In the Crease: A weekly look at the NHL 2/4-2/10

Scary moment in Buffalo

In Sunday’s Florida Panthers vs. Buffalo Sabres at Buffalo there was a very scary moment halfway through the third period. As Richard Zednik attacked the Buffalo end hard Sabre defenseman Brian Campbell hit Florida captain Olli Jokinen and sent him into the air as he headed to the ice face first his skate was in the air and cut the throat of Richard Zednik who immediately got off the ice and was tended to by the training staff and others. He had surgery to fix the wounds and is reported to be in stable condition.

NHL.com is giving live updates and here is the link: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=353025

Cujo has rough debut

Curtis Joseph made his debut with the Calgary Flames on February 4th and it did not go as planned. As the Flames were shut out 5-0 by the Edmonton Oilers. The loss was the second straight for Calgary who had a four game win streak last week. The Flames currently sit in a tie for 7th and 8th place in the West with the Nashville Predators with 64 points each. Only one point behind Colorado.

Antropov suspended for tossing stick

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nik Antropov was suspended three games but the NHL for throwing his stick. The incident happened when his team play Carolina at the beginning of the week and the Hurricanes scored in overtime while Antropov was in the penalty box. As the Hurricanes celebrated Antropov left the penalty box and tossed his stick in the direction of the referee who called his penalty. The Maple Leafs are in the bottom of the pack in the Eastern Conference and there has been rumors saying captain Mats Sundin may be traded by the deadline. Sundin is coming in on the end of his career and it is unclear if he will ask for a trade to a team that has a chance to raise Lord Stanley’s Cup at the end of the season.

Preds lock up Dumont

The Nashville Predators signed forward JP Dumont to a 4-year contract extension. The deal is for about $16 million. This season Dumont has scored 20 goals, racked up 30 assists for 50 points in 57 games. He is also a plus ten on the season. The Predators who sit in a tie for 7th place in the West have a pivotal week coming up as they face the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blawkhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Minnesota Wild.

Flames sign Phaneuf to extension

The Calgary Flames signed star defenseman Dion Phaneuf to a 6-year extension. The deal is worth about $6.5 million per season. Phaneuf has had a good season so far recording 10 goals, 27 assists, 37 points and a plus 4 in 56 games.

Hawk’s put out the fire

The Chicago Blawckhawks exttinguished the Calgary Flames on the 7th to do away with a nasty 5 game losing streak. On which they were outscored 17-8. After beating the Flames they again suffered a let down that lead to a 3-2 shoot out loss to the Canucks.

From my blog http://www.sammonroe.net