The Hurricanes are currently in Michigan, practicing for the matchup with the Red Wings tomorrow night. According to Chip, (who traveled with the team this trip), the injured are still injured and the lineup will remain the same for the next game. We will have more about that later.
There are some other interesting stories from around the league....
Last night, the division leading Washington Capitals lost in Tampa to the Lightning by a score of 7-4. Defenseman Mike Green was on the ice for six of the seven Lightning goals scored. Yep, the same Mike Green who folk from Washington were trumping as being so much better lately playing in his own end. Were Steve Yzerman and the brain trusts from Canada wrong when they picked Drew Doughty over Green to represent their beloved Team Canada?
There were plenty of exciting moments in this game as Matt Bradley jumped in when Steve Downie tried to square off against Alex Ovechkin. Downie and Ovechkin had both thrown down their gloves and sticks and had even removed their helmets as they were ready to duke it out. But Bradley came flying in from the bench, (after a legal change), and jumped Downie before his new captain could get his hands dirty.
Of course Bradley got the appropriate instigator related penalties, but can't "OV" fight his own battles? Does Bradley take his skates off and carry his jock strap for him as well?
Speaking of Washington, Japers' Rink had a nice promotion up on the blog earlier this week. They were holding a drawing for tickets to the Stanley Cup Finals at the Verizon Center this June. Yes, I think they do realize that the Caps have not quite qualified for the Finals yet, (well, maybe not all the fans realize this), and they did mention a back up plan. Just in case of the small, minuscule chance that the Caps don't make it to the Finals, the tickets will be for the 2010-11 home opener.
Reminds me of the situation last season when the city of Vancouver was planning for and laying out the "Cup Parade" route last Spring. We all know how that worked out.
____
Michael Leighton just keeps on winning up in Philadelphia. I'm not sure he has lost a game in regulation since leaving Raleigh, (8-0-2). Life is strange sometimes. A third goalie, (Manny Legace), was brought in here to cover for the number one, and Leighton ended up being the odd man out. Now Ray Emery is back for the Flyers and Leighton looks to take Brian Boucher's spot. Where will Boucher end up?
_____
Speaking of goalies looking for work, now that Rick DiPietro is back to playing on Long Island, Martin Biron seems to be the odd man out for the Islanders. It's a bad time to be a mediocre goalie in the NHL.