probably around the time Ryan gets completely exhausted at the Olympics), but for now, I’m completely enjoying the Sabres’ success.  They’re winning, and they’re beating good teams.  This is fun.

Marty Brodeur has not looked good this season.  At all.  I’m ecstatic that Timmy got his first NHL goal (AAAHHH!!!  TIMMY!!!  I LOOOOOOOOVE YOU!!), but Marty did not look good at all.

Ryan Miller will soon hurt himself/get too cranky to play well/get exhausted by the Olympics as I mentioned above, but for now, I’m thoroughly enjoying his awesomeness.  Ryan, you’re not so bad when you’re playing well.

We ended up getting the Devils feed for the game which was annoying in that I couldn’t hear Rick and Harry, but was cool in that I could hear what other announcers (namely, Doc) think about the Sabres.  I agree, boys.  Chris Butler was a wonderful find.

I can’t believe Clarke MacArthur already has five goals.  This is redonk.  He’s got to stop scoring at some point.  It’s not like he could get thirty.

I’m pretty sure Pommer got his third of the season in February last year.

Mike Grier and Timmy K playing together continues to amaze me.  I love the two of them.  They’re so good together.  Their chemistry is spectacular.

Lots of NHLers have been struck with swine (or at least are coming clean about when they had it) today.  I hope none of the Sabres catch it.  And I hope Quintin Laing doesn’t get any of my beloveds in Washington sick.

Tonight was Tyler Myers’s ninth game, but there wasn’t seriously any drama surrounding it, was there?  There’s no way they can send him back to juniors.  No.  Way.  I will jump off a bridge or something drastic and (only slightly) unnecessary like that.

Tomorrow night the Caps play the Ilya-less Thrashers.  It will be in HD, which makes me happy.  I’m sad Ilya got hurt, and in a contract year, no less, but his absence makes the Caps’ job a bit easier.  I would love for them to continue this sick-nasty winning streak they’ve got going.

Speaking of contract years, I’ve been feeling rather warm and fuzzy towards one Jose Theodore as of late.  It’s not secret around here that he and I never really got along very well (scroll down to the earlier ones), so this fondness is a new territory for me.  I don’t think he’s the same goalie that won a Hart trophy a few years back, but he’s been the better goalie for the Capitals to this point in the season.  I just hope that IF the Caps re-sign him, he doesn’t start sucking again.  I really hate  when players only play well in contract years.

If/when Buffalo loses to Toronto, I will cry.  I’m just letting you all know.

Kovy is out with a broken foot. Looks to be about a month till he will be back.

These next four weeks will be hard, especially with a hard part in the schedule starting this week with the caps.

This guy will have plenty of chances to come.

Sorry for the lack of posts. I have not been able to view the past few games, well the third period of each does not count…

Thrashers next game is Thursday against the Caps.

Fact: I love Tyler Myers. I would drop out of high school to marry him if he asked me. He’s amazing. He’s wonderful. He and Paul Gaustad can team up to rid the world of global warming and cure cancer.

Fact: I’m really pissed I missed the Capitals game.

Fact: Alex doesn’t score goals when I don’t watch.

Fact: That was the WORST shootout I have ever seen in my life. And I’ve seen a lot of shootouts and they’re always bad.

Fact: Timmy K and Mike Grier have the best chemistry. Its awesomeness is second only their goal celebration hugs.

Fact: Toronto will not win a hockey game this season.

Fact: Mike Richards’s hit was vicious. Good grief, Mike.

Fact: I hope Ilya’s ok.

Fact: Marty St. Louis confuses me.

Fact: I really wanted Drew to face Ryan in the shootout.

Fact: I am so insanely tired and I couldn’t even muster enough energy to care about this game until Drew tied it. I want to go to sleep so badly but sleeping in the job is the number one no-no when babysitting.

Fact: I don’t think the Sabres were all that mind-blowingly good tonight, but being able to come from behind at the very end and win is huge, even against a team like Tampa Bay.

Fact: Don Cherry’s suit was crazy tonight.

Bruins D Dennis Wideman is back, and teammate Derek Morris has reaped the fantasy benefits.

Quick: Which Bruin has scored the most in C Marc Savard’s (foot) absence? LW Steve Begin, who tallied the game-winner Wednesday in Boston’s 3-2 win vs. Nashville and scored the game-tying goal in Thursday’s 4-3 shootout loss at Philadelphia. Perhaps this isn’t too surprising. Begin seldom skated with Savard anyway; he doesn’t have to adjust to the loss of a gifted pivot.

