True grit of Hamilton shines through
Hamilton native Brian McGrattan is tied for fifth in NHL fighting majors with nine in the 20 games Calgary coach Brent Sutter has chosen to dress him. But heres a stat that coaches love to see from players of McGrattans ilk: two-thirds of his fights have been on the road, where its much tougher to show up. He ranks second in road fights with six. With only three minutes of playing time per game, hes got a goal and two assists, and is plus-3. … Less than two weeks ago, there was rampant talk around Edmonton that the crashing Oilers should start dumping salary, including Hamiltons Steve Staios, his defence partner Sheldon Souray and his close friend Ethan Moreau. But a funny thing happened on the way to the fire sale: The Oilers , whod won just twice on the road to that point, jelled on a five-game road trip, won all five and came out of the weekend just three points shy of a playoff spot.
The crowning touch was overcoming a 3-0 deficit to win the fifth game, in St. Louis. Were trying to become a respectable team and the respect has to start within ourselves, and I think were starting to gain that, said coach Pat Quinn. And have we ever mentioned that Quinn is a Hamiltonian?. … Ray Emery, yet another Hamilton-raised product, was clearly playing hurt in his final five games (all losses) before undergoing abdominal surgery last Wednesday. Hes out four to six weeks. He gave up 21 goals in those five losses as the Philadelphia Flyers tried to combat his abdomen woes with rehabilitation programs and cortisone injections. Philly, which is to goaltending what a sinkhole is to smooth transportation, brought up rookie Johan Backlund but wont use him much. Theyve got re-tried Brian Boucher, nearly 33, and just signed John Grahame, 34, to a minor-league contract as protection. Heading into last night, theyd lost seven of eight and scored just six goals in those seven losses. Goaltending isnt the real problem. Yet.
DOG TRACKING: When Nashville beat Columbus 3-2 last week, it broke Mathieu Garons NHL record of 13 straight shootout wins for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Kings, Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins. … Garons partner with the great 03 Hamilton Bulldog Calder Cup finalists, Ty Conklin, has clearly found his niche as a reliable backup. Hes played in all or parts of 19 games for the Blues, ranks third in the NHL in save percentage (although with far less ice time than the other leaders) and has a 5-3-1 record behind No. 1 Chris Mason. But, like Garon, he has a record streak coming to an end unless he gets traded to a contender, which is highly possible. He is the only NHL player who has advanced to the conference finals (or deeper) every year since the lockout ( Oilers , Buffalo Sabres, Penguins, Detroit Red Wings). … Former Dog Dan Cleary, who had an outside shot at the Olympic team, likely wont get a chance now that hes out for a month with a shoulder injury, joining other front-line Wings Niklas Kronwall, Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula and Jason Williams on the sidelines. … A huge part of the Toronto Maple Leafs recent surge: former Bulldogs Mike Komisarek and Fran?ois Beauchemin settling into the style they each play best rather than trying to outstrip their own abilities. … Marc-Andr? Bergeron, a Bulldog from 2002-03 and again for three games this year, leads all Montreal Canadiens defencemen in scoring with 15 points, including four power-play goals. … Raffi Torres, who came to the Edmonton system with Hamilton in 2003, leads the Blue Jackets in power-play goals (6) and with 10 overall is on pace for the third 20-plus-goal season of his career. … Torres Columbus teammate Jason Chimera, who played more than 230 games for the Dogs, has seven goals and could challenge his career high of 17. … Steve Ott, an 05 Dog, has a team-worst minus-10 for the Dallas Stars, but plays against the oppositions top centres.
YOO-HOO, ANYBODY OUT THERE, OR IN HERE? Gary Bettman coolly insisted during the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy trial that a team that demonstrates it can win will draw fans in any NHL city. Oh really? The Colorado Avalanche have missed the playoffs just twice (albeit in the past three years) and have been below 95 points just once in their nearly-15 years in the Rockies. But, when the Calgary Flames lost 3-2 in Denver on Sunday, they played in front of 11,448 people, exactly 130 fewer than attended the pre-Olympic curling final in their home province on the same day. Oh, and Flames-Avalanche was the battle for first place in the division. … And, belying another NHL defence, as the competing NFL season winds down, Hockey attendance in Tampa Bay has actually been dropping. The Bolts have reported attendance between 12,224 and 13,577 for their past five home games, and that includes a ton of discount ducats and freebies. … Phoenix? Ice Edge has some work ahead of it. With a contending team, the Coyotes have hit a reported 11,000 in attendance just three times in their past 16 home games and havent reached 12,000 since their misleading Opening Night mob. The other Balsillie Bunch, Nashville, has reached 15,000 maybe-paying fans just once in its past 11 home games, and theyre holding a playoff spot. Also in the playoffs as of now, Atlanta attracted more than 16,000 for the Canadiens on Saturday but half of their other 14 home games have been under 13,000. … Jean Charest says Quebec will likely get an NHL team and he may not be wrong. It, and Winnipeg, could be the depository for really weak franchises that must be moved, once the NHL is forced to admit it. As reported in the Spec in May, NHL vice-president Bill Daly spent three days — right during the Phoenix legal campaign — staying at the Quebec City home of Marcel Aubut, the former Quebec Nordiques owner. The GTA, and its potential $400 million or so in expansion fees, wont be used for franchise transfer.
STATS QUO: Heres how hard it is to be a consistent star between the NHL pipes and why those who are, like Martin Brodeur and Miikka Kiprusoff, deserve even more credit than they get: Tim Thomas, Steve Mason and Niklas Backstrom finished 1-2-3 in Vezina Trophy voting last year but are ranked 24th, 46th and 23rd, respectively, in save percentage this year. And, over the past four years, the names on the Jennings Trophy (for goalies on the team allowing the fewest goals), were Thomas, Manny Fernandez, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek and Backstrom. Osgood has lost the Detroit starters role to Jimmy Howard, Hasek and Fernandez arent in the league and Thomas and Backstrom got off to horrible starts this year. … with Oiler Dustin Penners next point, hell equal his entire total (37) from last year. … Remember the bidding war for Fabian Brunnstrum 18 months ago? Hes got one goal for Dallas this year.