A night in the minors: Chicago

Despite what some may still think ... no, this was not spent down on Madison Street.

Made my way over to the Allstate Arena on Wednesday night to see the Chicago Wolves for the first time as they met the Houston Aeros. Pretty good game .... Houston took a 3-2 lead with less than 2 minutes to play in regulation before the Wolves' Brett Sterling tied it with 59 seconds left -- and extended his goal-scoring streak to eight games.

After overtime, the teams went to a shootout and Jason Morgan beat Fred Brathwaite in the fifth round to give the Aeros a 4-3 win. To be fair, Houston's first two goals were off deflections, but he gave up four straight shootout markers ... which I guess also explains why he's back in the minors.

Like many journeymen, Brathwaite's pro career has been one long road map: Edmonton, Calgary, Manitoba, Cape Breton in Newfoundland, Saint John in New Brunswick, St. Louis, Columbus, Russia _ he spent the past two seasons in the Motherland before being signed by Atlanta on July 4.

The top of his mask bears an image of Martin Luther King Jr. with the words "I have a dream" underneath it. His dream has produced an 81-99 record with 37 ties, 15 shutouts and a 2.73 GAA in his NHL career.

The Wolves' history started in the old International Hockey League back in 1994. By 1998, they were Turner Cup champions, one of two they would win _ the other was in 2000 _ before joining the AHL. In 2002, they added another banner after winning the Calder Cup.

To say there is a loyal following would be an understatement. Minor league hockey does tend to be clannish, but what you see Chicago suburbs is something the Blackhawks cannot -- or in the case of owner Bill Wirtz, would not -- provide: a quailty product for an affordable price. The announced attendance was 8,882 ... compare that with the 7,500 or thereabouts at the United Center for Chicago-Edmonton game a couple Sundays ago.

Hockey Night in suburban Chicago

Once again, the NHL is thinking about tinkering.

Earlier this season, the league said they would unveil a new uniform template involving a more high-tech design to "blend fashion with functionality" ... and essentially eliminating the old-style hockey sweater. That way, players like Chicago goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin -- who only looks like he's pushing three bills here -- can look slim and trim as he stops vulcanized rubber coming at him at 100 mph.

Is that kind of change a good thing? Probably not. Hockey players and fans, by and large, are skeptical of anything new. I didn't like the thought of advertisements on the boards and overtime when they were first used, but in time, things like that became part of the game.

I did like the idea of the shootout when it was instituted, but for the most part, tradition need not stick around. Now, the league is floating the idea of reducing the number of divisions from six to four. Fans be warned: if this happens, don't expect the return of the Patrick, Adams, Norris and Smythe Divisions.

That wouldn't work in Gary Bettman's world.

Under the proposed plan, which may not even be voted on at next month's NHL board of governor's meeting, divisions of eight and seven teams would make up the Eastern and Western Conferences.

The West's eight-team conference would be made up of Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, Colorado and Phoenix. The seven-team group would be Chicago, Minnesota, Detroit, St. Louis, Nashville, Dallas and Atlanta.

In the East, the eight teams would be the New York Rangers and Islanders, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay and Florida. Though it's not known if the Penguins will be staying in Pittsburgh beyond this season, they would join Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Boston, Buffalo and Columbus in the seven-team group.

The playoff seedings would come from the top two teams in each division, and four wild cards would come from teams with the next four highest point totals.

Now this is just a concept, but here is something I hope this possible new alignment addresses. When I was growing up and the new schedules came out in the summer, I always looked to see when teams like Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Chicago and St. Louis would come to Madison Square Garden, and also when the Rangers were headed out to play teams in the West.

These days, there are too many games against divisional foes. I don't particularly mind that the Rangers have eight chances in a season to wallop the snot out of the Islanders -- I'm a fan, I got to have something to cheer, you know -- but I don't need eight matchups a year against the Devils, Flyers and Penguins.

The way schedules are set up now is ridiculous. Earlier this season, I wrote previews when Montreal and Toronto visited the United Center to meet the Blackhawks. Consider that these are three of the Original Six teams, but the Canadiens were making their first appearance in the Windy City in 4 1/2 years; it was nearly four years for the Maple Leafs to come back to Chicago.

