Today's Snap Shot - Chicago vs. Montreal

Nikale Photos

Cheechoo - Game Winning Goal

Jonathan Cheechoo's 10th goal of the season provided 50th San Jose win and 111 point leading the Western Conference and the League as well.

Photo by Nikale

Today's Photo - San Jose vs Calgary

Dan Boyle and Joe Thornton (top photo)

Faceoff

Photos by Nikale

Last night game photo

Detroit's Mikael Samuelsson scores his 19th goal of the season during last night game against Nashville.
Photo by Nikale

Nashville overcome Detroit 4:3

Despite considerable disadvantage in shots on goals (26 to 36) Nashville has Detroit beaten 4:3 today at Red Wings’ Joe Louis Arena. Late game winning goal scored by Ryan Suter and Pekka Rinne’s excellent goaltending provided this huge win that gives two points to Predators to continue their Stanley Cup spot run.

No Replacement for Colton Orr!

Interesting and maybe unique casus took place during last night Rangers vs. Penguins game. Starting the third period Ranger Colton Orr was given 5 minutes boarding penalty plus match penalty . He was rejected from ice but somehow Rangers and 4 officials (!) have forgotten to send replacement player to the penalty box. So when the penalty was expired no one could step out to help penalty killers and Rangers continued to play shorthanded until the next game stop. NYR managed to kill this penalty as 8 others as well but lost the game 3:4 anyway thanks to Sidney Crosby’s excellent breakaway goal.

Ovie Gets 100th Point

Friday March 27 fantasy hockey preview

Chris Morgan
Fantasy Hockey Examiner

Wednesday is in the rear view mirror, so let's look in the forward view mirror for the Friday preview. Six games on the docket, let's see what's in store for us.

Washington plays Tampa Bay, a great matchup for that potent Capitals offense. Good chance for a win for Jose Theodore as well. I really like all the Caps worth playing, including Brooks Laich and Sergei Fedorov. For the Lightning, Ryan Malone and Steve Stamkos are good spot starts.

Detroit takes on the Islanders, and even with New York's better play recently, they are a bad road team and the Wings are, after all, the Wings. Much like with the Capitals, I like all the Red Wings worth playing, including Jiri Hudler, Valtteri Filppula, Dan Cleary, and Mikael Samuelsson as pretty good spot starts. None of them really stand out as options, but they are all usable. Nobody from the Islanders worth playing. Also, I like either Chris Osgood or Ty Conklin as a good start.

Buffalo faces Toronto as Dominic Moore seeks vengeance against his old team. Or not. In fact, these two teams may have even played since that trade. I wouldn't play a goalie from either team. Tim Connolly is a great spot start from the Sabres, and Drew Stafford is a decent option as well. Alexei Ponikarovsky and Mikhail Grabovski are good plays from the Maple Leafs, and Matt Stajan isn't a bad spot start either.

Chicago hosts New Jersey in a game I could see being either high scoring or low scoring. On the one hand both teams have excellent offenses, but on the other hand Marty Brodeur is a great goalie and the Blackhawks have two netminders who aren't slouches. As such, I'd play both teams goalies, but I would brace myself for potentially a rough outing. No spot starts from the Devils, Chicago has Dave Bolland and perhaps Cam Barker on defense as good plays. They also have mediocre options in Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd.

The Canucks play the Avalanche, who've all but given up on this season. Roberto Luongo is an excellent play in this one, and Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows are very good spot start options. Nothing going on for Colorado as per usual .

Lastly, the red hot Ducks and the room temperature Oilers face off in a battle with big time ramifications on the last couple of seeds out West. Dwayne Roloson is a solid option in net, and I'd play either goalie from Anaheim. Light on spot starts for both teams. Bobby Ryan is a good play for the Ducks, Edmonton has decent plays in Patrick O'Sullivan and Tom Gilbert on defense. Maybe Denis Grebeshkov on D as well.


There is nothing more to say so I wouldn't take up any more of your time. Good luck in tonight's games.

