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With the playoffs right around the corner, there is plenty of goalie talk to go around.
Veteran Arturs Irbe was recalled from Lowell of the American Hockey League after being sent down on Feb 2. After clearing waivers, he went 0-1-1 with a 3.36 goals-against average with the Lockmonsters.
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| 2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS |
| GM |
W |
L |
T |
SV% |
GAA |
| 10 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
.927 |
2.27 |
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There was talk in Minnesota on Sunday night that Blues GM Larry Pleau was looking at Irbe -- and possibly defenseman Glen Wesley -- as the Blues look to strengthen their goaltending. The talk trickling through the Blues locker room is that the Kings may be offering Felix Potvin and defenseman Aaron Miller (although the latest news out of L.A. is he's close to re-signing) for Brent Johnson and winger Cory Stillman.
A potential deal involving Sean Burke seems extremely unlikely as his contract -- $3.25 million this season vs. Johnson's $700,000 -- is too much for the Blues. Plus, in any deal with the Blues, the Coyotes will want rookie defenseman Barret Jackman in return, which is absolutely not happening. Stay tuned.
In Minnesota, coach Jacques Lemaire has rotated his goalies with much success. He told us before our ESPN game on Sunday that he will continue to do so, but as they get closer to the end of the season, around the 10-game mark, the goalie with the hot hand will continue. If they are both hot, then he will rotate until one falls off. In Lemaire's five full seasons in New Jersey, his teams finished among the top five in goals against every season. This year, his Wild are fifth in GAA and are starting to talk about the playoffs in only their third season. Can you picture the atmosphere at the Xcel Energy Center for the Wild's first playoff game? How about them meeting the Dallas Stars in the first round? How great would that be?
Although Manny Legace played in Steve Yzerman's return on Monday vs. L.A, the Wings have to feel good about the play and the confidence level of Curtis Joseph. Cujo won four of his last five games, with the only loss coming against Vancouver. In that game, the Wings relinquished a 3-0 lead before losing 4-3, enduring some tough luck on the game-tying goal, which bounced off the referee onto Markus Naslund's stick.
Roman Cechmanek has been playing well, going 2-0-2 in his last four games while giving up just seven goals. Robert Esche played the Flyers' last game -- a 4-2 loss vs. Florida.
Burke, who sprained his knee Jan. 3, was activated by the Coyotes and lost his first game back, 4-2 to Calgary (29 saves). But while he was away, Brian Boucher was strong. He's gone 3-0-1 and surrendered only four goals in his last four games, which include a win at St. Louis and a tie at Dallas. The Coyotes have to eliminate some $10 million from their current payroll, so you have to think if they don't move Burke that they may move Boucher's contract ($2 million this season).
Let's get to the top five for this week before I get goofy with speculation:
The top five rankings:
|  | | Tugnutt |
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5. Ron Tugnutt, Dallas Stars
5 GP, 2-1-2, 1.56 GAA, .927 save percentage
This is why the Stars acquired the veteran from the Jackets. With Marty Turco out with an ankle sprain -- and who knows for how long with this type of injury -- Tugger has played great. He went 2-1-2 in his last 5 games, and although the Stars aren't giving up many quality opportunities, he has made key saves. He was the first star in the 3-1 win against the Sharks before tying Calgary, 1-1 (26 saves), and Phoenix, 2-2 (22 saves, first star). In an ESPN2 game on Sunday, Tugger made 20 saves in shutting out the Hawks, 3-0.
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|  | | Luongo |
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4. Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers
5 GP, 3-1-1, 2.56 GAA, .922 save percentage
The pesky Panthers continue to beat good teams down the stretch with help from some brilliant goaltending from Luongo. He shut out the Canadiens, 3-0, making 24 saves in a third-star performance, but that was the warm-up. He skated into Ottawa and beat the first-place Senators, 4-3 (28 saves, first star). His next game was in Philly, where he calmly beat the Flyers, 4-2, and put on a show with 44 saves (first star). He tied the Sabres, 2-2, making a quieter 23 saves in that game.
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|  | | Roy |
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3. Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche
5 GP, 4-1-0, 2.19 GAA, .931 save percentage
Though he'll be getting more offensive help with the imminent return of Joe Sakic, Roy continues to shut the door. His game is in good shape – he's 4-1-0 in his last five games and has given up 11 goals in that span. He lost 2-1 to Vancouver on a couple of brutal calls late in the game, but that was the only loss. He beat the Wild, 3-2, making 34 saves and earning the third star. He had the flu in Chicago, but hung on to win 5-4 before visiting the Penguins. Roy, who has allowed Mario Lemieux just one goal in their last eight meetings, won, 5-2. He was the first star at home in the 4-1 win vs. the Rangers, making 37 terrific saves.
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|  | | Vokoun |
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2. Tomas Vokoun, Nashville Predators
5 GP, 4-1-0, 1.81 GAA, .945 save percentage
The Predators won't go away quietly, and Vokoun is a huge reason why. He's gone 4-1-0 in his last five games and has given up only nine goals in the process. His only loss was a 4-0 defeat in Ottawa, where he still made 25 good saves. He was the first star in consecutive games – a 2-1 win vs. Anaheim (32 saves) and a 5-1 win vs. Boston (40 saves). But he wasn't done there. He earned second-star honors with 38 saves in a 4-1 win over Calgary. Then, after the loss in Ottawa, he rebounded going head-to-head with Ed Belfour in Toronto and making 21 saves in a 5-2 win.
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|  | | Snow |
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1. Garth Snow, New York Islanders
5 GP, 4-0-1, 1.36 GAA, .947 save percentage
Snow has been a real leader for the Isles with Chris Osgood out with an ankle injury. The Isles have plenty of confidence right now, especially with Snow going undefeated in his last five games (3-0-2) while giving up only nine goals. He started their tough Western road trip with a 3-2 win over the Kings (31 saves, third star). In Anaheim, he was at it again, making 29 saves in a tough 2-2 tie (third star), before earning first-star honors with 29 saves in a 3-0 win over the Sharks. Back home, Snow was strong in beating the Avalanche, 4-1, again and being named the first star with 25 saves. He also tied the Bruins 4-4.
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Darren Pang, a former goaltender with the Chicago Blackhawks, is a hockey analyst for ESPN. His goalie rankings appear every other week in Net Effect.
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