Matt Duchene Gets his First Goal Since Returning From Injury

Not much more to add to that except for how nice of a pass that was by Statsny. It looks easy, sure, but a saucer pass, over a defenseman, right on the tape of Duchene's stick?

Just another day in the office for those two, I suppose.

Glove Tap: Valtteri Filppula

Sure, you've heard of the guy. "Oh, yeah, he's that one guy on the Wings with Datsyuk and Zetterberg and all them, blah blah blah". Drafted in the third round in 2002 (95th overall), the Finnish native was projected to be a pretty decent second line centerman. As the Wings do with all their prospects, they let him develop by playing two more years in Finland and two more in Grand Rapids with their AHL club, before earning a permanent roster spot in the big leagues in 2006-07.

Putting up a respectable 36 points (19 goals, 17 assists) in 78 games for his first full NHL season, Filppula's been relatively consistent since then. With point totals of 40, 35 (only 55 games that year), and 39 in each of the following seasons, it was beginning to look like maybe he wouldn't pan out as he was projected. Oh, but is patience a virtue...

At first glance, his 18 goals, 30 assists and 48 points this year may seem a little underwhelming. However, if you take a deeper look, Valtteri is quietly having a heck of season. With two more goals, Filppula will top his career high that he set in his rookie year. Not to mention he's currently at a +14 and another +3, (admittedly, a potentially deceiving stat), will be a career marker in that category as well.

Keeping in mind that while he may not be a superstar such as his counterparts in Datsyuk and Zetterberg, he is reliable. Mike Babcock uses him fairly often, and even if he's not the team's primary penalty killer, he has seen about 51 minutes of shorthanded time this season. That ranks him 7th among PK time for forwards on the team, and that's mainly because of players like Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader getting the majority of that ice time. Pair all that with the fact that he's only taken 12 penalty minutes all season, and I'd say you've developed a quality player right there.

He's kown as more of a playmaker than a shooter, but Fil has a decent shot and some pretty nice moves to go with it, as seen here. Again, I'm not saying Mr. Filppula here is the next coming of Gretzky or anything, but he definitely deserves more credit than he's received. "That one guy" is having a pretty good year so far.

Five Months Later and It's Still Not Any Easier

Jeff Miller wrote an article on Ruslan Salei, his wife and family, and how they're all still dealing with the tragedy that happened in September. It's definitely worth the read, even if you have to choke back a few tears.

Chris Neil's Candidate for Hit of the Year

Like most hockey fans, I love seeing a good, clean open ice hit. It's what makes hockey the amazing game it's evolved to be over the years. There have been some really nice ones this season, but in last night's game between the Senators and Bruins, Chris Neil provided one worth an extra look or two:

Mr. Boychuk, meet Chris Neil. And keep your head up while you're at it, kid. Now, I know Neil doesn't have the greatest reputation around the league, and rightfully so, but this is the kind of hit I love. It's perfectly clean, Neil's elbows are down, he's not charging at Boychuk; everything's fine here, though I suppose Boychuk would say differently since he just got his bell rung, but I digress. I'd bet good money that he keeps his head up from now on, though. Better luck next time, Johnny boy(chuk).

Prospect Profile: Mattias Ekholm

Name: Mattias Ekholm

Birth Date: May 24, 1990

Birth Place: Borlänge, Sweden

Height: 6'3" (192cm)

Weight: 201 pounds (91kg)

Position: Defense

Hand: Left

Drafted: 2009, 4th round, 102th overall by the Nashville Predators

I was looking for an obscure, underrated prospect to research today, and I had no idea who or how or where to find him. So, I asked Corey Pronman of hockeyprospectus, and he named Ekholm.

Eliteprospects describes Ekholm as such:

"Ekholm is a large defenseman with decent two-way ability. He is a capable skater and has decent overall mobility. He moves the puck rather well and makes simple and smart passes. Hockey sense fairly good, release is pretty heavy and he tries to solve most situations the simple way. Ekholm has proved to be a solid defensemen in the juniors, playing with confidence and ease in his own end. Work could be put in to improve his physical game further and add more weight to his frame which would make the transition to men's hockey easier."