This season, none of the Atlantic Divison teams are scheduled to come to Chicago or play at any Central Division club. So, if I wanted to see my favorite team play live, I would either need to drive to Pittsburgh or fly to Dallas. There is no logical reason for this, nor is there one to explain by Original Six teams from opposing conferences cannot meet at least twice each season.

Also, if Bettman wants to make the league viable, wouldn't it make sense to ensure that young stars like Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin play in each arena at least once each season? Sadly, that seems to make too much sense.

I don't think Bettman ever quite grasped how much tradition is rooted by fans in the league. He keeps wanting to expand the league's presence by trying to bring in new fans -- which is a good thing -- but he seems stubbornly to insist on doing so at the expense of the older fans and their ways.


THE GOOD ...

ON FULL BOYLE: Tampa Bay defenseman Dan Boyle had a hat trick and assist in four-goal third period to rally the Lightning to a 4-3 win over the Rangers, who've dropped five in a row.


AND WORKING OVERTIME: Minnesota won its league-best 11th overtime game this season when diminutive Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored 45 seconds into the extra session for a 3-2 win over Detroit.


THANKS FOR THE HELP: Nashville's Alexander Radulov had 10 goals, but just three assists coming into Saturday's game against Los Angeles. The rookie doubled his assist total by drawing three helpers as the Predators routed the Kings 7-0.


THE BAD ...

TOUGH BREAK: Maple Leafs center Michael Peca likely will miss the remainder of the regular season with a broken leg suffered in a 3-1 loss to the Blackhawks on Friday. "He's not a guy you immediately replace," said Toronto general manager John Ferguson, who declined to say if Peca has played his last game for the team.

FLYERS FOLLIES CONTINUE: The Flyers' franchise-record losing streak reached nine games after a 6-3 loss to Ottawa. Philadelphia starts a season-high eight-game road trip on Wednesday at Florida.


ALL QUACKED UP: Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere gives up goals 13 seconds apart in the third period of a 2-0 loss to Phoenix. The defeat ended the Ducks' eight-game winning streak over the Coyotes and was just their third in regulation since Nov. 17.


AND THE QUOTABLE ...

"The big thing, Rory, if you're watching, they're not laughing with you, they're laughing at you." -- Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry speaking out on fan voting for the All-Star game after an Internet campaign to vote Vancouver fringe defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick has resulted in him ahead of All-Star veterans Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Pronger and Sergei Zubov.

Your move, Pittsburgh

Mario Lemieux has enjoyed the highs and lows of life on and off the ice.

From winning two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins -- a team he'd later rescue in bankruptcy court -- to recovering from cancer and returning from back and hip injuries only to have an irregular heartbeat finally end his Hall of Fame career, Lemieux truly lives up to the nickname "Super Mario".

Which makes the last few days the hardest of all for someone who had done more than his share. First, on Friday a deal to sell the team for $175 million to BlackBerry patriarch Jim Balsillie ground to a halt when Balsillie pulled out of negotations.

Then a bid by Isle of Capri Casino for one of Pennsylvania's lucrative slot machine licenses was rejected by the state's gaming control board on Wednesday. With that went a promise to build a new $290 million facility to replace aging Mellon Arena and keep the team in Pittsburgh.

The Associated Press reported that the board voted unanimously to award the city's only slot-machine license to Detroit-based casino developer Don H. Barden's PITG Gaming. Barden's group proposes building a casino and entertainment development on the city's North Shore, near Heinz Field and PNC Park.

PITG has said it would contribute toward a new arena, but the team and the state would have to open their coffers as well. New homes for the Steelers and Pirates were negotiated only after county voters rejected a nominal sales tax increase.

''Had Isle of Capri been selected, it would have ensured the long-term future of the Penguins in Pittsburgh,'' Penguins CEO Ken Sawyer said. ''At this point, our franchise enters a period of uncertainty, with our lease at Mellon Arena set to expire this summer. We will re-evaluate all of our options before deciding on a course of action and making further comment.''

So. ultimately, will this end professional hockey in western Pennsylvania? Solving that puzzle is not easy. Land for the new arena has been secured, but no one is willing to blink when it comes to opening the wallet.

I can sympathize with Lemieux. I'm sure at some point he's had to say to himself, "What more can I do?" Much like a decade and change ago, today's Penguins are loaded with young talent but take a back seat to the Steelers and Pirates -- who haven't had a winning season since Bush the Elder was in office.

