NHL Calgary Flames

How The West Was Won -- Iginla the BAMF

2009-01-27T14:10:00.001-08:00

TIC TAC TOE. Tape to Tape.There are some clubs in the league that are fun to watch because of the team's style of play. Calgary is not such a club.In some ways, Calgary reminds me a skosh of the Caps of the late 90s: A hardworking, blue-collar team with a rockstar goalie and a singular premier offensive talent. I doubt there are many fans in the league besides the Washington faithful who watched those Caps because of their style.Calgary is much the same. Iginla, Phaneuf, Kipper -- all of these guys are great to watch as individuals.I would do terrible, terrible things to get Iginla in a Caps sweater. Terrible things. He's easily the most intriguing player in the not named "Alex Ovechkin." He can score the goals, drop the gloves, and forecheck the bejesus out of his opponents. With all of the raw talent in the, players who can do it all -- which includes the dirty work -- tend to fall by the wayside.It's a crime.Source

Caps PP Marathon

2009-01-24T19:10:00.001-08:00

It's true that the Thrashers haven't scored a power-play goal since openingnight, but it could be worse. The Capitals had a nine-minute power play lastnight against Calgary and only got three shots off, none of which went in. Andit wasn't some weird string of consecutive penalties that overlapped or rantogether. Rene Bourque of the Flames was assessed19 minutes inpenalties for an altercation and nine of those minutes gave Washington anuninterrupted nine-minute man advantage. I would like to think that with ninestraight minutes of PP time the Thrashers would end their power outage.In another story from yesterday,a sportscollectible show was charging fans in Edmonton $25 for Sam Gagner and AndrewCogliano autographs. I have my share of sports keepsakes but I've never been abig autograph guy except when the piece has some sort of meaning to me. In my 3+seasons with the Thrashers I've gotten one thing signed- the jersey I wore whenGarnet Exelby took shots on me while I was in full goalie gear. I actually triedto get a puck singed by Mark Recchi but our PR guy lost it. It was the puck thatRex hit me with at the morning skate one day. So maybe somebody that is amemorabilia collector can enlighten me on why people would shell out $50 for apair of Oilers autographs. Regardless, it makes you grateful for the access thatour fans have to players at practices and other events, doesn't it?Funny side story, or at least funny to me. Without fail, every time I go onthe road with the team I get asked to sign at least one autograph on the wayfrom the hotel to the team bus, or going into the arena. So I get to be the jerkthat doesn't sign autographs. I wonder who they think I am.Source

Maple Leafs Come to Town on Hockey Fights Cancer Night

2009-01-22T12:40:00.001-08:00

If Thursday night's game between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs heads to a shootout, all bets are off. The Bruins currently holds a two-point lead on the Maple Leafs through six games, but the glaring statistic is the lack of success in the shootout. Boston's shooters have gone 2-for-13, while Toronto's goaltenders have stopped just one of seven attempts. This has led to an 0-3 record for both teams when penalty shots are used to decide the outcome.The 2008-09 Toronto Maple Leafs have been a bit of a mystery in the early part of the season. With veterans such as Mats Sundin and Bryan McCabe moving on, and ten new faces on the roster, the original thought was that this would be a rebuilding team. The Maple Leafs started out well by winning on opening night against Detroit, but has gone winless in five straight. However, Toronto has picked up a point in three of those five games.In goal, the Maple Leafs have two familiar faces. Vesa Toskala returns for his second tour of duty in Toronto, following a 33-25-6 season a year ago. So far this season, Toskala has posted a 1-1-2 record with a 2.85 goals against average, and will be expected to carry the load between the pipes once again. With Andrew Raycroft moving on to Colorado, the Leafs needed a replacement, so they called on old friend Curtis Joseph. Joseph spent four seasons in Toronto from 1998-2002, before moving on to the Detroit Red Wings. Last season, the 41-year old signed on with the Calgary Flames in mid-January, and went 3-2 in nine regular season appearances. This season, Joseph is 0-1-1 in three games.On defense, Toronto returns their top two scorers from a year ago in Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina. Each player has a goal and an assist so far, trailing newcomer Mike Van Ryn, who leads the blueliners with three assists. The most anticipated defenseman for the Maple Leafs is Luke Schenn. Toronto took Schenn with the fifth overall pick in this summer's Entry Draft. The 18-year old has yet to record a point, but they're hoping that will change. Another new face on the blueline is Jonas Frogren. Frogren signed on with the Leafs after spending his entire career in his native country of Sweden. He has one assist in five games. Rounding out the defense, are Carlo Colaiacovo and Anton Stralman.Up front, the Maple Leafs did lose the likes of Mats Sundin and Darcy Tucker, but were able to retain a few of their other top offensive players. Nik Antropov is Toronto's leading scorer with three goals and two assists, while linemate Andrei Ponikarovsky is right behind him with one goal and three assists. Jason Blake is tied for third on the team in scoring with one goal and two assists. Perhaps the biggest surprise for the Leafs has been rookie Nikolai Kulemin. As Joe Beninati said on Boston's opening night broadcast in Colorado, "Five dollars to anyone who knew that name prior to tonight." Kulemin has two goals so far, putting him in second place behind Antropov in that category.Face-off for Thursday night's game between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs takes place at 7:00 from the TD Banknorth Garden. Thursday will be a big night in Boston, as the Bruins will also be holding Hockey Fights Cancer Night.Source

Don't Call It A Comeback: Wait We Did!

2009-01-19T19:10:00.001-08:00

LL Cool J said it best......this one is for you man.Dont call it a comebackI been here for yearsRockin my peers and puttin suckas in fearMakin the tears rain down like a mon soonListen to the bass go boomExplosion overpowerinOver the competition Im towerinWreckin shop when I drop these lyrics thatll make you call the copsDont you dare stare, you betta moveDont ever compareMe to the rest thatll all get sliced and dicedCompetitions payin the priceThat of course is from the song "Mama Said Knock You Out", which is one of my favorite rap songs of all time. Sure it may show my age a little bit but it is all good. Tonight there were some nice comebacks indeed though. I counted three of these in one night. Sorry I am not counting Pittsburgh or Phoenix even though they did score all of their goals in the third period.What I am talking about here is snatching victory from a much more certain form of defeat. First up....in Boston....Boston was up 2-0 on Toronto and face it that almost means certain death for Toronto usually...right?? WRONG! Goals from Mike Van Ryn and then Nik Antropov tied it at 2 after 2. Then Anton Stralman of all people nabs the game winner in the third. Niklas Hagman adds the empty netter and you get a 4-2 win for Toronto that was unexpected.Next up....Buffalo Stance! Not many remember Neneh Cherry's powerful anthem but I certainly do and now the Wild will as well. Brent Burns put Minnesota up 3-1 when he tallied on the Power Play but with just a few minutes left...Adam Mair and Thomas "Clutch" Vanek score goals just 46 seconds apart to tie the game and send it to OT. Derek Roy ends the game quick just 44 seconds into the overtime and leaves the Wild crowd stunned (4-3 Buffalo). Ryan Miller held down the fort long enough with 30 saves and that was the difference in the end. Just when you think it is enough...sometimes it really isn't.Flames rally from 3 down in stirring win.Then there was this craziness. The Calgary Flames were down 3-0 to the Nashville Predators and it looked bleak...real bleak. Jason Arnott, back from injury scored the third goal just 8:10 into the second period for Nashville but after that Calgary turned the game. Jarome Iginla would score once later in the frame to make it 3-1. Then Iginla would score again to make it 3-2. After David Moss tied it just 73 seconds later...Michael Cammalleri scores on the PP for the GWG with just 7:29 remaining. Jarome Iginla would complete the hat trick with an empty netter and Calgary truly steals one 5-3 over the Predators.So this was indeed something else tonight. Just imagine what Friday and Saturday have in store for everyone. Get the beer and snacks ready and remember to watch the whole game...because you never know -- you may miss something!!Source

Your Slot Here...

2009-01-17T04:00:00.001-08:00

Today we spotlight one of those blogs that really is all about the hockey...jersey that is! Do you ever wonder where we get that analysis on third jerseys and such? Mostly it is through none other than Icethetics...a blog that gets us info on hockey jerseys probably before I would ever read about it anywhere else.Simply they are amazing with the information they come up with. All those third jersey leaks combined with artist renderings and you have substance. They also have a logo tournament that is top notch. Right now their tournament is going on. Rangers and Flyers battling it out....go on and vote if you haven't done so already. I was not surprised by their OHL champion...that is a great logo!Just an example of their fine research...The scoops that Icethetics gets are second to none. I don't know how many stories on jerseys they have broken over the last few months but I probably lost count for a good reason. On the right side of the blog, they have a comprehensive list of third jerseys that have been revealed, ones that haven't, previews, and leaks. I have to admit the leaks so far have been just about dead on to what the actual third jerseys have looked like. These folks know what they are doing. They put the time and effort in and it shows.I particularly enjoyed some of their "concept art" where they let fans send in what they thought their team's third jerseys might look like. It is always great to see a site give back and Icethetics really does reward its readers with high quality and execution. Look at their list of shoutouts on the right....talk about a who's who in the blogging world and more. That is impressive indeed!Finally, for more designs and just some things that are just a bit out there yet quite cool...check out Icethetics' Freak Out Friday. The Detroit Red Wings jersey that looked like it actually had wings was priceless. Add in the Calgary Flames lego guy with an interesting design in front of him and you have something very enjoyable and yet informative in a unique way.So if you are looking for the latest jersey news, some leaks, even some fine artistry at work...then Icethetics is for you. It is the one site I go to for the latest on hockey jersey news and well quite frankly, a whole lot more these days. Go check them out right away...you will not be disappointed.Source

Ouch - 10-24-08

2009-01-14T15:30:00.001-08:00

(Note: Given the recent problems with visiting EN, we suggestyou click on the headline or the permalink at the bottom of today'spost in order to make reading easier. We regret the problem and hope tohave it solved quickly. We also acknowledge that this is a weak temporary solution to the problem, but we're stumped at the moment. Thank you for your patience.)Take a look at what Boston forward MilanLucic did to Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Van Ryn last night:(Please visit the site to view this media) Yeesh. He stuck him through the glass. Thankfully, Van Ryn was alright.Other than being "itchy" he escaped injury. He even scored a goal later in thesame period of a 4-2 win at Boston.The win ended a five-game losing streak for the Maple Leafs.Four spectators in were injuredby the glass and two went to the hospital with some injuries.By the way, that wasn't the onlybig hit in this game. Take a look at what Boston'sDennis Wideman did to Toronto'sMatt Stajan:(Please visit the site to view this media) HEADS UPSpeaking of injured spectators, aPenguins fan who was hit by a puck during the team's home opener wrote in togive us an update on his health:"I read your blog from the opener.I was the guy that was hit with the puck in A 27 Row B at the 3:28 mark of thefirst period. Just to be clear, I WAS paying attention. Have you ever sat downthat low? You can't see a damn thing... those seats actually are terrible. Theplay, if I recall, was in the neutral zone towards the Devils end, where Icould see absolutely nothing.After receiving medical attentionfor my bleeding head, I returned to the game for the second period. In a veryclassy move by the Devils, one of their trainers handed me a Reebok Devils hat,signed by all of the scratched players that evening. He said "Fromthe N.J. Devils. We're glad you're ok and hope you feel bettersoon." Very classy. Anyway, I ended up sustaining aconcussion. I am still suffering from dizziness, light headedness, and someother symptoms. Now a full week later, I have yet to hear from the PittsburghPenguins asking me how I am. Very disappointing to say theleast. Just thought I would share with you."BryanEN-First and foremost, let's all hope for Bryan's quick recovery. Second, we apologizeto Bryan forassuming he wasn't paying attention. We were simply offering some public adviceto anyone sitting down low near the action.EMPTY NETTER ASSISTSPenguins-EN reader Geoff Marton spottedthis absolute gem of a jersey at last night's game; An Esa Tikkanen EdmontonOilers:-That might be hands-down the finest jersey we've ever been made aware of at Mellon Arena.-Dave Molinari's recap from lastnight.-Darryl Sydor. Always ready to go.-What's up with Janne Pesonen?-Paul Bissonnette's fight with Carolina's Dan LaCouturefrom last night:(Please visit the site to view this media)-Eric Godard's tilt with WadeBrookbank:(Please visit the site to view this media)-Why is Michel Therrien touching Evgeni Malkin like this?-Malkin seems to be puzzled by it as well.-Faceoff-Factor scored aninterview with Penguins prospect Joe Vitale.-Changes in travel plansprevented the Staals from being brothers.-Former Penguins forward NathanSmith was cleared of charges of public lewdness in Scranton.Atlantic Division-By the sounds of things, Rangersforward Aaron Voros (right) is a verygrateful, thoughtful individual. He wrote a letter to his former coach, theWild's Jacques Lemaire, and thanked Lemaire for helping him develop into an.nhl-caliber player.-The Rangers want forward NikolaiZherdev to break out this season.-Islanders forward Mike Sillingerand defenseman Andy Sutton are close to returning from injuries.-Will the Flyers returndefenseman Luca Sbisa to his junior team?-Philadelphia's blue line is a mess.-As hard as it might be tobelieve, Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur is off to the best start of hisstoried career.-Devils forward Barry Tallacksontook part in his first practice sinceundergoing heart surgery.-Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo!interviewed filmmaker and noted Devils fan Kevin Smith. Smith takes a shot at"Sudden Death."How dare he!?!Northeast Division-Derek Roy's overtime goal gavethe Sabres a 4-3 win at Minnesota.At 6-0-1, Buffalois still undefeated.-Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake,he of the $5 million-a-year contract, was a healthy scratch last night.-Senators coach Craig Hartsburgis getting impatient with goaltender Martin Gerber.-The Bruins need some help in theshootout.-Canadiens fans, never the lot toput too much pressure on a young player, have given goaltender Carey Price (right) the nickname of "Jesus Price."Southeast Division-The Capitals signed defensemanJohn Erskine to a two-year deal worth $1.25 million each season.On a team a little light on physical play, Erskine is one of the few sources ofnastiness on the Capitals.-The Lightning finally officiallysigned former Rangers defenseman Marek Malik to a one-year deal worth $1.25million.-The Thrashers demoted forwardMike Hoffman to Chicagoof the AHL.-Hurricanes captain RodBrind'Amour said his team was horrible in its 4-1 loss to the Penguins lastnight.Central Division-The Predators activated forwardNick Tarnasky from injured reserve.-The Blue Jackets demotedgoaltender Steve Mason to Syracuseof the AHL.-Columbus forward Mike Peca's five-gamessuspension for abusing an official is over.-Blue Jackets forwards Jared Boll,Rick Nash, Fredrik Modin and Jason Chimera are good people.-Prior to last night's games,94-year-old Blues forward Keith Tkachuk (right)was the league-leader in goals with seven.-Red Wings forward Marian Hossawill face the Thrashers for the first time tomorrow night since being traded tothe Penguins last season.-After having offseason surgery,Red Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom is off to a fast start.Northwest Division-The Flames got a hat trick fromJarome Iginla and came from behind in a 5-3 win at Nashville.-Ian Laperriere had a Gordie Howehat trick for the Avalanche in a 4-1 defeat of the Oilers.Colorado haswon four consecutive games.-Canucks forward Pavol Demitra isdealing with a rib injury.-The Oilers recalled defensemanTheo Peckham from Springfieldof the AHL.Pacific Division-A career-high five points byMike Ribeiro (above) helped the Stars claim a 5-3 win againstthe Islanders.-Mikael Tellqvist made 31 savesfor the Coyotes who edged the Capitals, 2-1.-The Ducks signed former Hurricanesdefenseman Bret Hedican.-Anaheim forward Ryan Getzlaf had surgery foran abscessed tooth.-Sharks forward Joe Thornton isdealing with a groin injury again.Norris Division-The Canadian dollar is reallyunstable right now and that's making things a little difficult for the.nhl'sCanadian teams.-For the second time in.nhlhistory, all 30 teams in the league will be playing on Saturday.(Photos: Therrien-Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Voros-Michal Cizek/Getty Images; Tkachuk-Jeff Roberson/Associated Press; Ribeiro-JimMcIssac/Getty Images)Source

What you missed last night while you were at the bar starting your weekend

2009-01-12T15:10:00.001-08:00

Maple Leafs beat the Bruins, 4-2: Mike Van Ryn, gets crushed into and breaks the glass and then scores a goal. If he had an assist, this would be called the Van Ryn hat trick. Instead, lets talk about that hit. A similar hit happened in LA, I think, but the glass didn't shatter, it kind of just fell out. Maybe the TD BankNorth Garden is using old school Boston Garden glass. Stars beat the Islanders, 5-3: So I guess this was one of the nights when the "overspeed" system is still being learned. No joke though, it did look like the Isles were doing it early in the game. Anyway, Mike Ribiero made some really good passes. The first goal was a great fake-shot pass. I love those. I got stupidly excited when the Isles scored their 3rd goal... wait there 5 seconds left. Great.Penguins win over the Hurricanes, 4-1: i think whats really interesting about this match up, is that in real life a penguin would never encounter a hurricane. Crosby and Malkin and whoever is always a good line. Maxime Talbots goal was sneaky a great goal. Even thought the caroline dman did as little as possible to stop him, Talbot did make the nice move to go 5-hole on Leighton.Avalanche beat the Oilers, 4-1: Ian Laperriere with the Gordie Howe hat trick and he was the first star of the game (of course!). There was some super sweet passing on Sakics goal.Flames come back to beat the Predators, 5-3: Is Iginla the best captain in the game? Now leadership qualities are obviously subjective, but don't you want in a captain a guy who can lead by example. Well, Iggy can lead by example to show how to score or fight. I would probably run through a brick wall for him.Coy-youngins beat the Capitals, 2-1: Mikkel Boedker is making the strong case to stay up for a full season in Phoenix. The young guns of the Coyotes are really producing and then old beard Jovo hits a few posts but finally scores. Where is Alex Ovechkin?Sabres win in OT, over the Wild, 4-3: Minnesota can't hold a lead? Jaques Lemaire is rolling in his grave, er office. Gaborik is still out with an injury, but they don't miss his scoring or his defense. Is Buffalo still undefeated?Source

Avalanche Slide Past Sabres in Shootout, Win 2-1

2009-01-10T01:50:00.001-08:00

(AP Photo)Let me get this straight. Two of the highest scoring teams in the league combine to score a grand total of *2* goals? I was wrong on taking the over, I was wrong on either teams streak ending but at least I was right on one thing - it was an exciting game!The first period was one of the best periods of hockey I've watched this year. There was nothing that will make the highlight reel but it was all around good hockey. There were good scoring chances, solid hits and some good defensive play. It was everything hockey should be.The Sabres got on the board first off a Daniel Paille deflection that went into the goal at a speed of approximately 1mm/sec. I waffled all game long on its stoppability. At the time of this writing, I'm giving it a 0.65 (more stoppable than unstoppable).The Avalanche started turning up the heat in the third and were rewarded at the 13:36 mark as Jordan Leopold fired a shot from the point which bounced off two Sabres defenders and past Ryan Miller to tie the game.Ryan Smyth was wreaking havoc in front of the net, causing Jaroslav Spacek to interfere with Miller just as the shot was released. Miller complained to the refs but I don't think a player can get called for interfering with their own goaltender.Neither team could muster up another goal so it was off to overtime for the first time in the Avalanche's season.And what an OT it was! The Avalanche dominated from start to finish and looked to make a case for moving exclusively to 4-on-4 hockey.The Avalanche were very aggressive in the Sabres end and had no trouble clearing the puck out of their own. They had some great end-to-end rushes and were moving the puck around very well in the Sabres end.However they only managed two shots on goal in that time and Ryan Miller was up to the task on both of them so it was off to the shootout.Peter Budaj's shootout non-heroics were going through my mind but I was at peace with it. The Avs had just won four straight and had just grabbed their 9th straight point against one of the league's top teams. But Budaj and the Avs were making no such concessions.Milan Hejduk came out first and made a silky smooth deke around Miller to take the lead. I've often given the "best hands in the.nhl" title to Alexei Kovalev, but Hejduk has some soft, soft hands too.After Kotalik evened it up, Miller and Budaj then made their next two stops on Joe Sakic and Drew Stafford respectively. Sakic needs to find a new shootout move.Then up stepped Wojtek Goalski. Wolski made Hejduk's goal look like your out of shape neighbour grabbing their paper at 6am in their skivvies. I won't even describe it, just watch the game highlights and you'll see what I mean. I want to marry that move.Derek Roy extended the shootout and then Marek Svatos and Tomas Vanek were both foiled. Budaj made a great second effort to keep the Vanek attempt out of the net.Ryan Smyth then went straight in and fired a shot under Miller's armpit and all eyes turned to Budaj. Clarke Macarthur came in, tried to go high glove but even though Budaj had dropped his shoulder, he was able to bring his glove up quick enough to make the save.And so continues the streak.Stastny scorelessOne streak did end tonight and that was Paul Stastny's seven game point streak. Why do they even keep that guy around? Jones graduatesDavid Jones improved as the game went on and found himself playing alongside Sakic during the third period. He was driving the net hard, drawing penalties and making some slick moves. He keeps teasing me with near-breakout performances but this could be the one.Hit me baby, one more timeRyan Miller is a good goalie, no doubt. But tonight the Avs padded his stats by tossing at least a dozen of their 29 shots directly into the Buffaslug.Of course, good positioning has a part to play, but not that big a part.Don't hit me! Don't hit me!What was with the Sabres dodging fights all night long? In the first period, Lapperiere had his gloves off but Patrik Kaleta backed away. Then late in the third, Adam Mair popped Adam Foote square in the jaw and then skated away after Foote dropped his gloves.Man up, guys!LinesCody McCormick watched from the press box tonight as Jones drew into the lineup and Ben Guite stayed in.The lines still have stayed very faithful since the beginning of the year which is a testament to TG not panicking when the team is struggling.With the exception of Jones moving up to Sakic's wing late in the game, the lines were:Wolski-Sakic-TuckerSmyth-Stastny-HejdukJones-Arnason-SvatosMcleod-Guite-LaperriereThe fourth line wasn't a factor in this game and aside from the first period, I barely remember seeing Mcleod on the ice.StatsSakic was the ice-time leader for the Avs with 24:45, followed closely by Clark and Hannan with 24:31 and 24:29 respectively.John-Michael Liles wasn't far behind at 23:37 and had his most physical game of the year with four registered hits, a couple of those being solid shots including a nice stiff arm late in the game.The Avalanche outhit the Sabres by a 31-15 margin led by Liles, Tucker (5) and Mcleod (4).The RTSS guys had itchy trigger fingers tonight on giveaways and takeaways. The Avalanche had 21 giveaways and 24 takeaways while the Sabres registered 8 and 17. Tucker kisses the glassThis is just a hilarious photo.Next gameThe Avalanche are in Cowtown on Tuesday to play the Flames at 9:30 ET, 7:30 MT.OfftopicDid anyone catch the Silva-Cote fight after the game? Cote blew his knee in the third round after going longer than anyone in the UFC had against Silva. Tough luck.Related Links.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=Recap&seas=20082009&gtype=2&gnum=117">ColoradoAvalanche.com RecapSource

Hall is the OHL Player of the Week

2009-01-07T10:40:00.001-08:00

Boston Pizza OHL Player of the WeekThe Ontario Hockey League today announced that Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires is the Boston Pizza OHL Player of the Week for the week ending October 26. Hall led the top ranked Spitfires to three wins this week scoring four goals and adding five assists for nine points in three games with a plus-minus rating of plus-4.Hall had his best game of the week on Thursday night recording a point in each of the five Spitfires’ goals as they defeated the Guelph Storm 5-3. Hall opened the scoring in the contest in the first minute of play and would add an insurance marker late in the third period to secure the win. Those two goals combined with his three assists earned him second star of the game honours. On Saturday night Hall scored the lone goal of the game on the power play in the second period and was the game’s third star as the Spitfires beat the Plymouth Whalers 1-0. In the rematch Sunday, Hall scored one goal and two assists in a 9-4 home win over the Whalers.Hall, a 16-year-old from Kingston, ON currently leads the OHL in scoring with 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points in 16 games. Hall is in his second season with the Spitfires and was the recipient of the Emms Family Award as OHL Rookie of the Year last season.Also considered for the award this week was Adam Henrique of the Windsor Spitfires who scored four goals and four assists for eight points in three games including a five-point night against the Plymouth Whalers where he scored his first OHL career hat-trick. Bryan Cameron of the Belleville Bulls had four goals and two assists for six points in three games. Goaltender Jason Guy of the London Knights went 2-0 this week with a shutout and a 1.50 goals-against-average and a .952 save percentage.2008-09 Boston Pizza OHL Players of the Week Oct. 27 – Taylor Hall, Windsor SpitfiresOct. 20 – Brandon Foote, Brampton BattalionOct. 13 – Justin DiBenedetto, Sarnia StingOct. 6 – Stefan Della Rovere, Barrie ColtsSept. 29 – Luke Pither, Guelph StormSept. 22 – Matt Lyall, Sault Ste. Marie GreyhoundsBoston Pizza WHL Player of the WeekCALGARY, AB. - The BOSTON PIZZA WHL Player of the Week is forward Jamie Benn of the Kelowna Rockets.Benn picked up nine points, scoring five goals and four assists to go with a +1 rating, in three games over the past week, helping the Rockets post a 2-1 record in that span.On Wednesday, October 22nd, the Rockets travelled to Chilliwack to face the Bruins at Prospera Centre. Benn netted two goals and two assists as the Rockets downed the Bruins 5-0. He was also named the games 1st star. Two days later, Friday, October 24th, the two teams met again in the latter half of the home-and-home series at Prospera Place in Kelowna. Benn had another two goal performance and added an assist as the Rockets defeated the Bruins 6-0. He was also named the games 3rd Star.The next evening, Saturday, October 25th, at Prospera Place in Kelowna, the Rockets hosted the Brandon Wheat Kings. Benn scored one goal and one assist in the tightly contested match-up between the Clubs with the Wheat Kings eventually edging out the Rockets 3-2.With the two victories this past week the Kelowna Rockets find themselves in second place of the WHL B.C. Division, behind the Vancouver Giants, with a 9-7-0-0 record.Benn, a 19 year old product of Victoria, British, Columbia, is in second season with the Kelowna Rockets. At the 2007 Entry Draft Benn was selected in the 5th round by the Dallas Stars.The WHL has also nominated Adam Brown of the Kelowna Rockets for the ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week Award. Brown posted a 2-0-0-0 record this past week with two shut-outs, stopping all 29 shots for a 0.000 goals-against average and a 1.000 save percentage.Brown, a 17-year-old from Yorba Linda, California, is in his rookie season with the Kelowna Rockets. He spent last season playing midget ‘AAA’ hockey for the Dallas Stars posting a 2.53 goals-against average and six shut-outs in 43 games played.Boston Pizza WHL Player of the WeekSept. 18 – Sept. 21: Jordan Weal, Regina PatsSept. 22 – Sept. 28: Joel Broda, Moose Jaw WarriorsSept. 29 – Oct. 5: Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Vancouver GiantsOct. 6 – Oct. 12: Evander Kane, Vancouver GiantsOct. 13 – Oct. 19: Jay Fehr, Brandon Wheat KingsOct. 20 – Oct. 26: Jamie Benn, Kelowna RocketsTELUS Players of the WeekBOUCHERVILLE, Monday, October 27, 2008 – P.E.I. Rocket forward Chris Doyle and Moncton Wildcats netminder Nicola Riopel today were named the TELUS offensive and defensive players of the week for the period extending from October 20 to 26.Doyle helped the Rocket win two out of four games on the road by scoring two goals, including a game-winner, and adding six assists. Furthermore, he maintained a +1 rating. The New York Rangers’ fifth round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft was a beast in the face-off circle, winning 67.9% of his draws. Doyle is currently eleventh in the QMJHL scoring standings with 22 points.Yannick Riendeau (Voltigeurs), Sasha Famin (Wildcats) and Matthew Pistilli (Cataractes) were also considered.The defensive player of the week is Nicola Riopel. It is already the second time this season that the Moncton goaltender is honoured. In three wins, the backstop allowed only three goals despite 102 shots directed his way. He registered a 1.00 goals-against-average and .971 save percentage while also posting a shutout. The Wildcats have yet to lose a game in regulation so far this season and are currently on a seven-game winning streak.Brandon Gormley (Wildcats), Charles-Olivier Roussel (Cataractes) and Vincent Bourgeois (Juniors) were also strong candidates.(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

Avalanche @ Flames, Game 9 Preview

2009-01-05T13:30:00.001-08:00

Tonight, two gladiators meet in the center of the arena to decide once and for all who is *dramatic pause* the best in the business.After suffering three devastating losses to start their season, the Avalanche have turned their fortunes around and delivered five straight stunning knockouts, including one against top contender *dramatic pause* the Buffalo Sabres.Following their first three losses, the Avalanche changed up their training regimen and looked to backup Andrew Raycroft for success.Despite two straight wins from Raycroft, the Avalanche went back to their bread and butter in Peter Budaj, a true warrior who never gave up hope.And Budaj hasn't looked back since reeling off three straight wins including a last second TKO of the Buffalo Sabres.Tonight, the Calgary Flames will try to end their fortunes in devastating fashion. Calgary doesn't like to beat opponents *dramatic pause* they like to destroy them.With heavy hitters like Dion Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr in the lineup, the Flames are always one mistake away from delivering a knockout blow.They Flames are on a streak of their own having racked up three straight wins including a beatdown of the Phoenix Coyotes on Super Saturday.Which team will keep their streak going and which one will head home with their head in their hands?We'll find out tonight!Ok, the above preview was done in my best imitation of Mike Goldberg's voice when hyping an upcoming UFC matchup.That probably needs a bit more explanation, lest you think I'm off my rocker. Which I probably am.I was about to start writing a quick preview when I began to wonder what it would be like if.nhl matchups were decided not by a predefined schedule but by a "matchmaker" like Joe Silva in the UFC.There would be some basic rules like each team playing three times a week with a limited amout of back-to-back games allowed. The rest would be in the hands of the matchmaker.Are two teams on huge winning streaks? Pit them against each other and see which team blinks.Did two teams shed some blood against each other last night? Pit them against each other for the rubber match the following night.Got a slumping team? Stack them against a team on a long winning streak and see if the underdog can prevail.Sure, the logistics of arena and travel bookings would never work but it would damn sure be fun.Game timeThe game starts at 9:30 ET, 7:30 MT and should be a great matchup so no excuses for not watching/listening!Related LinksPractice Report: Off to CalgarySource

