Hits and misses from the first month

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- One month into the season, and there are some interesting storylines already taking shape.

WHAT'S WRONG IN CALGARY: Though they didn't address needs to shore up an offense that scored just 211 goals last season -- only Columbus and St. Louis had fewer -- the Flames have reigning Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff in goal, and he's expected to keep them battling in a lot of close games.

It hasn't happened so far. The Flames' shortcomings on offense are still there: their 34 goals scored are tied with the Blues for second-fewest in the league heading into play Monday night.

Kiprusoff also is going through the first real downturn in his career. After a 42-20-11 record with a 2.07 goals-against average and a league-leading 10 shutouts last season, Kiprusoff is just 4-7-1 with a 2.77 GAA and one lone shutout.

PHILLY FRUSTRATION: It took just two weeks for a team to have its first major housecleaning of the season when the Flyers fired Ken Hitchcock (and, curiously, rehired him as a scout) and accepted the resignation of longtime general manager Bobby Clarke.

Under Hitchcock, Philadelphia got off to a 1-6-1 start. Since former AHL coach John Stevens took over, the Flyers are just 2-3-0, and still haven't scored more than three goals in a game in nearly a month.

Of Philadelphia's 27 goals this season, 16 have come from the top line of Simon Gagne, Peter Forsberg and Mike Knuble. Add in three each from Geoff Sanderson and R.J. Umberger, and that leaves five players with one goal each.

On defense, there is none it seems. Now 34 years old, Derian Hatcher has no points and already is a minus-15, and Joni Pitkanen is a minus-10, but has eight assists. Robert Esche has been a horror show in nets, and Antero Niittymaki has been playing with a hip injury that will need surgery at some point.

BROADWAY BLUES: A sophomore slump has hurt the New York Rangers despite them being just above .500 and in contention for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

Henrik Lundqvist has looked little like the goaltender that burst on the scene as a rookie last season and helped New York ended a lengthy playoff drought. He's already given up four or more goals in a game six times in 10 games -- that happened nine times in 51 games last season. Kevin Weekes has made three straight starts, winning two key road games, and could see more time in net.

On the plus side, the addition of Brendan Shanahan has been a smart one from a franchise that historically seemed to pick up superstars well on the downside of their careers.

Shanahan scored 309 goals in nine seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, and at 37 years old, doesn't seem to be slowing down. He leads the league with 12 goals, including seven on the power play. Last season, the Rangers has two players with more than seven man-advantage tallies -- Jaromir Jagr with 24, and rookie Petr Prucha with 16.

Jagr enjoyed a resurgence last season, with a franchise-record 54 goals and 123 points before being nosed out by Jonathan Cheechoo for the Rocket Richard Trophy and Joe Thornton for the Art Ross. The goal-scoring is down in 2006-07 as he has just five, but he also leads the league heading into play Monday with 18 assists and 23 points.

STUMBLING SENATORS: A year ago, Ottawa won 19 of its first 22 games. No way that's happened this season.

Dany Heatley, playing in his first season with the Senators, opened with a 22-game points streak. This season, he's scored all seven of his goals in a five-game span from Oct. 19-28.

Steady goaltending has been a problem, and no moreso evident than Monday night's 4-3 overtime loss to Washington. Martin Gerber -- given a 3-0 first-period lead -- gave up the tying goal to Alexander Ovechkin with 25 seconds left in regulation, and the winner to Chris Clark 1:33 into overtime.

Branching out

It is rare when I write about the ball you see on your left. But when you have an early-season game like this one, I just couldn't resist.

I enjoy, first and foremost, writing about hockey. Those who know me are probably saying to themselves, "No shit? Really?"

Frankly, I don't like hoops all that much. Working in the late 90s at ESPN SportsTicker -- now owned by, of all entities, the British Press Association -- I was able to do some side work as a stringer covering the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets. I also covered the Mets, Yankees, Jets, Giants, Rangers, Islanders and Devils, so long as I was willing to give up a day off to do so.

As far as basketball goes, it's fun to see live when sitting in a press box, but I'm not about to throw down $55 to see the Bulls.

Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm the one missing something. After all, basketball is popular worldwide, whereas hockey ... well, let's say that you'll almost certainly never see a face-off in Guatemala or Qatar or Nigeria.

I stand corrected.

