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CANADA IN WIN COLUMN AFTER 11-3 WIN OVER BELARUS AT UNDER-18 HOCKEY TOURNAMENT The stick used by Sidney Crosby to score the Olympic gold medal-winning goal, along with one of his gloves, has been located and is en route to Crosby after going missing during the packing of equipment. One of the league's post-lockout marketing campaigns revolves around the question "Is this the year"About seven months ago we put together an hour-long season preview show on the NHL Network based on those four little words. The other day I was trying to remember all the questions we tackled and had come up with a few, such as, "Is this the year Ovechkin scores 70?" or, "Is this the year Mike Green scores 40?" But my memory isn't what it used to be. Parenting is only partially to blame, so I naturally sought out the answers from show producer Tom Masters.
Via email Tommy responded with "Is this the year Ovechkin wins the Cup? Is this the year the Kings or Panthers make the playoffs?" And my favorite, "I'm trying to remember the rest." Tommy never did come up with any more and now he's gone to Paris, presumably working on a network feature about how the locals can't wait to see their native son, Cristobal Huet, hoist the Stanley Cup and perhaps the Conn Smythe. Or, he's gone to interrogate club officials with CSG Grenoble, now HC Grenoble, demanding they turn over Huet's numbers from the 1997-98 season, which to this day read as "statistics not available" in the NHL Guide and Record book. Anyway, because nobody uploaded the show to YouTube, we'll never know what questions were asked. But now seemed like a good time to use hindsight (and sarcasm) to our advantage and come up with questions we should have asked back in late September. Is this the year Jay Bouwmeester gets his first taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs? Well unless he buys a ticket or gets credentials, the answer is, again, no. I'm guessing we didn't ask the question at the time because everyone thought it was a no-brainer. Now you have to wonder if this guy is cursed and is the modern day Guy Charron. Charron played 734 regular season games, but not a single playoff game over his 12-year career. Bouwmeester is up to 553 and counting. Is this the year Chris Osgood becomes the 10th goaltender in NHL history to reach 400 wins? Again, it was a no-brainer. The question, if asked, could have been, "How many games will it take for Osgood to get the 11 wins he needs?" Instead, Osgood finished the year with just seven in 23 appearances with one year to go on his contract. Here's hoping he doesn't have to wait too long next season. Is this the year a bunch of 2009 award winners struggle to maintain their status in 2010? It's not a question worth asking, because who wants to predict a player's demise? But it is disappointing to not see Tim Thomas back as a Vezina finalist and to also watch Steve Mason fully embrace the term "sophomore slump." Evgeni Malkin's quest for another Art Ross was derailed by injuries. Zdeno Chara has tried to persevere, but has ultimately been upstaged by a younger group of sure-fire Norris contenders |