1) If anyone saw the fight clip between Daniel Maggio and Brian McGrattan in San Antonio, it's not pretty. I've always thought that fighting should be allowed in our sport and I still think that way. The men enter voluntarily into a fight and are fully aware of its consequences. Having said that, seeing McGrattan lying on the ice was hard to stomach.
2) One NHL scout said to me this past weekend that he has never seen Zach Boychuk work as hard on the ice as he has this season.
4) Just a reminder, the game on Friday was originally scheduled to take place at 8 p.m. It is now moved to 7 p.m. Please take note of this so you don't show up at some point in the second period.
5) Hurricanes VP of Communications Mike Sundheim tweeted a few days ago that the Hurricanes rank fourth in the league in points since Dec. 2 behind only Chicago, Washington and Florida. This has vaulted them into playoff contention. It has also brought to light the many scenarios that could play out for their captain, Eric Staal. The Hurricanes and Staal will be mentioned about 10 million times between now and the trade deadline. If I had to guess, if the Hurricanes remain in contention, Staal stays in place.
6) The disparity of the AHL playing schedule, I hope, comes to an end after the season. I venture to guess discussions will happen about bringing the number of games down to something like 70 or 72 and making everyone, including the Pacific Division teams, play an equal amount. As we get closer to the playoffs, judging teams based on winning percentage because some teams play unequal number of games is looking foolish.
7) Checkers defenseman Trevor Carrick is on pace to crush his numbers from last year. Carrick, who routinely plays over 20 minutes a night, has consistently been the best defenseman for the team all year.
8) With Altshuller gone to Carolina, who will be the starting goaltender this weekend against the Chicago Wolves? I'd guess that both Rasmus Tirronen and Drew MacIntyre get a start each. There are big crowds expected for both games and you know the pressure will be tremendous. I'd assume MacIntyre is just itching to finally get back into a game.
9) Jake Chelios started the season as one of the extra defensemen on the roster. As the call-ups to Carolina started, Chelios was put into the lineup and has earned praises from his coaches. He ranks third in team scoring with 21 points in 35 games. Where he seemed to be erratic with his play early on, he has calmed down a great deal and is rarely caught out of position. Credit to Jake and to Geordie Kinnear, who works with the defense.
10) I should preface the following prediction with the fact that I know almost nothing about football. That being said, Arizona 10 Carolina 35. Book it.
