Scott Cullen of TSN has them for you…

Giveaways-Most

Roman Hamrlik, D, Montreal – 77

Jaroslav Spacek, D, Montreal – 75

Joe Thornton, C, San Jose – 74

Tyler Myers, D, Buffalo – 71

Hal Gill, D, Montreal – 68

Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh – 64

Chris Phillips, D, Ottawa – 64

Lubomir Visnovsky, D, Anaheim – 63

Denis Grebeshkov, D, Nashville – 62

Mike Green, D, Washington – 62

much more

from Mike Broply of Sportsnet,

If the NHL playoffs were to start today, how many of the 16 qualified teams would be 100 percent happy with goaltending?

There are a precious few teams that will enter the playoffs completely comfortable with the situation. In the Eastern Conference, you could make the case only the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres are completely at ease with the men entrusted to keep the puck out of the net….

In the Western Conference, the Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche should be comfortable with its stoppers. You could probably lump the Los Angeles Kings in that category thanks to the wonderful year Jonathan Quick is enjoying, even though he has only played in one NHL playoff game.

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With a twist.  Who said this? 

“I’ve been under-appreciated my whole career, but that’s helped me to keep my head small.  But I made it to an All Star game and I’ve had some good years.”

Answer is…

from Dan Steinberg of D.C. Sport Bog,

Sure, playoff hockey is different. Sure, you’re not going to win a Cup with a shaky goaltender or a rickety defense. That said, a good offense has seemed a better predictor of playoff success than a good defense in recent years.

If my math is correct, each of the four post-lockout Cup winners ranked at least sixth in regular-season goals scored. Only one of them ranked in the top six in regular-season goals against.

In two of the past three years, the regular-season scoring champion advanced to at least the conference finals.

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18 teams in action tonight and most of the teams playing need a win.

It is time for teams to prove they are playoff worthy.

View today’s NHL schedule below.

NEW YORK (March 8, 2010)—Colorado Avalanche right wing Chris Stewart, Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos and Florida Panthers defenseman Bryan McCabe have been named the NHL ‘Three Stars’ for the week ending Mar. 7.

Stan Fischler picks his top 5 nice guys.

from Darren Pang at HockeyChats,

You have to have players that have the character and compete level to out will the other team’s best players. It is a job that doesn’t get a lot of recognition outside the locker room, but inside it is a different story, as the players there know exactly which players pay the price to get the job done. They have the ice bags going every time they get the equipment off, with the training staff working non stop to get them ready for the next battle….

5) Los Angeles : Rob Scuderi / Drew Doughty

There is a reason why the King’s have been a top team in the West, and it goes beyond the Kopitar’s and Smyth’s up front. In Doughty’s rookie season he received great tutelage from veteran Sean O’Donnell as his partner, and now in his 2nd season, he is playing 24:00 min per game going up against the other teams top players alongside Scuderi, the veteran that won the Cup last year with Pittsburgh….

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Early NHL action today with a game at 1:00pm ET and another stating at 2:00pm ET.

Below you can view the complete NHL schedule for today.

The playoff battle continues and teams are fighting for every point they can get.

from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

There are two ways to look at the 2010 NHL trading deadline, which entered the history books this past Wednesday.

One is to think that NHL general managers actually reviewed recent history and came to an astonishing conclusion: All that jockeying, all those moves, all that frantic action in the past rarely translated into playoff success; and that the winners were usually the sellers, who took advantage of the frenzy in order to exact big-time prices for marginal merchandise.

For years, the trading deadline has been the opposite of a clearance sale – the one day a year when prices are marked up and still, the shoppers line up madly for the chance to bid on a Nathan Paetsch here or an Alexandre Picard there.

That’s the kinder assessment and one which proved to be true in a number of important precincts, such as Chicago and San Jose, where the respective general managers Stan Bowman and Doug Wilson did their work early and essentially told their teams that they were good enough, as constructed, to win a championship without last-minute reinforcement.

continued and more hockey topics too…

NEW YORK (March 3, 2010)—NHL clubs made 31 trades involving 55 players today prior to the 3 p.m., ET, trading deadline. The number of trades and players involved are the most ever on deadline day.

Following is a list of the transactions:

Too many teams still in the race for an all-out sale, maybe next year.

added 3:28pm, I may have missed a few minor deals plus some minor details on the trades, so visit NHL.com to get the official trade report.

Jay Onrait of TSN has started his popular trade deadline blog.  Make sure to stop in a few times today.

Also, TSN has a pretty cool trade tracker and you can even listen to their show there too.

