Tuesday Muse Day is a ranting, raving, rambling weekly article relating to all things hockey, with a particular focus on the NHL and the Buffalo Sabres. There are typically 10 featured items. This is the eighth edition. These are my personal thoughts and opinions; thus, they may not be lucid.
Robyn Regehr – 5 games into the season, and Regehr is starting to look eerily familiar to Craig Rivet. He has contributed 12 hits and 7 blocked shots, but on numerous plays, he has looked like he is a step or two behind. With the plethora of other defensemen waiting in the wings, is Regehr the better option over Mike Weber or TJ Brennan?
Jordan Leopold – Atrocious is the only description that I have for the play of Leopold thus far. In overtime against the Toronto Maple Leafs, with the final seconds ticking away, Leopold seemed to invent his own hockey version of the Statue Of Liberty Play. In the initial games, it looks like his head is full of lollipops and Sahlen’s hot dogs and Yancey’s Fancy, rather than the game at hand. With the way he has looked through 6 games, is he even worth anything in a trade at this point?
Ryan Callahan – Callahan, my former neighbor, was involved in an ugly scrum with Max Talbot last night. The two became entangled, and it appeared Callahan’s arm got twisted. Talbot claims he heard a “pop.” Hopefully, for the New York Rangers, there is no serious injury, as Callahan is a key component on the team…
Tyler Seguin – Every female pre-teen’s dream man had a sausage tossed at him during the Boston Bruins shootout against the New Jersey Devils. Despite this, Seguin scored, and was forced to re-shoot. Then, he scored again. Bruins message boards lit up with fury and threats, and, per the usual, no one actually did anything about the incident as it occurred. Imagine that, the cheaters almost got cheated…and, someone wasted a perfectly grotesque looking sausage…
Mikhail Grigorenko – Although ‘Grigs’ was a defensive liability on some of the Leafs goals last night, the rookie found redemption by scoring the game-tying goal in the 3rd period, his first NHL goal. Grigorenko’s exhuberance and excitement was refreshing, and the ensuing celebration while being mobbed by Marcus Foligno was priceless. It is just too bad that the Sabres were unable to parlay the energy into a victory…
Scott Gomez – Good for him. He appears to be well-liked and respected teammates, and he is getting a chance with a potent San Jose Sharks offense. He picked up an assist in his 3rd game with the team last night, as the Sharks remained undefeated at 6-0. After being the butt of many hockey jokes for awhile, it would make a good story to see him turn around his game this season…
San Jose Sharks – Speaking of potent offense, WOW. Patrick Marleau had four 2-goal games to start the season, and 9 goals in his first 5. Jumbo Joe Thornton is leading the league with 14 points in 6 games…Despite the hot start, ‘experts’ are still plotting their demise, and awaiting the seasonal implosion of the Sharks…
Lindy Ruff – Riding a hot 4-game losing streak, it will not be much longer before the masses begin their annual ‘Fire Ruff’ campaigns. If it has already begun, I have missed it, and I am sorry. I have been avoiding social media so far this season…
Zack Kassian – Kassian is quickly establishing himself as a fan-favorite with the Vancouver Canucks fanbase. Enjoying the luxury of skating on a line with the Sedin twins, Kassian has 4 goals in 6 games, to go along with 16 hits and a couple fights. It might still be a few years before we find out who ultimately won the Kassian-for-Hodgson trade, although this writer firmly believes Buffalo got the better of it…
Penalties – Is it just me, or does it feel like the latest rule changes are causing the games to be played on a power-play half of the time? I am not complaining, but it does feel slightly disruptive to the flow of the games. Many of the penalties feel borderline like the NBA, where they call a foul it seems like just for breathing on someone. I have seen an abundance of unsportsmanlike conduct calls as well, such as the one on the ever-so-scary and threatening Jochen Hecht last night. What, players are no longer allowed to discuss the calls?