Struggling teams

First off, I'd like to respond to a comment a friend of mine made about my last blog entry. Yes, Martin Gerber is simply having a cold streak and should break out of it soon. Also, while Gerber was having this bad streak, the team in front of him was playin the worst defence I've seen since a year ago, when -guess who- Gerber and the Sens started the season very poorly. I have optimism that Gerber may rebound from his recent struggles, but he probably won't tear up the league like he did at the start of the season. Right now, it's Ray Emery's job to lose in Ottawa.

Now for a small feature: struggling teams. We'll take a look at a few struggling teams. I'll cite the problem and then propose a solution.

SAN JOSE SHARKS

Problem: Sure, the Sharks have won 4 of 5, but Buffalo destroyed them 7-1 at home a couple nights ago. While Nabokov has been phenomenal, the problem lies in the secondary scoring. 21 points separate Joe Thornton, the team's leading scorer, from the team's second-leading scorer. Ouch.

Solution: Slap Patrick Marleau in the face. This guy has 13 points in 28 games, and he's getting paid 4.5 million $. That's a few million less than, say Alexei Yashin, but that doesn't excuse Marleau from his pitiful season.

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Problem: We're already seeing the effects of depending too much on the power-play, as only Chris Higgins, Kyle Chipchura, Roman Hamrlik, and Steve Begin are not in the minus department. Andrei Markov is an astounding -9 so far. Even-strength, the Habs are still struggling, and goaltending seems to have taken a dip. Sure, Alex Kovalev has a decent amount of points, but 8 of his 12 goals have been via power-play.

Solution: Better even-strength play. Guy Lafleur was partly right when he said that Montreal has 4 4th lines. Productive hockey players have to be able to produce even-strength, and we have not seen that from the likes of Saku Koivu, Micheal Ryder, etc. Alex Kovalev is also capable of doing more.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Problem: Marty Havlat is back, but Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have been pretty silent lately. Also, Khabibulin seems to be going through one of those cold streaks.

Solution: Get the youngsters going and give Patrick Lalime more playing time while Khabibulin is not performing: he seems to be making a decent comeback. However, don't be surprised if the Hawks continue sliding. Many would be surprised if they made the play-offs in the tough Western Conference.