Chuck A Puck

box scores, trade madeness, boo boos

2011-03-02T08:01:00.004-05:00

Wow, five games last night ended up 1-2 (three in shoot outs, one in OT). I wonder if that is some sort of record.

As you may know, there is this thing out there called Twitter. All three of the writers here have accounts - but as I told one of my cohorts who found glee in jobbing me when I showed up on the 28th, I have my twitter for two days: Trade deadline day and Opening day of Free Agent hunting season (every now and again, I look around and find a gem.... green gun, green knife, green something. [don't worry if that doesn't make sense, Nutmeg and I are cracking up]). So when I logged on to Twitter Monday, I was there with a purpose.

One of the bloggers I follow in Tweetville is Down Goes Brown - if you don't read it, really you are only hurting yourself. It's brilliant. But when he posted about having everyone tweet about a player being moved, he was up front about it and made it very clear it was not a hard and fast fact. The problem was that once it started, certain websites picked it up as the truth. Then the talking heads got duped (that and fake twitter accounts). Then DGB got lumped in with all the parodies. Which was too bad. If you want a more detailed account of the madness, please check out ChuckAPucker favorite, Puck Daddy

Look, I get it that we as a society have this almost desperate need to know everything first. Breaking news and first alerts are jammed down our throats but look. There is this thing called fact checking. Reporters used to do that (well aside from that whole "Dewey beats Truman" thing) but now, any hint of a rumor is splattered as fact. And that should be more disappointing.

Both the Pens and Sabres were quiet on deadline day which I'm ok with. The Slugs in essence, replaced Craig Rivet with Brad Boyes (I'll take that anyday); I wished they could have gotten Connely's salary off the payroll but that day is coming. And with the new owner in place? Maybe July 1 will be a happy day in the Queen City.

The Guins took a different approach and went proactive. Picking up Alex Kovalev for peanuts was a great move. He's showed his worth already. Then trading Goose for James Neal and Matt Niskanen (who shares my birthday) who are both under contract was a smart move. Nicely done GMRS.

From the Pens site on Yahoo:

Brooks Orpik Feb 24, 2011 Injured Reserve Broken finger
Nick Johnson Feb 18, 2011 Injured Reserve Concussions
Eric Tangradi Feb 12, 2011 Injured Reserve Concussion
Chris Kunitz Feb 8, 2011 Injured Reserve Lower-body injury
Evgeni Malkin Feb 5, 2011 Injured Reserve Torn right ACL, MCL
Arron Asham Feb 2, 2011 Injured Reserve Concussion
Sidney Crosby Jan 6, 2011 Injured Reserve Mild concussion
Mike Comrie Nov 26, 2010 Injured Reserve Hip surgery

Riddle me this: at what point does Sidney Crosby lose the "mild" in front of his concussion tag? He's not played a game in two months for something that was supposed to keep him out a week or two.

So on that note, I'm going to go eat my mild breakfast.

Double You Tee Eff!?

2011-02-24T12:21:00.006-05:00

Okay... I would like to know what in the world is going on in Pittsburgh? Yet another member of the black and Vegas gold was added to the M*A*S*H unit last night when Brooks Orpik got hit in the hand with a puck during the 2nd period. So, with that, I think that just about every member of the Pens has now been hurt save Disco Dan, Katie O'Malley and Iceburgh. I know that teams sometimes go through rashes of injuries... it's normal in an 82 game season, that also includes a few weeks of preseason games, things are going to happen. You will have bumps and bruises, a torn ACL, and even a concussion or two; but honestly, I have never seen it as bad as it is for this team. Even the situation with the Canucks defense pales in comparison to this bullshit.

With this, I have several thoughts on the situation: What in the hell pissed the hockey gods off so much that they would drop their reign of terror over one team? Were they mad that the Pens looked really good on 24/7 and showed what a shit show the Craps are? Was it Gretzky playing with voodoo dolls because Sid was starting to pull away from the rest of the league and would break some of his records? Did Bettman get a little too into his Ouija board and brought up Fruma Sarah and she is a Flyers fan? In all seriousness, it could be as simple as with Jordan Staal out, others tried to pick up the slack and that was like a rock chip in the windshield. Comrie's hip goes, then Malkin's knee got banged up the first time, which was followed by Bing's head getting pounded not once but twice; and we get a domino effect. All I can say is that I'm glad that they have a GM like Lord Rejean who can wheel and deal and has a plethora of good talent in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wheeling.

Speaking of Wheeling, I love how GMRS dealt with an unhappy situation. A couple of weeks ago, it seems that one of their prospects, Casey Pierro-Zabotel who used to play for the Vancouver Giants, has a wife and she was unhappy with the way she perceived the Nailers were treating her husband. So she voiced this displeasure all over Twitter, including calling the Pens a "shit organization", until a Pens fan who I follow nailed her on it. Of course, she tried to back track and say it wasn't about Casey or the team; but less than two days later, her account was gone and so was her husband to Cincinnati on a loan. Don't fuck with the bull son... you'll get the horns!

But anyway... the Penguins have made two trades in the past week: one with Dallas for Neal and Niskanen and just this morning Alexei Kovalev was brought back from the Sens. These additions will be helpful to a team that somehow is still in 2nd place in the division and 4th in the conference; but hopefully we can see some of the other boys come back soon or even with these guys, it's going to be a very short playoff run.

WTF is happening here?!

2011-02-19T11:45:00.004-05:00

It all started yesterday with the goalie swap.

I understand that Craig Anderson wasn't performing the sort of Superman heroics this season as he did last season. But does that mean he's not a number one goaltender? No, it doesn't. I maintain that there were a few factors in Anderson's less than stellar season. The first are the knee and groin injuries he had early on in the season. I just don't think he fully regained his timing after coming back. The other thing that I think most people forget is that we have a new goaltending coach this season. Not that I know much about Kirk McLean, but I don't think it's coincidence that we change goaltending coaches and both of our goalies go to hell. I also think that coaching decisions overall played a hand in the turn around. Last year, Sacco would let Anderson work himself out of those situations and Anderson was better for it. This year, Sacco just didn't seem to trust that Anderson could do it.

Not that Peter Budaj is a terrible goaltender, and I don't know enough about Brian Elliot, because the Senators are admittedly a team that I don't follow and truthfully don't care to follow (part of it goes to being a Leafs fan), to know whether or not he's an adequate replacement for Craig Anderson. What I do know is that the last time the Avalanche relied on Peter Budaj to be the number one goaltender, we drafted Matt Duchene 3rd overall and went out and found Craig Anderson. And I still don't care what Joe Sacco says - Peter Budaj is not a number one goaltender and he DOES NOT give that team the best chance to win on any given night. Despite his struggles, Craig Anderson was at least able to make clutch saves when he needed to to either keep the Avalanche in the game or allow them to keep a lead.

As for the Chris Stewart, Kevin Shattenkirk trade ... I'm still trying to decide what I think of this. I understand you have to give up something of value to get something of value, but I'm just not sure that Erik Johnson and Jay McLement are worth a former number 1 draft pick in Stewart and a promising defenseman in Shattenkirk. Although, I suppose the conditional first rounder in either 2011 or 2012 is a good toss in.

It wasn't a surprise that one of Liles, Cumiskey, Hunwick, or Shattenkirk was going to be moved. Cumiskey, by sheer virtue of being injured is guaranteed to stick around through the end of the year. Hunwick hasn't done anything since coming over from Boston that would endear teams to wanting to give anything up for him. And Liles, with his salary and partial no trade clause, makes Shatty sort of the odd man out on that. It sucks to lose both Shatty and Colby Cohen to trade this year, but we do still have a decent crop of defensemen coming up in the system. It's also still possible that another one of our defenseman is moved before the trade deadline. Personally, I think I'm about ready to put John-Michael Liles on lock down.

Needless to say, the next couple of months are going to be long here in Denver, and it's going to be an even longer summer. I'm just hoping that the management, led by yet another accountant turned GM, figure out what they're doing, because right now, it doesn't seem as though they have a plan at all, and if they do, it seems they are grossly over estimating how much guys they are interested in are worth.

My Bloody Valentine

2011-02-15T00:55:00.004-05:00

I think next year, the Avalanche is going to skip Valentine's Day.

First, Forsberg retires. Then, about ten seconds into the game Calgary scores from the point. Matt Duchene goes down with a hand injury at the end of the 2nd, then in the 3rd, rookie defenseman Cameron Gaunce takes a puck off the foot (depleting an already depleted defense corps). And, oh yeah, while all this is going on, Craig Anderson replaces Budaj, who replaces Craig Anderson, who replaces Budaj and the Flames just keep scoring.

9-1. For their 8th straight loss. And while Iginla helps my fantasy team, he could have picked another game to be his usual awesome self.

There are a lot of perks to having such a young and inexperienced team. That 'why not us?' attitude that they had earlier in the year was one of them. But somewhere over the last couple of months, they went from a pretty cohesive unit with a why not us mentality to a group of 20 individual guys who are so damn afraid to make mistakes that mistakes are all they make.

I will say this, though (and I can't believe I'm going to). Watching the post-game tonight, and seeing Paul Stastny interviewed (which I gotta give him and JM Liles props for; I can't imagine they actually wanted to talk to anyone, let alone a guy with a mic and a camera in their face), I was shocked at just how honest he was. These were exact phrases he used: Unacceptable, embarrasing, every guy who put on that jersey ...

This from the guy who never sounds as though someone ran over his dog in interviews following losses (that is usually JM Liles and Matt Duchene). That doesn't mean I like the guy now, he has to be better, and if he wants to be the cornerstone of this team like he's been made to be, he has to start putting the team on his shoulders, saying screw it, and getting things done on his own. He doesn't do that on the ice. But for him to step up and call each and every one of those guys out, himself included, earned him some kudos.

Hopefully, though, tomorrow comes with a 'reset' button. For everyone.

Goodbye, it's the saddest thing to say

2011-02-14T22:06:00.003-05:00

Peter Forsberg officially announced his retirement this morning.

I know that when he first announced that he was going to skate with the Avalanche to determine if a comeback was possible, I was a bit harsh in my feelings, and those feelings haven't gone away. But despite Forsberg not being my favorite Avalanche player (that honor, admittedly, goes to Joe Sakic), I would be remiss to not appreciate his career with the Avalanche.

I don't know the numbers off the top of my head, but I do know that having Forsberg in the lineup almost guaranteed you a win, and more often than not, if he had a point, the Avalanche did win. And before groin, abdominal, and ankle injuries derailed his career, Forsberg was a force to be reckoned with.

He could split an opponent's defense at will, and he wasn't afraid to hit and be hit, and his hockey sense was unequaled by almost anyone but Joe Sakic. Which is perhaps why Sakic and Forsberg made not only a terrific duo at center, but as a tandem no opponent wanted to play against when they did pair up on the same line. I remember one play in particular in the 2004 playoffs. It was game five against San Jose, in overtime, and Forsberg dug the puck out of the corner and made a blind pass behind him that landed perfectly on Sakic's tape for the OT game winner. It was a beautiful play.

Two Olympic gold medals, two Stanley Cups, a Calder, Hart, and Art Ross trophy to his name ... that is what Forsberg's legacy should be. It should be those plays where Forsberg just knew where the puck needed to go. It should be that shootout goal that earned him the honor of being immortalized on a Swedish postage stamp.

I can't say that know exactly how Forsberg felt when he announced his retirement, but after repeated attempts to make a comeback, I can imagine how hard it had to be for Peter to finally admit defeat. That will to win, that will to battle made him the player that he was.

Now all that is left is for the Avalanche to set the date for Peter's number to be retired. And while he wasn't my favorite, and he could frustrate the absolute hell out of me, you can bet that I'll be there.

Peter will be missed. But Avs fans, even this one, will always have plenty of memories of a player who had so many gifts and who brought so much to this game.

What in the world is going on?

2011-02-09T08:33:00.004-05:00

So Matt Cooke will have a disciplinary hearing today with the NHL brass from a hit in the game last night against the Jackets. I did not see the game so I can't comment on the hit but I'm thinking something along the lines of this - it's a reputation call. Granted this is not some shocking revelation but I'm just laying it out there. Now here is what gets me.... where on earth is the consistency? Fine call him for charging but how about the league's precious Rule 48? Personally I'd like to see that called a hell of a lot more.

Down Goes Brown is just about one of the best places to go for a hockey laugh and they deliver EVERY. TIME. Reading it today, I see a lovely comparison to the Super Bowl and a regular season NHL game and I see this:

The Super Bowl: Expect to hear plenty of references to ex-Packer Brett Favre, the former superstar who embarrassed himself with one too many comeback attempts and eventually became a running joke in the sports world.

Regular season hockey: Thankfully, it's been years since Peter Forsberg… wait, he's what? You're kidding. Good lord, please say you're kidding.

Yes he's back. And singed to a year contact. With a no trade clause. Because that makes a whole lot of sense. I'm sure teams will be knocking on that door. Good luck on that one boys. I'm sure he's totally the same player he was 12 years ago.

Old Milwaukee and cheese versus Primanti's and Iron City!

2011-02-06T17:17:00.006-05:00

Good day my friends! It's that time of year again... it's Super Bowl Sunday; and for most hockey fans, hopefully you watched the games that were on this morning because there ain't none on tonight. I, however, do like football a lot and will be watching the game. Not sure who I want to win though, because I'm still pissed about the Seahawks having their rings stolen five years ago against the Steeler; but the Packers are not only in the NFC, but they had Brett 'SwampThing' Farve for a million years. So, I'm sure I'll be watching mostly for Troy Polomalu and his glorious hair and that's about it. :)

In the spirit of Super Bowl XL and the two teams involved, I have two candidates for Boy of the Day, one from each state: David Steckel out of Milwaukee, WI and George Parros from Washington, PA.

Dave Steckel, drafted by the LA Kings as the 30th overall pick in 2001, played one season with the Team USA Developmental team and the US National team before heading to Ohio State University. Four years later, Dave joined the Manchester Monarchs where he spent one season. The next season, he signed with the Washington Capitals where he played a few games spent the rest of the season in Hershey. The next season, he made the big club and he's been centering the third line along with being a top member of their penalty kill.

George is a boy who combines brawn as well as brains as a forward for the Anaheim Ducks. Also drafted by the Kings as the 222nd overall pick in 1999, he graduated from Princeton University with a degree in economics and was voted 4th smartest professional athlete. He's also very involved with charities including growing his hair each season to be donated to Locks of Love; and his teammates love him so much, the Ducks petitioned to have his name added to the Cup in 2007 even though he hadn't met the game criteria.

Everybody clap yo hands!

2011-02-04T13:03:00.004-05:00

Thank the baby Jebus that it's finally Friday! Why is it the weeks that you only work 4 days seem longer than the 5 day ones? I don't know... maybe it's because my life outside of work has been pretty busy lately. This is another reason I have been remiss in posting; but hopefully the weekend and next week will look up.

And speaking of looking up, two former Silvertips have had some press this week. First is Peter Mueller of the Avalanche. He's finally begun light skating again after being on the shelf since September when a hit in a preseason game put him back on LTIR. This was the second time in his pro career with the first being the time last April when Rob Blake tried to end his life. This time, the concussion symptoms were so bad that he even went to see Marc Savard's doctor. So, hopefully it won't be long before Pete is back to not only full contact; but back in the game he loves.

Also having some press is Zach Hamill. Zach is a prospect of the Bruins and has spent most of his three years as a pro playing down in Providence; but yesterday he was called up for his second cup of coffee with the big club. Also being bitten by the injury bug, especially in his first season, it's been a long but hopefully valuable experience for Z. I'm sending lots of good vibes his way that will hopefully help our pal get his first NHL goal. When he was called up in April, he got his first point with an assist on a Michael Ryder goal and got to be part of the Bruins Black Aces group during the playoffs.

And of course, there are my present day baby boys too. They're on a four game winning streak and have moved back into playoff contention. Tonight they're back home to play the Seattle Thunderbirds for the 245th Friday in a row as the first game of a five game homestand. Actually those five are half of the remaining games at home. After playing the first eight games of this year at home, the WHL has them on the road for almost the whole month of March. So, watch this space for more news on hockey here in Hooterville.

Since this is an actual post, Boy of the Day not really BotD... it's going to be just a random picture I chose. I hope you've enjoyed the BotD posts so far; and if you have questions, concerns or comments about this or anything else, please let us know. Have a great weekend everyone!

It's a lot shorter now, but I love the look on Bing's face when he's getting his do did for a photo shoot.

All Star postmortem

2011-02-02T08:07:00.003-05:00

Way back when, I didn't realize there was this game called hockey. WKBD used to show all the red wing games but they for the most part, were meaningless to me. No my game was baseball. Every summer, Dad and I would head down to Detroit to the ol' ball park (aka Tiger Stadium) and watch the Tiggers play a couple times in person. And if those games were before a certain date in the summer, it meant only one thing - all star voting. I'd grab a stack of punch ballots and in between scoring the game (something I still know how to do, thank you very much), I'd plunk for Alan Trammel and Looooooooou Whitaker because, even if they weren't having all star seasons, it was who I wanted to see at the all star game. You'd see people with nails being driven through three inch stacks of ballots.

Then my eyes were opened to hockey and baseball was pretty much replaced as my sporting boyfriend. I'd still plunk for my Red Wings because, again, it's who I wanted to see at the all star game. And I'm a firm believer that if you don't vote, you don't get to bitch about who makes it in. If The Russian Five weren't all stars, well at least I tried.

The ballot nail changed when when fan voting moved to the internet. Ok, things got a wee bit suspect about the players voted in but looking back on it, it was still the beauty of FAN voting. If fans wanted Rory wearing an all star sweater, so be it.

The 2011 NHL all star game took that all away. Sure fans could vote for 6 players (though even that seemed to go for naught because it was meaningless in the big picture). Sure Sidney Crosby got the most votes, but the voting was down significantly. I think it was due, in large part, to fan apathy after Brendan "the NHL savior" Shanahan decided it was time to tweak the format. OOOOH let's have a DRAFT! (and full disclosure, I didn't see any of the draft festivities)

Now by all accounts, the players liked the draft format (except, I'm not above pointing fingers and laughing at Paul Stastny. Sure he's an all star but he's lower than Mr. Irrevelant; at least Mr. Irrevelant got a car out of the deal). Sure they are all all stars so what does it matter when they were picked?

But to me it does matter. All but 6 were not picked by the fans. It's always been a popularity contest, I'm not even going to sit here and say that it was. However, it goes back to a league that has proven more than once that the fans really are not all that vital to the game in any aspect. The fans have lost their voice in something so unimportant as a an all star game - which was the last bastion of fan participation. And I think if you ask a fan of the game, they can point out (with stats to back up their beliefs) that there player left off due to their lack of league popularity. *cough John Liles cough*

Will it be this way next year? Probably considering everyone was talking about how great the format was and how exciting it was (though I gotta think people who sold sweaters had to hate it not having pre-games sales). And I for one am sad about that.

Best day ever

2011-02-01T16:55:00.001-05:00

It's just starting to snow here in the midwest and fantastic news just came in on the wire. We're closed tomorrow. Snow day for everyone!

Tomorrow I'll even write about hockey.

Boy of the Day - 1/28/11

2011-01-29T02:14:00.005-05:00

Okay... I realize that it's now Saturday in most parts of the world and this country, but I happen to be in the Pacific time zone and Mickey says that I have a bit longer to slip this in. I would have had it up sooner, but I was roped into coding for about 4 hours today at work; then I was at the arena watching my baby boys destroy Calvin Pickard and the Seattle Thunderbirds 7-0. Comcast Arena is always filled to the rafters when Seattle is in town since it's just down the I-5 from Hooterville, and tonight's game was especially sweet. There were a bunch of fights, St. Calvin got pulled 4 and a half minutes into the third and there were cowbells up the yin yang. In fact my ears are still ringing and I've been home about 90 minutes.

Anyway, I digress... actually though, fighting is something that today's boy does and usually does well. Kevin Bieksa of the Vancouver Canucks is not only a really good defenseman, but he can also take care of himself. Our boy comes to us from Grimsby Ontario, which is on Lake Ontario near Niagra; and his father, Big Al who looks like a biker, works in the Ontario Federation of Labour. He is married to a lovely girl named Katie; and they have two adorable babies named Cole who is 3, and little Reese who is 1.

After playing in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, he went to Bowling Green University where he not only played all four years, but he graduated with his BA in Business and was an Academic All American twice. He was drafted by the Canucks with the 151st pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft; but he went back to school then signed an amateur tryout contract with the Moose in '04. After playing with the Moose for 107 games, he was finally called up by the big club and he's been there ever since. Right now, he serves as an alternate captain for away games, and there was a rumor or two that he was going to be named captain before Luongo was given the C. I am sure that with his leadership and drive, he would be a good captain someday in Vancouver.

So, without further adieu, some numminess from KevB...

Chillin' with Kes while he was rehabbing an injury...

With a Fin puppet for the Canucks Reading program...

I have never wanted to be a roll of tape more...

On the road with Keith Ballard...

I just... yeah....

a puzzler

2011-01-28T10:40:00.002-05:00

So you are an NHL GM of a team that has some dandy players on it. So you say hey nifty player A, we're going to sign you to an EXTENSION! Hats and Party horns! Wooot! But wait, it's only for one year.

Player A has been somewhat hampered by injuries but he's been well, less than stellar. Is this a way of saying you've got one more year on this team to prove himself before he's cut free? A way of motivating him to carry this team to the playoffs and you know, show up?

Here is hoping for the Caps fans, McPhee knows what he's doing.

The bang bang dance

2011-01-27T18:50:00.003-05:00

Luckily I don't have this on my computer or it would be uploaded so we'll have to rely on the interwebs and youtube:

The bang bang dance

which is apparently from the show "How I met your mother"

(it only slightly resembles what I play with Max)

Boy of the Day - 1/27/11

2011-01-27T13:15:00.003-05:00

Here we are with the new and improved BotD! Today's boy is Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche. He is a big favorite of Chucker Megan and I have to admit that I have taken quite a liking to the boy.

Matt is a young Canadian lad who hails from Haliburton, Ontario; which also happens to be the hometown of Canucks prospect Cody Hodgson as well as retired players Ron Stackhouse and Bernie Nicholls.

After playing two seasons with the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League, he was drafted third in the 2009 draft by the Avs. It was a dream come true for our boy because despite growing up in a Ontario tourist town, Matt was a Avs fanboy from the word go, especially for his idol Joe Sakic.

It didn't take long before the powers that be in Denver decided to keep him on the roster for the 2009-10 season after scoring an assist and a goal in his first month with the team. And since then, he's been a steady force centering his line; and last night, he scored his 100th career point which made him the youngest 100 point scorer in franchise history.

Anyway, I think Matty is going to have a wonderful career and I'll be watching him this weekend in the All-Star game.

And here are a few shots of the BotD...

A screencap from a post-draft interview showing his bedroom, and the clip of that interview. The bedroom shot is about the 5:00 mark...

Posing in his sweater from the CHL Top Prospects Game...

Draft night photoshoot where he's trying so hard to control the squee...

A funny shot from pre-game warm ups...

and all dressed up at the NHL Awards...

Well look who finally showed up!