Perhaps, it's time to quietly let go. Let the Penguins fly away and set up shop in a new city.

Hockey Night in suburban Chicago

This is what goes through your mind when you working on an elliptical machine in a gym at 3 a.m.

You don't see scenes like the one on the right in the NHL anymore. On Saturday night in Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets faced off in one of the ugliest brawls in ... well ... it wasn't really all that long ago.

This was the first major fight since what Knicks broadcaster and Hall of Famer Walt Frazier mellifluously called "The Malice in the Palace" referring to a 2004 brawl between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers.

In this one, Denver's J.R. Smith took exception to a horse-collar foul by Knicks rookie Mardy Collins -- who obviously learned a lot at Temple University under John Chaney. After several shoves, slaps, attempted punches and a takedown of Smith by diminutive Knicks guard Nate Robinson, referee Dick Bavetta did the right thing: he ejected all 10 players on the court at the time.

On Sunday, Jermaine O'Neal of the Pacers -- who was involved in that brawl against the Pistons -- weighed in with his opinion, misguided as it may be.

"Listen, the NHL lets them fight. Fights happen in baseball. Fights happen in football," O'Neal said. "Why are we under scrutiny about our game?"

When was the last time there was a mass ejection of a starting lineup in an NHL game? MLB? NFL? Bueller? Bueller? Athletes need to really think before opening their mouths.


THE GOOD ...

ROAD TO RECOVERY: Bruins rookie Phil Kessel spoke publicly before Boston's 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers about his recent surgery for testicular cancer. "I couldn't believe it. It was tough. I had a hard time with it," the 19-year-old Kessel said. He is expected to be back on the ice in about two weeks.



HATS OFF: Kyle Wellwood of the Toronto Maple Leafs recorded his first career hat trick in a 9-2 win over the New York Rangers. Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks didn't have three goals, but he set a career-high with three assists in the a 6-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.


A PERFECT TEN: The Nashville Predators needed a shootout, but earned their 10th straight win over the St. Louis Blues with the a 3-2 victory. Nashville can extend that streak when the teams complete a home-and-home series on Sunday in St. Louis.


THE BAD ...

FIVE HOLE: Henrik Lundqvist of the Rangers and Fredrik Norrena of the Blue Jackets each got shelled in the first period of their games. Lundqvist gave up two goals 27 seconds apart early in a 9-2 loss to Toronto, then three more in 2:34 span later. Norrena was torched for four goals less than 12 minutes apart in a 6-4 defeat to Chicago.


LONG NIGHT ON THE ISLAND: Atlanta center Niko Kapanen was a minus-4 in the Thrashers' 6-0 loss to the New York Islanders. After registering a plus-25 rating in 2002-03 with Dallas, the Finnish native is minus-34 in 181 games over two-plus seasons with the Stars and Thrashers.



NO HOME SUPPORT: The Phoenix Coyotes drew just 15,551 for their 6-3 loss to the Calgary Flames. The Desert Dogs have yet to sell out a home game this season.




AND THE QUOTABLE ...

"That's a secret between me and the puck, and I'm not going to tell anybody." -- Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo (rear) on whether a second-period blast by Minnesota's Pascal Dupuis crossed the goal line. After a lengthy video review by officials, it was determined it didn't and the Canucks held on for a 2-1 win over the Wild.

Penguins sale grounded

The Christmas season is not being kind to Pittsburgh Penguins fans.

Just before the Penguins met the New York Islanders on Friday, news broke that Canadian buisnessman Jim Balsillie withdrew his $175 million offer made more than two months ago to buy the team from Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux.

As a player, Lemieux saved the team from an uncertain future by leading them to two Stanley Cups in the early 90s. By the end of the decade, Lemieux again saved the team when a ownership group led by him bought the team in federal bankruptcy court.

Balsillie's purchase price was not the issue, team CEO Ken Sawyer said during a press conference in between the first and second period of the Penguins' eventual 7-4 victory. One issue remains centered on who's paying for construction of a new building to replace the quaint -- read: aging and outdated -- Mellon Arena.

Next week, Pennsylvania gaming officials are to announce a decision regarding some of the state's slots casino licenses. One gaming company, Isle of Capri casinos, has pledged to build a $290 million arena downtown to replace the 45-year-old Igloo -- the oldest arena in the NHL. The company would foot the bill at no cost to team or the taxpayers ... provided they're given the license.

