-A couple of final NHL thoughts on this busy night:

-These Sharks ‘casters are quite the funny duo. Their team is down 4-1 to Minnesota late in the third but it didn’t stop one from thanking a sushi place for “sending up an icecream sundae with lots of whip cream.” Only out in the Pacific. And after Sharks’ captain Patrick Marleau scored during 4-on-4 to break up the shutout with 6:46 left, the announcer used the Jim Carrey line from Dumb and Dumber at the end where he says, “So you’re telling me there’s still a chance?” Good stuff. I got to give the Sharks credit though. Almost as if they heard them, they’re still competing extremely hard here and drew a penalty with 3:41 left down three. Most teams would just toss in the towel. But not this San Jose team with so much firepower.

-So can anyone beat Buffalo? They did what they usually do this time by a 6-2 count over an overmatched Bruins team. Backup goalie Martin Biron made his second start of the season and first since October 7 but was good enough and had plenty of offensive support from the NHL’s best team who remained perfect (8-0-0) on the season. You really have to wonder if anyone can stop them. We’ve covered their offense, D and netminding and team speed plenty already. So here’s a couple of quotes via the AP story on what they’ve accomplished thus far:

Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff: “When you’ve got a group that’s playing well it’s fun to watch. I think we’re definitely enjoying this. You enjoy it for a period of time when you can reflect after a game, saying ‘Boy we made some nice plays and scored some nice goals.‘”

Leading scorer Maxim Afinogenov: “Everybody’s having fun right now. We know we have a good streak.”

Winning goalie Biron: “I don’t think anybody here thinks its easy because it’s not. We’re working extremely hard.”

Boston coach Dave “Hitler” Lewis: “They have a lot of talent, they have a lot of speed and they’re clicking. They’re the best team in the NHL for a reason.“

There’s no question, these Sabres have excellent team chemistry and are doing all the things needed to be successful. When you think about how close they were last year despite injuries to the blueline and concussed Tim Connolly, it’s not really a surprise that they have come out of the gate so well and with so much fire. Ruff also is one of the best coaches in the league which definitely helps. His guys know what’s expected now and they’re doing their best to try to deliver it. A championship. I liken their start to Rocky. Yes, I realize this is a corny analogy. But the Sabres are similar to the Philly movie icon (if you ever heard of such a thing). They’re that hardnosed prize fighter that came close to winning and now they’re hungry and have that edge. They got that eye of the tiger. As corny as it sounds, it’s true. Just watch the way they play. Find me another better team.

-In the much anticipated return of Jose Theodore to Montreal after his trade to Colorado for David Aebischer, the ex-Habs netminder who once took home a Vezina and Hart in the same season (yes this really happened I had him on my championship fantasy hockey team) decided to remind his former team why they traded him by blowing leads of 3-0 and 4-1 to lose 8-5 in a wild game which saw the Canadiens outscore the Avs 5-1 in the third. Theodore turned aside 28 of 36 shots while Aebischer stopped 33 of 38 to “outduel him.” That trade hasn’t exactly turned out great for either team. Maybe they’d like to swap their better backups too while they’re at it in Peter Budaj and Crisobal Huet. At least Theodore isn’t with Paris Hilton anymore or involved in another scandal.

Official Caps’ goalscoring race:

Alexander Semin- 8

Alexander Ovechkin- 4