Way to go, Shanny

New York's Brendan Shanahan certainly made his mark on Broadway last night, getting a pair of goals, including the 600th of his career, in the Rangers 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals.

I had a chance to meet him, and have him sign Red Wings and London Knights pucks, before the start of the 2005-06 season. He was among a small group of players who skated at Boston University's Walter Brown Arena during training camps opened.

Remember, too, that he played an instrumental role, from the players' side, in ending the NHL lockout. With veteran leadership like that, it's hard to root against him, no matter what team he plays for.

Other random observations:

~ It was nice to see Nashville's J.P. Dumont, who has one of the ugliest autographs in the NHL, score a goal on his first shift with the Predators. He was a solid pick-up for the team.

~ Know you know why I was psyched to get a Matt Carle rookie card. Carle, last year's Hobey Baker winner, scored his first goal of the season against the St. Louis Blues. Even better, was that he didn't look out of place. Nor did fellow rookie defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic. His nickname? Yup, you guessed it -- "Pickles."

~ Finally, one day after snickering about former Bruin Andrew Raycroft's season-opening loss to the Ottawa Senators, it's only right that I give the Razor from props. Raycroft stopped 34 shots en route to a 6-0 whitewash of the Senators, capping a season-opening home-and-home series. Even more surprising, former Bruin Hal Gill plus a plus 2.

Speaking of the Leafs, the Ottawa Sun, home to some of Canada's national treasures, is asking whether the team should deal Mats Sundin. Weigh in on this poll.