Geez. The Thrasher's season looked over before it started, what with the death of Dan Snyder and Dany Heatley's involvement.
But the personal horror of it all aside, Atlanta is hot. They're undefeated at home. And Ilya Kovalchuk put up his second hat trick of the week against the Predators.
His last one was October 18 against the Blackhawks.
I, like a lot of other people, thought the Thrashers would crash due to a leadership vacuum. Instead, Kovalchuk has stepped into Heatley's skates big time. True, it might be an emotional rush from a very trying season. But I think it has more to do with Atlanta coaches, past and present, trying to teach Kovalchuk defensive responsibility. It seems to be keeping his head in the game more.
Oh. And Kovalchuk didn't have the only hat trick last night. Peter Forsberg also took one home, as the Avs beat the Oilers 6-1.
I guess they're not missing Paul Kariya yet.

Well you get what you pay for.
Colorado got Paul Kariya for pennies, and now he's injured.
He hurt his wrist against the Bruins and now he's out indefinitely.
Interestingly, upon hearing the Kariya news, Colorado grabbed Steve Konowalchuk from the Caps for gritty-yet-struggling Bates Battaglia. So the Avalanche lost an offensive threat and filled the hole by swapping grinders.
Very interesting.
Perhaps it has to do with Colorado's problems getting their two superstar-laden lines to mesh. Coach Tony Granato actually broke up the lines against the Bruins.
Defenseman Adam Foote had to go all Dr. Phil on the team, reminding them to just play hockey and not try to make the highlight reel.
So maybe Kariya's injury is a good thing for the Avs. He's not exactly known as a strong two-way player. Now the team has one less forward to worry about on the ice.

I love veterans like Joe Nieuwendyk. They have so much history in the league. Every place they play in and visit has meaning.
Take his return to Dallas as a Maple Leaf. He's bringing former Dallas goalie Eddie Belfour with him. And he's even bringing Bryan Marchment, who infamously blew out Nieuwendyk's knee in a dirty play back in the 1998 playoffs. Shockingly, Marchment wasn't even a Leaf yet. I guess he just played like one.
So Nieuwendyk brought Dallas' old goalie and a team villain into town with him. It was like a living hockey history tour.
Oh. And just to put some icing on the cake, Nieuwendyk knocked in the game-winner for Toronto.
Never let it be said the man can't make an entrance or an exit.

I sort of didn't realize it, but Jaromir Jagr, who looked so freaking sharp in that first game of the season against the Islanders, is having a rough time of it.
He has no points in the last four games. He's arguing with coach Bruce Cassidy. He even broke up with his girlfriend, a former Miss Slovakia. He's not living with his family any more, either.
All reports basically say that Jagr is just really depressed.
It's no secret the Caps have been trying to trade him. The question is, is Jagr, who by all accounts wants out of Washington, shooting himself in the foot by not being a monster on the ice? Will anyone want what's perceived as damaged (and expensive) goods?
The fact of the matter is, no matter where Jagr goes, he'll be playing limited ice time (just about everyone tries to roll four lines) in a defensive system. Even in Detroit. Even in New York.
Me? I think Jagr should terminate his contract with Washington, which I'm sure they'd do in a second. Then he should play in Pittsburgh for the league minimum. I really can't imagine anything making him happier (not that I know him or anything).

So the Blackhawks are sending injured forward Eric Daze to the Mayo Clinic for tests on his back.
He's missed the last three games due to stiffness.
This is totally and irresponsibly speculative, but I wonder if the Hawks aren't trying to establish that maybe the pain is in Daze's head. Back pain is notoriously psychogenic. I don't know of anything in Daze's past to suggest the pain is anything less than real. I'm just wondering what reason they could have for rushing him to the Mayo Clinic instead of resting him a few more games. Sure, they need him, but things are so bad in Chicago, how much is he really going to help?

Finding games a little slow this season?
You're not alone.
There were 18 shut-outs in the season's first 71 games (second item).
Things are pretty crazy. Detroit went crazy against Montreal backup goalie Mathieu Garon Monday night and couldn't crack him. Sure, there was a huge bad luck element for Detroit, but still. They had nothing to shoot at. Although, to be fair, when Brett Hull had the empty net to shoot at, that didn't go so well.