2011-01-26T12:34:00.006-05:00

Good afternoon campers. In case you are new to the blog or just plum forgot, I am Amy. I am also known as the NW Chica as I am up here in the NW corner of the country. You know... the place where nothing is ever live except the Superbowl and the Oscars. ;)

So what's going on out here in Hooterville? Well, my beloved baby boys have had a very rough season; and as of last week, it got even rougher. The Tips started the season 4-0 and then for some unknown reason, they just went Sybil. Some nights they could beat the world, then others seemed like no one gave a shit and they were just killing time until the party that night. So, here we are in the last week of January with an 18-22-3-4 record, which is good for 43 points and last in the Western Conference. Add to that our second leading scorer along with one of the top 4 D-men were traded a few weeks ago as well as our head coach was out for most of the season after having to have open heart surgery. Oh, and in case that wasn't enough, our captain Landon Ferraro, aka Parm Junior and a Wang prospect, has a sports hernia and will be out until the beginning of March at the earliest. Yay! *sighs*

Anyway... I hope that the All Star Break gives everyone a good rest because my pro teams are doing pretty well, especially the boys to the north. I am pleasantly surprised but cautiously optimistic about the way that the Canucks have played this season. This is because I've been a fan for over 20 years and have seen them have delusions of grandeur then get kicked in the nards when they either implode the last two weeks of the season or get destroyed in the 1st or 2nd round. I wasn't around for the 1st Cup run in '82, but I was for '94; and this year's team has shades of that one which has me excited and guarded at the same time.

So, since this has turned out shorter than expected since I seem to have gone into brain freeze, I will leave you. However, tomorrow, I'm hoping to get started a feature that I wanted to do before, but it never really came to fruition on a regular basis. It's called Boy of the Day and this will be something that I hope to post every day. It's not only to get to know more of the lesser known employees of the National Hockey League, but to show our appreciation of the male form. I know we might have some male readers; but hey... this page is run by three women. We're gonna look at the players that play this game too. ;9 If you have some suggestions on who YOU would like to see, please leave a comment.

Have a great day everyone, and happy hockey!

Here we go again, the brain, the all stars, and Dmen in the box scores

2011-01-25T08:11:00.005-05:00

It's not that I dislike the guy but when is Marc Savard going to call it quits. Yes, the Bruins have experience with a guy coming back after a lengthy absence with concussions then getting another one and not being out nearly as long (Hi there Mr. Bergeron). But really, this is getting sad. I watched two Bruin games (not by choice, they were playing teams I wanted to see) and saw Savard go down in both of them, awkwardly against the boards. Now, even the AWAY announcers audibly winced. When you hear a guy like Sidney Crosby who is experiencing his first concussion having trouble watching tv... multiple concussions can't be a good thing. Lets face it, we don't know a lot about the brain. Why is Marc Savard pushing it?

Crosby has pulled out of the all star weekend. Good on him I say. Sure in Montreal, he showed up injured but it was a knee injury. You can't tell me that the all star weekend festivities are anywhere to recover from a concussion. It won't be quiet, it won't be soft, it won't be calm. I'm glad he (or someone who handles him) is taking the smart road here.... I generously offer my place for him to rest the weekend away. When the dog isn't barking, it's damn near bucolic. And if the dog does bark, he's afraid of the squirt bottle.

I will not be watching the all star game this weekend. No, not just because I don't have tv but I'm highly disappointed in it. Look, I get that the league is trying to show the world there are other players in the league but to not have a single player who the FANS voted in be in the captain/alternate capacity is, to me, a slap in the face. I understand Lidstrom and E. Staal but to name a guy like "Twenty Cent" Kane over Towes doesn't make any sense. Not only is Toews statistically a better player on the Hawks, the fans voted him as a 'starter'. God I can't believe I'm defending a blackhawk. I blame Megan. Totally blame her.

I've decided I need to watch the Avs v Blues game last night. Three of my favorite D men got in on the scoring. And you know how I love it when the D score.

Also, Kevin? Thanks for the words of encouragement yesterday. It really meant a lot.

The Epic Saga

2011-01-21T20:46:00.002-05:00

No, not Twilight. It's the Peter Forsberg saga, and it's not over.

Earlier today, Terry Frei of The Denver Post tweeted that the Avalanche would be making an announcement about Peter Forsberg. So, silly me, I think that Forsberg is announcing that he is finally hanging 'em up.

I should know better, I really should.

The headline, from The Denver Post: Forsberg to skate with Avs, mulls possible comeback

I realize that I'm at risk of losing my Avaholic card over what I'm about to say, but ... really?

Over the last few years, we've seen a two-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Calder, Hart, and Art Ross trophy winner go from being one of the elite, most sought after players in the NHL, to a guy riddled with the same foot injury that has either crippled a comeback or made a comeback impractical. He hasn't played at all for MODO in the Swedish Elite League at all this year, but he wants to measure where he is physically against the likes of professional NHL players, not only much younger than he is, but who are also at their prime.

As an Avalanche fan, these repeated, failed comeback attempts sadden me. They really do. It's a shame that when Peter does finally hang up his skates, he won't necessarily be known for his shootout winner in the 1994 Lillehammer games, or for how he made splitting an opponent's defense look effortless, or how when he had a point, the Avalanche were almost guaranteed a win.

But as an Avalanche fan, who has been with the team through the best and the worst of times, I don't want to keep looking to the past for answers. While Adam Foote is the current link to the past, present, and future of the Avalanche, the glory days from the mid 90s to the early 2000s are gone, and in their place we have a young, exciting, upstart team with a "Why not us" mentality, and I just don't see where Peter Forsberg fits into that.

I can't imagine being in Forsberg's place, where your heart says yes and your body says no. It can't be easy for any athlete. But others, like Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman, made that difficult decision because they could no longer physically play at the level they expected.

I wish Peter the best, I do, and if it works out, it works out. But I have to be a realist when I say that Forsberg doesn't have it in him to skate with and compete with this younger, faster NHL. Not with his injury history.

News and Notes

2011-01-18T11:47:00.002-05:00

The all star captains have been named: Lidstrom and E. Staal. While I'm ok with the nod to Lidstrom based on oh I don't know his whole career, but Staal? Had this event been anywhere else, Staal isn't even in the running.

Which sort of leads nicely into this next bit of news. There is a story going around that Sid Crosby will sit out of the all star game in protest of the head shots. Look, I love Sid but he's vanilla. He's not going to sit out. Period. He'll go and if he can't play, he'll make nice just like he did in Montreal. He's the NHL corporate boy. He knows his role (plus he was voted in. He's bright enough to know that fans want to see him there; he will not disappoint). However I wonder if that rumor had anything to do with Crosby not being named one of the captains.

Or is the league *gasp* trying to expose other players? Say it's not so! What will all the haters do when Sid and Ovie are not "shoved down their throats"?

The Panthers coasted to a 2-0 lead over Atlanta only to watch the Thrash score two goals in the last two minutes of the game to push it to a shootout. Atlanta won. Florida is finding new and creative ways to lose games. If there is a case study in contraction, may I give you exhibit A.

Finally there are game on TV tonight that I actually care about. Granted I won't be able to see two of them (the wings play the pens so that will be blacked out and the Buffalo v Montreal game is on Versus) so that leaves me Colorado and Vancouver. Starting at 9 my time. Stupid time zones. My dog Max is a patient sort of guy but he won't wait that long for an end of the game potty break.

Good news, and bad news

2011-01-16T20:58:00.002-05:00

So we have good news and bad news.

The good news: Ryan O'Reilly will only be out a couple of weeks for the Avs, with his shoulder injury not requiring surgery. (Mike Chambers' article can be found at the Denver Post's website here.)

The bad news: Ryan O'Reilly will be out a couple of weeks for the Avs.

Why is this bad? Because O'Reilly is staple on the Avalanche penalty kill, and I shudder to think how bad it can get without O'Reilly. It's already not the greatest.

More good news - Jonathan Toews scored career goal number 100 tonight against the Preds. 100 goals in 266 career NHL games ain't too shabby. Congrats Captain Serious.

Two more things

2011-01-15T09:26:00.004-05:00

1. I buried Megan's post about the Avs...please read it.
2. Good on Columbus for getting their general shit together and pulling out a shootout after their fans pledged over 5 grand for charity if they won. The jackets will match. The team put it on their white board last night as incentive/motivation.

There is a bit more information and details on how this all got started here

Maybe the jackets need to be bribed to win games? Ron Wilson approves.

Here is what I just don't get

2011-01-15T09:05:00.003-05:00

Toronto's Mike Brown was suspended for hitting Jovo in a game against Phoenix. Why? A blind side hit. In the play, there are a few players going for the puck (this is important actually). Brown comes in and delivers a wicked hit to Jovo in a way of getting in his way. Ok, the hit wasn't clean, fine. There was no penalty called although I'm thinking a case for at least interference could have been made. But no call was made and ok we go from there. But, to me, the key is, they were going for the puck. There was a reason for the contact

Lets jump into our way back machine and travel to January 1st. Sidney Crosby is behind the play when he was clocked by Dave Steckel. The puck was no where near him at the time of the hit.

Rule 48.1 reads as follows: Illegal Check to the Head - A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principle point of contact is not permitted.

There was no reason for the Steckel hit. I'm not going to say he is dirty because I think it's far from that. However, it wasn't like two guys coming together for the puck. Stecks delivered a "lateral or blind side hit" to an opponent whose head was "the principle point of contact". I youtubed the clip again to make sure I wasn't talking fangirl shit. You can see it here. Please go take a look and tell me Sid's head didn't take the brunt of the contact.

Now, would league discipline have prevented Sid from getting hurt? No, but still. Maybe this is just a rant from someone who is tired of seeing # 87 out of the line up. Again.

Ouchie

2011-01-14T21:59:00.003-05:00

Wow, scary second period for the Avs in Minny tonight when Ryan O'Reilly lost an edge and went awkwardly into the boards, head and neck first. He was taken off on a stretcher and then to the hospital for precautionary reasons, and he's moving his extremities, so very, very good news from the Avs' camp.

And I'm throwing this out there because, well, it's true. The Avalanche were stupid to let Andrew Brunette walk away. He kills penalties, works down low, and has been a general thorn in the Avalanche's side since he went back to Minnesota. There have been a lot of guys come and go, either by free agency or trade, but Andrew Brunette is the one I wish was still in the burgundy and blue. (And as I wrote this, Brunette scored to make it 3-1 Avalanche in the third, further proving my point).

Let's talk about sights for sore eyes: both Chris Stewart and Cody McLeod returned to the Avs' lineup tonight, and man, have they made a difference. They've given the Avalanche what they have been seriously lacking over the past few weeks - energy. The Avalanche are young and exciting, yes. But it's those times where the game just sort of plateaus where Stewie and Cody Mac can liven things up.

Alright, I need a little fantasy help: I have one roster spot open for tomorrow, my utility spot. So who do I play? Grabovski or Tanguay?

It's Friday.....ooh and a three day weekend

2011-01-14T13:53:00.004-05:00

You know, I work as a government lackey and while there are not many perks in my line of work, Federal holidays are. WOOOT.

I am an avid reader of Puck Daddy over at yahoo and there are days when I find gems. The Jersey Fouls can easily go into my top ten favorite reads of a week. Not just for the photos but for the words that describe them.

Total, unmitigated, without-a-second-thought PASS. If only because we're pretty sure this guy is going to die with his sneakers on, in a room of other cult followers while a comet passes overhead one day ...

That was said about some oddball Kings Poncho style....thing. I laughed out loud.

I feel like hockey tonight:

Vancouver v Washington - ugh, can't they both lose?

Detroit v Columbus - fans have put "money on the boards" for their favorite charities if Columbus gets a win tonight. Good luck on that.

New Jersey v Tampa Bay - most. boring. game. of. the. night.

Philadelphia v Atlanta - rumor has it Pronger is back. Hide the children.

Calgary v Ottawa - I'd watch but that would involve watching Ottawa.

Colorado v Minnesota - I'll catch this one when I get home (lets hear it for the gamecenter dvr feature!). If Minny plays Colorado like they played the Pens the other night, I might have to make this the most boring game of the night instead.

Speaking of Columbus (No, really, I did, up there).... there has been some general bitching about why Rick Nash doesn't call more penalties. Nash, who personally I wish could be moved to a better team, is a big dude. I've seen him in person and you really don't get the impression he's that big on the ice (which I can't explain because on ice he should look BIGGER). He's also a big dude with gobs of talent and decent speed. So why isn't he getting the calls? Because he's Rick Nash that's why. He's quiet and doesn't bitch much to the refs... not that I condone it but I gotta think it makes a difference. The old adage of squeaky wheel gets the grease and all. Maybe the squeak/cranky player gets the calls? For what ever reason, Ricky will still take the abuse and not get the calls. That is, until he's out of Ohio.

Also on Columbus: I can't put a rational meaning behind this but it tickles me to no end that Mike Commordore has cleared waivers and is in the AHL. I used to really like him but it seems that he's been a problem for Columbus from damn near day one. The GM was quoted as saying something about [very paraphrased] they look at the whole player, how he is on the ice and off the ice and in the room and we made our decision based on that. To me that screams a diplomatic way of saying Commie was a cancer type in the room. So be it.

Holy cow! The sabres won! Ok, that's not nice but you know what? I blame a certain goaltender's recent announcement for ALL OF IT. Derek Roy has nothing to do with their downfall (ok, missing your leading scorer and having to depend on the likes of Tim Connley will not get you wins but still). Crunchy, you know what I mean.

Introductions and other things

2011-01-13T13:14:00.001-05:00

I should be at work, but instead I'm sitting in the waiting area of a hospital as I wait for a co-worker/friend to finish having an ultrasound. She didn't have a car today, so I brought her to the appointment. If you wouldn't mind sending some good thoughts out Erin's way, I'd appreciate it.

Anywho, being the new writer on the block, allow me to introduce myself. Lisa affectionately refers to me as Nutmeg, hockey and the Colorado Avalanche are my life, and that's pretty much me in a nutshell.

So, to hockey related matters. Look, I get that the Avs played a terrible game last night against the Blackhawks, but color me baffled if that surprised you.

The Avs embarrassed the defending champs in the first two games of the series with comeback wins; one in OT and the other in the final minutes of what was a crazy, fun, exciting game. And then, in the third game, the Avs dominated. Tell me you expected the Hawks to come out and let it happen again. The Hawks came out prepared last night and completely took away the Avalanche's game.

Here's what bugs me though. I'm reading the Denver Post's website today and one of the footnotes in one of the articles was that John-Michael Liles was a -3 on the night. (Full disclosure, I like Liles and I think he's ridiculously underrated.)

I'll have to go back and look, but I am pretty damn sure that not one single player on that roster for the Avs last night was even. And if Liles was a -3, my logic says that Ryan O'Byrne was at a -3 as well.

Here's what I also didn't see. Where is the article that asks where Paul Stastny is? While no one was effective last night, I shouldn't have to ask whether or not the Avs' $6 million man ever touched the ice. The guy making that much money should be a little more influential in a game like that. Because, while I like guys like Galiardi, it's sad when I notice them more than #26.

And brilliant move to start Budaj again, Sacco. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but that would bring the number of consecutive games in which Budaj has given up at least 4 to how many again?

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The Guardian Project

2011-01-13T11:36:00.003-05:00

What bastard was on drugs for this? I get that Stan Lee is a comic icon but not only is the idea terrible but the guardians are rehash of crap I've seen (and trust me, I'm not that big of a comic reader). The Olier? Spewing oil at bad guys? The Saber? He can manipulate water.... and is a "product of a hydroelectric experiment gone awry." I can't tell what offends me the most - that the NHL thinks this will draw in fans (regardless of how the oh, I don't know CURRENT fans think this blows) or that they paid Stan Lee a crap ton of money to be a laughing stock of the professional leagues. Personally, I like these guardians better.

It makes me sorta sad that it's come to this. And don't even get me started on the new all star format.

Oh yeah, there was hockey last night too. Pens won (their first without Captain Sid; and Flower is a rock star; pose all you want buddy after a win like that); Avalanche sucked against the Hawks; the Craps lost (always a good day); And St. Loo continues their free fall as they travel the west coast.

2011-01-12T13:37:00.003-05:00

Ok here is where I say "Holy Crap, it's been a while." Thanks Kevin for pointing that out. But Puck a Chuck is back. Yep.

And we dragged a new writer along with us. You'll see her work soon - wickedly smart about our game and a snifty writer too. Welcome aboard, Nutmeg. :)

In the next few days, I'll come out from the pile of work on my desk and have a proper post.

The big award show recap and other news

2010-06-24T15:45:00.004-04:00

First of all, since I live in a tv free zone, thanks to my super super bud, aka my partner in crime in these parts for hooking me up with a streaming feed of the awards show in the first place so I could actually SEE the damn thing.

Secondly, if you are looking to fill dead time in the middle of the award show, instead of trotting out bands for a crappy tune or a mediocre bumping and grinding circus act (that alone was tres disappointing) or the gold v silver ducks clip, how about, oh I don't know, allowing the players to actually get more than a "gee, this was unexpected" and let them thank the people who got them there? It's a disgrace that the league thinks people need such entertainment. Maybe, JUST MAYBE, people tune in to see the players out of uniform and being their gracious and humble self (exception noted below). I did however dig Michael Rosenbaum (who looks nice with hair on his cue ball head) busting out the Zarley Zalapski reference.

Thirdly, how about instead of actors we don't care about and comedians who are not funny, lets have former players (other than Lucky Luc and the original Flower) hand out awards. Get Cam Neely out there. Bobby freaking Orr for Pete sake. Yeah, and like I said, give the players more than 30 seconds to accept and thank everyone in their past.

Fourthly, someone REALLY needs to tell Patrick Kane to look with your eyes and nto your hands. Could he look any more foolish?

Now, on to the actual awards

Calder: I had a buddy pulling for Matty Duchene but I'm pleased that Tyler Myers won it. I got to see a lot of his big ol' body playing for the slugs this past season and man, he was really stinkin' good. I think there is a reason he won it running away (and no, I don't think a west coast bias was in play either)

Selke: Say what you will, but there are not many forwards who play better defense than Pavel Datsyuk. If you doubt it, watch him in a game. There are times when he's not on the score board, but paying attention you'll know he controlled the game. Plus I think Kessler is a giant douchebag (Sorry Amy. Just saying it like it is).

Adams: Not a real shocker here honestly. Yes, all were very qualified to win the award, but Tippett totally turned a wayward team around making the Yotes a playoff team. Hats off to him (and also to Shane Doan for his awesome plug to the free agents out there and the Army bit was sorta nifty too).

Norris: All I can say is thank the gods above that Mike Green didn't win. I blame his association with the cavemen but I digress. I think that when you play on a run and gun team you really shouldn't be up for the best defensemen. Now if your team averages 1.2 goals a game and you are still a winning team, Norris votes SHOULD go your way. Green is not that awesome of a defenseman. Would I take him on my team? Sure, but I'd pair him with someone who could back up his ill timed pinches and flubbings of play.

Masterton: I don't know if this award can hit home until much later for most winners. You're praised for getting through something generally tragic and devastating in your life. Kudos to Jose Theodore for keeping it together for his acceptance speech. I know I didn't.

Now my favorite Vezina: Crunchy ruled the day. And rightfully so. Sure Marty had better numbers, but you take Marty out of the Devils line up and you still have a pretty good team. You take Miller out of the Sabres? You have a team trying to figure out if they want Taylor or Tyler. I think Tippet winning the Adams screwed Bryzgalov.

The Ted Lindsay award: I think it's about time the league did an award name change. And to honor Terrible Ted with this award just makes sense. Without him, there would be no 8 and 9 million dollar contracts. I'm just sorry Ovechkin won it.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a fan of Ovies. Period. I think he's a hot dog and show off and generally a fucknut who doesn't deserve the attention he gets. Is he talented? Of course he is. Ten of me don't match up to the talent he's got in his eye lid, but that's not what I'm talking about. I grew up watching guys like Stevie Yzerman and Joe Sakic. Those are the models I look to for how a hockey player should act. Ovie spits in the face of that image. Deeming yourself so important that you don't exit the stage like you're supposed to to get out your thanks even after the show went on is just annoying. Plus wear a damn tie. Maybe it's because of the work I do or maybe I'm just nuts, but I'd like to live in a world were composure and grace mean something. Apparently, nhl players don't agree.

Hart: Not to take anything from Henrik Sedin and his fine season, but I don't think he should have won. Call me a homer or call me anti-Canucks I don't really care. Sid had my vote all the way on this one. Pft, going into why is pointless at this time but still, I stick with my belief.

So much for the gala event.

Now for something completely different.

As seen on a headline (I just can't remember where) Let the dismantling of the cup champs begin. Who saw this one coming so soon? Dustin Byfuglien to Atlanta? Enjoy the heat Dustin. That's about all you can look forward to.

The Sharks, while letting their goal tender Nabby out to pasture (should have kept Kipper I guess)...they signed PattyMarleau and Joe Pavelski. A small part of me wanted to see Marleau leave SJ because I think no matter what they do in the playoffs (wait, what?) he will take the blame. Now that Rob Blake has retired, what will that team do? Give Barfight Joe Thornton the C? Not bloody likely. I'm thinking Boyle.

I really want training camps to open tomorrow.

I finally joined the rest of the western world (or so it would seem) and got a stupid Twitter account. But really, it's only for one thing and one thing only: July 1.

Hey that killed some serious time. I should go forth now and be productive or something.

Dog days

2010-05-20T09:29:00.003-04:00

It looks like we've lost our steam here in these parts. Maybe a summer off will help both of us off. I've given up on hockey because the thought of three of the four teams left lifting the cup makes me physically ill and having been to Montreal, I'd like to see it still standing if they should pull it off.

I miss having a team to cheer for. And unlike my counterpart here, I can't abide by baseball. It's gonna be along summer for this hockey fan.

Before I go, I wanna send out birthday greetings to Friend of the Chuckers Megan. Honey, I hope you have a fantastic birthday today!

Also, not that they read it, my folks have been married for 44 years today. Congratulations to you Paula and Corbin. For a lot of years, I didn't think you'd make it this far. I'm glad you did.

On headshots, playoff push, fantasty hockey, and Letterman

2010-03-10T11:11:00.003-05:00

The GMs are meeting in some warm secluded area right about now and all we hear about is "head shots: the top subject at the GMs meetings". Really? Like it's something now that needs to be addressed? There are two problems with discipline in the NHL. First off, the CBA only allows for a piddly player fine (I wanna say $2,500). To someone making millions of dollars, this is like cab fare (or a night in Calgary if you play in Edmonton). If fining is meant to be a deterrent, make it count. Don't just ask for a token remorse fee. Secondly, when on earth are we gonna get consistency? In international play, if you hit someone in the head, you are ejected. Granted in international play, it's generally a one game elimination situation so that has some heft. But if the NHL wants to get serious, make any shot to the head a ten game suspension. Period. No matter who you are or what line you play on. From Matt Cooke to Mike Richards to Alex Ovechkin. Make the hitter pay. While you are at it, fine the team. Maybe if teams stop playing headhunters, it will curb it. The players keep touting it's all about respect. Well until they start showing it, the league needs to come down hard. Why is this so hard to see?

Calgary one a huge game last night against the wings. Detroit just didn't seem like they wanted the two points. I still say this goes back to my Bertuzzi rule but I won't get into that here. Dare I say, Detroit needed this game and they let it slip away.

Atlanta didn't help their cause either (not to mention a Nashville win hurts Detroit that much more). For a team that was coasting along pretty well after trading their top start to the Devils, The Trash have taken a dive.

When I turned off my tv last night, Colorado was up 3-0 on the Canucks. This morning I read they blew two three goal leads en route to a 6-4 loss. I wonder if the Av just fell apart or did the Nucks realize there was a game to play.

Although it's meaningless for them, good showing of the Jackets against the Ducks. They didn't have Ricky or Juice and still puled it out. Play for pride boys.

Speaking of pride, mine is going down in flames. I've been stuck in second and third places in my fantasy teams for what seems like forever. I've pretty much given up on them but it would have been nice to finish with the top spot.