Mo Info about author http://www.examiner.com/x-2503-Fantasy-Hockey-Examiner

How to Buy Ice Hockey Sticks

How to Buy Ice Hockey Sticks
By Drew Mers

Ice Hockey Sticks are used to score a goal in ice hockey. It is used to propel, control, pass and carry the puck around the rink. It has two main parts; the shaft and the blade. The shaft is the long part of the stick held directly by the player. At the end of the shaft, it extends at one end to a flat wide surface and gives way for the blade. The official stick measurements are as follows: the shaft should not be longer than sixty-three inches; the blade should not be longer than twelve inches and the width should be 2 to 3 inches. Sticks of the goalkeeper differ from other players. The blades are wider measuring 3-4 inches and longer, up to fifteen inches. The shaft also contains a protective knob at the tip.

When buying, consider the materials used for the stick. Ice hockey sticks can be made of fiberglass, wood, graphite, aluminum, Kevlar, or titanium. Sticks made from wood are the cheapest and have a good fit for young players. This is best for amateurs who are yet to start their lessons on ice hockey. Wooden sticks have acceptable flexibility and durability and from this, the player can gauge the properties he would want for his permanent stick. The disadvantage of wood is that its strength fades overtime and therefore weakens and becomes easily broken. They are also the least standardized.

Graphite sticks also offer the same familiarity as the wood, but quite stronger and is more expensive. For professional players, this is impractical since the durability does not differ much from wood but costs more. When one is going for superior durability, one should grab a stick that has a shaft made up of aluminum or titanium. Titanium offers more flexibility than aluminum and is lighter, but as expected, they are more expensive. Kevlar was originally used for enforcing the strength of aluminum, but are now available as the lone material for shaft.

When buying a stick, try to get a good look while at the store. Hold it like how you would on the ice to determine the lie of the stick and gauge if you are comfortable with it. It should have a 5-degree angle with the floor; otherwise, the shaft stands straighter, making it hard to maneuver. Also check for the sticks flexibility, which is printed on the shaft. The higher the number, the more durable it is. This is of particular concern for defensemen as their job includes attempting to snatch the puck from the opponents where hitting the sticks of other players in inevitable. The most advisable stick is the one with detachable blades and shaft. One-piece sticks are not ideal for beginners as they do not offer much adaptability. Use it only when you are sure of your preferences.

Choosing ones stick is something only the user can do. There are no hard and fast rules. The stick should complement the position of the player and the player himself. Before sealing the deal with the buyer, make sure that you are able to evaluate the stick and that you are comfortable with it so that it becomes a part of your body during the play.

Drew Mers is an advertising consultant to City Ice Pavilion, a rooftop ice skating rink with ice hockey in Long Island City, Queens, New York

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Drew_Mers
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Buy-Ice-Hockey-Sticks&id=2034681

Ovechkin gets goal No. 50

Thursday, 03.19.2009 / 8:10 PM / News
By NHL.com Staff
Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals reached the 50-goal mark for the third time in his four NHL seasons when he scored 7:43 into Thursday night's game at Tampa Bay.Ovechkin became the first player in the League to reach the 50-goal mark this season when he took a pass from Nicklas Backstrom, raced down the right wing, cut toward the middle and zipped a shot past goaltender Mike McKenna from inside the right circle to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead.Ovechkin, 23, scored 52 goals as a rookie in 2005-06, when he won the Calder Trophy. He had 46 in 2006-07 and zoomed to 65 last season, becoming the first player to break the 60-goal mark in more than a decade. That earned him both the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer and the Hart Trophy as League MVP. He also took home the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer with 112 points.Ovechkin surpassed the 200-goal mark earlier this season, and Thursday's goal was his 213rd in 315 regular-season games, all with the Capitals, who chose him No. 1 in the 2004 Entry Draft.

Today's Card - Martin Brodeur

Congratulations to the classiest goalie to play the game!I am some glad you passed the guy with his Cup rings in his ears!

Regards, Rob, Saint John,

NBCongrats on 552!!!!!!!! My brother wants to be a goalie and he looks up to you so much!!!! You should have seen him when you won yesterday!!!!