A secondary issue is who really would have control of the team. According the TSN.ca Web site, sources said the league presented a list of conditions to Balsillie before the sale was to close, perhaps most notably keeping the franchise in Pittsburgh under any circumstances and a way for the NHL to take control of the team if necessary.

Balsillie, whose company makes the BlackBerry wireless handheld device, appeared to be leaning toward moving the team to southern Ontario. Hamilton, about halfway between Toronto and Buffalo, may have been the ultimate destination to relocate the team, whose lease with Mellon Arena is up in June.

The last thing commissioner Gary Bettman wanted to see was the team, including stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, moving to Ontario, Winnipeg or Quebec. Under his watch, the Jets and Nordiques relocated to Phoenix and Denver, respectively.

If that's true, then Balsillie didn't need much to prove who's the better businessman. Can you imagine, for example, Bud Selig telling George Steinbrenner today that he could buy the New York Yankees, but ultimate control would not rest with him.

Didn't think so. Balsillie knew this was a bad deal, and he exercised his right to stop it.

Bettman envisions himself as David Stern-type -- you will do things my way or you will pay the consequences. History, though, will likely show otherwise. His insistence on bringing hockey to the Sun Belt and overexpansion in the 90s will be one of the hallmarks of his legacy.

Attendance figures show five of those expansion or relocated clubs -- Columbus, Anaheim, Florida, Nashville and Phoenix -- are in the bottom third of the league with Atlanta on the verge of joining them.

The lockout will always be the cloud that hangs over Bettman's head. While claiming to save the sport by imposing a salary cap, he did so at the expense of an entire season, alienating a declining fan base with no real clear way to get them back. His latest crusade is to completely redesign all uniforms, which you can read about here.

Does hockey belong in Pittsburgh? It certainly has a rich history since being part of the "Next 6" expansion in 1967 with Philadelphia, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Oakland and the Minnesota North Stars. Crosby has started to make his mark as the league's most exciting player and the future does look quite bright, indeed.

Nothing is forever, though. The Seals ended up moving to Cleveland for two seasons before merging with Minnesota and eventually going to Dallas.

Times change. Circumstances change. If the Penguins are to be sold, it needs to be done without restrictions. If a prospective owner thinks he can make more money with a team in a newer, more modern building in Winnipeg or Kansas City and other owners agree, than pack the bags once and for all.

If Bettman wants to own a team, pony up then.

Debunking a huge myth

The picture to your left would be an example of what the Hanson Brothers in "Slap Shot" would gleefully call "old time hockey," when they're not puttin' on the foil.

Fights, especially the bloody kind, as you see here with Darren McCarty of the Calgary Flames as he battles Sheldon Souray of the Montreal Canadiens, are among the rarest.

In the newsroom, we enjoy the fights -- George "Porn 'Stache" Parros of the Anaheim Ducks and Donald Brashear of the Washington Capitals last Friday, for example, was one that got the juices flowing. But much like the foods you may have loved as kid, it wasn't quite the same now.

It was more WWE and less NHL.

But there also is a perception among non-hockey fans that fighting is what the game is all about.

Using that logic, I should be able to say -- as a non-auto racing fan -- that NASCAR events and the like are all about crashes and nothing more. If I did that, every hick from every hoot and holler would be telling me I don't know what I'm talking about, how auto racing is the fastest-growing sport, yadda, yadda, yadda, et cetera.

To the non-fans, the ones who've never seen a game but have this view of what it is, try this: Go to a game live or watch one on television and look for these things ...

Watch a game as it goes into a shootout, the ultimate one-on-one test. Watch a future Hall of Famer like goaltender Martin Brodeur as he continues to rack up records toward becoming the best ever at his position. Watch the young stars -- Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, Malkin, Crosby, Kopitar -- as they become among the best of this generation.

The names and even some of the places will be unfamiliar to you now -- sure, you know where Talladega is, now find Edmonton on a map -- but give it a chance, a real chance.

Now, someone get me down from this soapbox.

Blues show Kitchen out, bring in Murray

For the third time this season, a Central Division team has decided to make a change behind the bench.

