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| 2nd January, 2008 - 10:49 am |  Douglas Benton/RealGM -
Welcome to the newest addition to the hockey coverage here at RealGM with our hockey blog called Hockey Talk. Running on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Hockey Talk will examine player and team trends, as well as take a more in-depth look at the game.
New Year?s Day was an important day for the NHL as their inaugural ?Winter Classic? took place between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a 2-1 shootout win for the Penguins in a game which had to deal with some ice and weather problems. The league and NBC however got to spotlight their star in Sidney Crobsy, who scored the clincher in overtime. The day was a success overall for the NHL because it put the sport on a front page usually dominated by college football bowl games. Planning an event like this as a New Year?s tradition would be a wise step by Gary Bettman.
The San Jose Sharks won their 10th straight road game on Monday by beating the Minnesota Wild 3-2. The Sharks (22-12-5) have been getting it done on defense, led by the excellent play of goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who is having a rebirth of a season with a 1.99 GAA. As a team, San Jose is second is goals allowed, just trailing the Detroit Red Wings.
Even with center Joe Thorton ranking 5th in the NHL in assists at 33, the Sharks have struggled on offensive, rankings 22nd in goals scored. They will need to get improvement, especially from forward Johnathan Cheecho, if they want to erase memories of playoff underachievement. [READ] |
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