J. Munro, Canada

You are the Babe Ruth and Tom Seaver of the Devils. Without you, none of the Devils success would have been possible. Someday there should be a Brodeur Gallery at the Rock. Congratulations on an outstanding career and achievement

Stan Lubowicki, Brooklyn,

I live in Toronto Canada, and am a Leafs fan, but not when you’re in town. I try to take the family to one game a year when the Leafs play the Devils. The kids really enjoy seeing the greatest goalie live in action since I brag about you all the time. Way to go Marty, never doubted you for minute to break Roy's record. Stay healthy and keep the victories coming. One of your biggest fans

Al, Toronto, ON

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=414277

Today's Card - Martin Brodeur

Martin Brodeur is the youngest goaltender in NHL history to reach the 300, 400 and 500 regular season win plateaus. His 300th victory came on December 15, 2001 with a 39-save shutout against the Ottawa Senators at the Corel Centre. His 400th victory was on March 23, 2004, at the Office Depot Center in Sunrise, Florida, as the Devils defeated the hometown Florida Panthers. Brodeur stopped twenty-one shots, and needed to work overtime to get the win. With the victory he also became the first goaltender to win 400 games playing every game for the same team. He reached the 500 win plateau on November 17, 2007 against the Philadelphia Flyers, with a 6 to 2 win; Brodeur is second only to Patrick Roy who retired with 551 wins in regular season NHL games.
On December 23, 2007, he recorded his 95th career shutout by blanking the Calgary Flames 1-0 in overtime. The shutout places him second all-time to Terry Sawchuck (103 Shutouts), breaking a tie with George Hainsworth.
On March 15, 2008, he recorded his 40th win of the season giving him the most seasons with 40 wins, seven.

http://www.martinbrodeur.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10&Itemid=8

Today's Card - David Nemirovsky

Right-winger David Nemirovsky was toiling in the minors as the 2001-02 season began. He was once a highly regarded prospect in the Florida Panthers' system but he was unable to rise above part-time status in the NHL.
The Toronto native was a solid forward for the Ottawa 67's and Sarnia Sting of the OHL. He was chosen 84th overall by the Florida Panthers in the 1994 Entry Draft. Nemirovsky split two seasons between the AHL and the Panthers and was a consistent in unspectacular worker. He scored a goal in the 1997 post-season but Florida was unable to duplicate their Eastern Conference championship of the previous year.
During the 1998-99 season he scored 22 goals in 44 games for the IHL's Fort Wayne Komets. That year he was also traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for former first round draft pick Jeff Ware. The young forward was used strictly to provide depth on the AHL's St. John's Maple Leafs. Nemirovsky began the 2000-01 season on The Rock then signed with Sweden's HV Jonkoping where he 18 points in 26 games.

hhof.com

Today's Card - Nikolai Khabibulin

The Chicago Blackhawks have activated goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin from injured reserve and have reassigned goaltender Antti Niemi to the American Hockey League's Rockford IceHogs.Khabibulin, who has notched four wins in his last five appearances, leads the Blackhawks with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage while accruing a 17-5-5 mark in 29 games. The 36-year-old netminder last appeared on Feb. 11, when he notched 36 saves on 37 shots in Chicago's 3-1 win at the Atlanta Thrashers. He has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 18 of his 29 appearances this season.The Sverdlovsk, Russia native is three victories shy of recording the 10th 20-win season of his career and has registered 291 wins (291-264-58) in 665 career regular-season contests over the course of his 13-year NHL tenure.

