Poll Monday - Sioux second in both polls

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[January 3, 2011]
1. Yale (45) 12-1-0
2 North Dakota ( 2) 14-5-2
3 Boston College (3) 13-5-0
4 New Hampshire 10-3-4
5 Minnesota-Duluth 12-4-3
6 Denver 13-5-4
7 Miami 11-6-3
8 Michigan 12-5-4
9 Maine 9-5-4
10 Rensselaer 11-4-3
11 Notre Dame 12-7-3
12 Nebraska-Omaha 12-7-1
13 Wisconsin 12-7-3
14 Boston University 8-5-6
15 Union 11-6-3
16 Alaska 9-6-3
17 Merrimack 9-4-4
18 Colorado College 12-9-1
19 Princeton 10-5-0
20 Ferris State 9-8-4
Others Receiving Votes: Western Michigan 45, Clarkson 40, Dartmouth 26, Minnesota 26, Robert Morris 23, Minnesota State 15, Bemidji State 4, Ohio State 2, Quinnipiac 2, St. Lawrence 2, Niagara 1, Providence
---------------------
USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[January 3, 2011]
1. Yale (34) 12-1-0
2. North Dakota 14-5-2
3. Boston College 13-5-0
4. Hampshire 10-3-4
5. Minnesota Duluth 12-4-3
6. Denver 13-5-4
7. Michigan 12-5-4
8. Miami (Ohio) 11-6-3
9. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 11-4-3
10 Nebraska-Omaha 12-7-1
11. Maine 9-5-4
12. Notre Dame 12-7-3
13. Wisconsin 12-7-3
14. Union 11-6-3
15. Boston University 8-5-6
Others receiving votes: University of Alaska, 36; Colorado College, 27; Merrimack College, 23; Ferris State University, 1; Princeton University, 1; Robert Morris University, 1; Western Michigan University, 1.

I am going to pose a question; I am not trying to start a flame feast, however, do you think the "pollsters" think that Yale's 10-3 shredding of a lesser opponent/cupcake Holy Cross is a more impressive than UND's 5-0 win against UMD who is in the top five of the national standings?

Again, I would like to know how many of the “pollsters” actually saw the games this weekend or during the holiday break? I think it’s safe to say that beating Holy Cross is not equal to beating UMD. Again, I would love to see how some of the ECAC and AHA teams would do if they were in the WCHA and had to play the schedules of UMD, UND, DU and Wisconsin... Pretty sure we wouldn't be having this argument if these teams had played that kind of a schedule.

Also, we have teams in the bottom of the WCHA standings (MSU-M, BSU, SCSU) winning holiday tourneys by beating teams that are in the upper half of the other conferences (ECAC team UNION, CCHA teams Notre Dame, Miami) yet these teams are still sitting in the top 15 of the national rankings. So a couple of weeks ago when I was told that the Strength of schedule doesn't matter I think last weekend's holiday tourney results shoot that theory all to hell...

This ranking system is out of whack, and it’s getting to be as silly as the Boise State football being near BCS rankings until late in the season; these teams aren’t playing anyone really that tough and they can rack up wins against lesser opponents (mid majors) and will take a tumble in the pairwise and the polls the minute they lose a couple of games to the teams from their schedule.

They said what?

This was in yesterday's Fargo Fish wrapper...

Witlessness continues to afflict North Dakota bureaucracies and the chattering class, especially on the now-verboten University of North Dakota “Fighting Sioux” nickname. They have forced the change because of the nickname’s offensiveness to North Dakota’s Sioux, yet the Spirit Lake tribe voted in favor of UND keeping the logo and is still fighting in court to force UND to keep the name. The leaders of the Standing Rock tribe won’t allow the issue to come to a vote, most likely because they know the outcome would echo Spirit Lake’s vote.

So we have gutless, white- bread folks forcing a change the North Dakota Sioux don’t want in order to protect those same Sioux. Does this make any sense to you? Paging Michael Moore’s “Stupid White Men.”

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings, because they are worth a look... Of course Yale on top of the rankings again after ripping through weak sisters of the poor from the Holy Cross... Seriously! The only poll that really matters is the one that is going to be looked at on March 19th 2011.

