04/17 Hockey Notes

Sad news in the hockey world. Gaetan Duschene passed away yesterday, at the age of 44.

The six-foot, 190-pound forward went on to play 1,028 NHL games, registering 179 goals and 254 assists. Duchesne also appeared in 84 career playoff games.

Not a bad career. He was appreciated by his friends for his laughter, and fun heart. He leaves behind a family, too. He will be missed by many.

In other news, I thought Crag McCaig’s column over at The Hockey News was a fun read. It puts some of the current match-ups in their historical perspective. And, it’s amusing.

Speaking of amusing…I got a few good chuckles from the Sports Illustrated “Truth & Rumors” section. It’s amazing to me how many personal gripes and rantings become commonly held beliefs on what is really going on. Of course, some of it is…well…you go read it.

And, as per the expectations (…at least on my part…), the Stars-Canucks series is turning into an old time Dallas-Edmonton playoff match up. But, according to Luongo:

Luongo said dislike between the teams is building.

That is according to The Dallas Morning News which is also reporting that Luongo is complaining of getting bumped around. He probably is. I only saw game one, so I can’t speak from knowledge. If he is…I frankly expect nothing to come of it. The officials are letting a lot of things go in the Second Season, just like they always have.
(…and, in the playoffs, that’s a good thing!...)
(…oh yeah…h/t to Kukla's Korner for the news link…I missed it here at home…)

I thought this was a big shocker. It’s the scoring leaders list. What’s shocking is where some of the team leaders are in scoring. Now, Sidney Crosby being at or near the top is no surprise. But, Stu Barnes leading scoring in Dallas? Tied for 10th in the playoffs? There are a bunch of surprises here.

By the way, I’m still holding to my predictions from last week. I still think, in the end all of us prognosticators are just spouting so much hot air. But, what hell…it’s fun!

Oh! Before i forget,speaking of predictions, if you haven’t kept up with who’s up for what trophy this year, Hradek has them all listed out over atESPN. There are some worthy candidates on the lists.