Bruins Look for Perfect Trip Through Western Canada

2009-01-03T08:20:00.001-08:00

Despite only scoring a total of two goals so far this week, one has to be very thrilled about the fact that the Boston Bruins have picked up all four possible points to begin their three-game road trip. The only thing that would make it any sweeter would be a win in Calgary, to make it a perfect 3-for-3. Similar to the Oilers and Canucks, the Calgary Flames are an unfamiliar foe to those watching in New England. The Bruins and Flames haven't played each other since Boston's 2006-07 home opener, back on October 19, 2006. That game resulted in a 3-2 win for the Black and Gold, backstopped by Hannu Toivonen.The Calgary Flames enter Thursday's game with Boston on a hot streak. After starting the year 1-3-1, the Flames have now rattled off four consecutive wins, moving up to second place in the Northwest Division with 11 points. Similar to the Bruins, Calgary's last game also ended in a shutout, as Miikka Kiprusoff turned aside 22 shots in a 3-0 blanking of the Colorado Avalanche. Needless to say, something will have to give one way or another on Thursday.Calgary's preview is going to start with offense for one reason, Jarome Iginla. The Flames' captain has registered 50 goals in a season twice, and is one of the elite players in the National Hockey League. That being said, it should come as no surprise that Iginla leads the team in scoring with six goals and four assists for ten points. Second place on the Flames belongs to 5-foot-9, Mike Cammalleri. Cammalleri came to the Flames in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings this past summer, and has settled in nicely with three goals and six assists. Next up for the forwards is another offseason acquisition, Todd Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi has six goals (four on the power play) in nine games, but his minus-5 is a bit concerning. Daymond Langkow and newly acquired Rene Bourque are tied with Bertuzzi at six points each, rounding out the top five forwards.Similar to the offense, the Flames also have one of the best defensemen in the league. That is 23-year old Dion Phaneuf. Phaneuf leads all Calgary blueliners with six assists and seven points, but is also known for his ability to throw huge hits at oncoming forwards. The Richter Scale might be needed if he and Milan Lucic collide. Joining Phaneuf on the offensive side of things are Mark Giordano and Robyn Regehr. Giordano started with the Flames, went to Russia for a year, and has now come back with three assists in nine games. Regehr has two assists in eight games. Adrian Aucoin has produced points for most of his career, but is off to a slow start with one goal in nine games. To make matters worse, Aucoin's plus/minus currently sits at minus-4. Cory Sarich, Jim Vandermeer, and Adam Pardy finish off the Calgary defense.The trend continues in goal for the Calgary Flames, as they have one of the best there, too. After being a backup goalie for the San Jose Sharks, Miikka Kiprusoff has become the backbone for the Flames. Kiprusoff's last three seasons have seen him put up win totals of 42, 40, and 39, while only sitting out 22 of 246 regular season games. So far this season, the Turku, Finland native is 5-3-1 with a 2.99 goals against average, .897 save percentage, and one shutout. Kiprusoff should be the starter on Thursday, while Tim Thomas would be the smart guess following his two performances this week. If Kiprusoff doesn't go, the backup is 25-year old Curtis McElhinney. McElhinney played in five games a year ago, posting an 0-2 record and a 2.00 goals against average. The majority of his time last season came with the AHL's Quad City Flames, where he went 20-18-2 with a 2.28 goals against average.Taking a look at the American Hockey League, the Providence Bruins suffered their first regulation loss of the season. Chalk this one up to a rough night at the office, as the Baby B's fell 6-0 to the defending Calder Cup Champion Chicago Wolves. Chicago got things going right away, as Colin Stuart (Mark's older brother) tallied a shorthanded goal 1:09 into the contest. Junior Lessard and Joe Motzko followed that up, giving the Wolves a 3-0 lead after one, knocking Tuukka Rask out of the game. Kevin Regan kept the home team off the board in the second, but was beaten by Motzko, Matt Anderson, and Boris Valabik in the third period for the 6-0 final. Even though he had plenty of offensive support, Ondrej Pavelec was still extremely sharp in net for the Wolves, stopping all 35 shots he faced. Rask and Regan each made 15 saves on 18 shots for Providence.Face-off between the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames takes place at 9:00 from the Pengrowth Saddledome for those viewing from the East Coast. Following this game, Boston will have just four road games remaining outside of the Eastern Conference. All four are against teams from the Central Division. The Providence Bruins get to use Thursday as a travel day, as they head from Illinois to Texas. The P-Bruins play the Houston Aeros on Friday, before visiting the San Antonio Rampage on Saturday.Source

Flyers get Gratton from Nashville

2009-01-01T11:10:00.001-08:00

The Philadelphia Flyers acquired 6’2”, 215-pound forward Josh Gratton from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Tim Ramholt Thursday and assigned him to the Phantoms. Gratton, 26, recorded two goals and three assists for five points and 10 penalty minutes in seven games for the Predators’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, this season. He was signed as a free agent by Nashville on July 9, 2008. He split the 2007-08 season between the Phoenix Coyotes, San Antonio Rampage ( Phoenix ’s AHL affiliate) and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. He was scoreless in one regular season game for the Coyotes. In 58 AHL regular season games, Gratton registered 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points and 196 penalty minutes. In 67 career regular season games over parts of three seasons with the Flyers (2005-06) and Phoenix (2005-06 through 2007-08), Gratton posted three points (2G,1A) and 237 penalty minutes. He was scoreless in three regular season games for the Flyers during the 2005-06 season. He was traded by the Flyers, along with Florida ’s second round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft and Tampa Bay ’s second round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft, to Phoenix in exchange for Denis Gauthier on March 9, 2006. He was originally signed as a free agent by the Flyers on July 27, 2004. Ramholt, 23, was scoreless in seven games for the Phantoms this season. He was acquired by the Flyers from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Kyle Greentree on June 30, 2008. Source

GAMEDAY [11] -- PHOENIX COYOTES

2008-12-30T13:00:00.001-08:00

:: Phoenix ain't no joke.Yeah, they're 3-4-0, but they are a solid team all the way through.The 'Yote's haven't played since they got smoked by Calgary on Saturday night. [Ice Chips]So that most likely means they are going to be pissed off.Plus Olli Jokinen always scores against the Pens.If you need a longer preview of the game, [pp.com] has it.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Some interesting off-the-ice news.The Pens are now worth $195 Million. [Forbes]We don't know jack about business, but the Pens had an increase of 26% last year, highest in the.nhl.Buries It bought them for $107 million in 1999, so that's pretty sick.To contrast, the Leafs are number-one with a worth of $448 million.The Coyotes are worth $142 million.Our favorite is the Lightning. [Forbes Magazine]:"In June, OK Hockey, a group of eight owners led by Oren Koules and Len Barrie, bought the Tampa Bay Lightning, the lease rights to the St. Pete Times Forum and 5.5 axces of land in downtown Tampa's Channelside District near the arena for $210 million, of which $204 million was for the team and operating rights to the arena. The new owners believe they can increase cash flow by $18 million a year. They better. Their purchase was financed with a $105 million, three-year bullet loan, meaning in 2011 they will either have to pay the loan off or refinance it." Like we said, we know nothing about business,but if Forbes Magazine is mocking you, you're screwed.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::We fielded some good candidates for the Gameday position tonight.It was a tough call.NICK G. comes through. Go PensSource

WHL's Roster

2008-12-28T03:00:00.001-08:00

Some news to report on this Friday afternoon.Press ReleaseCALGARY, AB – The Canadian Hockey League and the Western Hockey League today announced the players and coaching staff competing in the 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge for Team WHL.The sixth annual ADT Canada Russia Challenge will take place November 17th to 27th, 2008 in Canada as Canadian Hockey League All-Star Teams, from each of its three member Leagues (WHL, OHL and QMJHL), take on the Russian National Junior Team in a six game series.Team WHL was selected by a special committee of WHL General Managers along with Al Murray, Hockey Canada’s Head Scout for the Canadian National Junior Team, as part of the selection process for the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships.The complete Team WHL roster consists of 25 players – two goalies, eight defenceman and 15 forwards. Top prospects for the 2009 Entry Draft including Brayden Schenn (Brandon Wheat Kings), Jared Cowen (Spokane Chiefs) and Evander Kane (Vancouver Giants) will compete in the series along with seven first round draft picks from the 2008 Entry including Kyle Beach (Everett Silvertips), Tyler Myers (Kelowna Rockets) and Colten Teubert (Regina Pats).The two WHL games will be hosted in the province of Saskatchewan by the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday, November 26th and the Prince Albert Raiders on Thursday, November 27th. Game tickets are available at the Prince Albert Raiders office (306) 764-4263 and at the Swift Current Broncos office (306) 773-1509 Ext. 1.Since the introduction of the ADT Canada Russia Challenge in 2003, Team WHL has posted a 9-1 record against the Russian National Junior Team, outscoring their opponent 52-17. Overall the Canadian Hockey League has a 25-5 record during the ADT Canada Russia Challenge.The WHL also announced today that Canadian National Junior Team Assistant Coach Willie Desjardins of the Medicine Hat Tigers will serve as Head Coach while the 2007-08 WHL Coach of the Year Don Nachbaur, of the Tri-City Americans, will act as Assistant Coach. Also, Broncos General Manager/Head Coach Dean Chynoweth will be an Assistant Coach during the Swift Current game and Raiders General Manager/Head Coach Bruno Campese will serve as Assistant Coach for the Prince Albert game.“We are looking forward to bringing this major international series to two of our long standing small markets in Saskatchewan,” commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison, “It is the only time our top Canadian Players in the WHL have the opportunity to compete against their historic rivals from Russia.”Last year the CHL posted a 4-2 record during the series and have won the past five ADT Canada Russia Challenges which has coincided with the Canadian National Junior Team going on to win four straight gold medals at the World Junior Championship.2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge Schedule of GamesGame 1 – Monday, November 17 in Sydney, NSGame 2 – Wednesday, November 19 in Saint John, NBGame 3 – Thursday, November 20 in Guelph, ONGame 4 – Monday, November 24 in St. Catherines, ONGame 5 – Wednesday, November 26 in Swift Current, SKGame 6 – Thursday, November 27 in Prince Albert, SKAll six games will be broadcast nationally on Rogers Sportsnet with RDS televising both games from the QMJHL.The following is the list of WHL players participating in the 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge:Forwards (15): Club: Hometown:Bast, Jason Moose Jaw Moose Jaw, SKBeach, Kyle* Everett Kelowna, BCBenn, Jamie Kelowna Victoria, BCBoychuk, Zach* Lethbridge Airdrie, ABBroda, Joel Moose Jaw Prince Albert, SKCalvert, Matt Brandon Brandon, MBEberle, Jordan* Regina Regina, SKEnnis, Tyler* Medicine Hat Edmonton, ABKane, Evander** Vancouver Vancouver, BCKozun, Brandon Calgary Calgary, ABSceviour, Colton Lethbridge Red Deer, ABSchenn, Braydon** Brandon Saskatoon, SKSonne, Brett Calgary Maple Ridge, BCSylvester, Dustin Kootenay Kelowna, BCTyrell, Dana Prince George Airdire, ABDefence (8): Club: Hometown:Aulie, Keith Brandon Rouleau, SKCowen, Jared** Spokane Allan, SKHamonic, Travis Moose Jaw St. Malo, MBHickey, Thomas* Seattle Calgary, ABMyers, Tyler* Kelowna DeWinton, ABNegrin, John Kootenay Vancouver, BCSpurgeon, Jared Spokane Edmonton, ABTeubert, Colten Regina White Rock, BCGoaltenders (2): Club: Hometown:Pickard, Chet* Tri-City Americans Winnipeg, MBTokarski, Dustin Spokane Watson, SK* First round pick 2008 Entry Draft** 1991 birth-dates eligible for the 2009 Entry DraftMy friend Guy Flamming over at Coming Down the Pipe! had an interesting take on the ADT Canada Russia Challenge. He says make the team draft eligible and players that were privously passed over in the draft to showcase their stuff in front of the scouts. Russia hasn't taking the initative to field the best team possible for this event. The games will be more competative I think. It's not like Hockey Canada doesn't see the players during the season.Flamming's partner Dean Millard disagress with him. He makes an interesting point about Kyle Beach and how this event could help Beach. Beach of the Everett Silvertips, has had off ice issues, and was a problem child at the U-18's a couple of years ago, when he taped "TEAM OHL" over the Team Canada logo on his jersey, implying that head coach Dave Barr was giving preferential treatment to those from the Ontario Hockey League.Has Hockey Canada punished him enough? I say yes, as he is exactly the type of player that can help them drive for 5 in Ottawa. Invite him to camp, if he's acting up, send him home, if he's not keep him and let him start repairing his damaged reputation. That's what HC did with Steve Downie in 2006. Beach was using his freedom of speech. Do I agree on what he did but I think Hockey Canada should move past that. He could be a player that Canada could use "for the drive for 5 in Ottawa."Both make great points and glad each side was presented. The CHL wants to make money and if it isn't an all-star roster, fans won't go through the turnstiles, for the CHL and the three leagues that represent the CHL, that's a problem if the building empty. That's why Guy's proposal won't work.How about a new country for this event? Instead of Russia, how about the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland or Sweden? The Czech Republic and Slovakia would be the easiest because they have plethora of players playing in the CHL. That would mean more players from the CHL participating. Slovakia already has an Under 20 team that plays in the Slovakia Extraliga. It would give them confidence heading into the World Juniors. The Czech Republic would have plenty of talented players to make it competitive. Same with Finland and could see their true World Junior team. Sweden is unlikely because most of their top players are playing in the Swedish Elite League and I can't see a Victor Hedman or Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson type coming over. It would just be facing Russia over again. That's My Take(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

Stars Visit Boston to Start November

2008-12-26T04:10:00.001-08:00

It's beginning to look like the schedule makers forgot to bring a map with them when they produced the 2008-09 schedule. Last weekend, the Atlanta Thrashers came to Boston one night after a game in Detroit. Earlier this week, the Bruins went from Edmonton to Vancouver in one night (rather than nearby Calgary). Now this weekend, the Dallas Stars make their lone visit to the TD Banknorth Garden Saturday night, coming off of a 5-2 loss in Chicago less than 24 hours earlier. This trend won't be ending anytime soon. Boston's next back-to-back is in Chicago, then home against Montreal. Speaking of the Bruins, they enter Saturday's game after winning two out of three in Western Canada.Including Friday night's loss, the Dallas Stars enter Saturday night's game in Boston with a 4-5-2 record, good for 10 points, and third place in the Pacific Division. Dallas has alternated wins and losses for the last six games, a streak that the Bruins hope to put an end to with a win of their own. The Black and Gold are currently 5-3-3, good for 13 points, and third place in the Northeast Division. The last time these two teams met was back on opening night 2007-08, a 4-1 win for the Stars. Patrice Bergeron had Boston's lone goal that night, with Manny Fernandez taking the loss in his first game as a Bruin.Although it is only a month into the season, the early concern for the Stars is the performance of their goaltenders. Marty Turco has been Dallas' number one guy for the past five seasons, playing in the All-Star Game three times. So far this year, Turco has been far from his normal self with a 3-4-2 record, a 4.26 goals against average, and an .842 save percentage, but could turn that around at any time. With Turco struggling, the Stars have gone with Tobias Stephan in each of their last two games. The Swiss netminder is 1-1-0 on the season, with a 3.53 goals against average, and an .857 save percentage in four apperances. Considering Stephan struggled on Friday, and this is a back-to-back, the smart money is on Marty Turco getting the nod against the B's. As far as Boston is concerned, it's a toss-up at this point. Tim Thomas played well on the road trip, but Manny Fernandez hasn't played in a week.On defense, Dallas is without the services of Sergei Zubov, due to an injury. That leaves them on the young side, except for 35-year old Philippe Boucher, and 31-year old Stephane Robidas. Boucher has been a bit slow at the start with one assist, but Robidas is the Stars' leading scorer on the blueline, with six assists and seven points. Trevor Daley and Matt Niskanen are next in line with four and two points respectively, but Daley's minus-6 and Niskanen's minus-5 aren't very encouraging signs for defensemen. The defense rounds out with Niklas Grossman, Mark Fistric, and Doug Janik.The injury bug has also hit the offense for the Stars. Joel Lundqvist was recently put on injured reserve, while Brad Richards missed Friday night's game in Chicago, and is listed as being day-to-day. Despite Richards' absense, Dallas' forwards are still putting points on the board. The top two scorers are linemates Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro. Morrow has four goals and eight assists, while Ribeiro relies more on the pass, with one goal and eleven assists. Loui Eriksson is the third member of that line, and he seems to be fitting in quite well, with five goals and three assists. Another bright spot up front for the Stars has been rookie Fabian Brunnstrom. Brunnstrom has already picked up five goals in just nine games to start his career.Having Dallas in town also means that the Bruins will be forced to contend with superpest Sean Avery. It hasn't taken long for Avery to make friends in the Western Conference, as he has 33 penalty minutes in eleven games. Fans of the fisticuffs should enjoy watching this team play. The Stars only have eight fighting majors to this point in the season, but Avery, Steve Ott, Krys Barch, and BJ Crombeen have never been shy about dropping the mitts.On Friday night, the Providence Bruins continued their road trip. Unfortunately for the P-Bruins, they came out on the short end of a 4-2 score with the Houston Aeros. Providence took the lead in the first period on a goal by Matt Lashoff, but had it answered 1:16 later by Jason Deitsch. The Aeros got their first lead of the contest 1:52 into the second period from Krys Kolanos, but the Baby B's were able to tie it before intermission thanks to Levi Nelson. In the third period, Houston took the lead at the 3:26 mark, when Danny Irmen went top shelf for the go-ahead goal, and the Bruins were unable to recover. Bryan Lundbohm capped the scoring with an empty netter in the final minute. Peter Schaefer's brother Nolan picked up the win for the Aeros with 25 saves on 27 shots. Kevin Regan suffered his first loss in the AHL, despite stopping 20 of 23 shots for Providence.Believe it or not, both teams will be in action on the same night for the first time October 18th. The Boston Bruins are home for a 7:00 face-off with the Dallas Stars, while the Providence Bruins conclude their road trip against the San Antonio Rampage at 8:00.Source

Mats Sundin Leaving Canada for a Tax Loophole?

2008-12-23T18:40:00.001-08:00

I'm sitting at a coffee shop with free wi-fi and while watching my fantasy football team go down in flames, I decided to check out the latest sports headlines.A link from Kukla caught my eye due to the excellent line of:"Why Ron Wilson is the coach of the month in the: Name another coach who has fixed two teams, one by arriving and one by departing"So I headed on over to the Toronto Sun article to see if there were any other gems hidden inside. And it didn't disappoint.It started off with an interesting piece on the unsavory relationship between Bob Goodenow and David Frost and then capped itself off with this nugget:If Mats (Toronto is my home) Sundin has his house up for sale, don't bet on him playing for any Canadian team. It has to do with a tax loophole foreign athletes get. When he gets out of Canada, he gets a big cheque from the government. But if he stays, he gets nothing.Interesting. So if Mats leaves the country, we give him money. If he stays, we keep his money.But what do we do once he gets to the border, has one leg in the States, one leg in Canada and says "I can't make up my mind"?Source

Umberger back to center plus more

2008-12-21T14:50:00.001-08:00

Puck-rakers is reporting that RJ Umberger is being moved back to center for tonight's game versus the Islanders.So the top lines will look they did on opening night:Nash-Umberger-HuseliusChimera-Brassard-VoracekI'm okay with this move although RJ at wing next to Peca and Torres had a solid game versus Chicago. Still unless Howson makes a move whom else can Hitch put there? Malhotra and Novotny certainly aren't the answers. You can't break up the only line that is really working for you in the "goat" line. The only two guys that haven't been tried are Peca and Murray and both of those guys aren't top 6 players.Hopefully now that RJ has a goal under his CBJ belt and has gained some confidence he can be a better fit this time around.Check out this quote from Derick Brassard from the Dispatch this morning in regards to his ice time which is only 7th best on the roster despite being the scoring leader:"It's early in the season and we have to gain his confidence," Brassard said. "I'm sure it will come. One time he is going to have no choice because we play well and play good for the team."Now Hitch has been quoted multiple times saying he wants to protect these kids and let Nash's line do the heavy lifting against the opposition top shut down pairs. I can understand that view but if Brass and his line keep playing the way they do Hitch won't have a choice as the opposition is going to target this line as the one to stop and make their own adjustments.At some point though he's going to have to turn these kids loose and roll with the punches. They've been that good.Syracuse went 1 on 1 on the weekend.On Saturday they nipped Rockford 3-2 off a 3 point night from Jonathen Sigalet. Tom Sestito also collected a goal while Steve Mason stopped 22 of 24 shots to earn his second victory as a pro.On Sunday the Crunch came up short falling 2-1 to Chicago. Again Sestito got on the board collecting the only goal for the Crunch and his 3rd on the year. Steve Mason stopped 20 of 22 shots.Through 3 starts Mason has a 1.63 GAA and a .937 Save% and is 2-1. Clay Wilson, Maxim Mayorov and Jonathen Sigalet are tied for the team lead in points each collecting 8 in 9 games played.You have to wonder if Sigalet may get a look soon on the big squad if they continue to sputter on the PP.Nikita Filatov had a quite weekend going scoreless as did Kris Russell.The Ohio State Men's hockey team had a very rough go of it over the weekend as they faced off against #8 Michigan in Ann Arbor. They dropped both of their games with a 4-3 loss and Friday and 6-1 shellacking on Saturday night. Their overall record drops to 2-5-1 on the season.TSN has an excellent read up in regards to players who are struggling out of the gate. What's interseting is that there are a lot of names that myself and others would have loved to add over the summer. A couple of them:Antoine Vermette, LW, Ottawa (1-1-2, minus-2 in 10 GP; two years, $5.525M)Comment: Sens keep looking for secondary scoring; Vermette not bringing it.Ryan Malone, LW, Tampa Bay (2-0-2, minus-1 in 9 GP; six years, $31.5M)Comment: Virtually impossible to match the production he had with Malkin last season.Pavel Kubina, D, Toronto (1-2-3, minus-6 in 10 GP; two years, $10.0M)Comment: Had an underrated year in 2007-2008, but off to a poor start this year.Jordan Staal, C, Pittsburgh (0-3-3, minus-1 in 11 GP; one year, $850K)Comment: Due for a contract extension before season's end, but lack of goal-scoring still an issue.Matthew Lombardi, C, Calgary (1-1-2, minus-1 in 7 GP; two years, $3.9M)Comment: Still waiting for him to build on previous 20-goal season.Brendan Morrison, C, Anaheim (0-1-1, minus-5 in 11 GP, one year, $2.75M)Comment: Still a step slow coming off knee surgery.Yikes... I really wanted Kubina and Vermette over the summer. I would have also liked Lombardi.Still though if these players continues to struggle it could present a nice opportunity for Howson to pick one up at a reasonable price and see if the ole "change of scenery" theory holds true for one of them.I don't expect any "name" players to move before the 20 game mark when GMs should really have a good read on their squads.The Jackets could certainly use another top 6 pivot and names like Lombardi, Staal and Vermette would still interest me.On the positive side, I think we may have caught a big break on Morrison shunning us over the summer and to some lesser extent Malone.-LTLSource

Weekly Award Winners

2008-12-19T07:10:00.001-08:00

WHL Press ReleaseCALGARY, AB. - The BOSTON PIZZA WHL Player of the Week is forward Dana Tyrell of the Prince George Cougars.Tyrell picked up seven points, scoring three goals and four assists, in two games over the past week, helping the Cougars post a 1-0-0-1 record in that span.On Wednesday, October 29th, the Cougars played host to the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings at the CN Centre in Prince George. Tyrell netted two power play goals and an assist in a game that saw the visiting Wheat Kings erase a four goal deficit to down the Cougars 6-5 in a shoot-out. He was also named the games 1st Star.On Saturday, November 1st, B.C. Division rivals the Kamloops Blazers travelled north to take on the home team Cougars. Tyrell scored one goal and added three assists as the Cougars defeated the Blazers 7-2 at the CN Centre. He was also named the games 3rd Star.With the Cougars picking up three of a possible four points on home ice they find themselves just one point behind the Kamloops Blazers for 3rd spot in the WHL B.C. Division and one win away from a .500 record (8-9-0-1).Tyrell, a 19 year old Airdrie, Alberta product is in his fourth season in the Western Hockey League and with the Prince George Cougars. At the 2007 Entry Draft Tyrell was selected in the 2nd round - 47th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightening. He also was recently named to the Team WHL roster and will compete against the Russian National Junior Team during the 2008 Canada Russia Challenge.The WHL has also nominated Mark Guggenberger of the Swift Current Broncos for the ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week Award. Guggenberger posted a 2-0-0-0 record this past week, stopping all 57 of 59 shots faced for a 1.000 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage. Guggenberger, a 19-year-old from Richfield, Minnesota, is in his second season in the Western Hockey League.Boston Pizza WHL Player of the WeekSept. 18 – Sept. 21: Jordan Weal, Regina PatsSept. 22 – Sept. 28: Joel Broda, Moose Jaw WarriorsSept. 29 – Oct. 5: Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Vancouver GiantsOct. 6 – Oct. 12: Evander Kane, Vancouver GiantsOct. 13 – Oct. 19: Jay Fehr, Brandon Wheat KingsOct. 20 – Oct. 26: Jamie Benn, Kelowna RocketsOct. 27 – Nov. 2: Dana Tyrell, Prince George CougarsQMJHL Press ReleaseBOUCHERVILLE, Monday, November 3, 2008 – Shawinigan Cataractes forward Philippe Paradis and P.E.I. Rocket netminder Bobby Nadeau today were named the TELUS offensive and defensive players of the week for the period extending from October 27 to November 2.In four contests, Paradis registered seven assists as well as a +4 rating. Moreover, he dished out serious punishment on the fore-check, collecting fourteen bodychecks. The forward enjoyed his best game of the week on Tuesday against the Titan, recording an assist on both the game-tying and game-winning goals. The Cataractes have won ten consecutive games, three shy of the franchise record.Danick Paquette (MAINEiacs), Mikhail Stefanovich (Remparts) and Chris Doyle (Rocket) were also considered.The defensive player of the week is Bobby Nadeau. The goaltender enabled the Rocket to collect five out of a possible six points in the standings thanks to two wins and a shootout loss. He allowed only six goals despite facing 112 shots, posting a 1.95 goals-against-average and .949 save percentage. P.E.I. has been playing solid hockey for the past few weeks and sits in fourth place in the Atlantic division standings.Timo Pielmeier (Cataractes), Charles-Olivier Roussel (Cataractes) and David Savard (Wildcats) were also strong candidates.OHL Press ReleaseThe Ontario Hockey League today announced the OHL Academic Players of the Month for October.West Division - The OHL Academic Player of the Month for October in the West Division is defenseman Nathan Chiarlitti of the Sarnia Sting Hockey Club. Nathan, 16, a native of Maple, Ontario is currently enrolled at Northern Collegiate High School in Sarnia.“Nathan is off to a great start in his rookie OHL season. He currently maintains a 92% average with a full course load,” commented Caroline White, Academic Advisor for the Sarnia Sting.Midwest Division - The OHL Academic Player of the Month for October in the Midwest Division is forward Jeff Skinner of the Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club. Skinner, 16, a native of Markham, Ontario was the Rangers First Round Selection in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection.Dave Tennant, Academic Advisor for the Kitchener Rangers, had this to say about Jeff, “Jeff is a first year player in the OHL and is making an impact not only on the ice for the Kitchener Rangers, but also in the classroom. His hard work in making the transition to a new team, new community and new high school is being rewarded with excellent marks, ones that will allow him to pursue a post-secondary education at the school of his choosing.”Central Division - The OHL Academic Player of the Month for October in the Central Division is center Freddie Hamilton of the Niagara Ice Dogs Hockey Club. Hamilton, 16, a native of Toronto, Ontario is a Grade 11 student at Governor Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines.“Freddie Hamilton has not only adjusted to his new hockey surroundings in Niagara but is also focused on his academic endeavours. Freddie has achieved an astounding 98% average thus far in Grade 11 Chemistry, Computer Engineering and English,” raved Tim Tope, Academic Advisor for the Ice Dogs.East Division - The OHL Academic Player of the Month for October in the East Division is goaltender Kevin Bailie of the Oshawa Generals Hockey Club. Bailie, 16, a native of Belleville, Ontario, is a Grade 11 student at Henry Street High School.Tom Buchanan, Academic Advisor for the Oshawa Generals commented on Kevin’s achievements, “Kevin Bailie has made a smooth transition into the OHL. Kevin is taking university courses and has a 85% average.”Each month, the OHL recognizes a player from each Division who is striving to reach his full potential in his educational program while playing in the Ontario Hockey League.90% of the players currently playing in the Ontario Hockey League are attending high school or post-secondary institutions. For the 2007-08 playing season, 189 OHL graduates are currently attending Canadian universities on scholarships from their OHL teams.That's My Take(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

Election Tuesday Vote Results: Obama Wins, But Here's Who Covers

2008-12-16T16:30:00.001-08:00

Sports will take a back seat to politics on Tuesday night as election results pour in. Forget about it. Barack Obama wins in a landslide. Forget the exit polls, we have the real projected election results 2008. The networks may be the place to go to follow black panthers intimidating voters, but we have the accurate projected results. Either way, go out and vote, collect your Chick-fil-A sandwich and Starbucks coffee as a reward, then win with OffshoreInsiders.com. But here's a look at the matchups trying to grab your attention in the Daily Sports Roundup. The Gridiron Spotlight Buffalo will host Miami-Ohio in Mid-American action in the only football game on tap for Tuesday night. The Bulls have been the superior team so far this season, both on the field and at the betting window. Buffalo is coming off consecutive wins over Army and Ohio which boosted them to 4-4 (5-3 against-the-spread) through eight games this year. The power of 620 sports services behind every selection is 122-70 in football. They have a sports service out of Midwest is the No. 1 all-time CFB service in units won. Their highest rated plays are Executive Plays. Their Weeknight Executive Play of the Year goes tonight for Miami ( Ohio )/ Buffalo . They are 61.2 percent with all Executive Plays in College football the last three seasons. Click now to purchase sports betting picks from the top sports services or you can get more information and a free sports pick. The MasterLockLine remains hotter than Irina Shayk. Miami-Ohio, on the other hand, was blasted 54-21 by Kent State last time out, and they're just 2-6 (3-4 ATS) on the season. The RedHawks will be trying to get back into the win column as road underdogs in this contest, as Buffalo was opened by the oddsmakers as 8-point favorites. Miami-Ohio won this meeting 31-28 at home last year, and in fact they've managed to beat Buffalo each of the last nine times that they've met. Other Notable Events There are three games on the NBA schedule for Tuesday night, including the Celtics playing on the road against the Rockets. Boston was bounced 95-79 at home by the Pacers last time out, dropping them to 2-1 on the season. Houston has lived up to the preseason hype this year, starting out with wins over the Grizzlies, Mavs, and Thunder. Rounding out the NBA's Tuesday slate are Phoenix at New Jersey , and Dallas at San Antonio . The Spurs are still looking to pick up their first win of the season, as they lost 103-98 to the Suns in their opener and then fell 100-99 to the Trail Blazers last time out. The Rest of the Schedule The is the busiest league on Tuesday night, with seven games on the schedule. That slate includes four games taking place in Canada , where the fans don't have to worry about making time to cast ballots. Those four contests: Washington at Ottawa , Carolina at Toronto , Phoenix at Calgary , and also Nashville at Vancouver in late action. The other three games on the ice on Tuesday are the Islanders at the Rangers, Anaheim at Los Angeles , and Minnesota at San Jose . The Sharks knocked off the Avalanche 5-3 on Sunday night, and they've now won four straight games (and six of their past seven outings) to sit with a stellar 10-2-0 mark. San Jose is also 6-0 at home. News from the Wire Heat forward Shawn Marion broke his nose over the weekend but is expected to play through the injury . . . Texans quarterback Matt Schaub suffered a knee injury on Sunday and had to give way to Sage Rosenfels . . . New Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper could be in the mix for playing time immediately . . . Bears quarterback Kyle Orton is expected to miss the next month of action because of a badly sprained ankle. A Peek at the Future The NFL has a Thursday game this week, with Denver at Cleveland . The oddsmakers opened the Browns as 3-point home favorites, with the total at 46.5 points . . . the best mid-week college football matchup takes place on Thursday as well, with No. 11 TCU at No. 10 Utah. The Horned Frogs opened as 1-point favorites . . . Jimmie Johnson leads Carl Edwards by 106 points heading into Sunday's Sprint Cup Series event at Phoenix .OffshoreInsiders.comSource

