Morning Flurries: An ugly start to the preseason and Brian Boyle’s shocking news

On Tuesday afternoon, New Jersey Devils forward Brian Boyle announced to the world that he was recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone marrow cancer after having bloodwork done by the team at the start of training camp.

Boyle remained upbeat as he spoke with the media, but this news is a reminder that there is more to life than hockey - even for NHLers. Luckily the leukemia was caught early, giving Boyle a chance to treat the sickness while still playing for the Devils.

CML is the same type of cancer that Jason Blake played through back in 2007. Boyle wants to be in the lineup when New Jersey starts the season on October 7th and his doctors think there’ a very strong possibility of it happening.

It’s terrible news, but something that Boyle and his family seem to be facing head-on. We all hope for a speedy recovery and a chance to continue playing the game he loves.

Now for some less serious news.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avs opened their preseason last night with a very lackluster effort, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The good: Erik Johnson and Nathan MacKinnon were the best players on the ice for most of the game. J.C. Beaudin also looked really good, and 2nd round pick Conor Timmins showed flashes of great play (mixed in with some very poor decision making)

The bad: Alex Kerfoot looked good on the PP, but had a tough time translating it to 5v5 and Spencer Martin looked nothing close to an NHL goalie letting in two very bad goals and a third that you’d hope he could stop.

The ugly: this offseason, the NHL decided that it was time for officials to crack down on faceoff violations. The new rule makes it so that a team will get a two minute minor for delay of game if they are thrown out of the faceoff circle twice. This led to penalties, delays, and an all around slower pace to the game.

The Avs are back in action tomorrow against the Dallas stars, let’s hope to see a better effort from the group that hits the ice for the second preseason game.

Around the hockey world

As the NHL attempts to grow the game in foreign markets, the Kings and Canucks get down to 'business' in Shanghai. [NHL dot com]

The Nashville Predators named their new captain yesterday. Roman Josi now takes over from Gabriel Landeskog as the most handsome captain in the NHL.

The Ottawa Senators announced that they have lost Colin White - who is possibly their most promising youngster - for 6 to 8 weeks with a broken wrist after he blocked a shot in the preseason opener Monday night against the Maple Leafs. [Ottawa Citizen]