It is almost Movember, which means several men around the world will begin to grow their mustaches from scratch in an effort to raise awareness on men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer and depression.  Approximately 150 players in the NHL took part in the Movember movement last year, as they sported their dusters on the ice and did their part to raise money for various Movember charities.

Ducks’ goaltender Jonas Hiller intends to join the movement this season, as he had the following mask created, which features mustaches on pictures of each of his teammates.  His intention is to auction it off for a Movember charity after wearing it a couple of times during the month of November.

My guess is that the image of Corey Perry with a Hitler-esque toothbrush mustache alone is enough to make this mask sell for a pretty penny.  Here is a look at the mask from a few other angles.

Hat Tip – [The Goalie Guild]

The Senators have struggled as of late, but they appeared to be on their game last night as they peppered Hiller with a whopping 40 shots.  However, as good as they were, they simply were not good enough to beat Hiller enough times to earn the victory as the 28-year-old netminder stopped 39 of those shots on route to a 2-1 shootout victory for the Ducks.

Mike Fisher’s backhand was the only shot that would beat Hiller on this night as he even stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout.  With the win the Ducks have now won 8 of their last 10 as they look to remain in the playoff picture in a tight Western Conference.

Many people have questioned the Ducks defense throughout the season as they have allowed Hiller to face more shots than any other goalie in the league, but he has responded with a league leading 23 wins and a “Stat Line of the Night” for Tuesday, January 18, 2011.

This weeks honorable mention goes to Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Anaheim Ducks. Last week the man known as Jiggy collected three wins while posting a 1.71 GAA, .945 SAV%, one shutout and made a total of 120 saves. Giguere had been a fantasy stud since the 2005-06 season but fell on hard times last season struggling mightily and ended up losing his starting job to Jonas Hiller. Since returning from his latest injury J.S. has looked good and might be on his way to regaining his #1 status or getting some playing time somewhere else via trade for a team that could currently use some goaltending help.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 9.

3rd Star – Brad Richards (C), Dallas Stars

Despite being a consistent 70+ points per season producer Brad Richards left a bad taste in people’s mouths after an injury riddled 2008-09 season that saw him put up 48 points in 56 games. So far this season Richards has been the great playmaking center that everyone grew accustomed to and showed it last week scoring one goal and adding 5 assists for 6 points with 5 of those points coming while on the power play. He also posted a plus/minus rating of minus-1, zero penalty minutes, 17 shots on goal and 19 faceoffs won. With his history I wouldn’t recommend to sell high with Brad but if you’re sitting pretty at center and could afford to loose him to strengthen another position like goaltending now is as good of time as any to involve Richards in a trade.

2nd Star – Miikka Kiprusoff (G), Calgary Flames

The workhorse known as Miikka Kiprusoff has been just that so far this season and just appears to be playing better and better as the season wears on. Last week Kiprusoff collected two wins while posting a .098 GAA, .970 SAV%, one shutout and made a total of 96 saves. Miikka is well on his way to another Vezina Trophy nomination as he already has 14 wins with a 2.38 GAA, .922 SAV% and two shutouts on the season.

1st Star – Sidney Crosby (C), Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby has gotten off to a so-so start for his standards but if last week was any indication then he’s well on his way to another 100+ point season. Last week Crosby scored 5 goals and had three assists for 8 points with two of those points coming while on the power play. He also had 4 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-3, 16 shots on goal, one game winning goal and won 49 faceoffs. Nothing much else needs to be said here as the young talented forward seems to be hitting his stride and remains a top 3 fantasy forward.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 10.

Like all the games in the series thus far, this one was a tight checking affair, in which the Red Wings heavily out shot the Ducks.  Despite the number of shots on goal, Jonas Hiller looked comfortable between the pipes in the first two periods, having little to worry about besides the Zetterberg goal in the second; a powerplay marker which cut the lead to 2-1.

The Wings came out hard in the third and out shot the Ducks 18-3, but Hiller stood on his head, and when the Wings finally did beat him, Referee Brad Watson got whistle happy and blew it before the puck was frozen.  As he was doing so, a diving Marian Hossa found the puck in the crease and pushed it past Hiller for the goal, but NHL rules state that play ends, not the the whistle goes off, but when it is intended to be blown, which in this case was before the puck crossed the line.

