ESPN.com: NHL - In the Corners: Philly's Czech gem

Frozen Ponderings

There are rumblings out of Boston that if the Bruins continue to play well under coach Mike Keenan, the front office might extend his contract before the end of the season. Heading into Tuesday's game in New Jersey, the Bruins have won three in a row – their longest streak of the season – and are 4-1-2 in their last seven.

The Penguins proved Monday that they can win when Mario Lemieux doesn't score. But even the 3-2 win over Anaheim -- and Jean-Sebastien Aubin's 23 saves -- can't completely overshadow Saturday's 6-5 loss to the Islanders. To score five goals on the road and lose is close to unforgivable, and Aubin looked shaky for much of the game, allowing the six goals on 30 shots. The Pens added size with some recent trades, and their next move might be for a goaltender.

All the highlights showed Scott Thornton's vengeful pummeling of Jiri Fischer in Detroit's 3-2 win over San Jose on Monday night. Thornton was justifiably livid over an earlier hit from behind by Fischer. But Fischer's blood not only hid his his face but also hid a few other elements to this game that are important for the Red Wings. In the first period, Brian Marchment performed one of his patented leg checks on Tomas Holmstrom. Darren McCarty jumped Marchment in response. Second, Chris Osgood played outstanding and made 37 saves. Thirdly – and simply – the Wings won the game. It was a battle, and Detroit came out on top, while protecting each other along the way. Perhaps, a game like this shows Detroit – currently on a 5-0-1-1 streak – isn't done yet as an elite team.

Carolina is 5-0-2 in its last seven, and all of a sudden, the Canes are back in the thick of the playoff hunt. The good times could keep rolling, too. After playing in Montreal on Tuesday, the Canes play six of their next seven at home, where they are 12-5-3.

Here's a little riddle. The following profiles are for two goalies slated to be the No. 1 netminders for their respective teams coming into this season. One plays for a team doing well, while the other for a struggling squad. Can you guess who the goalies are, and why one team has overcome their brutal statistics?

Goalie A: Has started 31 games, losing 17 of them (13-17-1). His GAA is 3.43 with a save percentage of .888.

Goalie B: Has started 18 games, losing eight of them (6-8-5). His GAA is 3.40 with a save percentage of .874.

Behind the first curtain, we find Mike Richter, who has battled knee woes for the 17-24-2-1 Rangers. The other goalie is Brian Boucher, coming off (disappointingly) his amazing rookie season (20-10-3, 1.91, .918).

And therein lies the riddle. Heading into Tuesday's matchup between the Flyers and Rangers, the two clubs seem to be heading in opposite directions. In the last 10 games, Philly is 6-2-2, while the Rangers are 1-7-1-1 – the only win was a home victory over the expansion Minnesota Wild.

How can the Flyers be 21-14-9-0 with Boucher's numbers?

Because of Roman Cechmanek, that's how. Boucher's tumble has hardly been an obstacle for the Flyers – who are 14 points ahead of the Rangers – due to Cechmanek's unbelievable play. Cechmanek, the reigning Player of the Week after posting a 3-0 record (0.66 GAA, .973 save percentage), has been outstanding for Philly, perhaps, even better than Boucher was last season.

For that reason, the Flyers have been able to overcome a coaching change, the absence of Keith Jones and John LeClair – who has only played eight games all season – and the lack of return on anything in place of Eric Lindros.

Meanwhile, the only cog the Rangers are missing from their preseason plan is Vladimir Malakhov. They should be better with him in the lineup, but there's no way they should be this bad without him.

The counter-argument is that Richter has been hurting. But if he's hurt, he shouldn't play, and there should be a viable alternative if the front office doesn't think Kirk McLean can handle some of the load.

Consider that Cechmanek was chosen in the sixth round (171st overall) of last year's draft. That means the 29 other NHL teams passed on this 29-year old at least five times. Cechmanek's age probably prohibited him being picked in the first two rounds, but everyone knows the draft is an absolute crap shoot in the later rounds. Hand it to Flyers GM Bob Clarke. He didn't care that Cechmanek was a little older; he saw Cechmanek's 2.02 GAA in the Czech Elite League as well as his 1.69 GAA for the Czech National Team and took a ... flyer on him.

Think the Rangers – along with a dozen other teams – would give up a fourth-round pick for Cechmanek?

Mailbag
During the season, I'll try to answer a question or two from ESPN.com users for every edition of In the Corners. If you want to get a question answered, click here and ask away.

Question from Rob Collins, Lynbrook, N.Y.: The Canucks have emerged as one of the most dynamic and high-scoring teams in the NHL. They do however, lack the all important "consistent goaltending." Is there any chance, with guys like Dominik Hasek and Ed Belfour, maybe, becoming available, that the Canucks will go after a new goalie?

Response: Canucks GM Brian Burke recently stated that he continues to support Felix Potvin despite his 12-14-3 record and 3.01 GAA. Bob Essensa has been solid, compiling 12-3-1 record and 2.23 GAA, but few consider him capable of leading the Canucks deep into the playoffs.

All things considered with Burke's public words, it seems obvious the Canucks need better goaltending to compete for the Cup. But if Burke doesn't think his team can go too far this season, it's doubtful he'd give up young talent for a proven netminder. Odds are the Canucks will go as far as they can this season and really go for it in 2001-02.

However, Burke is a smart, creative man; anything is possible.

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com. He can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com.

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