Mattias has played in all sorts of junior tournaments while in Sweden. Under 18s, under 20s, so on and so forth, and he's seemed to have been fairly solid. He may not be the biggest point producer, but at the same time, he's also a defenseman. Upon being drafted, Ekholm played one more season with his junior team in Sweden, Mora. Currently playing with Brynäs IF of the Elitserien in Gävle, Sweden, Ekholm is making great strides in his improvement.

In his inaugural season with Brynäs, played in 55 games while scoring 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points. On top of that, Mattias finished with a +10 rating, 38 PIMs, 5 powerplay goals and 44 hits. What makes this even more impressive is that his average ice time was around 20 minutes a game. All at the ripe old age of 20.

This season, Ekholm played in two games with the Predators before returning to Sweden to further develop. He made his NHL debut on October 13 versus Phoenix, playing 16 shifts in 11:30 of ice time. A week later on the 20th, he played in a game at Vancouver with 21 shifts and 13:20 of ice time. So far this season with Brynäs, Ekholm has only played in 36 games, but is leading defensemen with an average ice time of 22:21, along with being 10th in team scoring with 16 points. That's a nice improvement in a year, I'd say.

To further aid Ekholm's case, Corey Pronman says he should be NHL ready next year:

I'm not saying Ekholm will be a saving grace if Nashville (god forbid) can't re-sign Weber and/or Suter, but it seems like he should help ease the pain if that ends up being the case. Keep your eyes open, Preds fans.

Jack Johnson's in Ohio, Richards and Carter Get to Live Happily Ever After Anyways

As I'm sure you're all aware of by now, the Kings and the Blue Jackets swapped Jack Johnson and Jeff Carter today. I've heard both opinions on who won the trade and who got robbed, and for what it's worth, both sides have fair arguments. When all is said and done, however, I think it's a pretty fair deal for both sides. Columbus gets rid of Carter, who clearly wasn't working out with the Blue Jackets, and in exchange they get a halfway decent offensive defenseman with a cheaper contract than Carter. On top of that, they're getting LA's first round pick either this year or next year. That's not too bad, I suppose.

On the other hand, LA is getting a proven goal scorer; something they've desperately needed this season. I don't have the exact number off the top of my head, but they've averaged something like 2 goals a game this year, and if you pay attention even a little, you'll know that's true. I live near LA, so I get to watch their games more often than not, and man, it can be painful. Night after night watching Jonathan Quick stand on his head while the guys in front of him struggle to get more than one goal makes you really feel bad for Quick, and the team. Now, I'm definitely not saying that Jeff Carter is going to be LA's savior or anything. Far from it, really. This is just a deal they needed to make, and now they need to hope it turns in their favor.

Now, there can't be good without bad, and that's not an understatement with this situation either. If you happen to live under a rock or somehow managed to miss the controversy this past off-season, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were both traded from Philadelphia because of alleged locker room issues. They were both often accused of partying too much, and that's easy to believe seeing as they're best friends (not to mention various pictures floating around the internet). Hell, they even still talk several times a week, so it's probably not too much of an understatement to think that the splitting of them affected them more than it should. Regardless of the issues and accusations, it seems that Richards at least has grown past them. He's carried the Kings during stretches this season where it seemed they had no hope.

Carter, on the other hand, as soon as he learned he was traded to Columbus, he basically threw in the towel. I can understand that to an extent. You go from an annual Cup contender to a team that's struggled every year since they've existed...that's gotta be a rough feeling. I get that, I do. At the same time though, you're also a professional athlete essentially guaranteed to make millions of dollars for the next decade, so suck it up and deal with it like a man. You can only imagine how relieved he must be to get out of dodge.

Carter's not the only one happy with the trade, however. Earlier tonight, Richards tweeted his feelings on the subject:

Who knows, though? With Richards and Carter being released from the time-out corner and allowed to play together again, maybe they learned their lesson and LA can get back on track scoring goals and winning games. Time's running out on the season and probably even GM Dean Lombardi's paycheck.