INCH Power Rankings
[January 2, 2011]
1. Yale
2. North Dakota - As if the Sioux needed any more offensive weaponry, previously slumbering sophomore forward Danny Kristo has a goal and six assists in his last four games. 14-5-2 (11-3-0 WCHA) RECENT SCORES: W at Minnesota Duluth, 5-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Robert Morris, vs. Robert Morris
3. New Hampshire
4. Boston College
5. Minnesota Duluth
6. Michigan
7. Denver
8. Rensselaer
9. Miami
10. Maine
11. Nebraska-Omaha
12. Union
13. Wisconsin
14. Notre Dame
15. Merrimack
16. Boston University
17. Alaska
18. Robert Morris
19. Colorado College
20. Clarkson
Dropped out: Ferris State
Bubble-licious: Dartmouth, Ferris State, Niagara, Princeton, Western Michigan

Colton Orr and Chris Neil

Wow what a great heavy weight fight. Colton Orr is a one dimensional player that brings nothing to the ice surface except fighting majors and penalty minutes, but I have to admit that I like to watch a good fight as much as the next guy… While I am not a fan of Chris Neil he does at least score goals once in a while and has (2g-10a-12pts) in 40 games this season.

Drew Stafford burys the Bruins again...

Drew Stafford has scored 13 goals this season 6 of them have come against the Boston Bruins, that is 6 goals in three games for the Former Fighting Sioux winger. Stafford has 4 career hat tricks and two have come this season against the Boston Bruins. You would think going forward that the Boston Bruins might want to check Stafford a little more closely.

David Steckel’s blind side headshot on Sidney Crosby

I don't know what to make out of this hit, it doesn't appear to be intentional at all, I would say that it's a freak accident. I see any reason for the league to review this hit because, there was no penalty on the call and it doesn't appear to be anything but an accidental collision. Crosby did return for the third period.

Daniel Carcillo vs Kyle Chipchura

Every time I see my favorite hack Daniel Carcilo drop the gloves I always cheer for his opponent, there is something about that guy that I detest... Chipchura lands some nice punches on Carcillos face... It doesn't help that Carcillo plays for the hated filthy Flyers. Carcillo is one of those players you don't want play against him and you don't want him on your favorite team either.

UMD's Olsen leaves UMD for the AHL...

When this story broke yesterday afternoon the first thing that came to mind was ineligible for the academically for second half of the season. Dylan Olsen is a first round draft choice so realistically he isn’t going to sit around at UMD not playing hockey; studying, trying to get eligible academically for the fall semester. Not going to happen folks.

If my memory serves me right Dylan Olsen was recruited by UND but wasn’t able to get into UND so he ended up choosing UMD. The academically ineligible spin was the buzz around this story on the blogsphere and Twitter and it's not surprising what so ever.

Rink and RUN ---- Former NHL first-round draft pick Dylan Olsen, a Minnesota Duluth sophomore defenseman from Calgary, Alberta, signed a three-year, two-way contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday and will join the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford, Ill., following the World Junior Championships.

Olsen, 19, leaves UMD with two goals and 22 assists for 24 points in 53 career games. This season, he had a goal and 12 assists for 13 points in 17 games before leaving to join Canada for the World Junior Championships in Buffalo, N.Y. Canada finished the preliminary round 3-1 following a shootout loss to Sweden on Friday. The tournament runs through Jan. 5.

“Dylan was having a good year and we were expecting a better, more confident player to return to us after the experience of the junior tournament,” said UMD coach Scott Sandelin. “We knew how much making Canada’s team meant to him and that it could only help his play. We’re just disappointed he chose to make a change at midseason.”

Sandelin did note that recent academic developments would likely have left Olsen ineligible for the second semester.

If you can’t stay eligible academically to play for your college hockey team I believe it’s a character flaw a lack of commitment on the part of the athlete because they are not living up to their end of the scholarship deal, Dylan Olson let his teammates down and he let himself down. This one also falls on the coach because they should be evaluating his players academic progress throughout the semester.

Being a former college athlete, I have seen a few people flunk out of college and lose their eligibility to compete in athletics and I don't understand how they can let this happen? Most places all you need to get is a 2.0 or a 2.5 and you can almost do that by just attending class and reading the materials from the lectures. Again, going to the state schools in the WCHA isn't all that difficult, (BSU, UMD, SCSU, UND, MSU-M) isn't like attending the MTU, Wisconsin, Minnesota, AFA and or Yale and Harvard. My advice to young athletes is go to class, study and complete your assignments, ask for help if you need it, get a tutor.