nhl.com

Today's Card - Vaclav Nedomansky

By Patrick Houda
When Vaclav Nedomansky defected to Canada in 1974 to play for the Toronto Toros in the WHA not many people in North America realized what a great star he was back in Europe. Vaclav was 30-years old at the time and had a marvelous career behind him in the European rinks.Young hockey players around Europe cherished his number 14 in the same way as North American kids cherished Gordie Howe's No.9, Guy Lafleur's No.10 or Bobby Orr's No.4.Vaclav was the ultimate hero for thousands of fans who loved the way he dominated games. Vaclav was born in Hodonin, Czech Republic but his parents were Slovaks.Vaclav's talent was obvious very early on and he soon came to the Slovak club Slovan Bratislava where he played from 1962 until he left for North America 1974. During the 12 seasons in the Czechoslovakian league he scored a stunning 369 goals in 419 games. He led the league in scoring four times (1967, 71, 72 and 74).He wasn't just a dominant force in the Czechoslovakian league but he was also super when he played for the Czechoslovakian national team. He scored 163 goals in 220 games and played in 10 World Championship tournaments between 1965-74 as well as two Olympic tournaments in 1968 and 72.In 1972 he was the offensive catalyst who led Czechoslovakia to a Gold Medal, breaking the Soviet dominance. He scored 15 points (9+6) in the 10 games. The same year as he defected he led all goal scorers during the 1974 WC tournament and was selected as the best forward of the tournament. He had also been a first All-Star three times (1969, 70 and 74) on the right wing.Scouts and managers in the NHL were drooling over the 6'2" and 210 Ibs Slovak. He had all the tools necessary to become a star in the NHL. He not only had the size but he also possessed the best wrist shot in the world at that time. On a couple of occasions his wristshot was clocked at 90 + MPH, which was harder than most players slap shots.When Vaclav came to the Toros he was teamed up with future Hall of Famer Frank Mahovlich. Even though Vaclav didn't set the league on fire upon his arrival, he nevertheless scored a very respectable 81 pts (41+40) in 78 games. The next season (1975-76) he had adapted a little more to the smaller rinks and showed his marvellous skills. He scored 56 goals and 98 pts for the Toros. He won the Paul Darneu Trophy that season awarded to WHA's most gentlemanly player.As the Toros moved to Birmingham in 1976 Vaclav continued to score goals, even though his production fell to "only" 36 goals during the 1976-77 season. He was then signed as a free agent by Detroit Red Wings on November 18, 1977. He was finally playing in the NHL, almost 10 years after NY Rangers GM Emile Francis had tried to lure him over to New York.His first season in Detroit wasn't all that great and he scored only 28 pts (11+17) in 64 games, not exactly the numbers one would expect from a World class player. But as soon as Vaclav settled down in Motor Town, he came back and showed flashes of his brilliance. Although clearly past his prime he scored 38 and 35 goals the following two seasons (78-79 and 79-80). His 73 and 74 pts was a really good result considering the fact that he was 35-36 years old playing for one of the worst teams in the league. Although not as fast as he used to be he still had that deadly wristshot as well as great touch around the net. As his speed deteriorated he became more and more of a power forward who thrived in the slot. He was hard to move away from the slot in the same fashion as Phil Esposito was and became something of a powerplay specialist.He played a couple of more seasons in Detroit before he was signed by NY Rangers as a free agent on September 30, 1982. He scored a goal in his first game with the Rangers before getting claimed off waivers by St.Louis on October 6,1982.Ironically enough it was Emile Francis who was behind the deal, the former Rangers' GM who had his eyes on Vaclav back in the 1960's was now a St. Louis GM. He finally got Vaclav on his team, ok so "Big Ned" was almost 39, but it didn't matter to Francis.The New York management weren't happy about losing Vaclav. They never figured that anybody would be interested in a 38-year old player with a million dollar contract, but they had forgot about Francis. They were determined to get "Nedo" back and traded young prospect Andre Dore to St. Louis in exchange for Vaclav and Glen Hanlon on January 4, 1983 So, "Big Ned's" stint with St. Louis only lasted for 22 games before he came back to the "Big Apple". Upon his return to NY Rangers he scored 11 goals in 34 games, 8 of them coming on the powerplay. He finished that 1982-83 season with 31 pts (14+17) in 57 games before calling it quits almost 40-years old.A marvellous career that had spanned for over three decades came to an end which saw "Big Ned" score close to 800 goals. Had he been able to play in North America during his prime then he could very well have challenged Esposito's then record 76 goals in a season. Vaclav is today a scout for the Los Angeles Kings.