Hockey Night in suburban Chicago

If there were any leftover doubts about Evegni Malkin as just another Russian player making a John Le Carre-like escape from Finland to the West Coast to Pittsburgh in order to play in the NHL, well, do you believe now?

You can bet opposing goaltenders and at least one Hall of Famer do.

"We knew he was a great talent but not to that extent," Penguins icon Mario Lemieux told the Canadian Press.

With each game -- and he's played just six so far -- the 20-year-old Malkin continues to develop from tentative rookie to the league's next superstar.

He opened the scoring for Pittsburgh in its game Wednesday night against Los Angeles, becoming the first NHL player in 89 years with six goals in his first six games. Then showing an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time, he buried a rebound past Dan Cloutier 2:45 into overtime for a 4-3 win over the Kings.

"Malkin's contribution has been huge and I feel pretty fortunate to play with him," said Sidney Crosby, who assisted on both goals.

On Wednesday, and in a surprise to no one, Malkin was named the NHL rookie of the month beating out Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar, San Jose's Matt Carle and Colrado's Paul Stastny.

It's a great story for a franchise that needs one. As someone who worked in the Pittsburgh media for a year, the Steelers are definitely the kings of the city, but the Penguins are certainly more beloved there than these guys. Less than a month ago, Lemieux sold the team to Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie for about $175 million.

"Pittsburgh has shown itself to be an outstanding hockey market, and the team has an incredible tradition of success and fan support," Balsillie said in a written statement last month. "With young stars such as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, we all know the Penguins have a very bright future on the ice. I look forward to owning this team for a long time in Pittsburgh."

Balsillie, whose company Research In Motion created the BlackBerry wireless device, is belived to want to eventually move the team to Hamilton, Ontario if a new arena cannot be built in Steel City.

Here's what I will be curious to see. Years ago, it was Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr co-existing and helping the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in the early 90s, but Jagr wanted to be the man and eventually was dealt to Washington.

Will Crosby -- a 102-point scorer and rookie of the year runner-up last season -- be Lemieux to Malkin's Jagr? Or will Malkin overshadow No. 87?

THE GOOD ...

BIG SAVES: St. Louis Blues goaltender Manny Legace makes 44 saves and improves to 9-1 all-time against the Colorado Avalanche following a 4-1 victory ...

SUPER SUB: Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild becomes the first rookie goaltender since 1943 to win twice before making his first career start. He stopped 19 shots over the final two periods of a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks ...

MAXIM-UM EFFORT: The Sabres' Maxim Afinogenov scores two of the final three goals in the last 8:39 of regulation. Buffalo has yet to lose in regulation this season after a 5-4 shootout win over the Boston Bruins ...

THE BAD ...

LOOKING FOR A WIN: Brian Boucher fell to 0-7-0 this season after the Chicago Blackhawks dropped a 2-1 decision to the Detroit Red Wings. Boucher has not won since Feb. 10 when he was with the Phoenix Coyotes ...

GOAL DROUGHT: Jonathan Cheechoo, who had a league-high 56 goals last season, has just five so far and none in his last five games after the San Jose Sharks' 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers ...

TEMPER, TEMPER: Peter Forsberg picked up 18 penalty minutes and the Philadelphia Flyers lost their 10th in a row to the Tampa Bay Lightning following a 5-2 defeat ...

AND THE QUOTABLE ...

"They will not only remind Pens and NHL fans of Mario and Jaromir Jagr, but could have them wondering whether watching them play together is what watching Mario and Gretzky playing together would have been like." -- Dallas Mavericks owner and Pittsburgh native Mark Cuban on Penguins stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

The way we were ....

Or in this case, the way I was ....

Talk about putting your time in!

March of the Penguin

Just from a historical aspect, here's a "must-see" NHL game coming up on Wednesday night.

When he faces the Los Angeles Kings, super-rookie Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins can continue the best start by a player since the league's first season in 1917-18.

Malkin, the second overall pick by Pittsburgh in 2004, has goals in his first five games -- the longest streak by a rookie since Dmitri Kvartalnov did it for the Boston Bruins in 1992-93.

Malkin can be the first player since Joe Malone, Newsy Lalonde and Cy Denneny to score in his first six NHL games -- all he needs to do is pot one against a defense that has allowed three or more goals in eight of its first 14 games.

