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...
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...
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Watching the Wings game against Columbus, the announcers told me several times that with a point from that game, they'd top 100 points. Cool, I thought, it's a nice number. But then the talking heads went on to say that if/when they reach 100 points they will be the first in the history of the league to have 9 straight 100 point seasons. Even better. Wings also clinched a playoff spot (which seemed to be a foregone conclusion since oh about December).
Keep your eyes open for a new feature in these parts that Chica and I were tossing about last night. To give you a tease, I'll just say this: Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes Silver white winters that melt into springs These are a few of my favorite things
With Amy out of town, the blogging ball was in my court and man, did I whiff or what?
Turns out that Vancouver pushed the hardest to get JayBo away from the kitties. From the Sun Sentenital:
Vancouver General Manager Mike Gillis was willing to give up winger Mason Raymond and a first-round pick, the Vancouver Province reported, but when Panthers GM Jacques Martin made it clear he wanted either defensemen Kevin Bieksa or Alex Elder, a potential deal was dead.
I gotta say I don't blame Gillis for not trading for him at that price. Again, I ask will Martin have his job if JayBo is in another sweater come fall?
I wonder if the Flames deadline sploosh will make a difference in the long run or not? The west is still a brutal division and it will be tough to get out it without a lot of banged up players. Their trades might make things closer out their way.
Considering I started this post three days ago, I can now toss in some hockey. Pittsburgh got a big two points last night. I watched the third period and it was some damn good hockey. I got the Cats feed and groan are they awful. I'm sure someone likes 'em but I'm not a fan. Granted Steggy and Bob can be a bit much but geeze. When you are scrambling as the Panthers were in the third, you're going to take some penalties. We they all heinous penalties? No. We they callable penalties? Yes.
I'm not gonna talk about the Philly game. I might start to cry. CRUNCHY COME BACK!
The Wings had to go to overtime against the desert dogs. A game I did not see one second of live and caught the highlights on NHL on the Fly this morning over breakfast.
Who is this team from Ohio and what have you done with the real Blue Jackets? Tenth shut out? Seriously? When you are 20th in the league in scoring, I suppose it's a good idea to have someone back in net who can stop the pucks (for the record, they are 8th in goals against). The 6th place Columbus Blue Jackets (that's still cool to say this late in the season) have a real shot at making some playoff noise and I'm just tickled about it. If I'm Rick Nash (I'd be tall, rich and good at hockey), I'm looking forward to the post season and hopeful the Jackets play Detroit - meaning they'd have to fall to 7th or 8th, but still, a first round playoff series is a real possibility for this team. Big win for them against Boston last night. Huge win (as both the Sharks and Wings got two points).
Who else played last night: Colorado? They were on the schedule but apparently forgot to show up. Shut out by Atlanta? Groan. Devils continued to roll and beat the Flames (guess those trades are not helping so much just yet), and in a game of "Who cares" versus "First pick overall or bust", Who cares....er, Toronto beat the Islanders.
Holy snooze, Batman. I kept waiting for something big to happen but gotta admit, the cluster Edmonton-Carolina-Kings deal was the most interesting just because of the WTF factor.
Now the playoff push gets really interesting.
Question of the day: Does Jacques Martin keep his job if the Panthers miss the playoffs AND they lose JayBo?
Also not a question but a comment - the Wings have been slowly moving up closer to San Jose... nicely played taking over the top spot boys. But don't be too happy, SJ will be back at it and some teams in the East are moving fast.
Lately some real life crap has kept me away from the computer, but I think that's all past me now so on we go.
Checking out the scores from last nights games, I see on off ice note of interest but I'll get to that in a few. First up the games of note:
Pittsburgh v Islanders. I hate how the Islanders seem to be showing up now. Why can't they continue to suck and just let teams I want to beat them soundly do it? They played a hell of a game last night (which by the by, DVR are awesome - I got home after the game started so I just started the recording over from the beginning and go to buzz through all the annoying commercials - watched the A&L motors ones though because no matter how bad they are, I still laugh) only to lose it in the last two minutes.... I long for another 9-2 game. Ah well, still a good showing for missing Sid and Whitney (which overall, isn't probably a loss because it 1. got Tanger back in and 2. Whit really isn't all that good right now).
