Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.For the third time in four weeks, I'm leading the Saturday Ice Sheet with news of a hat trick. First it was Jussi Jokinen's four-goal night. Then it was Dustin Byfuglien's trick last Friday night. This week, it's actually someone you've heard of: Henrik Zetterberg, who sent a trio of pucks past Minnesota's Josh Harding in the Wings' 5-0 win over the Wild.
Hank's big night vaulted him into a tie for second in the League in points and into sole possession of second in the League in goals. He has the second-highest plus/minus rating of any forward in the NHL (tied with his linemate, Pavel Datsyuk) and is, apparently, a marketing juggernaut of sorts (make sure to pick up your high quality Z scarf soon to ensure Christmas delivery!).
But is Henrik Zetterberg the best all-around player in hockey? A dozen games into this season, MLive.com's (and favorite Abel to Yzerman whipping boy) Ansar Khan was ready to declare the debate over, but I'm not. With guys like Sidney Crosby and Vinny Lecavalier and others out there, it's a debate worth having. Bet I know which side this guy comes down on.
Bonus: Despite Z's big night, the must-see highlight from the game comes to us courtesy Kukla's Korner. Make sure to check it out.
Other Friday Finals:
- Devils 3, Capitals 2. The Devils are now in first place, having won nine straight games. And remember when Marty Brodeur was going to be taking more games off? I think Brent Sutter has left that idea on the side of the road like every coach before him. Brodeur has played in each game of the current streak and is 9-0 with a 1.53 goals against average and a .940 save percentage over that span.
- Thrashers 4, Rangers 2. Paging Jaromir Jagr... Jaromir Jagr to white courtesy phone...
- Panthers 3, Islanders 0. Billy Guerin doesn't have a goal in his last 16 games, but his offensive futility is hardly unique amongst the Isles. In fact, only the Rangers are scoring fewer goals per game than the Fishsticks. Hey, that's a victory of sorts, no?
- Ducks 5, Blackhawks 3. Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two helpers and J.S. Giguere stopped 39 shots for Anaheim, who has won two in a row and is close to getting Scott Niedermayer back. Gentlemen, start your engines.
- Senators 4, Stars 2. Ottawa showed some of its scoring depth on Friday, getting goals from Christoph Schubert, Antoine Vermette, Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly.
- Avalanche 2, Flyers 1. The Avs are now 11-3-0 at home but only 4-9-1 on the road. Jose Theodore is 4-2/2.11/.924 at home and 2-4-1/3.38/.867 on the road. Paul Stastny has 8 goals, 15 assists and is +14 in 14 home games, but 3 goals, 8 assists, -3 in 14 road games. Any of our Avs readers care to explain what's going on here?
- Blues 4, Oilers 3. Doug Weight finally scored his first of the year (against his former team, no less). Fantasy Tip: he'll be do for another some time in early February, so make sure to scoop him up then.
- Sharks 1, 'Yotes zippy. Think Evgeni Nabokov has Phoenix's number? This was his third straight shutout over the Desert Dogs, and he's now 4-0/0.25/.989 against Gretzky's bunch this season. The Sharks are now in first place, having won four in a row. And, in case you're keeping track at home, Nabby has still started every single Sharks game so far this year. Ride him 'til he drops, Ronny!
Is it me or is today's slate short on excitement? Four of the top six teams in the East are off, as are three of the top five out West. Anyway, here's the best of what Saturday's sked has to offer:
- Bruins @ Maple Leafs. I'm a sucker for Original Six match ups. This we know.
- Thrashers @ Capitals. The League's top two goal scorers since the lockout - Alexander Ovechkin (118) and Ilya Kovalchuk (117) square off in a Southeast Division match up to decide once and for all whose team has less scoring depth.
- Penguins @ Canucks. The reigning scoring champ against a perenial Vezina finalist would seem like a good match up, but since Sid the Adult entered the League, Roberto Luongo is 3-1 with a 3.53 GAA against the Pens (more than half a goal above his overall GAA during that span). I'm still saying this will be an entertaining affair.
- Sabres @ Sharks. Maybe this won't be a great game, but it does provide me with an excuse to link to my favorite cartoon of late, courtesy Battle of California and our own Earl Sleek.
- On this date back in 2001, the Flames set an NHL record with 190 penalty minutes in the third period of a 4-0 loss to the then-Mighty Ducks. The two teams combined for 309 PIMs on the night.
- I have no way of verifying (read: no desire to verify) the accuracy of this little bit o' trivia, but according to a poster on HFBoards with one of the worst (best?) avatars ever, on Thursday night Montreal's Ryan O'Byrne became the first player in Canadiens history to have an apostrophe on his sweater/uniform system. I'd like to think that I have more of a life than the guy who researched that, but the sad reality is that it probably took me longer to write this post than it took him to check that out.
- The sale of the Preds has been finalized. Yawn.
You didn't think I'd tease you with that Flames/Ducks blurb and not come through with video of it, did you? It's not the best quality, but you certainly can get a feel for the evening's mayhem and carnage:
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