In closing, I wanna touch on the seemingly endless shit going Sidney Crosby's way for declining the top ten on Letterman. Sid owes nothing to the Letterman show. He was in town for a day game against the Rangers when they wanted him to tape it. They tape in the afternoon - was he supposed to ignore the job he's paid to do? I was talking to my hockey buddy here (who is a Pens fan) and when we talked about it, his comment was something along the lines of "The top ten is a joke. It just proves that Sid's not important enough to actually sit in the chair and have an interview. I'm glad he didn't go." Well said my friend. Well said.

Disappointment and medals

2010-02-28T09:35:00.003-05:00

This is the face of disappointment. Andrej Sekera of the Slovak team (and also press box extraordinaire in Buffalo) sits on the ice after their game with Finland and wondered where it all went wrong. How heartbreaking it must be. To come all that way to finish 4th.

Now, mind you, he's got more athletic talent in his pinkie toe nail than I have in my whole body but 4th place in the Olympics is where you just don't want to be.

Then again, apparently neither is silver.

A friend of mine at work the other day summed it up like this: You get a bronze medal, you are grateful (you aren't the 4th place team); Gold, you are over the moon as you are world fracking champion. Silver....get you disappointment? Really?

A silver medal in the Olympics will be handed out in mens hockey today. Either Canada or the US will be disappointed by not winning the gold medal in the sport they center their lives around.

Having never been a runner up (please note, I've never been CLOSE to anything that resembles a runner up because I don't ever make it to the dance to begin with), I'm sure it's a huge bummer not having the pretty gold around your neck. But hopefully in a few days the silver medal team will be able to look back on today and realized they accomplished something only a handful of people in the world get to say they've done.

That being said, I don't know who I'm rooting for today. A part of me would LOVE to see the US team win - and really, it wouldn't be a miracle because they've been playing amazing hockey and the Cruchynater in net has been nothing short of breathtaking (And hot. No lie. Even if MSNBC can't tell him from a fake). I think, despite not being a huge fan of his, Brian Burke could use some good news away from his personal and professional life.

On the other hand, rare does the home team win gold in hockey. Bobby Lu could cement his do-no-wrong standing for LIFE if he backs his team to victory. plus I have a HUGE crush on Sidney Crosby and would sorta like to see him too

So, I'm rooting for both teams today. I want a good tight nail biting game for 60 minutes (but please no shootout - I hate the shootout). And no disappointment for silver!

The Kids Are Alright...

2010-01-18T15:17:00.003-05:00

Who is this updating this blog? Yes, you've seen her someplace before....but where and when? It's true, I have been absent from here for too long and I'm sorry. I'm happy to be back with some stuff to say today.

So, I'm stopping by today for two reasons... the first is to welcome two new blogs on our blog roll, SportsSoundOff.net and SPORTSMONARCH.com; which are run by a real nice guy named Jason who stopped by to say hello to us. Go check them out, they're both chock full of all sorts of sports and have pictures which if you know me or my chica, we love! Thanks for the shout out Jason and welcome!

Secondly I want to be a total fangirl and squee over my baby boys aka the Everett Silvertips since I have been remiss in talking about them that much this season; which is not because they've been bad or anything, but real life has just been kinda just a little bit short of insane. But anyway, the entire roster of the Tips must have had some secret potion dumped into their New Year's Eve punch; because since the calendar turned back to January, they've been playing pretty damn well and have yet to drop a decision.

Along with the wins has been a lot of scoring from all 4 lines. Happily this is` including the group that has been dubbed the DHL line, which consists of Captain Zack Dailey, Assistant Captain Shane Harper; and the third 20 yr old Chris Langkow whose cousin Daymond plays for the Flames. The coaches had been trying to find a wing for Shane and Chris all season then someone got the bright idea to put Dails, who is a natural centerman, on the wing; and bam! Instant chemistry and it also got Zack off the schneid. He had been scoreless in over 20 games until then; and the first game that they played together, he scored two goals in the first period.

I know that this streak is not going to last forever; but after some really rough games in December, especially at home, we've been having such a good time watching the boys scoring and winning and who knows... maybe they might even have a chance to challenge Tri-Cities for the #1 spot not only in the division but the Western Conference.

One thing that has helped a lot in this winning streak is having both our #1 and 2 D-Men back from playing for Team Czech from World Juniors U-20 and Team West at the U-17s respectively; as well as our Associate coach Jay Varady also back from the World Juniors and sporting a shiny gold medal as video coach for Team USA. Several Tips have been in the tournament before and even had one boy win the gold a few years ago with Team Canada; but this one was just a little more exciting. Can I tell you how excited I was not only when John Carlson shot that final goal but they showed Jay during the medal ceremony? I love Canuckistan and lots of people who are from there; but they had had it enough and it was time for someone else to have a turn.

But anyway, that's about it for today from here in Hooterville, but I also wanted to post a picture of the victorious US squad. And if you look closely in the upper left hand corner, fourth from the left you will see a man with dark red hair, glasses and smiling like a mofo. That is our Jay who got a much deserved standing ovation his first game back. Congratulations boys and GO TIPS!

The kids and the gold

2010-01-11T09:50:00.005-05:00

Way back in 1980, I was a 9 year old when the winter olympics took place. I was spending the night at Amy Johnston's house and her dad called us down to watch the US hockey game against Russia. It was a taped delay showing of the game that happened earlier but we didn't know (or probably would have cared). We were just two young girls seeing the home team win. We didn't know the sociatial or political ramifications of the win... we just hopped around the house cheering "USA!"

The other night I was aware that the World Junior Championship gold medal game was on but I watching a game on Center Ice. I turned it over at the start of the OT and stuck around. I fully admit that I'm not a follower of the junior boys like my counterpart here is but when it came to OT in the gold medal game, I was glued to the tv.

When the no-look shot went in for a goal and the US boys mobed each other, I felt like I was 9 again and I cheered with my dog "USA!" It was a thing to see.

Congratulations, boys. You done good.

Flu induced rambling

2009-12-27T05:45:00.004-05:00

Had a great Christmas and then got the gift that keeps giving - the flu. I wanna cry I feel so blechy.

Is there some rule that there has to be balance in the NHL? For ever team like the Leafs for the Sabres, there has to be a team like Ottawa that they can't beat? At least the slugs took a point out of it. But then they managed to lose Derek Roy as well. Not sure it's a trade off they want to make.

Here's a team I just can't figure out: Colorado Avalanche. They are doing it with smoke and mirrors (and timely goal tending). I'm pleased they won on Adam Deadmarsh night.

Holy cow, Russia's Olympic team is downright scary. That is until you see Max A on the team.

Wow, I just checked the schedule - and there are more than two games tonight. I hate this new NHL schedule. It seems like everyone plays on Saturday leaving dud games (or worse, no games) on Sunday.

I think a lot of sports fans often wonder why sports. I mean why watch over paid people play a game for a living? But then I read something like this over on Goose's Roost and I remember. Go check it out please (there is a link in the above post); it's an excellent read.

I had more to say but it will have to wait as I need to go back to bed. Did I mention having the flu? AND I ever got a flu shot.

As promised.

2009-12-04T12:40:00.003-05:00

Kept my eye on a few games last night, most notably the Sabres game and the Pens game.

As I watched buffalo take a nice lead on the Habs I began to wonder if Ryan Miller would get the shut out instead of just a win. The Habs ended up getting two by him but it in no way takes away from a well played overall game. Watching the slugs in the past when they would go up, you just knew a let down would come and their opponent would get back into the game and make games tight. Not great on the nerves. But now they are playing with confidence and one or two goals doesn't seem to change their game. Kudos for finally getting the dreaded system.

The Pens game was a different story. The Avalanche took an early lead and played a pretty good game until a late goal in the first sorta started the wheels coming off. Not to mention they didn't have Craig Anderson in goal (he was dinged by the Panther's Keith Ballard [who decided to take on goalies from other teams] who Adam Foote promptly beat the shit out of).

I think Sidney Crosby is on a personal mission to get his name on more trophies this year - maybe those of individual nature. If it were another player, I'd doubt his ability to keep it up but with Crosby, I don't think anything is impossible right now.

I don't think I like the new Pearl Jam tune. And the games tonight are boring. Good thing I won't be home.

"Brian Burke is everywhere"

2009-12-03T15:02:00.003-05:00

That lovely tidbit comes from Chucker favorite Ryan Miller when asked if he was on top of his game in Toronto to make an impression. Really, does he have to perform well in Toronto to make an impression? Just look at the stats.

Plus he's a really good guy. In that game, Miller cleared the puck away and it ended up going through a hole in the glass cut out for photographers. Now this isn't a really big hole but he managed it not only get it through the hole, but smack the photographer in the cheek. OUCH!

But being the good guy that he is, he went over to see if the guy was ok at first and then at the end of the game, he gave the photographer his stick. Hey Ryan, I'll take a clearing attemtp in the face if I can get a stick out of it!

Then again, he probably felt pretty shitty for almost banging up the camera (being a photography guy himself).

I'll have more hockey stuff tomorrow because once again, the league scheduled everyone and their brother for games tonight and like no one I care about is playing tomorrow. And probably a run down of the latest rash of injuries.

Oh and if you are so inclined (and this really doesn't matter if you hate the leafs or not) but say a word for Jonas Gustavsson as he'll have more surgery for his ticker.

In a not hockey related note. Yesterday I went and was tested for bone marrow donation. It was easy to do and you know if I can maybe try to help save a life, it's worth it. But as part of my signing up, the information I got about what more can I do said I should encourage my friends to also sign up. So that's what I'm doing. Please consider becoming part of the bone marrow registry. You can get more information here at be the match.org. You never know until you try.

Surprises and News

2009-11-18T20:32:00.003-05:00

As I sat down for dinner last night, I turn on the good ol' NHL network and I see a familiar face on a new (or at least new to me) show called NHL Powerplay. Mike Johnson was a guest host (and since I'm not in the know of the normal format, I don't know if this is a rotating retired player side kick or what). I always liked him when he played - his game wasn't fancy by any stretch and he didn't do anything exceptionally well but he played hard and it seemed liked he was well liked in all his various stops in the league.

Now on to current player surprises. I'd like to say I knew it all the time but even I'm surprised at Ryan Miller's play. I guess he wasn't screwing around when he said he wants to start for team USA in Vancouver. I gotta think that he'll be named and at the very least, he's making a serious case for him to the be starter. Tonight he's down to the Panthers but there is still the third period for the slugs to come back. Oh but Ryan is now in a car company ad. Please, don't give up your day job (and we're not talking Max Talbot bad).

Did anyone predict the Avalanche would be good? Let alone leading divisions, conferences, leagues good? A lot of that credit should go to two people on that team. The Rookie (not Duchene - his time will come) Ryan O'Reilly and the Goalie, Craig Anderson. They have played some really good hockey (and yes, some stinkers too) but overall, they have to be pleased with where they are right now.

I think what else has been surprising in the league is the injuries. I mean really? Does someone have to die before head shots are addressed? To hear Mike Richards say that he couldn't stop before clocking David Booth makes me wanna barf. However Richards then turning around and to throw the team under the bus in the process make me down right giddy. He couldn't go back to the bench if he DIDN'T make that hit? Since when?

And it's not just concussions that are keeping guys out. Random injuries are preventing teams from putting full squads out there. It sorta blows. The reason why I bring this up is that next week, my cohort here and I will be in Pittsburgh for a certain birthday gala celebration and to see the Pens and Habs play. I'm just hoping at this point no one else gets hurt. Hear that boys? Stop breaking!

Ok, so the Sabres crashed and burned. I'm trying to watch Glee and don't see what the fuss is all about. I guess I'm just not meant to get most tv. Oh and now and ad for the Twilight "Saga". There must be a hockey game on somewhere.

I'm not stuck under something I swear!

2009-10-27T10:49:00.004-04:00

I'm taking time from my very busy international starlet schedule to touch base on the best game....yeah, I can't even type that honestly. I've just been lazy but I've watched a lot of hockey in the first month of this fine season and I've seen a lot that I wanna comment on.

Head Shots
There has been an awful lot about shots to the head lately and the issue of preferential treatment. I'm sorry, but if you hit a guy high and he has to go hospital for a concussion, you should miss the same amount of time the injured player does. End of story. No matter who you are or what you intended or not intended to do. That will stop shots to the head. A paltry $2,500 fine will do nothing. Hit them where it hurts - with ice time.

Killing Your Fantasy Team One Injury At A Time!
Some big (and not so big) names are on the shelf and it's really tossing some wrenches into fantasy hockey teams (well yeah, and I guess the NHL clubs they play for).

The latest injuries include Ilya Kovalchuk, Marc Savard, Jonathan Toews, and Sergei Gonchar. Those are some big names. For a complete list of who is banged up, check out Yahoo's Injury Report. There are a LOT of guys there. Now there are also some injured players that (perhaps to my down fall) holding on to for now because I don't want them to slip through my fingers when they come back to their rosters. I'm doing alright in my leagues. Leading one, upper middle of the packs in two others. Not bad for my first go around.

Will Wonders Ever Cease?
Now on to the surprises of this season. Hell, there are a ton (and not all for the good).

The Colorado Avalanche: A hall of fame shoe-in captain retired, two 18 year old boys on the roster and an somewhat untested goalie in net. Should spell disaster right? Wrong. They are leading the west with a hard working style of play. I give credit to the new coach and captain for that - Sacco and Foote dont strike me as the sort who want floaters around. Who knew Anderson (he gets my vote for a goalie for team USA in Vancouver) would be that good? Who could have guessed Duchene and O'Reilly would be ready to play with the big boys? Did anyone pick this version of the Av to win games? Total surprise and even if they do fall back to earth a bit, I think barring a huge injury bug settling down in Denver, this could be a playoff team.

The Buffalo Sabres: Read it here now. If Ryan Miller keeps up his play, he will be in the Venzia running. He's just got an all around solid game right now. Last season before an unfortunate run in with Scott Gomez, Miller was going to get his team into the playoffs. He's right back at it now and this time, the team in front of him are helping out. And for the record, I love Tyler Myers - all eighteen feet of him. Yes, he's made a mistake or two but what veteran in the league hasn't? He's allowed, and for all the good he's done, he should stay. I think he's shown that he can't learn much more in junior. He needs to stay in Buffalo (plus, he's giving Hank Tallinder a chance to get his confidence back. A good thing all around)

The Tampa Bay Lightening, the Ottawa Senators and The Atlanta Thrashers: Now, losing Kovalchuk will sting a bit for the Thrashers but these three teams surprise because they don't stink this year. I'm not sure they can sustain the success but as the Av have proven, you never know with this game of ours. And I still have a crush on Ronnie Hainsey. Shut it, I'm allowed.

The Pittsburgh Penguins: Is anyone really surprised by this team? As Shelly Anderson writes over at the Post Gazette "The Penguins don't feature a top-10 scorer despite employing skilled stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Haven't got a hot-shot rookie. Don't have one of the NHL's top-10 power plays. Haven't gotten a shutout victory, even though goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been stellar almost every game.

What they do have is a 9-2 record, giving them the most wins in the NHL." Hard to argue with teamwork.

Other not so surprising surprising teams include the Flames, the Sharks and the Craps. All playing some pretty darn good pucks.

Now To The Stinkers.
Is there team out there that can top the Maple Leafs in stinkatude. Granted, I feel bad for the players (some, not all) because they are out there and mostly young. Who I can blame is Brian know it fucking all Burke and Ron Wilson. Any takers on how long they will have their jobs?

While they aren't stinking so much as struggling, I give you the Red Wings. Now I have a personal belief on why they are struggling but I'm not going to say it (lets just say that I believe any team with a particular player on it won't have success. Hockey karma and all that) but they took some summer time losses and now are facing some injuries....that's gonna hurt any team. But they just don't seem to be the teams of old...which could be the problem. They are growing old and not adapting.

The Vancouver Canucks: after a blistering hot training camp schedule, the Canucks have slowed a bit. The all world goalie isn't looking so unbeatable and while they've also had some injuries, they seem to me a team that lacks something. I don't want to say focus but something.

Scheduling
I realize that with just a month into the season, there is a LOT to shake out yet. Also, this schedule? Blows. Hard. I'm tired of every one playing on Saturday and then sparse games through the week. I'm hoping it evens out over the next few weeks.

On a "not hockey" note, I just want to talk about a special anniversary I had on the 25th. A year ago, my folks and I went down to Coldwater and came back with a dog. Not just any dog, but my dog. Max has been the best dog for me - we're talking life changing - and I couldn't be happier with the way things have worked out. It's been a fun first year for the two of us and I look forward to many many more with him. If you can work it out in your life, I highly suggest getting a pet. You won't be sorry.

Wait... what?

2009-10-14T15:36:00.004-04:00

Yes, it's been a while since we've updated and it's not that we don't love writing; but somehow we both get busy with other things including watching hockey. :) Hopefully we can get a chance to maybe get back in the swing of things and update more often.

But I just wanted to pop in and share a link from the local paper here in Hooterville that covers the Tips. It's a video of my boys being funny and dorky and pretty much being teenage boys in front of a camera. They did one like this last year too; but I think this year is even funnier.

I've had this tidbit brewing for a few days

2009-09-23T09:43:00.004-04:00

I was talking with Amy the other night and I said I was gonna write about it because it struck me as hilarous at the time. We were watching a game - was it Monday's Pens/Habs game? No, probably the Slugs/Wings game on Saturday and IMing each other.

Now in order to set this up you really should know that Amy is I think the sweetest person on the planet. No really, she's very kind and good hearted. I often tell people that I'm the evil twin and, frankly, they aren't suprised.

So we're chatting and she drops this on me: I got suckered into Mafia Wars.

Mafia Wars for those that don't know is a game on Facebook where you basically thug about and do jobs for a crime lord. My little gangster Amy.

Ok, so it's not as funny probably to you but did I mention she was eating taco salad when she typed that? Maybe it doesn't come across well second hand.

Just to make this a totally nonhockey post: Having seen the Sabres play on Saturday (WHOOO RYAN!) and then reading about Patty having a great game - dare I say it? Could this be the year the drought ends? I know I know...*knocks on wood and gets out the bubble wrap*

So ok, pretty much scrap that last post.

2009-09-12T17:18:00.000-04:00

Instead I give you this:

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

The Sharks gave up all that for Heatly? Oh it's gonna be sadly easy to cheer against the Sharks now.

Anohter reason to laugh at ESPN

2009-09-12T11:10:00.000-04:00

There was a time when hockey was on ESPN and ESPN2; there was even a time when NHL2nite was an edgy player profiling honest to god hockey show. All of that changed when Versus came into the picture and now, hockey is an afterthought on the ESPN family.

There are some people who still report on hockey but they are few and far between.

John Buccigross is one of them. He's mostly miss in a hit or miss scenario with me and every now and again, he get something right. Yesterday was just not one of them.

He reported that Ottawa traded Heatly to the Sharks as a part of a three way deal with the Kings involving Patty Marleau.

There is just a small problem here - Marleau has a no trade clause that kicked in on July 1. And well, no one has asked him to waive it. Ok, that's no longer a small problem, it's a large problem.

Puck Daddy posted Buccigross' rational as follows:

Here's Bucci, when asked if a trade was actually done:

"Right now, obviously, nothing is officially done or it would have been announced by all parties. What I heard earlier tonight was that it was a three-team trade. First I had heard it was going to be tonight or tomorrow. Obviously they want to move him before training camp. So I sniffed around and my best source, who's been perfect for me, mentioned he got an email from a front office personnel member. He forwarded me the email, and it's a pretty significant name (laughs) in the NHL, and I thought 'Boy, I would have gone on it just with my initial source, because he's been great for me.' Then he showed me this email, and it was completely supporting it.

"So I was surprised when it hasn't come through tonight. Now, things are complicated, there could be other parts to it, but I still believe he will be moved. But it appears, as I was told, is not going to happen tonight anyway."

Buccigross later said that he was comfortable with the story because "it made a lot of sense in a lot of ways," as far as what the teams need. He also said he could see conditions shifting this deal into one directly between Ottawa and Los Angeles.

I know a great deal of reporting these days is based on speculation. But really? When a network like ESPN who doesn't promote/care about hockey tries to get the scoop? Be damn sure there is a scoop to get.

Hockey returns to Hooterville!

2009-09-09T14:25:00.000-04:00

When I was young, Labor Day weekend meant that the days were beginning to get progressively shorter, the mornings started to become crisp with a warm and sunny afternoon, my sister and I would beg our parents to let us stay up all night with Jerry Lewis; and something that would fill us with dread: summer vacation was coming to a close and school was starting in a few days.

These days, Labor Day weekend is not just the start of the road to fall; but it's also means the return of hockey! For those of us here in the city of Everett and the surrounding communities, we are fortunate enough to have hockey here in our own home town. While it's not the big names and bright lights of an NHL city, there are times where it is actually a better thing. We get to see boys come into our town as 15, 16 and 17 year old teenagers; and we get to watch them grow up and become young men.

Junior hockey is a funny thing... you can have a boy who seems to have all the talent in the world when they come through the bantam draft; but if he doesn't get the right coach or the right mix of teammates, he can be written off as a failure or even shipped home. However even just a change of scenery has helped some boys that were cast aside due to bad chemistry or bad coaching or something went wrong; including a few that have landed in Everett and amazing things have happened. Just ask Dan Gendur in the Canucks system. :)

And this Labor Day delivered again with last weekend's annual Silvertips tournament which was a good time for all. As usual, I was there for each and every game; and all that action was worth every penny. Even more than the games themselves is the people watching both up on the concourse and in the stands. It's usually pretty sparse, consisting of parents of boys on the team as well as some hardcore fans; but the amount of love shown is pretty strong. The best game of all was the 6-5 shootout win on Saturday morning by the Portland Winterhawks. It came after a blitz in the last five minutes of the third period. This game also had some NHL ties as the younger brother of Dion Phaneuf was playing for Prince George; and Gasper Kopitar, little bro of Anze, was part of the Portland offense.

Not to forget my hometown boys, they played in the 3 evening games, and there were some flashes of brilliance not only from the team but from the coaches. After two years of huggy and soft kind of coaching, it was good to see some discipline back with Craig Hartsburg. What was even more interesting was the dynamics with his assistants, one of whom is his son. With Jay Varady, who is the associate head coach and runs the defense, he pretty much was left alone; but with Chris, there was a little more interaction. I'm not sure if this is because Chris is newer to the coaching ranks or what, but I'll keep my eye on this as the season progresses.

There is still a long way to go for this squad, especially with various new boys to the squad, both young ones and vets who were picked up over the summer. Also there were a handful of them missing due to being invited to NHL camps. It is a bumper crop for the Tips with Tyler Maxwell and Radko Gudas going to LA as invites of the Kings, Thomas Heemskerk was asked to play with the Sharks; then there are the draftees Cameron Abney in Edmonton, Byron Froese and the Blackhawks, Rasmus Rissanen out in Carolina, and Kellan Tochkin up in Vancouver after he was signed with the Canucks this summer.

So, after picking up my season tickets last night, I really feel like hockey season is beginning. But first up is the NHL game here in town; then Opening night is the 26th and then the big boys start. It's like your birthday and Christmas all rolled into one; and I can't wait!

Hope you all had a good holiday and Go Tips! :)

Lost a keeper.

2009-09-03T07:13:00.000-04:00

O Captain! My captain! Our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! Heart! Heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

Walt Whitman wrote those words in 1865 and while you can hardly compare anything to the assisantation of President Lincoln, the words hit me yesterday as appropriate.

I should explain....I love defensemen. Don't get me wrong, I love a good goalie or a slick forward, but my heart belongs deep in the defense corp. So when my partner in crime told me yesterday that Jason Smith was calling it a career, that heart of mine took a hit.

