
San Jose and Colorado still have unblemished records with 6-0-0 each to start the season. San Jose is always a strong team so no surprise they are cooking with gas. San Jose has made the playoffs for the last 8 years dating back to 2006. There was no Stanley Cup awarded in 2005 because of the lockout and before that the Sharks made the playoffs every year since 1998 except for 2003. Dating back the franchise's birth in 1992 the Sharks have only missed the playoffs 5 times! Surprisingly Colorado hasn't made the playoffs since the 2009-10 season. You could say the Colorado Avalanche had beginners luck....in 1995 the Quebec Nordique relocated to Colorado and became the Avalanche. In their first year the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup. They continued to make the playoffs for the next 5 years and won the Cup again in 2001. The avalanche qualified for the playoffs 3 more times before the 1995 lockout and since the lockout have only made the playoffs 3 out of the last 8 years. Ironically the last time the Avalanche made the playoffs they were eliminated in 6 games by the San Jose Sharks. So really as you can see there can be no rhyme or reason to NHL stats. Another fun fact? The Toronto Maple Leafs were the only team to have not made the playoffs since the 2004-05 lockout. They snapped the drought last year by making the playoffs. They pushed the Boston Bruins to a Game seven but lost. This year however they have already collected 12 points!
Jason Spezza captain of the Ottawa Senators recorded a "Natural hat Trick" Tuesday night vs the Phoenix Coyotes. Remember a natural hat trick is 3 consecutive goals by one player. The Finnish Flash Teemu Selanne scored his first goal of the season last night in Anaheim. Selanne had actually broken his stick, as he skated to the bench for a new one his team kept pressing into the Calgary Flames zone. A couple of Selanne's teammates offered him their sticks so he could finish his shift. There was no need because the Anaheim equipment manager was on it and handed Selanne his backup stick. What happened next? Selanne joined the play, scored the goal and it ended up being the game winner!
Above you can enjoy Spezza hat trick highlights and below the Higgins and Kesler goals from Tuesday. And Finally check out the Selanne goal from last night!