Some teams in the National Hockey League have a reputation of struggling between the pipes, and the Ottawa Senators were one of those teams. But now with Pascal Leclaire in net, they can finally say they have a number one goaltender - maybe for the first time in the history of their franchise.
The Philadelphia Flyers are another one of those teams that have been plagued in goal since Ron Hextall left the team in 1999.
In the last 10 years, the Flyers have really struggled to find a goaltender that can do the job and now they have Ray Emery who seems to be a much different guy then last year based on opening night. He shut out the Carolina Hurricanes in the season opener and did a particularly good job when the Hurricanes were on the power play.
It's obviously going to take longer than one game for the Ray Emery experiment in Philadelphia to work but at this point in time, considering what his cap money is and considering that he came back with a lot to prove after having been in exile for all intents and purposes in Russia, it's going to be a good move for the Flyers to have this guy.
The Emery-Flyers marriage is a really good fit for both sides. In other words; a team who desperately needs a goaltender to step up and do something for them and a goaltender who desperately needs a good team to surround him and allow him the opportunity to get back in the good grades with the NHL.
Taylor versus Tyler
The Taylor Hall versus Tyler Seguin argument is one we're going to be interested in watching as we head towards the 2010 NHL entry draft, and the scouts will be watching closely as well.
Right now Seguin, the Plymouth Whalers' centre, is ripping up the Ontario Hockey League with 10 goals in the first six games of the season. If you talk to NHL scouts who are watching the Brampton, Ontario native closely they'll tell you he dominates in all three zones of the ice, but it's too early to sit here and make any pure pronouncements on the draft.
For Hall , seven out of ten NHL scouts that we surveyed before the beginning of the season said the Windsor Spitfires' goal scorer was the number one guy. But now there are certainly scouts looking at it and thinking there's no reason that Seguin can't give Hall a run for his money and knock him out of the number one spot.
Hall hasn't played poorly in any stretch of the imagination but Seguin, a one-man team according to head coach Mike Vellucci, has played so well in every aspect of his game that the scouts are going crazy about him.