The Wings were reasonably upset and were not able to recover in the final minute as the series now shifts in favour of the Ducks 2-1.  Game 4 is set for Thursday night in Anaheim.  So how about that goal?  Series supervisor E.J. McGuire had the following to say about how Watson handled it:

“First off, as any of us watch on a replay, it’s easy to make the correct call.  In the case tonight, the official was down along the goal line. He was moving forward toward the net to try to get a look at where the puck was.  When he couldn’t see the puck, all referees’ instructions are to blow the whistle and blow the play dead. A combination of the black puck and the black pants may have been a factor. But when he didn’t see the puck, he blew the whistle.” (NHL.com)

It is now time for the Wings to move on.  This is where great teams leave controversies behind and forget about what has happened in the past.  The Wings can take their strong third period performance into next game, but they will need to solve Hiller early if they want to avoid going down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.  Refs are only human.  They should be expected to make mistakes.  Its tough when it happens like it did last night as that may possibly be a series changer, but game three is over and now its time for everyone to set their sights on game 4.

Here is a video of the disallowed goal.  What do you think?

In a pivotal game that was a must win for the Ducks in order for them to avoid returning home down 2-0, Hiller was the difference, making him the Stat Line of the Night.  In a game which the TPS crew took in live at the Joe, the Ducks were out shot 62-46 in the game and 44-24 in the third period and throughout overtime, but the brilliant performance from the Swiss net minder was enough to keep his team around long enough until Todd Marchant ended the game 1:15 into the third overtime period.

So now the series shifts to Anaheim for game 3 Tuesday night with home ice advantage now in the ducks favour.  the Wings will be looking for ways to solve Hiller, but if he continues to stand on his head, the Ducks Cinderella run through the playoffs may survive for yet another round.

Here are the highlights of the great game yesterday afternoon.

The player of the game was none other then rookie goaltender Jonas Hiller who made 36 en-route to his first ever Playoff  Series win in the NHL. Thus, making him  “The Stat Line Of The Night” for Monday April 27th, 2009.  Hiller has been solid all series and will hope to continue his solid play in the second round against the Red Wings.

“I think if you ask anyone, we’re not an eight seed,” defenseman Ryan Whitney said. “Everyone in here knows that, and I think now everyone in hockey pretty much sees it, too.”

Jonas Hiller made 36 saves to finish his phenomenal playoff series debut for the Ducks, who won a fight-filled clincher to complete a remarkable playoff upset two years after winning the franchise’s only Stanley Cup.

Eighth-seeded Ducks finish off top-ranked Sharks in Game 6 – [SportsLine]

The player of the game was Jonas Hiller, who?  Thats right, Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller who was perfect in his playoff debut, making 35 saves and helping his Ducks retake home ice advantage.  Jonas Hiller is “The Stat Line Of The Night” for Thursday April 16th, 2009.

“Jonas Hiller coolly stopped every puck like a seasoned playoff veteran, showing all the postseason poise that the top-seeded San Jose Sharks still haven’t found.

Hiller made 35 saves in a sparkling playoff debut for eighth-seeded Anaheim, and Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist in the third period of the Ducks’ 2-0 victory over the Sharks on Thursday. “

Hiller has perfect playoffs debut as Ducks shut out Sharks – [SportsLine]

This week’s honorable mention goes to Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Malkin posted 8 points (3 goals & 5 assists) to go along with a plus-7, 4 PIM and 9 shots on goal. Malkin shows no signs of slowing down after a great season last year when he was a finalist for the Hart Trophy.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 8.

3rd Star – Chris Mason (G), St. Louis Blues

After losing his starting job in the playoffs to Dan Ellis and not receiving a lot of interest from teams looking for goaltending it seemed like Chris Mason’s days as a #1 were over. Well after a couple of solid starts it looks like that might not be true. Mason had a solid week winning 2 games while posting a 0.96 GAA, .974 SAV% and one shutout. If his play continues expect Mason to become the team’s new #1 or at least getting the bulk of the starts as a 1A in a rotation with Legace.

2nd Star – Jonas Hiller (G), Anaheim Ducks

Jonas Hiller never played horrible in his first season in the NHL last year, but he has looked a lot more comfortable this year and is arguably the best backup in the league. Hiller won two games last week while posting a 0.87 GAA, .972 SAV% and one shutout. Now I don’t expect him to take over Giguere as the Ducks #1, but he should start to get some more starts and would be a good goalie to have if you’re in a deep fantasy league.

1st Star – Sidney Crosby (C), Pittsburgh Penguins

If it wasn’t obvious before it is now, Sidney Crosby is back and in full force. Crosby had a slow start to the season but has picked it up lately. Sid put up 9 points (6 goals & 3 assists) with a plus-8, 1 power play point and 16 shots on goal. I wonder if Alexander Semin has an answer to the question he posed a few weeks ago.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 9.