Roberto Luongo Playing Great Since Injury

At the start of this season a lot of people were scared and nervous about Vancouver Canucks Captain Robeto Luongo. He wasn't playing well like he usually did and he was letting in far more goals than needed. He had one of the worst GAA ans SV% in the league. Then he got injure to make things worse for the Canucks.

After his return from his injury something changed. He started playing like he used to and started making those saves that Vancouver fans live for. Luongo has returned to his old self. From being nearly dead last with his GAA and SV% he has bumped it up to 2.56 GAA and 0.910 SV%. If he can continue with this performance you can expect to be seeing him in the red and white team Canada uniform for the 2010 Olympics.

Ondrej Pavelec Leads Thrasher to a Big Win

The Atlanta Thrashers new starting goalie Ondrej Pavelec is really making a good impression on himself. Last night he was in net against the Detroit Red Wings and definitely won the game for them.

The Thrashers won 2-0. The shots were 25 for the Thrashers and 40 for the Red Wings. The Red Wings sure gave Pavelec a tough run for his second shutout of the season. This is the first time this season that the Red Wings have been shutout, and it was in their own arena.

“It was my first game in Detroit and I was a little nervous playing against these guys,’’ Pavelec said. “They had a lot of shots right away. That got me into the game right away.’’ This has been a great season for Pavelec so far, he has a 0.923 SV% and 2.76 GAA. I hope he can keep up this kind of play.

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Giguere Knows The Answer For The Ducks

Last place in the Pacific division is the Anaheim Ducks. They have only put up 17 points this season. The only teams that have less than them is The Carolina Hurricanes and The Toronto Maple Leafs. A lot of people are asking "what is the problem with the ducks this year?"

Jean-Sebastien Giguere who in 2003 won the Conn Smythe Trophy with the Ducks and brought them the Stanley Cup in 2007 claims that he knows the answer. "If this team wants to move forward, goaltending is going to have to be better," said Giguere, who is 0-3-2 with a 3.38 goals-against average and a 0.893 save percentage. "We'll have to try to give the team a better chance to win every night."

The Pressure Of Playing In Montreal

A lot of people from Montreal keep on complaining about young 22 netminder Carey Price. Their always on his back every time he makes a single mistake but then when he plays great their his best friend. After a bad game no wonder its so hard for him to bounce back, he has all of Montreal on his back complaining about him. Whenever he plays great they always talk about how they have such a good young all-star.

Its hard for such a young goalie to deal with that kind of stuff. Montreal shouldn't be putting him down. They should bring him up and make him feel good. Even if he plays a bad game they should be encouraging him not putting more pressure on him. Yet they wonder why he cant be consistent, maybe the fans should be more consistent with their encouraging and then I see no problem why he wont play at the top of his game.

Goalies Battling For 2010 Olympic Spot

There is a lot of talk about which goalies will be picked for the 2010 Team Canada Olympic spot. It seems that they have narrowed it down to 5 goalies. These goalies are Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, Steve Mason, Cam Ward, and Marc-Andre Fleury. All five of these goalies have their pros and cons.

Martin Brodeur- He has a lot of experience and has led Team Canada to a gold medal before. Some people say hes past his prime and getting washed up.

Roberto Luongo- He has a couple of gold medals from Team Canada Experiences and has always been playing great but this season he hasn't proved anything yet.

Steve Mason- He led his team to a gold medal at the World Juniors and won rookie of the year. He has proves himself to be one of the best in the NHL.

Cam Ward- He has one gold medal with Team Canada under his belt and has always been reliable but not so much this season.

Marc-Andre Fleury- Marc-Andre Fleury has always been great in goal, he has 2 silver medals with Team Canada and since winning the cup last year he has really been playing well.

All of these goalies are great goalies and it would be very hard to pick a specific one. I think that they all have an equal shot at making the team.

Miikka Kiprusoff Has Been All The Difference

Calgary Flames All-Star goalie Miikka Kiprusoff has been making all the difference this year in his teams win loss record. Kiprusoff has been playing at the top of his game in and game out, this is exactly what the Flames need.

So far this season he already has 1 shutout, 11 wins, 4 losses, and 2 overtime losses. He has posted a stellar 2.40 GAA and 0.921 SV%.

Even Kiprusoffs teammates are saying that this is the best that they have ever seen him play. "This is the best I've seen him play in a while," defenseman Robyn Regehr said. "The best I've seen him, other than '04," center Craig Conroy told the Calgary Herald. "Probably the best I've seen him play since he came here."

Even other teams coaches are talking about his performance. "One of our best games of the year," groused New York Rangers coach John Tortorella after Kiprusoff's 32-save performance in a 3-1 win on Nov. 7. "The difference was Kiprusoff."

