Around the League: Maple Leafs, Stars and Oilers, oh my

Media beware

With the Rangers playing so many games in such a little amount of time, it’s easy to forget that there’s a whole league out there that’s been happening without us. Luckily, you don’t need Center Ice or NHL.com when you’ve got a Sunday BSB update. A lot of really amusing things have been happening lately, so let’s go through them.

The Maple Leafs (temporarily) turn into the Oilers

On Tuesday, the Maple Leafs lost to the Predators 9-2. As in, if you were watching TV and just saw the score, you’d think Toronto just got an NFL squad and lost in a strange, safety-filled game.  Though the Leafs are prone to these blowouts at least once per season (hello Rangers last season), this loss came after a lifeless loss to the Sabres. The Leafs didn’t even look like they were trying against Nashville and, surprise, fans were pissed. This came in a week where Phil Kessel blew up at the media and the Leafs, after finally winning, didn’t salute their fans in an effort to “try something new.” The Leafs truly are the gift that keep on giving.

The Oilers ARE the Oilers

Last night, the Oilers got to their rightful place at dead last in the NHL with a 7-1 loss to the Blackhawks. The game was actually painful to watch, so unfortunately I didn’t get to see Andrew Ference – team captain – scoring on his own goal until this morning.  If we were all upset by the Rangers loss to the Bolts earlier this week, then we can understand a tenth of what’s going on in Edmonton. The team just doesn’t seem to care, which is strange since they cared a lot when fans started throwing their jerseys on the ice last year. Coach Dallas Eakins, after losing Benoit Pouliot to a broken foot suffered blocking a shot, called it unfortunate but said his players will still be blocking shots. It’s safe to say Eakins might be losing some steam (if he had any), and an exit should probably come soon.

The Habs are really, really good

Yes, the team that we knocked out last year to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Yes, the team we’re hosting tonight at 7pm. THOSE Habs are kicking butt and taking names this year, first in the league with 33 points. Right on their tail is the Lightning, whose aforementioned beating of the Rangers on Monday was something that no fan in Rangerstown wants to think about ever again. Though there will be a preview post later, I think it’s important to remember this: the Rangers have to be very good tonight to avoid a loss to a team that’s notoriously emotional and crabby about the state of the ECF last year.  There’s no one specific thing that has the Canadiens on top, it just seems to be good chemistry and talent mixing together well. Add in Carey Price and, well, we all know what happens when you have a hot goalie.

Dallas is really, really not so good

Expected to be leading the West (or at least in the running to) in the offseason due to several offensive acquisitions, the Stars stumbled out of the gate and are off to a brutal start, close to the basement of the Central Division with 20 points. Of course, the West is notoriously more consistently tough than the East – to put things into perspective, the Rangers also have 20 points, but they’re in the middle of the Metropolitan pack. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of panic in Texas, but there is some shaking up; the Stars traded D Brendan Dillon this week to San Jose for D Jason Demers and a draft pick, and they extended former Ottawa captain Jason Spezza to a four year deal this past week. It should be interesting to see how the West shakes out, but for now the Stars are very good at scoring, but not very good at winning.