Top Line: Ben Scrivens sets modern record; outdoor game a bore; more links
The Oilers' defense kept goalie Ben Scrivens busy, but he was up to the task. (Derek Leung/Getty Images)
By Allan Muir
An annotated guide to this morning's must-read hockey stories:
• Hey, remember a couple of weeks back when Ben Scrivens was traded to the Oilers and we all thought his numbers would suffer playing behind Edmonton's schoolyard defense? Funny thing. Turns out that the more shots he sees, the more he stops. Last night it was a post-expansion NHL record of 59 as he led his team to a wildly undeserved 3-0 win over the Sharks.
• It was a nice effort and all, but Scrivens still can't hold a candle to this 15-year-old girl.
• New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is always doing the unexpected ... but would he really trade Martin Brodeur?
• Adam Proteau came away from last night's Rangers-Islanders outdoor game at Yankee Stadium with a realization: Playing the game outdoors doesn't make bad hockey more watchable.
• Reports indicate next year's outdoor schedule could include as many as four games, with several offbeat locations in the mix.
• And maybe one well-trodden one.
• SI's Brian Cazeneuve was given behind-the-scenes access at the games in Los Angeles and New York. Here's his collection of scenes and heards.
• "I couldn’t remember how to get to the rink for half the season. I was totally forgetful. I couldn’t remember what time it was, what I was supposed to be doing. It was just one turn to the right, one turn to the left to get to the rink, but I got lost just going there. Everybody wanted to play me in the simplest of card games because they knew they could beat me.” That's former NHL enforcer Gino Odjick speaking candidly for the first time about his battle with concussion-related mental illness.
• Yes, the Red Wings are banged up, but that's not their biggest problem as they attempt to keep their record-setting playoff streak alive.
• Heading into their first meeting of the season (wait, it's almost February--how is this possible?), the Bruins and Canadiens are charging in different directions.
• If the NHL decides to hold back its players from attending the Sochi Games, the fault lies squarely in the laps of the IOC.
• Canada has no contingency plan in the event of an NHL pullout from Sochi? Hey, Bob Nicholson: I'm old and slow, but my bags are packed if you need me.
• The NHL has "compromised its level of play, put its players at greater risk of injury, and turned itself nearly inside out in order to shut itself down at the worst possible time," so it can participate in the Winter Olympics. Bob Ford clearly isn't a hockey fan.
• Kari Lehtonen is a terrible artist, but that didn't stop him from designing a sweet mask for Sochi.
• The Winnipeg Jets ice the youngest team in the league, but that's not an excuse in the eyes of coach Paul Maurice. That's an asset.
• Zach Parise's 14-game absence provided an opportunity for younger players to step up and prove their value, but the Wild are a better team now that the veteran is back in the lineup.
• The Maple Leafs are scoring fewer goals, allowing more, and have a brutal penalty kill ... yet they're still banking points more often than not. James Mirtle explains this paradox.
• "I would have to say that's probably one of the nicer goals I've seen this year," said the color commentator. "You think?" said everyone who was watching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdFaaisiYPo#t=13
• Dan O'Neill references the art of aging whiskey and risky club selection at The Masters Tournament to explain how Alex Steen needs to find symmetry in his game after returning from injury. No, really.
• You know how some stats catch you completely off guard? Yeah, this is one of them.
• Legendary coach Clare Drake joins Steve Yzerman and women's hockey great France St-Louis as the 2014 recipients of the Order of Hockey in Canada.