No Smith on All-Star ballot

2008-12-15T11:20:00.001-08:00

Guess no one at the.nhl figured Mike Smith was going to have any kind of season, and the Lightning goaltender was left off the.nhl All-Star ballot. Forwards Marty St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier are on the ballot. Voting for the starting lineups begins Nov. 12 and goes through Jan. 2. Go to vote.nhl.com to cast your ballot as many times as you want, and you can include Smith as a write-in. Here is the notice from the league: Six players from the All-Star host Montreal Canadiens -- goaltender Carey Price, defensemen Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek plus forwards Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev and Alex Tanguay -- have been named to the ballot in XM.nhl All-Star Fan Balloting presented by 2K Sports. The Canadiens' ballot representation is tied with the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings for the most among.nhl clubs. The Canadiens, who captured the Eastern Conference regular-season championship in 2007-08 and have compiled a searing 8-1-1 start to this season, will host the 2009.nhl All-Star festivities in January as part of their year-long Centennial celebration. The 104-player ballot features 23 players under the age of 25. Ten of those players are making their first career appearance on the ballot: Dustin Brown, Los Angeles (24); Brent Burns, Minnesota, (23); Mike Green (23) and Alexander Semin (24), Washington; Patrick Kane (19) and Jonathan Toews (20), Chicago; Zach Parise, New Jersey, (24); Price, Montreal, (21); Mike Richards, Philadelphia, (23) and Shea Weber, Nashville, (23). Voting opens Nov. 12. In a first for all major professional sports leagues, the.nhl will provide real-time All-Star fan balloting results online at.nhl.com. From Nov. 12 through Jan. 2.nhl fans will be able to vote as often as they like to select the starting lineups for the 2009.nhl All-Star Game in Montreal. Fans around the world can vote online via interactive English and French ballots at Vote.nhl.com. Those in the U.S. and Canada also will be able to cast their votes via text message using any wireless carrier. During the voting period, real-time results will be available exclusively on Vote.nhl.com/results. This marks the third consecutive year the All-Star Balloting process is entirely digital. Fans can vote for up to six Eastern Conference players and six Western Conference players: three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender. For the first time, fans will be permitted to select as few as one player -- a balloted player or write-in -- per online ballot at Vote.nhl.com or via text message. The three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender from each Conference receiving the most votes will comprise the starting lineups. Each of the 30.nhl clubs has at least two representatives on the ballot. EAST Goaltenders Martin Biron, Philadelphia FlyersMartin Brodeur, New Jersey DevilsRick DiPietro, New York IslandersMarc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh PenguinsKari Lehtonen, Atlanta ThrashersHenrik Lundqvist, New York RangersRyan Miller, Buffalo SabresCarey Price, Montreal CanadiensVesa Toskala, Toronto Maple LeafsTomas Vokoun, Florida Panthers Defensemen Jay Bouwmeester, Florida PanthersZdeno Chara, Boston BruinsSergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh PenguinsMike Green, Washington CapitalsTomas Kaberle, Toronto Maple LeafsMike Komisarek, Montreal CanadiensAndrei Markov, Montreal CanadiensTeppo Numminen, Buffalo SabresChris Phillips, Ottawa SenatorsWade Redden, New York RangersKimmo Timonen, Philadelphia FlyersRyan Whitney, Pittsburgh Penguins Forwards Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa SenatorsPatrice Bergeron, Boston BruinsDaniel Briere, Philadelphia FlyersRod Brind'Amour, Carolina HurricanesSidney Crosby, Pittsburgh PenguinsChris Drury, New York RangersPatrik Elias, New Jersey DevilsSimon Gagne, Philadelphia FlyersScott Gomez, New York RangersDany Heatley, Ottawa SenatorsTrent Hunter, New York IslandersSaku Koivu, Montreal CanadiensIlya Kovalchuk, Atlanta ThrashersAlex Kovalev, Montreal CanadiensVincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay LightningEvgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh PenguinsMarkus Naslund, New York RangersAlex Ovechkin, Washington CapitalsZach Parise, New Jersey DevilsMike Richards, Philadelphia FlyersBrian Rolston, New Jersey DevilsDerek Roy, Buffalo SabresMartin St. Louis, Tampa Bay LightningMarc Savard, Boston BruinsAlexander Semin, Washington CapitalsJason Spezza, Ottawa SenatorsEric Staal, Carolina HurricanesAlex Tanguay, Montreal CanadiensThomas Vanek, Buffalo SabresRay Whitney, Carolina Hurricanes WEST Goaltenders Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota WildIlya Bryzgalov, Phoenix CoyotesJ.S. Giguere, Anaheim DucksMiikka Kiprusoff, Calgary FlamesPascal Leclaire, Columbus Blue JacketsRoberto Luongo, Vancouver CanucksEvgeni Nabokov, San Jose SharksChris Osgood, Detroit Red WingsMarty Turco, Dallas Stars Defensemen Rob Blake, San Jose SharksDan Boyle, San Jose SharksBrent Burns, Minnesota WildBrian Campbell, Chicago BlackhawksNicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red WingsScott Niedermayer, Anaheim DucksDion Phaneuf, Calgary FlamesChris Pronger, Anaheim DucksBrian Rafalski, Detroit Red WingsRobyn Regehr, Calgary FlamesSheldon Souray, Edmonton OilersShea Weber, Nashville Predators Forwards Jason Arnott, Nashville PredatorsBrad Boyes, St. Louis BluesDustin Brown, Los Angeles KingsPavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red WingsShane Doan, Phoenix CoyotesMarian Gaborik, Minnesota WildRyan Getzlaf, Anaheim DucksMilan Hejduk, Colorado AvalancheAles Hemsky, Edmonton OilersShawn Horcoff, Edmonton OilersMarian Hossa, Detroit Red WingsJarome Iginla, Calgary FlamesOlli Jokinen, Phoenix CoyotesPatrick Kane, Chicago BlackhawksPaul Kariya, St. Louis BluesMikko Koivu, Minnesota WildAnze Kopitar, Los Angeles KingsPatrick Marleau, San Jose SharksMike Modano, Dallas StarsBrenden Morrow, Dallas StarsRick Nash, Columbus Blue JacketsMike Ribeiro, Dallas StarsBrad Richards, Dallas StarsJoe Sakic, Colorado AvalancheDaniel Sedin, Vancouver CanucksHenrik Sedin, Vancouver CanucksPaul Stastny, Colorado AvalancheJoe Thornton, San Jose SharksKeith Tkachuk, St. Louis BluesJonathan Toews, Chicago BlackhawksHenrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red WingsSource

News From the CHL

2008-12-13T12:40:00.001-08:00

CHL Top TenWednesday-November 05, 2008Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Hockey League today announced the CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 Rankings for this week. The weekly rankings of the Canadian Hockey League’s Top 10 are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts. CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top-10 Rankings – Week 8 Rank Team (Record) Last Week Number of Weeks in Rankings1. Windsor Spitfires (17-1-0-0) 1 8 2. Moncton Wildcats (16-0-2-0) 2 7 3. Vancouver Giants (12-0-0-3) 4 6 4. Shawinigan Cataractes (17-4-0-0) 7 5 5. Calgary Hitmen (15-4-1-0) 3 3 6. Quebec Remparts (13-3-0-1) 5 5 7. London Knights (11-5-0-1) 6 5 8. Swift Current Broncos (13-5-0-0) - 5 9. Spokane Chiefs (10-3-0-3) 8 8 10. Guelph Storm (11-6-1-1) 9 6 Boston Player of the WeekToronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that Dana Tyrell of the Prince George Cougars is the Boston Pizza CHL Player of the Week for the week ending November 2. Tyrell scored three goals and four assists for seven points helping the Cougars to a 1-0-0-1 record on the week. Tyrell was named the first star of the game on Wednesday night playing the Brandon Wheat Kings at home. He netted two goals on the power play and added an assist in the 6-5 shootout loss. On Saturday Tyrell would score one goal and three assists for third star of the game honours as the Cougars would beat the Kamloops Blazers 7-2 at home. Tyrell, a 19-year-old from Airdrie, AB is in his fourth WHL season with the Cougars. In 16 games this season he has scored 14 goals and nine assists for 23 points. Tyrell was a second round selection of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2007 Entry Draft. He will be representing Team WHL in the 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge November 26 in Swift Current and November 27 in Prince Albert. Philippe Paradis of the Shawinigan Cataractes was the QMJHL nominee for the award with seven assists to help the Cataractes win four games this week. Defenceman Ryan Ellis of the top ranked Windsor Spitfires scored two goals and five assists for seven points in two games and was the OHL nominee for the award this week. 2008-09 Boston Pizza CHL Player of the WeekNov. 4 – Dana Tyrell, Prince George CougarsOct. 28 – Jamie Benn, Kelowna RocketsOct. 21 – Matthew Pistilli, Shawinigan CataractesOct. 14 – Justin DiBenedetto, Sarnia StingOct. 7 – Stefan Della Rovere, Barrie ColtsSept. 30 – Joel Broda, Moose Jaw WarriorsSept. 23 – Michael Stinziani, Cape Breton Screaming EaglesADT CHL Goaltender of the WeekToronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that Mike Murphy of the Belleville Bulls is the ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending November 2. Murphy posted a 1.33 goals-against-average and a .962 save percentage compiling a 3-0-0-0 record this week for the Bulls.On Wednesday night Murphy would make 35 saves at home in a 5-1 win over the Peterborough Petes and was named the third star of the game. Murphy would again allow just one goal in the game at home Saturday night making 29 saves to beat the Owen Sound Attack 4-1. His week would conclude Sunday with a 37 save performance to beat the host team Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors 3-2.Murphy, a 19-year-old from Inverary, ON currently leads all OHL goaltenders with a league best goals-against-average of 2.12 and save percentage of .938 in 14 games played. Last season Murphy was named the OHL Goaltender of the Year. Murphy will backstop Team OHL on November 24 in St. Catharines in the 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge.P.E.I. Rocket goaltender Bobby Nadeau posted a 1.95 goals-against-average and a .949 save percentage helping the Rocket to a 2-0-0-1 record this week representing the QMJHL nominee. In the WHL, Mark Guggenberger of the Swift Current Broncos went 2-0-0-0 this week with a goals-against-average of 1.00 and a save percentage of .966.Celebrating its 134th anniversary, ADT Security Services, Inc., a unit of Tyco Fire & Security, is the largest provider of electronic security services to more than six million commercial, federal and residential customers throughout North America. ADT's total security solutions include intrusion, fire protection, closed circuit television, access control, critical condition monitoring, electronic article surveillance, radio frequency identification (RFID) and integrated systems. ADT's web site addresses are www.adt.com or www.adt.ca.2008-09 ADT CHL Goaltender of the WeekNov. 4 – Mike Murphy, Belleville BullsOct. 28 – Nicola Riopel, Moncton WildcatsOct. 21 – Brandon Foote, Brampton BattalionOct. 14 – Calvin Pickard, Seattle ThunderbirdsOct. 7 – Olivier Roy, Cape Breton Screaming EaglesSept. 30 – Andrew Engelage, Windsor SpitfiresSept. 23 – Jamie Tucker, Vancouver Giants(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

Sloan Recalled

2008-12-10T19:30:00.001-08:00

Per the Washington Capitals press release:The Washington Capitals have recalled defenseman Tyler Sloan from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.Sloan, 27, is a seventh-year pro who is in his third season with the Bears. This is his second recall of the season, as he played four games with the Capitals last month. Sloan made his debut on Oct. 21 in his hometown of Calgary, Alberta and scored his first goal on Oct. 25 at Dallas.The 6'4", 203-pound Sloan has played in seven games for Hershey this season, recording four assists and 12 penalty minutes. He saw action in a combined 124 games with Hershey the past two seasons after making his debut with the club during its run to the Calder Cup championship in the 2006 AHL playoffs.Sloan, who wears No. 89 for Washington, signed with the Capitals as a free agent on July 2. Source

Roberto Luongo shutsout Wild in 2-0 road loss to Vancouver

2008-12-08T04:20:00.001-08:00

Hockey Night in Canada, a weekly institution where fans all across Canada and those watching via Center Ice sit and watch this celebration of hockey. For Canadian kids; they likely watched their favorite players and teams on HNIC to the legendary voice of Bob Cole and so for these kids they dream of someday playing in this weekend event. The butterflies will likely be there for Minnesota's Benoit Pouliot, Colton Gillies, and Cal Clutterbuck making their Hockey Night in Canada debut. While the queasiness of the youngsters will be of interest to see how they handle it; this is also a game that makes Wild captain Mikko Koivu's blood boil as Minnesota takes on their arch-rival the much-hated Vancouver Canucks. For Koivu, the memories of having two months of the season taken from him after a two-handed lumberjack slash by Mattias Ohlund has transformed him into a bit of a curse for the Canucks. Koivu has saved some of his best performances against Vancouver last season after he returned from injury, haunting the Canucks after a goal screaming loudly as he passed their bench in one of the more memorable moments of the Wild's 2007-08 season. While the memories from the past as well as being a showcased matchup on Hockey Night in Canada are nice, it must be stated that this is a very important Northwest Division game as Minnesota holds a narrow 1-point lead in the standings. With Calgary losing in Columbus tonight, the Wild have a great opportunity to create some space for itself before returning home. Can the Wild take advantage of this opportunity and deliver another big road victory this evening or will they simply have to be satisfied with returning home? The action was end to end early as Vancouver mounted an early rush where Alexandre Burrows crashed into Niklas Backstrom sending the net off its moorings. The Canucks had good jump in their skates early to start this game, but the Wild ever patient were waiting for turnovers to create offense through transition as Pierre-Marc Bouchard wristed a shot that Roberto Luongo gloved for a save. Vancouver went back on the attack and perhaps Erik Reitz was feeling a bit nervous as he cleared a puck into the stands for a delay of game penalty. On the power play Ryan Kesler moved the puck down low but his attempt to feed a waiting Kyle Wellwood would strike the net not allowing Vancouver to take advantage of a sprawling Niklas Backstorm. Minnesota did a great job of keeping the Canucks to the perimeter and getting into the shooting lanes to earn the big early kill. The Wild got caught attacking and Vancouver took a page out of the Wild's gameplan and counter attacked for a 4-on-2 as Burrows hit a trailing Vancouver defenseman and his shot hit the crossbar and went over the net. Unexpectedly, the Wild had a tremendous shift from its 4th line of Craig Weller, Benoit Pouliot and Derek Boogaard who used their big bodies to drive to the Canucks' net giving Minnesota its best scoring chance but Luongo was able to keep the puck out of the net. A few minutes later Derek Boogaard was called for interference and the Canucks power play got a golden opportunity when a point shot turned into a flurry near the crease but Niklas Backstrom was able to make the initial save on Daniel Sedin, and Sedin's rebound attempt skittered through the crease harmlessly and Minnesota's penalty kill dodged a bullet. Minnesota's penalty woes continued as Colton Gillies got a bit carried away and shoved Ryan Johnson into the boards from behind earning a boarding minor. This time; the penalty would sting as Sami Salo took advantage of a screen and his blast from the point would find the twine behind Backstrom giving the Canucks a 1-0 lead. There would be an element of physicality after a decent hit on Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler by Boogaard he was challenged by the Canucks' Darcy Hordichuk. Boogaard did well in his first fight of the year as he landed a series of decent right hands that had Hordichuk sort of bent over and swingingly wildy as he tried to avoid obliteration before falling forward to the ice and he decided to stay down instead of standing back up for a bigger beat down by the Wild enforcer. One player who seemed to have some extra spark in his skates for the Wild was Pierre-Marc Bouchard as he was buzzing all over the Vancouver zone, showing surprising strength on the puck but unfortunately for all his good effort the Wild could not manage a quality shot on Roberto Luongo. A late high sticking call on former Wild defenseman Willie Mitchell with just over 5 seconds left in the period would result in a faceoff in the Vancouver zone and a nice little faceoff play to Marc-Andre Bergeron who unloaded a slapper that found the chest of Luongo placing the Wild still down 1-0 going into the 2nd. Minnesota started with a power play to start the 2nd period and the Wild got some big blasts from the point but nothing that forced Roberto Luongo to make a save on. Marc-Andre Bergeron was putting on a showcase of just how heavy his shot was but nothing was going on net. The Wild and Canucks traded rushes up the ice for the next two minutes but both Luongo and Backstrom were able to make the saves on the shots taken near the faceoff dots. The State of Hockey had a great scoring chance when Mikko Koivu worked a little pass to a waiting Andrew Brunette who one-timed a shot that Luongo held onto. A few moments later Roberto Luongo did his best attempt at winning an Oscar when he fell in apparent pain at very glancing bump by Andrew Brunette; as he laid back into his goal holding his head and wincing in pain for a collision that would not even have phased a 5-year old. Fortunately, the officials didn't buy the act and 5-on-5 play would resume. The Wild were throwing their bodies around as Craig Weller and Derek Boogaard leveled some Canucks defenseman with monster hits. Another great hustler for the Wild was Cal Clutterbuck who used his choppy stride to get around the Vancouver defense and drew a hooking call as he got a shot on Luong giving Minnesota a power play. The Wild had a great chance early on the man advantage when Benoit Pouliot appeared to have a good clear scoring opportunity but his snap shot was denied on a great save by Luongo. Minnesota kept attacking and they were swarming well in the Vancouver zone. The aggressive nature did give the Canucks some chances to establish some pressure in the Wild zone, one of the better chances coming off the stick of Mason Raymond but Backstrom stonewalled him. The near-miss appeared to embolden the Canucks and they kept attacking and Taylor Pyatt came close nearly redirecting a point shot that just missed the net. Minnesota had another great chance as Marek Zidlicky waited for a few secreens set up before flinging a wrister that got on goal that forced Luongo to stretch to stop, as the play ended the puck was flipped into the air and Zidlicky was called for interference on the 'jump' puck. Coincidental interference minors were caleld but in the 4-on-4 it was the Wild that looked like it was on the penalty kill as Vancouver stepped up its attack. The Canucks thought they increased their lead when Edler gave a blast from the point but his shot struck the right post and out. Minnesota would have a terrific chance of its own as Andrew Brunette moved as fast as he could on a breakaway but could not wrap a shot around Luongo. Minnesota would have a great chances late in the period. The Wild had a great point chance by Nick Schultz that created a rebound but neither Stephane Veilleux or Cal Clutterbuck who wree camped near the crease could chip in the rebound as Luongo was lying on the ice. Minnesota had an even better chance on some great stickhandling work by Benoit Pouliot who gave a great litle pass to Eric Belanger who quickly dished the puck to an open Pierre-Marc Bouchard for a wicked one-timer but Luongo got across his crease and made the great glove save to keep the Wild trailing 1-0 going into the 3rd. The 3rd period would start with both teams playing a passive 1-2-2 trap (yes, the Canucks trap too!) as they waited for the other to make a mistake to pounce upon. Minnesota's 4th line would create some offensive pressure thanks to a nice hustle play by Nick Schultz to keep the zone which ended up turning into a hard slapper by Craig Weller that Luongo stopped with a stretching leg pad save. The Canucks tried to create some pressure of its own with the Sedin line, as the two twins cycled the puck to one another down low, but the Wild's youngsters Cal Clutterbuck and James Sheppard were able to clear the Wild zone. Minnesota again created some offense with their hard charging style but nothing really threatening on Luongo. As if on cue, the Canucks responded again with the Sedin line and it had the desired affect of creating offensive pressure and also drawing a Wild penalty a minor for high sticking on Stephane Veilleux. On the Vancouver power play, the Canucks had good puck possession as Vancouver passed the puck quickly and efficiently before settling on a point shot by Edler that Backstrom held onto for a save. Minnesota would get the crucial kill but seemed to be a bit gassed after the penalty kill and struggled to make plays work and started to take long stretch passes to catch Vancouver a bit off guard. Minnesota would earn a power play when Sami Salo had to hold an attacking Colton Gillies but the Wild's power play was disjointed earlybut Andrew Brunette was aggressive and he charged into the crease trying to stuff the puck through Luongo but he made the stop and the loose biscuit was cleared into the Canucks' bench. Vancouver was waiting for the Wild at the blueline making it tough for Minnesota to enter the zone. A tremendous effort by the Wild's top line of Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen and Andrew Brunette was good for a variety of different chances but the Canucks did a great job at getting bodies into the shooting lanes to keep the pucks from going on net. The Wild really ramped up their intensity and were flying all over as Vancouver played rope-a-dope. Minnesota had a brilliant chance with about 3:30 left when Andrew Brunette fed Miettinen who was all alone in the slot but his chance must've hit a body because it never went on goal. With the Wild pressing it made Minnesota vulnerable to a counter attack and a great stretch pass by Henrik Sedin to his brother Daniel Sedin and inexplicably Backstrom went down on his side and Daniel lifted a shot into the goal to put Vancouver up 2-0. Minnesota did not just put their heads down and give up and the Wild continued to attack as they tried to cut into the Canucks' lead. A few great set up chances from the high slot; the first by Kim Johnsson hit a Vancouver defender; and the 2nd by Benoit Pouliot that missed just wide. Frustration started to settle in as Stephane Veilleux would earn a double-minor for roughing as he tried to start something with Alexandre Burrows. The Canucks more or less just played keep away preserving a 2-0 shutout victory.It is impossible to blame Niklas Backstrom who gave up just 2 goals on 29 shots. He may want that 2nd goal back, but for the most part he gave the Wild a lot of time to tie up the game. Roberto Luongo was not tested much early but as the Wild really turned on the pressure late in the 2nd and in the 3rd he stood on his head to shut the door on Minnesota. It was Luongo's 5th shutout of this season already. The Wild certainly did not lack for effort and really threw everything the had at the Canucks but just came up short. While some pundits may talk about who was not in the lineup; the Wild still put in the effort to have possibly won this game and they should feel proud of how hard they worked at the end of a long road trip. Minnesota returns home and hopefully it can heal some of its wounds, and while it will sting losing the Northwest Division lead it still knows its playing fairly well with a lineup riddled by injuries. Wild Head Coach Jacques Lemaire summed it up quite well, "It was a great game for both teams, I was happy, the guys played hard, I know this might not make people happy because there wasn't a lot of goals but we'd have to change both goalies to do that." What was very nice to see was the offense that the Wild's 4th line was able to create, and not only were they creating some pressure by working the puck near the net but delivering the hits as well. Losing is never fun, but Minnesota will definately be ready when the two teams faceoff against one another on November 20th at the friendly confines of Xcel Energy Center. Revenge will be sweet!Wild Notes:~ Wild roster tonight is as follows: Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen, Andrew Brunette, Derek Boogaard, Cal Clutterbuck, Colton Gillies, Craig Weller, Benoit Pouliot, Eric Belanger, Stephane Veilleux, James Sheppard, Kim Johnsson, Nick Schultz, Marek Zidlicky, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Erik Reitz, and Martin Skoula. Josh Harding backed up Niklas Backstrom. Krystofer Kolanos and Tomas Mozjis and were the healthy scratches, while Brent Burns, Marian Gaborik and Owen Nolan are out of the lineup with injuries. ~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Roberto Luongo, 2nd Star Ryan Kesler, 3rd Star Mikko Koivu~ In WCHA action, the #4 ranked Minnesota Golden Gopher's men's hockey team took on the #5 ranked New Hampshire Wildcats. The two teams battled to a tie on Friday, and had a similarly tough battle through 2 periods in Saturday night's tilt but the game busted wide open in the 3rd with Minnesota lighting the lamp four times to cruise to a 6-2 win in front of raucous Marriucci Arena crowd. Source

what you missed last night while you were eating grilled cheese and tomato soup

2008-12-05T22:50:00.001-08:00

Grilled cheese and tomato soup is a great combo, just like Jordan Staal and third periods, or Chris Higgins and high blocker side, or Sergei Zubov and Mike Modano.Penguins come back to beat the Red Wings, 7-6 in OT: Quite simply, what a game! Kids who watched this game learned to go to the net. Thats how Crosby scored (off a great feed from Satan) and how Rik Zetterberg scored (off a great pass from Hudler). I thought the sweetest goal was Datsyuks rip in the 2nd period. Obviously the shot was sick, and Tommy Holmstrom in front did a great job, but Marian Hossa made the most perfect saucer pass I've seen. It was so difficult, because he had to get it up and down so quickly and of course it was right in Pavel's wheelhouse. Back to going to the net, well thats pretty much how Staal scored all three of his third period goals. And lets not forget about the pick pocket (of Datsyuk) and feed to Fedetenko for the gwg.Flyers beat the Islanders, 3-1: Since I was at work yesterday and couldn't rightly honor our veterans by going to the Islanders game, internet radio and/nhl: On the Fly highlights had to suffice. The score says it all, well I guess not. The Islanders did NOT have a 1-0 lead going into the the third and then lose the game. So I guess thats a positive.Flames win over the Maple Leafs, 4-3: The only goal in this game that I thought was truly special was Dion Phaneuf's blast. Iginla sauced a cross ice pass to Phaneuf that he settled, then walked in and ripped slap shot off the far post and in. It is always so impressive to me when players can find those spots. You know with goalies being so big and usually perfect on their angles.Predators beat the Sharks in OT, 4-3: Dan Ellis made a lot of saves. Devin Setogouchi scored a nice one timer. The OT winner was a nice slapshot. Whatever, this game was on late, I needed sleep. East coast bias.Canadiens shut-out the Senators, 4-0: Chris Higgins had 3 of those goals. One of them was a great pass, so all he had to do was put it in the empty net. The other 2 were breakaways (one was semi) and he sniped Alex Auld high blocker both times. Such a good release.Kings beat the Stars in the shoot-out, 3-2: Mike Modano scored from practically the corner on off a Zubov pass. It might have been a one timer and it went far post and in. Dustin Brown had 2 memorable hits. The first put Stephan Robidas into the Kings bench and the second bloodied Mike Ribiero and cause Brendon Morrow to attack him. Ribiero was fine and scored a sweet goal in the shoot-out. A twist on the leave behind, adding a through-the-legs element.Source

Goalie Helmets

2008-12-04T12:00:00.001-08:00

Hockey goalie masks are one of the coolest things about sports, right up there with sudden death overtimes, moguls and ring girls. The NFL fines its players if they wear their socks too low and MLB will make pitchers cut undershirts that stick out under the uniform yet the lets goalies design their masks as they please with little exception. Think about it, in what other sport can an individual show some creativity in part of their uniform? Soccer goalies? They only get to wear a different color sissy shirt. NASCAR? You are talking about a fucking Ford, guy. And if you thought figure skating then you need to close down this window and go back to reading MarioLopez.net.The only time I’ve ever played goalie was a few times in street hockey so I would design my mask by putting a picture of something from my childhood. I would take it all the way back to ball hockey and fat pencils and pay tribute to a true legend. I would rock a helmet designed with pictures of Mylec street hockey pads.DirtyJust the sight of these pads brings me back to the days when I played in a ball hockey league where all the middle schools in my town would play each other. I can remember one game where I jumped in net and was so dominant that I got my name announced on the school’s loudspeaker the next day. I was sliding around out of position in my Mylec’s and had to make 7 kicksaves in a row. 7! A few of the park’s crew got word that a young phenom was putting on a clinic at the street hockey court and all of a sudden I had an And-1 sized crowd going apeshit after every save. My Mylec street hockey pads and I were literally on fire. Seriously, tt got so crazy that at one point the ref had to stop the game so Travis Barker and DJ AM could kick out a window and escape from my asshole. I think it would only be right to pay tribute to those Mylec pads.How would you design your mask? I like my girlfriend’s idea of making the helmet look like the gas can on a chopper with flames all over it. Maybe you could paint the mask to have a mini mohawk and some tattoos so it looked like Chuck Liddell’s head was on your shoulders. Maybe you could paint the mask to give the illusion that you had a mullet. Those are always funny, especially on Mexican guitar players. I also like the idea of keeping a plain white mask to show that you plan on leaving town for the highest bidder next year like some mercenary. I think that pretty much any idea is solid as long as you don’t spell anything wrong or hype a stupid website.How would you design your mask?-Nemmy Source

Picture this - 11-14-08

2008-12-02T19:00:00.001-08:00

EN reader Teri Springer, who we should all be jealous of, had some great seats to Tuesday's amazing Penguins' win in Detroit. She was kind enough to send us some photos of that splendid night:EMPTY NETTER ASSISTSPenguins-Dave Molinari's recap from last night.-Here's the entire shootout from last night's game: (Kudos to EN reader Marla Schwartz for the heads up.)-If you pre-ordered that Brendan Shanahan Penguins jersey, we've got some bad new for you.-Rob Scuderi is all of a sudden an expert on the shooting ability of Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.-Despite being 10-4-2, can the Penguins improve?-Maxime Talbot cares not for Alexander Semin.-The additional costs for the Penguins' new arena were approved by the Allegheny County Sports and Exhibition Authority..nhl Network will re-air Tuesday's game against the Red Wings Saturday.-Has Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's rivaly with the Binghamton Senators been re-kindled?Atlantic Division-Joey MacDonald made 29 saves for the Islanders in a 3-1 win at Ottawa. The Senators have lost three consecutive games while New York snapped a three-game losing streak. -Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo, the Islanders' last two first-round picks, were put on a line together and connected on a goal.-Rangers forward Scott Gomez (right) is dealing with an ankle injury.-The Flyers are not fans of the shootout.-Even though he played last night, the Flyers put defenseman Lasse Kukkonen on waivers.Northeast Division-The Bruins broke a 12-game regular season losing streak to the rival Canadiens in a big way. Stephane Yelle had two goals and an assist in Boston's 6-1 rout of Montreal. -Bruins forward Milan Lucic and Montreal defenseman Mike Komisarek went at it last night: -Tomas Kaberle had a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs in a 5-2 win at Edmonton.-Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake rebounded after being a healthy scratch in Toronto's prior game.-Is the Northeast Division the toughest in the.nhl?-Senators forward Jarkko Ruutu is a nice guy... off the ice.-In a bit of irony, Ottawa forward Ryan Shannon took an elbow to the head last night. He was in the lineup to replace Ruutu who was suspended two games for elbowing.-It doesn't sound like the Bruins will court free agent general manager Brian Burke.-Sabres forward Tim Connolly (right) is dealing with a bruised chest.-Buffalo goaltender Patrick Lalime might play his former team, the Penguins, Saturday.-Maple Leafs general manager Cliff Fletcher has done a marvelous job re-tooling Toronto.Southeast Division-The Capitals signed 2008 first-round pick John Carlson.-Washington plays New Jersey tonight. The Devils are the only Eastern Conference team Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has never recorded a multi-point game against.-Check out the new mask of Capitals goaltender Brent Johnson.-Has Panthers forward Gregory Campbell earned more playing time?-Lightning coach Barry Melrose wants his team to play more like the Red Wings. Lightning players want their coach to have a sterling head of hair like Detroit's Mike Babcock instead of some tacky, greasy mullet.Central Division-Pavel Datsyuk, Mikael Samuelsson and Henrik Zetterberg each had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings in a 4-3 win at Tampa Bay. Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood made a "whopping" 15 saves in the win. He improved is career record against Tampa Bay to 17-0-0.-Lightning goaltender Olaf Kolzig is no fan of Detroit forward Tomas Holmstrom.-Barry Melrose loves the Winged Wheel.-The Blues returned defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to his junior team.-With Pietrangelo out of the picture, the Blues recalled former Penguins prospect Cam Paddock from Peoria of the AHL.-A few weeks after being fired as the team's head coach, Denis Savard was hired as an abassador by the Blackhawks.-Should Chicago retire the jersey of former defenseman Chris Chelios?-The Blues Jackets have a log jam in goal.-Predators forward Radek Bonk (foot) and Martin Erat ("upper-body") are dealing with injuries. The foot injury to Bonk (right) has apparently caused him to make weird, dazed faces.-Northwest Division-Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves for the Wild in a 4-0 shutout of the Coyotes. Minnesota got two goals and an assist from Marek Zidlicky. The Wild has nine consecutive wins against the Coyotes.-The Wild activated forward Owen Nolan from injured reserve while former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forwad Krys Kolanos was demoted to Houston of the AHL.-Flames defenseman Jim Vandermeer is dealing with a broken ankle.-The Canucks unveiled their new "old" third jersey:-It's essentially a revamped version of their original jersey. While we're certainly fans of the Johnny Canuck logo, we're not crazy about the alternate logo on the shoulders. And we would not have "updated" the "C" logo on the chest, but considering the Canucks' seemingly never endless assault on fans' retinas with some of their jerseys, we can't complain.-Here's a video from the team explaining things a bit better than we could ever hope to: -Vancouver Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa is dealing with a foot injury.-Colorado forward T.J. Hensick is finally playing with confidence.-The Oilers wore their third jerseys last night. That alone is worth a picture:Pacific Division-The Sharks got two goals and an assist from Joe Pavelski in a 6-1 rout of the Flames. San Jose set a franchise record with nine assists by defensemen.-San Jose was relentless against Calgary.-Erik Ersberg (right) made 24 saves for the Kings who edged the Stars, 3-2. Los Angeles has won four consecutive games.-Stars coach Dave Tippett doesn't think his players trust each other.-Sharks forward Jonathan Cheechoo is dealing with an "upper-body" injury.-Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky is all about defense these days.-FSN in California will adjust Rinkside View for its broadcasts that Kings and Ducks fans have complained about.-The Ducks are not distracted by the departure of general manager Brian Burke.Patrick Division-Robert Morris' men's hockey team will host Ohio State tonight at 8 p.m. at Mellon Arena.-Twenty-six Pittsburgh-area players are competing in Division I NCAA hockey.(Photos: Gomez-Nick Laham/Getty Images; Connolly-Don Heupel/Associated Press; Bonk-Ronald Martinez/Getty Images; Canucks-Vancouver Canucks; Oilers-Jimmy Jeong-Canadian Press; Ersberg-Matt Slocum/Associated Press)Source