Happy New Year – Moving Forward…

Another year has come and gone at Goon’s World. This year was the most successful date as we had 456,000+ visitors. I personally would like to thank everyone that stopped by to read our blog … At the bottom of the blog I added the Popular Posts widget and the most popular blog post of the year was Halak scores on himself, which incidentally or maybe it was accidentally made Fox Sports, there was 10,000+ hits on that article for one day… I woke up the morning after I submitted that blog post and looked at the stats and said, "what's going on here?" Blogging is a lot like life, you really never know what article is going to be popular or which one is going to be a dud, you just kind have to go with the flow. I also, have thank YardBarker has been very good to Goon’s World.

The second most popular article was Andrew Ladd with the Stanley Cup, thanks to Puck Daddy… Occasional Goon’s World contributor Amy aka Lets Go Mavs made the top ten posts of the year with her post MN's "Pride on Ice" is officially the "Pathetic on Ice" (by LGM) . While I have gotten some flak from Sioux fans for letting her post on Goon’s World, I do think she brings an interesting perspective to the table and this blog is about heated discussions. I don’t see anything wrong with taking an occasional dig at the Gophers fan base… They aren't as much fun when their team is losing though.

I appreciate everyone that writes for Goon’s World; Sioux7, Redwing77, the Whistler, LGM, Kevin Wiley… Thanks a lot for your efforts… Seriously, it’s harder than it looks… Retired and former Goon’s World Contributor Gordon Anderson is now writing for the Ottawa Sun...

I would also like to thank the Bemidji State University SID Brad Folkestad for credentialing me for the historic first WCHA series between the BSU Beavers and the UND Fighting Sioux. While for some reason I haven’t been able to get a press pass just to attend the Wednesday press briefings and post game press conferences for UND hockey, Brad was kind enough to save me a spot for me in the BREC center press box when there were many requests for press passes… Brad Folkestad and the BSU SID office run a first class organization...

I learned a lot of interesting things that weekend about being in press row, first if you going to report the game in time via Twitter, Face Book, it’s harder than it looks. You also have to be really good at typing, but also an awesome multitasker. Lastly, you also have to pace yourself with the Diet Coke or you end up missing a goal or key play…

Sioux 5 Dogs 0

Grand Forks Herald Photo

As I posted on twitter the UND Fighting Sioux ruins the Bulldogs building opener. UND is now 3-0 and has scored 15 goals and given up only 4 goals in inaugural games/weekends.

To take a quote from the Viking’s quarterback Brent Favre, “the pieces are in place.” I do think this year’s Fighting Sioux hockey team is one of the better teams that Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol has had here at UND, that's including the teams that had Stafford, Oshie and Toews, this year’s version of Sioux has the UND Fighting incredible depth and are getting great play from all four of the forward lines. Defensively, the Fighting Sioux are getting to be very difficult to play against and held the FCC line pointless in tonight's game. The Sioux didn’t look like a team that had been off for a week and a half.

B2tv.com why bother?

Personally, I was impressed with what I saw tonight or at least with what I could see. I watched tonight's game on the B2tv.com and I am not impressed with the quality of broadcast that they put out, they are ripping people off. I am not sure it was worth the seven bucks that I spent to watch the game. It’s a low quality broadcast and just short of being horrible, the announcers were fine, I thought they did a good job, if you like the Bulldog perspective. Kind of makes a guy long for the student broadcast of KBSU or SCSU.

Both teams not at full stength

At the end of the game there was a mention of the Bulldogs not having all of their players. I am not sure we can use that as a reason why one team won or lost. Both teams were missing key players for this game, the Bulldogs were without Justin Faulk (6g-9a-15pts) and Dylan Olsen (1g-12a-13pts), both players are playing in the World Junior Championships. Senior forward Kyle Schmidt (7g-5a-12pts)was injured in at practice on Wednesday and he was out of the line up as well.