Only hardcore hockey fans -- the ones who understand the history of the game -- will recognize the names Malone, Lalonde and Denneny. About the time World War I was in full swing, the NHL started with four teams, the Canadiens and Wanderers in Montreal, the Arenas in Toronto and the Senators in Ottawa. There also was the Quebec Bulldogs, but they never took the ice, and the Wanderers' season lasted only six games after Montreal Arena burned down.

And in those first 44 games that comprised the 1917-18 season, Malone, Lalonde and Denneny were the reasons to watch the new league.

Over the decades, the NHL has had superstars from Mario Lemieux to Wayne Gretzky to Gordie Howe. According the Hockey Hall of Fame Web site, Malone may have been the first.

While known for his unique upright skating style and revered for his excellent conduct on the ice, what set "Phantom" Joe Malone apart from the rest was an ability to find openings and weave his way through the defensive alignments of the opposition.

Playing in just 20 games that first season on a line with Lalonde and Didier Pitre, the Quebec City native scored 44 of the Canadiens' 115 goals.

Go through the league's official guide and record book, pretty much the annual bible of all things hockey, and you'll see Malone's name still in there. Playing in his final game for Quebec in 1920, Malone scored a record seven goals in a 10-6 win over Toronto. He also was one of seven players to score six times in a game -- a feat that has not been done since Darryl Sittler for the Maple Leafs in 1976.

Though he played just 125 games over seven seasons, Malone finished his NHL career with 173 goals.

Years before suiting up for Montreal, Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde was carving out a reputation as a scorer. Playing for Toronto of the Ontario Professional Hockey League in 1907, he won the scoring title was 29 goals in only nine games.

The next season with the Renfrew (British Columbia) Millionaires of the National Hockey Assocation -- a precursor to the NHL -- he scored a record nine goals in one game.

When the Canadiens joined the NHL in 1917, Lalonde appeared in only 14 games and still scored 23 times in that initial season. He also had a mean streak, averaging nearly 4 minutes in penalties per game.

The nickname, by the way, came about because he worked in a Cornwall, Ontario newsprint plant as a youth.

Denneny was Ottawa's answer to Malone. In that initial season, the "Cornwall Colt" had 36 goals and 46 points -- just two in back of Malone for the league lead.

Denneny also had 80 penalty minutes in just 20 games, far and away the most among the league's scoring leaders in that first season. Despite his scoring prowess -- he was the league leader in career goals for most of the 20s and early 30s -- Denneny also may have been the league's first bodyguard for finesse players like Frank Nighbor and Jack Darragh.

Denneny spent his first 11 seasons with Ottawa and led the Senators to three Stanley Cups before playing his final season with the Boston Bruins in 1928-29. He retired as league's leading point scorer of all time with 331, including 246 goals.

Hockey Night in suburban Chicago

And a caption for this photo may be, "And I never liked you much during practice!"

Zdeno Chara, who left the Ottawa Senators to sign a lucrative deal with the Boston Bruins, got to face his old team for the first time on Saturday ... and got the best revenge possible. When he wasn't tangling with noted pugilist and former teammate Brian (five points, 141 PIM last season) McGrattan, Chara scored the game-winning goal in Boston's 2-1 victory over Ottawa.

The 6-foot-9 Chara, forever known by Kensohan blogstigator Chris Altruda as "Alice the Goon", downplayed facing the team with whom he spent the last four seasons.

"Yes, I was playing my former team but my main focus was on those two points," he said. "It did not matter who we played. We really needed this win and we got it and it's a nice feeling."

And I've got some land on the Back Bay I'm looking to unload ...

The Chicago Blackhawks, meanwhile, have reverted from promising to abysmal.

With a 3-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night, the Hawks haven't scored a goal in 145 minutes, 10 seconds. Michal Handzus -- gone for the season with a blown-out knee -- scored in the second period of a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 21.

That's three straight losses following a 4-4-0 start ...

The Carolina Hurricanes broke a franchise record by scoring three goals in 43 seconds during a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Eric Staal scored the first of his two goals on the night at 8:23 of the first period, tying the score at 1-all. Nine seconds later, Kevyn scored off a rebound of Craig Adams' shot. Erik Cole broke the mark when he scored off a feed from Ray Whitney at 9:06.

The previous franchise record was 63 seconds by the Hartford Whalers in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in January 1987. The NHL record is 20 seconds by the Bruins versus the Vancouver Canucks in 1971 ...