The other Bruin scoring in Savard’s absence is D Derek Morris, who notched an assist Wednesday and one goal and one helper Thursday. But the Morris streak probably has more to do with the return of D Dennis Wideman (shoulder). Though Wideman did not score in these last two games, he was +1 in each contest and he consumed around 20:00 minutes of ice time. Don’t be surprised if Wideman finally cracks the scoring log when the Bruins visit Ottawa tonight at 7 pm EST.

Last night was the Penguins first game without D Sergei Gonchar (wrist), who like Savard is out four-to-six weeks. The box score didn’t look too different (two goals for Crosby, two assists for Malkin, one helper for Goligoski), except Goligoski played a whopping 26:22 — well above his 21:39 average. Interestingly, it was Crosby who also got a bump in minutes, logging 25:50 (he averages 21:08). We shall see if these playing-time patterns continue tonight with the Penguins hosting the Devils at 7:30 pm EST. Though the Penguins prevailed 3-2 last night against the Panthers, they did fall behind 2-0 in the first and did not score until Crosby’s power play goal in the third.

Some links and quickies before we go:

• Has anyone seen Flyers LW Scott Hartnell? In his last three games he has not scored, he has no penalty minutes, only four shots on goal, and a -2. The former first-round pick, lest we forget, was a stallion last season, scoring 30 goals and amassing 210 shots on goal and 143 PIMs. In other words: This is a guy you want to trade for.

• Very quietly, Yahoo! granted Blackhawks C/RW Patrick Sharp the RW eligibility he so richly deserves. What’s funny is that in ESPN formats, Sharp is only eligible at LW.

• Speaking of Yahoo!, there are some great nuggets in Scott Pianowski’s Red-Light District column from yesterday. My favorite tidbit: His advice to take a shot with Devils RW Nicklas Bergfors (former first-round pick, 20 shots on goal in his last five games including an eight-shot effort Oct. 17).

• Another Saturday, another great day to consume Sean Allen’s Forecaster. The following teams are playing only twice next week: Kings, Flyers, Flames, Thrashers, and Lightning.

• The tough questions: Given they are only playing twice, do you bench your mighty Flyers (Carter, Richards, Pronger, Carle), your white-hot Lightning (Malone, Stamkos, St. Louis), your five Kings (Brown, Doughty, Smyth, Kopitar, Williams), your lone Thrasher (Kovalchuk), your solitary Flame (Iginla)?

• My tough answers: In head-to-head leagues where you are forced to set your lineup Monday, bench all of the above except Kovalchuk, Kopitar, Smyth, Stamkos, Carter, and…amazingly…Malone. The only forwards worth playing in two-game weeks are the ones with hat-trick potential. Otherwise, you are better off rolling with someone like Islanders LW Matt Moulson, who plays four times next week. Moulson is nowhere near (say) Iginla as a player, but he is likely to outproduce him next week since he’s playing four times and Iginla is playing twice.

photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Christopher Clark, my secret beloved, scored a goal last night.  It was lovely.  I did a happy dance during the highlights when I saw it.

It wasn’t, however, anywhere near as badass as Jeff Schultz’s goal.  That.  Was.  Hilarious.  Like, seriously, Atlanta.  I love you lots, but goals like that make me want to claw my eyes out.  ’Cept when Varly assists on them.  Then it’s a-o-k.

The Caps/Thrashers game last night was pretty ridiculous.  I missed the first two periods and my dad was sending me score updates and then when I came home it was 5-2.  Washington ended up winning, but it was by a final score of 5-4.  The Capitals need to work on third periods badly.  I’m a wee bit concerned.

Ilya Kovalchuk is pretty beast.  Just throwing that out there.  I know I say how much I love him, but I never really pay all that much attention to him.  He’s huge.  He’s also insanely good at hockey.  I always knew I liked him.

ZACHITY ZACH SCORED A GOAL FOR ME!!  That is all I have to say about that.

I didn’t look this up for last night in particular, but WHOA, the Capitals took/take a lot of penalties.  It’s redonk.  They must look into this matter and fix this as well.

I’m really starting to regret my decision to babysit for six hours tomorrow night.  I’m totally in the mood for a two-games/Don Cherry Saturday night.

I really don’t know what to think about the Sabres game tomorrow night.  Apparently Tampa Bay beat the Sharks…?  Although from what I’ve seen, the Sharks have looked more like little fishies this year.  They did not impress me when they played Washington.

Just watch this video.  There will never, ever be a time when these three don’t completely crack me up.  I always knew there was a reason I liked the bum in the sweats.

Although that title is misleading, Kovalchuk tallied, Ovechkin didn’t.