On the other side of the ice the Fighting Sioux were without Brock Nelson (2g-4a-6pts) and Derek Forbort (0g-9a-9pts), who were at the WJC. The Sioux were also missing forwards Jason Gregoire (6g-7a-13pts) and Brett Hextall (2g-4a-6) because of undisclosed upper body injuries. While Falk and Olson might be the Bulldogs best defenders, Hextall and Gregoire are 2/3 of one of the Fighting Sioux’s top two forward lines. Jason Gregoire is one of the best two-way forwards in the WCHA so, if anything, the missing players are a wash. It does appear that UND, who ends the month of December with a record 5-0-0, is heading in a different direction than the UMD Bulldogs who end the month of December at 1-3-1.

Goon's three stars of the game

1.) Aaron Dell 35 saves and records 2 shutout of the season
2.) Danny Kristo (1g-2a-3pts)
3.) Brad Malone (2g-0-2)

[Box Score]

Zach Kassian hit on Czech defenceman Petr Senkerik.

Here is the hit that Zach Kassian put on Czech defenceman Petr Senkerik. For the hit Kassian was given a 5 minute major and a match penalty which carries an automatic game suspension. Kassian was given an extra game suspension by the IIHF and will have to sit out another game for team Canada when they play the Sweds.

Jody Shelley gets two games

Last month when Shelly was given a two game suspension for a hit from behind on Adam McQuaid I was told on my twitter page that Jody Shelly wasn't that type of a player. Huh! Now he is a repeat offender. Because funny thing, that is Jody Shelly's second suspension of the 2010-2011 season.

csnphilly.com --- On Wednesday, the NHL suspended Shelley for two games. He will miss Thursday’s game in Los Angeles and the New Year’s Eve contest in Anaheim.

This has been a “December to Remember” for the 35-year-old native of Thompson, Manitoba, as he served a two-game suspension earlier in the month for a hit from behind to Adam McQuaid in Boston.

Given Shelley is a repeat offender, this could have been four games instead of two.

“Exactly right,” Shelley said. “Right now, my gut reaction is that I’m disappointed. And I said this last time. That’s why they do it. They want you to feel sick, shame, embarrassment ... It’s been a tough December.”

Lightning upset with this penalty call...

This was the penalty that led to the Boston Bruins power play that Boston Bruins forward Mark Recchi scored on. The Tampa Bay Lightning took issue with this call that cost them the game.

TBO.COM ---Don VanMassenhoven, the referee at the trailing end of the play, put his arm up and called boarding on Stamkos, giving Boston a man advantage with under two minutes to play.

"Not a penalty, a shoulder on shoulder hit,'' Boucher said. "I've watched it 10, 12 times and I still can't get myself to see what others saw. … This is a game I firmly believe should have went to overtime. It's just very, very difficult to swallow for everybody, everybody. I'm not going to point my finger at my players for this one. They battled hard enough to win this game. It was not decided on something I could control.''

To make matters a bit worse, Adam Hall got picked at the Tampa Bay blue line by Michael Ryder as the Bruins entered the zone, preventing Hall from getting to Dennis Seidenberg and putting pressure on the puck at the right point. One pass later, Recchi found open space at the top of the slot for the winning goal.

I guess I can see why the on ice official called a penalty on the play; we have seen players in college hockey get thrown out of the game for the same hit. As a player you really have to be careful when you hit someone into the end boards, especially with the number of injuries that have happened recently. You run the risk of getting thrown out of the game or have a penalty called on you if a player has his back turned. In this case I think it's a grey area, it was close to being a shoulder to shoulder hit. The Bruins players thought it was a questionable hit...

The IIHF throws the book at Slovakia hack’s Martin Marincin and Peter Hrasko

I applaud the IIHF for throwing the book at the two Slovaks and giving Martin Marincin three additional games and Peter Hrasko two additional games for their bush league hits during their game with team USA…

BUFFALO – Dan Marouelli, the IIHF`s appointed Disciplinary Single Judge, handed out suspensions totalling six additional games to three players for flagrant violations in games played yesterday.

The Slovakia-United States game produced five of those games to two Slovaks, the heaviest suspension going to Martin Marincin (three games). Peter Hrasko received two additional games while Canada's Zack Kassian got one extra game.

The IIHF has very specific rules regarding dangerous hits. These are not limited just to the head but to the neck area as well, which is defined by that part of the body above the collarbone and shoulder pads (i.e., unprotected areas).

All players were automatically given one-game suspensions for their match penalties for a hit to the head and neck area. Here are the details for each violation.

