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Morning Skate: The Blues and Stars finally seem to hate each other
Monday morning hockey includes budding rivalries, WJC action and a surprising leader atop the Atlantic.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.
★★★
In some ways, I miss the old Western Conference division formats.
At least, I did for a while. Rivalries are a hard thing to develop on the fly, and the old Pacific, Northwest and Central divisions created hatreds that still run deep throughout each fanbase. Just ask a Stars fan what they think of the Ducks. (Or Kings. Or Sharks. Or Coyotes. The Pacific was toxic, man.) Or what Blackhawks and Oilers fans hated about the Red Wings and Avalanche.
When the NHL shook up and consolidated their six divisions into four a couple years ago, it was only natural division foes would be milquetoast at first. Honeymoon periods after division changes are rarely feisty. But quality and familiarity breeds contempt, and the Central Division’s teams are starting to brim with loathing for one another.
This is great to see, since the new division means most teams are just a two-hour plane flight away from each other. When the Stars and Blues started trading haymakers, insults and nut shots on Sunday it was like watching two angry brothers wrestle each other over a toy. The rivalries in the Central are young, unbridled and (most importantly) feel natural. And Sunday's tussle in Dallas is further evidence it's offering the best hockey in the game right now.
- By the way, Dallas has taken down St. Louis, Chicago, Montreal and Washington in the past few weeks with relative ease. They have nothing left to prove: they are a legitimate contender.
- Guess who snuck up on everyone to take the Atlantic lead? The Panthers.
- Just a week after completing his stint in the NHL's substance abuse program, Zack Kassian was traded from the Canadiens to Edmonton for goalie Ben Scrivens.
- Oh, you wanted scores? HAVE SOME SCORES:
OTT 3, BOS 1
FLA 3, CBJ 2
TOR 3, NYI 1
DAL 3, STL 0
CAR 2, CHI 1
WPG 1, PIT 0
ARZ 2, COL 1 (OT)
ANA 4, PHI 2
CGY 5, EDM 3
- Hockey is one of those sports where you can completely dominate your opponent and still lose. The Bruins learned that hard lesson on Sunday.
- Surprise! The Blue Jackets lost again. Apparently The Cannon didn't include a win in their list of stocking-stuffer gifts to the team.
- The Hurricanes have won six of their last 10.
- Rangers fans should be prepared for a trade in the near future.
- Arizona showed something that was lacking last season: Attitude.
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