Brian Burke on TSN1050

If you've got an extra 17 minutes, go ahead and listen to Brian Burke talking about everything from the Leafs' goalie situation, to Rick Nash, and even about Lent (including how he quit drinking for the month of January). It's a long clip as I said, and takes roughly a good minute and a half to get into the good stuff, but it's still rather entertaining, as one can imagine with Brian Burke being handed a microphone.

Prospect Profile: Petr Mrazek

It's been a while since I've updated this, but there's been some writer's block, some apathy, and just plain being busy, so I apologize. However, I figure I should get back into this because it's something I've enjoyed, so without further ado, I present you: Petr Mrazek.

Name: Petr Mrazek

Birth Date: February 14, 1992

Birth Place: Ostrava, Czechoslovakia

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 184 pounds

Position: Goalie

Catching Hand: Left

Drafted: 2010, 5th round, 141st overall by the Detroit Red Wings

When I first heard about this kid, my reaction was a big "meh". A goalie in the fifth round, big deal, right? But then I thought about it. How often do the Wings pick gems of players in the late rounds? The correct answer is "fairly often", with Datsyuk and Zetterberg being the two prime examples.

So this got me thinking, maybe Kenny Holland knows what he's doing. Then again, maybe not. Perhaps he picked a goalie just to have another goalie. Who knows? The more I heard about this Mrazek kid, though, the more I became optimistic that he has some real potential. I was unable to watch the World Juniors this year, but from what I heard, this guy was a real treat to watch.

Justin Goldman of the The Goalie Guild describes Mrazek as follows:

This highlight video seems to verify these claims, too.

Petr is now in his third season with his junior team, the Ottawa 67s, and while his stats aren't necessarily anything to write home about...they're not too shabby either. Improving from a 3.00 GAA in 2009-2010 to a 2.84 in each of this season and last, he's clearly improving. Side that with an improving save percentage of .905 to .920 (currently .916 this season), Mrazek could definitely be on his way to the big leagues in a few years.

Houston Aeros Player Suspended for Two Games

The Internet can be a powerful place. Houston Aeros forward, Justin Fontaine, found that out Sunday night after he used a "gay slur" in a Twitter exchange with a teammate. Minnesota Wild report, Michael Russo, reports that Fontaine and a teammate were going on about the Grammys when the incident occurred. Fontaine has since removed the tweet and repeatedly apologized, but has also been suspended for the next two games.

Fontaine is a 24 year old right-handed right winger listed at 5'10" and 170 pounds. He was born in Bonnyville, Alberta and played college hockey for the University of Minnesota-Duluth for four years in the WCHA before signing with the Wild organization as a free agent this season.

Prospect Profile: Emerson Etem

Name: Emerson Etem

Birth Date: June 16, 1992

Birth Place: Long Beach, California

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 194 pounds

Position: Forward

Hand: Left

Drafted: 29th overall in 2010 by the Anaheim Ducks

Emerson initially got into hockey by watching his brother, Martin, play roller hockey. Emerson followed his path and eventually got into ice hockey. When he was 14, Emerson moved to Minnesota to play for Shattuck-Saint Mary's, similar to Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.

While playing with Shattuck-Saint Mary's, he led the team to a third place finish at the Tier I 14 and under 2007 Championship in Amherst, New York. Even though he was drafted by the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL in 2007, he did not start his career there until the 2009-2010 season. For the 2008-2009 season, he moved on to play with the National Team Development Program in Michigan.

Joining Medicine Hat for the 2009-2010 season, he scored 37 goals and 28 assists for 65 points in 72 games. The following season, even though he played in only 65 games, Etem scored 45 goals and 35 assists for 80 points. He's on pace for another stellar year this season, as he recently scored 51 goals in 50 games with the Tigers and already has 89 points through 50 games.

Pretty impressive for a kid from Southern California, no?