Christian Ehrhoff tied for scoring lead by defenseman, Sharks blueline combines for 9 points and 15 shots on goal in 6-1 blowout of Calgary Flames

2008-11-30T21:30:00.001-08:00

SAN JOSE SHARKS DEFENSEMAN #10 CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF - FILE PHOTO SJ'S CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF TIED FOR/nhl D-MAN SCORING LEAD - YAHOO SPORTS The San Jose Sharks blitzed the Calgary Flames in the first period en route to a 6-1 blowout win Thursday night at HP Pavilion. Three power play goals by Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton, and an even strength tally by Milan Michalek, provided all the offense San Jose would need in the first period. "Iron" Mike Keenan was forced to pull former Sharks goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff for Curtis McElhinney after 20 minutes, but the move did little to spark a listless Flames squad who limped to the finish without any of the intensity the Sharks saw in the first round of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series last year. San Jose put an end to a brief 2-game losing streak after Nashville and Phoenix, but they extended an 11-game point streak at home (10-0-1). It is a distinct reversal from 2007-08, where the Sharks stumbled out of the gate 4-5-2 at HP Pavilion. They finished 22-13-6 overall at home. One area where the Sharks needed to improve was on the power play. Last season the Sharks finished 70-372 (18.8%) with the man advantage, tied for 8th in the/nhl. This season the Sharks have generated more offense 5-on-5, with a power play 14-87 (16.1%) that has been less effective putting points on the board. The Sharks added Rob Blake and Dan Boyle during the offseason, and along with Christian Ehrhoff and Marc-Edouard Vlasic the Sharks have a quartet of offensive-defenseman who can initiate from the blueline. It all seemed to come together on Thursday night as the Sharks finished 4-9 on the power play. The Sharks defense combined for 15 shots on goal, and Christian Ehrhoff, Dan Boyle and Rob Blake combined for 3 assists each. Ehrhoff (2G, 13A) is now tied with Filip Kuba of Ottawa (1G, 14A) and Shea Weber (7G, 8A) for the/nhl scoring lead by defenseman. San Jose's power play was effective using shots and excellent movement from the point to create mismatches and 2-on-1's down low. Joe Pavelski's first power play goal came on a bomb of a shot from Rob Blake on the left point. With Ryane Clowe parked in front of Kiprusoff, the puck deflected off a mass of bodies in front and Pavelski buried the rebound. The second goal came off the rebound of another Rob Blake point shot, this time with Marleau converting a rebound from the right side of the net. The Sharks third and fourth power play goals were initiated by shots from the point, but took a more circuitous route through traffic to find the back of the net. Seconds after writing that the Michalek-Pavelski-Clowe second power play unit was actually playing and getting ice time like a first power play unit, Sharks radio analyst Jamie Baker made the same observation. He also noted that Marleau's power play goal in the first period was his first power play point of the season. Patrick Marleau does have 18 non-power play points (7G, 11A) in addition to 2 short-handed goals and 2 game winning goals this season. Baker was on fire with his analysis of the game. After the fifth San Jose goal in the second period, he said of the Calgary Flames lack of speed "I don't want to say the Flames are running on sand, that would imply they are skating slow. They are running on bare feet while the Sharks are running in brand new track shoes." The Flames did look like they were skating in bare feet, and the Sharks gave considerable ice time to the third and fourth lines in the final 20 minutes which still did not improve how Calgary looked. Sluggish. Also from Baker imagining himself as a Calgary Flame in the second "I don't want to lose by 10-12 goals", and in the third period "utter domination is the story line of this game." Jamie Baker may be one of the best analysts in the game, constantly picking up subtleties and big picture concepts on the ice and relaying them to his listeners. The Sharks outshot the Flames 20-5 after the first period, 46-24 for the game. Calgary outhit the San Jose 32-24, and briefly in the first period it looked like some of the playoff intensity would rub off on this contest. Robyn Regehr leveled Devin Setoguchi behind the net, and Dion Phaneuf chalked up another big hit. The physical play did not phase the Sharks. In addition to the largest lineup in the/nhl, San Jose also ices one of the fastest skating rosters in the league. Milan Michalek's two goals were a direct result of the team speed. His first came off a nice feed by Joe Pavelski. Michalek blew by Aucion and Phaneuf in the neutral zone, faked a shot, and lifted the puck over Kiprusoff's leg pad short side as he went down early. His second goal came on a Christian Ehrhoff rush down the left wing. Ehrhoff slid a centering pass with Pavelski and Michalek outnumbering a lone Calgary backchecking forward. Michalek tipped the puck and converted a rebound for his 5th goal of the season. Michalek also created another scoring chance on a breakaway in the second period. While Patrick Marleau accelerates smoothly with powerful strides, Michalek is a physics exercise in wasted energy. Marleau glides on the ice, Michalek churns, both use their speed to put defenseman on their heels and force forwards to waive sticks at them in the neutral zone. The Sharks team speed generated several more breakways with Pavelski, Plihal and Marleau creating more scoring chances as the Calgary defense could not adjust. It raises a question of how do you play the San Jose Sharks? Last year early in the preseason teams rolled out the hack-a-Shaq strategy on Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. It worked sporadically, but with the trade deadline addition of Brian Campbell the Sharks were able to skate their way out of any problems to finish with an 11-game winning streak and a 20-game point streak. The hack-a-Marleau strategy was employed by Calgary in the first round, with Dion Phaneuf and Cory Sarich taking shots at Marleau's head in game 3. This Sharkspage post on game 3 earned over 40,000 page views, the most viewed post not involving Danica Patrick or Sumo wrestling in this blog's 10-year history. General Manager Doug Wilson added Dan Boyle and Rob Blake this offseason. Boyle is argueably a better stick handler than Campbell, and is light years ahead of Campbell with his anticipation and ability to pressure opposing teams into making mistakes. Rob Blake adds a much needed power play howitzer on the point, but it has really been the development of Christian Ehrhoff that deserves mention. Ehrhoff is hands down the Sharks best defenseman at this point in the season. He has always had the physical tools to be an elite offensive defenseman, but under Ron Wilson at times Ehrhoff appeared as if he was hesitant to make a mistake. Under Todd McLellan, mistakes are going to happen but they are not going to limit his puck moving potential. In addition to tweaking the backswing on his slapshot for a quicker release (a half cock instead of a full windup), Ehrhoff's speed is as explosive as anyone on the team. He uses that speed to transition the puck up ice as well as chasing down opposing breakaways. Marc-Edouard Vlasic is a young intelligent defenseman who can glean the finer points of the offensive-defenseman game from Boyle and Blake this year, but it is Ehrhoff who is leading the blueline attack on the best offensive team in the/nhl. With the mobility and speed on the blueline, and finally the addition of killer instinct from Blake and Boyle, how do you play the San Jose Sharks? Do opposing teams try to trade scoring chances with a team that has 7 legitimate top-6 forwards and several players who can put up points on the third and fourth line? Do teams try to play the body and wear down the largest lineup in the/nhl a la any Anaheim-Sharks game over the last 3 years? The answer is no, and no. Moving forward, look for more teams to tighten up in the defensive zone, and flood the neutral zone trying to mitigate the Sharks team speed. Given the number of chances the Sharks generate, eventually the power play is going to click consistently. Teams will need to cut down on penalties and rely on solid goaltending. The Detroit Red Wings are the defending Stanley Cup Champions, but many opponents are circling San Jose as well as Detroit on the calender this year as teams they want to knock off of the pedestal. San Jose goaltender Brian Boucher stopped 23 of 24 shots to earn his 4th win of the season (4-1-1, .940SV%, 1.49GAA, 2SO). The win also gives Boucher enough starts to qualify for several goaltending statisical rankings. Boucher leads the/nhl in GAA at 1.49 and is third in save percentage at .940. Evgeni Nabokov is tied New York's Henrik Lundqvist for the/nhl lead in wins with 10. Miikka Kiprusoff made 16 saves on 20 shots in the first period, and backup Curtis McElhinney stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced in the final 2 periods. The Sharks have registered 40 shots or more 9 times this season, and have limited shots against to 20 or less 4 times. Evgeni Nabokov, Jonathan Cheechoo and Alexei Semenov were scratches for San Jose. Patrick Marleau's first period power play goal ties him with Owen Nolan for the franchise lead with 75. Jonathan Cheechoo is third with 59. Right wing Mike Grier left the game in the first period with a lower body injury. [Update] Sharks defense earns record nine assists in drubbing of Flames - Ehrhoff.com. [Update2] Calgary Herald reporter Scott Cruickshank notes on the Flames Insider blog that there was a gunshot outside of the Sharks practice facility on Thursday. Nothing furthur was reported by the local media. In a post-game report Cruickshank relayed several comments from a defeated Flames locker room describing San Jose as "top of the class", as a "measuring stick", and as a team always looking to shoot the puck "everything goes to the net, funnels to the net" similar to the Red Wings style. The Calgary Herald posted a photo gallery from the game by renowned Calgary photographer Robert Galbraith. Scott Cruickshank's post-game article quoted Joe Thornton on San Jose's 46-shot effort against Calgary, after the Sharks registered a team record 57-shots Tuesday against Nashville. "We're going for 60, that's what we're hoping for." Thornton said. [Update3] One complete Tanking, Flames fall flat in first visit to San Jose since playoff loss to Sharks last season - Randy Sportak for the Calgary Sun. If that was a game to use as a measuring stick, the Calgary Flames had best find a bigger ruler. Actually, after facing the San Jose Sharks and being thumped 6-1 last night, you'd need a depth finder to find them. "You play a team like this and wonder where you are in terms of your own development," said Flames head coach Mike Keenan. "You got a good sense of reality when you end up quite not on the same level." It was the first return to the Shark Tank since the disappointing Game 7 loss that snuffed their Stanley Cup hopes a few months ago. It was also the Flames' first chance at a Sharks team that's clearly the class of the/nhl right now. It ended up a debacle. [Update4] Flames’ hopes hinge on Kiprusoff - Ross McKeon for Yahoo Sports. “They pushed us out of it in the first period,” Calgary captain Jarome Iginla said. “We all know the importance of how much more we have to bring in our game. Our game is competing and we’re not bringing enough right now. We’ll get it back.” Thursday night’s meltdown came almost without warning. Kiprusoff was quick as a cat on a flurry of early Sharks chances. He slid on his knees to his right, anticipating a Ryane Clowe shot. He denied Devin Setoguchi twice in close, too. Maybe asking him to make three solid saves in the opening two minutes was foreboding evidence of what was to come. [Update5] David Pollak notes on his excellent Working the Corners blog that a scoring change took away an Ehrhoff assist on Pavelski's first goal and gave it to Ryane Clowe. This gives Ehrhoff two assists on the night instead of three, tying him with Dan Boyle, Chris Pronger, Andre Markov and Daniel Giradi for 3rd overall in scoring by a defenseman. The scoring change also gave the Sharks 8 assists by defenseman on the night, tying an earlier franchise record 8-point performance by the blueline.Source

Free to enlist, but not choose

2008-11-29T16:40:00.001-08:00

By Rob Breakenridge, via the Calgary Herald:On this Remembrance Day as we honour the courage and sacrifice of Canada's bravest, it's an illustrative reminder of a glaring contrast that exists in this country.For indeed, we are a nation that asks so much of so few yet expects so little from so many.Our appreciation of valour seems a strange anomaly when coddling and condescension are the order of the day.It is rather paradoxical that in a country where one can volunteer to put one's life on the line in armed conflict, that same citizen is entrusted with far less authority in making far less dangerous decisions.It represents what is often referred to as the "nanny state" -- the notion that we need to be protected not only from others, but from ourselves as well.To use "nanny" as an analogy is to speak to the line that's seemingly been erased when it comes to safeguarding children and allowing common sense to prevail among adults.We're so accustomed to this by now that further examples of it seem inconsequential.Whereas the notion of forcing adults to wear helmets of any sort might have once seemed a demeaning encroachment on individual liberties, we're now haggling over the particular exemptions of a new worry-free society where helmets are ubiquitous.It's become a no-brainer that motorcyclists or professional hockey players would be obligated to wear helmets in such potentially hazardous conditions.We give little thought, however, to whether providing one form of protection leads to risky behaviour in other ways -- would an unhelmeted motorcyclist drive more safely? Did unhelmeted players play with more caution and less aggression?We also give little consideration to how many motorcyclists or professional hockey players would stop using helmets if the requirement was no longer there.Probably very few, but again, such decisions must not be left to the individual.But that Rubicon was crossed a long time ago; we're no longer debating mandatory helmet use for playing hockey, we're debating it for anyone who sets foot on or near an ice surface.It won't be long before proof of helmet ownership is needed to purchase a pair of skates. But then again, merely leaving the house to make such a purchase might require a helmet anyway.Read the rest here.Source

Canucks vs Leafs: My favorite game of the season!

2008-11-28T11:20:00.001-08:00

Sure, Mats Sundin no longer plays for the Leafs and the team is rebuilding, but I don't think the Canucks-Leafs game will lack intensity. It could/should be a war. There is still going to be blueshirts scattered all over GM Place. That atmosphere will still be present. The Leafs have not played in Vancouver FOR 3 YEARS! Good gad the schedule used to suck.QUICK NOTES-How will Wellwood respond playing against a team that gave up on him? Answer: About as well as he played for his current team when they gave up on him. Go Woody!-I don't know how many people would have thought that the Canucks would only have 1 more point than the Leafs at this stage in their preseason thoughts and predictions. I think it's fair to say that both teams are exceeding fan/pundit expectations for the most part.-The Leafs' season success is like a roller coaster ride. They have not found any consistency yet except for being consistent in being inconsistent. (yikes) They can thump on Montreal one game, lose to the Flames 3 days later, and then beat the Oilers handily 2 nights after that. That has been their week. The Leafs have 2 wins in their last 5 games.Ron Wilson is behaving that way I thought he would. He'll bench any bum who doesn't play hard, including the higher-paid guys like Jason Blake. I wish more coaches would do that. As a result, we could draw a hard-nosed Leafs squad tonight and cannot take them for granted.-The Canucks are coming off a shootout loss to the Avalanche and should play inspired right off the bat. They have 3 wins in their last 5. They must bury their chances this time. Put it top corner, boys. If you thought Budaj was great...Toskala can play the same way.-I wonder if Sami Salo saw my Glass Joe Photoshop, because he is slated to play tonight. "I felt pretty good out there so I should should be ready to go," said the 34-year-old Finn, who revealed it was actually his upper back, not his shoulder, that was ailing him. "We've done a lot of work on it the last couple of days and the practice went well."Oh geez. Maybe there is something wrong with your head! Regardless, it's good to have him playing.The same Vancouver Sun article also stated that Rob Davison will replace Kevin Bieksa. Davison is not known for playing a ton of minutes, so expect a guy like Alex Edler to get more ice time. That is a good thing.-It looks as though Pavol Demitra is a game time decision.-Watch for Mikhail Grabovski. He is on a 6 game point streak and has scored 7 goals and 3 assists in that span. He reminds me of Sergei Berezin in almost every way. He has come alive.-Tomas Kaberle is kicking it lately as well. After starting the season off slowly (2 points in 9 games), he has 11 points in his last 8 games. He has 6 points in his last 3 games.-The Canucks will be sporting their new 3rd jerseys tonight. I have not said this yet but I like the new design. You gotta have Johnny Canuck on there! The stick in rink logo looks modernized and less boring than the original.I like our chances against Toronto. This isn't a lock, but we should be able to inch past these guys or blow by them if they are not ready. Don't expect any quit out of the Leafs though. They have a guy with a huge whip coaching them.GAME TIME: 4:00 PST (gotta make sure the Torontonians get to watch the Leafs lose before they go to bed)TV: TSNT Tags: Canucks, Leafs, game+preview, November+2008 Grabovski Kaberle Salo+returns new+3rd+jersey Source

Avalanche Streaking Again, Down Oilers 3-2 in Shootout

2008-11-26T06:40:00.001-08:00

(Associated Press)When I woke up this morning I had a great opening line for this recap. Unfortunately I promptly fell back asleep and forgot it. Something about wanting to be called Ishmael while a man in black fled across a desert.Anyhoo...last night the Avalanche grabbed their fourth of six possible points on their current road trip - and third win in a row - with their 3-2 shootout victory over the Edmonton Oilers.Heading into the third period, the Avalanche were down 2-1 and didn't appear poised to score the tying goal any time soon.But then the rarest of rarities happened. The Oilers took two penalties leading to a 6-on-3 advantage for the Avalanche with just 25 seconds left.It started when Fernando Pisani got called for hooking at 18:01. The Avalanche pulled Peter Budaj for the 6-on-4 advantage but couldn't get anything together.Then Marek Svatos decided to take matters into his own hands and stickhandled past half a dozen Oilers and their moms leading to an Ethan Moreau tripping penalty.So in a smart - if not obvious - move, Granato sent out Smyth and Tucker to stand in front of the net and annoy Roloson. Roloson was frustrated and distracted by Smyth all game long so why not toss an extra body in front of him and see if he snaps.It worked superbly as Jordan Leopold fired a shot from the point and while Roloson was hacking, slashing and punching at the pesty pair, Tucker managed to get a stick on it and tip it past Roloson.Roloson quickly went screaming over to the refs to protest the undoubtedly legal goal. Smyth and Tucker stayed out of the crease, the tip in happened well below the goal line and nobody had touched Roloson.Seriously Dwayne, grow some stones and quit whining to the refs whenever opponents get within a meter of you. And don't think we didn't notice your dive when Smyth breathed on in the third period. We noticed and we loved it.That tied the game with 11 seconds to go and as OT solved nothing, it was off to the shootout.Wojtek Wolski and Sam Gagner both scored to start things off but the next six shooters couldn't get anything past the keepers.Then Darcy Tucker stepped on the ice. And I said "WTF?" Then Tucker scored. And I said "WTF?" Then Budaj stopped Horcoff. And I said "Yippee!"The Avalanche now head into Calgary to complete their trip. The Flames got spanked 6-1 by the Sharks on Thursday and don't play again until Tuesday. I think it's safe to say that they will come out pretty fired up. Of course you never know what Iron Mike has up his sleeve.NotesPeter Budaj stood tall in net once again. He has allowed just three goals in his last three games. Coincidentally, those all equated to wins. He is on his way to proving what many believed all along - he has the technology. He can play bigger, stronger, faster.Liam Reddox drew in tonight as Dustin Penner and Kyle Brodziak were in street clothes. And in true Avalanche fashion, he scored the first goal of his.nhl career. Is somebody willing to look up how many players scored their first career goal against the Avs? Because offhand...it feels like a lot.Ryan Smyth got his first goal against his former team as he drove the net hard and banged in a rebound. Remember kids, it's never a bad idea to go hard to the net. And it's always fun to score against your former team no matter what anybody says.Darcy Tucker is getting back into everyone's good books as he scored the game tying goal as well as the winner in the shootout.Joe Sakic sat out for the second straight game. The Avalanche are hopeful he will join the team in Calgary. But don't worry, they were hopeful he would join the team in Edmonton too.Brett Clark was the ice-time leader with 24 minutes last night. He shouldn't be playing that many minutes as it became evident late in the game that he was gassing and making poor plays.Late in the third, he was circling behind the net being chased by an Oiler when another Oiler started coming at him from the other direction. Rather than dump the puck past the oncoming Oiler, he tried to cut out in front of Budaj which was nearly disastrous. Mostly because my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.David Jones spent a grand total of 6:41 on the ice tonight, most of that in the first and second periods. What happened to the dynamo from the preseason? If he doesn't wake up soon, he'll be heading back to Lake Erie to hopefully regain some confidence. He's got none at the moment.Milan Hejduk took the draw to start off the 6-on-3 advantage and won it handily. Paul Stastny was on the ice but had only won 8 of his 20 draws while Hejduk was a perfect 3-for-3 leading up to that crucial draw.Ian Laperriere, Cody Mcleod, Cody McCormick, Zach Stortini, Jesse Boulerice...and no fights? Bizarre.Game highlightsPost-game CommentsRelated LinksIn the Cheap Seats RecapRocky Mountain News RecapDenver Post RecapBudaj, Avalanche stun Oilers in SOAvalanche defeat Oilers in shootoutSource

San Jose Sharks highlights after 20 games, a Sharkspage video

2008-11-23T22:10:00.001-08:00

Twenty games in to the 2008-09/nhl season and one thing has become blindingly evident, adding a pair of allstar offensive defenseman to a potent West Coast offense is going to produce more goals/nhl teams have yet to find an answer for the Sharks offense. The addition of Dan Boyle and Rob Blake, and the breakout season by defenseman Christian Ehrhoff has helped San Jose pile up an/nhl-best 73 goals. That is almost 10 more than the next closest offense (Detroit, 64 goals). The Sharks have built up an 11-point lead over the Anaheim Ducks in the race for the Pacific Division. The scary thing for opponents, they are still not playing their best hockey. No longer top heavy, the Sharks are scoring by committee with eight players registering 4 or more goals. Second year forward Devin Setoguchi leads the team with 11, but both Setoguchi (6th) and Patrick Marleau (9th) have entered the league's top 10 list for total points. With his 225-pound frame parked in front of the net, Ryane Clowe has delivered 5 of his 9 goals on the power play in addition to picking up 3 fighting majors. The Sharks stumbled out of the gate with the man advantage, regsitering their worst power play percentage in 5 years after 5 games (3-25, 12%). The second power play unit headmanned by center Joe Pavelski created more scoring chances and was given more power play time by rookie head coach Todd McLellan, but in the last 5 games everything has clicked for the Sharks special teams. Both power play unites have combined to score 12 goals in 34 power play opportunities (35.3%), including 8 PP goals in back-to-back games against Calgary and Chicago. The Sharks penalty kill has not peaked, but it is trending up at 84.6% (12-78) and the team is only 16th in total penalty minutes (266). The Sharks have been inconsistent in spurts defensively. It is a departure from 2007-08 where the team focused on cutting down shots against, and used a stiff defense and solid goaltending to lock down 1 and 2 goal leads. The inconsistent defensive play started with a rare home-at-home against Philadelphia, allowing Briere to tie the game late in each game before emerging with a pair of overtime and OT shootout wins. After dominating the Stanley Cup Finalist Pittsburgh Penguins (holding them to a record low 11 shots on goal) and Detroit Red Wings, the Sharks let up against St Louis and made the 5-4 shootout win more difficult on themselves. The Sharks looked shaky and inconsistent at times en route to a 6-5 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. Boucher had his worst start of the season, misplaying a puck behind his own net that directly lead to Kris Versteeg's short-handed goal in the first period, and remaining out of position after a save allowing Versteeg to bank the puck off his goalie stick from behind the net for his second goal. According to Sharkspage contributer Max Giese, who was in the stands in Chicago, Boucher was fighting the puck and not seeing the play clearly in front of him. The Sharks responded in the same way they have responded all year, by pressing the action offensively. Dan Boyle scored his second goal of the game on the power play, and Devin Setoguchi notched his team leading 11th goal to win the game late in the third period. Adam Gretz notes on AOL's Fanhouse that Brian Boucher has been an anchor in the net for San Jose in 6 consecutive starts while Evgeni Nabokov has been injured. Against Nashville, a scary injury to Predators captain Jason Arnott quieted the arena as he was carried off on a stretcher. San Jose scored 4 unanswered goals on Dan Ellis in the first two periods, and then whethered a storm of fights as Scott Nichol, Jordin Tootoo and Greg de Vries dropped the gloves with Joe Thornton, Brad Staubitz and Jody Shelley respectively. The defense has turned over 50% from last season, with the addition of Rob Blake, Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich. It will take time for them to adjust to Todd McLellan's system. It will also take time for the forwards to adjust from former head coach Ron Wilson to McLellan. Instead of collapsing the points down low on every play to provide support for the defense, the forwards are often releasing up ice with speed and creating breakaways and 2-on-1's taking advantage of their team speed a la Detroit. It remains to be seen what adjustments will be made going forward in the season, McLellan has described it as a process that will not always be pretty. The Sharks to this point have responded to every problem by skating hard and scoring goals. Sometime in mid-December they will get one of their best checking forwards and penalty killers back from a leg injury, second year center Torrey Mitchell. A player who rivals Patrick Marleau for sheer speed. That is not a good omen for the rest of the/nhl. The song in the highlight video above is "I am the night, colour me black" by the Montreal band Priestess, suggested by a reader at the Battle of California. [Update] Comparing this year to last: A 30-team look - James Mirtle. For example, the Sharks are currrently on pace for 27 more points than they had last season, and the Senators are on pace for 26 fewer. The Sharks are on pace to score an incredible 75 more goals than last season, and the Senators are on pace for 67 fewer. And in goals against, the Wild and Kings are on pace to allow 51 fewer goals, while the Stars and Marty Turco are on pace to allow 90 more. [Update2] Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Ducks - Japers Rink. [Update3] No game till Saturday, so time to revisit the good, bad and ugly in Nashville - David Pollak on his Working the Corners blog. That said, (Scott) Nichol wasn’t nearly as charitable when talking about the Sharks in general. "We just bottom line don't like them," he told Nashville reporters after the game. "We've played them a lot and it's left a bitter taste. They are a good team and at the top of the league, and that just makes you want it more." [Update4] The Biggest Difference Between Todd McLellan and Ron Wilson - Ryan Garner for Hockeybuzz. Todd McLellan stepped into the coaching job this summer and he’s produced strong results during his short time in San Jose. The team is strong up front, icing three lines that can score and control the play, and he trusts his players enough to let them wheel and deal, taking risks while playing an up-tempo style. McLellan doesn’t have a reason not to trust his players. He hasn’t spent a summer searching for answers after scoring goes in the tank, or agonized over the reasons behind a second-round collapse. Shark fans are hoping he never has to, but would he respond any differently than Wilson had? Late last month, McLellan shared a story from his time as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. During an overtime game last season, Pavel Datsyuk attempted a brilliant move that would have left him in the clear with a breakaway opportunity. He almost pulled it off, but the puck was tipped away and resulted in a scoring chance for the opposition. After the game, as the players were boarding the team bus, Chris Chelios called out, “Where’s Pavs?” Everyone tensed up a little, wondering what was about to come next. Chelios didn’t blast the talented forward, or rebuke him in front of the team, he simply told him, “That was an excellent chance, and the next time you have a chance to do it you do it again.” McLellan explained that, as a coach, his advice might not always echo Chelios’s but you have the give the special players chances to err sometimes. “Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich play together, but they approach the game quite differently,” McLellan said. “If Lukowich steps into Danny’s style of play we’re in trouble. Coaches don’t treat players equally, but they have to treat them fairly.”Source

Avalanche Punked by Flames, Lose 1-0

2008-11-21T09:30:00.001-08:00

Once again, Peter Budaj showed up and the rest of the team decided to take a vacation. How does that saying go? Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. But fool me can't get fooled again. Or something like that. Either way, the Avalanche are looking like fools with their latest efforts.How is it that a team can come out with the same piss-poor effort two games in a row? Players can keep calling it an accountability issue all they want but at some point they have to *bleeping* do something about it. Talk is cheap, actions win games.And where has Tony Granato's "up-tempo" offensive style been? I see no life from the offense. They look like they're going through the motions. The wrong motions. This is what was such a sure hire that no other candidates were even interviewed for the job?And how about the defense? Can I get a clear? Or a rebound clear? Or a time when you're not all overloading one side of the ice? Or a time where you don't look as confused as a pee-wee team on what your defensive assignments are?If I was Peter Budaj right now, I'd be right pissed off at my teammates. At one point midway through the third, Curtis Glencross coasted past Scott Hannan - and it wasn't hard to do - forcing Budaj to make a big save. You'd think that would spark the team right? Nope. TJ Hensick picked up the rebound in the corner and promptly turned it back over to the Flames.Where is the emotion? Where is the will to win? They're playing like they could give a rats ass about being in the right now and it's completely unacceptable. And it shouldn't require some giant movie-style speech from the coach or captain. It requires the players to wake the hell up and play some damn hockey.If things don't change soon, then things are going to change. Whether it's a roster shakeup, a staff shakeup or just a good, hard kick in the ass for every player in the room, this team needs something to wake them up. You'd think their pride would do it but apparently not.And in keeping with my angered mood, I once again have to get annoyed at the Flames announcers. Not for being overly biased - they were as biased tonight as any other home announce team - but for saying things that make no sense. The ultimate one was when they stated:"You can tell how disciplined the Flames have been by the number of penalties they didn't take".Yeah, ok, umm...NO SUCH NUMBER EXISTS! if you really must put a number on it, your best choice is infinity. As an example, I ate 4 eggs today but there were INFINITY EGGS I DIDN'T FLIPPIN' EAT!Damn the Avs for putting me in this foul of a mood.Notes- Svatos left with an abdominal injury midway through the game- the Avalanche fired off a gigantic 18 shots on the night- the Avalanche won 31% of their faceoffs-the Avalanche are directly responsible for global warming- Joe Sakic skated in practice but was out of the lineup for the fourth game in a rowSource

Players of the Week

2008-11-18T23:20:00.001-08:00

WHL Press ReleaseCALGARY, AB. - The BOSTON PIZZA WHL Player of the Week is forward Andy Smith of the Chilliwack Bruins.Smith picked up seven points, scoring four goals and three assists to go with a +4 rating, in three games over the past week, helping the Bruins post a 2-0-1-0 record in that span.On Tuesday, November 11th, the Chilliwack Bruins played host to their west coast rivals, the Vancouver Giants, at Prospera Centre. Smith scored two goals and added an assist in his debut with the Bruins, since being traded from the Prince Albert Raiders, as Chilliwack downed Vancouver 3-2. Smith was also named the games 2nd Star.On Saturday, November 15th, the Prince George Cougars rolled into Chilliwack to face the Bruins. Smith picked up a goal and an assist in a game that saw the Cougars tie it up with five minutes remaining, and then take it 5-4 in overtime. Smith was also named the games 3rd Star.The next evening, Sunday, November 16th, the Bruins travelled to the B.C. interior to take on the Kamloops Blazers at the Interior Savings Centre. Smith netted one goal and added another assist to his weekly total as the Bruins defeated the Blazers 5-2.With the Bruins collecting five out of a possible six points versus WHL B.C. Division rivals this past week they find themselves just three points back of the Kamloops Blazers for 3rd place in the Division with an 8-11-2-2 record.Smith, a 19-year-old from Rosetown, Saskatchewan, is currently in his third full season of play in the Western Hockey League. He was selected by Prince Albert in the 6th round of the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft and went onto play 139 games for the Raiders before joining the Chilliwack Bruins last week.The WHL has also nominated Martin Jones of the Calgary Hitmen for the ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week Award. Jones posted a 3-0-0-0 record this past week, allowing just three goals on 66 shots for a 1.000 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage.Jones, an 18 year-old from North Vancouver, British Columbia, is in his third season with the Calgary Hitmen. After going unselected at the 2008 Entry Draft, Jones was offered a free agent try-out with the Los Angeles Kings later in the summer. Following a great rookie camp and tremendous main camp the Kings decided to sign Jones to a three year entry level contract.Boston Pizza WHL Player of the WeekSept. 18 – Sept. 21: Jordan Weal, Regina PatsSept. 22 – Sept. 28: Joel Broda, Moose Jaw WarriorsSept. 29 – Oct. 5: Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Vancouver GiantsOct. 6 – Oct. 12: Evander Kane, Vancouver GiantsOct. 13 – Oct. 19: Jay Fehr, Brandon Wheat KingsOct. 20 – Oct. 26: Jamie Benn, Kelowna RocketsOct. 27 – Nov. 2: Dana Tyrell, Prince George CougarsNov. 3 – Nov. 9: C.J. Stretch, Kamloops BlazersNov. 10 – Nov. 16: Andy Smith, Chilliwack BruinsQMJHL Press ReleaseBOUCHERVILLE, Monday, November 17, 2008 – Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Yannick Riendeau and Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Després today were named the TELUS offensive and defensive players of the week for the period extending from November 10 to 16.In three Voltigeurs wins, Riendeau collected three goals, including a game-winner, and added four helpers while posting a +2 rating. He enjoyed his best game of the week on Friday, recording four points in an 8-3 victory over the Lewiston MAINEiacs. Moreover, he was named the game’s first star. Riendeau is currently tied for seventh in the QMJHL scoring race with 32 points.Kelsey Tessier (Remparts), Paul Byron (Olympiques) and Payton Liske (Sea Dogs) were also considered.Simon Després is the award winner on defense. The Sea Dogs’ defenseman played a key role in three Saint John wins, registering one goal and five assists. He contributed balanced scoring with two points in each contest. Després was also a healthy +3. He will be in uniform for both ADT Canada-Russia contests this week.Antoine Tardif (Voltigeurs), Hugo Laporte (Olympiques) and Nicholas Champion (Titan) were also strong candidates.QMJHL makes another roster change for the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge.The OHL hasn't released its Player of the Week yet.(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