Smith played 17 years in the NHL and just over a thousand games for five teams. He was drafted by the Leafs but it was after a trade to Edmonton where he made his mark. As captain of the team, he was the sort of player who ignored the pain and just played through it as much as he could. When normal people break their arm, they go have a cast put on it. Jason iced it down and taped it up. He seriously taped up a broken arm and went out to play. Teammates knew it was serious because "he missed practice."

Watching him play, you'd wonder what would go through his mind as he blocked shot after shot, took hit after hit. I saw where some writer said, "At times it seemed like there was a Terminator under all that blood and tape, an entity that felt no pain and no mercy and wouldn’t stop battling no matter what." That describes Jason to a T.

After serving as the longest running captain in Edmonton's history, he went to the Flyers where he continues his ways (and captain role) even playing with two separated clavicles. At season's end, he moved on to Ottawa where you could see time and his body were catching up with him. His ice time diminished (but you never heard him complain about it) and his recovery time was getting longer. He was getting ready for the season to start but his aches and pains just weren't getting better. His heart was willing, but his body just couldn't go on.

John Buccigross once wrote about the 'values of hockey' and he said this:

This is the value that is needed to turn heart into a commodity. Everyone who loves skating has heart, but everyone who skates isn't a hockey player. Courage carries the heart and the dreams around the rink. There are nine other skaters, boards and glass. Courage enables the player to play as if he or she is skating on Lake Michigan, to play with freedom in narrow, cluttered spaces, ignoring the obstacles and charging on. A life can only be a life if you have the courage to go for your dreams. Watching Jason Smith play defense in Edmonton is watching courage in action.

That was Jason. Never the fastest or flashiest, he was always a favorite. He was never up for an award and unless they drastically lower their standards, will never make it into the Hall, but him and players like him will always have a special place in the game and in my heart.

Thanks, Gator. From being a monster on the ice to reportedly one of the nicest men off it, you've earned your retirement and time with your family. You will be missed.

Well this just isn't fair

2009-08-25T21:51:00.000-04:00

Ok, I was supposed to be in bed like an hour ago (shut up, I have PT at o'dark thirty tomorrow) but I came across this little tidbit from Team Canada's camp:

Crosby playing centre on a line with Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla at Canadian Olympic camp.

The hockey fan side of me drools at the chance to see that line in action. You have speed, grit, edge, skill....all of it.

The bunny side of me just drools.

Ok, going to bed. For real. After I walk Max.

Happy days are here again!

2009-08-25T12:12:00.000-04:00

Yes, it is indeed a good day here in Hooterville as the 2009-10 campaign has begun for my Everett Silvertips. Camp officially opens tomorrow; but the boys are reporting today for weigh-ins and meetings with on ice drills to begin tomorrow. There should be a combination of returning roster players, current listed players and tryouts; and it's always fun to see if there is some boy that no one ever heard of or isn't expected make the the team for another year or two have a breakout camp and they end up on the opening night roster. There should be quite a crowd for this year's camp as the Tips staff have decided not to have a separate rookie camp; but throw everyone in the pool together and see who surfaces at the end of the week.

I can sort of see their reasoning behind this, especially after last year, as there are not a whole lot of guys that are of an advanced age. There are two 20 year olds that I know are coming back and rumor has it that the club picked up a couple more from waivers; but the rest of the team is still fairly young. The team is allowing the public in to watch the afternoon scrimmages Wednesday to Friday; so hopefully I'll be able to get down to the CableBox to see them one or two days. If all else fails, they are having the annual Grey versus Green game on Saturday afternoon; and those are always entertaining.

After camp finishes up Saturday, they should continue to practice next week in preparation for the Labor Day Weekend tournament here in town next Friday through Sunday; then they head over the mountains to TriCity for their annual tourney, but I will not be going over due to work. The official start of the season is the 18th when they play two more games on the road then opening night at home is Friday the 26th against Vancouver.

Oh and not to forget but in between the tournament and opening night is the long anticipated NHL preseason game! Yes, that's right..... our little neck of the hockey woods has been gifted by the league with an exhibition game between the Phoenix Coyotes and the Tampa Bay Lightning! The Tips, in their infinite wisdom, let fans order tickets as part of a package with the preseason tourney tickets; and best of all was that season ticket holders got to order first. So I was on the horn the morning they were available and thanks to the credit card that I have on file there, I have my usual seat for that game which is two rows behind the glass! Man, when I got my ticket in the mail the other day, I am not sure but I think I petted it. Sad, I know; but hey, I live 2+ hours from professional hockey and now I just might get to see Wayne and Pete and Doaner and Bugsy and mmmmmVinny 10 feet from me! *squees and does a little fangirl dance*

But anyway, that is about it from me other than it's been a long summer and I can't wait to see what Craig Hartsburg and his crew will do this year. GO TIPS!

Roasting Heatley

2009-08-24T06:33:00.000-04:00

Lemme first get this out. I do not like Dany Heatley (or the Sens but that's a different post for a different time). I think the biggest reason is that if you kill someone, you should be punished a little more than bad dreams. Now that is out of the way, it looks like I'm not alone in my "dislike" stance. There were three articles over at Slam this weekend echoing my thoughts on the current situation:

No. 15 is your classic finger-pointer. It’s never his fault. His point totals have dropped by 33 in the last two seasons. He’s gone from being a 50-goal scorer to a 39-goal scorer. Why? Gotta be Cory Clouston. Gotta be that he’s playing two or three minutes less per game, and only half of power plays. It’s not Dany Boy.

In his own words, Dany Heatley has confirmed there are no hidden plots and that he is, indeed, the validated self-serving selfish jerk, authenticated me-me-me man with the astonishing sense of entitlement, certified coach killer and confirmed cancer he's been painted to be.

No longer known chiefly for his efforts with Team Canada or the fact he's a two-time 50-goal scorer who deserves to be one of the NHL's highest paid snipers, Heatley is now seen by the public as the poster boy for selfish athletes.

Yes, they are all bashing Heatley for his public trade debacle but you know what? All of what they say is true. I expect this sort of stuff from baseball or basketball (or heck even football), but unless your name is Keith Tkachuk, hockey players just don't do this sort of thing (and before anyone jumps on me, Tkachuk, not once but several times held out on a signed contract to have it re-worked. I'm sure there are others, but sue me, it's early and my morning started off not by going to physical therapy like I was supposed to, but calling maintenance because my stupid front door wouldn't lock from the outside).

Heatley wants people to know that he's not a bad guy, he's just in a bad spot. He makes it clear that this is nothing like the bad spot he was in while he played in Atlanta, this time it's totally different. What I think Heatley fails to understand is that Atlanta, though it still irritated many a hockey fan, was at least mildly understandable.

Ottawa, where he makes the most on the team, is a club that signed him in good faith to play for a boat load of money for several years. Now he wants out. Over playing time. This just smacks of Allen Iverson asking why practice was so important.

Can you imagine anyone in the Sens room wanting to see him pull on the same sweater? Bitching about playing time and your 'diminished role' on a team will win you no favors.

A few years ago, I heard the very quotable Brendan Shanahan say in jest, "There is no I in team but there is an M and a E."

Thanks Heatley for just making that statement seem more and more like the truth.

Testing.... testing... is this thing on?

2009-08-10T15:43:00.000-04:00

Good morning campers... It's been a while since we've updated, and it's not for lack of trying; but real life seems to get in the way. lol However, today I had some time and a few things to post, so heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go!

It's about 4 weeks until hockey returns to Everett with the annual Labor Day tournament that the Tips hold; and oh boy am I ready for it! It's nice to watch the playoff games on NHL Network; but it's never the same as it is in person. Two weeks after that we get a real treat when the Tampa Bay Bolts come to town with the Desert Dogs of Phoenix; and I am so so excited. I'm torn as to which bench I would like to be sitting behind; because as much as I would like to see Peter Mueller and Shaun Heshka I really really really want to see Vinny Lecavalier sitting six feet in front of me. lol

And speaking of the Tips, nepotism has hit Hooterville in the hiring of new head coach Craig Hartsburg's son Chris to take the assistant coach job that Mark LeRose gave up when he went to be an assistant with Kevin Constantine in Houston with the AHL. He coached a little in the IHL, which is a lower level pro league; and I'm sure having Dad being a coach for so long has rubbed off a little. We'll see how he does...it is also nice that he's pretty cute too. ;)

Last week as a little sad as two more players in Lisa and my generation retired. One was one of the few Winnipeg Jets left in the league, Teppo Numminen; and the other is one of the best American hockey players ever to be in the league, Jeremy Roenick.

JR is one of only four Americans to have scored at least 500 goals finishing with 513, 703 assists in 1,363 regular-season games with five teams; and his six goals in Game 7s is tied for second all time. He was also a nine-time All-Star and a two-time Olympian, helping team USA earn a silver medal in 2002. I hope that not winning a Cup doesn't keep him out of the Hall Of Fame because all that he has done not only for the NHL but the game of hockey in the States should be enough as it is a lot.

And last but not least is Sidney's day with the Cup on Friday; which was also his birthday. It just amazes me just what a star that boy is up in his native land when I see things like all of the press for his first trip west last year; then it was eclipsed tenfold on Friday for the Captain's Cup day-birthday party. National news and a bazillion people following him all over was just craziness! But luckily as captain, he gets a second day; so I would assume that he had a much more dialed down celebration on Saturday with his family and close friends.

There have been a bunch of videos chronicling Steve and Stanley's Excellent Adventure, but I love this one most of all because he gets to be himself while playing with his friends. He doesn't have to be Sidney Crosby, Captain; he can be Sid the lifelong friend of a few boys he used to play road hockey with. The look of pure joy on his face at the end of the game just makes me just love him even more than I already did...

Crusty around the edges

2009-07-28T14:52:00.000-04:00

I miss hockey. This is getting bad. Yes, I know the Olympic camps are getting into gear and I know that training camps are right around the corner...

but these are the worst dog days.

Sad day in hockeyville

2009-07-08T08:49:00.000-04:00

After 20 years of NHL service, Quoteless Joe is hangin' 'em up. Joe Sakic by all accounts was a really wonderful guy to be around and one hell of a player. He always reminded me of Steve Yzerman with his style and class. Joe, you'll be missed.

In other news, the Iowa Chops have been "involuntarily suspended for the 2009-10 season by the league’s Board of Governors, effective July 6, 2009." I find this more than odd. What will the players do? There isn't a lot of information out there regarding what actually happened other than by laws violations. Hmm...

Lot of signings lately - some don't make a lot of sense and some are just down funny. Pronger for 7 years with the Bullies? He'll fit in nicely. I think he just missed the orange. At least he managed to wear a tie (*coughCartercough*)

From the Puck Daddy files - in talking about NHL 10:

That said, the "after the whistle" function is pretty much the greatest thing to happen to video gaming since the invention of giant apes throwing barrels at Italian plumbers. Face washes, cheap shots, putting the puck on the goalie after the whistle ... so, Claude Lemieux Mode then?

* * *

Still no word on the Patrick Kane mouthpiece ripping feature. Maybe it's hidden ...

I love gamers with a sense of humor. Also watching PKane get his mouth guard swatted from his mouth will never get old.

I know we'll eventually get around to posting the free agent grades, but we probably should talk about them first right?

Until next time,
only a handful of weeks until Olympic training camps!

Happy Canuck Day!

2009-07-01T10:29:00.000-04:00

It's the 1st of July and not only is it Free Agent day, but it's the national holiday of the country just to the north of us and home to many of our favorite hockey boys. So, since Lisa already posted about Free Agency, I thought I would post Boy of the Day and one of my very favorite pictures that has both of our very favorite boys as well as a third boy that is also very very popular here at the Puck Chuck.

In their Team Canada togs from what Getty says is the 1996 season are Stevie Yzerman, Trevor Linden and Ronnie Francis.

Free Agent Frenzie

2009-07-01T08:31:00.000-04:00

July 1st brings us a holiday to the north and craziness in the league we love. Canada Day and The first day of unrestricted free agency.

The madness has already begun. The ~~Phillies~~ Flyers (bringin' ~~sexy~~ goonery back) went nuts and traded away (I think too much) to get Pronger (apparently his wife approved). Montreal picked up Scottie Gomez for Christopher "don't call me Chris" Higgins and Calgary made a big cannon ball splash with ChuckAPucker favorite Jay Bo. Who is next? [Edit by Amy: Hey Chica? It's the Flyers... Phillies don't have goonery, just a bi-polar bullpen that I feel the need to smack quite often this season. ;D]

Apparently, Dany Heatley isn't one of them. I still don't understand this whole fuster cluck of a situation. Heatley says he wants out but has a no trade clause. This isn't about the no trade clause. If a team is going to offer those, a player should be able to have that kick in. But when you say you want out because it's just been too hard to play for your team, then do you really have the say so to wave that no trade in the team's face? Also at issue is an apparent signing bonus of a nice chunk of change that goes into effect either today or tomorrow (funny, the AGENT isn't really sure when that kicks in). Is Heater holding off to get the payday? If so, not only is that really wormy, I hope there is some sort of karmic payback if he doesn't, say, oh I don't donate to some sort of fund for families of children who are killed by their 'best' friends in a stupid car accident.

In talking with Boss Man Joe, we both agree that if the Wings don't sign Hossa (which is entirely possible), they need to spend the money on a lunking defenseman. They are small on the blue line (Ericksson notwithstanding) and could use a good stay at home sort of guy. Like Rob Scuderi. Just saying. [Edit by Amy: Bite your tongue!]

Got my eye on a few other players today....hopefully it will end soon enough. If you don't hear from Amy for a few days, it's because she's in Mitten Land with me and Friend of the Chuckers, Lisa. Have bail money if we call. [Edit by Amy: Honest officer... we have no idea how that man got in the trunk. Yes, it is amazing how he folded up like that... but not really, he's a goalie. Wait... what?]

Until next time (when we'll probably have a run down of who went where)

Oooooooh say can you see?

2009-06-30T13:21:00.000-04:00

It's a busy day here at Chuck a Puck and it's not even Free Agent day. Speaking of FA Day, if you want to keep up with all the signings, TSN has provided a handy dandy page for us.

Also today Brian Burke and the USA Hockey brain trust announced the roster for their Olympic training camp. There are a few guys on the list that make me go BUH?; but most of them I think deserve to be there as well as there are also a few guys that didn't make the cut and should have.

Goaltenders: Ryan Miller, Jonathan Quick, Tim Thomas

Defencemen: Tom Gilbert, Tim Gleason, Ron Hainsey, Erik Johnson, Jack Johnson, Mike Komisarek, Paul Martin, Brooks Orpik, Brian Rafalski, Rob Scuderi, Ryan Suter, Ryan Whitney

Forwards: David Backes, David Booth, Dustin Brown, Dustin Byfuglien, Ryan Callahan, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Patrick Kane, Ryan Kesler, Phil Kessel, Jamie Langenbrunner, Ryan Malone, Mike Modano, Kyle Okposo, T.J. Oshie, Zach Parise, Joe Pavelski, Bobby Ryan, Paul Stastny.

Today is also the CHL Import Draft and with the 17th-overall pick Everett selected defenseman Rasmus Rissanen from Finland. He's listed at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, and was a fifth-round selection in this year's draft by the Hurricanes. Rissanen is the first Scandinavian player as the others have been from Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia. With the 20th-overall pick, they took Radko Gudas from the Czech Republic,listed at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds; and was not selected in either of the past two NHL drafts. With the pick of two defensemen, I wonder what's going on with our d-corps, especially with losing our two top guys to graduation.

I know there is more, but it's escaping me at the moment. So without further delay, I give you the boy of the day who is probably one of the most adorable invitees to the USA Olympic camp, Zach Parise.

It is another beautiful day in Zamunda...

2009-06-29T13:39:00.000-04:00

So it's Monday again and I'm not too thrilled about it; other than Lisa and I are only working three days this week because I am heading east for the holiday weekend. Yes, it's true, we'll be blogging from the same time zone for the weekend; and I have a feeling we might need bail money at least once. Woot!

Just gonna be a quick update today since the real world is taking precedence this morning.

USA Hockey has announced the assistants for Vancouver and they are John Tortorella, formerly coach of the Rangers and Scott Gordon of the Islanders. I was surprised by Scott Gordon; but I'm gonna go with Burkie's decisions.

The draft went pretty much as planned; but a few surprises did come up and one of my boys was one of them. Cameron Abney, who wasn't even drafted in the bantam draft, was picked by KLowe and the boys in Edmonton; and as much as I love Cam, this one sort of blew me away. We did have another boy picked and that was Byron Froese who was selected by the Blackhawks in round 4. I think his play will work well there; and he'll have a friend there too in former Tip Kyle Beach. Two more of the boys are rumored to have invites to NHL camps, which is so great since I was sure they would have been drafted. Byron's linemates Kellan Tochkin and Tyler Maxwell are supposedly going to the Canucks and Kings rookie camps respectively; and I'm so proud of all four of the guys. And Lisa is very excited about BabyParm, aka Landon Ferraro, being selected by the Wings. She's a Wings fan and we both really like his dad Ray.

And I'm really hoping that my favorite Dutchman that is still playing, Jay Bouwmeester, won't be signing in Calgary; but if he does, one good thing that would come from that would be my Vancouver boys play the Flames several times a season more than the Panthers do. Oh, and I'm not happy about Pronger leaving the Ducks; but at I am very happy about getting Joffrey Lupul back as well as Luca Sbisa into the fold.

Anyway, I have to get something done with my actual job; so here is today's boy of the day. He is the captain of the Phoenix Coyotes and is a big favorite of the staff here at CaP. We call him the Doaner... Shane Doan!

Thank God It's Draft Day!

2009-06-26T12:42:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's true... it's here. Draft Day is one of the most exciting and anticipated days on the NHL calendar up there with the trade deadline and the last day of the regular season. It's watching to see if the so called experts are correct on their picks, which teams actually pick what they actually need rather than picking some guy so their division rival can't get him; and you get to see lots of nice boys all dressed up.

The biggest mystery of the night will be who the NY Islanders will select: John Tavares, the Canadian sniper forward who has been playing for the London Knights of the OHL or the very tall blond and Swedish defensman Victor Hedman, late of the Swedish hockey factory Modo. Who goes third could be a number of different boys, but from what I've read it could be Matt Duchene who plays with the Brampton Batallion, which is the club babyCanuck Cody Hodgson played with this last season; and I've also heard Evander Kane from the Vancouver Giants or Luke Schenn's brother Brayden who plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings. I haven't seen Matt, but I've seen a little of Brayden and a lot of Evander; and I think that in a couple of years they'll be good solid players for whoever picks them.

The Silvertips are going to be waiting with baited breath to see if any of the boys will be picked and if they're picked by who. One boy that should be drafted is Byron Froese from Manitoba. He was a rookie this last season who was placed on a line with two other rookies, Kellan Tochkin and Tyler Maxwell who also might be picked; and they went bananas for an offense that at times needed that spark. He got a notice by Team Canada and was invited to play at the U-18 World Championships; and did a wonderful job including a hat trick. Three other Tips, Cameron Abney and Shane Harper and goaltender Thomas Heemskerk, also have a chance of being selected; but who knows. Surprises do happen though... ask Dan Gendur. He wasn't even near the radar, but after a great season two years ago, he was selected by the Canucks at the very end of the 7th round; and after a very good first half with the Victoria Salmon Kings and a cup of coffee with the Moose, our pal Danny was selected to participate in the ECHL All Star game. So, stay tuned! :)

Funny video from Puck Daddy...

TSN is passing a rumor of a trade between Boston and the Leafs that has me saying BUH!? "Sources tell TSN the Bruins have offered restricted free agent forward Phil Kessel to Toronto in exchange for the Leaf defenceman and Toronto's No. 7 pick in the draft." Really? Are the PoohBears really that needy for defense that they're willing to give up Phil? Yikes!

But that is it for now from me... I'll be watching the replay of the first 10 or so picks during the replay on NHL Network tonight since it starts at 4pm my time; and hoping for my local boys in the morning.

Before I go though, we have the Boy of the Day; or actually Boys of the Day. As suggested by our good pal Lisa R., the last year we had the same kind of 1 vs. 2 battle was Alex Ovechkin and Geno Malkin in 2004...

Happy Draft Day Eve!

2009-06-25T13:10:00.001-04:00

Greetings and salutations from the Pacific Northwest! It's NHL Draft Eve, and I'm sure that the Le Centre de Bell is buzzing with excitement already and has been for days. I wish that Lisa and I could be up there this weekend; but I'm sure we'll be keeping track of things down here. We might even see a few of the Tips boys go in the later rounds or at least I hope we will.

We went to the draft two years ago in Columbus and had a ball; well other than the seats in the upper bowl of Nationwide Arena are built for the ass width of a 5 year old. From seeing Rick Nash outside signing autographs to watching Harold Snepts walk right in front of us to getting to see all of the NHL awards up close and personal. It was all so surreal, especially when Cam Neely called our pal Zach Hamill's name; then Dave Nonis picking another of our pals Taylor Ellington. There wasn't the huge group of Tips fans cheering for him like the year before in Vancouver, but hopefully you could hear those two voices screaming from the left side of the upper bowl.

Yesterday Team Canada's Executive Director, aka the handsome Stevie Y, announced the Canadian men's Olympic hockey coaches. The head coach is Mike Babcock whose assistant coaches will be Lindy Ruff, Jacques Lemaire and Ken Hitchcock. Hopefully Team USA's assistants will be announced soon; and they'll include Mike Sullivan, Dan Bylsma and Tommy Fitzgerald for the hottie factor. Oh, and because I think they're pretty good coaches too. :)

I love you Patty Kane... you're too cute for words!

All is well here in Hooterville now that we have a head coach and the assistant coaches will not be changing; so the crew will start getting ready for training camp in August.

Two videos from the presser on Tuesday courtesy of local station King5...
New coach Craig Hartsburg...

and three of our boys: Zack Dailey, Kellan Tochkin and Thomas Heemskerk...

And to round up today's entry and in keeping with the Draft theme, I give you for Boy of the Day someone who was not only a first round pick, but was the first overall pick in 2002 Draft and that is Mr. Rick Nash...

Call to the Hall v Assery in Ottawa

2009-06-24T10:32:00.000-04:00

To the surprise of no one who follows the game, Steve Yzerman was voted in to the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday. Stevie ranks sixth all-time in points with 1,755, won the Stanley Cup three times and a gold medal with Canada in the 2002 Olympics. While he never won the Hart, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy, Pearson Award, the Selke Trophy and a Masterton Trophy. He was an All Star 10 times and on the All-rookie team. He had 50 goal seasons 5 times and holds Red Wings season records for goals, assists, and point totals. Also going into the Hall are part time teammates are Hull and Robitaille and never teammate Brian Leetch. Contrats to Stevie :)

Dany Heatley. Must you give me more reasons to flat out mock you? Haven't you given me enough? Now there is a list. A list of teams you'd agree to be traded. Why do I have this picture in my head of some Barbie girl saying no to the math nerd when he asks her to go to prom but then she gives him a list of the football quarterback, the class president, and the really cool stoner dude and instructs math nerd to find her a date with one of them? If you ask for a trade and you have a no trade clause in place, shouldn't that, by definition, make the no trade clause null and void? If I were Bryan Murray, I'd be calling places like Tampa, Phoenix and Atlanta to ship his ass to.

A huge shout out to my Chica who says "she feels like she's been hit by a truck" Feel better bebe!

The draft is this weekend and I still don't know who the Islanders will pick.