Detroit v fishies: As much as I'd love to see SJ go all the way, it's still good to see the home boys put another dent in the Sharks' armor. Granted it was at the expense of losing Hossa with "concussion like symptoms". Wonderful. Babcock says he's fine but we'll just have to wait and see how the Wings best scorer does in the next few days.
Now, the off ice stuff that made me go WTF. The Craps seem to have this female fan club going. "Dedicated to the Caps' female fanbase" this site gives women a closer look to the players and offers special educational events to help them learn the game. At first blush, this was sorta ok - we need more women as fans of the game to support one another against the crush of male bias. Then I got to thinking about this and it pissed me off. Yes, sometimes it's hard to be taken seriously as a female hockey fan because men sometimes don't get it that we're all about the game. But is this sort of thing really gonna help? Are beefcake shots of the players really going to help educate women to know what a decent power play looks like? This just smacks of glittery "I heart so-and-so" signs and posters offering marriage or other services from bunnies who think they are cute.
Look, I'm all for finding the players attractive, but seriously, that's a book/cover sort of thing. Is Adam Foote any less of a defenseman because he's not OMGHOT? Hell no. I'd take him on my team any day. Does Roddy Brind'Amour win face offs because he's cute? Um yeah, no. He does it because he works his ass off every single day.
I've said for a long time the league needs to showcase the players more - not just in a my what a handsome boy he is, but some of these guys are down right characters and I love that. The NHL Network has a show called "Day in the Life" which shows an average day of certain players. This is a great show because you get to see the players interact with each other and their personalities (not muscles or tattoos) shine.
Teach women how awesome this GAME is and the love for the players will follow. It rarely works the other way around.
/sandbox moment.
That being said, I give you this: after watching the Sabres against the Ducks the other night....damn they need Miller back in a big way. Not that I don't think LaLa is capable, but they are a much different team with Crunchy in net.
While Amy has her junior boys to watch, around these parts, there are more college hockey teams than you can shake a stick at - so the CCHA is where I get my kid hockey fix.
Went to a game last night - watched the MSU Spartans face off against the Falcons of Bowling Green. After watching that game, I can understand why both teams are fighting to get out of last place in the CCHA. Bless them, they try so very hard, but just don't seem to have the talent of say a Michigan or a Notre Dame.
Do you need specifics? At one point in the third State had an almost full two minute 5-3 and didn't score. Just a few minutes after that, they had another lengthy (like a minute 45) 5-3 and yeah, didn't score and gave up a couple really solid short handed chances. But from our vantage point (right behind BG's bench) I got to watch my new favorite college hockey player. His name is Brandon Svendsen. Now from the name on the back, I was slightly disappointed to learn his name is Brandon and not something like Bjorg, but I digress. He played the first 5-3 and didn't leave the ice after it. He was off for a shift while BG racked up two more penalties and then went back out to kill off the second 5-3. Basically, State was facing a guy who was gassed and couldn't get it by him (he was the one with the two shorty chances to boot). I thought they were gonna have to give him oxygen on the bench after that but he only missed a shift. Color me impressed...he was, to me, one of the best players on the ice last night and clearly BGs best player.
Also searching around this morning to see to what team Jeff Lerg had been drafted (Kevin, my buddy who I went with last night, and I were thinking Toronto but didn't have a basis for that fact other than they need goaltending and it sounded right). We were wrong. He's undrafted. Granted, he's short (5.6 Daren Panger size), has asthma, and is a 4.0 student....oh he also has broken all sorts of records and stuff like that. But he remains undrafted. That's gotta be discouraging.
I have honestly no idea what happened in the NHL last night so I won't even bother checking. I did hear something about Chris Osgood being sent home, a la Kovelev, but don't know the details for now (I should go check that out because odds are, Mom will ask about it when I go over there today).
