Blog: Doing Lines, Mining Sleepers

A week left until opening night and lots of late-round gems surfacing in preseason. Sidebar: I took a half-hour break last night from the NHL to watch the second episode of 'My Name is Earl' with Jason Lee of Clerks and Mallrats fame. It's a comedy sitcom about a lovable loser/grifter who discovers karma and sets out to make amends for all the bad things he's ever done in his life. Funny show, great pretense - hey, not unlike what the NHL must do for hockey fans!

So what's the buzz? Don't know where to start having nearly overdosed on NHL preseason action - nice way to go. Here's a few scrambled observations….

Cleary Sailing: Detroit GM Ken Holland looks to have unearthed a solid addition in tryout Dan Cleary who is making things happen every time he's on the ice…. 34-year-old journeyman Jamie Heward has risen to the top of a bad blueline lot in Washington and is running the power play.... Caps added Jeff Friesen and are trying Jeff Halpern at right wing which makes two top lines of Ovechkin-Zubrus-Halpern and Friesen-Cassels-Willsie…. The Hawks moved Mark Bell to left wing and Tuomo Ruutu back into the middle giving Chicago the following attack: Bourque-Ruutu-Calder and Bell-Arnason-Daze.

Puzzler in TO: Is Mariusz Czerkawski that impressive or are the Leafs that bad?.... Speaking of the Leafs, Matt Stajan is steadily gaining momentum and I like Kyle Wellwood's industry, I think coach Quinn keeps this sparkplug…. Had to rub my eyes after watching New Jersey's Sergei Brylin zooming everywhere, and it appears that David Hale is ready to step up for Scott Stevens. Hale was a hail of punishing hits along the boards last night. Keep a watch on Vladimir Malakhov late in your draft. It was just one game but that wristshot of his is going to come more into play with the expanded offensive zone. Universally, defensemen have more time now to prepare their point blasts…. Big story in Pantherland is rookie Rostislav Olesz now auditioning as top-line left wing with Joe Nieuwendyk and Olli Jokinen. Coach Martin is leaning to these combos to fill out his top nine up front: Roberts-Weiss-Horton and Gelinas-Stumpel-Huselius.

Antti-dote: Finnish winger Antti Miettinen is fitting in smoothly on a top line in Dallas with Jason Arnott and Bill Guerin, leaving a second unit of Morrow-Modano-Lehtinen…. The Rangers suddenly seem energized with the likes of Ville Nieminen and Blair Betts chewing up the ice. European newcomers Petr Prucha and Jarkko Immonen have played well enough to win spots and the staff must decide the fate of Dominic Moore, a standout so far…. Coach Renney appears set on Straka-Nylander-Jagr as his top line with Rucinsky-Rucchin-Prucha in support…. Just seems no stopping Corey Perry in Anaheim, leading the Ducks in preseason scoring and still weaving those magical hands alongside fellow rookie standout Ryan Getzlaf. It's still a long road ahead though.

Balastik might stick: McKeen's superscout Robert Neuhauser describes Columbus newcomer Jaroslav Balastik as "maybe the most dangerous player in the slot last season in the Czech Extraleague"…. I've seen two of Balastik's games and he certainly loves to show off his strong shooting skills. If you're searching for a young tough guy for PIM's, a good choice might be Jackets rookie Steve Goertzen, a wrecking ball so far in preseason…. We ranked Philly rookie Mike Richards as the ninth-best NHL prospect in a recent annual poll, and he's been all that and more, blowing by defenders like pylons on a line with Mike Knuble and Jon Sim…. This sets the Flyers up with a solid third unit to back up the Gagne-Forsberg-Carter and Savage-Primeau-Handzus combo's…. In Steeltown, Eddie O is using a top six of Malone-Lemieux-Palffy and LeClair-Crosby-Recchi. Rookie Maxime Talbot appears to have won the fourth-line center battle.