2009-06-23T13:27:00.000-04:00

Hello there! It's Tuesday and the sun has decided to return to the Great Northwest and I am very excited about this. It's a good welcome for our new coach here in Everett and his press conference this afternoon. I just wish I could get downtown to see it; but I'm sure there will be a good write up in the Herald and from our good pal Su over at her great blogs, The Daily Su and her blog over at KING 5.

One thing I was surprised to see but not shocked about was that Chris Chelios will not be offered a contract by the Red Wings. I'm surprised that Kenny didn't do this earlier; but maybe he thought that Cheli would retire on his own since he's 500 years old. No such luck, so the Wings decided to cut his playing time; and that did nothing to deter him. So, they just made the decision for him. [Edit by Lisa The Wings have seen the light!!!] Supposedly Cheli thinks he wants to play another year; but I wonder which team would shell out the money for a player that is a shadow of his former self in regards to his talent when for the same or less money they could get a nice young guy who will actually play more than 20 games.

Haven't heard anything on the Hall of Fame list; but maybe that will be announced later this afternoon. Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille are all waiting by the phone along with guys like Brian Leetch, Alexander Mogilny and Dave Andreychuk. I would be shocked if the first three aren't there; but the other that I really hope to see go is Brian Leetch. In as much as I still hate him a little for helping take the Cup from my Trevor in '94, he did have a stellar career and helped bring hockey to a lot of American kids. I would love to see AlMo too; but he might not go this year.

Anyway, Lisa had some more to say about the Dany Heatley goings on; but I can't remember what she said so maybe she'll be by later to give her two pesos on that.

Today's Boy of the Day comes to us from the Patrick Division and he's a fine combination of brains, brawn and beauty; which is hard to find with a lot of fighters. Following a successful junior career with the Kitcher Rangers of the OHL, he went undrafted and was signed as a free agent by the New Jersey Devils in August 2005. Our boy first played with the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League in September 2005; then went on to play the majority of the 2006–2007 season with the Lowell Devils before being a late season call-up to New Jersey. He's been there ever since; and was invited to play in the YoungStars game in Atlanta last year where he scored a goal and two assists. And who is this tall blondish and yummy boy? I present David Clarkson...

How old are ya now, Brew?

2009-06-22T13:08:00.000-04:00

Good morning campers! Is this thing on? Anyway... it's another beautiful day in the neighbourhood and it's been made even better with the very strong rumour that Craig Hartsburg, lastly of the Ottawa Senators, has been offered a two year contract with my beloved Everett Silvertips. And I just got an email from Rob Ramsburgh of the Silvertips through Facebook for a press conference to announce the new head coach! Stay tuned for more news and maybe some pictures too! *squees and jumps for joy*

If this becomes true, I think this will be a good thing. As tough as things were with the big boys, I think that with the young guys he should do well. Prior to his stint with the Senators, Hartsburg spent five seasons as head coach of the OHL's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. And he was also assistant coach for Team Canada in 2006 at the World Juniors where they won and then won two more junior gold medals as head coach in 2007 and 2008. So, with his experience with juniors and our boys having another year under their belts, I think this season might just be a little happier than the last one.

And this is a good way to start this week, as it's Draft Week, so we'll be having some of our thoughts about some of the boys and where we think they might go. The Tips have a chance to have a few boys picked, but this season will probably break the first round streak so we'll just be watching for the fun on Friday night and we'll celebrate on Saturday somewheres around rounds 3 and 4. :)

We also wanted to introduce a new segment here at Chuck a Puck and it's called Boy of the Day. Since Lisa and I are connoisseurs of a large number of boys, we'd like to share some of our favorites with our three readers.

Today, we beg to put before you the handsome boy that we began to love quite a while ago when he was an Edmonton Oiler. He's tall, slim and has the most beautiful grey eyes; as well as being a bad ass defenseman who can decapitate with his elbow. He's been a bit banged up the last few years; but I'm hoping this next season he can stay unbroken so he can play for another gold medal as part of Team Canada. So, without further ado, here is the captain of the Saint Louis Blues, Mr. Eric Brewer.

Boy did we blow those predictions or what?

2009-06-19T07:21:00.000-04:00

I was gonna get all creative and assign points to Amy's and my predictions but that would involve some brain power that I just don't have this morning. So I'll recap instead:

Norris Trophy, top defenseman
We both picked Lidstrom. We were both wrong. Chara walked away with it. Strike one (but it was a swing and a miss as I at least picked Big Z as "a close second).

Calder Trophy, rookie of the year
We both picked Mason and what do you know we both got it right!

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, most gentlemanly player
Again, another correct one (even if Amy didn't sound too convinced). Pavel Datsyuk is your winner (his 4th)

Vezina Trophy, top goaltender
Timmy Thomas (who got sorta choked up accepting - which I like). We both got Tim right. Hurrah.

Selke Trophy, top defensive forward
I should have gone with my first instinct and picked Dats to win for sure. That will teach me for picking a Flyer. FAIL! Dats takes this home too. Point for Amy!

Hart Trophy, NHL's most valuable player
Ovie takes it. (personal note: BLECH). We both figured correctly here.

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey
Missed this by a country mile. Who would have thought almost dying on the ice and playing again would get you second here? Steve Sullivan wins. We both picked Zed (and darn it, he SHOULD have won!)

Jack Adams Award, top NHL coach
Claude, the winner, was never even considered by either one of us. Shows what we know.

NHL Foundation Player Award, commitment and service to charities
Everyone wins here because they are all great guys. But Amy and I picked the winner in Rickey Nash. Too bad he wasn't there but he has a good reason. He's in Scotland with his mum and grandmum. All together now, AWWWWW!

Lester B. Pearson Award, most outstanding player
See Hart. We did!

Mark Messier Leadership Award, player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season
Jarome Iginla is a lovely choice for the award. Just not ours. And also, someone needs to tell Mess that he should never ever speak in public. Ugh.

Win some and you lose some. The draft is next. I have a feeling the top pick won't be a surprise (not that I'm picking which will go but I'm just saying, there are arguments for three or four different kids). Good luck to the Isles - no matter who they pick, their fans won't like it.

a new found respect for Brian Burke

2009-06-17T18:41:00.000-04:00

I was listening to NHL Live and Brian Burke was on chatting up the hosts (Billy Jaffe...yum!) and the question was posed about Dany Heatley - would the Leafs be interested in that.

Burke said (and I'm paraphrasing here) but there was a right way and a wrong way to request a trade. Once a player comes to him with that request, he'll get the job done. But when you handicap your team by going public, then you are just screwing yourself. Burke went on to say that if he hears about a player wanting to be traded out side a private conversation with that player, he'll do his best to keep him on the team as long as he can in an almost punishment treatment.

Burke has no interest in that whole mess. Good on him. Bottom line, at least one GM has the balls to say what Heatley does is bullshit.

Oh I also finally have my copy of Searching for Bobby Orr. I will start reading tomorrow.

And the winner is.....

2009-06-17T09:34:00.000-04:00

As promised, the ladies of Chuck A Puck will look into our slightly cracked crystal ball and tell you, the three readers we have, who we think will win the NHL awards tomorrow. Just don't bet any money on our picks.

Norris Trophy, top defenseman:
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
Mike Green, Washington Capitals
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings

Who will win: Amy and I both agree on this one - Lidstrom
Who should win:
Amy says: Nick will win because he always wins. He's also the one that should win because, well...he is the best.
Lisa says: No argument about him being the best. If Mike Green wins it means the league is taking a radical turn of the definition of what the Norris Trophy is for. Chara will come in a close second.

Calder Trophy, rookie of the year:
Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
Kris Versteeg, Chicago Blackhawks
Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks

Who will win: Again Amy and I agree here - we both say Mason
Who should win: At last a disagreement!
Amy says: Her duckling Ryan will win because of not only his hard work to get up to the show and stay; but because he was consistent all year. He also had a much better and much longer post-season than Mase.
Lisa says: Psh, I say. They don't count the post season in award tallies and secondly, Mason had 10 shut outs...two or three of which were while he had Mono. Mason is my guy here.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, most gentlemanly player:
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils

Who will win: We both think Datsyuk [though Amy says so because "he is a Red Wing" like that makes him a lock ;)]
Who should win:
Amy says: Parise should win because he's adorable.
Lisa says: look past the looks and pick Datsyuk because he is awesome! Really, I have no basis for this award.

Vezina Trophy, top goaltender:
Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild
Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins

Who will win: Thomas (two votes)
Who should win:
Amy says: Timmy should because he had a great season both regular and post.
Lisa says: As much as I'd love to see the Rook get it, Timmy will because he kept the Bruins in the hunt for the President's Trophy all season [although with that argument, shouldn't Nabby be here?]

Selke Trophy, top defensive forward:
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks

Who will win: Amy thinks Datsyuk again (she says, "See under Lady Byng") and I'm gonna go out on a limb here and pick Richards because he's apparently the best captain EVER. (barf)
Who should win:
Amy says: I admit that I'm a total homer for Kes like for Bobby, but he had such an amazing year and I think he deserves it.
Lisa says: Datsyuk because he plays a smart efficient defensive game and gets the points while doing it.

Hart Trophy, NHL's most valuable player:
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Who will win: Ovechkin [Amy brings up a great point saying that I think the writers might give it to Alex because of his goal numbers and the fact that Geno has more weapons on his team.]
Who should win:
Amy says: This is hard... I think both Alex and Geno are so worthy of this award. Can we split it? If not, I think Geno should get it because his game has grown in other ways besides just the scoring.
Lisa says: I'm with Amy on this one - Geno's grown as a player and while he might have a game or two where he disappears, he's still moving forward with his game and not just a, albeit a very talented, one trick pony.

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey:
Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings
Richard Zednik, Florida Panthers
Steve Sullivan, Nashville Predators

Who will win: Zednik
Who should win:
Amy says: I have to give it to Richie. As much as Steve has gone through with his back, to me it pales in comparison to getting a blade in the neck.
Lisa says: I was watching that game when Zednik was cut. It was one of the most unsettling things I've ever seen. I might have cheered out loud when I learned he was taking the ice again. Hands down, Zednik is the winner. Also playing a thousand years doesn't count in the dedication to hockey, Chris.

Jack Adams Award, top NHL coach:
Todd McLellan, San Jose Sharks
Claude Julien, Boston Bruins
Andy Murray, St. Louis Blues

Who will win: Amy says McLellan [Two words... President's Trophy], I say Murray
Who should win:
Amy says: Andy deserves this award and more for taking the Boos from the depths of the Campbell Conference and getting back to the playoffs.
Lisa says: As much as I like Todd, Andy Murry had much less to work with, injuries and talent wise, and he still made them a winning team. Plus I think people like a feel good story. Murray is my pick as well.

NHL Foundation Player Award, commitment and service to charities:
Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings
Alex Kovalev, Montreal Canadiens
Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets

Who will win: Nash
Who should win:
Amy says: Give it Ricky just because he's so damn cute. ;)
Lisa says: I agree and honestly, I know a LOT of guys do so much for their community, I just happen to know about the things that Rick has done and it's huge. [plus him in a tux makes any award show better.]

Lester B. Pearson Award, most outstanding player:
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Who will win: Ovechkin
Who should win:
Amy says: See Hart
Lisa says: See Amy

Mark Messier Leadership Award, player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season:
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins

Who will win: Crosby
Who should win:
Amy says: I don't know about this one but they'll probably give it to Bing; and he does do a lot of great things on and off the ice.
Lisa says: Agree. Crosby but this might be as a consolation for not being up for the Hart.

Ok there you have it.... don't bet against the house.
The awards show is on tomorrow at 8 with hopefully the 'pregame' like they had last year with the red carpet. That's sorta fun.

Stanley hangover

2009-06-16T09:57:00.000-04:00

I've spent the last two days scanning the interweb for information and photos of the Penguins celebrations (Sunday at the ball park, the parade yesterday) with an odd feeling of glee and jealously. It was the Wings last year and time moves on to another team to be on top. I'm honestly ok with that and I think I have a stronger tie to a lot of the Penguin players watching them so much this year (and nice new tattoo Duper!). Over all, I've enjoyed it. But now I'm ready for camp to start anew and to see all 30 teams take the ice on with a fair shot at a parade of their own (I'm looking at you Buffalo).

But first! We have some unfinished business to take care of: NHL awards are Thursday, the Draft is next weekend, July 1st brings free agency, and lest we forget the ongoing saga of the Phoenix Coyotes (which really must suck for their fans). Much to do in the up coming days before we can really enjoy the summer and put our toes in the sand and bid 2008-2009 NHL season a farewell. Keep your eyes peeled for Chuck A Pucks take on all of it.

Tomorrow: Men in tuxes! Uh, I mean the Puckers take on the NHL awards.

Until tomorrow...

Buy Sam a drink and get his dog one too!

2009-06-13T16:09:00.000-04:00

That's life
That's what all the people say
You're riding high in April
You're shot down in May
I know I'm gonna change that tune
When I'm back on top in June.

Those words that Frank Sinatra sang pretty much summed up the Pittsburgh Penguins and their entire season this year. After having the dream of the Cup stolen away by the Red Wings a very short summer before; Sidney Crosby and the Penguins began their 2008-2009 with a clean slate and a hope to not only return to the playoffs but to fight for a chance to get that shiny bowl. However they knew that it was not going to be easy; and boy howdy was that the truth. In fact at times, there were times where even making the playoffs seemed about as far away as the moon.

Now, I’m not your average Penguins fan; in fact I’ve only been more than a casual observer for about four years. Being on the West Coast and a child of the 80’s, we didn’t get the plethora of coverage of the Penguins like we do nowadays; but my sister liked them some and there was CBC and ESPN, so we were able to see Le Magnifique and Company now and again then more often when it would come around to playoff times. Then the summer after the NHL settled the lockout, one of my all time favorite players, Mark Recchi, signed on for a second tour of duty with Pittsburgh and then they drafted this boy named Crosby who they said was the Next One. Well, I saw a whole lot of games with the Great One, so I decided to find out just what all the fuss was about in the town of the black and Vegas gold. Then the next year, the drama with getting Malkin over here made the news and after that I was hooked.

Then this season began; but before they could even think about going to training camp, Ray Shero was going to have to replace some of the key cogs to the machine that got them to the Finals who decided that Pittsburgh was not going to be their address this year. One of those pieces is Ryan Malone, who wasn’t offered a contract even for a hometown discount; so he tested the free agent market and signed with Tampa Bay taking Adam Hall and Gary Roberts with him. Others tempted by greener pastures, like George Laraque and Jarkko Ruutu, headed north; and the hardest one to swallow was Marian Hossa. He not only decided to reject the offers made to him by Ray Shero; but he signed with the Red Wings only weeks after the end of the Cup Finals, causing the Pens Nation to throw back their heads and howl. Then what seemed to make a bad situation worse, or at least it did at the time, was the signing of Miroslav Satan, Matt Cooke and Rusty Fedetenko. Some Pens fans thought was a last ditch effort to salvage what he could rather than go after what they thought was better talent.

Camp finally started, which lead into the exhibition season and a meeting with the Tampa Bay Lightning, which should have been fairly mundane; but the hockey gods were bored that night. Sergei Gonchar dislocated his shoulder on a late hit and it ended up needing surgery to repair it. With Sarge out for up to six months, the power play that could be sporadic at time lost its quarterback and number one defenseman; so the team and the coach set out to regroup and after a decent preseason, they headed to Sweden to open the year against the same team that lured 3 of their mates down south. It was a good trip for them, splitting the games; and they were able to keep a decent winning pattern through the end of November which was probably one of their best months of the season.

Then the wheels began to fall off screw by screw, axle by axle, until finally December came and went as did January with only ten wins combined in those two months. Something had to change, and we fans weren't sure what it was; but it needed to be soon if they were going to make the postseason and break the "Finals curse". Finally, the powers that be in the Penguins front office had had enough, and on February 15th, Michel Therrien was fired. Honestly, I was surprised it took as long as it did. From all the sources around the league that I read it appeared there had been a mutiny brewing and there were times that it was pretty evident in the game play and the scores in those games. I could never figure out what exactly it was about Mike that the boys had issues with; but then I'm just some chick 3000 miles away; I'm not in that locker room every day with them. Maybe it was just a whole bunch of small things that turned into a bigger one, like a rubber band ball that you keep adding too until it's the size of your cat. I think that this ball got really really big and finally one time he gave it one push forward too many and it rolled back on him.

A few days later, the Pens management promoted Dan Bylsma, who had been a player just a few years before and was the coach of the babyPens in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as the interim coach. There were also a few other new faces on the bench with Disco Dan a few weeks later with the promotion of Tom Fitzgerald to Assistant Coach, the gaining of Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz through trades and grabbing Craig Adams off the waiver wire. These moves were questioned at the time, but at usual, GMRS knew what he was doing way before he ever pulled the trigger. The only bad thing about the Kunitz trade was the loss of d-man Ryan Whitney. He was and is a fan favorite, but I think he needed a change of scenery; and seeing his play with the Ducks the last part of the season as well as the Ducks' own amazing run through the playoffs, I think it was a win-win on both sides.

Once Disco Dan got settled into his office at the Mellon, it was almost like we were brought into a parallel world. The boys were smiling and playing better; and the most important thing was that they were winning! In fact they went 18–3–4, including 10–1–2 in March, and lost only one home game. After being at .500 and in 10th place in the conference at one point it looked like the Pens might just have a chance to go for Lord Stanley again. The Pens were in 4th place at the end of the season and had home ice; but in 5th place was their arch rival, the Flyers.

The Conference Finals with them last year was brutal and the regular season games were no picnic; but with the new attitude that Bing and the boys had, we fans were pretty confident that they could handle it. And handle it they did in 5 games, which made all Pens fans smile. Then came the Washington Capitals which was probably the most exciting 7 game series I've ever seen, and included dueling hat-tricks by Ovechkin and Sid in game 2. It was ups and downs and here and there and in the end, the boys were victorious. Then a bit of a break again the Carolina Hurricanes, going only 4 games and the sweep. The Canes were gassed by the time the Pens got to them after two brutal 7 game series of their own against the Bruins and the Devils; and they just got clobbered by the black and gold machine that Danny B had built over the past few months.

Then... just as they were celebrating winning the Prince of Wales trophy, it happened: The Wings repeated as Campbell Conference Champs and a rematch of last year's finals was on. This series started pretty much like last year's, minus Fleur falling on his face at the Joe; but there were some differences. Last year they looked totally outplayed where this time they looked like they had more confidence and were holding their own. Then when it went back to Mellon, of course, they were light's out; and along came game 5 back at JLA. As awful and badly as the game was for our boys in black, I really think it helped them step back and focus... really get their shit together and snap out of whatever funk they had been there when they were on the road. Game 6 was a repeat of 2 and 3; which meant one thing and that was game 7 back in Detroit. It was like Rocky and Apollo Creed in the second Rocky movie where they're both lying on the mat gasping for breath and finally Rocky pulls himself back up and wins.

That was what happened last night at the Joe. The Penguins, who had been to Hell and back, had finally gotten to that place where kids dream about in their driveways. I started to cry when the horn sounded... not all out sobbing, but a few tears in my eyes. They were for not only the boys who had never won it like Sarge and Miro and the young guys who worked so hard during the year, as well as Disco losing game 7 as a player in '03; but because 4 months ago this would have not been even thought possible, yet here it was.

Anyway... I've babbled on far too long. Gonna go catch a nap; but first a few videos...

A montage of the player intros they have on the Ceeb including Disco and TommyFitz...

Fleur and his potty mouth...

and TSN's really awesome closing montage...

ZOMG!

2009-06-13T01:17:00.000-04:00

There will be a real update in the morning; but until then...

YES WE DID!

Game 7

2009-06-12T07:21:00.000-04:00

Not being a hockey player (or anything close to being an athlete) I don't think I can really understand what the Wings and Pens are thinking this morning. Did they sleep last night or just imagine what tonight will be like? I think at one point or another we've all wanted something so badly we could almost taste it, but I doubt many of us have dreamed of a situation like the players grew up dreaming about. I mean come on, we've all heard the players talk about when they were kids, pretending to skate with the cup after winning it in OT of game 7... tonight it's for real.

I'm playing Switzerland about the game (which is sorta surprising as my Michigan heritage puts cheering on the Wings in my DNA but many of my friends have tried to convert me to the Black and Gold and hell if it's not working) but Friend of Chuckers Su posted this little gem of a video and I thought I'd post it here. Say what you will about the content, it's a nice bit of editing.

Now on to other hockey news (wait, there is some?):

Along with the LOLZ of Heatley wanting out of Ottawa, it seems that the Flyers have a new goalie.

As Amy pointed out elsewhere, "BTW, Jeff Carter? Nice outfit, douchebag." I'm all on board with her commentary. This reminds me of the NHL awards show several years ago when Brad Richards didn't wear a tie to the event. Seriously, is your life so hard that you can't slap a piece of silk around your throat? So back to Carter, is your summer vacation so thrilling, you can't find a suit for a presser? Stay classy.

I think once the game is done (thus ending the season once again, but the good news is that all teams will be on equal ground come fall), we'll take on the NHL awards and maybe the draft (though admittedly Amy knows more about the junior kids that I do). After those two events it's Free Agency Free For All (aka July 1). There are some pretty big movers out there - where will they land?

Disappointing news on the reading front. Our bookmobile broke down so I was not able to pick up Searching for Bobby Orr as planned. Hopefully next week.

Until next time, happy hockey and game the hell on!

Believe!

2009-06-10T12:22:00.000-04:00

That is the phrase that millions of citizens of Penguins Nation are saying today, as am I; however, there are quite a few fans from Moose Country in the AHL that are also quite happy this morning.

Our boys from up in the Peg also faced elimination last night in the form of the Calder Cup Finals last night; but they found it in themselves to get down to some srs bzns and they were able beat the Hershey Bears in Game 5. They'll head back to Manitoba for Game 6 on Friday night and hopefully there will be a game 7 in that series as well.

Friday night will be a busy one on the internet and in my living room watching the Pens try to parlay last night's craziness and passion into a win; as well as keeping up with the Moose on the net. I just wish that the NHL network was showing the games... hell, I wish they showed more games in general from the AHL on there.

After Saturday night I was down and I'll admit I had some serious doubts about how the Pens would come back out after getting the crap kicked out of them. Does that make me a bad fan? No, it makes me realistic; but I was very happy to see that they were so focused and driven last night. I shouldn't have doubted Steve and Co. though; considering the way this team has come back from so many ups and downs this season that they should be renamed the Weebles... Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.

Anywho... that was about from me this morning. Oh, and one more thing that is very LOLZ-worthy for a Pens fan. The Flyers have agreed to terms for a one year deal with ticking time-bomb Ray Emery. It seems that they want him to come back from his self imposed exile in Russia and see if he can do better than Marty Biron did this year. Um... okay; it should be very interesting to see how and even if he meshes with that bunch there in Philly. All I can say is that I can't think of a team that deserves him more.

Have a good one, y'all and GO PENS!

The French have a saying....

2009-06-10T06:54:00.000-04:00

When I saw that Dany Heatley wants out of Ottawa, "Quelle surpise" came to mind. It seems that when he signed his 6 year contract with them, he was on top of the world (and I should point out, that Ottawa did not suck this badly) but now that the Sens are cellar dwellers (which I LOVE, for the record) he wants to go to another team.

Ok, I get it that when you literally get away with murder in a southern American town, things could get tough and I guess that trade request was mildly less distasteful. (Which brings to mind that he might be the first person in the history of American criminal justice to successfully deploy the "I'm sorry defense". I can just see the judge now: "Mr. Heatley, you were driving recklessly through a neighborhood in your fancy car, crashed and it killed your best friend? But you're sorry? Well ok, community service it is.") But now he wants out just because the team stinks and it's not what he signed on for? While we are talking phrases from around the world, Texans have one too: Tough Shit. Heater I have some advice for you. Put your skates, shut up, and play. Oh and get your teeth fixed. You look like an idiot.