THE GOOD...

Sidney Crosby records his first NHL hat trick in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 8-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers ...

Vyacheslav Kozlov scores the lone shootout goal to lift the Atlanta Thrashers to a 5-4 win over Buffalo, ending the Sabres' season-opening and NHL record-tying 10-game winning streak ...

Martin Brodeur made 22 saves for his second straight shutout, a 1-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Brodeur also moved past Jacques Plante into sole possession of fourth-place on the all-time shutout list with his 83rd career whitewash. Next up is Glenn Hall with 84.

THE BAD...

The Washington Capitals manage just 19 shots on goal in 4-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. The Caps haven't won in Northern Alberta since Bill Clinton's second term in office ...

Goaltender David LeNeveu, a recent call-up by the Phoenix Coyotes, allowed six straight tallies in a 7-3 loss to the New York Rangers ...

Los Angeles fell to 0-4-1 in its last five games after a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. The Kings have scored just 14 goals in their last 10 games ...


THE QUOTABLE...

"The bottom line is we feel we have two quality goaltenders. We describe them as 1A and 1B." -- Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle talking about netminders Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Ilja Bryzgalov, after the latter made 14 saves to shut out Chicago 3-0 on Saturday.

CHAMPIONS

^AP-APNewsAlert<,0028< ¶ ST. LOUIS (AP) _ The St. Louis Cardinals have won the World Series in five games beating the Detroit Tigers 4-2.

It took 24 years -- and four tries -- but the Cardinals finally have their 10th championship.

That's not to say that this wasn't a struggle. In 1985, Don Denkinger's blown call at first base helped the Kansas City Royals win their lone title. Two years later, the Minnesota Twins were the longest of longshots to win it all. And, in 2004, the Cardinals just didn't seem to bother to show up and were swept by the Boston Red Sox.

Consider the following:

• The Cardinals became the team with the fewest regular-season wins (83) to win a World Series. The 1987 Twins had won 85 games before their playoff run.
  
• St. Louis had a 7 1/2-game lead in the NL Central on Sept. 20, and nearly pissed it all away before getting into the playoffs.
• They needed to defeat fellow division winners San Diego and the New York Mets before facing the Tigers -- a team many expected would sweep the Series. Rob Neyer of ESPN.com fame went so far as to predict Detroit would win in three games.

"The team that wins a world championship is the team that played the best," winning manager Tony La Russa said.

But what makes me happiest about this win? Easy -- Cubs fans get to suffer for the second straight season, though I don't know what will make me smile more. Last year, it was the cross-city rival White Sox that ended an 88-year championship drought. This time around, it's the Cubs' most-hated divisional rival that gets to celebrate.

For those counting, it's been 98 years since the Cubs won the World Series.

Oh, yes, life can be good! Toasted ravioli for everyone!

The night on ice ...

The uniforms may suck, but that may be the only negative thing you can say about the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres tied an NHL record with their 10th straight win to start the season when they blanked the New York Islanders 3-0 on Thursday night, tying the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs' record.

New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur also moved up on the all-time shutout list after a 29-save performance in the Devils' 2-0 victory over the Florida Panthers. Brodeur has 82 shutouts, tying him with Jacques Plante for fourth all-time.

Brodeur trails only Glenn Hall (84), George Hainsworth (94) and Terry Sawchuk (103).

Whod've thunk it .... almost

Now, you know no one thought this would happen.

The St. Louis Cardinals are one win away from their first championship in 24 years -- you know, the skinny ties, the double-knits, the cheesy music.

You can read more about Game 5 in their quest for the 10th championship in team history right here.

Aftermath

Been a couple of days, but I needed some time to recover from the trip to St. Louis ... I'm getting too old for this driving 700 miles in one day.

Got to see the Cardinals beat up on the Tigers -- and make it look prety easy at the same time too. Not really a whole lot to report on. At least not now ... just in one of those lulls where I don't feel much like writing about this.

Game 4 was washed out by rain Wednesday, and there are no guarantees they'll play tonight.

Show Me ... a win in Game 3

Some 12 hours from now, I will heading south on I-55 to Game 3 of the World Series between the Cardinals and Tigers at Busch Stadium.

Twenty years ago, I was fortunate to be at perhaps the greatest World series game ever for drama, which you can see below.

More later. Cardinal Nation rules!