Gary Roberts retired

Stanley Cup winner Gary Roberts retired Tuesday after 22 seasons, in the words of T.S. Eliot, not with a bang, but a whimper.It could be no other way. Gary Roberts, 42, wasn't the type to hoist the Stanley Cup and then retire. No, if Gary Roberts had that much energy, he'd come back for another year.Roberts retired two-thirds of the way through his first season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, after previously playing with the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins."I knew the Tampa Bay situation, with 18 games left, I knew they wanted to play the young guys," Roberts said. "I talked with coach Rick Tocchet and he said if I earned the ice time, he would give it to me. Over the past 13 or 14 games, my game was pretty good. I'm not retiring because of health issues. I'm healthier than I was at 30.” Roberts won the 1989 Stanley Cup with the Flames in his third NHL season and retired less than a year after playing in the Stanley Cup Final with the Penguins. He was hoping another team would pick him up for another Stanley Cup run, but decided to retire when that didn't happen.

nhl.com

Today's Card - Dimitri Tertyshny

Center Dimitri Tertyshny played one season with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1998-99. He was a decent puck mover who could also take the man effectively on defense.
Born in Chelyabinsk, USSR. Tertyshny spent four years with his home town club in the CIS/Russian league. He was taken 132nd overall by the Flyers in 1995 then made his NHL debut three years later. After a solid rookie season, he was tragically killed in a boating accident while vacationing in British Columbia in July 1999.

hhof.com

Carbonneau fired

The Montreal Canadiens dismissed head coach Guy Carbonneau on Monday, two-thirds of the way through his third season. Executive Vice President and General Manager Bob Gainey will coach the Canadiens for the rest of this season.Associate coach Doug Jarvis and assistant coaches Kirk Muller and Roland Melanson will continue on the coaching staff.In addition, the Canadiens have added Hamilton Bulldogs head coach Don Lever to their staff. Hamilton assistant coach Ron Wilson will take over as bench boss of the AHL club.The Canadiens were the top team in the Eastern Conference last season with a 47-25-10 record, but have struggled this season due to inconsistent goaltending, power-play woes and low production from some of the expected team leaders."Not long ago, I responded to a question that was asked to me about my best decision since taking over as general manager, and that Guy was my best decision," Gainey said during a press conference on Monday night. "The decision today can be seen as a contradiction, but in the last eight weeks the performance has been below average. I believe that a change in the direction at ice level is necessary."

By John McGourty - NHL.com Staff Writer

Today's Card - Sergey Gusev

-Browsing my card collection I have found this autographed card of Russian native Sergey Gusev.
He used to play for Dallas and Tampa between 1997 – 2001. - Nikale

-Defenceman Sergey Gusev hoped to salvage his NHL career after a serious knee injury limited him to 16 NHL contests in 2000-01. A good puckhandler with solid instincts, his defensive zone coverage improved since coming to North America in 1995-96.
Born in Nizhny Tagil USSR, Gusev played with CSK Samara in the CIS League in 1994-95 then was selected 69th overall by the Dallas Stars. He scored 28 points in his rookie pro season with the IHL's Michigan K-Wings but made a host of defensive errors. He continued to work on his game in the minors and was recalled to Dallas on occasion. Late in the 1998-99 season the young defender was sent to the Tampa Bay Lightning for veteran forward Benoit Hogue. Gusev averaged 21:30 per game for his new club towards the end of the schedule. The next season he was a useful role player with the potential for more until his progress was slowed by a knee injury.
On the international stage, Gusev represented his homeland at the 1995 World Junior Championship and is a three-time member of its World Championship team (2002, 2003 and 2005).
NHL Hall of Fame

Photo NY Rangers News Blog

Victor Hedman

By Gare JoyceSpecial to ESPN.comArchive
Going into this season, opinion among NHL scouts was divided.
Some liked forward John Tavares of the Ontario Hockey League as the first overall pick for the 2009 NHL draft; others preferred Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman. In fact, it's likely the majority saw Hedman as the probable No. 1 based on his performance at the 2008 world under-20 championship in the Czech Republic.
Hedman, who is 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, had been the silver-medal-winning Swedes' best blueliner, maybe their best player and arguably the most promising-looking prospect in the whole tournament. On the flip side, Tavares, a talented scorer, saw spot duty for Canada rather than a regular shift.

