The Hockey News February 12, 2018

SO FAR, THE VEGAS Golden Knights’ existence has been as orthodox as Tofurky. From the moment the NHL chose to stick its flag in Sin City and go where no major professional sports league had gone before, to the Knights’ historic eight-game winning streak, we’ve been treated to a reality show where you really won’t believe what happens next. It began with an expansion draft of unusual depth. That the Knights were entering the league on their own, unlike Minnesota and Columbus in 2000, helped. Not only was Vegas devoid of competition on draft day, it also had significant leverage with trading partners. Considering the meanderings of the NHL’s most recent expansion ventures – Nashville (6), Minnesota (4), Columbus (0) and Atlanta/Winnipeg (0) have won a total of 10 playoff rounds…

Average? Absolutely not While I agree with most of Tom Thompson’s points in his Jonathan Quick vs. Corey Crawford feature (Jan. 2), he’s completely wrong about one thing. He states, “(Crawford) would be exposed as an average goalie on a ‘bad team.’” Can he explain how Crawford has carried a declining Blackhawks team this year all by himself? As of the end of 2017, Crawford’s record was 16-9-2 (.630) while his backups were 2-5-4 (.364). MIKE CREED, CHICAGO Bug deserves better I was shocked to read that ThunderBug was ranked so low in your NHL mascot rankings (The Countdown, Jan. 2). Does the author not realize that lightning bugs do in fact exist and are quite common in the southern United States? Maybe they are known as fireflies in your neck of the woods?…

1980 made this Louisianan a hockey fan for life! No question the Miracle on Ice, still the greatest upset in the history of sport, not just the Olympics. – @Don Schwarzenbach There’s nothing better than hearing Chris Cuthbert’s call on Crosby’s 2010 golden goal. Still gives me goosebumps every time I watch that cycle and you hear Sid scream “Iggy!” Then he buries it. Never gets old. – Jared Chonkolay When the puck hit the post on the empty net in the CAN/USA women’s gold-medal game (2014). Canada went on to tie and win in OT! What a moment. – @TheSensArmy 18-year-old Angela Ruggiero skating around the rink with the flag on the pole after helping the U.S. win the first gold medal in women’s Olympic hockey history in 1998. – Carly Costello I wasn’t alive for the…

BEING A ROOKIE IN the NHL means proving you can skate, score and defend with the best players on the planet – but the hockey itself might be the easy part for young prospects. Life in The Show is a whirlwind and because of that, franchises have to make sure their newest players get accustomed to being professionals both at the rink and away from it. “It can be a big culture shock,” said Rich Peverley, the player development co-ordinator for the Dallas Stars. “A lot of kids have to go through some big life-learning lessons. Getting a driver’s license, paying for insurance, paying rent… these are things kids haven’t gone through. The closer you prepare those kids to living on their own, cooking on their own and paying their bills,…

TYLER STEENBERGEN My WEAPON TYLER STEENBERGEN | CCM SUPER TACKS 2.0 I’VE BEEN USING CCM since I started playing in (WHL) Swift Current, and I’ve stuck with the same curve. It’s just a pretty normal curve, it’s P90, a (Nicklas) Backstrom curve. I like to rely on my release, and it’s got a little bit of whip to it. I use a little whippier stick, 75 flex, and that allows me to get my shots off quickly. I’m not too superstitious or particular about my stick. I like to keep the same tape job every time. I’d have to say it’s pretty sweet I was able to use that stick to score the biggest goal of my life (the gamewinner in the 2018 WJC gold medal game). I’ll definitely be sticking with it…

WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER TEEMU SELANNE 76 GOALS No player has even reached the 70-goal plateau since Selanne and Alexander Mogilny did it 25 years ago, and the few who’ve cracked 60 weren’t rookies. Only four rookies have even scored 50 times in a season. To imagine a first-year NHLer scoring 77 or more goals… we have a better chance of finding intelligent life on another planet before that happens. Seriously. DARE TO DREAM AUSTON MATTHEWS FOUR GOALS IN FIRST GAME Hey, if a player could do it as recently as last season, it’s possible. Then again, we’re talking about breaking a record, not equalling it. Seeing a rookie score five would be fall-off-our-chairs surprising. ONE FOR THE HOGS ALEX OVECHKIN 425 SHOTS Matthews’ 279 shots last season were the fourth-most ever by a rookie and he still…