By Joseph Durie
The 2009 Hockey Hall of Fame inductions and the quarter point of the season were the headlines from week 6 & 7 of the NHL.
It has been dubbed as one of the best classes to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame – Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Luc Robitaille – were inducted as players, while Lou Lamoriello was inducted as a executive.
Leetch and Hull will go down as two of the greatest players not only NHL history but in the history of USA ice hockey. Leetch was arguably the best offensive and skating defensive since Bobby Orr, and helped the New York Rangers end their Stanley Cup curse in 1994.
Hull the son of NHL great Bobby Hull was not dubbed future star when he started his career, however he went on the score 741 goals which is third all-time.
Yzerman was a points scoring machine early in his career with the Detroit Red Wings, but changed his game to become one of the best all-round players in the game, and one of the best captains in the league – leading Detroit to three Stanley Cups from 1997-2002.
Robitaille was another not picked to be a NHL star, labelled as being too slow, however he went on to be the highest scoring left winger in NHL history with 668 goals.
At the quarter point of the NHL season there are a few surprises if the playoffs were to start today.
In the Eastern Conference Washington sit at the top while the Tampa Bay Lightning – who finished second to last a season ago, sneak into the top 8. On the outside looking in are the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens – picked by many to be contenders. At the bottom chasing everybody is the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In the Western Conference no one is surprised to see the San Jose Sharks at the top, but it is the Colorado Avalanche sitting second that cause most to look twice. Los Angeles and Phoenix have also been surprises with their strong play and the Detroit Red Wings sit in the final playoff spot in 8th. The Anaheim Ducks - who upset regular season champs San Jose in the first round of the playoffs last year, are sitting in the basement having hugely under achieved this season.
However it is only the quarter way point of the season so there is a long way to go. But as many teams have learnt over the years that you win the Stanley Cup in October and November, but you certainly go a long way to lose it by not making the playoffs come April.
In the game of the week the Ottawa Senators demolished the defending champ Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pittsburgh boosted by the return of start defensemen Sergei Gonchar were no match for the Senators giving up six goals. Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled from the Pittsburgh goal, after giving up two bad angle goals to Ottawa’s Chris Phillips.
Maxime Talbot hero from game seven of the Stanley Cup finals last year also returned for the Penguins – who are still missing Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik and Alex Goligoski.
It was Phillips first multi-goal game in eight years.
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