"I think you could say we dominated much of the game," grumbled Toronto counterpart Ron Wilson, after watching Kiprusoff slam the door with 38 saves in a 5-2 win Saturday at Air Canada Centre, "but there was too much Iginla and too much Kiprusoff.

Antero Niittymaki With the Lightning

Antero Niittymaki has been picked up this summer by the Tampa Bay Lightning. They have no regrets with that decision. He was formerly playing on the Philadelphia Flyer's. So far this season he has been playing well, and he knows it. Niittymaki said, "the puck really does look bigger when you play well.

Your probably wondering, how much bigger?

Niittymaki says, "It looks like the size of a basketball"

"When you are at the top of your game, you feel like some of the shots you're worried about, they're kind of simple. It's easy to control the rebound. It's easy to control everything."

I guess the Lightning have nothing to complain about when their goaltender is putting up a 1.93 GAA and a 0.939 SV%.

Tim Thomas Finding His Game

Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas has always been known as a little bit of a slow starter. Even though coming off his second straight all-star selection and his winning of the Vezina trophy last year, this year was no different. “My job is still the same as it’s always been: stop the puck,” said the unaffected Thomas.

Thomas started off with a slow start but is now finding his game and looking real good for the Bruins. His last two game against the Pitsbugh Penguins and the Florida Panthers have both been shut-outs. He has a 0.927 sv% and a 2.05 GAA.

Ward With Major Injury, Out for 3-4 Weeks

Carolina Hurricanes all star goaltender Cam Ward was sent to the hospital from a game Saturday night. It was only the first period when he had a skate laceration to his upper leg by the Columbus Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash. Doctors say he will be out for at least 3-4 weeks. The Hurricanes ended up loosing to the Blue Jackets 3-2 that night.

He was taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus and had to get stitches for the injury. After being kept there overnight they decided on Sunday that Ward would have to spend another day in the hospital to rest his leg.

He was released on Monday to return to Raleigh, N.C., where the Hurricanes' head orthopedic physician, Dr. Marty Isbell will check him out for further evaluation. Hopefully loosing this all star wont be too hard on the Canes.

Kari Lehtonen Undergoes 2nd Back Surgery

Atlanta Thrashers netminder Kari Lehtonen underwent his second back surgery this year on Friday in Rochester, N.Y. to remove edges of bone that were applying pressure to nerve roots in his back at two locations. He is expected to be missing six to eight weeks before hitting the ice again.

He hasnt played a single game yet this season due to having suregery on July 20th to repair a herniated disc. Now with Lehtonen out of the line up, 22-year old Ondrej Pavelec will be the Thrashers new starting goaltender. So far this season Pavelec has posted a 5-3-1 record.

Cory Schneider Stepping up Huge for the Canucks

Manitoba Moose goaltender Cory Schneider got the call up to the Vancouver Canucks Friday night to play against the Dallas Stars. He played an amazing game for them making 45 out of 47 saves. The Canucks ended up loosing 2-1. There is nothing else he could have done except score a couple of goals but hes a goalie so that ain't happening. Schneider was the third star of the game. But even though they lost, he has nothing to be ashamed of.

"It's only my sixth start, so this is part of the process," Schneider said. "I'll have some good ones and I'm sure a few bad ones along the way. This helps my confidence. I learned a lot tonight. You never know when you're going to get your next chance. You've got to make the most of it." Hopefuly because of a great game like that we will see more of him between the pipes for Vancouver.

Craig Anderson with a Shot at Team USA?

Colorado's goaltender Craig Anderson is by far one of the best goalies in the NHL right now. He was standing on Vancouver soil on Sunday night and should be here again later on this month for another game between the Canucks and Avalanche and then aren't scheduled to visit Vancouver till April. But I don't think Anderson would mind coming back in between for the Olympics as the team USA goaltender. Anderson, whom Canucks coach Alain Vigneault called "the best player in the NHL right now" and who was named the NHL's first star for October on Monday, would love to make a side trip to the Winter Olympics as a goalie for Team USA.

Andrew Raycroft Stepping up for the Canucks

Since Roberto Luongo has been out with a hairline fracture to his rib, Vancouver has looked to backup net minder Andrew Raycroft to stand tall between the pipes. That is exactly what he is doing. He is really making his mark in Vancouver with 4 wins and only 1 loss. He has posted an amazing 1.60 goals against average and a 0.936 save percentage. On November 1st he posted his first shutout of the season with 18 saves against his former team, the Avalanche. If he can keep up this kind of play, Robrto Luongo will be in competition of the starting job.