March 5th, 2010

A couple of former Halifax Mooseheads were able to make it into the hockey world the past week. First in the NHL, where the 23-year-old, American goaltender Jeremy Duchense made his NHL debut with the Philadelphia Flyers. He has been the 7th goaltender used by the Flyers the season. He was put in the early going of the 3rd period after Brian Boucher was pulled. He faced 4 shots, and allowed one goal. He was a late call up for Philadelphia and interestingly enough, the night before Duchense was pulled in his AHL game after allowing a goal from centre ice. When he was picked in the 4th round of the '05 draft, I doubted he would ever become a NHL goaltender. Well, he got a chance to do so, and is a step closer to being a part of the show.

The other Moosehead who made news, was current player, Gabriel Desjardins who was named to the U18 Team Canada roster last week. He, along his teammates will compete in Belarus this week. Congrats and best of luck to him.

The playoffs are a week away, and there is quite the interesting battle for the last couple of spots in the East. Atlanta doesn't have enough time left, as they only have 3 games compared to Philly's and Montreal's 4 and are 3 points from 8th. I fell that Montreal is safe because of the extra game and the way Jaroslav Halak has been playing. I've been able to watch his past two shutouts and he has been wonderful. The way the Habs have been playing isn't great but they must be gaining confidence is their goaltender situation, but certainly not themselves. One player I feel who has risen his game though is Andrei Kostitsyn. He has been playing well along the boards and is in the right places. He has always seemed to be average but his play of late has shown his potential.

New York I feel will be able to sneak into the 8th place somehow, which leaves Philadelphia and Boston to duel for the 7th and 9th. It is hard to say who will be the winners, if Boston had Marc Savard then without a doubt it's Boston but will they be able to play well enough the next 3 games to get by? The win vs. Toronto was a sweater but they pulled through, but now have to face the 1st place Caps, twice. 3rd place, Buffalo is in there future to, and the Hurricanes who manage to be only 8 points behind the Bruins could surprise them.

Then again, Philadelphia has only 3 games left and have to trust that Brian Boucher can keep them in the playoffs. They have the hard working Maple Leafs and then an oh so important back-to-back vs. the New York Rangers. This whole thing is up for grabs but I see Philadelphia finishing 9th, New York 8th, and Boston 7th. Really though, who honestly knows whats going to go down? At least it's a short wait to see!

All my Best; Enjoy Life
Ryan Francis