The Devils have a hot line again — Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, and Patrik Elias are scoring like crazy for New Jersey. It's the first time the Devils have had a genuine, pure scoring line since the A-Line was broken up two seasons ago.
That's a good thing, right?
Wrong. The Devils just don't do scoring lines anymore. Organizationally, it's seen as a weakness:

The Devils won three Stanley Cups in the past nine years by putting tough, fast players on the ice against other team's superstars. Scoring became a lot less important to the Devils because by eliminating opposing scorers the Devils just needed one goal to win.
For the many who believe that NHL attendance and viewership is predicated on scoring, it's a nightmare. But for Devils fans who only care about about winning, the system has worked pretty well.
In fact, the concept has worked so well for the Devils that Lou Lamoriello, their GM, has taken the idea to heart, and worked very, very hard to make sure the team never has any offensive player that can classified as a star. Marquee players like Alexander Mogilny, Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora have all left the Swamp rather unceremoniously.

After all of last season's rumors that Miroslav Satan was out Buffalo's door and after Satan's struggles at the beginning of this season and after Satan's regaining his strong form, the trade rumors are back.
Satan, long rumored to be wanting out of Buffalo, seems to have made his peace with the Sabres, doing a victory lap in what he seemed to think could be his final Buffalo appearance in a Sabres uniform.
Where could Satan be going? Who knows. Anywhere. Everywhere. I thought Sergei Gonchar was heading for Tampa. Then he went to Boston. I'm going with Tampa again.
Also, the Flames put goalie Roman Turek on waivers. If that had happened a few days ago, I would have said there's no way anyone will take the constantly struggling goalie. But then St. Louis was actually able to trade away Brent Johnson, their constantly struggling goalie. So apparently one team's trash is another team's treasure. In the future, all NHL trades will take place through ebay. Mark my words.

You've got to love Steve Sullivan in Nashville. A three point night against Pittsburgh in a 9-4 Predator victory.
Is there a reason the Penguins are allowed to still play? Besides to beat or tie the Islanders?
And did anyone know Sullivan could be such an impact player? So many surprises in the South. First I find out Nashville has a team, and then it turns out the team is good. What a week for me!

Sorry for the light posting. My freaking roof has been leaking for two days, though. If anyone knows of any nice apartments in the Astoria/Long Island Cityish part of Queens, feel free to drop me a line at puck-at-popupdate.com.
Now, the hockey:

Rumor has it the Kings are actually almost healthy.
That's the first time anyone has had that thought in almost two seasons.
Marty Straka is expected to play against the Wild tonight.
Jason Holland and Dustin Brown also might be back in the line-up.
The Kings' two big scratches are Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh, who have been off the ice for over a year. Coach Andy Murray said he has no idea if and when they'll play again. But LA is getting pretty good at playing without them. They're hanging onto that eighth playoff spot.

The Blues can't catch a break.
They're on the outside of the playoffs and they went down to Calgary 4-2.
The Blues could be missing the playoffs for the first time in 24 years.
I'd be pretty scared to lose if I were the Blues.
Apparently, new coach Mike Kitchen once attacked a teammate when the teammate wasn't trying his all to win.
But not in a bad way. Kitchen just has a lot of energy.

I'm curious what's going on with Sergei Gonchar.
Caps GM George McPhee says he's about to pull the trigger on a deal.
But since everyone knows how desperate the Capitals are to unload Gonchar and his $3.65 million contract, you have to wonder how eager other teams are to give up anything in return for the loan of the defenseman.
I'm not sure why, but I kind of have a feeling Gonchar might end up in Tampa. Their powerplay is pretty average. Gonchar would really perk it up. He's only got four powerplay goals this season, but he plays for the Caps — he's not working with much.
Prepare to be shocked.
UPDATE: Prepare to be shocked...by how wrong I was.
Gonchar is a Bruin.

Drew Sharp from the Free Press defends Detroit's acquisition of Robert Lang from the Caps.
He talks about how the Wings use flashy free agents to enhance their home-grown talent.
But even if the Wings didn't cultivate any of their own talent, they'd still be well within their rights grabbing Lang. Detroit didn't sign Lang to a contract Washington couldn't afford long-term. The Capitals spent beyond their means and that's why they had to jettison all of their talent. Why shouldn't Detroit capitalize on Washington's fiscal mismanagement? I swear. If Adam Smith were alive, I'd totally have him running my club.
Oh. And Lang had three assists in his first game as a Red Wing. Detroit beat Philly 4-2.

The New York Times got Scotty Bowman to weigh in with his thoughts on how hockey's flow can be improved.
It's a combination of the usual stuff ('make the neutral zone bigger') and the unusual (the goalie could handle the puck behind the goal line but couldn't move it past it).
I think the best thing the league can do to preserve the flow of the game is to not strike next season.
That's just me, though. I'm no fancy coach or anything.