That's all for now. But gotta remember to set the dvr for an early game and a later one too (and now that I just checked the time schedule, I see that both Detroit and Colorado won last night. Hurrah!)
My first hockey sweater I ever purchased was a Steve Yzerman sweater. He was the captain of my team and he had been the captain for as long as I had followed hockey at my top sport. He was my captain.
Nick Lidstrom came to Detroit a quiet but steady defenseman in 1991. The Wings were on the rise and they had a world of promise. Lidstrom came to Detroit the same year as Vladimir Konstantinov but they were total opposites. Vladdie went for the booming devastating hits while Nick went for the smart plays, almost at time avoiding the hit to keep the puck alive. In 1992, they were both selected to the all rookie team.
While people didn't talk about his retirement from the game, there was the obligatory "[fill in the blank] will be Detroit's next captain." The 'fill in the blank' was usually Martin LaPointe or Kris Draper and even the occasional Darren McCarty. You really didn't hear Nick's name in the mix.
But Nick went on with his game - the same dependable reliable number 5 on the blue line. He wore an A for several seasons, but it's like the old saying goes, if you didn't notice a defenseman in a game, he was doing his job. Nick did his job with amazing skill.
When he was named the captain of the Wings, people just sort of nodded and said "oh yes, that makes sense. Why didn't we see it?". Mostly because Nick went on his way, playing the same smart capable game he's always played. Shy with the media, not making a scene. You never hear of Nick out on the town drinking with suspected minors (ok you can add him to the list of players from my post of yesterday; him and Sid)
The 6 time Norris trophy winner, the first European player to with the Conn Smythe and lead his team to the Stanley Cup; the 11 time all star.... he's the boy in high school that was always around but you never really paid attention to. Then at your ten year reunion you see him and thing how in the heck did I miss out on that action.
He scored two goals last night in a win against Nashville. Doing what he always does - reading the play well; shooting at the right times; picking his spots.
He's Mr. Dependable. He's a calming force. He's my captain.
Lots of hockey happened last night and some of it was even pretty good.
Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo? What are we going to do with you? You are like my dog - faced with what he sees as a bully, he goes nuts, barking his wee brown head off. But then when he sees someone he deems weaker than he is, he rolls over and shows the dog his belly. After a huge emotional and much needed two points against the Sharks on Friday (side note, if you saw the game, have you ever heard a more quiet moment of silence?) and then they choke and give up two very very lazy goals early and make the game almost out of reach in the first period. I'm not being a homer here, but I can't blame Miller for either one - as much as I hate to admit it, Robby (the intermission dude for those not in the Buffalo area or who don't have center ice) was right - you can't stick check a Staal (The Staals are brothers?) and stop him. Lindy called this a distance game (or something like that) but they didn't get any distance on anyone last night. The only possible saving grace is that the Panthers didn't win.
Speaking of the Kitties. They may look on last night and miss those two points. If I'm reading things right, they could have moved into fourth place last night with a win. Sigh. Now they are tied with Buffalo in points (in 7th place with a game in hand)
The Penguins fired their coach yesterday. Color me not surprised. When you have a team that went to the cup final last year and have the top two scores in the league, you shouldn't be in 10th place. I know I know, but what of the injuries? There have been too many games that Gonch or Whit or Rusty would have helped. They very well could be on the outside looking in this year.
Their opponents in the final last year, Redwings for those following at home, started off slow against Colorado, made a push to tie it, then stepped on their collective members in the shootout. As much as it pains me to say it, I don't think they'll come out of the west this year. I don't think they have the goal tending. Then again, San Jose has looked pretty beatable in the last few games so maybe there is hope.
I can't be the only one who really enjoyed the Rangers having their asses handed to them, am I? Oh yeah, Sean Avery will help that club out.
Breakfast and cleaning await (bummer way to spend the day off), so that's it for now. Happy Monday!
Drop us a line atpuckchuck at gmail dot com and someone will get back to you as soon as we get around to it.... enjoy some hold music while you wait. la, la, la la, la.