Slovakia’s Martin Marincin was assessed a further three-game suspension (four games in total) by the IIHF for his hit to the head and neck area on American forward Jason Zucker with 7:51 left in the third period of the United States-Slovakia game on December 28.

In making his assessment, Marouelli analyzed the play on DVD. As well, he received a verbal report from the IIHF’s medical staff and discussed the play with the referee supervisor and the chairman of the championship.

Some of the criteria used to make this decision included the distance travelled by Marincin to deliver the hit. In Marouelli’s opinion, this was a premeditated act as the puck had long left the vicinity of the play. Marincin took advantage of a defenceless and unsuspecting opponent and deliberately targeted the head and neck area, resulting in an injury to Zucker.

Slovakia’s Peter Hrasko was assessed a further two-game suspension (three games in total) by the IIHF for his hit to the head and neck area on American forward Jerry D’Amigo.

In making his assessment, Marouelli analyzed the play on DVD. As well, he received a verbal report from the IIHF’s medical staff and discussed the play with the referee supervisor and the chairman of the championship.

Hrasko deliberately targeted the head of the American player, using his elbow and upper arm to deliver the blow and causing D’Amigo to be thrown violently into the boards. As a result, D’Amigo struck his head against the glass, sustaining an injury... [Read the Rest of the article]

In reviewing the video its safe to conclude that Dan Marouelli, of the IIHF`s made the right decision in severely punishing the offending Slovak players. From the drop of the puck you could tell that the Slovaks were going to play a dirty game and were out to get their pound of flesh.

Can SCSU finally beat Miami?

Tomorrow the Miami Redhawks will play the SCSU Huskies again for a third time this season tomorrow in the Championship game of the Florida College Classic. Miami has had SCSU's number as of late going 0-4-1 against them since 2007. Actually, Miami has been dominant against the WCHA since 2005 and the only team to have a winning record against Miami from the WCHA is the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux which is 1-0-1, DU is 0-2, SCSU is 0-4-1 and UMD is 0-1-0 that is a combined 7-1-1 against the WCHA. I would say that this is a statement game for the Huskies tomorrow night...

October 8th 2005 UND 3 Miami 0
October 6th 2006 Miami 5 DU 2
December 27, 2007 Miami 2 SCSU 1 O.T.
March 27, 2009 Miami 4 DU 2
March 28, 2009 Miami 2 UMD 1
October 09, 2009 Miami 3 SCSU 2 O.T.
October 10, 2009 Miami 2 SCSU 0
November 28, 2009 UND 5 Miami 5 O.T.
October 15, 2010 Miami 6 SCSU 3
October 16, 2010 Miami 1 SCSU 1 O.T.
[Goon's World]

Another example of Slovakian Thuggery.

s/t to Bruce Ciskie here is the hit of Slovakia player Peter Hrasko as he smoked Jerry D'Amigo of team USA with a dirty elbow, notice taht Hrasko leaves his feet to hit D'Amingo in the head... Maybe this guy should get an extra game as well.

Were the Slovaks looking for revenge?

In reading the awesome WJC blog United States of Hockey, Chris Peters speculates that maybe the Slovaks were seeking revenge on USA Forward Jason Zucker for his hit on Martin Stajnoch during the 2010 WJC... In looking at the video of Zucker hit on Stajnoch it appears to be a legal shoulder to shoulder hit, so maybe the Slovaks need to learn how to take a hit and play with in the confines of the rules.

The United States of Hockey --- As a side note, you may recall this hit delivered by Zucker at last year’s World Junior Championship. The U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team played Slovakia’s under-18 squad in an exhibition prior to last year’s IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Belarus. During that game, it was noticeable that the Slovakian players were out to get Zucker. One of my fellow Team USA staffers quipped, at the time, that the extra attention was perhaps retaliation for the hit at the WJC. Maybe it was, I can’t be certain. However, Martin Marincin delivered a deliberate knee-on-knee hit to Zucker that earned Marincin a major penalty and game misconduct (Here’s that game’s box score). So yeah, there’s a history.

