Thin Blue Line: Johnson finally shining

Victoria Matiash says that Erik Johnson's breakout season shouldn't be a surprise, only that it was a year later than expected.

NHL Forecaster: Holiday traffic

The Chicago Blackhawks hit the road, heading west for the Thanksgiving week, but don't fret. In his Week 8 NHL Forecaster, Sean Allen says the Hawks will feast upon weak opponents.

Phillips scores twice as Senators chase Fleury out of net

Chris Phillips scored twice in his 800th regular-season game and Pascal Leclaire made 25 saves, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

The quarter-season stock report: East

Puck Prospectus uses its preseason projections to measure some of the Eastern Conference's most intriguing teams at the quarter pole and assess their chances of securing a playoff bid moving forward.

Story | Conversation | November 17, 2009

Best and worst value players

Craig Anderson and Dustin Penner not only help on the ice, but they're soft on the pocketbook, too.

Story | Conversation | November 09, 2009

NHL Forecaster: Wild, wild week

Sean Allen previews Week 4 of the NHL season, advising fantasy owners to load up on Nashville Predators opponents, including the Minnesota Wild.

Burnside & LeBrun: Our Top 10 lists ... rookies, sophomores and players with something to prove

...camp with a minor heart issue, but the Leafs hope he's the next Henrik Lundqvist. Alex Goligoski, D, Pittsburgh Penguins With the departure of Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill from the Stanley Cup...

2009-10 Team Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey Weighing heavily on Sid and the Penguins' minds this season: avoiding the Cup hangover. 10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ...

Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin, center, of Russia, celebrates with teammates Alex Goligoski, left, and Sidney Crosby after Malkin's third goal of the game against the Ottawa Senators...

Open Ice: New Year's resolutions for all 30 teams

Sean Allen helps all 30 NHL teams formulate fantasy-friendly resolutions for the rest of the season.

QOTW answers: Boston (surprise) and Dallas (bust) are on your early radar

Hockey is back in Boston, folks. The red-hot Bruins absolutely dominated talk in our latest Question of the Week, where I asked you puckheads to name ...

We're getting some vibes ... on all 30 NHL teams

Who better than John Buccigross to take the early pulse of this NHL season? He gives his vibes for all 30 teams.

Familiar ring to Eastern Conference outlook

John Buccigross continues his season preview with a look at the East, and there's a familiar ring to it.

Penguins spoil shutout, but Sens leave Sweden with three of four points

Dany Heatley scored two more goals and Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson had two assists for the Senators, who beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 to split their NHL opening weekend series in Sweden.

With Gonchar out for long haul, Penguins look at their blue-line options

Having lost his top defenseman for four to six months, Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero was still able to look at the bright side Tuesday: at some point this season, Sergei Gonchar will be back in the lineup.