Defenseman Bryan Berard's agent is still trying to find him a team.
Right now his agent is chasing ambulances. If your team loses a defensemen, you're probably going to get a call from Tom Laidlaw, Berard's agent. In fact, he should probably change his name to Tom Laidlow: "Was your defensemen laid low? Then call Tom Laidlow!"
So far, Laidlaw has bugged the Blues, who lost Al MacInnis, and the Wings, who lost Derian Hatcher.
No one wants to spend the dough Berard is looking for, though. Since he allegedly turned down a $1.8 million offer from Boston, he's got to be looking for close to $2 million, a lot of money for a player who can be strong, but doesn't seem to see the ice very well, probably due to what was believed to be a career-ending eye injury.
Jim Kelley, now with ESPN.com, late of FoxSports.com, says Berard will end up an LA King. Kelley also cannot confirm or deny rumors that other NHL teams won't top Boston's initial offer for Berard as part of an unspoken agreement.

Sorry this is a little late, but somehow I missed it.
The Penguins beat the Red Wings this weekend.
How weird is that?
Pittsburgh's Rico Fata had two goals. That dude is pure grit. No talent, but pure grit. And I love that his name sounds like a cheese: "I'll have the salad with some shaved Rico Fata over it. Thanks!"
Ewww. Shaved Rico Fata.
In other Red Wing news, spare goalie Curtis Joseph is starting a rehab assignment for Detroit's AHL team tomorrow. Between Arturs Irbe in the ECHL and CuJo in the AHL, the place to see quality NHL goaltending is the minor league.

The Mighty Ducks are still winless after losing to Boston in overtime Sunday (login: laexaminer; password: laexaminer).
Shockingly, Anaheim lost to Boston when veteran Steve Rucchin was tricked into leaving the puck for Boston.
Of course, this is a fairly common ploy in hockey. You call opposing players by their nicknames or mimic their on-ice stick taps, hoping to trick someone into a pass. But Rucchin's way too old to be falling for that.
The Ducks are now 0-4-0-1.
Things are pretty crappy for them mentally, too. Instead of being disgusted with themselves, they seem to be finding little ribbons of happiness to sustain them through the long season. After losing 3-0 to Ottawa, coach Mike Babcock said it was OK because this was the "first time we played as a team this year...".
Teams need to be scared to lose. Coaches aren't there to make players feel good about themselves. If Babcock doesn't bear down and give his players some guff about their sloppy play, they're going to be golfing in April. Maybe even earlier.
Anaheim was a tough team last season, and this year they have more talent. But it doesn't mean anything if everyone is content to lose.

Geez. The Wings kind of have rotten luck.
Defenseman Derian Hatcher is out four to six months with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He injured it playing against Vancouver.
Hatcher was obviously a key part of the Wings' plans for this season. Worst case scenario has him back for the playoffs. But then he's playing without the benefit of 82 games worth of getting-to-know-you time with his team.
Spare goalie Curtis Joseph's ankle is getting better. He might even be ready to play soon. While it may sound like good news, it really isn't. It means the Wings now have to deal with unloading Joseph and his gigantic contract. That means giving him ice time to shake what his mama gave him. That's ice time that's not going to regular starter Dominik Hasek or backup Manny Legace. Plus, you know the Wings are going to have to take a big hit to unload Joseph. They could end up eating more than half of his contract.
So while it's good news for Joseph that he's getting closer to leaving Detroit, it's bad news for the Wings.

So who would have thought the Thrashers, with all their tragedy, and their lack of depth, would be undefeated five games into the season?
Certainly not me.
Saturday night the Thrashers whipped Chicago 7-2.
But you know who the real victim of the Thrashers' hot start is? Goalie Byron Dafoe, who is trapped behind hot goalie Pasi Nurminen on the depth chart.
Of course, with former Carolina goalie Arturs Irbe playing in the ECHL, Dafoe should probably just be glad he's still a part of the NHL.