There is one thing about hockey if the score is out of hand you can expect the game to get rough, even in international play. I guess if you can't beat the opposition on the score board you start taking liberties against the opposition, last night the USA outshot the Slovaks 22-1 in the first period, so maybe the Slovaks should concentrate on getting pucks on net and playing instead of trying to injury other players. What a bunch of classless hack and they are a disgrace to the game of hockey…

Slovak Hack Martin Marincin's dirty hit on Team USA's Jason Zucker

I dare someone to defend the play of Slovak defenseman Martin Marincin... There is no excuse for this kind of play in the WJC or in level of hockey. Personally, I thought that the Slovak WJC team played very dirty hockey from the drop of the first puck till the end of the game the Slovak defenseman Martin Marincin should be suspended for the rest of the tourney for this bush league hit. The Slovak hockey team is lucky that fighting isn't allowed in the WJC.

Potential vs. Current Development, a RW77 Rant

Ok, I am feeling rantish today and I'm in need of some enlightenment from the reader base.

On and on throughout my online fandom, I've read post after post about fans expectations of collegiate players based upon draft status and position. I find this extremely laughable.

Here's my rant:

Draft position, or even the fact they were drafted, is only marginally relevant to the college game. It's not even all that relevant towards junior player-rostered international competition. Why?

The NHL is always trying to draft for "now" talent, but it's not all that often that there are those sitting around beyond, say, the top 5 picks overall, and that's not always the case even so. Those who are good enough for the NHL when they are drafted are usually signed by the NHL right away. There are exceptions, sure, but for the most part, they are drafted based upon potential... or what they're predicted to develop into.

With this in mind, it's amazing on how people can base whether or not a player has done well or is living up to expectations based upon when they were drafted. If they weren't drafted at all, then there is no such expectation. Talk about hypocrisy.

The most recent example is the fact that Finland hung in there with the US WJC team despite the US having more draft picks on the team. What does that have to do with anything?

Sure, the American players have a higher potential towards professional play according to NHL Scouts, but that's hardly what's being graded at the WJC. Remember, Herb Brooks had the option to put even "better" players on his 1980 Olympic team than he did, but he did not. Craig, the goaltender, IIRC, wasn't the best goaltender available to Brooks at the time. BTW, Craig didn't have an altogether stellar pro career either.

Why is draft stock held in so much higher regard towards expectation than the players' current level of development?

I'm reminded of the former Wild GM Risebrough (sp?) who talked about the potential of his team being the key to his system. Yet, year after year, the Wild sucked. Why? Because potential relates directly to the future... a future that isn't guaranteed, just predicted. Teams that want to win NOW sign players who are able to produce NOW. Much like why the Red Wings are so successful as of late. Yeah, they are older than the sky but their potential has been realized and Babcock can better assigned them into roles within the team that should bring the most success.

College Hockey deals almost exclusively in players who have not yet reached their potential. In fact, if they did before they reached DI, they're typically on the watch for being busts... (See Mike Fink, Sioux fans). Yet, if an NCAA player is drafted, especially if it is in the first round, they are expected to be absolute monsters right away. If they're not, or play differently than the expectations the fans build on them, they're usually criticized, more often or not, unfairly so.

It's one of the main challenges of being college fans. We want our players to play fantastic, win it all, etc. We bang our heads against the wall when the NHL takes notice and signs them early. But if the player takes a normal developmental curve, they're open for criticism for not being as good as a player who bolted early.

So what is it? Allow the players to play their game at the current developmental rate and criticize them according to their play or let draft status cloud our judgment and grade them according to what they should be X years down the road today?

It seems rather harsh to me.

T.J. Oshie to return in late January?

The St Louis Blues got some encouraging news, it appears that former Fighting Sioux forward T.J. Oshie might be eying a possible return at the end of January, that would be good news for the Blues. T.J. Oshie was hurt November 10th during a scrum in the third period of a game where the Blues were down 8-1 in the game, Oshie lost his balance and fell backwards with his ankle pinned under his weight breaking his ankle.

NHL Hockey --- Blues forward T.J. Oshie could return to the lineup as early as late January, according to Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong.

Armstrong made the announcement to members of the media on Tuesday after the team's gameday skate.

"Oshie is doing very well. He's been out skating the last week or so I'd say and he's progressing very well," Armstrong said. "With his work ethic and his healing and the way he's been, we're comfortable that (his return) somewhere around the All-Star break is a realistic goal for us."

Oshie was injured in the Nov. 10 game vs. Columbus and was originally projected to be out of the lineup until at least mid-February with a broken ankle. But Armstrong said an early return is possible thanks to Oshie's positive attitude off the ice.