Even in the win, the Capitals cannot be happy with their 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers tonight. The Capitals took a somewhat commanding 5-2 lead in the second period on 3 goals scored within 88 seconds, but that was about the end of the Capitals playing smart hockey. It seems as though it’s impossible for them to play 60 minutes of hockey, which has happened with a lot of teams this season and it’s somewhat disheartening. The game would have been tied up with just seconds remaining in the third if Maxim Afinogenov had been able to put away a late powerplay goal. Kovalchuk had just netted one the shift prior, and it looked like Kovalchuk was going to singlehandedly bring the Thrashers back to win it. They ultimately fell short, but the Caps cannot keep giving up in the third period if they want to be considered an elite team in the league. I can’t tell if it’s complacency or just laziness that has been fueling the Capitals meltdowns in the third, but they need to correct it.

On the plus side, Eric Fehr came back and he was getting involved quite a bit, including scoring a goal. Alexandre Giroux put a goal on the board with an assist from Keith Aucoin, and the Caps finally got the secondary scoring they’ve been waiting for, with Alex Semin being out because of being “sick and sore,” as Joe B and Locker put it, and Alex Ovechkin didn’t factor in on any goals, which is somewhat of an anomaly this year, Ovi has 16 points in 9 games. Also Jeff Schultz had two assists and a 182 foot goal(not on the empty net), in what was probably the best game he’s ever had in his entire career.

So while the Caps still won, I’m sure Bruce “Gabby” Boudreau will still have plenty to yell about at practice tomorrow.

Elliot Friedman of the CBC is saying Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers could very well become the second player under the NHL’s CBA to make $100 million dollars, fellow Russian, Alex Ovechkin being the first. The most Kovalchuk can make per season is $11.36 million, which means he would need to be signed for a 9 year extension.

In my opinion, and let me let the dogs out of the yard now so you know my slant on Kovalchuk. I think Ilya Kovalchuk has been the single best goal scorer in the NHL for the last few seasons, yes, Ovechkin has scored more goals, but Kovalchuk’s goal to shot ratio is MUCH better than Ovechkin’s, and one would have to think if Kovalchuk took the same amount of shots as Ovechkin, he would put up scary/amazing numbers. If you’re not putting Kovalchuk up there next to the likes of Ovechkin, Malkin and Crosby, you’re probably not doing something right. Kovy is in fact, a legitimate franchise player, and Atlanta should do whatever they can to make sure he plays a good majority of his career for them.

In an era of penny pinching due to the CBA, I’m normally against big contracts like this, but with Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta will be getting a return on every single penny they spend on him, and that’s why I think this would be a great move. It’d be hard to see Atlanta as Stanley Cup competitors in coming seasons without Kovy.

After last night’s Chuck Kobasew trade, there is further speculation that the Bruins are loading up to acquired sniper Ilya Kovalchuk out of Atlanta.  Kovalchuk is an elite player, in the same category as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin.  He is entering his prime, only 26 years of age, and in his 8th pro season already.  He has never scored below 38 goals except for his rookie season, and has played with current Bruin pivot Marc Savard.

People are debating whether Kovalchuk will re-sign with the Thrashers, but if he does not sign before mid November, he will likely play the season out.  He would be stupid not to see his options, as it is clear Atlanta isn’t winning a Cup anytime soon, although they are heading in the right direction.  For all intent and purposes, let’s say he is available for trade.

No other team has the assets the Bruins have.  First off, we have 9 picks in the first two rounds of the draft in the next two years.  We also have that with a combination of young talent.  It would take a bounty to acquire Kovalchuk, but it is worth it.  What would it take?  Try Joe Colborne, Mikko Lehtonen, 2011 1st (Toronto), 2010 2nd (Boston) and a conditional 2011 4th (if Kovalchuk re-signs).

Now we assume a contract cannot be negotiated until after the deal takes place.  There is NO WAY you can let him walk.  This is a top 5 player in his prime in the league.  You trade players to make this work.  Sign Kovalchuk to a 12 year, 72 million dollar deal (6 per) which will take him to the age of 38.  Breakdown as 12, 11, 9, 9, 8, 7, 4, 4, 3, 3, 1, 1.  Now to make cap room for his 6 million cap hit, Marc Savard is all but gone.  Mark Recchi retires, Derek Morris is likely gone unless retained at a lesser cap hit.  Andrew Ference is gone as well.

Kovalchuk-Krejci-Ryder
Lucic-Bergeron-Wheeler
Sturm-Hamill-Marchand
Thornton-Sobotka-Bitz

Chara-Wideman
Stuart-UFA
Hunwick-Boychuk

Thomas
Rask

If you estimate Wheeler at 3 million, Stuart at 2.1, Thornton at same money, and Rask at 1 million, buyouts included, you have 2.827 million dollars in cap space (capgeek.com) to fill in one defensive spot.