Saturday Sports Betting Preview

2008-11-15T14:40:00.001-08:00

College football hogs the sporting spotlight Saturday, with top-ranked Alabama looking to pound Mississippi State . Here's a look at all the action in your Daily Sports Roundup. The world's best professional bettors know that today is one of the strongest cards from the standpoint of the bettor. Keep in mind that GodsTips, already 4-0 in college basketball, has added a box of puppies to the hoop card since that report was filed. The Gridiron Spotlight The Crimson Tide (10-0, 7-3 ATS) remain atop the AP Poll and BCS rankings, and they'll be looking to stay ahead of idle Texas Tech this weekend by taking care of business against Mississippi State (5-4, 5-3 ATS). Alabama , a 22-point favorite on Saturday, beat 27-21 LSU last game. The Bulldogs are coming off a loss to Kentucky . No. 3 Florida continues to climb the rankings, and they're pegged as 22.5-point favorites on Saturday against No. 24 South Carolina. No. 4 Texas is favored by 13.5 points in their game against Kansas , while No. 5 Oklahoma is also on a bye this week. As well, it's No. 6 USC (-24) vs. Stanford , Indiana vs. No. 7 Penn State (-35.5), No. 8 Utah (-30) vs. San Diego State , No. 9 Boise State (-36.5) vs. Idaho , and also No. 10 Ohio State (-9.5) vs. Illinois in what should be the closest game on the schedule for Top 10 teams. Other Notable Events LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers will play host to the Utah Jazz in one of eight games on the NBA's schedule for Saturday. The Cavs are coming off a 110-99 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday which improved their record to 7-2 (6-3 ATS) on the year. James had 22 points to go along with 11 assists and eight boards that day. The Boston Celtics are also in action on Saturday, as they'll play on the road in Milwaukee . As well, the Warriors and Clippers will meet in a 3:30pm ET matinee in Los Angeles . The rest of the NBA's Saturday schedule: New Jersey at Atlanta , Oklahoma City at Philly, Portland at Minnesota , Indiana at Chicago , and New Orleans at Houston . The Rest of the Schedule The slumping Stars will be looking to get back into the win column in action on Saturday night - Dallas has been tagged with a loss in four of their five November games. The Stars will play in Phoenix on Saturday in one of 10 games on the league's schedule. Rounding out the slate: Boston at the Rangers, Toronto at Vancouver, Philly at Montreal, Washington at New Jersey, Ottawa at the Islanders, Buffalo at Pittsburgh, Columbus at Minnesota, Colorado at Edmonton, and finally Nashville at Los Angeles. The Canadian Football League stages its last games before the Grey Cup on Saturday, with Edmonton at Montreal in the East Final, and British Columbia at Calgary in the West Final. The Alouettes are listed as 6-point home favorites in the first game, with the total at 56.5 points. The Stamps' line is the same - 6-point favorites with a total of 56.5. Finally, there is plenty of college hoops on Saturday as teams start to get their schedules underway. Most notably, top-ranked North Carolina will play host to Pennsylvania on Saturday, while No. 10 Gonzaga will go up against Montana State-Billings. Neither of those early-season matchups are expected to be very competitive. A Peek at the Future Tony Romo will return to action for the Cowboys on Sunday, as they play in Washington as road favorites . . . the Titans will be looking to stay perfect on the season on Sunday when they take on the division-rival Jaguars; Tennessee is also a road favorite . . . Jimmie Johnson will be looking to wrap up the Sprint Cup Series championship on Sunday afternoon when NASCAR closes its season with the Ford 400 down in Florida. Top Handicappers We give credit where it is due and the Jim Feist Proline Free Pickphone internet show does have good gambling discussion. But was we listened while we worked today, we see they do have a west coast bias. Clearly the Las Vegas based handicappers know Pac 10, West Coast Conference and Big West teams. That's the magic of MasterLockLine.com, which has the top plays from the top sports services in their highest ranked sports. They know there are regional specialists in handicapping. Mark the Shark is the best Las Vegas based handicapper. Leo Getz dominates the Big East and Atlantic 10. Bill Tanner is easily the top Big 10 betting expert and all are monitored by power of 620 sports services behind every selection.OffshoreInsiders.comSource

Oscar Moller a late scratch for the Kings

2008-11-12T20:50:00.001-08:00

Rookie winger Oscar Moller, one of the Kings' most pleasant surprises this season, was scratched from the lineup because of what a club spokesman said were flu-like symptoms. His spot in the lineup went to Derek Armstrong, who had been scratched from the previous four games by his coach. Earlier on Tuesday, Kings Coach Terry Murray had said Armstrong was maintaining a positive attitude, and added that one reason he hadn't played the veteran forward is becuase Armstrong doesn't play the power play or kill penalties. "Army is a five-on-five player," Murray said, "and we needed to try and change the look of our makeup and our chemistry." Murray said that Armstrong would get an opportunity to return -- and that turned out to be true sooner than he might have predicted. -- Helene Elliott Photo: The Kings' Oscar Moller shoots the puck against the Calgary Flames during a Nov. 1 home game. Credit: Christian Petersen / Getty ImagesSource

Pre-game thoughts: Streaking Habs come to town

2008-11-09T03:20:00.001-08:00

The Montreal Canadiens make their 3rd ever visit to Nationwide Arena tonight - a place where they have won their previous two visits.The Canadiens are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year and make no mistake about it, they are a legit Cup contender and a favorite among many to come out of the East this season. They are 8-1-1 and are undefeated on the road. They are winners of their past 3 and boast a high powered offense and strong defense that has only given up a league best 24 goals (granted, they've also only played 10 games). To top that off they are well rested having not played since last Saturday.If the Jackets want a challenge they've found one. The Jackets however are on a little run of their own. They are 2-0-2 in their past four and although they are having problem keeping puck out they are certainly finding way to bury them averaging 3 goals per game which is good for 14th in the (now if they could only get the PP going!).The good news if your a Jackets fan is that this team tends to play to the level of their competition.... look for that to trend up tonight.KEYS TO LIGHTING EM UP* The Habs can bring scoring throughout their lineup. They are fast and move the puck exceptionally well. They can burn you quick in alot of ways. The Jackets will be fully aware of this and will have to neutralize it and counter quick of rushes of their own. * Mason is going to have to play better than he did in his previous outing. Its certainly trial by fire you don't want to expect to much out him... he just needs to make the saves he should to give the Jackets a shot at this one. He's got to be our best penalty killer.* Halak gets the net for Candadiens. He's got 2 wins and has a 2.52 GAA and .918 Save%. In other words he's played well when he's gotten the shot. The Jackets can't assume just because Price is out that its going to be any easier to score on these guys.* PP. Its been well documented the struggles in this area. I really liked the past game how Hitch put 5 forwards out on the 5 on 3 -- it didn't produce anything that time but I think its a step in right direction given our offensive problems on the blueline. I also like how they were trying to utilize Modin's ability with the one timer. I think we need to keep trying those kinds of things to find a spark here.* Jackets must continue to stay out of the box like they have been the past few games. They've been really good at limited penalties and that's a trend that needs to continue.* Special teams. Montreal comes in with the 20th ranked PP and 13th ranked PK. The Jackets are 27th on the PP and 17th on the PK. In other words neither have been great on special teams to this point but should one get hot -- there is your game.* Got to contain Markov on defense. He is a tremendous offensive d-man and leads this team in points with 13 in 10. * Tanguay, Koivu & Kovalev are off to nice starts. Guys like Plekanec and Kostistyn brothers are struggling out of the gate and are just waiting for a breakout game. Can't let it happen.* Offensively the Jackets have to keep doing what they are doing. Pretty much everyone is working well at even strength and Nash showed signs of breaking out whatever slump he was in the 3rd. * Defensively there is still plenty of work to do to shore things up. We can't keep giving up short handed goals and we need to watch the turnovers. The puck movement and breakout has been better from the blueline back which needs to continue.GAME SPOTLIGHTI'm going to say attendance. A Friday night with an original 6 team we won't see very much....would be really nice to get a decent sized crowd in the confines. At the very least the Jackets have been playing an entertaining brand of hockey (even though I've come close to death about 4 times so far this season b/c of it) and scoring a lot of goals -- casual fans dig that stuff so if your on the fence, grab a friend or family member and head on down to the arena tonight.This is the 2nd game of the Canadian hat trick. We've beat Edmonton, we have Montreal tonight and then tomorrow night its those nasty Calgary Flames who come to town.See you all at the Garage Bar and I'm being told two weeks til the new R Bar Arena opens -- can't come soon enough!GO JACKETS!-LTLSource

Keep Moving On

2008-11-05T13:00:00.001-08:00

A huge event today. Life changing, if you will.It's [Charlie's Birthday]::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::We don't want to talk about it.We should known better than to take two teams we hate more than anyone.Does A.O. still play?Alex Auld will ruin your life.We called kstewy16 out in good fun yesterday.We're saving a spot for him in the sewer with us.It was a strange night. The Islanders beat the Rangers, and the Flames got smoked by the Coyotes.Both the Rangers and Flames have previously owned the two teams they lost too.7-2 ain't bad, but whatev.Three games on the slate tonight, we refuse to force anything, but certainly we are open to suggestions.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Really, we used to try and touch upon the/nhl as much as possible.[PUCK DADDY] takes it to the bank every day.This is a Pens blog, after all.These extended layoffs are garbage.If you want to hurt your eyes, /nhl-reveals-all-star-ballo">[From The Rink]We'd breakdown how Satan has had a quiet 10 points in 12 games, but that would take some actual effort.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::[SI] has a cool look at every goalie mask in the/nhl. Thanks to Sarah U for the tip.That kind of looks like a penis, no?dumb.MAF'S and Sabu::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::MATTY WATS found Semin's lookalike:We're open to any suggestions that people havein regard to what contest we'll hold to give away those shirts OILERS NATION is gonna buy us.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Go PensSource

GAMEDAY [10] -- SAN JOSE SHARKS

2008-11-01T22:10:00.001-07:00

The Pens are coming in 5-2-2.We all know who they have played.The Sharks are coming in 7-2-0.Three of those wins came at the expense of the 3-4-1 Los Angeles Kings.So don't look at San Jose's record at all.THE CONFLUENCE has a nice preview.EMPTY NETTERS brings home the bacon.The last time the Pens were in HP Pavilion, Cheechoo Hines'd Eaton: If you want to kill yourself, read the game recap that we did for it back in November 2006.It was our 11th recap ever. OUCH.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::HCMT robbed Pens and Sharks fans everywhere from seeing a supreme goaltending matchup between Nabokov and MAF. PENS No idea what the reasoning is. But we're not coaches.Given the way that Sabu played against the Bruins, though,maybe we are in fact gonna see a solid goaltending matchup.Last time Sabu was on the West Coast, he stunned Vancouver in his first start after MAF went down in Calgary: Inspirational performance by Sabu.Legame.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::+ Hal Gill is no dice tonight.Zigo-Godard-Biz will be the fourth line.The top 9 are always everywhere.+Darryl Sydor will be in the lineup tonight.He recently requested a trade from the Penguins.Which means he is putting his skills on display for prospective teams to want him.Expect him to play as lights-out as a role-playing d-man can play.+ Max Talbot is not suiting up tonight due to an undisclosed injury. PG+ Here's another article discussing Talbot's role on the Pens. PGSpeaking of Mad Max...Is his foot still bothering him from blocking a shot in last year's playoffs?Here's a pic from a preseason game this year:And here's one from the Canes regular-season game:He wore those covers on both skates when returning from his foot injury during the playoffs,explaining that if he only wore one, people would target it. Wearing two was gonna make it harder for opponents to target the bad foot.Anyway, if he was wearing those covers in the postseason, maybe the injury was still nagging him.He blocks shots for a living.If they aren't uncomfortable, you got to consider keeping them on all the time.Or does that makes us pansies?::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::PUCK DADDY went inside the most shocking stats accumulated so far this.nhl season.He put the Pens 22% power-play unit on the list.Which we guess would be a shock to everyone expecting the PP numbers to suffer.Pens fans aren't shocked by the number at all.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Since there were no (zero) rebuttals posted in our comments in regard to us labeling Gregor and Brownlee as hypocrites, we consider it a done deal.We're waiting for their fanboys to catch wind of it.Point Pensblog.The Pens will handle the rest on 11.06.Crosby better keep his head up, apparently.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::TIMKO found this pic:JVM found this Coffey jersey online that breaks the space-time continuum::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::GREG N. dropped us some great news today:Verizon Fios is offering Center Ice and.nhl Network. LINK:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::So, who do we turn to in the big Hacksaw battle?To someone who we feel can make a big impact this season:dude in the chairGo PensSource

What you missed last night because you don't understand French

2008-10-31T02:20:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I really don't understand the/nhl Center Ice Package. The Carolina/Canadiens game was only available in French? Capitals/Predators wasn't on at all? And then the most mind boggling part is how those games are covered on/nhl: On the Fly Final. Only the French feed and they had to voice over for the Caps/Preds. Can anyone explain this to me? Anyone? Bueller?Canadiens beat the Hurricanes in the shoot-out, 3-2: Koivu had the dirty move to finish the game, but Kovalev's goal was super sweet. He's on the 3-on-2, deftly faked the pass across, saw Ward cheating and beat him high short side. And then later in the game he tried a spin-o-rama.Sharks beat the Penguins, 2-1: This result should have been expected as sharks>penguins in nature. Mike Grier got the game winner on a nice backhand from the slot. He wears an"A" that surprised me for some reason. Joe Pavelski goal was a result of the combination of tenacity (by Pavelski) and apathy (by the 3 penguins defenders that chased down the initial shooter).Flyers embarrass the Thrashers, 7-0: There were some pretty goals, some ugly goals, etc. Capitals beat the Predators in the shoot-out, 4-3: Semin had a great game. He made streeeeeeeeeeetch pass to David Steckel to give him the shorty break away. He later scored on the power play with a unique one-timer from the slot. Here's what was unique about it... usually a righty on the left side will try to beat the goal to the near post or go five hole, rarely do you see a guy shoot back to same side and go high. I didn't even think that was possible.Flames shut-out the Avalanche, 3-0: I think Bertuzzi hurt himself in this game trying to jump on Sakic. The avalanche don't cover men in front at all. I bet Keenan picked that up on tape or something.Lightning beat the Maple Leafs, 3-2: Vinny was so freaking Vinny last night. He again did the thing where theres a bad pass to him and he someone gathers it, maintains the breakway and scores (well, 1 out of 2). His second goal was just dirty move (well his first goal was a dirty move too) but going high with the backhand gets all the ladies wet. Samkos got his first assist, i guess he touched the puck last in that scrum.Bruins shut-out the Canucks, 1-0: Two 1-o shut outs in a row for the non-named starter. I don't know when the next game is for Boston, but they'll have him keep streaking right? No more switching until he loses? Just name him the starter already!Source

The One Percent Solution

2008-10-28T17:30:00.001-07:00

When you're looking at the Goaltender position and you're glancing at the stats and your eyes glance over the SV% column I think there is a temptation to say, 'ah, my guy or this guy is going at a 90, 91 percent clip, he's playing ok'. But the point I'll try and make over the next few paragraphs is that there is a big difference between seemingly small increments. I mentioned here that SV% of .920 is really the standard of excellence in the.nhl. Above .920 and a goalie is in the running for the Vezina, but if he's below .900 the AHL is probably in his future. So almost all of the.nhl starters are clustered in a very tight group. Let's use Miika Kiprusoff and the Flames as an example. Last year Kipper's SV% was .906, a very low number for him considering his previous years' excellent work. Here's a more itemized breakdown of the numbers.Kiprusoff 2096 SA 197 GA .906 SV%C. Joseph 181 SA 17 GA .906 SV%M. Keetley 2 SA 0 GA naMcElhinney 51 SA 5 GA .902 SV%Cgy Totals 2330 SA 219 GA .906SV%Where: SA is shots against, GA is goals against, SV% is save percentage. Empty net goals are not included.So last year Kipper's SV% was the same as the Team SV%. But lets say Kipper and the other goalies were only 1 percent better, what would the result have been? That changes the Cgy SV% to .916 from .906.Over the 2330 shots against a .916 SV% would have yielded 196 (195.72) goals instead of 219 goals. That reduction in 23 goals against would have:moved Kipper from 30th to 15th in SV% rankingpushed the Flames from 16th to 6th in League Goals Against rankingchanged the Flames Goal Differential from +2 ( ranking 17th) to +25 (ranking them 6th behind Detroit, Montreal, Dallas, Pittsburgh, San Jose.)Even if the Flames SV% only improved half of one percent last year (12 goals fewer allowed), their Goal Differential would have become the best in the NW division and fourth in the conference.But Joe, I hear you say, its too much to ask of our goalies, can't we improve team defence instead? Yeah, I guess we could, but to get that same reduction in goals (23) by limiting shots instead of improving SV% the Flames would have to reduce Shots Against to 2085 a reduction of 245 shots. This would mean giving up only 25.4 shots/game. Only two teams last year managed that number or better: Detroit and San Jose. Calgary needs to get better in limiting shots against, but I think an improving SV% is a more efficient way of improving the goal differential.So...C'mon Kipper! Just give us one more percent!Source

Musings of Interest: Matthew Lombardi

2008-10-26T14:20:00.001-07:00

The question of Matthew Lombardi as top 6 forward is a divisive one among Flames fans. Some will contend that he has too many deficiencies to consistently contribute offensively. Others, like myself, think that Lombardi could deliver decent results under the right circumstances. This is the year Lombardi settles the debate. Last season went poorly for Lombardi by the numbers. His counting stats were meh (14-22-36) and his advanced stats were bad-to-dreadful. He spent most of the season skating with rookies or sunset veterans at even-strength and 157 more minutes killing penalties than on the power-play. He also took more own-zone draws than either Conroy or Langkow. Lombardi was basically stuck in the mud: he played a nebulous, poorly defined role with bad line mates in bad circumstances. He scored the most points of any "bottom 6" forward on the club, but was pretty much in the red by every measure by the end of the year. Had he driven results despite his surroundings, there wouldn't be much of debate at this point. But he didn't, so the question marks remain.The 26 year-old is a tweener in every sense of the word. AT 26 years of age, he'll be heading into his 5th season this October. He's got 297 games under his belt - not a vet, but certainly not a prospect either, so his ceiling is still fuzzy. He's 2 years removed from scoring 20 goals and 46 points, a season in which his PPG pace went right in the toilet after the re-acquisition of Conroy (and Lombo's subsequent burial behind him). That same summer, he was one of the top scoring players in the World Championships, where he centered a line with Shane Doan and Rick Nash. Although he's not the type of player that performs in any or every situation or makes bad lines float, his world class speed and flashes of offensive prowess hint at unrealized potential. He has trouble against top-notch defenders, but eats third-pairing guys for breakfast. In some games, Lombardi looks like one of the best players on the team. In others, he'll look frustrated and ineffectual.It's no secret that I like Lombardi. I think he's a one-man scoring chance generator, especially off the rush, and I think he could excel with the proper teammates and ice management. I caught some of the Flames/Sharks play-off series re-runs on the Network a few weeks ago and was struck by how frequently Lomabardi caused havoc at the good end of the rink in those games and how rarely he was rewarded for it. Some might say that that is proof positive Lombardi lacks the killer instinct and the hands to become anything more than what he is already. Personally, I think creating scoring chances is 3/4 of the battle and the puck is bound to start going in eventually, especially if he's playing with someone other than Yelle or Moss or Nystrom. Calgary has only a few top 6 options in their line-up: Iginla, Langkow, Cammalleri and Bertuzzi (I guess). Only two of them are proven difference makers against tough competition. The Flames will need more than a couple guys to step up and fill the void. As such, this season represents Lombo's best - and perhaps last - opportunity to prove he's more than a Paul Ranheim clone. Im of the opinion that he will (20 goals, 55 points sound about right?), but that remains to be seen.Source

Reasonable Expectations for 08-09 (Garon)

2008-10-21T12:30:00.001-07:00

Amid the heady rumors of Marian Hossa and Jaromir Jagr being courted by Edmonton, the most amazing moment of 2008 (re: Oilers) received the attention of a twig on the shoulders of a mighty stream (hat tip: John Candy).Hossa's agent Ritch Winter suggested Hossa's concern about being an Edmonton Oiler came down to goaltending.I remember questioning my own ears when I heard it, because the Oilers goaltending situation has improved since the day Roloson flew over. Plus, if Garon and Roloson aren't clients of Winter that's just really bad form and the "elephant in the room" for the Northwest division is in Calgary.The Oilers' starter last season performed reasonably well compared to the division's #1's:07-08SPNiklas Backstrom (MIN) 58gp, .920Roberto Luongo (VCR) 73gp, .917Mathieu Garon (EDM) 47gp, .913Jose Theodrore (COL) 53gp, .910Mikka Kiprusoff (CGY) 76gp, .906The Flames needed to address goaltending, at the very least bringing in a quality backup to give Kipper some rest (which is likely a lot of the problem). Calgary now have Curtis McElhinney as backup and that Irving kid is waiting in the wings. Colorado decided to undertake an experimental approach to their goaltending and now have a combination in goal that resembles Tom and Dick Smothers.The Oilers? It looks for all the world like they acquired a guy at the right time. Garon is just 30 now, his SP's have been solid save for the Black Hole of LA (which is currently trying to swallow LaBarbara) but even a closer look there suggests he was performing at a level superior to other candidates:06-07 Los Angeles SP'sGaron .907 in 32gpSean Burke .901 in 23gpBarry Brust .878 in 11gpDan Cloutier .860 in 24gpThe Kings were a mess and Garon wasn't Luongo but he wasn't Yutaka Fukfuji either. His career SP in the is .906 and in the AHL it's .915 and he's certainly earned a chance to grab that number one slot. His salary is $1.1M and that has a tremendous chance to be a bargain.The danger here is in signing him to a big contract. He does not have the kind of resume you'd like to see in a top flight free agent making the big money. I suspect the biggest decision for this Tambellini fellow this season will have to do with Garon and when/if to sign him long term. Goaltending can make qualified people look positively stupid. The improvements up front, along with fewer grenades on the blue should mean a slight improvement for Garon this season. Prediction for 08-09: 52gp, 2.75 .915Source

Crawford's defence claims Bertuzzi was solely at fault for Steve Moore incident

2008-10-17T08:10:00.001-07:00

No surprise here. Saw this coming in December....lawyer bullshit. Keep in mind here that Moore is suing Bertuzzi, the Canucks and Orca Bay for $38 million in damages, loss of income, etc.Crawford's defence has stated: "Just prior to the attack on Moore, Bertuzzi had been on a shift to kill a penalty, had missed the shift change and had remained on the ice for longer than the rest of his line,'' states Crawford's third-party defence."After being directed to get off the ice, Bertuzzi was on his way back to the bench when, suddenly and without warning, he turned around and skated back in the direction of Moore . and attacked Moore."This was not done under any specific or general direction or encouragement from Crawford, was a direct disobedience of the instruction that Bertuzzi had been given from the bench to get off the ice, and was a violation of Bertuzzi's duties which Crawford could not be expected to have reasonably anticipated, let alone control.''Back in December of 2007, Moore's lawyer issued a statement saying that Crawford pointed to Moore’s name and number on a board in the Canucks’ locker room during the second intermission of that game and said “… (Moore) must pay the price.”In an accompanying document, Moore’s lawyer claims Crawford’s statement was disclosed by Bertuzzi while under oath, and by Canucks general manager Dave Nonis.Oh boy. This isn't even close to being over yet. More distractions for Bertuzzi this year. Good luck, Flames fans!So who is to blame here? My guess is Crawford, but mostly Bertuzzi. I'm sure Crawford said something like "make the S.O.B. pay", but Bertuzzi took the retribution too far.A coach saying "make that guy pay the price" isn't anything unusual, it's just that when Bert wrecked Moore's neck and a lawsuit followed, it becomes a technicality. Especially when the finger-pointing starts and nobody wants to pick up the $38 million tab. When is Bertuzzi going to shoulder most of the blame for this and just move on? The damaged relationship between the Canucks, Crawford and Bert is only getting worse and worse. I guess it didn't help matters when the Canucks distanced themselves from Bertuzzi and the situation after they traded him to Florida.I'm just painting the picture for you. But make no mistake, I think Moore's lawsuit is overboard and a joke. And I really still do hate that coward. But more than anything I'd rather see this situation resolved.T Tags: Marc+Crawford+faults+Bertuzzi Steve+Moore+case disobeying+orders Source

Bertuzzi a Lone Gunman? Gaborik Still Wild About NHL?

2008-10-13T22:40:00.001-07:00

Weird. Jean Lefebvre had an item that Mats Sundin leaving Toronto for Montreal (possibly!) is no less weird than Todd Bertuzzi coming to Calgary from Vancouver less than a week before the Toronto Star reported former Canucks coach Marc Crawford insists Bertuzzi acted alone in his attack on Steve Moore. Here are Lefebvre's unfortunate words: While Sundin played for the hated Leafs and certainly caused heaps of damage to the Canadiens over the years, is he the kind of guy Montrealers could truly hate? Like Ted Lindsay, Dale Hunter or Eric Lindros? Not a chance. Big Bert, on the other hand, made for a perfect villain, especially when he was toiling for the Canucks. Marian Gaborik's agent is saying the forward won't leave the Wild for Russia, even as Ladislav Nagy became the latest/nhler to jump to the Russian Super League. The Russian Super League is the best thing to happen to/nhl players. Every contract negotiation seems to become a lot more focused and player-friendly with just the hint of a rumor the player has an offer from a Russian club. It's like instant leverage.Source

Stay off the Island

2008-10-11T16:40:00.001-07:00

To say the least, the Penguins have had simply awful luckagainst the Islanders in the postseason.At least once in the past three decades, the Penguins'season has come to a heartbreaking end at the hands of the Islanders.We're all familiar with the most recent defeat. David&$@#! Volek and the 1992-93 Islanders pulled off perhaps the/nhl's biggestupset when they beat the President Trophy-winning Penguins in a seven-gameseries in 1993.And lots of us are familiar with the 1974-75 Islanders whocame back from a 3-0 series deficit to beat the Penguins. Anytime a team takesa 3-0 lead in a playoff series, the announcers seemingly have an obligation tosay, "Well you know, the last time a team came back from a 3-0 deficit..."But not a lot of Penguins fans are all that familiar with the 1982Islanders.Having won the Stanley Cup the previous two springs, theIslanders were in the midst of their dynasty. They had supplanted the Canadiensas the best team in the league. A preliminary series against the lowly Penguinswas surely a mere bump in the road right?After the first two games of the series, it sure seemed so. TheIslanders out-scored the Penguins 15-3 in the first two contests of afive-games series. A win in Game Three seemed like a mere formality.The Penguins managed to pull out a 2-1 overtime win in Game3 (thanks to Rick Kehoe's overtime goal) and evened things up in Game 4 with a5-2 win.With 5:27remaining in Game 5, the Penguins owned a 3-1 lead over the powerful Islanders.Then everything pretty much caved in. A goal by Mike McEwen made it 3-2. Then with2:21 left, Tonelli kept the Islanders'hope for a three-peat alive by tying the game.At 6:19 inovertime, Tonelli broke all sorts of hearts in Pittsburgh:(Please visit the site to view this media)The Islanders would go on to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup title and the Penguins wouldn't reach the postseason again until 1989.So with only one playoff left this decade, we assume thePenguins will meet the Islanders in the spring of 2009 in order to keep this "one-playoff-defeat-a-decade" thing going. And we also assume theseries will go the distance. Game 7 will come to an end on a goal by SeanBergenheim. Mark it down.(If you're wondering why we're writing about an old Islanderspostseason win in August, this video just happened to be posted recently onYouTube. We spotted it and went with it.)EMPTY NETTER ASSISTSPenguins-2K Sports, the creator of/nhl 2K9, isn't wasting too muchtime worrying about Sidney Crosby's playoff beard.-Janne Pesonen bleeds black and gold.Atlantic Division-Mark Messier's son, Lyon, was invited to the Rangers'rookie camp.Central Division-The Blue Jackets will honor their late owner, John H.McConnell, with a commemorative patch next season.-Blues forward Brad Boyes had 43 goals last season, but noone noticed.Northwest Division-New Flames forward Todd Bertuzzi complained about the lackof ice time he got with the Ducks last season.Apparently the Ducks have this crazy idea that overrated, lazy, broken down,pieces of trash aren't supposed to get 20 minutes or more a game.-Avalanche captain Joe Sakic still wants to play.-In a shocking bit of news, Avalanche forward Peter Forsbergis still having issues with his feet.Pacific Division-The Sharks signed defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic to afour-year contract extenstion.-San Jose willbring former forward Jeff Friesen in on a tryout basis.-The Ducks signed former Blue Jackets forward Joakim Lindstromto a one-year deal.Adams Division-Apparently, not everyone in Canadais crazy about watching hockey fights on television.-James Mirtleexamines the best/nhl players by jersey numbers.-Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Poniesscored an interview with the Post-Gazette's Bob Smizik.Source

Sakic Re-signs; Sundin Quagmire Continues

2008-10-08T07:10:00.001-07:00

Joe Sakic re-signed with the Avs yesterday. He actually took a tiny pay cut from last season's salary, something which kind of got lost in everyone's shock over Sakic finally deciding what he wanted to do next season.I guess you can cross Colorado off of Mats Sundin's list of teams to play for, although Colorado is still under the cap.I'm very curious how Sakic's indecision will be seen in the Colorado locker room. Will they see it as a sign he's not 100% committed to playing in the? Or will they see it as an All-Star making sure he's 100% committed to coming back before signing a contract? The cycle of playing life for a bona fide star like Sakic can be challenging to navigate. It's Great Player --> Amazing Player --> Legend --> Weird Old Guy. I'm guessing Sakic doesn't want to his the end of that cycle, although the last two stops certainly aren't mutually exclusive.In other Sundin Quagmire news, Michael Russo reports Mark Parrish is waiting for an offer from the Canucks while the Canucks wait for an answer from Sundin.Kevin Allen has a nice look at other players trapped in the Sundin Quagmire.Finally, Jean Lefebvre weighed in on the media obligation to always ask Todd Bertuzzi about his brutal attack on Steve Moore. Lefebvre said it can't be ignored at the start of Bertuzzi's Flame residency but can be tabled once the season starts and his on-ice performance is more of an issue. Apparently, some Calgary fans didn't like the media spending so much time on Bertuzzi's past. It's such an odd coincidence that fans only care about Bertuzzi's attack until he puts on their team's sweater. Then, suddenly, it's old news.Source