Now on to better things: how about that game last night?? Friend of the Chuckers Lisa was there and her favorite boy finally got into game action. I'm very happy for her and ya know, the Pens played a hell of a game. Great saves by Fleury AND Rob "The Piece" Scuderi helped seal the deal. On the other side, Ozzie looked pretty damn impressive for most of the game as well. Bring on game 7 boys...it should be a good one.

In a blatant rip off job, I'm stealing a thing from one of the blogs we read, The Goose's Roost. They are doing a read along and while I'm not joining in, I will start reading one of their suggestions tonight. Searching for Bobby Orr is waiting for pick up by me at the rolling library we call the Bookmobile. I'll let you know how I like it.

I can't help but feel a little robbed when I see footage of him playing. I realize that every generation has its great stars of the game, but I feel like I've missed something not being able to see Bobby skate. Can you imagine seeing a defenseman score 120 points? I know it's a different world now in the game we love but men like Orr, Howe (my favorite number 9; saying that would get me kicked out of Montreal but I'm ok with that), even Hull made the game different than what it was and more like the game we have today. I wish I could have seen it.

Speaking of Gordie, the AP (picked up by The Freep and Yahoo) has a story about how he's having a tough time after Colleen. Not only does it highlight her accomplishments (seriously, could you see Mario Lemieux's wife doing the stuff Colleen did? Or Lisa Yzerman? And that's not a knock on them, honest, Colleen was just special that way.) but it shows a side of Gordie that not everyone might realize.

[Kris]Draper’s 7-year-old son might keep the tradition going after a recent talk with Howe.

“He said to Gordie, ‘Why did you want to be a hockey player?’ Draper recalled. “And Gordie said, ‘I loved it when I was a kid and when I was playing, and I still love it. And my son said, ‘Mr. Howe, I love it, too.’ How awesome is it that a 7-year-old boy can go up to Mr. Hockey and have a chat like that?”

This is Gordie Howe. But I know of a similar story like that (and I'm sure there are thousands more just like it). A friend of mine was up in Traverse City with her son's youth hockey team for a tournament and they stopped into a convenience store to get sodas and snacks and they run into Gordie. He took time to talk to each of the boys and found out what they were up to and spent like 15 minutes with them. Then at the game, my friend saw Gordie in the stands watching the kids. That is a special sort of guy.

I'm sure I had more profound things to say but for the life of me I can't remember them now. So until next time, happy hockey and hopefully an awesome game 7 on Friday. Oh and a side note, what are the odds of this happening? The Pens will be playing hockey in Detroit on Friday and the Tigers will be playing baseball in Pittsburgh. Huh.

If you're happy and you know it....

2009-06-03T16:33:00.000-04:00

YUK IT UP!

Looks like the Pens boys had a good practice today and they're feeling quite good about things going into tomorrow's game 4.

I got my own really good feeling watching them last night; especially in the third period. It gave me cause to hope that they would be able to hold on and they did; but it was torture on an already unstable tummy. Like just about every game of the Washington series, every time the Pens got a one goal lead; I would hope that they could get another so there was a cushion since there are snipers everywhere out there.

So, I still believe; and will be there cheering them on tomorrow night, except I won't be watching the first period. Being out here on the West Coast, I very often don't get home until the first intermission; which is what happened the first 3 rounds and they did well. Well, I thought I would tempt fate and watch the first this weekend; and we know what happened there. So, I will be watching via the web on my phone for the rest of the series! Woooooooooooooo!

Anyway, just a little drive-by post to say hi and I'm not dead; and GO PENS!

Brooksie looking pensive....

The Captain, all srs bzns....

A gaggle of giggles with Fleur, Max and Geno....

and the lovely Disco Dan...

why post when this says it all?

2009-06-01T06:14:00.000-04:00

In my daily blog-a-thon, I came across an article on one of my favorite blogs (mainly about Buffalo sports, the Red Sox [which I can forgive them for], and other things on life in general.) and found this gem:

The Goose's Roost: Big Clouds

Ryan always does a great job and I think you should go read it.

Wow. I admit I missed the last say ten minutes of the game last night because Max was being a pill. Malkin was ejected and the league over ruled the suspension. I have many many friends who are Pens fans, but if I ever hear how the Wings get special treatment again, I'm pointing to this very incident. How can that NOT be message sending? Way to go NHL. Proving once again that rules don't apply to your superstars (cross reference: Ovechkin, Alexander and hits, knee on knee).

The Brett Hull GM experiment in Dallas is over. I'd laugh but it's really not all that funny anymore. Joe Nieuwendyk is now in place in yet another attempt to give the South Stars some sort of credibility. Good for Joe as I've always liked him and thought he had a pretty strong hockey mind. I don't think he's the next Bob Gainey but maybe he'll surprise me.

Watching games on NBC this weekend makes me wonder why the NHL even bothers with 'em. Versus isn't pretty but they at least LIKE hockey. There is the potential for only two more games in this hockey season and that makes me sorta sad.

It's gonna be a long summer.

Game one o rama

2009-05-30T17:33:00.000-04:00

Well it begins. Pens v Wings. I think I might have mentioned this but for the first time I don't feel all stressed out over the outcome of this series. I'll be happy with either team winning. That's something new for me.

There are compelling stories on both sides: Ozzie being sent home in the season to 'find his game' only to be 4 games from back to back cups. That guy who was on Pittsburgh's team is now on the Wings team (I don't mention his name only because I am sick to DEATH of hearing about it). Babcock and Sykora being in Anaheim together. Sid in an ad saying "I never want to be in this picture again" and playing like he will uphold that statement. Lots of things to root for.

So I will sit back, have dinner and put on the two hours of pregame hype on NHL Network. And breathe easy because I know that which ever captain hoists that cup over his head, I will be happy for him and his team.

Well that was interesting....

2009-05-27T07:38:00.000-04:00

Gonna start out this morning on a bit of a serious note, the NHL alumni lost one of it's own. Peter Zezel lost his long fight with a blood disorder. There is a lot of praise about him today and what sort of good man he was. It's too bad he's gone. "In his typical character of generosity, Peter donated his organs through the Trillium Gift of Life Network." Good to the end.

Now to the game: I had to work last night so I missed a large hunk of the game last night and came home in time to see Billy G score the third goal. With apologies to Friend of Chuckers Jenni...what a game. I know you were there cheering on your boys and I'm sorry that it had to end that way but at least they made it that far, right?

When Sid picked up the trophy I thought for sure he'd lost his ever lovin' mind. I mean really, last year when he skated up to the little table, he looked as if he was seeing Tara Reid covered with cooties (who would have thought those two things were not mutually exclusive?). But this year, he wanted it - took it with two hands and everything. Good on him for trying to change things up.

As Chucker Amy said (and by said I mean sent an IM as she is across the nation from me) to me while we were watching "Sid is kinda short." She pointed out this little tidbit as he was standing next to Geno and Gonch. Very astute! :)

Puck Daddy has a story this morning about a possible Craps/steriods link. I was about to get all "look, look, cheaters never prosper!!" but then thought, why bother? *shrugs*

Wings play tonight and with some luck they will close it out. If they do, game one of the final will be on Saturday. If the Hawks pull out a win, the Final wont start until THE FIFTH OF JUNE. What's up with that? Stupid NBC is up with that. Why do they have hockey if they don't care about it?

So to sum up: Hockey lost a good guy, the Pens are a decent hockey team, the Craps are funny, and NBC sucks.

HERE WE GO RED WINGS, HERE WE GO!! *clap clap*

Things!

2009-05-23T19:28:00.000-04:00

Game three of the Penguins v Canes series is just about to start and unfortunately, I'm stuck with Versus. I don't mind it so much but Joe Benenati and Daryl "Razor" Reaugh are calling the games.

But listen, Razor? You are an idiot. The Pens head coach is not Dan By-Al-sma. It's BILES-mah. Hell, even Benenati gets it right. Take a clue from your play by play guy. Go back to Dallas games where no one cares if you butcher a name.

The Wings/Chicago game last night was interesting. The Hawks had the first; the Wings had the second. Sharp's goal was pretty sweet so I don't feel so bad about the loss.

A prime example of why I say I'm stuck with Versus (in an IM with my CaP cohort):

Amy: shit... it's loud in there [in Carolina's barn]
Me: that's what I hear.
Amy: are they showing it
Me: oh I had an MMA ad. *cries*

I really don't care about ultimate cage fighting or bull riding or that crap sports soup (or their new show the web cam ones? Ugh, people get a blog and get off tv)

But it's what I have and I shouldn't complain as a lot of folks don't even have Versus.

Alright. Game on!

ps- the most annoying ad out there right now has to be that click it or ticket ad where the guy beeps all day. I hate that. No really I do.

It's round three already?

2009-05-17T12:18:00.000-04:00

Game one of round three is in 3 hours. We're just a bit on the late side round here.

Quick picks now with some explanation later. I see a rematch of last years final: Wings and Pens.

Amy edit this when you can with your picks! Though since you are rooting for the Hawks....maybe don't :P

Edit: Yes, I am rooting for the Hawks after watching them destroy my boys from BC. :D And I too think it's going to be a repeat of last year's Finals, but I don't see it being easy for any of the teams.

Momma, Look Sharp

2009-05-12T13:21:00.000-04:00

I should have posted this Sunday, but since we were busy out celebrating, I will do it this morning.

It's a great thing that Mother's Day falls during the NHL playoffs and almost destined to be since it's from my mom that I get my love of hockey. She was raised here in the Northwest, like me, and her father liked sports; so she grew up watching the CBC and Hockey Night in Canada. Once she had her own household which included my dad and my sister and me, that tradition of watching hockey has continued.

This was before the Internet and the plethora of cable channels that carry sports as well as we didn't have hockey in Everett, so that one game a week made it more special or at least until ESPN started broadcasting the NHL. We would sit with her and watch teams from all over Canada and the States play and we didn't care who won, since the Canucks were usually only on maybe once a year being on the West Coast. It was a happy day at our house when I was in high school because after HNIC went to a double header that meant we could see the boys in BC that much more.

Well, my sister usually watched about a period with us then got bored and went up to her room as did my dad; but Mom and I watched the whole thing. One of our favorite parts was and still is guessing what hideous coat Don Cherry will be wearing that night and what asinine thing he's going to say. She would be out fixing a snack and I would call out "Hey... Don's on after this commercial!" and she'd hurry out with the bowl of popcorn or the cheese and crackers just as Blue was barking in the opening montage.

When the playoffs started, the fun got even more fun. In the 80's it was the Oilers that we rooted for. Well, she rooted along with me since I was in love with Wayne Gretzky then Mark Messier, or I was before he became a complete crybaby douchebag and tried to kill Trevor; but even when that happened, my mom was there for hugs and cookies. Then once we fell in love with Trevor and the Canucks, there was even more cheering and hooting and hollering. Dinner during Stanley Cup playoffs were the best because not only were there games almost every night; but we had a routine for what we would eat in front of the TV. Games 1 and 7 were Chinese, 2 was pizza, and 3-6 were very often an appetizer buffet, spaghetti or hamburgers; and it was so fun to look forward to it.

I guess my point to all of this rambling is not only to put some history on how my love of the game came to be; but that I would like to thank my mom for introducing me to the game. If she hadn't, I'm not sure I would have met the whole bunch of incredible people that are now in my life. I also want to thank her for being there for me when the whole world comes crashing down whether it's hockey related or not: from bad relationships to getting fired to that night fifteen years ago when the dream of my Trevor getting that big shiny bowl was crushed. Even last night she called to commiserate after the games were over. I think she knew that I was in no mood to talk after all of the bad things of the evening were done but in her own way she wanted to make sure I was okay and let me know that she was there.

So, thanks Mom... and let me know whether you want a #5 or #7 for game one of the Conference Finals. :)

Hi there old friend

2009-05-04T08:43:00.000-04:00

Here is my brief recap of the weekend hockey:
1. Chicago scored lots of goals. Vancouver did not.
2. Marc-Andre let in a softie and I still don't like the Craps.
3. I should have stuck to my "no watching OT games in the playoffs" rule.
4. Never underestimate a team with Ronnie Francis behind the net.

Today, I'm looking at the NHL annual award presentations. There are a lot that I don't agree with but I'm gonna just take a look at a few.

Jack Adams award (coach of the year). Nominated are Todd McLellan, Claude Julien, and Andy Murray. I like Todd I really do. I thought he took a talented team and went far with it. Same goes for Claude (who I don't have a personal preference for one way or the other). This award has to go to Andy Murray. Was there a coach out there who did more with less? No. Getting the Blues to 6th in the West was no fluke. This cat can coach.

Bill Masterton Trophy (The player "who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey"). Nominated are Chris Chelios (who contrary to popular, not ever Wing fan loves him. I can't stand him - am I the only person to remember how he used to abuse Stevie? Plus I find his frat boy behavior to be a bit much. He's just gross. That's it. Chris Cheligross. But I digress), Richard Zednik, Steve Sullivan. Honestly if you get your throat sliced open by a teammate on the ice, have the wits about you to make it to the bench so you DON'T DIE, and come back to play the game again.... no matter what anyone else does, you can't top that. Zednik in a landslide.

Calder (rookie of the year). Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason, Anaheim Ducks forward Bobby Ryan and Chicago Blackhawks forward Kris Versteeg are all up for this award. As much as my counterpart loves her Bobby, I gotta put my vote (like I have a say) toward Mason. His record alone puts him up there as top 'tender but the fact that he's a rookie and had ten shutouts? Has a rookie goalie since Roy done that? Did Roy do that? Yeah, I'm plugging for Mason.

Hart (writers MVP). I'm really not liking the candidates for this one. Way back when, this award was not automatically to the best player in the league, but to the player judged to be most valuable to his team. I mean props to Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Pavel Datsyuk, but I don't think they were the most valuable to their teams. All important to their teams, yes. That's a given. But where would the Bruins be without Thomas? Where would Chicago be without Kane or Toews? Nashville without Sullivan? The Devils without that goalie not named Marty (Clemmensen, I know.)? I mean really, those teams had guys who were more important overall. I'm not going to pick a winner here because it's sadly become a popularity contest. I'm more interested in the Pearson award anyway.

Norris (Top defenseman). Again this award has changed in meaning. No longer is the best defenseman always nominated. When Lidstrom wins, I think it's fair. I'm not being a homer here. Find me a better defenseman and I'll listen to the argument. But Lidstrom is rarely out of position and makes the game look easy. Games where you don't hear about him just means he's doing his job. This year, he's nominated again along with Chara and Green. While I have no problems with ~~the baby eater~~ Chara, it's Green I do. On most nights, he's a disaster on the blue line. Yes, he gets his points and his plus ratings but I just don't see him as one of the Top DEFENSEmen of the league. Offsensman, sure. Give him the Paul Coffee award or something, but not the Norris. It's a toss up for me between Nick and Chara.

Vezina (best goalie). Steve Mason, Minnesota Wild's Niklas Backstrom, and Tim Thomas nominated. There is that Mason kid again. I think it's a feel good story for Thomas to be nominated and I'd be ok if he won. He back stopped a team that vied for the President's trophy all year. He's one hell of a goalie. I've pitched my thoughts for Mason as MVP, I think it's safe to say I'd be ok with him winning the Vezina. I honestly don't know about Backstrom as I found the Wild just painful to watch this season.

There are other awards out there but I don't really have an opinion one way or the other. Have an opinion, share it please. I've probably picked all the non winners but hey, that's what blogging is all about right?

See that tag called "overtagging"? That's what happens when you have too many tags. I had to edit my tags. What the frak?

Until next time, happy hockey!

Loser! Loser! Best baby in the WORLD!

2009-04-30T15:22:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's a lovely day here at Chukker Central. Not only is it sun shining here in the great NW, but Round Two of the playoffs starts tonight with a battle of Bobby Lu and his Canucks versus Johnny Dakota and the Blackhawks.

As we did in the first round, Lisa and I have taken it upon ourselves to give our separate predictions, as we have a few differences of opinion. :)

Lisa's predictions:
Alright here we go. Round two of the big boys starts tonight with just one game on the docket but it could be the start of a very rough and tumble fight night sort of series.

Since it’s the game tonight and Amy’s favorite team, we’ll start in the West with the new second seed.

Vancouver v Chicago: Remember about a month or so ago when these two teams met in Chicago and it melted into a slug fest? These two teams really don’t like each other. It could come down to a battle of hot goaltenders. I think Vancouver will pull this one off in 6.

Detroit v Anaheim: Amy and I are gonna not hold our picks in this one against each other. Detroit will be rested (hopefully not rusty) and Anaheim had a long series against a good team (who granted, mailed a lot of that series in). I’m hoping Detroit doesn’t look past this round as they have been known to do, but I’m taking ‘em in 7.

In the east we’ve got two other series that should have some great hockey. I say should because you never know right?

Boston v Carolina: I’m tempted to pick Carolina just so the “Did you know that the Staals are brothers?” drinking game can stay alive (yeah, that’s a hint for the second pairing) but I don’t think the Canes can do it two rounds in a row. The Bruins have too many weapons to toss at you. You want a high scoring game, ok, the Bs can do that. You want a grinder? They can do that too. You get past the D? Hi there Mr. Thomas. Bruins in 5.

Washington D. C. v Pittsburgh: I wanna say Pens in 4 but I’m a realist. The Craps have a good team and a hot goaltender. But I think the Pens will pull this one out in 6 again.

And what so I say?

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Boston v Carolina: She pretty much said what I would say... Bruins in 5.

Washington D. C. v Pittsburgh: I hope that the Rangers wore out the Craps out; but they're young so I'm sure they'll bounce back. It's not going to quite as physical as the series with Philly; but there are going to be a lot of bumps, bruises and hopefully some free candy given out. :) Pens in 6.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Detroit v Anaheim: It's a good thing we love each other because inevitably our two teams meet and it's really hard to talk hockey to each other when they do. So, what do I say? I know that you can never ever take the Wings lightly, but the series they had two years ago was a doozy. I'm going to have to go with my gut again as well as my heart and hold tight to my Ducks after the major jobbing they laid on the Sharks.... Ducks in 7.

Vancouver v Chicago: I think the Blackhawks have a lot of weapons that people forget about and they're going to match much better with the Canucks than with the Flames; but then the Canucks have all of their weapons on board unlike the boys from Alberta. It's gonna be a slugfest and I'm going to love every minute of it! I agree with Lisa about this one... Canucks in 6

And there is also some good stuff found on the web the last few days:

Lisa sent this clip with our good pal Cabbie on the street...

A fun piece about Sid in Rimouski that I stumbled upon this morning. The video and sound don't quite match up, but it's good anyway; and a big CaP favorite in Monsieur Lecavalier has a guest spot in here too...

And for those of you who are not able to see television from Canuckistan, I have some great commercials that you may or may not have seen...

First are the Molson Canadian hockey ads. I love love love the goalie with the Cheetos!...

and finally, the fabulous Mr. Bobby Orr and his Mastercard ad...

Give me an A.... an H.... an L!

2009-04-29T13:20:00.000-04:00

Yes, my friends... the AHL is now into the second round of the playoffs, and I hope it's going to be as exciting as the first.

Atlantic Division Finals – Series “I” (best-of-7)
A2-Providence Bruins vs. A4-Worcester Sharks
Game 1 – Tue., Apr. 28 – Worcester at Providence, 3-2 P-Bruins in OT
Game 2 – Wed., May 6 – Providence at Worcester, 7:05
Game 3 – Fri., May 8 – Worcester at Providence, 7:05
Game 4 – Sat., May 9 – Providence at Worcester, 7:05
*Game 5 – Mon., May 11 – Worcester at Providence, 7:05
*Game 6 – Wed., May 13 – Providence at Worcester, 7:05
*Game 7 – Thu., May 14 – Worcester at Providence, 7:05

This one is hard for me to choose who to root for since there are a whole lot of WHL boys and former Tips on both teams; but I have to give my support to the P-Bruins since I know Zach Hamill a lot better.

East Division Finals – Series “J” (best-of-7)
E1-Hershey Bears vs. E3-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Game 1 – Sat., May 2 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 7:00
Game 2 – Sun., May 3 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 5:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 6 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Game 4 – Fri., May 8 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., May 9 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 6 – Sun., May 10 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 5:00
*Game 7 – Tue., May 12 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 7:00

No question... have to go with Curry, Caputi, and all the rest of the baby Pens.

North Division Finals – Series “K” (best-of-7)
N1-Manitoba Moose vs. N3-Grand Rapids Griffins
Game 1 – Fri., May 1 – Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 2 – Sat., May 2 – Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 3 – Mon., May 4 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 4 – Wed., May 6 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 5 – Fri., May 8 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 6 – Sun., May 10 – Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 7 – Tue., May 12 – Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 8:30

GO MOOSE GO! GO MOOSE GO! They're the baby Canucks and with our good pals Shaun Heshka, Taylor Ellington and Michael Grabner on the team as well as their crusty captain Mike Keane and fabulous goalie Cory Schneider, I'm going with the boys from the Peg.

West Division Finals – Series “L” (best-of-7)
W1-Milwaukee Admirals vs. W3-Houston Aeros
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 30 – Houston at Milwaukee, 8:00
Game 2 – Sat., May 2 – Houston at Milwaukee, 8:00
Game 3 – Tue., May 5 – Milwaukee at Houston, 8:05
Game 4 – Thu., May 7 – Milwaukee at Houston, 8:05
*Game 5 – Fri. or Sat., May 8 or 9 – Milwaukee at Houston, 8:35
*Game 6 – Mon., May 11 – Houston at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 13 – Houston at Milwaukee, 8:00

And last but not least is the West, and as good as Milwaukee is, I have to pick Houston. They might be a little tired from their long series with Peoria, but I think they're scrappy enough that they could pull this off.

But that is about all from me today. Lisa and I will getting together and posting our predictions for round 2 of the big boys; we did not do too bad on round one!

Round one recap

2009-04-28T07:31:00.000-04:00

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's not over yet but close enough for government work and hand grenades.

Starting in the East:
Boston v Montreal. Wow, talk about manhandled? Montreal didn't even make this one close. Boston win in 4

Washington v Rangers. I hoped for a long bloody 7 game series. A little less blood for my liking, but it's going 7 at least. I thought the Craps coach had lost his mind when he replaces Jose, but that just goes to you why I'm not a coach.

New Jersey v Carolina. I think both Amy and I said this could go either way; sure enough, game 7 is also tonight.

Pittsburgh v Philly. Ha. Oh, sorry. I was worried after the Pens game 5 beat down and game 6 start going down 3-0, but they turned it around with a fight from Superstar Max Talbot. Nice work Max. Pens win this one in 6.

This little tidbit from one of the Pittsburgh papers about Sid made me laugh a bit.

"They hate him here," Penguins winger Pascal Dupuis said. "I mean, they really hate him — chanting that he (stinks) every time he's on the ice, and even when he's not.

"They started it during ('God Bless America') today, and I kept thinking, 'Keep going, keep it up and make him want this even more.'

Will the Flyers fans ever learn?

Things are a little more settled in the wild wild west.

San Jose v Anaheim. Holy upset, Batman (well except Amy called it). Not only does this kill my hockey brackets, it's gotta be hard for Detroit favorite Todd McLellan, but Anaheim just wanted it more. Hiller has officially stolen the job from Jiggy (and when ever I hear his name, I think I'm hearing Miller; so when they both play, it's nuts). Ducks win in 6.

