Feature Articles

Big Night for Big Bert By James Meyerriecks

Through one game, the Florida Panthers have no regrets. Todd Bertuzzi, who was acquired in a draft-day deal for star goaltender Roberto Luongo, made his presence with his new team felt immediately. The massive winger got off to a great start in game one, scoring the first goal of the game and adding three helpers later as the Panthers routed the Boston Bruins 8-3.

Bertuzzi, who will be a free agent at year's end, needed this kind of start in a bad way. Since taking a cheap shot at Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore in 2004, Bertuzzi's reputation around the league has been shot. The fact that he was coming off a down year, with 71 points and a -17 rating, only added fuel to the fire that Bertuzzi might have trouble finding many suitors at year's end. He needs to take this opportunity to show not only that he can score in bunches, but that he's cleaned up his act.

However, it looked like a huge weight was lifted from Bertuzzi's shoulders tonight. The boo-birds weren't out in South Florida, as they were often last season in Vancouver. Teaming up with Olli Jokinen on the Power Play and Nathan Horton and veteran Joe Nieuwendyk at even strength seemed to calm him. He still had his mean streak going, but seemed a lot more focused on the ice. If we see a rejuvenated Bertuzzi on the ice all season long, Florida is going to be very tough to beat.

Notes

- After allowing just three goals in the preseason, Boston goalie Tim Thomas was absolutely lit up tonight. He allowed seven of the eight Florida goals before being removed in favor of Hannu Toivonen. It would seem that Boston will ride the hot hand, which isn't either of them right now. Expect Toivonen to start in Tampa Bay tomorrow night.... Nieuwendyk, who turned 40 last month, scored two goals and added an assist in the victory.... The Florida Power Play was just plain scary, converting on four of six opportunities. Bertuzzi got it started, while Mike Van Ryn, Olli Jokinen, and Nathan Horton added Power Play markers.... Zdeno Chara had a multi-point game in his Bruins' debut, assisting on the Bruins first two goals... The other key component the Panthers acquired in the Luongo deal, Alexander Auld, had a solid if unspectacular debut, allowing 3 goals on 37 shots.

The Rest

- It was a big night for a pair of young stars as the New Jersey Devils avenged last season's playoff loss with a 4-0 opening night victory in Carolina. Second-year center Zach Parise notched two goals, including the game-winner just 26 seconds in, while freshly signed winger Brian Gionta added three assists. After missing the entire preseason, it didn't look like Gionta, coming off an 89-point season, missed a beat. Martin Brodeur stopped all 29 shots he faced for his first shutout of the year.

- Vancouver made a fantastic comeback in Columbus, scoring twice in the final ten minutes of regulation and adding another just 31 seconds into overtime as they ruined the Blue Jackets' home opener 3-2. The Sedin twins hooked up on the game-tying and game-winning goals, with Daniel putting the finishing touches on both. New Jackets' starter Pascal Leclaire certainly doesn't deserve much of the blame, as he stopped 41 of 44 shots in the loss.

- The Sabres moved to 2-0-0 with their second straight shootout win in a 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. This time it was Maxim Afinogenov who did the damage, scoring the game-tying goal in the waning seconds of regulation and netting the first of two goals the Sabres would score in the shootout. Thomas Vanek added the clincher in the shootout. The Habs wasted fine efforts from Saku Koivu and Christopher Higgins, who finished with three points each.

- After watching Sara Evans bastardization of the Star Spangled Banner (an aside... you do not play techno music in the background during the National Anthem!), the Ducks and Kings played a tight 4-3 contest in Anaheim. Kings rookie super-sleeper Anze Kopitar scored twice, with the second being deflected into the net by Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin. The usual suspects on Anaheim's top line combined for a pair of goals, while the young second line, led by Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, showed that they're ready to make some noise as well. J.S. Giguere got the nod on opening night, and stopped 41 of 44 shots in the victory, though he did cramp up late in the third period.

For the time being, this is a temporary preview of something we may be running on the front page at FIC three or four days a week throughout the NHL season. If you want your daily hockey fix now, I'll also be running this as an off-site blog for the time being. The following is just a taste of what you can find at Neutral Zone Trap!

James Meyerriecks has been actively involved at FIC since its inception in 2001, and has been writing The Hook throughout the MLB season since 2002. This season, he'll be tackling a weekly hockey column, The Blue Line, as well as a semi-weekly blog called Neutral Zone Trap. He's also represented FIC in a handful of Experts Leagues over the past three seasons and is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association.

---