Training Camp Rosters

2008-10-05T09:20:00.001-07:00

This is Adam Huxley. He was on the Oilers 07-08 training camp roster, and over the years has appeared in training camps for Phoenix, Washington and Calgary.Training camp rosters are always interesting, but for the Oilers I think there may be some surprises.Why?Two reasons.First, there is a plethora of unsigned free agents with experience, and these men have to land somewhere. Second, if we add up all the players we know will attend Edmonton's camp this fall we're going to get a big number (70+, probably) but there are still some holes (a veteran RW center and possibly a veteran D).Last season's official training camp roster read like this (with those players who made the opening night roster in bold and dates for send out for the others):GoaliesDwayne RolosonMathieu GaronJeff Deslauriers (9/29)Devan Dubnyk (9/27Glenn Fisher (9/16)Bryan Pitton (9/16)Nothing astounding there, although I do find it interesting each fall that Dubnyk seems to get about as much playing time, attention and days in camp as Deslauriers. I'd love to know what the coaching staff really thinks about those two.DefensemenJoni PitkanenSteve StaiosSheldon SourayMatt GreeneDick TarnstromTom GilbertDenis Grebeshkov (HS opening night)Ladislav Smid (10/03)Mathieu Roy (10/03)Alex Plante (10/03)Sebastien Bisaillon (9/26)Danny Syvret (9/26)Bryan Young (9/26)TJ Kemp (9/24)Theo Peckham (9/16)Rick Berry (9/16)TJ Reynolds (9/16)Allan Rourke (9/16)Important to note that Plante was injured so his being taken off the roster as part of the final cuts was basically house keeping. Final cut Smid was back October 24th. Roy, Young, Peckham and Rourke also say playing time with the big club. Something we also need to remember is that Gilbert was no lock for the opening night lineup but he made it and then had a helluva year.CentermenShawn Horcoff Jarrett StollMarty ReasonerAndrew CoglianoTyler Spurgeon (10/03)Ben Simon (9/27)Jonas Almtorp (9/27)Rob Schremp (9/26)Fredrik Johansson (9/26)Vitaly Karamnov (9/16)Milan Kytnar (9/16)I've tried to list the forwards by their positions on opening night/exiting camp, so because of that fact three natural centermen (Brodziak, Pouliot and Gagner) are listed elsewhere. Spurgeon (like Plante) was injured and removed from the roster at cutdown time. I don't think we can draw much of a conclusion about when Schremp was sent down except that he was coming off surgery. Schremp is the only player not in bold on that depth chart who played in the show last season. Left WingDustin PennerRaffi TorresGeoff SandersonJF JacquesEthan Moreau (IR, 10/03)Patrick Thoresen (10/03, waivers)Tim Sestito (9/27)Liam Reddox (9/26)Slava Trukhno (9/26)Troy Bodie (9/26)Adam Huxley (9/24)Ryan Flinn (9/17)Stephane Goulet (9/16)Jacob Micflikier (9/16)Geoff Paukovich (9/16)William Quist (9/16)Lots of turnover at that position year over year with Raffi, Sanderson and Thoresen among the notables being sent away. Look at how late that bugger Sestito got sent out, I swear he's one to watch because they love the guy. Reddox played a little with the big club from the bubbling under pile as did Thoresen before finally getting plucked off waivers by the Flyers. Right WingAles HemskyRobert NilssonKyle BrodziakSam GagnerMarc Pouliot (HS opening night)Zack Stortini (10/03)Anson Carter (released October 1)Ryan O'Marra (9/26)Colin McDonald (9/16)David Rohlfs (9/16)Interesting stuff here, including Stortini getting sent down but coming back October 13. Anson Carter was an interesting name and O'Marra had the training camp (and season) from hell. I think that's everyone. If the list is correct, the Oilers invited 6 goalies, 18 defensemen and 37 forwards (61 players) to training camp one year ago. It varies from season to season, but I'd guess Edmonton will add to the list below:2008-09 (A Work In Progress)GoaliesMathieu GaronDwayne RolosonJeff DeslauriersDevan DubnykBryan PittonDefensemenLubomir VisnovskySheldon SourayTom GilbertDenis GrebeshkovSteve StaiosLadislav SmidJason StrudwickMathieu RoyJosef HrabalTheo Peckham Taylor ChorneySebastien BisaillonBryan YoungCody WildJake TaylorJordan BendfeldRobbie BinaMike GabinetBrad FarynukCleve KinleyRyan ConstantAlexandre PlanteJohan MotinCentermenShawn HorcoffAndrew CoglianoKyle BrodziakMarc PouliotRob SchrempGilbert BruleTim SestitoRyan O'MarraTyler SpurgeonJacob MicflikierToby LafranceInteresting list. Players 4-6 offer an interesting array of skills and that should be the most interesting race of training camp.Left WingDustin PennerSam GagnerErik ColeEthan MoreauJF JacquesRyan PotulnyBryan LergSlava TrukhnoGeoff PaukovichKelly CzuyGaret HuntPhilippe CornetI don't want to get into a debate about where Cole is slotted, he certainly is the best player in the group. There's just a ton of talent here on this depth chart and if Jacques is healthy a lot of the Garet Hunt's on the TC list are going to be sent out early. Right WingAles HemskyRobert NilssonFernando PisaniZack StortiniLiam ReddoxCarl Corazzini Stephane GouletColin McDonaldDavid RohlfsJustin ChwedorukHans BensonJamie BatesJordan EberleThat's 64. I think the Oilers will add several to the list and may approach 70 names this fall. Source

Flames Use Robotic Fill-In While Coach Vacations

2008-10-02T18:40:00.001-07:00

Darryl Sittler Robot seen posing with Todd Bertuzzi and Bertuzzi's sun earlier today. No one was harmed during the presser.Mike Sturk/APWith coach Darryl Sutter on vacation in Honolulu this week, sources say that the Calgary Flames employed a robot to pose as their coach during a press conference today.At the Saddledome, the Flames introduced the teams' five newest acquisitions; Todd Bertuzzi, Mike Cammalleri, Andre Roy, Curtis Glencross and Rene Bourque. All have been acquired by the team over the summer as they try and fuel up for another playoff run this season.Representatives for the Flames would not comment publicly on the alleged fill-in robot. Sources inside the organization say that the robot was used multiple times during the Flames' playoff loss to the San Jose Sharks last spring. It was hired in early February after it became clear that having their coach in two places at once would enhance marketing and promotional opportunities.The robot previously portrayed Steven Segal in Urban Justice and was used as a mannequin at a Filene's Basement in Iowa City, Iowa.At press time, it is still unclear as to whether or not the Flames are also using a Todd Bertuzzi Robot.Source

Tanguay asked to be traded out of Calgary twice last season

2008-09-29T01:10:00.001-07:00

From the Calgary Sun: "I'm really looking forward to training camp", he said. "This is the most mythical hockey team. I feel like a baseball player just traded to the Yankees. Twice last season I asked the Flames to trade me, and Montreal was on my wish list both times," he said, vowing to carve a permanent niche for himself in his home province. "I'm 28, and this is my ninth season". Tanguay, who only recorded 58 points last season, found himself on a "defensive" line with Craig Conroy and Owen Nolan, which ticked him off. "I thought they traded for me from Colorado because I could generate offence." So Tanguay was less-than impressed with Keenan and then agreed to waive his no trade clause to go to his dream team.Like a said before, it's a francophone playing in Montreal, where he'll play his heart out. This will only benefit the Habs, who shed themselves of dead weight Michael Ryder and add an enthused Tanguay. Now if Carey Price proves Bob Gainey right this year (for trading Huet last season and making Price #1), then the Canadiens should win the East. T Tags: Alex+Tanguay+happy+in+Montreal Canadiens trade Flames french Source

Canucks trade Ryan Shannon to Senators for Lawrence Nycholat

2008-09-26T23:50:00.001-07:00

A strange deal of sorts for the Canucks. I guess you can never have enough spare defencemen in Vancouver seeing how they get injured all the time! That or Gillis is going to trade one of them. I thought Ryan Shannon was going to push for a spot with Vancouver after they had signed him for 1 year back in July to a $605,000 deal. He played in 27 games for the Nucks last season, scoring 5 goals and 13 points. But none of his goals were more memorable than this controversial spinaroonie shootout goal. So who the hell is this Lawrence Nycholat guy? -a 29 year-old defenceman. Born in Calgary.-wasn't drafted-will make $600,000 this season-about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds-has played in 31 games with the Rangers, Capitals and Senators, scoring 2 goals and 8 points.-Had a decent year with the Binghamton Senators last season, scoring 12 goals and 49 points in 77 games.NycholatTube- A Nycholat profile on YouTube.-Nycholat fights Brian Sutherby.-Nycholat was a captain of the Hershey Bears.T Tags: Canucks+trade+Ryan+Shannon+to+Senators+for+Lawrence+Nycholat Source

Capitals not eager for your business

2008-09-23T22:00:00.001-07:00

Tony at The Confluence of the Three Rivers just posted this tidbit:"Just got a call from the Washington Capitals ticket office. I'm ontheir list because I live in Virginia and have bought tickets thereseveral times before.The very nice woman I talked to advised me, once I told her I'd beinterested in either of the two Penguins games (February 22nd and March8th), that individual tickets for both Penguins games in DC will NOT be available. She also mentioned that it also applies to the home opener vs. Chicago and the Detroit game.The only way (other than Ebay/Stubhub) to obtain tickets to thosegames in DC is to purchase at least a six-pack of games, which includethe old Patrick Division teams, and some other packages.Just letting everyone know, certainly makes things more challengingfor those of us wanting to head to DC and dominate the Verizon Centeragain."As we've stated before, it's a smart move by the Capitals to take this approach. Their fan base isn't all that loyal or developed down there which is a shame because the Capitals are a simply dazzling team to watch. These games against the Penguins, as well as the other two games listed, are easily the biggest games of the regular season for the Capitals. Why not try to make extra money off of them?That said, considering there are more than enough seats listed for the Feb. 22nd game on StubHub, we don't expect it to be a problem for the "Sea of Red" to have blotches of black, white or blue.By the way, the Flames called. They're the original "C of Red." At least in hockey.(Photo: Nick Wass/Associated Press)Source

TV Schedule out

2008-09-21T05:40:00.001-07:00

The Stars have released their television schedule for this season. They also have changed start times on a few games. Here are new game times: Saturday, Oct. 18, vs. Colorado _ 1 p.m.Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Calgary _ 8:30 p.m.Saturday, Jan. 17, vs. LA _ 1 p.m.Saturday, Feb. 21, vs. Chicago _ 1 p.m.Wednesday, Match 18, at Calgary _ 8 p.m. They still are working out the details on the HD games. The Stars are working very hard to get every game in HD, but that costs money. Because HD requires specific cameras, a specific television truck and specific sending equipment, the cost has to be accounted for. There also is labor needed to work through the transition. The Stars and their television affiliates are trying to work through all of that. They know you want HD, and they are trying to get it to you, but it is a process. Here is the Stars' press release on the schedule: FRISCO, Tex. -- The Dallas Stars announced today the National Hockey League club's local television schedule for the 2008-09 regular season. All 82 contests of the regular season will be televised in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. This marks the 11th consecutive season for all 82 regular season games to be televised in the Metroplex. "We are very excited about continuing our great partnership with FSN Southwest and My 27, both which enable us to bring every Dallas Stars regular season game to our fans in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area," said Stars President Jeff Cogen. "This promises to be another winning hockey season and we cannot wait to get it started." FSN Southwest returns for its 16th season of carrying Stars telecasts, with an all-time high 62 regular season games to be shown on the network. FSN Southwest provides quality local sports programming to over 9.6 million cable and satellite TV subscribers in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and parts of New Mexico. The Stars' home opener on Friday, Oct. 10 vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets is featured on the FSN schedule, as well as the club's traditional New Year's Eve contest, this year against the New Jersey Devils (Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.). Fifteen games will be broadcast locally over the air on My 27 (Channel 27), which returns for its ninth season of televising Dallas Stars hockey. My 27's first Stars broadcast for the upcoming season will be vs. Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 18. Versus will exclusively televise four Stars contests: Monday, Jan. 12 vs. Detroit, Monday, Feb. 23 vs. San Jose, Monday, Mar. 30 at Phoenix, and Tuesday, April 7 at Minnesota. NBC Sports (KXAS-TV, Channel 5 in Dallas-Ft. Worth) has chosen one Dallas Stars contest as a candidate to be chosen as the NBC.nhl "Game of the Week" -- Sunday, Feb. 8 vs. Nashville. First introduced last season, the.nhl on NBC will feature flexible scheduling for regular season dates on the network. NBC will have nearly two weeks in advance of a particular weekend to select which games will air, and if NBC does not choose this Dallas game, FSN has agreed to televise the contest. News/Talk 820 WBAP returns for its 15th season as the flagship home of Dallas Stars hockey and will broadcast all 82 regular season contests and all playoff games. WBAP will also broadcast one Stars pre-season game - Thursday, Oct. 2 vs. Chicago. Forming the broadcast team for the Stars for the 13th consecutive season will be Ralph Strangis and Daryl Reaugh. Strangis begins his 19th season as a Stars broadcaster while Reaugh will serve in his 13th season as the Stars' color analyst. Here is the link for the schedule.Source

Boston Bruins Sign Stephane Yell

2008-09-17T05:20:00.001-07:00

It had been rumored that the Minnestoa Wild were interested in signing defensive forward and face off specialist Stephane Yelle but it appears that the Wild have lost out in another bid for a free agent. Boston, MA – Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed center Stephane Yelle to a contract. Per club policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed.A 12-year veteran of 844 regular season games and 154 postseason contests, Yelle comes to the Bruins having won two Stanley Cups with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and 2001. Yelle made his.nhl debut during the 1995-1996 season with Colorado and played in all 22 of the Avalanche’s playoff games during their Stanley Cup title run. During his rookie year in 95-96, Yelle tallied a career best 13 goals and 14 assists in the regular season and added one goal and four assists in the playoffs. When the Avs captured the Cup a second time in 2000-2001, Yelle again appeared in every playoff game (23) and registered a goal and two assists in the postseason to go along with 4-10-14 totals in the regular season.He played a total of seven seasons in Colorado, appearing in 505 games with 54 goals and 89 assists.Yelle spent the last five seasons with the Calgary Flames. On October 1, 2002, he and Chris Drury were traded by Colorado to the Flames in exchange for Dean McAmmond, Derek Morris and Jeff Shantz. During those five years, Yelle contributed 31 goals and 65 assists. Last season, Yelle tallied three goals and nine assists in 74 regular season games and added two goals in seven postseason contests. The 34-year-old Ottawa, Ontario native was originally drafted in the 8th round (186th overall) of the 1992.nhl Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils, Yelle was dealt to Quebec on June 1, 1994 and then relocated with the franchise to Colorado on June 21, 1995. His team has missed the playoffs only once in his 12-year.nhl career (02-03 with Calgary). Source

Your Obligatory Debate of Pittsburgh's Chances this Year

2008-09-14T10:00:00.001-07:00

Maybe it's the liberal media's fault. Maybe it's all in our heads. Maybe it's Urkel's fault. No one is really sure at this point. But for some reason, the Pittsburgh Penguins' chances this season have become a contentious point around the blogosphere.Let's recap real quick.This all started when the boys at Pensblog got a little agitated about something Sportsnet's Mike Toth wrote. For the record, taking offense to something Sportsnet does is like getting upset about who anchors the 11pm Sportscenter. It's all irrelevant unless it's Scott Van Pelt, so who cares.After that, Puck Daddy responded by claiming that Toth is totally not out of his mind. Since then Spector has chimed in, the Pensblog responded to PD's response and Sean Leahy attempted to play referee, to name a few contributions.So this is where we come in. Naturally, we have certain obligations when reporting here at BMR. Mainly, that obligation is to give our own take on something that everyone and their dog writes about. Usually that category of material is limited to season previews, predictions and whenever Mark Messier cries. Many other times, the blogosphere is clogged up with so many stories about a single topic (see: Mats Sundin) that we're almost obligated to pile on. There's no reason to do the back breaking work of trying to empty the trash can when it's spilling over. Instead, it's a lot easier to start piling up trash around it. That's what our job is and this is one of those times.Anyway. Back to the point at hand; Pittsburgh's chances and our obligatory post on it.Let's all remember a few key points about the situation. Here come the bullets. It's like a night out on the town with 50 Cent.Teams that lose in the Finals usually suck the next year.Pre-season predictions don't mean shit and are usually wrong.Marian Hossa was the icing on the cake of Pittsburgh's season last year.This is a team that everyone picked to challenge for the conference title this time last year.They still have MAF in net.OK, now we're going to address these one-by-one.First and foremost, it's standard practice to diss the team that lost in the Finals the previous year. As Puck Daddy pointed out, this has been true in recent years. The only exception is the Flames, who were better the season after they lost to Tampa in the Finals. Remember, they had a whole lockout year to get their legs back.Second point, pre-season predictions are about as accurate as the weather report. Unless we're talking about Columbus and Detroit, it's impossible to predict where teams will finish. Everyone should chill out and save their breath, but since I know no one is going to listen, I'll save mine.One of the most overblown points in the history of overblown points is the significance of Marian Hossa. Yes, he's a good player. Yes, he helped the Penguins in the playoffs. He had 26 points in 20 games which is a big contribution. But let's not get crazy here. He only played 12 regular season games for Pittsburgh. The Pens finished second in the conference, mostly no thanks to Hossa. They would have made a run without him. Maybe... Maybe they wouldn't have gotten to the Finals. That's about it.All this Hossa talk brings me to my next point, which is that everyone picked the Pens to be a top five team in the East at the beginning of last season. Think about it. Did you really believe they wouldn't at least be top five? In the conference you like to call 'the Leastern Conference'? It also means you picked them to do this without Hossa and before we found out that Marc-Andre Fluery could be a viable starting netminder.So now that the Pens are missing Hossa, Roberts, Malone and a couple other role players are they all of a sudden not a top five team this season?Give me a break. All those losses do is make them questionable to win the conference. They're still a top five team in my opinion. Maybe the fourth or fifth. But honestly, other than Montreal, who would you put ahead of them? This conference is still wide open. You're living in another universe if you think New Jersey, Washington, Ottawa, the Rangers or Philly are easily outpacing the Penguins at this point. It is possible that a few of these teams could finish ahead of the Pens this year, maybe even likely. But at this point in time, there is not evidence to the contrary.The Penguins have questions. Can Sidney stay healthy all year? Will Malkin's playoff funk continue on into this season? Can MAF repeat his performance from last year? Will they fall victim to a short off-season?The funny thing is, every other team in the East has questions like these. Some have more. It's still early. In this year, like every other, predictions don't mean a whole lot yet everybody has them.Source

Maturation of the Flames - Season Preview, and the past

2008-09-12T00:30:00.001-07:00

This is a post IÂ?ve wanted to make for a while, its about how the team has changed over the past 4 years going from a SCF team to a team struggling with identity as it goes from a darkhorse and underdog team to dealing with the status as a contender, and what the future might bring. So, this is going to be a thick post with a lot of points, so if you are looking for just one point and get confused, this is a mosaic of many different arguments. Some will be mixed, mashed and repeated in different in a different context. Last year, we say a team the underachieved, underperformed and struggled with consistency. The parts were there Â? the star forward, the strong top 6, what appears to be proven, solid grinders and support players, the elite defenseman, the premier shutdown defenseman and a strong 6 defenseman and a star goalie. But despite experience in both age, NHL and championships, this team found it hard to find consistency from minute to minute and game to game, A team formerly known to be Â?tough to play againstÂ? turned into a team that was now Â?we know they are a good team, and have to be readyÂ? Â? a change in attitude of opponents comments that clearly reflect the Flames as the Flames struggled to find the winning formula from a grinding low scoring SCF team to a skilled team, and now back. To look at the future, we have to take a look back and see how this team has matured. The SCF 2004 team was a team that clicked, fired on all cylinders and had almost everybody step up at a performing level. The team had fun, Commodore, Montador, Ference, Conroy and McLennan Â? we all know the story. We took that formula into 2006, but quickly found that lack of scoring, but went game-to-game as if it were a business, showing little enthusiasm or fun. That problem was mitigated with Conroy, McLennan and some scoring punch in Huselius and Tanguay. Still, no dice in 2007. The team had trouble against Detroit, holes all around and getting dominated by a team that played well as a unit while the Flames performed as individuals. Clearly, preparation was an issue, and Keenan was supposed to be the mitigation. In 2008, the team again struggled with consistency, as the bar continued to rise and the Flames continually found ways to go under it. However, against SJ, we saw a higher performing team but a struggling goalie. Change is progressive. Not to rag on them again, but the Oilers are a perfect example of a team that looks for the short fix and ends up swinging extremes and struggles to mature as a team because they are not given an opportunity to mature without there being radical change. From a 300-goal team with the 3-goalies but no defenseman to move the puck, to tons of puck moving defenseman but no offense, to the high-scoring forwards again with no defensive defenseman. Teams will inevitably struggle with radical change. This is one area I think Sutter has right, the building blocks are there Â? Iginla, your star forward you build around, Langkow your No 1 center you build around, Phaneuf your No 1 defenseman, Regehr your shutdown defenseman, Kiprusoff, your star goalie Â? and you build from there. Guys like Prust may not be stars, but they are key members of the organization because they fill certain gaps that you cannot just abandon to fill another gap, such a reason that Sutter turned him down for Vandermeer. Of the top 6ers, Lombardi is key because heÂ?s a guy in the 25 age group and there is nobody to replace him. Boyd is key because he is in that 21-23 age group and there arenÂ?t many of him either, with a possible argument to Ryder. Backlund is key because he is in that 18-21 age group. In a possible situation, as good Backlund might be, you simply canÂ?t just deal off Boyd or Lombardi because then you would be missing that players of that age group filling roles. Something that I can see as very important in the business that is the NHL today. Change is progressive. We saw guys like Yelle and Nilson as elite 3rd liners performing 3rd line roles that were the foundation the 2004 and 2006 team were built upon. Suddenly in 2007 and 2008, they were ineffective, but did not just get worse overnight. Why? Because they were filling roles that werenÂ?t in a situation to what they did best. The 2004 and 2006 team were ones that relied heavily on the 2nd and 3rd liners for steady play and to grind a team down with shear hard work, consistently where consistently is the key word here. The 2007 and 2008 team were teams that had 2 scoring lines, and needed the 3rd liners to fill smaller minutes while keeping the momentum going carried from the 1st and sometimes 2nd line. The Flames failed here in 2007 and 2008 IMO, that while they could dominate for parts of games, they were unable to hold consistent momentum while teams like Detroit could. Guys like Yelle and Nilson are good for playing more solid minutes, but not guys that will build or maintain the momentum of a game for only a few minutes of a game. Most people who do play team sports here should know there is a difference when your playing minutes are cut by 20% or more, that its harder to get into the game and get a feel of the game. While the top line, or 2nd line was able to have that momentum, the bottom 2 lines of Yelle and Nilson struggled with less minutes, and momentum was lost because that simply wasnÂ?t the game they were comfortable with. A radical change occurred on the 3rd and 4th lines, and... when change comes hard and fast, the team doesnÂ?t adapt in time and there will always be opposition to change. I donÂ?t think the 3rd and 4th liners that were so good for us in 2006, were comfortable with their new roles in 2007 and likewise 2008. Those 4th line minutes, 3-4 minutes, might not look like a big deal and are often excused, but they simply canÂ?t be, because again for anyone that does play sports, momentum and confidence are huge. Those regular season inconsistencies and early playoff exits, much can be learned from it. This Flames team has won series and gone far in the playoffs (2004)... and theyÂ?ve lost a lot more, and you can learn a lot from losing that you canÂ?t learn from winning. The Flames have had both.The upcoming Flames team sports a new 3rd and 4th line players, a new image of speed and toughness over solid and steady. Skill out, speed and physical play is in, and the 3rd and 4th lines model that of 2004. Out with the fancy playmakers for Iginla, and quite frankly he doesnÂ?t need them as he posted similar stats whether it was Conroy or Langkow, McAmmond or Tanguay/Huselius. A radical changeÂ itÂ?ll be interesting how the team resorts to going back to the old identity that the team was comfortable with. But as this team matures and tries new things, it has learned a lot about what works and what doesnÂ?t work. MaturationÂ that will be the difference in 2008. Sutter alluded to it, Keenan alluded to it. Those 1st round loses were learned mistakes, and from the mouths of a few of the Flames executives and coaches, the 2008 early exit stung harder then previous ones. The learning comes from the emotions and the swings in momentum of a game. Knowing exploit the forward momentum has you on your toesÂ and learning how to hold off when the momentum is keeping you on your heals. About not getting too high, and not getting too low. Its not even having to be that guy that goes out to make the huge hit, get the big goal, or in short, being that heroÂ and being that Â?heroÂ? usually hurts your team, you have to play within your system and sometimes accept the downward momentum piling down on you, but that experience is about being mature enough to hold tight and ride through it. (Again, the guys here that play team sports probably know what I am talking about when I say Â?that heroÂ? that wants to make that difference so bad and make that rush or that big hit, but deviates away from the system to do so and in turn actually ends up hurting your team.) Its about knowing how to react when you want to change the momentum of a game, how to give your team that jump and when to hold back. Whether its making a Sarich hit, or a Lombardi shot block, or that Iginla fight, it can be something as simple as taking a hit to make that play Â? you donÂ?t always have to deliver that hit. This type of maturation can only come with experience and are as valuable and maybe more then production. ItÂ?s not about the numbers you put up and the +/- you have, but how you contribute and react to key minutes. Great players do that. Iginla is a better player in 2008 then 2001; he had similar stats, but that experience can be seen by the leadership he displays on the ice about he reacts to momentum swings throughout a game. Regehr is very steady whether momentum is on the Flames side, or not. I believe Phaneuf is still maturing and isnÂ?t quite there, but has matured in many aspects and emotion is the last hurdle he will have to cross to be truly dominant.

The Sundin media frenzy is way out to lunch now

2008-09-10T01:30:00.001-07:00

JP Barry on Friday after Sundin met with Cliff Fletcher and no progress was made: "I think the decision-making process is down to Toronto and another team because that's the way he's always felt."There were a lot of people that read into that statement that Sundin was down to choosing between TWO teams, and was going to meet with the Canadiens on Saturday. Well that is reading the statement in one of 2 ways. I didn't bite because Sundin has said all along that he will not even consider offers until he considers returning to the. So, Barry had to clarify his statement today. "He hasn't narrowed it down at all," J.P. Barry, Sundin's Calgary-based agent, told The Vancouver Sun Friday. "He's still trying to decide whether or not he's going to play and he won't comment to me, or anybody else, about teams until he does that."I mean, if he has narrowed it down to two, that would be big news. At this stage, I would practically put out a press release if he's narrowed it down to two teams." Right. Exactly. End of fucking story. Mats is back in Sweden, sipping on shitty beer and playing golf while the media creates lies or misinterprets stories. If anybody has been following this story closely, what Barry is saying is painfully and obviously true. Time to move on. Sundin is not making a decision for several months. T Tags: Mats+Sundin+no+decision meets+with+Leafs+and+Canadiens returns+to+Sweden Source

Happenings in Frisco

2008-09-06T11:00:00.001-07:00

The Stars players are starting to gather in Frisco and working out each day about 9:45 a.m. Everyone appears healthy and ready to go. Among the walking wounded from the end of last season who look great are: Sergei Zubov, Brenden Morrow and Jere Lehtinen. Morrow, who played through a lot of shoulder pain in the playoffs, said he didn't need any surgery. He said some rest made him feel 100 percent better, and now he's ready to get going again. Also on hand are Fabian Brunnstrom, Ray Sawada and James Neal. The three rookies all have a chance of making the opening day roster. Brunnstrom is pretty much penciled in already and that would give the Stars 12 forwards. They can carry 14. The three also will be with the team when they travel to Traverse City, Mich. Sept 13-17 for an eight-team prospects tournament. Brunnstrom, 23, was a prized free agent signing out of Sweden, but he still is getting used to the smaller ice of North America. ``It's an adventure,'' he said. ``The game is faster here, so you have to do all the things faster here. The game is more fun over here. The small rink makes the game more fun.'' A couple of updates from co-GM Les Jackson: Lauri Tukonen, a skilled winger acquired from Los Angeles will be at training camp. He currently is playing with Ilves in Finland, but will come over and try to make the roster. If he doesn't, he will return to Finland for the remainder of the season. The Stars have signed veteran goalie Brent Krahn, formerly of the Flames organization as their potential No. 3 goalie. Former college goalie Matt Climie will be in the organization, but has yet to play pro hockey, and Tobias Stephan is a young and unproven backup to Marty Turco, so Krahn will be a safety valve if necessary. He currently is rehabilitating an injury, but should be ready by December. He was 6-5-3 with a 2.49 GAA playing for Quad Cities (AHL) last season. Konstantin Pushkarev also is on the camp roster, although he is not yet signed as a restricted free agent. Jackson said if Pushkarev comes to camp and does a good job, they will talk contract. The Stars retain his rights no matter what. The Stars will be dividing up their prospects this year as they transition from an AHL affiliate in Iowa last season to an AHL affiliate in the Austin-area next season. If these players are not on the Stars roster, here is where they are expected to be playing: Manitoba: RW Ray Sawada, LW James Neal, D Maxime Fortunas. Peoria: D Ivan Vishnevskiy, RW Chris Conner. Grand Rapids: RW Landon Wilson, C Aaron Gagnon, D Garrett Stafford. Hamilton: D Dan Jancevski, RW Tyler Shelast. Iowa: C Perttu Lindgren, LW Francis Wathier. Timra (Sweden): C Tom Wandell Ilves (Finland): RW Lauri Tukonen. To be decided (Probably Idaho of ECHL): LW John Lammers, G Matt Climie, D Trevor Ludwig. I've noticed B.J. Crombeen is missing from our list, so I'll check that today. The Icebreaker is Sept. 13 at The Galleria (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) and training camp starts Sept. 19 in Frisco, so we're getting close to hockey season.Source

Tanguay Ready To Take On Montreal

2008-09-03T21:20:00.001-07:00

Here is a translation of Alex Tanguay's interview with Le Journal De Montreal's Pierre Durocher in this morning's paper: Tanguay understands that expectations in Montreal loom large, where few francophone players are stars."It doesn't bother me at all", he said, "I am the type of player who imposes a greater pressure on myself than the media or fans could.""I had some very good seasons in Colorado, numbers wise. The year before the lockout, I was battling with Martin St. Louis for the scoring race. When I was injured, I had 79 points in 69 games. Even though I am considered more of a passer than a shooter, I did score 29 goals in 2005-06. I had a personal high of 81 points in my first season in Calgary, despite feeling that I wasn't playing up to potential"."I have no doubts in my abilities, because I have already proven I am an offensive player, when I am well surrounded. My principal goal is to to help the Canadiens be as successful as possible."Perhaps Tanguay could help the Canadiens in the drive for 25? 'Tanguay has already contributed greatly to one Stanley Cup win in 2001, where he played a large role with 21 points in 23 games."I've had the opportunity, over my career, to find myself on formidable teams composed of many great leaders. They have been a profound influence on my career", Tanguay stated. "Players like Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, raymond Bourque, and Peter Forsberg. When Milan Hejduk and I were on Joe Sakic's line in 2000-01, he was chosen the Hart trophy winner".When Milan and I played on Forsberg's line in 2002-03, Peter won the Hart. Milan and I like to brag that it was because of us that both of them won."Upon joining Colorado, the Avalanche organization felt it best that Tanguay billet with the Roy family."It was very beneficial to me. Patrick was like a big brother. We had many good discussions on the way to the arena. As a goaltender, he had a much different point of view than most. I've learned a whole bunch of tricks from players who marked that team's history."Tanguay has remained in contact with Roy, as both reside in Lac Beauport."I've spoken to him about how things are run in Montreal. Our situations are very different though, as Patrick was the team's star player. I am not in his category."A Sun chain article, also authored by Durocher, added these quotes: ...Tanguay will meet his new Montreal Canadiens team- mates for the first time today -- on the golf course. "I'm really looking forward to training camp", he rejoiced. "This is the most mythical hockey team. I feel like a baseball player that just got traded to the New York Yankees. "Twice last season I asked the Flames to trade me, and Montreal was on my wish list both times," he said, vowing to carve a permanent niche for himself in his home province. "I'm 28 and this is my ninth season, so I'm very happy to be here."Tanguay acknowledges he ran into trouble last year in Calgary with a meagre production of 58 points (18 goals, 40 assists), down from 78 and 81 points tallies during his two previous seasons. Coach Mike Keenan used him on a defensive line with Craig Conroy and Owen Nolan which did not please him at all. "I thought they traded for me from Colorado because I could generate offence," Tanguay said with a bitter smile. "I was in that sort of a situation for the first time in my career and it was tough. "I felt out of place in their system and that's why I wanted to leave Calgary and that I waived the no-trade clause (in my contract)". Tanguay, however, refused to voice any negative comments about Flames head coach Mike Keenan, other than saying he could be "difficult." The six-foot-one Tanguay will need a big year with Montreal. This is the last season of a three-year contract he signed with the Flames for $5,375,000, so he will become a free agent next summer. "I feel comfortable with this because I fully intend to prove the team management was right to give away a draft choice to acquire my contract", he said. "If my season is as good as expected, everything is going to fall in place". Meanwhile, Tanguay will try to make new friends and impress his new teammates on the links of the Laval-sur-le-Lac golf course today in the Canadiens annual tournament. With a four handicap, he could be off to a good start. .Source

Repotting Plante?

