Forgotten Records

If you were to ask the typical NHL fame, many would be able to tell you who has the NHL record for most points in a game. Darryl Sittler's magical night happened Feb 7th 1976 when he scored 10 points (6G, 4A) against the Bruins. Sure many have come close but no one, not even the Great One equalled this number.

In the AHL, the single game record has stood for so long even the Leafs have won a Cup or three since then. Art Stratton put up an impressive 9 assist performance on St. Patrick's Day 1963 against the lowly Pittsburgh Hornets. Despite his impressive point per game production (1.14 ppg) based on 766 points in 669 ganes, he'd never get much time in the NHL.

This takes us now to the WHA. The most point in a WHA game record belongs to Jim Harrison who matched Sittler with an amazing 10 point performance (3G, 7A) against the New York Raiders nearly three years before Sittler's 10 spot. Jim being no stranger to setting records apparently set a record (I discovered while researching background on this) he scored the fastest natural hattrick in WHL history scoring 3 goals in 24 seconds.

1970-71 OPC Jim Harrison RC

Jim would have a better NHL opportunity than Art Stratton as he'd see 324 games of NHL action compared to 232 WHA games. While his NHL production wouldn't match his WHA, he'd put up some fine numbers including a career high of 41 points in just 60 games with the Blackhawks during the 76/77 season.

What are some forgotten records that stand out to you?

What do you do when you have no playoff hopes?

Well last night's loss the the Bruins has sealed the Devil's post-season fate. It was a nice run, the Devils Army had some hope for a while, but last night's performance including 5 straight pk's ended any serious chance we had at playing for the Cup.

So with no team in the post-season, what do I do now? What do you folks do, when your team is no longer in the playoffs? I know Leaf fans talk about how next year is going to be different and the media in Canada supports that by endlessly looking at how the Leafs can sign UFA's which are long past their prime or are often damaged goods (see Lindros, Allison or Versteeg).

What I have done in the past is just picked another team to ride while the playoffs are on. In addition to being a Devils fan, there are a few other teams that I do like to watch and wish them luck if the Devils are out of contention.

The list looks something like this:

1. Devils

2. Blackhawks (Liked since '90, Belfour was the reason and I worshiped him until he went a little crazy in Dallas)

3. Kings (Since the '08 World Hockey Championship I have huge respect for Kopitar)

4. Oilers (They are fun to watch and I remember being a kid in awe of their fire power)

After the list is exhausted I usually find some team to support but it isn't ever the same.

So I ask, what do you do when your team is out?

Got hope?

Here is a very cool mathematical representation of what COULD happen over the next few months as the NHL playoffs approach. For us lowly Devils Fans (and love to Oilers Fans) we both still have a mathematical shot at making the playoffs. The Devils cannot finish higher than 3rd but there still are many permutations that exist with us finishing from 3rd to 8th.

Have fun looking up your teams! Even though the Canucks are 99% likely to make the playoffs, there IS A CHANCE, they could still end up 15th....but not likely, and I am sure you are relieved to hear that Michael!

NHL Outcomes

Patrice Cormier's Future

Well after the hit yesterday, I must say his future is no longer as bright. I am a Devils fan and have been since 1987. I try to keep tabs on all the prospects and I quite enjoy watching them progress and in some cases turn into full time NHL employees. Cormier (Drafted in the second round) I have been watching for the last two seasons, and this past Christmas, he was the captain of Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.

I was initially very excited he was given the honour of being captain, many previous WJC captains for Canada have gone on to accomplish great things in hockey. His performance however, was not what I expected. He played with a bigger chip on his shoulder than usual and as a result it lead to many dumb penalties. I can't speak for what he did do in the dressing room, but his on ice actions really weren't as dominating as I had hoped.

Now fast forward to this past Sunday, and the hit on Mikael Tam.

IF you have not seen it yet, here is a link, it is a little hard to watch for some....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqBHlA9Yp3I

As you can see, Cormier definitely gets an elbow up on Tam and pretty much knocks him out cold. The hit was undeserved and Tam really did not have a target on him. Tam is a defenseman who for all intensive purposes is NOT a superstar and is currently undrafted.

My concern first and foremost is for Tam to recover and continue a normal life. My second concern is for the mental well-being of Cormier. I feel this situation could scar him both in front of the media and psychologically much like the Todd Bertuzzi incident.

I feel this situation is not much different than the Bertuzzi with really the only difference being Steve Moore had apparently had a target on himself at the time for his dirty hit on Naslund. The suspension Bertuzzi received was swift and deserved and with Cormier's situation being as equally grotesque I can't see any situation where Patrice is not suspended. The only questions left will be how long, and will he return a shell of what he once was like Bertuzzi.

When Todd returned from his suspension, he never really dominated the play again like he once did. He still continues to play, but is not the game impacting power forward he once was. Patrice plays a very similar game, and even though he never put up enormous numbers in Junior, Patrice I felt had great potential to be a solid second line power forward, but now time will tell the result of this dumb and reckless hit.