Stuck in last place in the league thanks to a seven-game losing streak, the St. Louis Blues on Monday night finally showed Mike Kitchen the door, replacing him with for Los Angeles Kings coach Andy Murray.

Kitchen had just 38 wins in 121 games since he took over for the fired Joel Quenneville -- now with the Colorado Avalanche -- in January 2004.

A recent meltdown by Kitchen didn't have quite the same impact as the tirade Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green had earlier this season, but probably sealed his fate anyway.

According to The Associated Press, Kitchen expressed frustration with the state of the team after ceremonies to retire Brett Hull's No. 16 jersey resulted in a 5-1 home loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 5.

"How can you not get ready for tonight's game?" Kitchen said that night. "You just look around. You've got a full building, there's a lot of electricity in the air, and they're not ready to play? Come on!"

Other Central Division coaches to be fired are Gerard Gallant by Columbus and Trent Yawney by the Chicago Blackhawks. Ken Hitchcock, axed by the Philadelphia Flyers, was hired by the Blue Jackets.

Murray, the Kings' career leader with 215 wins, inherits a team that has scored the fewest goals in the league, and hasn't had a victory in regulation since beating the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 12, going 2-9-1 since with both wins coming on the road via the shootout.

Murray makes his Blues coaching debut on Tuesday against the Blackhawks.

Alex the Great vs. Sid the Kid, round two

Perhaps the best game of the season will be played Monday in downtown D.C. when Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals welcome Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

If you have this on your television system, game time is 7 p.m EST, and you can read more about this matchup here.

The new Madhouse on Madison?

See those things on the Chicago Blackhawks' faces? And the fans in the background?

They haven't been seen at the United Center in years during the hockey season.

They're called smiles.

On Sunday evening, I went with co-workers Mike Votta and recent New York transplant and noted Islander apologist Jon Palmieri to see the Blackhawks defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-1. Martin Havlat and Bryan Smolinski each had a goal and an assist, and had it not been for a penalty shot goal by Jarret Stoll -- and three very friendly goalposts -- Nikolai Khabibulin would have had his first shutout of the season.

The resurgence of the Blackhawks could turn out to be the story of the season, provided it continues. In seven games played since Hall of Famer Denis Savard took over behind the bench two weeks ago, Chicago picked up 11 of a possible 14 points after posting a 4-0-3 record.

Heading into play Monday night, the Hawks have 27 points, just four behind the Calgary Flames for the eighth and final playoff spot in Western Conference. OK, first the playoffs, then a run through the West like the Oilers did last season and before you know it, a 45-year Stanley Cup drought ends with a parade to Grant Park.

OK ... I'll agree (almost) all of that is a reach, and even staring to consider the U.C. the new Madhouse on Madison is a stretch. But if the White Sox can enjoy their resurgence over the past few years, and the Cubs -- lovable losers they always will be when you read news stories like this -- why not the Blackhawks?

What would help is a bigger fan base. For years, the White Sox were mediocre before winning the World Series. The Bulls fell off the NBA radar before becoming relevant again under general manager Jim Paxson and coach Scott Skiles -- Headbandgate be damned. And the Cubs ... well, so long as this place is still standing, they can go 0-for-the-season and would still draw packed houses.

I have this site bookmarked at home to keep an eye on NHL attendance figures. According to the latest numbers, Chicago has the fourth-worst home attendance in the league, drawing 12,740 per game, or about 62 percent of capacity at the United Center. Only the Islanders, New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues have worse home numbers. Taking the road numbers into account as well, the Blackhawks rank 27th out of 30 teams, bringing in 14,553 per game -- and that's down some 500 fans from last season.

The three of us on Sunday were trying to estimate how many fans actually were at the game: there's a huge difference between tickets sold and turnstile count. The announced attendance was 11,523, but I figured roughly 7,000 to 7,500 actually witnessed what was truly an entertaining game. Most of the seats on the turn and behind the net in the middle deck were empty, as were large chunks downstairs.

That's disheartening on several levels.

First, this is a team playing with passion for the first time in years. As I wrote in this blog a couple weeks back when Savard was promoted from assistant coach after Trent Yawney was fired, I didn't think the Hall of Famer would be able to turn around a franchise that easily was three steps past moribund. Consider me corrected, to a point. I will be curious to see how Peter Bondra fits in when he makes his Blackhawks debut later this week.

