Photo: AP
This is your weekly round up of the major stories around the hockey world.
With the NHL playoffs just weeks away this is not the time for the Detroit Red Wings to start getting injured. They have already lost Nicklas Lindstrom, Jonathan Ericsson, and Johan Franzen to injury this year. Now they are going to be without goaltender Jimmy Howard, again, as he restrianed his groin over the weekend. Detroit has been either at or near the top of the Western Conference for most of the season and are always a threat in the playoffs. However with injuries to several key players this late in the season, not only is it now threating their position in the Western Conference but also lessening the threat they pose to the rest of the West. However because this is the Red Wings when they start getting players back you can be sure they will be instantly integrated in, because Mike Babcock is pretty much an evil genius. [SB Nation] [TSN]
Monday night at Madison Square Garden the New York Ranger and New Jersey Devils broke out into one big mass fight right after the opening puck drop. Now the issue of fighting in hockey has once again been brought up by the mass media. There are those that say leave it in as it has always been a part of the game and allows the players to police themselves. Then there is the other side of the argument that says that fighting is no longer necessary as it raises the risk of concussions, and that it is driving away potential new fans of the game. [Puck Daddy]
In Canada former Junior hockey Coach Graham James was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two of his players. James had pleaded guilty in December to the sexual assault of former NHLer Theo Fleury and his cousin Todd Holt while they for James in the Western Hockey league. There has been a large negative reaction to the sentence with some such as TSN’s Bob McKenzie calling the sentence “not nearly enough”. [ESPN]
The Coyotes currently sit in 7th place in the Western Conference with 83 points and are fighting for their playoff lives with five other teams for not only the lead in the Pacific division but also the last two playoff spots. Every game at this point Phoenix almost needs to get points in to stay in the playoff race. [ESPN]
Coyotes Games Ahead:
Tuesday 5:00 PM NBCSN @ Dallas
Thursday 7:00 PM FSNAZ vs. Colorado
Saturday 7:00 PM FSNAZ @ San Jose
Sunday 6:00 PM FSNAZ vs. St. Louis
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