Detroit v Columbus. This was a hard series for me to watch. As much as I love the Wings, I wanted Columbus to show up a little more than they did. Game 4 was great for them and their fans, but much like the Boston series, it wasn't even close. Wings win in 4.

Vancouver v Blues. This was also a sweep for the good boys north of the border. Amy and I talked about this, wondering if the Blues had to push so hard at the end of the season just to get into the playoffs, they were gassed in the end. Good on them though for bringing back the post season to a starved fan base. Nucks win in 4.

Chicago v Calgary. This one started out ugly and didn't disappoint! As much as it pains me to say this, I'm glad Chicago won. (I might have lost my pass to Wings Heaven for that one). There is just something I don't like about Calgary. Amy would say it's the coach but I think there is something else. Chicago takes it in 6.

We got some right and some wrong. We're not perfect :D But there has been some really good hockey played so we're all winners. Ok, end the super cheese section of the entry.

The bracket is almost set for round two and after tonight, we'll know who plays where.

Until next time, happy hockey.

Swiss, Swiss Baby!

2009-04-27T15:26:00.000-04:00

Good morning from the Northwest corner of the country! We here at CaP are watching the progress of the NHL playoffs as well as the AHL and the ECHL; but we're both also big fans of the IIHF. As sad as it is when some of the teams don't get to make the playoffs or are dismissed early in the first round, it's always fun to see those boys who are chosen to play for their countries and a shiny medal instead of that big shiny cup.

The tournament is in the lovely country of Switzerland this year with round robin play in the two cities of Bern and Zurich, then from the quarter-finals on they will stay in Bern.

I personally love this tournament because we get to see hockey on that big sheet of ice and how much pride not only the players have; but how wonderfully crazy the fans get for their country. It's also cool how every year how hockey seems to be growing within Europe and how some of the old powers are getting caught up to by countries like Norway and Denmark and Hungary.

It's also nice to see some of the boys who used to be in the NHL as well as discover some new favorites who may some day cross the pond. It's like a mini Olympics in a way; but without all the pressure of the games to get in the way.

The IIHF tournament page is a wealth of information not only with the teams, the games and the locations.

The US squad won again today, 6-1, against Buffalo Sabre Thomas Vanek and the Austrians; and I leave you with a picture from this morning's game.

West Coast Story

2009-04-23T15:02:00.000-04:00

As Lisa said, I have been following the Ducks and Sharks quite closely. In the three games played so far, it's been quite entertaining and the fans have definitely gotten their money's worth, especially those of Les Canards. To be quite honest, as much as I love the team I was a bit surprised that they were able to get out of the SharkTank with both wins; but considering how they stormed through the last few weeks of the season, I'm not totally shocked.

The best game of all has been game 3, which was the first one that the Sharks have won; but it was still a dog fight from the word go. It was also an amazing display of offense from defenseman who scored 5 of the 7 goals that night as well as 4 of the assists. Also scoring was PattyMarleau for the first time, which was nice to see, even as a Duck fan.

So tonight, they're back at the Pond for game 4, and I hope that the Ducks can take a 3-1 lead; but I have a feeling that even if they do lose the Sharkies won't go down easy.

Since Lisa talked about the rest of the NHL schedule for tonight, I'll go with the A. In the AHL tonight, three teams that have ties to the Silvertips are going for a third win and a lead in their series: Riley Armstrong and the Worchester Sharks, Zach Hamill and the Providence Bruins; and Taylor Ellington and Shaun Heshka with the Manitoba Moose.

There was a barn burner last night with the Peoria Rivermen and the Houston Aeros in game 5 with Mitch Love, John Lammers and the Aeros coming back from down two goals to win in overtime. Now they will go for the series win on Saturday night.

So, it's almost lunch time here in the NW corner of the country and I'll leave you with a few clips I have found...

Marty Broduer's hissy fit...

Mike Commodore not quite timing this hip check right...

and the handshake and interview with Alex Burrows from Tuesday night in St. Louis. Be sure to watch it in HD... it's lovely!

two series are over, will there be a third tonight?

2009-04-23T09:25:00.000-04:00

The Boston Bruins and Amy's Vancouver Canucks are through to the second round with pretty tidy sweeps (no pun intended) of their first round opponents. I think the Blues just had to push so hard to get in, they were worn to the quick (and I think their injuries throughout the season finally caught up with them). I'm not gonna lie (Amy, cover your ears and eyes), I was rooting for the Blues. Not only because their captain is a favorite of CaP, but darn it all, they are/were a scrappy team fighting when no one game them an ounce of credit.

And as for the Habs...did anyone really think they'd win 4 against Boston?

I wish the things I said about the Blues could apply to the Blue Jackets. Even if they manage to get a win tonight, I think, as they say, you can put a fork in them. I just can't see them winning four straight right now. Not with Nash not scoring (or anyone not scoring for that matter) and Mason looking very much like the rookie he is (which on a side note, he was nominated for Rookie of the Year and if there is any justice he will get it).

That leaves us with some interesting series. Chicago and Calgary. Man, that one is getting down right dirty. I LOVE IT! It's great playoff hockey and I hope it goes 7 games. Not in the way I hope the Craps and the Ranger$ go seven games. I'm actually enjoying the Calgary/Chicago series. I could give a rat's ass about the Craps or Ranger$ and hope for bloody long triple overtime games to wear them out for round two.

But since I opened that door, I might as well walk through it. Henrik has been stellar, no surprise there. He seems to play better in the playoffs. Granted, I have no stats to back that up with... it's just a hunch. Avery took a stupid penalty? I'm shocked! SHOCKED. Ok, not really, but I am sorta surprised that combined, Ovechkin and Green have one goal. I mean come on, OV has 209,732 shots. Well fine, 35 but still, since he's the greatest player EVAR, I'd figure he'd have more to show for all that. In comparison, Malkin has 4 goals on 13 shots.

More open doors: Pittsburgh has looked really strong in most of their games against the Flyers. I think Sunday's game was an exception really and they'll get back on track tonight to hopefully close out the series. Philly could surprise me, but I'm hoping not.

I'll save the California series for Amy to chat up (since I've been bang on with my prediction of "too bad I will miss most of it being in the Eastern time zone"; she at least can stay awake to see the end of the games). And hopefully she'll have some fun new clips to share too (she's so much better at finding that stuff than I am!)

Oh, did you know we (Amy and I) are both on Facebook? She's been there a while and I'm just joining the cool kids and started yesterday. Hit us up!

Until next time, happy hockey!

Monday, Monday....

2009-04-20T13:32:00.000-04:00

Good morning campers! It's a lovely day here at Chica Central NW; and it's been a very interesting weekend with all the good hockey games.

To catch up with all the series in case you haven't been watching:

Eastern Conference
Montreal VS Boston
BOS leads 2-0

New York VS Washington
NYR leads 2-0

Carolina VS New Jersey
NJD leads 2-1

Philadelphia VS Pittsburgh
PIT leads 2-1

Western Conference
Anaheim VS San Jose
ANA leads 2-0

Columbus VS Detroit
DET leads 2-0

St. Louis VS Vancouver
VAN leads 3-0

Calgary VS Chicago
CHI leads 2-0
***********************************

I want to give a shout out to one of my baby boys, Byron Froese. As part of the U-18 team for Team Canada, he had a great tournament at the U-18 Worlds. However, the boys with the leaf on their chest ran against the Americans then the Finns, and ended up 4th. Still, it was a great tournament for him and got a lot of good exposure with the draft folks and some scouts. Go Byron! :)

Anyway... not a whole lot of other stuff that I have time for today; but I love this article about one of our top favorites here at CAP, Rick Nash and his eating habits. The boy loves dairy it seems! :D

Have a good day and hope your team has a good game tonight if they're playing!

Is it 4 o'clock yet?

2009-04-17T13:58:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! Lisa is entertaining one of our good pals this weekend; so I'm rolling solo today. Be kind and don't throw rotten produce!

So, we're done with game 1 of all 8 series and things are par for the course for the most part; but there have been two surprises so far.

The Rangers eeking out a win against the Craps was definitely not something I expected; and last night with the Ducks and Sharks was also one that I thought would turn out so different. That was one that I knew would be good, especially being at the Tank in San Jose; but I can tell you as a Duck fan and having been on the other end of the SJ attack, this shutout was a bit of a surprise.

The rest of the games from the last two days were won by the teams that were supposed to win, and that is good I suppose; but I am hoping for a few more upsets. I'm the girl who always seems to lost the basketball pools because I will choose the higher double digit seeds just in case they might squeak it out. lol But I can't wait for the rest of this round because it's gonna be good no matter who wins.

But anyway... for your viewing pleasure tonight:

Pens vs. Flyers, 7pm EDT/4pm PDT, showing on Versus and the Ceeb
Devils vs. Canes, 7:30 EDT/4:30 PDT, showing on Center Ice and TSN
and the night cap, Nucks vs. Boos, 10pm EDT/7pm PDT, showing on Versus and the Ceeb

And for a little viewing right now are a few little tidbits I've gleaned in the last few days.

A very happy Chris Kunitz after the game Wednesday night talking about his new baby Zachary James, who was born that morning...

http://penguins.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=19&id=39940

Bill Patrick calling the goal scorer for the Hawks/Flames before it happens...

and the best of all...Calgary TV doofus Roger Million drops a naughty phrase on live TV and I think the editor of this clip is going to be looking for work...

That's about it from me today... Oh, I do have one thing more. Mike Keenan? You evil piece of shit? Karma is coming to collect, it's from Trevor Linden and it's COD, bitch! Oh, and that goalie interference? Jordan Leopold bumped Ladd into Kipper... suck it!

Have a great day kids!

The Chuckers take on the playoffs, part 2

2009-04-14T07:53:00.000-04:00

We looked at the Eastern Conference yesterday and today we'll look at the West. Shock and awe baby, shock and awe.

Amy's predictions:

Being 2 hours south of the Canadian border and due north from Los Angeles, it was only natural that I would gravitate not only to a Western Conference team; but also the Vancouver Canucks. What is odd about this is that I started out my hockey life as an Oiler fan since my first hockey boyfriends were from the Oilers. It wasn’t until 1989 that I really began to follow the Canucks and that was because of a skinny young man from Medicine Hat, Alberta who had been drafted as the second pick overall; and I’ve believed in Towel Power ever since.

Detroit Red Wings (112 Pts) 2nd Columbus Blue Jackets (92 Pts) 7th

Regular Season Series: Tied 3 - 3 Nov 28: at Detroit 5, Columbus 3 Jan 6: at Detroit 3, Columbus 0 Jan 27: at Columbus 3, Detroit 2 Feb 13: at Columbus 3, Detroit 2 Mar 7: Columbus 8, at Detroit 2 Mar 15: Detroit 4, at Columbus 0

This series is one of those where the winner cannot be chosen in any other way other than close your eyes and throw a dart. The season series was tied, but a majority of the games were won by three or more goals; so that isn’t really helping. Add to this as well are the Red Wings nearly winning the President’s Cup; but the BlueJackets storming down the last part of the season with some real purpose. And to top it all off, they’re division rivals and know the other well.

I’m gonna have to say it’s going to go long; but I feel that given a few bounces as well as having a couple of Cup winners and Cup finalists on their team, Ricky Nash and Co. can take it in 7.
*********************************************************************

Chicago Blackhawks (104 Pts) 4th Calgary Flames (98 Pts) 5th

Regular Season Series: Chicago wins 4 - 0 Nov 9: at Chicago 6, Calgary 1 Dec 19: Chicago 3, at Calgary 2 Jan 4: at Chicago 5, Calgary 2 Feb 5: Chicago 5, at Calgary 2

No thought needed for this one…. The Flames got their asses handed to them this season by Johnny Dakota and PKane; and I would be so very excited for them to do it again, especially since I hate their coach with every fiber of my being. Hawks in 4.
*********************************************************************************

San Jose Sharks (117 Pts) 1st Anaheim Ducks (91 Pts) 8th

Regular Season Series: San Jose wins 4 - 2 Oct 9: at San Jose 4, Anaheim 1 Oct 17: at Anaheim 4, San Jose 0 Dec 11: at San Jose 2, Anaheim 0 Mar 15: San Jose 1, at Anaheim 0 Apr 4: Anaheim 5, at San Jose 2 Apr 5: San Jose 3, at Anaheim 2

Now we come to the first of the two series that mean something to me. I’ve been a Ducks fan for about 10 years and I’ve been with them all the way since then. One thing about being a Ducks fan is that you’ve done some crying in the playoffs: most of all in 2003 when they had no business being in the playoffs, let alone storming through to the Finals but were beat by a big and tough Devils team; then we cried with Teemu, Pronger and Robbie Nieds as they finally won that big shiny thing in ’07. I know there are guys on the Sharkies that have never won one either like Barfight Joe and PattyMarleau; but I have to go with my heart and say that I think the Ducks are coming together just at the right time to pull off this upset.

So, I say it’s going to be Les Canards in 7 long and hard fought games.
****************************************************************************************

Vancouver Canucks (100 Pts) 3rd St. Louis Blues (92 Pts) 6th

Regular Season Series: Tied 2 - 2 Jan 9: St. Louis 6, at Vancouver 4 Feb 10: Vancouver 6, at St. Louis 4 Mar 19: at Vancouver 3, St. Louis 0 Mar 26: at St. Louis 4, Vancouver 2

The #1 hockey loves of my life other than my baby boys, the boys on Robson Street, have had a really crazy season this year; and I’m still a little in awe of how they managed to get to this place. Not only are they in the playoffs, but they won their division and are the third seed. *squees* 3 months ago, this club was in the depths of a crazy bad slump and were slowly sinking into Horseshoe Bay; but, something miraculous happened. It’s sort of like finally finding that last corner of the 1000 piece puzzle; the boys in blue found out how to win and they kept winning. However, in the four games against the Boos, those boys either had a really good game or a really bad one; but at least they were able to actually win a couple this year.

So, to make a long story longer, even though the Boos have been playing out of their minds the last few weeks, so have the Canucks; and I think it’s going to catch up with St. Louie. I have to go with my head and my gut to pick the Canucks in 6.

Hmmm, she's got some interesting picks there.

Lisa's Predictions:

Detroit Red Wings v Columbus Blue Jackets

Ugh first up is the toughest for me. My Wings. My Team. But I really enjoy the Jackets play (not to mention hubba hubba Ricky Nash). It's tough. On paper, the Wings are probably the better team but the last time I checked, the games were not played on paper, but on ice and that's where anything can happen. There have been too many playoff years where the 'better' Detroit team was out in the first round.

The Jackets have a chance in this one - they bring a lot to the rink and could do some damage against another team. But I think that the Wings have a little too much experience and talent for the Jackets to overcome.

Wings in 6
*********************************************************************

Chicago Blackhawks v Calgary Flames

I'm with Amy on this one but I think the Flames can win one at home with the crowd they have. Maybe not a sweep for the windy city boys but darn close.

Hawks in 5
*********************************************************************************

San Jose Sharks v Anaheim Ducks

This is gonna be the one to watch I think - too bad I will miss most of it being in the Eastern time zone. These two teams have played each other pretty tough and this could go long. In fact, I think it will. But Unlike Amy, I think the Sharks will pull it off.

Sharks in 7
****************************************************************************************

Vancouver Canucks v St. Louis Blues

I watched a lot of Blues games down the stretch (Thank you Center Ice) and really got a feel for 'em. They've lost a lot of key guys (including Chucker Favorite, Eric Brewer) for long stretches of time. Rumors of Paulie Kariya coming back only boost this young talented team.

But the thing is, they are going to be facing one of the best keepers in the league. It could be tough, but I'm gonna pitch this as my upset in the West.

Blues in 6

Again, rush off to Vegas with these picks! Just don't complain to us if you lose your shirt.

For a fun read, check out Empty Netters playoff beard preview. Good calls on all of 'em (especially Chuckers favs Mad Max and SuperDuper of the Pens).

It's raining here today which hardly feels like the eve of the playoffs, but the draft lottery is tonight. The Islanders lead the pack of the downtrodden with the best chance to get the number one pick. Personally? I'm hoping for Colorado to get it to pay off for their lousy season.

Until next time! Happy Hockey and enjoy the playoffs.

The Chuckers take on the playoffs

2009-04-13T07:31:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was the last day of the regular season so Amy and I decided to lay out our predictions for the playoffs. Eastern Conference today and Western Conference tomorrow (or Wednesday...)

So here we go!

Amy's predictions:

Because I have always lived on the West Coast, I never really had a chance to see a lot of the teams in the East except when the Canucks played them or on Hockey Night in Canada every Saturday night; so I never really had any loyalties to any team. This was until the advent of more cable channels to watch the hockey on; as well as the Internet which opened up a whole new world. However, I still only follow one team in the East and that is because they have had a few of my old school favorites on there; as well as they’ve developed a whole new crop of handsome and talented boys on their team. Oh, and their owner is not only tall, dark and Frenchly handsome...he could play a little puck in his day too.

But here are my picks for the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals….

Montreal Canadiens (93 Pts) 8th Boston Bruins (116 Pts) 1st

Regular Season Series: Boston wins 5 - 1 Oct 15: at Montreal 4, Boston 3 Nov 13: at Boston 6, Montreal 1 Nov 22: Boston 3, at Montreal 2 Jan 13: at Boston 3, Montreal 1 Feb 1: Boston 3, at Montreal 1 Apr 9: at Boston 5, Montreal 4

This go one of two extreme ways: the first, with Boston winning 5 of 6 games in this series, it could be a 4 game sweep. With both of their goalies having had amazing years and all but one of their players healthy; the thought of going up against the Bruins has to be wicked scary for the Habs who have been shaky at best the last few weeks. However, since three of the games were decided by 1 goal and another two were 3-1 differences; it might be closer than the season record looks.

I hope that since last year’s series was so damn close and so horribly exciting, this one is the same; but I have to say Boston in 5.

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Washington Capitals (108 Pts) 2nd New York Rangers (95 Pts) 7th

Regular Season Series: Washington wins 3 - 1 Nov 8: at Washington 3, New York 1 Dec 23: Washington 5, at New York 4 Jan 3: at Washington 2, New York 1 Feb 11: at New York 5, Washington 4

I love this series if for no other reason than we might get to see Sean Avery bug the living shit out of Ovie and Semin then make Backstrom cry. The Craps do have a few guys that can try and keep him under control, but it won’t be easy. I also am curious to see how Jose handles the pressure of being the #1 in the playoffs after the not so great job he did last year in Denver.

I haven’t seen a lot of games with either team or against each other, but I’m going to have to go with my gut and say Craps in 5.

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New Jersey Devils (106 Pts) 3rd Carolina Hurricanes (97 Pts) 6th

Regular Season Series: Carolina wins 3 - 1 Jan 6: at Carolina 3, New Jersey 2 Mar 18: at Carolina 4, New Jersey 2 Mar 28: Carolina 2, at New Jersey 1 Apr 11: at New Jersey 3, Carolina 2

This one, I really don’t care about… truly. But, at first glance, I think that I want to see the Devils out. I still have a little bit of hate left from the 2003 Finals and I’m always tired of hearing about Marty; but having the Canes out means one less team to be a contestant in the Staal brothers drinking game.

Throwing a dart at this one along with loving their mascot, I have to sway towards the Canes in 6.

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Philadelphia Flyers (99 Pts) 5th Pittsburgh Penguins (99 Pts) 4th

Regular Season Series: Pittsburgh wins 4 - 2 Oct 14: at Pittsburgh 3, Philadelphia 2 Nov 13: at Pittsburgh 5, Philadelphia 4 Dec 13: at Philadelphia 6, Pittsburgh 3 Jan 13: Pittsburgh 4, at Philadelphia 2 Feb 21: Pittsburgh 5, at Philadelphia 4 Mar 22: Philadelphia 3, at Pittsburgh 1

Okay… so, this has to be the one series I am most excited about in the East. Not only do I love Captain Steve and the Penguins; but because if this series is as great as the games were during the regular season, it’s gonna be quite a show. All I can hope is that Geno Malkin gets a chance to not only get a FU shot on French Toast again; but that we can see Scott Hartnell get his ass whupped by just about anyone.

So, not only am I thinking with my heart; but with my head and taking the Pens in 5.

Ok, now that we've heard Amy's picks, it's my turn! I was originally gonna set up a play off series in my Backyard Hockey Nintendo game but until I get the hang of it a little more, I think I'm gonna go with my brain/gut/guesses rather than my skills at a video gamer.

Lisa's predictions

Montreal Canadiens v Boston Bruins

Amy gives the Habs a shot at winning a game in this series but I'm gonna say this is the only sweep of the first round in the East. Boston just looks too good with Timmy in net and that baby eater of a captain they have. I'd like to see Montreal show up, but I think that even if they do, they will be out gunned in all areas.

Boston in 4

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Washington Capitals v New York Rangers

In my heart of hearts, I want to see this series going to 7 games, all of which are double or triple overtime. I want bodies banged up and bruises that last a long time. Watching the Rangers play yesterday in a game that Philly really wanted to win, they looked good (even without their captain). I dunno, this could be a tight series. It may come down to goaltending and I think King Henrik might have it.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Rangers in 6.

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New Jersey Devils v Carolina Hurricanes

Has there been a hotter team than the Hurricanes in the last few weeks? The Staal brothers drinking game aside, this is the series I think could go either way. The Devils know how to win in the playoffs and might have their losing streak out of the way, but Carolina could buzzsaw through them like they've done to a lot of teams lately. Coin toss series. Carolina has a plus in that Friend of Chuckers is a huge fan (and her other team didn't make it in so I'm going with the Canes).

Carolina in 5

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Philadelphia Flyers v Pittsburgh Penguins

Oh boy. This one could get sticky. Biron can steal a game but as Friend of Chuckers Lisa pointed out, Biron can get rattled. A lot has been said about Crosby and Malkin against Richards and Carter. My takes is that this series will boil down to defense (as in which defense can stop who). Free Candy, Scuds and Gonch can shut down a lot of fellas and LeGame can score a few on the rush. Plus the Pens have the Frenchies of SuperDuper and MadMax on their side.

Going with my heart here (because I really don't like the Flyers and hope Biron is with another team next year).

Pens in 6

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Now if I were you, I'd go run off to Vegas with these picks and place your bets. Granted, you will probably lose a lot of money, but that's the rub with gambling. Only bet what you can afford to lose, right?

The schedule is out and Wednesday is the day. We'll be glued to the tv/computer and watching the games. Full reports will most likely follow.

So for now, that's all.
Happy hockey!

We're off to see the Wizard....

2009-04-09T13:53:00.000-04:00

First I would like to give a big shout out to the Columbus Blue Jackets for capturing their very first trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Jackets and quite a few of their players are on the list of favorites here at Chica Central; and no one more than the captain, Mr. Richard Nash, who tied the game to give them that last point that they needed to clinch.

This is a picture I took of Ricky at the Draft two years ago when it was in CBJ; and Lisa and I drove down from MI so I could watch two of my Tips boys get drafted. It was big fun and if you're ever there, eat at Schmidt's Sausage Haus. Okay so it was the only restaurant that we ate at besides Waffle House, but I love German food and it was good. Anyway... here is Ricky...

Also going on this week is the last week of games for the AHL; as well as the ECHL will be opening up their quest for the Kelly Cup this weekend. Why is this important you ask? Well, there are a handful of former Tips are playing in the A and the E and we still love our boys here in Hooterville long after they're gone... just ask Mitch Love. :)

So tomorrow starts the series of Moises Guiterrez and the Elmira Jackals vs. the Trenton Devils; though our pal Mo is on the 30 day IR as of last week. I'm still trying to find out what happened, and hopefully he will be able to return soon. Then on Saturday is the Victoria Salmon Kings with Dan Gendur vs. the Idaho Steelheads. Danny's had a pretty good rookie season up in Victoria, which I'm sure is no doubt due to it being his hometown, and he probably gets to live at home with his mom taking care of him.