In just over 8 hours, this trade watch is over and we are back to normal.

In the meantime, I will be here to provide you all the trade moves of the day.

Please pour me another coffee.

I will be back around 6:00am or so Wednesday morning, but in case youi want to be updated on any late breaking trades or hockey news, I suggest you head over to the Recent Twitter Content From NHL Insiders page at NHL.com.

Soon the craziness starts and I will be around all day to keep you posted on all the trades of the day.

Many of you know Twitter is the quickest way to be updated on the trades of the day, and if you did not read my NHL.com blog yesterday, you may want to check it out for some helpful hints on how to follow all the trade action.

Sleep well and see you soon.

from Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun,

The moving of Vokoun would add some much-needed spice to a trade deadline day that is in danger of lacking any significant sizzle.

Would the Chicago Blackhawks, whose only question mark appears to be a lack of stability between the pipes, be a potential landing spot?

Starter Anti Niemi was pulled Tuesday night after allowing three goals on nine shots and was replaced by Cristobal Huet. Huet, ironically, was linked in a potential deal earlier in the day that would have sent him to the Maple Leafs for overpriced defenceman Jeff Finger, a scenario the Leafs quickly dismissed.

With Ray Emery undergoing season-ending surgery Tuesday, the Philadelphia Flyers also are in the market for a goaltender. There was an erroneous report that the Islanders’ Dwayne Roloson had been dealt to Philly, a suggestion that evaporated when Roloson was the Isles’ starter versus Chicago.

If the likes of Vokoun and Huet don’t move, the chances of any blockbusters being pulled off appear slim.

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from Pierre LeBrun and Scott Burnside of ESPN,

A source told Scott Burnside on Tuesday afternoon that the Preds continue to get lots of calls on Hamhuis but were not close to a deal. Philadelphia is among the clubs interested.

Meanwhile, in Washington, a Capitals source told me Tuesday that although the team would like an upgrade “anywhere,” the feeling at this point is the team may not do anything. GM George McPhee has never been a big fan of overpaying at the trade deadline, but we’ll see this time around. The Caps have never had a better chance at a Stanley Cup than this season.

In Columbus, UFA-to-be winger Raffi Torres hadn’t found a new home yet. A Blue Jackets source said nothing was close as of Tuesday afternoon.

In Pittsburgh, the Penguins were interested in Torres or Alexei Ponikarovsky, but not Marek Svatos. All three are set to become UFAs on July 1. The prices for Torres and Ponikarovsky were still considered “too high” to one Penguins source. It’s the old chicken game all the way to Wednesday’s deadline.

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All from tweets of hockey guys…

Bob McKenie,

Carolina’s Ray Whitney may not get dealt at deadline unless the L.A. King scenario gets revived. It’s his call but Pittsburgh appears out.

Toronto’s Alex Ponikarovsky likely to fetch a second-round pick and a good prospect. L.A. one of many teams interested.

Colorado’s Wojtek Wolski is in play and the Phoenix Coyotes are one team that has shown some interest.

Michael Russo,

I do believe there’s a very good chance Owen Nolan will be dealt

from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,

If you’re a Calgary Flames fan and you see the way Miikka Kiprusoff flailed and ailed against the Americans in the semifinal, are you going to reach for the Maalox when the playoffs roll around, or would you prefer any drug whose side effects include temporary blindness?

Same goes for San Jose Sharks supporters and that team’s No. 1 goalie Evgeni Nabokov, as well as New Jersey boosters and surefire Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. Both of those guys looked horrendous at times and deserved their respective Olympic fates.

I know all three netminders will be playing on drastically different teams with no discernable connection to their Olympic squads. Nevertheless, it can’t make Darryl Sutter, Doug Wilson or Lou Lamoriello feel good to see key components of their post-season hopes look so lost in high-stake showdowns.

More than a few hockey observers thought some pre-trade-deadline deals would be made directly as a result of what NHL GMs saw at the Vancouver Games. If any of those deals involve a goalie joining the Flames, Sharks or Devils, we’ll have a good idea as to the reason why.

more hockey talk…

from NHL.com,

With the 2010 Winter Olympics a happy memory for some and a disappointment for others, there is little, if any, time to dwell on what happened in Vancouver, unless you are the Canucks, contemplating a trip home after being on the road to accommodate the games at what now can once again be called GM Place.

Just about everyone in the NHL remains in it, but to win it the remainder of the regular season takes on even more importance than the normal regular-season stretch drive.

The majority of players got a mid-season break and should be rarin’ to go.

Here is a look at how the schedule breaks down for each NHL team.

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