Ice Fishing: Don't Look Now But Here Comes Philly

Well if this keeps up teams should start paying me to write about their stars in Breaking The Slump. In my Thursday column "Breaking the Slump" I discussed Mike Ribiero, Jonatahn Toews and Nicklas Backstrom. Of the three I gave the strongest chastising to Mr. Ribiero... who responded with a 5 point night against the Islanders.

Also included in that article was a simple message to the Ducks of Anaheim... "WTF Anaheim." Anaheim, and its stars heard me loud and clear. The Ducks won both of their weekend contests against the underwhelming Senators and the formidable Canadiens, and did so with the following stat lines from their star players:

Kunitz: 1 G, 2A, +1, 4 PIM, 1 PP, 7 SOG
Perry: 1G, 3 A, +2, 7 PIM, 2 PP, 4 SOG
Getzlaf: 2 G, 1A, +2, 4 PIM, 1 PP, 6 SOG

Things are turning around for the Ducks and none too soon, but things are also turning around for the Flyers. Predicted by most pundits to be one of the better teams in the East this year, including this one, the Flyers had an atrocious start, going without a win through their first 6 games, the Flyers finally broke out... unfortunately they did so against my New Jersey Devils. In two very hard fought games (the last of which included the throwing of a LIT smoke bomb in a bottle from somewhere in the crowd... I'm not kidding) the Flyers gained 4 points and put up 9 goals catapulting them to relevance.

They have an uphill battle ahead of them in a tough division but I still firmly believe this is a playoff team. The only teams that have scored more goals then the Flyers are: The Red Wings, The Avalanche (wait ... what???!), and the San Jose Sharks. The Flyers are also tied for first in the East in Goals scored with the New York Rangers who have already played 3 more games then Filthy. Just some stuff to think about as we go into the Adds and Drops for this week:

Grab 'Em

Joffrey Lupul
RW, Phi
About the only one of Philly's big scorers that should be on waivers, Lupul came alive in the last week scoring 3 goals and adding an assist. Lupul is a very good player, particularly when he's on a hot streak. Well... his first hot streak of the year has arrived. Don't miss it.

Phil Kessel
RW, Bos
"But you recommended him last week." Yes I did, and I'm doing it again. If he's out there grab him.

Andy McDonald
C, St. L
Ok... can't ignore it anymore. He has 12 points. If you need assists or powerplay points and can absorb the +/- problems that come when a team scores a million points on the powerplay McDonald is your guy right now. He added another 5 assists last week, 4 of them on the powerplay. Sexy.

Kris Versteeg
RW, Chi
A rookie that's getting overlooked on a very very talented Chicago roster. Versteeg is playing on one of the hottest lines in hockey right now with Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp. Versteeg has 2 goals and 6 assists so far this season and should continue to improve upon that so long as his line combinations remain favorable.


Weigh 'Em

Milan Lucic
LW, Bos
A traditional power forward Lucic had been having a slow start to the season until Saturday's game against the Thrashers in which he recorded a hat trick. Lucic is a second round draft pick and a big lumbering forward. If he gets hot he should be getting you a ton of PIM in addition to scoring some points. Keep an eye on him.

Keith Ballard
D, Fla
Good week for Ballard. Ballard recorded a goal and 3 assists in addition to 18 PIM. I don't think its time to get excited yet. Ballard, an 11th overall pick in 2002, was always expected to be an offensive defensemen but has yet to deliver on that promise. Its a crowded blue line down in Florida but with McCabe still out maybe it will be Ballard that fills that gap.

Sergei Federov
C, Wash
Less of a recommendation and more of a congratulations to Washington center Sergei Federov. Sergei passed Alexander Mogilny over the weekend to become the highest scoring Russian born player in the NHL. Now... Sergei is currently playing with Alexander Ovechkin and has had 3 goals over the last week... so he's worth paying attention to.

Nikolai Khabibulin
G, Chi
Don't look now Huet owners but Khabi is getting the chance to play. He let up five goals against Detroit the other night earning the loss in his second consecutive start... but it was his second consecutive start... and it was against Detroit. If you drafted Huet it might be time to handcuff yourself with the other half of the platoon.

Frederik Norenna
G, Cls
Time to get scared Leclaire owners. Leclaire is out with one of his, sure to be frequent, ankle injuries. Norenna has looked good in limited ice time this season. He's worth considering as a third goalie while Leclaire is hurt.


Toss 'Em Back

Rick Dipietro
G, NYI
Another undisclosed injury for DP. Word is that its a tweak to his surgically repaired knee. If I'm the Islanders brass I already know that this is not going to be a great year for us and I have our "star" player on the long-term contract maybe sit the year out and get healthy. There is no reason to risk further injury to Dipietro this year.

Joni Pitkanen
D, Car
Ouch. Pitkanen, already having a rough start, was injured in this weekends game against the Islanders (who talk about futility put 60 shots on Cam Ward and still lost). He is going to miss a month or so. Drop him or IR him.

Jay Bouwmeester
D, Fla
DO NOT DROP HIM. Just bench him. Jay seems unmotivated this season, contrary to the theory of contract years, and has really yet to click with any of his teammates. Maybe it was the offseason drama, maybe he just lost his taste for it, or maybe he hasn't snapped into season shape yet. Regardless, he's a solid player just... see if there's someone else you can play for right now.

That's all for this week. Check back later for more thoughts and observations on the NHL.