Richard Wolowicz/Getty ImagesSome scouts believe Victor Hedman's size (6-foot-6, 220 pounds) will help him make the quick jump to the NHL.
The rest of the season, Hedman was the youngest player taking a regular shift against former NHLers and emerging talents in the Swedish pro league, and he even made an appearance playing for the men's national team.

Eric Staal scores four

Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Eric Staal had his best offensive game, and helped the Carolina Hurricanes continue their playoff push.
Staal tied franchise records with four goals and six points and the surging Hurricanes hammered the Tampa Bay Lightning 9-3 on Saturday night.
"That's one of those games that don't happen very often," Staal said. "It was a good win for our team, which was the bottom line. But it's fun getting points and being on the offensive side of the game. I've been on the other end of it before."
It was the third time - the first since Ron Francis on Feb. 12, 1984, against Edmonton - that a Hartford-Carolina player had four goals. Staal's six-point night was the fourth in franchise history. He has 32 goals this season, and has five goals and 12 points during a five-game point streak.
Tuomo Ruutu had two goals and three assists, and Erik Cole added four assists for the Hurricanes, who have won seven of nine. Anton Babchuk, Joe Corvo and Rod Brind'Amour had the other Carolina goals.

Gary Roberts has cleared waivers

Canadian Press

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa Bay Lightning veteran Gary Roberts has cleared waivers and is taking time off to ponder his future in hockey.
Roberts, who was held out of a game Tuesday against Pittsburgh as the Lightning tried to move him, was not at the rink Friday and general manager Brian Lawton reportedly has given him a few days to decide whether to retire.
He was placed on waivers ahead of the NHL trade deadline on Thursday and was not claimed.
The 42-year-old left winger retired in 1996 due to a chronic neck injury, but returned the following season. The Toronto native has played in 1,224 career NHL games, picking up 438 goals, 471 assists and 2,560 penalty minutes.
He began his career with Calgary in 1987 and won a Stanley Cup with the Flames in 1989. He moved to Carolina in 1997, then played in Toronto from 2000 to 2004 before moving on to Florida, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay.
The rugged winger, who is earning US$1.25 million plus bonuses this season, had three goals and four assists with the Lightning in only 30 games. He missed 33 games this season with an elbow injury.

nhl.com News Room

Colleen Howe, the wife of Gordie Howe, has died.

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - Colleen Howe, a successful business woman and the wife of hockey great Gordie Howe, has died. She was 76.
The Detroit Red Wings say she died Friday at the family home in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Gordie Howe spent most of his Hall of Fame career with the Wings.
Colleen Howe had been suffering from frontal temporal dementia, an incurable neurological form of dementia known as Pick's disease.
"We extend our deepest condolences to Gordie, Mark, Marty, Cathy, Murray and the entire Howe family," Red Wings owners Mike and Marian Ilitch said in a statement. "Colleen was a pioneer hockey wife and hockey mom and devoted her entire life to the betterment of the game. She will be sincerely missed by us and all who knew her."
Colleen Howe was such an integral part of her husband's hockey career that her nickname was Mrs. Hockey.
She was the outspoken business manager of one of the most prominent families in the history of the sport, and as the first female hockey player agent she was as forceful in the boardroom as her husband was in arena corners.
But her illness had taken a toll.
"I thank God for the years we had," Gordie Howe said upon marking their 50th wedding anniversary in 2005.
She was the first woman inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and was also honoured as Michigan's Sportswoman of the Year in 1973.
She is survived by Gordie and her sons Marty, Mark and Murray, daughter Cathy, nine grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Funeral arrangements have not been announced

By The Canadian Press

Nobody shoots like Ovechkin

Friday, 03.06.2009 / 9:58 AM / By the Numbers
By John Kreiser - NHL.com Columnist