Then over in the AHL, it's still not quite decided yet for our pal Mitch, John Lammers and the Houston Aeros; but they have a good shot of getting in tomorrow night. They'll join Riley Armstrong and the Worcester Sharks, Zach Hamill and the Providence Bruins; and the favorite team here in Hooterville, the Manitoba Moose with Shaun Heshka and our good pal Taylor Ellington. Tay hasn't played yet for the Moose and may not in the playoffs, but it's good for him to be up there. The only former Tip that I know of that is playing in the A that won't be in the playoffs is Leland Irving. His Quad City boys have had a good run as of late, but they are just going to run out of time.

I love playoffs time... it's always fun when the playoff races are actually races; and you are rooting for teams to win that you'd cut your tongue out than admit you were rooting for, other than the fact that the team they're playing is neck and neck with YOUR team.

So, to bookend today's post with the Blue Jackets, I'll give you a little bit of funny with a former BlueJacket turned Atlanta Thrasher Ron Hainsey. Just watch it... it's funny. :) Have a good day kids!

Coffee with 8 creams

2009-04-08T07:41:00.000-04:00

I was in line at McDees this morning and the person in front of me ordered a small coffee with 8 creams. The first thing that came to mind as I read the still lingering order on the screen when I pulled up was that I read it wrong. Then I asked the order taker if the order was really 8 creams she smiled and rolled her eyes. "Yup, every morning. Eight creams."

Then I thought, "what is the point of that?" A little coffee with your milk there?

That's gotta be what the Colorado Avalanche must be thinking this morning after taking the Sharks to a scoreless shootout last night. They eventually lost but holding the Sharks to no regulation/OT goals this year has been pretty tough. But since the Avalanche are in the basement of the Western Conference, that point gained probably doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot.

I hate to say it, but I think it's time to stick a fork in the Buffaslugs. They are in 10th and four points behind the kitties (in 9th) and 6 points behind the 8th seed (Ranger$). They have three games left (Toronto, a suddenly very good Carolina [and speaking of them can SOMEONE throw a wrench at them? - Sorry Jenni] and then Boston) but I don't see them getting three points out of that let alone 6. And I've said it before, I think it might be best to not make the playoffs rather than get embarrassed in the first round. Sigh. But maybe Crunchy will be chosen for the Worlds, wonky ankle and all (and yes, that was my question on NHL Live the other day, thanks for noticing!)

Speaking of the Worlds, I'm also hoping Crunchy's bff JM Liles will also make the team for USA. I think that'd be swell. Ron Wilson said this is sort of a tune up for the Olympics. Granted, a lot of guys who will be in Vancouver will still be playing in the playoffs but I think Ronny can get a good feel for what's out there. I'm thinking he can get a pretty good team built up.

Easter is coming and my mom called wondering if I wanted a chaffing dish. It's not like I entertain all that much and hell, where would I put it? She's a card. But Easter also brings on the end of the NHL regular season. It will be sad for yet another year to end, but that just means the playoffs are close at hand. Keep an eye out for Amy and my fearless and (and at least on my part) clueless playoff predictions. Hey you never know, I came in 3rd in a basketball pool and I don't even like that sport!

Until next time....happy hockey!

Flowers for Carly

2009-04-06T22:59:00.000-04:00

It's another Monday here on the third rock from the sun, and it was an eventful weekend for both me and my hockey boys; but for no one more than the Vancouver Canucks. They should have been able to win both games Saturday and Sunday with ease, but they were not only missing a vital part of their second line; but they had lost a member of their family.

Early Friday morning Taylor Pyatt got a phone call that not only changed his life, but a whole lot of people around him. I can only imagine what he was and still is going through.

I know how I felt when my friend called to tell me that our pal and former Silvertip Jordan Mistelbacher was dead.... I almost thought she was kidding, but she wasn't. I spent the rest of the evening sobbing and most of the next few days in a fog of sorts. He wasn't even that close of a friend, he was just an acquaintance that I had known about 2 years; but even three months later I'm still not sure I believe that he's gone and I miss him.

Carly and Taylor had been together for 11 years... they were going to be married this summer... they had their whole lives planned out no doubt, or at least until Tay retires. Now, instead of helping get that last minute stuff done for the wedding, even if it would be over the phone; Taylor had to help plan a funeral and became a widower before he was ever a husband.

I guess my point with this ramble is how much being part of a hockey family, like the I'm part of with other Tips friends and fans, means to me and how this game and the people who are involved with it change your life. It gives us that anchor when things like Carly passing away or even Mickey Renaud and Alexei Cherepanov last year happen. You hope it never happens to you, but if it does like it did with Jordan's death, you know that you aren't alone in your grief.

Anyway, I just want to send some virtual flowers to the Pyatt and Bragnalo families; as well as the Canuck boys and their families. I hope they know their extended family in the hockey world is thinking of them.

MVP?

2009-04-06T13:24:00.000-04:00

There has been a lot of talk around the league regarding the MVP. Ovechkin or Malkin? They seem to be the front runners right now. But I have another name to toss into the mix: Steve Mason, goalie for the Blue Jackets.

Hear me out - he leads the league in shutouts (ten shutouts backstopping the Jackets for crying out loud) and is a rookie. Watching him play on Sunday he was one turn over away from 11 shootouts. He's got a decent record, but what's more important to look at is how the team has done when he's not in net.

While I love Ricky and Rusty and the bunch, Steve has been their MVP and should, along with rookie of the year, get some serious looks come voting time.

But what do I know.

Meaningful games in April

2009-04-02T12:36:00.000-04:00

In past years, April has been a time to fine tune their lineups for the playoffs: a tweak here, resting the key guys there, coasting until the second season starts. Boy that's been shot to hell this year. None of the standings are set and in both conferences there is wiggle room from top to bottom. Some divisions are secured, but other than that, nothing else is etched in stone just yet.

Buffalo: man, they lost a HUGE point last night to the Trashers (side note, I was watching a game on CBC or TSN and there was someone in the booth by his accent it was clear he was a Quebeccer and he kept pronouncing the Thrashers as the Trashers. I of course, loved it). They are not mathematically eliminated but the hill just got a few degrees steeper. Note to the Habs - stop frakin' winning.

Penguins: Very quietly they have tied for fourth place (as friend of Chuckers, Lisa, pointed out that Marty B was pulled for the Flyers last night - not a good night for goalies named Marty, eh?) with a shellacking of the Devils. Worlds Greatest Goaltender EVAR! ( /sarcasm) looked very human afterall. The devils owe their season to their third stringer goaltender AHL goalie, not Marty.

Again I can't remember where I heard this but it was said about the Wing: and their reward for finishing second is to play the Ducks. Yeah, no thank you. Once given up for dead, Les Canards are doing their best Phoenix (bird, not city) impression and making some noise. If things end up this way, I don't know if the Wings want that hot mess in round one. Come to think of it, no matter who the Wings get in the first round, they are going to face a scrapy team who are out to prove that they belong in the playoffs (the Blues, the Preds, heck, even the Oilers and Minny have a shot). This reminds me far too much of the year Edmonton went to the Final. Who did they beat? An over talented Wings team. Oh Jason Smith, how I miss you.

The Jackets decided to show up again. After having their collective asses handed to them by a charging St. Lou team, they bucked up and put down a Nashville team that's looking to do some damage. Turns out, the Preds are the ones who came out hurting. They lost yet another pretty key guy to their team. I don't think Stevie Sullivan can do it all boys. But this is the first time the BJs have had some purpose to play well in April (other than that usual response of "pride")

But you know, I've got one more thing. Watching the Guins game last night...it was 6-1 and Sid blocked a shot. He skated off in pain but didn't miss a shift. I gotta think had that been a lot of other 'super stars' that wouldn't be in that position but instead they would be trying to pad their stats.

That about sums up what's in my brain this morning. Until next time!

Video killed the radio star...

2009-03-31T23:15:00.000-04:00

Well, it appears that I'm going to be updating here in the evening, since lately at work I've had to actually do, you know, WORK! lol So anyone in the time zones to the right of mine will get to see this when they get up in the morning. Don't all clap at once! *crickets*

Anyway, tonight was the first of two year end parties for the Silvertips with the first at Sporty's. It was nice to see as many boys able to make as did including my good pal Dale Hunt. He's such a great boy; I don't think we had a rotten one in the bunch this year, but I got to know him a little bit more than most of the others this season and I'm glad that PG let him go so we could have him. And the best thing is that he was only 18 at the beginning of the season so he'll be back this next season and hopefully so will everyone else other than the 3 overagers.

And now... on to the videos for today!

First is a clip from a Pittsburgh TV station about the Skates and Plates dinner that I would have loved to be at last night. Ah... hockey boys in tuxes serving me food! Sounds good to me!

Next is an interview with Christian Hanson from the fine folks at ESPN... the son of Dave Hanson, aka one of the Hanson brothers from Slap Shot, has been signed by the Leafs. He's adorable and I love how his dad still sports the same hair as he did in the movie.

And last but, not least is a goodie from Youtube by way of the Windsor Spitfires, who are not only #1 in the Ontario Hockey League, but they are also #2 in the entire Canadian Hockey League. It appears that they're relaxed and ready to take on Plymouth in the second round as is apparent in this video. Man it's funny, and I could so see my boys doing this too.

Whoooooooooo!

2009-03-30T19:17:00.000-04:00

I have a feeling that Tay will probably not be joining us tomorrow and for sure Wednesday night, and I'm okay with that... I got my hug two weeks ago! *shakes pom poms* I &hearts you Ellie and I'm so proud of you!!

From the Silvertips website...
Everett Silvertips Vice President / General Manager Doug Soetaert announced Monday that 20 year old defenseman Taylor Ellington will be joining the Vancouver Canucks' AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, following the conclusion of his Everett Silvertips career. He is expected to arrive in Winnipeg on Wednesday.

As one of three 20- year-olds retained by the Silvertips this season, Ellington was appointed as an alternate captain prior to the start of the season and contributed with a fine campaign, posting career highs of 69 games played, six goals, 26 assists and 32 points. His efforts made him a deserving co-recipient along with Shane Harper of the Silvertips' Most Valuable Player Award, acknowledging his standout performance in leading the Silvertips to their sixth consecutive playoff appearance.

Through five seasons and a franchise-record 287 games played in a Silvertips uniform, the rugged defenseman finished with 14 goals and 52 assists for 66 points, along with 371 penalty minutes. Standing in at 6'2 and weighing 209 pounds, Ellington received several accolades throughout his junior career, including invitations to the 2006 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge and the 2007 Home Hardware CHL / NHL Top Prospects Game.

Ellington was selected in the third round (41st overall) in Everett's renowned 2003 WHL Bantam Draft that produced future first round NHL selections in Zach Hamill (Boston), Peter Mueller (Phoenix) and Leland Irving (Calgary) as well as early NHL selections in Ellington (Vancouver) and Brady Calla (Florida).

A Victoria, BC native, Taylor was selected in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks and signed a three-year entry contract with Vancouver on March 13th.

Another day, another dollar or two...

2009-03-30T13:42:00.000-04:00

Good morning friends and neighbours out in the land of Puck. It's Monday, which means nothing other than there is a shitty game on Versus and I rolled into work at 9:30; but only because I have a standing 10:00 meeting. *sighs like Sid playing PSP*

And the party is over here in Tipsville as of about 10pm on Saturday night. The boys gave it a good ride, but just couldn't keep up with Tri-Cities; and so the season has come to an end. Considering a lot of experts picked the boys to finish 9th or 10th in the Western Conference, I think that coming in as 7th and making the playoffs is an achievement. It's just too bad that they had so many injuries and dropped some games that they looked like they had won; otherwise they might have finished higher and with a winning record.

I should have a season end post, but I think I might have to wait a few more days... I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to them, especially the three 20 year olds: Taylor Ellington, Graham Potuer and Daniel Bartek. They're really great guys; and with Tay and Potsie, they've been here 5 years, along with I've gotten to know Taylor a little better than the other two.

I guess the upside is that they will be going on to bigger and better things with either school or professionally; and that is where Taylor will be. He will either be playing in Victoria with the Canucks' ECHL club, the Salmon Kings, which is where another of our good pals Dan Gendur has had a great rookie campaign; or if he has a good camp, he might start the season in Winnipeg with the AHL Manitoba Moose with another former Tip, Shaun Heshka.

So, we're going into the second to the last week of the NHL season, and there are still logjams in both conferences for the last few spots, and I think it's going to come down to that last weekend. Talk about nail biters! I have two teams that are pretty sure of a spot unless they somehow lose all of their remaining games; but the last, aka Les Canards, are playing well but they're dependent on a few teams in front of them losing as well. *sends bad juju to Nashville and St. Louis* I know Lisa is feeling the same way for the Buffaslugs and maybe even the Kitties too since they're 10th and 9th right now, but only by a few points behind. *sends more bad juju to Montreal and the dirty Rangers*

And I also have some video this morning for those of you who also have a case of the Mondays...

Courtesy of the girls from Puckhuffers is a super funny video of Cabbie on the Street from Score Network, that has a few of my favorite boys in it.

I also wanted to share the video from the fabulous line brawl that was surrounded by the Canucks-Blackhawks game last night. The only bad part about this? Ben Eager didn't finish the job and rip Kevin Bieksa's shirt completely off! ;9 And holy shit are the sin bins huge at the Hawks' barn. I know the one at Comcast will fit only three comfortably or maybe 4 if they're the skinnier boys. ;)

Anywho... that's about it from me today. Have a good one youse guys!

Do you believe in miracles? YES

2009-03-28T21:58:00.000-04:00

It's down to this... it's game 5 back over at the Toyota Center in Richland; and I wonder what my baby boys have left in them to give tonight.

Last night's game was probably the best effort I've seen from them at home in quite some time; and for a little while it looked like they might just pull the rabbit out of the hat and win. Well, after the first period the rabbit gave them the finger before leaving the arena; and the Tips were not able to keep the Amerks under control. I was very proud of them for all the work they put in, especially on the physical play... some of the boys who I know can lay a hit were not doing so very much or at all; and they responded to what Tri was dishing out.

And you can read a very well done and very funny recap written by the lovely Ms. Daily Su who I had the extreme pleasure of meeting and sitting with last night. She graciously posted some of my pictures and I feel sorta famous!

So, that is life in Tipsville tonight... I think I'm gonna go get ready for the game. Go boys go!

Despite the rumors....

2009-03-27T07:52:00.000-04:00

I am not: dead (clearly); stuck under something heavy (Ryan's skinny after all); giving up the blog for good (again, clearly). Life around these parts has been very busy and honestly, I don't see it changing a whole lot in the next few days. Arg!

But some puck news to talk about:
Bluejackets - ok, dare I say it but this a legit playoff team. They dismantled the Flames last night and I'm not just saying that because the score was 5-0. From the probable rookie of the year on out, everyone had a strong game. They won face-offs, they took the body, they intercepted passes while making crisp passes themselves.... I think the score could have been 1-0; they were just that good.

Sabres - the beloved Crunchy Miller is back in net tonight after a month long absence. He's saying the right things like "I'm not the savior here". Ryan, I just hope you are back in time so your boys in blue aren't sitting out the playoffs again this year (yeah, see that, I did it. He is the savior; even if he doesn't get the support he needs).

Penguins - the flightless birds are in an odd spot. One point up they are in 5th, two points down, they are in 8th. They just need to keep winning.

Lord help me, but I'm rooting for the Blues to make it back into the playoffs. They have been a hard working team all year and they've had some wretched injuries.

I just checked my basketball bracket. I was in last place (out of ten) as recently as yesterday morning; now I'm tied for 2nd. Go fig.

The Frozen Four starts tonight. Read an interesting tidbit over at Puck Daddy that this is the first time since 1968 that neither Boston College, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota or Colorado College are in the tournament. That's a lot of big names out.

I can't decide who to pull for: Denver is a sentimental favorite that has nothing to do with the school and the rest of my family would appreciate some love to Michigan (then again, you gotta feel for Steve Kampfer - this kid has been in some shit situations that are not of his doing this year). Maybe I'll just root on Bemidji ..oh wait,they are playing Notre Dame; forget it. I'll think of someone!

That's all I have time for today - but stay tuned. You never know when I might show up next!

We're gonna rock this town, rock it inside out!

2009-03-25T13:09:00.001-04:00

It's game day here in Hooterville and most Tips fans are pretty confident in our boys after winning game 2 to get a split of the first two on the road; especially with as hard as it was to win over in their barn this season. Last night two of the boys were at Sporty's, a local watering hole that is a huge sponsor of the Tips; and they were in good spirits and sounded ready, but were holding back a little on the enthusiasm. I think that's smart, because Tri-City is a very big and tough and talented team; and it's no fluke that they earned 101 points and won the division. So, I have my big fluffy sweatshirt and my bag of Hall's drops ready as I'm still in the last stages of La Grippe. :)

But, on the pro side, it's a half ways busy night in the NHL and I hope Les Canards can continue on their quest to get back into playoff contention. Last night, Jiggy had his shit together and was able to keep the Preds to one goal; as well shut them out in the shootout. They're now in eighth and hopefully they're gonna stay there.

Wish I had more to expound on other things, but my work calls and I should go see where Lisa has been the last few days. I think she's in Buffalo nursing Crunchy back to health. ;)

Shake your groove, shake your groove thing, yeah yeah!

2009-03-22T15:05:00.000-04:00

This is going to be short and sweet; but I just wanted to give a big shout out to my baby boys, especially Mr. Tyler Maxwell and Thomas Heemskerk, for their great game last night. Tyler got all 3 goals and Heemer was a maniac in goal to give the boys a 3-2 win over Tri-Cities. Yay!!! I admit that I have been a bad bad fan sometimes lately and I wasn't sure they were going to be able to win a game let alone be so close in both over in Richland. That said, I'm sporting my black and white Tips hoodie today and will be sending good luck thoughts for the next 4 days until I see the boys on Wednesday. Whoooooo!

Hopefully Kellen Tochkin and Mike Alexander will be back for game 3, as they were both out last night with the dreaded 'upper body injury'; which could be anything from a hangnail to a level 12 concussion. Meh... just as long as the puppies get better is all I ask.

Anyway, I gotta boogie... hopefully something more exciting will happen today. The Penguins looked a little slow and not too good against the Puppy-Drowning Brigade. I say burn those fucking blue sweaters... they're nothing but bad ju-ju!

bounce, bounce, bounce... SWISH!

2009-03-21T13:16:00.000-04:00

You'll have to excuse me for being not here yesterday... not only am I fighting Le Grippe, but I spent most of the day on the couch in front of the TV cursing my NCAA bracket. In fact I have the UCLA-Nova game in the background, but that's only because there's no hockey on until 1... yeah, that's it. :)

So, I'm sitting here looking at the schedule for today's games and I'm surprised there are not more afternoon games, but maybe that was because of the basketball. Just looked at the CBC webpage and the guest for After Hours is the captain of the Canucks, Roberto Luongo; and that is good. I like him a lot. Since they're in Phoenix, I was sort of hoping for a Yote, and maybe even that Yote being a candidate for the future captain, aka Peter Mueller. I miss Pete... he's a good kid; and as much as I see of him on line both on and off the ice, he's becoming a wonderful man. But then I've met his mom and dad... they're good people.

But can I tell you how proud I am to be a Canucks fan right now? Two months ago, they were in the middle of an 8 game losing streak, even more at home; and were precariously close to the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Since then, they have made some adjustments, the biggest one is that Mats Sundin has become Mats Sundin again; and they're now in 4th and may just get home ice in the playoffs if they can hold on for a few more weeks. *squees like a mofo*

My baby boys, the Silvertips, have started their playoffs against the Tri-City Americans and lost a heartbreaker in game 1 last night in Richland. It looked good in the first with a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes; but whatever happens to them when they come out for the 2nd happened again last night, as they gave up 4 goals to T-C. The Tips were able to get another goal, but the Amerks scored again; and it all seemed to be lost.

Then, with just about 3 minutes to go, Shane Harper put one in and after pulling the goalie, our 20yr old Czech Daniel Bartek was able to tie it up with 21 seconds to go. I swear that JR, the radio guy, was going to have a stroke on the air; and I was too! Oh man... I can only imagine what it must have been like in that building, not only in the stands, but in the locker room between periods 3 and 4. Well, the magic was not to continue, as one of the TC boys slipped one past Heemer for the win.

So, they'll come back out tonight, hopefully with the same fire that they ended the game with; and get a split before they come home for game 3 on Wednesday and 4 on Friday. One other good thing is my good pal Dale Hunt was back on the ice last night. He hasn't scored a whole lot; but he shoots a lot, he's fast and he brings so much grit and heart to the game.

Anyway... that is my report for this lovely first Saturday of Spring. Yay for sun! *shakes pom poms*

What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man...

2009-03-19T12:26:00.000-04:00

Yes, I love that song. Not only is it a great song, but it was used as the at-bat song by one of my all time favorite baseball players, catcher Dan Wilson. And I thought it was perfect to use it with a hockey player who I love a whole lot, and that is Teemu Selanne. I have had this love for Teemu for a very long time, which actually started when he was with Anaheim the first time and playing on the opposite side with Paulie Kariya. I still loved him even when he went to San Jose then had a brain cramp and went to the dastardly Avs for a season. I just wish he got as much press as other players because he deserves. Unfortunately since he's not only not played in Canada, but played pretty much his whole career on the West coast, the writers are all asleep before he even steps on the ice.

With his game-winning goal in OT last night, he not only passed Mike Bossy for 18th all-time in goals, but it was point 1200. He's also only the sixth European-born player to reach that plateau along with Jaromir Jagr, Stan Mikita, Jari Kurri, Mats Sundin and Peter Stastny; which is pretty great and fast company.

Anyway, I just wanted to give some love to my favorite Finn and hope Les Canards can somehow make a miracle to get to the playoffs because my favorite Finn may not have too many more chances. But until that time comes when he hangs up the blades, I'm going to be behind him all the way. Oh, and it helps that he's sweet, a former kindergarten teacher and sexy as hell!

Theories blown to hell

2009-03-18T07:08:00.000-04:00

I used to have this theory that teams played better in front of their back up goalie. Well either my theory doesn't count for the backup's backup or it's just flat out wrong. Thanks to the Sabres for proving me wrong in any event. What the frack was THAT last night? But you know what I won't do? I won't bail on them. That really irritates me. The "Oh woe is me my team sucks" stuff is for the birds (and Thrashers fans). I may not like them right now but I do love them. (but those two points they could have had last night might come back to bite them in a few weeks).

Pittsburgh did another happy dance last night - wow, that number 71 can play some pucks no? I only caught the middle to the end of the game (I have it dvr'd so I can watch this weekend) but his two goals were something else. There was an article about 'why people hate Sid' over at Kuklas Korner and one of the comments said something about Geno not playing defense and just looking for points. Ya know? Call me a fool, but I think I'm ok with that.

*points to Philly and laughs* Sorry, had to get that off my chest. The Wings won again and I'm pleased.

I'm not going to mention the goalie happenings from last night. I'm sure that will be covered to DEATH. But it's a very nice accomplishment. I wonder who will be next?

Florida, Colorado, and the Sharks....all losers last night. Not even the extra gimmie we made it to OT point. And because most every team played last night, it's a light schedule tonight. Which is good, because once again, I'm gonna be gone. And my dvr is filling up.

Ok, that's enough stalling on the day. Until next time!