2008-09-01T04:50:00.001-07:00

This is Alex Plante on his draft day. Since this photo was taken things have gone a little sideways for him. Injuries and ineffective play cost him a lot of time last season and apparently there were some bad feelings between player and team (Calgary Hitmen, WHL) a year ago.Plante didn't show up for camp and is waiting to be traded by the Calgary Hitmen. GM Kelly Kisio was quoted in the Herald today as saying "you sit back and scratch your head and wonder what you have to do to make kids happy. We played him with Karl Alzner so he could have a big draft year, then he gets hurt and has trouble getting back into game shape and we're getting blamed for it." Which is true, Kisio is being framed as the bad guy here but it's also true (based on other reports) the Hitmen knew at this year's draft that Plante had no plans to return to Calgary so this could have been solved many weeks ago.You'd like to see him end his junior career on a positive note, although this won't cost him in terms of preparedness for the coming season. Plante will be at rookie camp and then Oilers main camp later this month and from all reports had a solid summer. He survived Mandelbaum training in California (he spent 3 weeks on the pain train) and impressed the Oilers organization earlier this summer at the prospect camp.Guy Flaming reported earlier this summer (mid-June) that "one source told me that Plante's camp were disappointed with the way he'd lost his spot last year due to injury and another source described the situation to me by saying "he became a whipping boy for [head coach Kelly] Kisio". So it's probably best that Plante play in another town. Hopefully he's traded soon, as the one thing he doesn't need is an extended period without game action this fall and winter.Source

Head size related to penalty minutes (Commodore)

2008-08-29T04:50:00.001-07:00

I found this story on line. I find it interesting. I remember reading about studies like this when I was in college but I honestly didn't think people still conducted studies like this today. Hockey fatheads end up in the penalty box more often: studyJoanne Laucius, Canwest News ServicePublished: Wednesday, August 20, 2008Fatheaded hockey players are more aggressive than their slimmer-faced counterparts, a St. Catharines, Ont., study has found. Results of the study published Wednesday in the prestigious Proceedings of the Royal Society, concluded of the six Canadian-based teams, the faces of the Ottawa Senators are dead giveaways when it comes to predicting how much time players spend in the penalty box."We're not saying that Ottawa is more aggressive than any other team. But each individual player's face predicts how much time he had in the box," said Brock University neuroscience researcher Justin Carre.Carre, who studies fluctuations in hormone levels, wanted to test recent theories that link male facial width-to-height ratio to behaviour such as aggression. Changes in male facial shape start at puberty, when boys are exposed to the influences of testosterone, a hormone that also sparks aggressive behaviour.The researcher devised a lab experiment comparing facial ratios of a group of student volunteers with their aggressiveness while playing a video game. The measurements, performed with the help of a digital ruler, compare the width of the face at the cheekbones with the height between the bottom of the eyebrows and the upper lip. An unusually wide male face has a ratio of about 2.3, while a relatively narrow face has a ratio of about 1.6.Among the male students, those with wide faces were more likely to play the video game aggressively, even downright vengefully.Carre, who had played American college level hockey and is currently assistant coach of the Brock Badgers, decided to take the theory into the real world. "We wanted to come up with the idea of readily-available statistics - penalty minutes," said Cheryl McCormick, co-author of the paper and the Canada research chair in behavioural neuroscience at Brock.He shifted his gaze to the and calculated the facial ratio for the players on Canada's_teams using 2007-2008 roster photos and compared the results with the average number of penalty minutes per game the player racked up for aggressive behaviour such as slashing, cross-checking, high-sticking, boarding, elbowing, checking from behind and fighting. Goalies were not analyzed.Of the 18 Senators, Carre looked at defenceman Mike Commodore, who has since left the Senators, with a facial ratio of about 1.6 and only about a minute per game in the penalty box, was at the low end of the scale.Right-winger Chris Neil, with a facial ratio of almost 2.4 and about three minutes per game in the box, was at the opposite end. "(Chris) Neil was off the chart in the face ratio," said Carre. Of the Canadian teams the Ottawa Senators had the strongest "correlation" between facial width and aggression - although overall, the Senators were relatively gentlemanly players with relatively few penalties.The teams had an average correlation ranking of .30. The Senators scored the highest with .51, with the Montreal Canadiens next at .39, closely followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs at .37. The Vancouver Canucks rated .24, followed by the Edmonton Oilers at .20 and the Calgary Flames at .17.Brian Morris, a spokesman for the Senators, was at a loss for a comment on Carre's findings. It would be hard to draw conclusions based on facial measurements working from photographs alone, he suggested. "Seemingly, it's more of a theory than a scientific fact," he said.Carre spent Wednesday juggling requests from the international media to perform his calculations on the faces of other sports figures, mostly British footballers.And Carre believes there's a fascinating follow-up study to be done on how facial ratios affect hockey referees. Perhaps wide-faced players are more likely to be penalized than players whose faces are less threatening. "It might have implications for the type of officiating they get," he said. Ottawa Citizen Source

Devils put Vishnevski on waivers / Marcus Nilson can't leave Calgary

2008-08-26T19:50:00.001-07:00

Looks like Lou Lamorielli is trying to shave some salary, to the tune of $1.4 million as the rough and tough Vishnevski was put on waivers today. Any takers? We'll see. He was a career-worst -12 with the Devils last season. He was benched by coach Sutter, and was basically the 7th defenceman.He's not known for putting up a lot of points, but he can sure kill guys pretty well.VishTube- Brett McLean feels the wrath of Vishnevski.- Boyd Gordon turns around to play the puck and bango! Vitaly shows him how to lay down real quick-like.That was a suicide pass wasn't it?- Vishnevski sends Tjarnqvist into the boards.- Karma. Ovechkin runs over Vishnevski. What a collision! Vitaly can take that kind of hit though. He's tough.Marcus Nilson wants to get away from the Calgary Flames and Mike Keenan, but he just can't get out of his contract. According to HockeyExpressen.se, a team from the KHL is interested in Nilson, but he has one more year (at $1 million) left with the Flames.According to the article, Nilson wanted to have his contract bought out but the Flames are not willing to do so. "They do not want to buy me out. It was a little pity. But they can do whatever they want."This change in attitude from Nilson contradicts how he was talking about playing in Calgary and under Keenan early last season (November). By December, he was a healthy scratch about 6 times.He finshed the season having only played 47 games, scoring 3 goals and 5 points. He also suffered a concussion injury, by the way.The gritty winger was mostly reduced to checking-role duty. At one point he was complaining about not being allowed to play enough 5-on-5 and was being used as a penalty killer mostly.I don't think this news has not even hit the North American papers yet, but I'm sure it will soon.MarcusTube- Nilson drops the gloves with Marty "beyond all" Reasoner.T Tags: Devils+put+Vitaly+Vishnevski+on+waivers Marcus+Nilson+wants+out+of+Calgary buyout Source

Off season Banter: 5 random Flames questions

2008-08-22T18:10:00.001-07:00

Slow times and just for the sake of discussion I have five random questions. I enjoy all the interest and feedback here and hope this gets some good talk initiated:1) At 23 years old Dion Phaneuf was 5th among all NHL defensman in Minutes per game as well as overall points. He was tied for 24th overall in +/-. In his rookie season he was compared to Ovechkin and Crosby who were also rookies that year. Does his still warrant comparisons to those two as an overall talent, and do you think that we as Flames fans over - rate him?2) What's the most exciting single game you've either been to or watched in the last few seasons? The one that had you on the edge of your seat and thinking 'now that was a great game' when it was over?3) What do you think of Mathew Lombardi's hands? He's often criticized for being all speed and no hands, but he has shown flashes.What is his potential and how much room for improvement do you see him having?4) We were rumored to have interest in Olli Jokinen who ended up going to Phoenix for Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton. What kind of package from us would have been the equivalent and would that have been worth it had it been available?5) Honestly, what's the deal with the Beer at the Saddledome and why does it seem to carry a little extra kick in the a$$?

Sommer's Gone

2008-08-20T10:00:00.001-07:00

This is Roy Sommer. He was born in Oakland, California and played hockey there for Skyline High School 73-74. The following season he moved to Calgary to finish high school, eventually playing for Spruce Grove in the AJHL (then the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL). He was drafted by Toronto in 1977 (6th round, 101st pick overall) and then signed by Edmonton as a free agent by Edmonton to begin a new decade-January 1, 1980.Roy Sommer had one shot in his entire career. He scored.Sommer got into coaching after his career and has been sending Sharks to the for awhile now.--If Guy Flaming had been around in 1980, Roy Sommer might have been on his Oilers Top 20 Prospects list. Guy's final list is here and contains the usual interesting facts I've come to look forward to almost as much as those July issues of the Hockey News that hilighted my childhood.Among the nuggets in this edition:He has Jeff Petry #1 (he's wrong, it's Riley Nash)Vande Velde has improved in many facets of the game including his physical conditioning and overall fitness levels. He has developed slowly but big centermen don't grow on trees and if he can keep up and score enough this guy could be extremely valuable. All those puck moving college kids (Chorney, Petry, Wild) are still under 200 pounds. How many of those guys can a team run out there every night?Alex Plante survived the Mandelbaum's and is completely healthy. And with that, he's gone. Flaming has signed on as contributor to the Hockey News, has his own radio show and can be read on his blog (Coming Down the Pipe!) which appears to the right on the Oiler blog list. He is no longer a writer for HF, robbing Oiler fans of the number one reason to visit the site. Was it a requirement of employment by the Hockey News that Flaming give up his post? Did Hockey's Future pull the plug when Flaming received a very impressive opportunity? Whatever the reason, Hockey's Future lost the most compelling reason this reader had for visiting. Source

Most hated Maple Leaf players

2008-08-18T00:40:00.001-07:00

OK, you had your chance to vote and here is the all-time despised Maple Leaf players.At starting goalie is Andrew Raycroft with his cement trapper and the gapping five hole. Raycroft managed to set a team records in wins but lost his starting job the following season. Next season he will be breaking the hearts of Colorado fans.Bryan Marchment makes the team on defense. Despite playing only one season on the Leafs just prior to the lockout, he obviously impressed Leafs fans with ability to take out players at the knees and his 13 league suspensions. After the Leafs he moved on to Calgary where he ended his career with an impressive 2307 penalty minutes and 40 goals.The other starting defenseman is Finish great - Aki Berg. The slow footed Berg used to delight Leaf fans with his puck carrying skills and this laser passes to opposition players. Berg played just over 3 seasons with the Leafs before returning to Finland. He was drafted 3rd overall by the Kings and scored an impressive 15 goals in the.The starting centre is Dmitri Khristick who was best known for being released as a free agent in 1999 by the Bruins rather than pay the $2.8 million that an arbitrator set as his salary. The Leafs signed him to a four-year, $10.29-million contract. He was the invisible and manged only 15 goals over 80 games before he was shipped off to Washington.On left wing is Swede Jonas Hogland who scored 29 goals in his first season with the Leafs. He was best remembered for expecting Mats Sundin to carry Hogland on his back for 4 seasons. Hogland was often seen disappearing whenever not playing with Sundin.Finally on right wing is John Kordic who in a brief career with the Leafs managed 446 penalty minutes in just 104 games. Hard to believe you get into so many fights from the end of the Leaf bench. Kordic helped establish Gord Stellick as a big league manager when he came to the Leafs in 1988 for Russ Courtnall. He will be best remembered for the day in 1992, when several police officers were called in to restrain Kordic, who was trashing a room at the Motel Maxim in Quebec City. He died in the struggle.Source

Chris Mason Works On His Game

2008-08-14T05:50:00.001-07:00

fromo Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, After a sub-par season in Nashville, where Mason was ousted as the starter and then forgotten, he’s been traveling to Calgary this summer to work with Tyler Love, who runs World Pro Goaltending. Love, who has worked with Montreal’s Carey Price and Los Angeles’ Jason Labarbera, is trying to help Mason upgrade his technique.“It’s been a few things he wanted to work on ... when to stay down, when to get back to your feet,” Love said. “They are skills the new goalies coming up have ... like a Carey Price, who is very good technique-wise. Chris has been in the league awhile, and he wanted to go back and focus on his skills.”The work appears to be similar to what Blues assistant Rick Wamsley has done with Legace over the past two years. Wamsley has spent countless hours improving Legace’s footwork, and Legace’s trip to the NHL All-Star game last season illustrated the success.moreadded 3:25pm, Just realized this story is about a month old… sorry!

Roy a Flame - Updated

2008-08-09T08:30:00.001-07:00

And I don't mean the arrogant, retired goaltender. According to the Flames website, the disgraced Tampa Bay enforcer is now a Calgary Flame. If this it true, I have to say Im dismayed and annoyed by this move. Roy is as useless a player as Godard and probably a worse enforcer. He was suspended by the Lightning last year after an incident involving the Philadelphia Flyers, where he lost a fight to Riley Cote and then proceeded to lose his mind on the bench.This addition does nothing for the Calgary Flames (besides make them even more generally hate-able I suppose). Actually, it makes them worse. My esteem for Calgary's off-season is surely and gradually being eroded. Blech!EDIT.nhl.com says he's a Flame too.EDIT II - Inside the Flames declares it official and notes the contract to be a one-year, 550k deal (meaning one-way I guess). Lefebvre notes that this is "Mark Smith all over again" in that the Smith signing was leaked prior to the official announcement thanks to an anonymous roster update by the.nhl. I would like to extend that comparison in saying that, like Smith, Roy is a needless addition to an already full line-up. Questions now that this is for real:1.) What does this do to Brandon Prust, who also has a one-way contract? I mean, the Flames now have 15 forwards signed for next season. Only Dustin Boyd is on a two-way contract and there's little chance of him spending time in the minors (especially if the org doesn't want to start receiving letter bombs from me). Marcus Nilsson might still go away, but that still leaves Calgary carrying 14 forwards (and 8 defensemen!). Not to mention the several million the club is over the cap. Either there's some kind of deal to get rid of some of these guys in the works...or the QC Flames are going to have an expensive roster next season. 2.) Sutter stated explicitly that the Flames "had no room on the roster for a 4 minute/night player" on the radio just 3 weeks ago. Course, I believed him, partially because it was so god-damned kick-you-in-the-crotch obviously true that is was hard not to take his word for it. Now I have to assume that Sutter either doesn't really mean anything that he says to the press (very possible) or that he's a slave to his whims. 3.) WTF is the point of this game of musical chairs GMs keep playing with goons? I mean, for godsake, if goons were worth a damn, you'd think a club might actually hold onto one for longer than a season or two. In Sutter's case, why the hell wouldn't he just sign Godard to a 3 year deal if he feels it's so necessary to have a pugilist on the roster all the time? For that matter, why didn't he sign Simon long-term? Or Oliwa? Why didn't he sign Roy beyond this season? Why keep swapping in a new meathead every off-season or two? Doesn't make a lick of sense to me.Final Update - Mirtle links me and adds some words on the Roy signing. He also links to one of his previous posts outlining the uselessness of enforcers, which saves me from having to write something in the same vein. Some of the worthwhile bits:The average enforcer in this study has played 16.5 games at 5.45 minutes per game for a total of about 90 minutes of ice time this season. In that time, against the worst opposition in the league, their teams have scored an average of 1.56 goals, allowed 2.66, and been out shot 38-30.At best, they're not a liability. At worst, they cripple their team, allowing somewhere in the neighbourhood of two goals per 60 minutes more than the rest of their team while generating almost zero offence or shots on goal.If I'm a coach or GM, isn't there a better option at the bottom of the roster?Source

Sutter Kremlinology

2008-08-06T00:10:00.001-07:00

This site has had a lot to say about Darryl Sutter, and I'm sure there is going to be a lot more to come, as is proper and expected, for a place specializing in the interests and fortunes of the Calgary Flames. Now, these same Flames have had 3 straight first round playoff exits and if everything goes perfectly with Sutter's offseason moves the Flames are set up to make a giant move... sideways. The point of this particular post, however, is not so much Darryl's display or lack of hockey acumen but more about his political ability he uses in going about his GM-erily tasks. So is the clock ticking on Darryl? Is his job at risk?To answer that question boldly, I'll say that Darryl Sutter will be the GM of the Calgary Flames for as long as he wants to be - and I think the reason has been his keen judgment on how to consolidate his power within the Flames' organization.Remember Darryl came to the Flames after getting the boot in San Jose, but it was also after his brother Brian had been canned by the Flames 3 years before. So, Darryl obviously wants and receives the GM job as well as the coaching job when he comes to the Flames. This solves the SJ problem: there's no GM to fire him! He undoubtedly received detail info from brother Brian about the inner workings of the Flames management/ownership and any obvious buttons that need to be pushed or levers to be pulled. The hockey industry is notorious for being small, familial in the best sense, but also a little incestuous, so it isn't surprising that there are a lot of decisions made with regards to who knows who. But even within a system like that Darryl is noticeable for his focus (obsession?) on loyalty. The Flames organization is filled with family, Sutter loyalists, and people that aspire to be Sutter loyalists. The result is that the organization defers to Darryl in a couple of ways, 1) the obvious one of having people in place that support Darryl and are predisposed to carry out his decision/directions. 2) By having all the spots filled with people loyal to him there aren't any perches or even any oxygen within the org. for anti-Sutter usurpers. I find it interesting that the Flames don't have an assitant GM or a 'capologist'. This concentration of power effectively means that Sutter cannot be fired in a 'coup' like move. Firstly, simply because of the Sutter 'mystique' and of being a member of Alberta's hockey royal family (and Calgary is the one place in the, other than Edmonton, where this mystique is strongest and helps Darryl the most). Because there's no one in place that could effectively take over immediately (let the Keenan conspiracy theories begin; but I believe that the Flames would NEVER move to make Keenan GM. One word: Luongo) and ownership would have to be concerned about the reaction/morale of remaining Sutter 'guys'. So if there is any attempt at firing Sutter it'll have to be done by negotiating his departure, or moving him upstairs, so then it becomes less a 'firing' and more of a dynastic renewal, and there are plenty of Sutters (like Shark's teeth) in line to replace Darryl. And finally who wants to be the guy to have to give Darryl Sutter that news? Even if Darryl Sutter is your 'employee' he's more than a little intimidating. I bet he intimidates members of Calgary ownership. In short; Sutter's combination of Leonid Brezhnev, Fidel Castro, and Tony Soprano have wedged him into the GM seat pretty tight. But I hear you faithful readers saying, 'But Joe, isn't there some dramatic, cinematic way of describing your point?' Why yes, yes there is... dream sequence slowly begins.Harp music: ascending and descending scales, focus becomes soft, then softer, till totally white Harp music fades, Focus slowly sharpens to reveal Office Int. : The back of a solitary figure as he looks out of large office windows. Mid-morning bright (almost dazzling) sunshine streams into room. Blue sky can be seen right down to the snow covered horizon. A perfect Albertan winter morning.BZZZZT the intercom on the desk buzzes loudly but somehow seemingly 'asking' for permission to intrude upon the concentration of the lone occupant. He turns and strides purposefully from the windows to the desk, revealing to the audience that it is Darryl Sutter, GM of the Calgary Flames and presses on the intercom to reply:DS: Yes, what is it Comrade Secretary?Sec: Excuse me, Comrade General Manager, but Comrade President King is here to see youDS: Send him in. the camera moves to behind Sutter as it looks beyond him over his shoulder at his large, tastefully opulent, but tidy desk, around his darkly sumptuously mahogany paneled office toward the door. It quietly opens to reveal Ken King, president of the Flames enter and approach the desk, somewhat meekly holding and fidgeting with a Flames toque.DS: Comrade, please come in and sit down. King continues to approach the desk, but in doing so has to look into the bright sunshine coming from behind the silhouetted Sutter at his deskKK: Ahh, but Comrade; (as he shades his eyes) there's no chair.DS: Hmmm, is that so.BZZZZT. (intercom interupts)Sec: Excuse me, Comrade General Manager, but it is Comrade Vice-President of Secret P.. (nervous laugh) I mean, of course, Comrade Vice-President of Internal Security Sutter on the phone.DS: Brian! How are you? How's the meeting going, wait a sec, let me put you on speaker.. (DS pushes button on intercom, Brian Sutter's voice fills the office)BS: Darryl, you wouldn't believe it! Me and my boys barely arrived and took off our coats and rolled up our sleeves before the ownership was falling over themselves to agree to your demands, er I mean your suggestions going forward. Everybody here has decided to play ball!DS: Thats great Brian, keep up the good work. DS flicks off speakerphone, KK's eyes have widened upon hearing about the ownership and he now looks even more uncomfortable and pensiveDS: (gesturing to the windows and the beautiful view outside..) Isn't it beautiful Ken?KK: A truly beautiful sight Comrade.DS: Ken, are you a son of the Motherland?KK: A son of the Motherwhat?DS: A native of Alberta, Ken.KK: Oh.. No Comrade I was born in Saskatchewan.DS: Saskatchewan, ah yes, of course; EAST Alberta.BZZZZT. (intercom interrupts again)Sec: A thousand apologies Comrade General Manager, but Comrade Vice-President of Indoctri..(another nervous laugh, this one a little longer and little nervousier) I mean of course Comrade Vice-President of Player Development Sutter has left a message that he will be here in time for the meeting with Comrade Vice-President of Drafting and Acquistions Sutter.DS: Thats great, tell Duane and Ron to come right up after they arrive.KK: Uhmm, excuse me Comrade, but as Comrade President shouldn't I be invited to that meeting as well? (King is chewing the side of his lip, now as the toque in his hands is being almost teased out of shape)DS: Ken, what I wanted to talk to you about, is I'm thinking of making some changes...DS gets up from behind the desk as he speaks and walks toward the door gently spinning KK toward the door and letting his left hand drape over KK's shouldersKK: Comrade General Manager, I'm sure the board will support me in my position (KK says this WITHOUT being sure of the support at all, and his voice noticeably rising in pitch and with a slight quaver)DS: Oh, I'm not thinking of getting rid of you Comrade, no no, its more of a Brand change..both the men continue to walk toward the door, by this time KK has figuratively and literally shrunk in size and stature made even more apparent with the obvious comparison to the figure of DS right beside KK and as DS talks he gestures with his right hand as if referring to a name on a theatre marquee... DS: How does Comrade President Ken SUTTER sound?Source

Hard To Understand

2008-08-04T02:20:00.001-07:00

I've always respected the Minnesota Wild and the job that GM Doug Risebrough had done in being cost-conscious in the new. They found hard-working, blue-collar guys in other the systems of other teams, and drafted extremely well. In finding these hard-working guys, they brought in players like Andrew Burnette, Wes Walz, Cliff Ronning, Sergei Zholtok, Brian Rolston, and Pavol Demitra to lead the way in terms of teaching the younger players how to work hard while leading the franchise to success. The young guys that have grown in the system are guys like Marian Gaborik, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Brent Burns, Stephane Veilleux, and Nick Schultz. These guys are the foundation that Doug Risebrough has added pieces around, and have allowed the Minnesota Wild to be successful thus far. As the Wild look to become increasingly successful, I have a major question for Mr. Risebrough to answer, and this is the premise for this entire article.Yesterday, Mr. Risebrough went on record and stated that the Minnesota Wild had bought out the remaining three years of the contract that they had signed with Minnesota native and fan favourite in Mark Parrish. What struck me as odd in Mr. Risebrough's statement is this: "The unfortunate thing is when you have a big signing like that, people are looking at big production".Look, I get that Mark Parrish signed a contract that may not reflect the desired offensive output that Doug Risebrough may have wanted. In 2006-07, Mr. Parrish played in 76 games, and racked up 19 goals and 20 assists. His 39 points was good for seventh on the team in scoring. In 2007-08, Mr. Parrish played in 66 games for the Wild. He missed a number of games due to a variety of injuries, but still put up 16 goals and 14 assists.The problem that I have is one of dollars and sense. Not cents, but sense. Make that hockey sense. Mark Parrish is 31 years old. He still has a lot of good hockey in front of him. He's a fan favourite, and does an immense amount of work in the community with his charitable organization, 21 For Kids. Yes, I get that hockey is a business where winning and losing makes the difference for every player and member of a franchise, especially in the.The $64,000 question is this: why would you buyout Mark Parrish, a man who has an average salary of $2.65 million per season, and sign 36 year-old Owen Nolan for $2.75 million per season?Let me change the scenario a little here. The Minnesota Wild play in a suffocating defensive system employed by head coach Jacques Lemaire. When talented players such as Marian Gaborik are complaining to the press about how their creativity is being stifled in system such as Lemaire's, how is a power forward like Parrish supposed to flourish?Worse yet, Risebrough went out and signed the 36 year-old Owen Nolan to a two-year deal worth $2.75 million per season. Owen Nolan played in 77 games for the Calgary Flames last season, and scored 16 goals and 16 assists.Parrish in 2007-08: 66 GP, 16 goals + 14 assists.Nolan in 2007-08: 77 GP, 16 goals + 16 assists.Does that make any sense to anyone? Risebrough signed an older, slower Nolan for more money than he was paying Parrish, yet Nolan had a whopping two assists more than Parrish in 11 more games."I had to just look at certain scenarios, including his salary versus his performance," Risebrough told The Canadian Press. "I just felt like this is an opportunity to buy somebody out and let the player move on and the team move on."Excuse me? How does this make sense? You buyout a younger, cheaper player to make room for a guy who should have retired two years ago? I can understand loosening the purse strings to sign a guy like Andrew Brunette who, in the last few years, has become an extremely talented player. However, Risebrough is paying Nolan more than what he is paying Brunette.Nolan is the fourth highest-paid forward on the Minnesota Wild roster. He played on the third and fourth lines in Calgary, and Minnesota made him the fourth highest-paid player on their team. A 36 year-old has-been who scored 32 points is the fourth highest-paid forward on the Minnesota Wild. Does anyone see a problem here?If you think that Nolan will succeed as an offensive player in Jacques Lemaire's system, I have swampland in Florida to sell you. Nolan's best season came in 1999-2000 when he was an all-star with the San Jose Sharks. He racked up 44 goals and 40 assists that season, and played extremely well. Since the 1992-93 season, however, Nolan has not scored more than 66 points in a season aside from his all-star campaign. He hasn't broken the 50-point barrier since 2001-02.Remember, Nolan is earning more money than Mark Parrish on his contract. Parrish's point-per-game average last season was 0.454. Nolan's point-per-game average was 0.416. Does this make any sense?Statistically, there is no explanation for the buyout, and Mr. Riseborugh's statement about Parrish's buyout is nothing more than a rationalization. He made mistakes with his current contractual obligations, and he made mistakes in the past with contractual obligations. Risebrough even says as much when he stated that it "just felt like this is an opportunity to buy somebody out".As a fan of the game, this smells like a manure pile. Mark Parrish is a talented power forward, and deserves better than to have Mr. Risebrough use him as scapegoat for his own shortcomings. As Mr. Risebrough said. "the team was successful, and Mark was a part of that", so why would you get rid of him? If change was necessary, why not trade him?I'm sorry for your loss, Wild fans. Mark Parrish was a stand-up individual, and he deserved better than what he got. If I was part of the Team of 18,000, I'd be peeved right now. Mr. Risebrough scuttled one of your own, and that cuts deep.Good luck getting 50 points out of Owen Nolan next season, Mr. Risebrough. My guess is that he'll fall out of favour with Jacques Lemaire early, and find himself on the bench a lot more often than you'd like to see.And Wild fans, just remember who you're booing when Owen Nolan doesn't score 40 goals next season. It's not the guys on the ice who deserve the booing. It's the guy sitting in the luxury suite up above.Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!Source

Theoren Fleury: Hall-worthy?

2008-07-31T03:50:00.001-07:00

1084 games, 455 goals, 633 assists, 1088 career points.Friends, Flames' fans, countrymen, lend me your eyes!I come to praise Fleury, not to bury himThe good that hockey players do lives after themThe bad is oft interred in enemies' memories, pffftSo let it be with Fleury.With apologies to Shakespeare and Mark Antony (no, not Mr JLo), I think the case can be made that Theo has to be seriously considered for the Hockey Hall of Fame. I watched with some interest as our brothers in Hockeydom, Oilerfanz (spits) lobbied for Glenn Anderson and rejoiced upon his successful entry into Hockey's shrine. I think Theo's case is similar and I think the case is considerably stronger than, "If Clark Gillies is in, they should let everyone in". A simplistic argument that, even I, may have made and yet may make in the future, but lets at least have a look at the tale of the tape.Anderson was 55th all time in career points scored; Fleury is 56th.Theoren averaged 1.004 pts/game good for 47th all time.51 goals, 104pts, +48 (1st in league in +/-) in 90/91.8 30 goal seasons, and had 29 in 47 games in '94 (strike year).Played in 7 All Star games.11 pts in 22 playoff gms in 89 playoffs for Stanley Cup Champs as a rookie.79 career playoff pts in 77 career playoff gms.67 game winning goals, 37th all time.35 career Short Handed Goals; 9th all time.And like Anderson there are some off ice stuff thats going to hurt his chances. Items on the other side of the ledger, like Theo's suspension, the problems with booze that haunted the late stages of his career, his refusal or inability to get or accept help for his addiction. But hockey-wise, I think he put together a very impressive body of work. Ultimately his HHOF fate may not be decided by his accomplishments or even his off-ice skeletons but rather by who his competition will be for the coveted 4 spots per year. Players not in the Hall right now but who'll be considered in the next few years include; Adam Oates, Doug Gilmour, Luc Robataille, Brett Hull, Dave Andreychuk, Brian Leetch and Phil Housley. His best chance is probably the next 3 or 4 classes before players like Sundin, Modano, Shanahan, Selane, Roenick, Fedorov, Chelios and Forsberg retire and become eligible. Do I think Theo will make it in? I think it'll be VERY close if he does, and I'd probably estimate his chances at no more than 2 in 5. I hope he's not destined to become the best player NOT in the Hall.UPDATESome comments from awildermode spurred me to include the following into the post here, to be more of a complete record of Theo's career.Represented his country in international competition 8 times:Twice in the World Junior tournament, winning a gold medalTwice at the World Championships, winning a silver medal1991 Canada Cup, member of championship team1996 World Cup of Hockey, member of 2nd place teamTwice at the Olympic Games, winning a Gold Medal.Well done, sir.Upperdate:I know, I know, I'm flogging this one a little hard, but I collected the following data and I'll just include it here in this post so all the Fleury stuff will be in one place:Another way to compare Anderson and Fleury is to look at them in their respective primes. The prime years of their careers; the ages of 21-29 ( I chose these years as 'prime' because 21 was the age each player first played a complete season in the and 29 was the last full year for Fleury in Calgary) occured roughly 9 years apart. Anderson's wholly within the high flying eighties and Fleury's overlapping into the dead puck zone.Anderson's prime: 81/82-89/90 359 goals 429 assists 788 pointsFleury's prime: 89/90-97/98 320 goals 407 assists 727 pointsLooked at this way, it appears the players are close but with Anderson getting the edge. But if you look back at their respective eras:Edmonton Oilers total goals for: 81/82-89/90 3489 goalsCalgary Flames total goals for: 89/90-97/98 2447 goalsSo in context, Fleury was gathering his points on a team that was scoring only about 70% of the total goal opportunities that Anderson was a part of. Now, is it Anderson's fault that the Flames didn't score as much as the Oilers? No, but I think any fair observer has to take some of the overall surrounding context into account if and when you compare them. I think if Theoren hadn't lost half of '94/95 season (he was on 100 pt pace) and of course made more of his late career opportunities and had gotten to 500 goals, he'd have eventually gotten into the HHOF, it might have taken a while, but I think (I'm planning a future post about it) the 500 goal threshold is going to get bigger and bigger going forward.Source

SENS HOME OPENER VS. CHAMPS

2008-07-21T01:20:00.001-07:00

The released its schedule today, and although we knew this yesterday, the Ottawa Senators will play their home opener on October 11th versus the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. Should make for an exciting night.