Whoever came up with the old adage, "you can't score if you don't shoot" must have had Alex Ovechkin in mind.Ovechkin is on his way to leading the NHL in goals for the second consecutive season. But he's also got a runaway lead -- again -- in shots on goal.Ovechkin reached the 400-shot mark for the third time in four seasons last Saturday during the Washington Capitals' 4-3 overtime victory at Boston. No other player has as many as 300 -- Carolina's Eric Staal is second at 293.Ovechkin is well on his way to surpassing his career-high total of 446, set last season when he scored 65 goals. The reigning Hart Trophy winner also had 425 shots as a rookie in 2005-06, when he scored 52 times, and 392 during a 46-goal season in 2006-07.Ovechkin’s season of 400 or more shots on goal is just the 13th in NHL history. Phil Esposito did it four times with Boston, and Espo holds the all-time single-season record of 550 shots on goal, set in 1970-71 -- when he scored 76 goals. Esposito is the only NHL player ever to surpass 500 shots in a season, though with an average of 6.6 shots per game, Ovechkin is in line to become the second. Despite sitting out Thursday with a heel injury, Ovechkin is on a pace to finish with 522 shots on goal.
Esposito and Ovechkin are the only players in league history with multiple 400-shot seasons. The other six players who have reached 400 once are Paul Kariya, Bobby Hull, Bobby Orr, Brett Hull, Pavel Bure and Jaromir Jagr. Prior to Ovechkin, Kariya was the last player to surpass 400 shots with 429 in 1998-99. But Kariya wasn't nearly as accurate as Ovechkin, who has posted shooting percentages ranging from 11.1 percent to 14.6 percent in his 400-shot seasons. Kariya scored just 39 goals on his 429 shots, a 9.1 percent success rate.

By John Kreiser - NHL.com Columnist

Wayne Gretzky Is The Greatest Hockey Player Of All Time
Statistically there is no doubt that Gretzky is the best hockey player of all time. But however players such as mario lemieux could have defied Gretzky's all time high scores but their careers were cut short due to injuries and illness. I believe he was a highly skilled hockey player, amongst the great, but not the greatest. Added by verum

Who really knew that years after they were first produced these collectible cards would become a huge, worldwide trading business or that Wayne Gretzky's rookie card would be worth more than your first car? Well, if you were one of the few people who saw it coming and still have all of your old hockey cards you should give yourself a pat on the back. The card collecting business has become so popular over the years that there are now many specialty shops, magazines and internet sites all dedicated to the hockey card. Many of these cards are now worth hundreds of dollars and autographed cards are even more valuable. However, it is sometimes hard to tell if an autographed hockey card is authentic.
There are also many hockey card autograph sessions and trading events held throughout North America each year where collectors gather to swap their cards and past and present hockey players turn up to autograph their cards and have their photographs taken with fans. Some players only played a year or two and later became coaches or cult heroes. So, if you happen to have any old hockey cards up in your attic I'm sure the bats wouldn't mind if you went up there and dusted them off so you could take them down and start your wheeling and dealing all over again.
Topps hockey cards, O Pee Chee hockey cards and Upper Deck hockey cards were a few of the well-known brands and hockey cards are still made and traded today. So if you happen to get a Sidney Crosby rookie card, it may be a good idea to hang onto it.


http://www.prohockeystuff.com/cards/

Collector’s items and memorabilia

Collector’s items and memorabilia
If you can remember big, pink sticks of bubble gum that were so hard and brittle they usually broke into dozens of pieces before you could get them into your mouth, you must surely remember where you got them. They came in packs of hockey trading cards. Though they may not be quite as popular today, hockey cards were all the rage in the late 1960s to the early 1980s and your childhood was surely deprived if you weren’t involved in the wheeling and dealing of them.
When kids were trading cards on school playgrounds at recess decades ago only a few words were usually needed. "Got em, got em, got em, need em, got em." I'd hate to be the one to tell you now that all of those hours spent playing general manager weren't really necessary as you can now buy whole sets of cards by the year they were produced. Still there are some cards out there that are hard to find and are classified as high priced collector’s items.