Bondra, who needs two goals for 500 in his career, signed a one-year deal with Chicago on Sunday. A two-time 50-goal scorer, Bondra had 21 last season with the Atlanta Thrashers and was a teammate of Havlat's and Smolinski's in Ottawa in 2003-04 after spending his first 13-plus seasons with the Washington Capitals.

Second, is lack of exposure at home. Palmieri questioned how an Original Six franchise, a proud team with a long and distinguished history can operate like this today. Owner Bill Wirtz, in an ongoing and long-standing feud refuses to broadcast home games on local television.

Until that changes, the Blackhawks may be stuck in 1961.

Hockey Night in suburban Chicago

Just a short entry tonight because work's been insane with bowl-game-hell going on ...

GLAD YOU COULD JOIN US: Both the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild welcomed back star players from injury when the teams hooked up Saturday night in St. Paul.

Martin Havlat returned after missing more than seven weeks with a sprained ankle -- and scored both goals in the Blackhawks 5-4 overtime loss to the Wild.

Though they've shown improvement under new coach Denis Savard, this should illustrate how bad the Blackhawks' offense is: playing in just his eighth game overall, Havlat leads the team with nine goals. Martin Lapointe has needed 27 games to score seven goals while Jeff Hamilton has done the same in 25 games.

One more thing ... the Blackhawks are 3-0-3 under Savard, meaning they've posted at least a point in each game under his watch. Not horrible. They'll also have a chance at extending that run Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers (and, yes, I finally will be heading to the U.C. for my first game of the season there.)

Pavol Demitra returned to Minnesota's lineup after missing eight games with a concussion and had a short-handed goal and two assists.

Their other star, Marian Gaborik, missed his 22nd straight game with a groin injury and is not expected back for at least another week.


THE GOOD...

HOME COOKING: The Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 for their ninth straight home win to tie a franchise record. This is the fifth time the Flames have won nine straight on home ice and the fourth time in Alberta. Back in 1978 behind 100-point scorers Bob MacMillan and Guy Chouinard, the Atlanta Flames reeled off nine straight wins after two ties. (And I can hear the young'uns now ... Atlanta Flames? Ties??)



JUST DUCKY: Teemu Selanne continues to be the league's hottest player ... since Nov. 1 anyway. In 20 games since then, the Finnish Flash has a league-high 16 goals -- including nine on the power play -- and 33 points for the Anaheim Ducks. Also this season, Selanne has five game-winners, matching his total from last season.



FREDRIK THE GREAT: Don't look now, but there's a goaltending controversy in, of all places, Columbus. Fredrik Norrena -- the backup to Antero Niittymaki for Finland at the Turin Olympics -- set a Blue Jackets record for longest shutout streak at 155 minutes, 28 seconds before being beaten in the second period of a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Norrena, 33, in playing his first season in the NHL after more than a decade in Scandanavia ... and may have unseated Pascal Leclaire as the starter.


THE BAD...

SHAKIN' LIKE A LEAF: This is how bad it got for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday -- they lost their seventh straight after falling 5-1 to the Detroit Red Wings ... and gave up all five goals on the power play to a team's unit that was ranked 27th coming in. The franchise record for longest losing streak is 10 set in 1967. That also was the last year they won the Stanley Cup.


YOU'RE JOKIN-EN: Seems like the Florida Panthers always end up here. How about this ... team captain Olli Jokinen leads the team with 13 goals this season. Of those, only one has come on the road in 2006-07. This is not surprising when you're an Eastern Conference-worst 3-8-5 away from the comfort of home.


DUCK...ER, CANARD!: Got to feel for the Montreal Canadiens' Cristobal Huet. He's one of a growing number of goaltenders that are facing slapshots in shootouts. On Saturday, he was caught flatfooted by Buffalo's Thomas Vanek in a 3-2 loss. Brian Rolston of Minnesota also has been taking netminders by surprise in shootouts recently, blasting pucks past Dallas' Marty Turco and Vancouver's Roberto Luongo.


AND THE QUOTABLE ...

"I like the environment. It's almost like going to church. You've got almost 22,000 people here and they all love hockey, so you want to bring your best. It's a great rivalry. It's good hockey and the fans seem to like it." -- Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller on playing in Montreal's Bell Centre.