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.
Showing posts with label things that make you go 'Booooooooooooo'. Show all posts
Showing posts with label things that make you go 'Booooooooooooo'. Show all posts
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
WTF is happening here?!
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
My Bloody Valentine
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.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Goodbye, it's the saddest thing to say
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.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Good news, and bad news
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.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Lost a keeper.
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.
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.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Is it 4 o'clock yet?
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!
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!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Do you believe in miracles? YES
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!
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!
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