Posted by Victoria Matiash
NHL teams considering extending a puck-dropping invitation to VP candidate Sarah Palin might want to rethink matters. Political opinions well aside, there's no denying the Alaskan governor brings some pretty evil mojo to teams willing to host her and her family. Take Philadelphia, for instance. The Flyers can't scrape out a win after John McCain's running mate ceremonially dropped the puck on Oct. 11 until the St. Louis Blues steal the curse away Friday night by welcoming Palin themselves. Then Philly easily crushes New Jersey (and Martin Brodeur!) by a score of 6-3.
Not convinced?
Not only are the Blues' stoned 4-0 by Los Angeles, post-Palin-puck-drop, but starting goaltender Manny Legace had to leave the game after the first period because of a hip/leg injury which occurred when he tripped on the carpet put in place for Palin's use on the ice. Hopefully, Legace will miss only Saturday's game against Florida. The Blues are then off until Thursday, and it's expected he'll be good to go by that point. But honestly, you can't fabricate this kind of stuff.
In all seriousness, despite missing an injured Daniel Briere, the Flyers appeared absolutely inspired against the Devils. Especially the line consisting of Mike Richards, Joffrey Lupul and Scott Hartnell. With four assists from Richards, the trio registered eight points in total. This line combination bodes well for Lupul in particular, who has had a disappointing start to the year. As long as these three stay together, Lupul is a solid fantasy commodity once again.
Another bright spot for Philadelphia is young defenseman Luca Sbisa. The 18-year-old spent almost 20 minutes on the ice and had several opportunities on the Flyers' power play. Although he netted only his second assist of the year, it certainly doesn't hurt to keep an eye on him.
As for Briere, the news could be much worse. Although surgery is required to repair a sports hernia, he'll miss only 3-4 weeks. He's had this procedure before and rebounded well from it.
Ice Chips
Jamie Langenbrunner's status is up in the air for New Jersey's game Saturday night after he sustained a lower-body injury against Philadelphia. … Evgeni Nabokov's struggles continue as he allowed four goals in the Sharks' loss to Florida. San Jose's No.1 has let in 18 goals over the past four games. As difficult as it is to bench one of the game's best, perhaps that's the best option for Thursday's matchup against the offensively potent Red Wings. … With three assists versus the Sharks, Keith Ballard is quickly becoming a fantasy asset. The blueliner is getting loads of ice time with hot forwards Cory Stillman and Nathan Horton and is putting in a ton of minutes in general. … Still struggling with the flu, Montreal's Carey Price likely will sit out Saturday's game against Anaheim. The reliable Jaroslav Halak will fill in. … Ryan Getzlaf scored his first goal of the season against Ottawa, assisted by linemates Cory Perry and Chris Kunitz. This will provide a psychological boost to Anaheim's top trio. Watch for an instant increase in production. … Keep an eye on Todd Marchant in Anaheim. If he continues to play on the second line with Brendan Morrison and Teemu Selanne, there could be value there. … Alex Auld had the potential to start in back-to-back games for Ottawa but allowed four goals on 32 shots against the Ducks on Friday. Look for Martin Gerber between the pipes for Saturday's game against the Maple Leafs. … Anyone who is concerned about Henrik Zetterberg's production off the top line and first power-play unit in Detroit, shouldn't be. Skating alongside Johan Franzen and Mikael Samuelsson, Zetterberg has three goals in his past two games.
