The 2011-12 National Hockey League season will be remembered long-term for the arrival of the Jets in Winnipeg and the ongoing concussion problems of superstar Sidney Crosby, but the biggest on-ice story has to be the performance of the St. Louis Blues.
The NHL awards people may as well give the coach-of-the-year trophy to Ken Hitchcock right now because he took over the Blues in November when they had a 6-7 record and now they're battling it out with the powerful Bruins, Red Wings, Rangers, Black Hawks and Canucks for No. 1 overall.
And while plaudits are being tossed Hitchcock's way for his behind-the-bench miracles, save some for goalie Brian Elliott, who is the undisputed feel-good personal story of the 2011-12 campaign.
Elliott, the poster boy for NHL 'journeyman', was brought in supposedly to play a handful of games in relief of No. 1 goalie Jaroslav Halak. Instead, he has equally shared net duties with Halak and the pair have turned into a combination of Terry Sawchuk, Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy.
It's a nice chicken-and-egg situation for the Blues. What came first? Hitchcock's coaching style, with its emphasis on defence, that led to sensational puck-saving numbers for Elliott and Halak? Or was it the goaltenders' sudden reincarnation of Mr. Zero, Frankie Brimsek, that has turned Hitchcock into the NHL's 2012 genius? Hitchcock's style of play has the Blues surrendering the fewest shots per game, so it's probably a combination of both.
Since becoming the every-other-game goalie for the Blues, Elliott - whose numbers with Ottawa and Colorado last year bordered on lousy - has posted a 15-5-1 record and a 1.68 goals-against-average. Halak hasn't been too bad, either, with an average in the 2.00 range. He got off to a slow start, partially leading to Payne's demise, but went undefeated during a recent 13-game surge (10-0-3) that helped vault the Blues into the league-leading stratosphere.
The solid play of the two goaltenders, Hitchcock's coaching approach, and the Alex Pietrangelo-led defence have been key components to the Blues surge that have fans reminding themselves that in hockey, the general rule of thumb is that "defence wins championships."
We'll see in May and June whether that mantra holds true.
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: "Elin Nordegren, the former Mrs. Tiger Woods, is having her $12 million Florida mansion torn down to have a new place built. Golf historians immediately declared it the mother of all mulligans."
Comedy writer Jerry Perisho: "Donald Trump wants to build a top-level golf course in New York City on the site of a former landfill. The course will smell like Tiger Woods's divorce settlement."
Greg Connors of the Buffalo (N.Y.) News, on the Angels re-signing Kendrys Morales, out since he jumped on home plate and broke his ankle after hitting a grand slam in May 2010: "Morales's new deal has both a no-trade and no-celebration clause."
Charles Barkley, hosting Saturday Night Live, clarifying his comment in a skit that God wanted the Suns to win the NBA title when he played for them: "My bad. I didn't realize God was wearing No. 23 for the Chicago Bulls."
Norman Chad of washingtonpost.com, on Clippers' coach Vinnie Del Negro's most important job. "(He) doesn't make your team better, he just makes sure all the players get on the team bus."
Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle: "Love Dwight Howard's game . . . but how about Howard's free throws? Is that a follow-through or a karate chop? He's like a golfer who has a marvelous game, tee-to-green, then putts with an umbrella."
Len Berman of ThatsSports.com, on the 75-year anniversary Howard Hughes flying from Los Angeles to New York in a record seven hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds: "Or roughly the length of the Super Bowl pregame show."
Perisho again, after the Colts fired Jim Caldwell after a 2-14 season: "That's just two more wins than you had, and you weren't even coaching."
R.J. Currie of sportsdeke.com: "Ken Dryden told Sportsnet 590 that hockey needs to do more to cut down on brain damage. The NHL has responded by asking Dryden to stay off the radio."
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: "The Yankees - whose 2011 rotation included CC Sabathia (6 feet 7, 290 pounds), Bartolo Colon (5-11, 265) and Freddy Garcia (6-4, 250) - are about to add 6-7, 270-pounder Michael Pineda to the mix. So just what is Brian Cashman trying to assemble here, a pitching staff or an offensive line?"
Ostler again, about pro athletes tweeting before a big game: "Nothing good ever comes of an NFL player twittering. It's like wearing your jock outside your pants - there's no way to do it and come off looking cool."
Another one from Ostler, on solid football strategy for this Sunday's big game: "Establish the run, in order to set up your passing game. If that doesn't work, establish the pass, in order to set up the running game. If that doesn't work, establish the punt."
