NHL Players of the Week: 12/6 through 12/12

By Dara Heaps

1. Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks. Daniel has points in all but 2 games since returning from a broken foot on November 22nd. This week he notched his 3rd career hat trick Thursday and added 2 goals in 2 assists in his other 2 games this week. He and brother Henrik have combined for 14 points this week, which brings me to my 2nd star…

2. Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks. Henrik’s seven points this week all came in the form of assists, pushing him to 4th overall in assists and tied for 2nd in points with Marian Gaborik. Henrik assisted on 4 of brother Daniel’s 5 goals this week and notched his 500th career point with his 3-assist effort Saturday night against the Minnesota Wild.

3. Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings. Howard won 2 of 3 games this week with a sparkling .951 save percentage. The Wings seem to always be looking for goaltending and it looks like they have a replacement for Chris Osgood. The Wings haven’t been the past dominant selves but goaltending seems to be sorted out, for not.

Honorable Mentions:

Alex Ovechkin had 3 goals and 4 assists over 4 games this week, including 2 goals in his return game from suspension. … Matt Stajan was solid for the Leafs, scoring 3 goals and 3 assists. … Niclas Bergfors is making a strong case for the Calder so far this season. He scored 3 goals and an assist over 4 games. … Tomas Plekanec is playing for a big extension so far this year. He notched 6 assists in 4 games, including a 3 assist effort against Ottawa. … Ray Whitney scored the game winning goal for Carolina against Pittsburgh Monday night, helping the Canes win their first game of the season on the road. Whitney also scored 2 against Ottawa Saturday. … Semyon Varlamov stopped all 26 shots for his second shutout of the season before sustaining a lower body injury. … After having a career-high 7 game point streak, Eric Fehr hasn’t had a point in 3 straight. … The Edmonton Oilers have won 5 in a row all on the road and goaltender Jeff Drouin-Deslauries has been key in those wins. He’s won all 5 of those games for the Oil. … Colorado netminder Peter Budaj records a shutout against St. Louis Monday night, stopping 35 shots. Wojtek Wolski had 3 assists in the win. … Phoenix goalie Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 28 saves for the Coyotes, earning the shutout against Minnesota Monday night. … Martin Erat notched his 2nd career hat trick Tuesday night against Vancouver. He also had an assists. … The Flyers ended a 5-game losing streak and new head coach Peter Lavoiolette got his first win Tuesday night with a 6-2 win over the Islanders. Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux each had 2 goals. … Kyle Okposo had 2 assists in every game he played last week (3). Teammate John Tavares had 4 goals in that span. … Jaroslav Halak was stellar Tuesday for the Canadiens, stopping 45 of 46 shots for the win. … Saku Koivu scored 2 goals and 3 assists for the Ducks this week. … Ryan Miller stopped 35 shots for his 4th shutout of the year and 16th of his career Wednesday night against Washington. … Steve Mason played like his Calder-winning self on Wednesday against the Panthers, earning his first shutout of the season. Mason had 10 as a rookie last season. … Blues netminder Ty Conklin stopped 42 shots against his former Detroit team for the shutout. … Did you know Detroit’s opponent has scored first in 21 of 32 games this season? … Henrik Lunqvist was fantastic in the Rangers’ OT loss in Chicago, stopping 39 of 41 shots and posting a .951 save percentage. … Niklas Backstrom stopped all 22 of Colorado’s shots Wednesday for his first shutout of the season. … Ryane Clowe’s career-best 10 game point streak came to an end Friday night. … Did you know Boston’s Tuukka Rask hasn’t lost in regulation since November 16th? … Ottawa netminder Brian Elliott posted his first shutout of the season playing in place of injured started Pascal Leclaire on Thursday, stopping all of Philadelphia’s 23 shots. … Alex Semin scored 5 points this week for the Capitals (2+3). … Patrick Lalime was stellar Friday night stopping 39 of 40 shots for the Buffalo win. … Dustin Penner lead the Oilers to a 5-3 come-from-behind win, scoring a goal and 3 assists on Friday Gilbert Brule had 2 goals and an assist. … Martin Havlat has been solid for the Wild, scoring 2 goals in 3 assists in his past 2 games. … Despite stopping 42 of 44 shots, Evgeni Nabokov’s Sharks couldn’t pull out a win on Friday against Dallas. … Dwayne Roloson made 36 saves for a 3-2 OT win against the Bruins on Saturday night. Roloson does not look like he’s 40. … Alexei Kovalev scored 3 goals against the Canes on Saturday, the second goal being his 400th career goal. … Jonas Hiller got his first win in 4 starts, stopping 35 of 36 shots Columbus threw at him. … Did you know that all 3 of Florida and Pittsburgh’s meeting this year have been 3-2 Pittsburgh wins, all wins in extra time? … Todd Bertuzzi scored 4 goals for Detroit in 2 games this week. … Did you know Dallas has gone to extra time a league-high 14 times this season?

Notes:

-Darren McCarty retired after 15 years in the NHL. McCarty won 4 Stanley Cups, all with the Detroit Red Wings.
-Phoenix defenseman Ed Jovanoski was suspended for 2 games for hitting Andrew Ebbett in the head with his forearm Monday night.

Milestones:

-Martin Brodeur tied Terry Sawchuk’s shutout record at 103 Monday night with a 3-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
-Montreal forward Georges Laraque notched this 100th career assist Monday.
-Leafs forward Lee Stempniak got his 100th carreer assist.
-Radek Dvorak played his 1,000th career game Monday.
-Patrik Bergulind played his 100th career game.
-Darcy Tucker played his 900th career game.
-Chris Pronger earned his 1,500th career penalty minute Tuesday.
-Anaheim forward Dan Sexton scored his first NHL goal Tuesday. He also set a rookie record with 9 shots on goal.
-Matthew Lombardi recorded his 200th NHL point.
-Buffalo forward Nathan Gerbe scored his first NHL goal Wednesday.
-Luke Schenn played his 100th NHL game.
-RJ Umberger recorded his 100th career assist.
-Patrick Sharp scored his 100th career goal with Chicago.
-Jay Bouwmeester played his 373rd consecutive game Friday night, the longest of active players.
-Islanders forward Rob Schremp scored his first NHL goal.
-Patrick Elias scored his 300th career goal Saturday night.
-Jere Lehtinen scored his 500th NHL point.
-Andrew Brunette played in his 900th career game.

Injury Report:

-Alexander Edler (VAN), arm, unknown.
-Eric Brewer (STL), back, 2-4 weeks.
-Ray Emery (PHI), abdomen surgery, 6 weeks.
-Tim Jackman (NYI), unknown.
-Sean Bergenheim (NYI), unknown.
-Paul Mara (MTL), shoulder, unknown.
-Brian Pothier (WSH), undisclosed.
-Erik Cole (CAR), upper body, 3 weeks.
-Chad Larose (CAR), unknown.
-Dan Cleary (DET), shoulder separation, 1 month.
-Derek Dorsset (CJB), hand, unknown.
-Wayne Simmonds (LAK), torn meniscus, 2 months.
-Mike Grier (BUF) has missed 3 games due to the death of his mother.

Rob Scuderi (LAK), Brian Rafalski (DET), Vesa Toskala (TOR), Brendan Morrison (WSH), Peter Mueller (PHX), Jay Pandolfo (NJD), Cam Ward (CAR), Wade Redden (NYR) and Mike Knuble (WSH) all returned from injury.