The Senators start off in Stockholm, Sweden with two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins before playing their home opener. A slew of home games marks the start of the Sens season, as they start with a five game homestand. They will not play their first real road game until October 25th, when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sydney Crosby will make his only visit to Scotiabank Place on December 6, a game which should be broadcasted on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. Alexander Ovechkin will be in town on November 4 and again on January 20 as the Washington Capitals visit the Senators on those dates. This of course assumes Crosby and Ovechkin are both in the lineup on those nights. Those looking to catch their first glimpse at Steven Stamkos will get a chance to do so for the first time on December 13, and again on March 11.

The has wised up and has ensured that all Western Canadian teams will make a visit to Eastern Conference Canadian teams and vice-versa. The Vancouver Canucks will visit first, on February 19, followed by back-to-back visits by the Alberta clubs. The Calgary Flames will visit on March 3, the Edmonton Oilers on March 5. The Senators will take a road trip to the Canadian west while the World Juniors are in action at SBP starting with a game in Calgary on December 27. The will then play in Vancouver the following night (December 28), and then off to Edmonton two nights later, on December 30. The Senators will then open the 2009 portion of their season with a date in Toronto to face the Leafs, rounding out four straight games versus Canadian clubs.

This season marks the first time since the lockout that the Senators will play each team in the league at least once.

The Sens will play an eight game homestand between February 24 - March 11, and in fact, will play 12 of 15 games at home between February 19 and March 21, after which they will play 8 of their final 11 regular season games on the road.

Unfortunately for you kids out there, the Senators play just one home matinee game - November 22 versus the New York Rangers (3pm start).

Hockey Day in Canada will feature Ottawa versus the Montreal Canadiens at 3pm from the Bell Centre. Ottawa will close out their season in Toronto on April 11. Maybe sit Daniel Alfredsson that night!

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NHL free agent signings for July 7, 2008

2008-07-17T09:30:00.001-07:00

The Toronto Maple Leafs have re-signed Matt Stajan to a two-year, $3.5 million contract extension.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed restricted free agent forward R.J. Umberger to a four-year, $15 million contract.

The BJ's have also agreed to terms with centre Michael Peca.

The Calgary Flames have signed forward Todd Bertuzzi to a one-year, $1.95 million contract. Brochu's take: Keenan strikes again. Time to bring Brian Noonan to Cowtown.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Mark Recchi to a one-year, $1.25 million contract. Brochu's take: The Lightning continue to try to sign every single free agent forward on the market. Do they know that they have to play with six or seven defenseman on an team?

The Anaheim Ducks have signed Brendan Morrison to a one or two year deal.

The Ducks also signed goalie David LeNeveu to a one-year contract.

The Philadelphia Flyers signed GM Paul Holmgren to a three-year contract extension and signed right Arron Asham to a multi-year contract.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Ben Lovejoy to a contract. Brochu's take: I'm sure his nickname will be "Reverend".

The Ottawa Senators have signed left wing Ryan Flinn to a two-year contract.
Source

A Quick FA Analysis (Part 2)

2008-07-14T16:10:00.001-07:00

Central Division:

Blackhawks: Despite being guilty of being guilty of drastically overpaying players during this summer's frenzy, the Hawks have made enough of a push to their roster to finally get them over the playoff birth hump. And while that may sound rather enticing to their fans, keep in mind just how much Huet's and Campbell's contracts impede on future raises to this team's youngsters down the road. I personally felt that this team was ready to make a playoff appearance, regardless.

Blue Jackets: Although Umberger had a fine playoff, he is hardly a guy I would want to bank on as a #1 centreman. But with that said, the improvements made to their defensive game happens to be right up head coach Hitchcock's alley. The real question that remains, is if newcomer Kristian Huselius will buy in to the system, or not. Look for a team that is much harder to play against, giving them a real chance to burst their non-playoff bubble.

Red Wings: Barring injury, the Red Wings give us real reason to believe in a team's chances at winning back to back cups, than the Ducks, Hurricanes or Lightning did before them. Even in a worst case scenario where Hossa plays extra soft to ensure he does not end up hurt in a one year contract term, or if Conklin returns to the days of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit simply did not give up anything of note from last season's champion team. Look for records to be broken this season.

Predators: Due to the recent developments regarding Alexander Radulov, the Predator's chances are completely up in the air. And while there is still a possibility in getting this youngster back in the ranks for one more season, if his heart isn't in Nashville, what would be the point? And when you compound that with Sullivan's health issues and ownership legality troubles, this might be too much for one of the League's best managing teams to be able to overcome.

Blues: Beyond playing tug o' war with the Vancouver Canucks, the Blues didn't do a whole lot this summer other than trade for Chris Mason formerly of the Nashville Predators. And while the future looks brighter each and every passing day, the present does not. Don't be afraid to book a vacation this coming spring if you are a fan of the Blues. You won't be missing out on anything.

Projected Standings:

Wings: 118 pts
Blackhawks: 95 pts
Blue Jackets: 92 pts
Predators: 81 pts
Blues: 77 pts

Northwest Division:

Flames: I was quite impressed with the offseason maneuvering of the Calgary Flames this summer. And I could see a line up that consists of Cammaleri, Burtuzzi, Glenncross, and Bourque, etc. giving them close to 10 more points on the season and possibly upward to 30 more goals for. I think many will be pleasantly surprised by a team that appeared to go under the radar these past few months.

Avalanche: All signs point toward a disaster year. Even if Joe Sakic decides to come back to the team. And whoever decided on Budaj and Raycroft as a tandem, will surely not have a job this time next year. But as a whole, this team gave up on too much talent and replaced it with too many question marks. And that goes right up to the head coaching position.

Oilers: Kevin Lowe went a second straight summer looking to use other methods to retool his team, other than relying on the frenzy. And twice now he has accomplished that feat, this time through trades. While moves to bring in Cole, Visnovsky and Strudwick have raised some eyebrows out there, I have my doubts.

Wild: Though the Wild may have said goodbye to both Demitra and Rolston, they did manage to pick up a bunch of serviceable, if not household names in Miettinen, Brunette, Nolan, Locke, Zidlicky, Bergeron, etc. And despite the fact that there isn't much reason to believe in an improvement in the standings this season, I believe they have accomplished enough to keep on par with seasons past.

Canucks: The Canucks desperately needed to make a splash this summer in order to justify the replacement of Nonis with Gillis. And although they did attempt to leapfrog over rival teams by offering Mats Sundin a handsome amount of money, realistically all they have to show for this offseason is Demitra and Wellwood. Both of which are not nearly enough to expect a much improved offensive side of their game. Really, Sundin would be a nice piece to their puzzle, but Gillis should have taken a more practical approach in augmenting the changing of the guard with names such as Naslund, Morrison and Linden on their list of departed. And unfortunately diving into the game of offersheets with a measly offer to Backes isn't going to win Gillis any friends should he look towards a trade to salvage this offseason.

Projected Standings:

Flames: 104 pts
Wild: 95 pts
Oilers: 90 pts
Avalanche: 87 pts
Canucks: 80 pts

Pacific Division:

Ducks: The success of the Ducks offseason hasn't been completely written just of yet. Really it will all hinge on what they can muster up as a return for vet D-man Schneider. However it is doubtful that they will receive enough back considering that they are still somewhat tied to their cap. As of now, the defense looks solid, but having lost out on Penner, McDonald, Selanne and Bertuzzi since they last won a cup, Brendan Morrison simply isn't going to be enough up front. Look for a team with little offensive depth this upcoming year. Sound familiar, Canuck fans?

Stars: Having added the anti-christ in Sean avery, the youtube wonder in Fabian Brunnstrom and a full season of Brad Richards up front, the Stars appear to be the wild card in the West. Coming off an impressive playoff, it is not yet in stone if this team can build on the season before. But at this point in time, there is plenty of reason to remain optimistic.

Kings: The's decision to keep junior phenom out of this year's draft, may prove to be an exercise in futility. For there was little doubt that he would have gone 2nd overall to the Kings, where he will no doubt be going to anyway, as far as this offseason seems to be shaping up. Having given up on Cammaleri, Visnovsky, Nagy and Blake, only to have Stoll to show for it, there really is only one thing left to say. I hope he can coach in between taking face-offs.

Coyotes: Perhaps it was decided that the goaltending of Bryzgalov opened up an opportunity to relieve the team of some of it's defense to acquire a guy like Jokinen to the team. But in my opinion, the acquisition of Jokinen was no more sensible than the plans of the Tampa Bay Lightning to focus strictly on offense when they were ready to improve in that area from within already. Don't expect any more Gretzky for Jack Adams rumors this year.

Sharks: I've heard a lot of critics make some noise about what the Sharks gave up to acquire Boyle and Lukowich out of Tampa. But if Boyle can play a healthy season, I suspect that he will prove to be far better than any of the defenders that were plucked out of free agency this summer. And when you add to that the acquisition of Rob Blake, the defense looks all that much better without taking a chunk out of the offense, like teams such as the Panthers and Jackets have. Put all of that together with a new coaching philosophy and the Sharks may just live up to expectation this season.

Projected Standings:

Sharks: 112 pts
Stars: 101 pts
Ducks: 93 pts
Coyotes: 88 pts
Kings: 70 pts

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Standings:

East:

Canadiens: 108 pts
Flyers: 99 pts
Capitals: 97 pts
Bruins: 97 pts
Devils: 96 pts
Senators: 95 pts
Rangers: 94 pts
Panthers: 93 pts (more wins)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leafs: 93 pts
Penguins: 92 pts
Lightning: 91 pts
Hurricanes: 88 pts
Islanders 82 pts
Sabres 75 pts
Thrashers: 73 pts

West:

Wings 118 pts
Sharks: 112 pts
Flames: 104 pts
Stars: 101 pts
Wild: 95 pts
Blackhawks 95 pts
Ducks: 93 pts
Blue Jackets: 92 pts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oilers: 90 pts
Coyotes: 88 pts
Avalanche: 87 pts
Predators: 81 pts
Canucks: 80 pts
Blues: 77 pts
Kings: 70 pts
Source

Update Attempt #969,364,690

2008-07-09T18:30:00.001-07:00

But seriously...CUT IT OUT LJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. Brian Rafalski lives next door to my aunt and uncle!!!!!!!!!!!! *flails...dies*

Why I am JUST NOW finding out about this remains a mystery. Of course, this is the same aunt (my dad's sister) who, probably to this very day, cannot remember what college I went to. Mind you, I'm the oldest grandchild (on that side) by about 5 years! It's not like a freakin' gaggle of us went to college at the same time or anything! Just me!!! My grandparents (her parents) had these Adrian College sweaters that they wore ALL THE DAMN TIME!!!!

Jesus woman...buy a clue!

Remember that meme answer I gave about holding a grudge? Yeah.
I am NOT being a Drama!Queen! STFU!!!!!

Oh, another thing...they fucking got to see the Cup!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They're not even hockey fans, fer crissakes! Bastids! *GRRRRs at the injustice of it all*
*plots to live in my aunt's backyard, with or with her knowledge and/or consent*

My Uncle Mike said that Brian is really just a nice, cool, low-key, humble guy. That always makes me happy to hear.

2. The Lawnmower Man (aka the Beer!Fairy) visited yesterday! No beer this time, but he did cut my grass, fertilize, and sprayed all my flowers! Some damn bugs have decided that I'm running an all-you-can-eat salad bar over here.
*squishes evol!bugs**

3. Steve's coming to Michigan in May 2009!!!!! *flails* ames1010 has all the deets on her LJ. It's for a great cause, plus...STEEEEEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. I ordered new checks and a new checkbook cover in April. The cover FINALLY arrived. *shit-eating grin*

5. I've jumped on the Veronica Mars bandwagon. I've watched the first 12 episodes and I'm LOVING it!

Only, dope that I am, when I re-arranged my Netflix queue (to put JDM's cute little ass at #1), I forgot to move up the rest of the VM S1 discs. ~~Now I'm anxiously awaiting the rest to arrive.~~ Got another one today!!!! I'm all aboard the LoVe train, especially after seeing Jason Dohring in Moonlight.

6. Over the weekend, I watched the 3 Netflix movies I had sitting here: ~~JDM's Hott!Ass~~! err, P. S. I love You, 30 Days of Night, and 28 Weeks Later.

A. P. S. I love You was pretty good. Not too sad, with plenty of Pretties! Gerard Butler, the above-mentioned JDM (and his lovely tush), James Marsters, Harry Connick Jr., and Dean Winters. Bonus points for Gina Gershon, Kathy Bates, and Lisa Kudrow. However, Hilary Swank really bugged me. I don't know if it's because I'm not a big HS fan or because the character was such a cranky bee-yotch to sweet and gorgeous Gerry. Yes, I am shallow. At least I'm in good company! *wink*

B. 30 Days of Night: a pretty okay vampire yarn. Lots of blood and gore (which always makes me happy), but the vampires were rather...ahem...toothless for my taste. There really wasn't much plot and the lead fang really annoyed me. The other fangs all looked kind of inbred (which, duh, I guess they kinda ARE) and made this really creepy, inhaling-screamy noise. However, on the plus side, there was Josh Hartnett. Now, Josh doesn't strike me as Oscar material (at least not in movies like this and Halloween: H2O), but he's pretty easy on the eyes here and in the limited extras, he comes across as a really nice guy.

That being said, as big a vampire freak as I am, 30DoN is NOT a dvd I will purchase. Has anyone read the comics it's based on? If so, are they any good? I see them at my comics store all the time, but haven't really looked at them.

Side note: the wife of one of my comics guys is a HUGE Supernatural fan!

C. 28 Weeks Later. I absolutely ADORE 28 Days Later (yes, adore!), so I was excited to see this sequel. It's actually pretty damn good! Buckets of blood! Angst! Cute Hero!!!! Not as great at 28DL, but it comes close. My only problem is that there were some characters I got attached to that didn't make it at the end and it bummed me out. *shrugs* Gotta expect it in a movie like this, I guess.

Also, Robert Carlyle is one of the leads. I really like this actor, but he creeped me right the HELL out in Ravenous (another flick I highly recommend), so it's hard for me to watch him in 28WL. Here, he manages to make me hate him in about the first 5 minutes and then, later, scares the beejeesus out of me.

7. The second Winter Classic is going to be played between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings!! W00T!! The WC is played outside...how cool is that?!?! *pun ~~not~~ intended* The 2009 WC will be played on New Year's Day at Wrigley Stadium. This Wings fan will definitely be checking into tickets.
GO WINGS!

8. Bozo the Clown died! Somewhere, Sam Winchester is celebrating.

9. HOCKEY! HOCKEY! HOCKEY!
A. Detroit Red Wings: We signed Stuart to a 4-year deal, Lilja to 2 years, picked up the Pens' backup netminder (Conklin), AND got Marian Hossa for a year.
Stuart = GLEE!
Lilja = I love him, but would not have been that upset had he been moved...at least, not upset like I was over losing Legace, Williams, and Lang. Lilja needs to improve on some things. However, I still think he's a hottie, so Shallow!Raputa is happy that he's staying in Hockeytown for 2 more years.
Conklin = Yay! Although I don't know what this means for Howard (who still needs to be signed). Guess it'll be a Battle for the Pipes come training camp.
Hossa = This one I really don't know what to think. A lot of Pens' fans are uber pissed about it though. Plus, $7.45 million is a lot of damn cabbage!
Filppula went to salary arbitration yesterday. The Wings and his agent are negotiating. The plus is that other teams can't send him an offer sheet while he's under arbitration. My money's on Fils coming back. He's a great, young player and is well-loved here.

We still need to sign Ericsson, Quincey, Chelios, Downey, McCarty, Howard, and Hartigan. Drake's a Free Agent, but I have a feeling he'll retire now that he's got his name on the Cup. Cheli will take less money to keep playing and will probably play fewer minutes. I think they should sign him because he's still got skillz and he's got a great presence in the locker room. He's a good mentor for the younger guys coming up.

DMac and Downey are 2 dudes we definitely need to sign! Hartigan, Ericsson, and Quincey are some talented young legs that we should keep a hold of.

B. Dallas Stars: They picked up Sean Avery for 4 years! Now, I liked Avery when he was a Wing, but that boy never shuts his freakin' yap! That's why he is one of the premier agitators in the league. Plus, for all the bitching everybody does about him, dude's got skillz. psychoactivtoad, dollars to donuts I'll be pitching a fit about him when we play the Stars this season.

He and Stars' co-GM Brett Hull played together for the Wings, so Hully knows what Sean can do.

The Stars also picked up Garrett Stafford from the Grand Rapids Griffins. I'm really only mentioning this 'cuz Stafford's kinda cute and he played 2 games for the Wings.

C. Minnesota Wild: The Wild picked up Zidlicky from the Predators and signed Owen Nolan (formerly of the Flames) to a multi-year contract. They let go of Rolston (to the Lightning) for a conditional pick in the 2009 or 2010 entry draft. Sorry whimsywinx and oceantriana, thems the only names I really recognize!

D. San Jose Sharks: tariel22's Sharkie-poos scooped up Todd McClellan for their Head Coach position like the day after the Wings won the Cup! He'll bring some good leadership to the Sharkie-poos' bench. Good Luck, Todd! We'll miss you!

The S-Ps also re-signed goalie Brian Boucher, Jody Shelley, Joe Pavelski, Jeremy Roenick, and picked up Rob Blake from the Kings.

E. Nashville Predators: The best thing the Preds did was to re-sign goalie Dan Ellis (but they dumped Chris Mason on the Blues). Although, if I find out that Dan was the douche bag who was whining about octopi-goo during the Playoffs, my affection for him will wither and die.

They also locked in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter for a few more years.

I INTERRUPT THIS BLOG TO LAUGH MY ASS OFF: the Calgary Flames just signed that Uber!Asshole! Turd Buttuzzi! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *cough*

F. Buffalo Sabres: They signed Lalime to another 2 years, but that's pretty much ALL they did! Well, they got a couple of draft picks from Vancouver for 2009 and 2010, and re-signed Goustad (excuse you!). They also picked up Rivet (ummm...who?) from the Sharkie-poos. Sorry, sarie_wanderer, I really know nothing about the Sabres roster, except I know who Lalime is. *grin*

G. Phoenix Coyotes: The 'Yotes picked up Sauer and Federuk, and re-signed Matt Jones. More dudes I never heard of, panns.

H. Pittsburgh Penguins: HOLY CRAP! The Pens have signed SATAN to play for them!!!

Err...ummm...yeah. Ooopsies! By SATAN, I mean Miroslav Satan (SHAH-than or shuh-TAN), not Lucifer, m'kay?! *snicker*

The Pens also re-signed Fluery (good move), Orpik, Malkin, and DuPuis.

Remember kids...training camp starts in September!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Flisters;
If I missed your hometown team
and you would like me to keep
you updated, please let me know!
I'm happy to do so, even during the
season. My allegiance may be to
the Mighty Red Wings, but I truly
love the sport of hockey.
Checkingly Yours,
Raputa

Be sure to check out Stanley's Summer Vacation! That blog gets updated on Tuesdays and Fridays.

10. Burn Notice on Thursday!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh Michael! How I've missed you!

11. Gabe Tigerman and Samantha Smith (Mary Winchester) have been added to the Chicago Con guest list!!!! I hope they get Alona again, she was great.

12. Works sucks, as per usual. I have to go in early all this week because the Boss & SIL are gone. Boss's daughter got married (in freakin' ITALY!). *shrugs* Whatevs. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

13. Has anybody read Rob Thurman's Cal Leandros books (Brothers! W00T!)? They look interesting and I added them to my Amazon wishlist, along with the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer that I've seen people talking about.

Alrighty then. I must eat something and drag my carcass off too bed. Toodles!

Source

Roberts signs

2008-07-02T14:00:00.001-07:00

The Lightning signed left wing Gary Roberts to a one-year contract that will pay $1.2-million in base salary and pay him $10,000 for every game he plays, which could bring his compensation up to $2-million.

Here is the team's announcement:

The Lightning has signed left wing Gary Roberts to a one-year contract, owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie announced. Roberts was acquired along with Ryan Malone from Pittsburgh Saturday in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2009.

“When meeting the media and our fans last week in Tampa we talked about not leaving Steven Stamkos alone,” owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie said. “We talked about being aggressive at the start of the free agency signing period. We think Gary’s signing today represents a great first step for us. He brings the Lightning leadership, tenacity, grit and experience and he will be great for our young players, especially Steven. He will be tremendous for the locker room and his ability to play different roles at the forward position will be beneficial to the team next season.”

A 20-year veteran and former Stanley Cup Champion, Roberts played in 38 games with Pittsburgh last season. The three-time All-Star recorded three goals and 15 points with 40 penalty minutes, and also played in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games recording two goals and four points.

A 6-foot-2, 215-pound native of North York, Ontario, Roberts is a veteran of 1,194 career games with Calgary, Carolina, Toronto, Florida and Pittsburgh. He has amassed 434 career goals, 903 points, 107 power play goals and 51 game-winning goals. He has broken the 20-goal barrier in 16 of his 20 seasons, including two 30-goal seasons, two 40-goal seasons and a 50-goal season. Roberts, 42, has played in 130 career playoff games, recording 32 goals and 93 points. He recorded 12 points in 22 playoff games as he helped the Calgary Flames capture the 1989 Stanley Cup title.

[Getty Images]

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Ozzie, we hardly knew ye

2008-05-09T02:20:00.001-07:00

Why do the Blues always seem to have such bad luck when it comes to goaltenders?

They never seem to play as well here as they did elsewhere, or they generate little attention here and go on to a higher level in another uniform.
A quick check of the Playoff statistics shows former Blues netminder Chris Osgood at the top of the postseason heap with a 1.52 goals-against average.

“Ozzie” is 6-0 in the playoffs this spring with one shutout and a .937 save percentage. He displaced Dominik Hasek, who was yanked early in the second period of Game 4 in the opening-round series against Nashville, helped the Red Wings nail down that series and then played well in a second-round sweep of Colorado.

Osgood was once waived in a previous stint with Detroit to make room for Hasek’s return.
During the regular season, Osgood was 27-9-4 with a 2.09 goals-against and four shutouts. He also helped the Red Wings win the 1998 Stanley Cup.

Osgood has a 27-10-3 lifetime record against the Dallas Stars, Detroit’s opponent in the Western Conference finals.

I’ve always wondered if the ridiculous stats compiled by Detroit goaltenders are a product of the talent around them, their own talent, or a little of both. It also helps to have all-universe defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom on the ice in all important situations.

Osgood didn’t exactly make Blues fans forget about Mike Liut while he was here. He was 4-8 in 12 playoff games form 2002-04 and 35-28-10 with a 2.34 goals-against average in 76 regular-season contests.

Osgood was certainly good here, but not great. He also was in net when the flu-ridden Blues blew a 3-1 lead in their first-round series against Vancouver in 2003.

But put him back with the Red Wings and he assumes an other-worldly status once again.
Former Red Wing Manny Legave compiled a 37-8 record with seven shutouts with Detroit in 2003-04, but wasn’t retained after the team lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Legace has been solid with the Blues, compiling a 50-40-13 record in two seasons as the starter. He always says playing with the Red Wings taught him the commitment level it takes to win and he’s tried to bring that same approach to the Blues’ dressing room.

Maybe he’ll have better luck next season.

Former Blues goalie Curtis Joseph saw action in two playoff games for Mike Keenan’s Calgary Flames, winning his only decision.

— Norm Sanders

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Tuesday's stuff . . .

2008-05-09T01:47:00.001-07:00

I’m back after a quick trip into Alberta, which is where mallards go to die, isn’t it? . . . The Spokane Chiefs are in Alberta, too, after completely dominating the first two games of the WHL’s best-of-seven championship final. . . . The Hurricanes, however, went to something of a secret weapon prior to Tuesday night’s Game 3. . . . Former Lethbridge coach Bryan Maxwell, who now resides in Victoria, was in Lethbridge following the death of his father, Stan, and he chose to stick around. In fact, Maxwell was on the ice with the Hurricanes on Monday. . . . “Maxie’s a guy I’ve learned a lot from and who I’ve talked to regularly throughout the (season),” Hurricanes head coach Michael Dyck told the Lethbridge Herald. “We’re very thankful that he’s sticking around. He’s going to take the time to help us out, he obviously knows a lot about the game and he’s just here to give us some support.” . . . Maxwell has twice coached teams to Memorial Cup championships – the 1987 Medicine Hat Tigers and, yes, the 1991 Spokane Chiefs. . . .

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Meanwhile, in Game 3, F Tyler Johnson, who is a native of Spokane, scored at 6:20 of overtime to give the Chiefs a 2-1 victory over the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. . . . The Chiefs lead the series 3-0 and can wrap up their first championship since 1991 on Wednesday night. . . . Johnson’s goal, his fourth of the playoffs, came off a rebound during a wild scramble. . . . The Hurricanes led this one 1-0 from the 19:57 mark of the second period after F Dwight King scored, only to have the Chiefs tie it on C Chris Bruton’s goal at 17:56 of the third period. . . . Johnson was hit with a holding penalty with 18 seconds left in the third period but the Lethbridge power play came up dry. The closest the home side came to scoring was when F Mitch Fadden drilled a post. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski turned aside 22 shots, two fewer than Lethbridge’s Juha Metsola. . . . Attendance was 4,950. . . . Spokane was 0-for-1 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-for-3. . . . Lethbridge F Carter Bancks didn’t skate Monday but played in Game 3. He is believed to have a lower body injury of some sort. Either that, or an upper body injury. Or maybe it’s the flu. . . .

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JUST NOTES: Getting caught up after a few days away we discover that Vancouver Giants F Garet Hunt has signed with the Springfield Falcons, the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate. Hunt, who goes about 5-foot-8 and 190 pounds, played out his WHL eligibility this season. He finished his career with 41 points and 542 penalty minutes in 193 regular-season games. Hunt led the WHL with 27 fighting majors this season. . . . Former Moose Jaw Warriors F Kelly Buchberger was the Falcons’ head coach this season, with former Kelown Rockets head coach Jeff Truitt as his assistant. There is speculation, however, that Buchberger will be promoted to the Oilers’ staff, perhaps at the expense of Rob Daum, another former WHL head coach who was on a one-year contract with the club. . . . The Calgary Flames have signed Swedish F Mikael Backlund, who was the 24^th selection in the’s 2007 draft. Backlund, who was terrific at the 2008 world junior championship, could play in the WHL next season – Kelowna holds his rights – but may end up in the AHL. . . .

The Regina Leader-Post is reporting that GM Brent Parker is expected to return for a 14^th season. He presently is involved in negotiations with IPSCO Place officials as the Pats’ lease on the Brandt Centre expires on May 31. . . . The Leader-Post’s Greg Harder writes: “Parker has made no secret of the fact that these lease negotiations could play a major role in a number of decisions, including his own future as well as the ownership of the franchise. It’s well known that there’s serious interest from a group that includes ex-Pats stars Mike Sillinger and Jamie Heward to purchase the team from Russ Parker. An ownership change isn’t imminent, although that could change if lease negotiations break down.” . . . RW Ian McKenzie of the Seattle Thunderbirds has signed a three-year free-agent deal with the’s Nashville Predators. He had 40 points in 68 games this season. Seattle acquired McKenzie, who has used up his WHL eligibility, from the Moose Jaw Warriors early in 2006-07.

Source

Peers name Iginla as top player finalist

2008-05-09T01:42:00.000-07:00
TORONTO – The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) announced today that Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames, Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals are finalists for the 2007-08 Lester B. Pearson Award.

The Lester B. Pearson Award is presented annually to the “most outstanding player” in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA.

Iginla and Ovechkin have a previous history with the Lester B. Pearson Award. Iginla was the recipient of the award in 2001-02 and Ovechkin was a finalist in his 2005-06 rookie season.

This season, Iginla led the Flames to another hard-fought playoff berth as he notched the second 50 goal campaign of his career and punished opposing defenders all season long. Ovechkin, already able to count the Art Ross and Maurice Richard trophies among his collection this year, led the Capitals back to the playoffs and became the first player in 12 years to score 60 goals in a season. Malkin, meanwhile, solidified his place among the elite in the game with his first 100 point season (106), finishing second in the points race in his sophomore year in the NHL.

Named for the former Prime Minister of Canada, the Lester B. Pearson Award has been voted on by the players since the 1970-71 season, when Phil Esposito was the inaugural recipient. Many of the legends of hockey have been recipients of the Lester B. Pearson Award, including Bobby Orr, Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman.

The Lester B. Pearson Award will be the first award presented during the NHL Awards Television Special in Toronto, Ontario on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

The finalists will allocate a total of $40,000 to the grassroots hockey programs of their choice through the NHLPA’s Goals & Dreams fund. The winner will assign $20,000 to his selected program, while the two finalists will each allocate $10,000.

Launched in November 1999, the Goals & Dreams fund was created by NHLPA members to assist grassroots hockey, and has distributed more than $16 million worldwide to a variety of hockey initiatives.

Jarome Iginla, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, appeared in all 82 games for the Calgary Flames in 2007-08, finishing the season with 50 goals and 48 assists for a career high 98 points. The 2001-02 winner of the Lester B. Pearson Award, Iginla was once again a force on a nightly basis for Calgary, using his impressive skill set that combines speed, strength and a quick release. The 30-year-old right-winger has become the level by which all power forwards are measured. His experience and leadership abilities have elevated Iginla into a perennial contender for the Pearson Award, as he has gained the respect and admiration of his fellow players. If awarded the 2007-08 Lester B. Pearson Award, Iginla would join eight other players who have received the honour on more than one occasion.

Evgeni Malkin, of Magnitogorsk, Russia appeared in all 82 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins, leading the team in goals (47) and assists (59) while finishing second in the NHL in total points (106). Malkin proved this season that he is a dominant force in the league with his strong play while key Penguins teammates were out of the line-up with injuries. His 15-game point streak earlier in the year is the longest ever for a Russian born player. The 21-year-old combines strength and pure scoring ability and is already mentioned alongside the top talents in the game, in only his second full season in the NHL. The 2006-07 Calder Trophy recipient is looking to become the fourth member of the Penguins to win the Lester B. Pearson Award, following in the footsteps of Sidney Crosby, Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux.

Alexander Ovechkin, of Moscow, Russia, appeared in all 82 games for the Washington Capitals, securing the NHL’s top spot for goals (65) and points (112). A finalist of the 2005-06 Lester B. Pearson Award, Ovechkin has taken the NHL by storm with his unrivalled ability to score goals and his exuberant enthusiasm for the game of hockey. In just his third season, the 22-year-old led the Capitals to the playoffs this year, after an incredible run that saw the club clinch the Southeast Division crown. Ovechkin, along with Malkin, would become just the second Russian born player to receive the honour, following Sergei Fedorov (1993-94). The Lester B. Pearson Award would be Ovechkin's third major trophy win of 2007-08, following the Art Ross Trophy for leading the NHL in points and the Maurice Richard Trophy for topping all goal scorers during the regular season.