A very busy Thursday in the NHL, with 20 teams in action. There were many deserving studs, duds, and points of interest. Let's get to it:

Studs

3)An "Avalanche" of Offence

The Colorado Avalanche entered the 2011/2012 season with very few believers. One of the most criticized teams of the offseason, panelists and hockey viewers alike felt that the loss of the 1st round pick and the weak team would result in a long year for the Avs. However, their first week of the season has been one to celebrate. After shutting out the defending champions and a close game against the Blue Jackets, Colorado took their momentum north of the border to the Nation's Capital, hoping to keep the momentum rolling. And keep it rolling, they did.

The Avalanche scored 7 unanswered goals, got offence from all sorts of contributors, and worked as a real team unit in a 7-1 landslide victory over the Senators. The defence allowed only 14 shots, 11 players were involved in the scoring (7 of which had multi-point games), and Giguere allowed only 1 goal in his first start of the season. While the Avalanche still do (and rightfully so) have their doubters, there is now no more belief that the Avs should be taken lightly in any game.

2)Core"y" Contributor

It is a very rare instance that a goaltender will be awarded a spot as a "stud". However, Corey Schneider's performance was massive in many regards, and rightfully deserves the number two position. While it is still early, the Canucks have not looked like the President's Trophy team that they were last year. Only 1-2-1 through their first four, star goaltender Roberto Luongo has faltered early, continuing a trend that was seen last June. He currently has a .855 save percentage and a 3.90 goals-against-average, with no wins. This will only increase Schneider's playing time, and increase his trade value or that to the Canucks. Corey is taking advantage of the playing time he gets, to prove that he has the potential to be a star goaltender.

1)Johnny "T" Goode

John Tavares was drafted 1st overall in 2009, and played like a top-tier pick on Thursday. Tavares finished with 2 goals, 2 assists, and a +4 rating. After signing a 5 year contract extension, this only means good things for Tavares owners, and New York Islanders fans. Tavares is the real deal, and nights like these only further prove that. He is ready to make that jump to an "elite" player, and should now be considered one.

Duds

3)Two-Too-Many Too Many Men

Corey Schneider might have gotten away with a "stud" nomination, but that does not save the rest of the Vancouver Canucks from the dreaded "dud" spot. Rather than a standard reason such as poor effort or sluggish play, the entire team has a spot on this list for their "Too many men" calls. One of these penalties in a game is bad enough. But two? Those penalties are completely preventable and are cancer to a team's morale to make risky line-changes.

To take one of these in the final minute of play (let alone any part of the game) is reckless and not needed. Leaving Schneider and the Penalty kill hung out to dry with dumb penalties is shameful, and should be fixed by the coaching staff.

2)"Asham"ful Act

As hockey followers know, fighting is a part of the game that requires intensity and passion, yet unwritten rules; Always tell the opponent if they are about to step on a stick, no cheap shots, and keep it classy. Aaron Asham broke one of those rules today. In a fight versus Jay Beagle, Asham knocked him out, then proceeded to taunt him. Footage can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoBXfD2oHRg

While it was a great punch, Asham should have never used those gestures in the end. Regardless of whether the player was injured or not, taunting a man when they're down is a low-blow. That has no place in hockey, and should not be seen ever again.

However, much respect is given to Asham, who publicly apologized for his actions in the game. While the "dud" spot still belongs to him, it is nice to know he understands the mistake he made, and will better himself and keep his emotions in-check in the future.

1)Tampa's Play "Bolt"ed Shut

The Tampa Bay Lightning had one of those nights where nothing went right. The team struggled to find great scoring chances, the powerplay did nothing, and Dwayne Roloson struggled. If the Lightning want to maintain the standard of excellence that they provided last season by making it to the 3rd round of the playoffs, nights like these need to be very rare, and they must be shaken off fast.

Points Of Interest

Ryan Smyth got his first goal in his second stint as an Edmonton Oiler.

Patrick Kane played a very solid game, recording 1 goal and 2 assists, in an all-around fantastic showing.

Mikka Kiprusoff beat the Habs, giving him 263 wins as a Flame, more than any other netminder in the franchise's history.

The Detroit Red Wings are the only team in the western conference to be undefeated after three games.

__________________
Twitter: @TK12555

Great work as usual!

How about Wideman on the PP? So far so good. I think poolies overlooked his time in Florida. He'll do good this year.

__________________
Gates Imbeau
Assistant Manager - DobberSports.com
Writer - Fantrax.com
Regular Guest - The York Report via NextSportStar.com
Email: gates@dobbersports.com
Twitter: @GM_Gates

just getting into the forums, how often do you post these articles? furthermore I can't access Yahoo from work, can someone provide me the Rules/Handbook/Bidding link for the pro league so i can get up to speed while getting paid? Thanks, keep it up.

__________________
12team H2H,Keep 9,+1 entering 4th season or less,+1 that was called up last season.G,A,PTS,+/-,PIM,PP,GWG,W,GAA,SV%,SO
()=Prospect
C:E.Staal,Spezza,Berglund,Desharnais(Oshie,Brassar d,Backlund,Loktionov,Geoffrion,Turris,Spooner,Adam ,Read)
LW:Fleischmann,Mcdonald(Calvert,Howden,Baertschi,H agelin,Paajarvi)
RW:St.Louis,Eriksson,Franzen,Stewart(Purcell,Butle r,Tarasenko,Kuznetsov,Jarnkrok,Rattie)
D:Weber,Pietrangelo,Edler,Campbell,Wideman(Mcbain, Barberio,Gragnani,Vatenen)
G:Lundqvist,Neuvirth,Biron(Bernier,Bishop,Salak,St alock,Desjardins,Kuemper,Fasth,Dekanich)

thanks for the support!

I post every Thursday/Friday (for Thursday games) however, forum members GMGates, Metaldude26, and Dyzfunctioned all post these articles on specific days of the week. Therefore, most weeks have 7 articles.

__________________
Twitter: @TK12555

Email me at gatticus at gmail dot com.

Ill get those out to you!

__________________
Gates Imbeau
Assistant Manager - DobberSports.com
Writer - Fantrax.com
Regular Guest - The York Report via NextSportStar.com
Email: gates@dobbersports.com
Twitter: @GM_Gates