Shanahan has quietly cornered the market on NHL.com videos. He and his team of experts explain hits and penalties methodically, outlining the 5 W's and one lone H on what happened and what the punishment is and why it fits. But the NHL decided they needed to challenge for the video crown with this gem: The Video Rulebook. In theory this is a great idea that was executed horribly. After watching just 2, I was disappointed and felt like an intern did this to prove to his college that he really did something that didn't involve making coffee. It's just not NHL pro level; just video clips of the action that accompanies the rule. The rule is not given through a voice over, its written next to the video. Once you play the video, you can't see the written rule till its done playing. Good in theory, but bad execution. Shanahan you may keep your crown for now.
Crosby is out for the time being with concussion symptoms. He passed his imPACT test with flying colors compared to January's mess of results, but he won't play till 100% again. He believes that David Krecji's elbow in the 3-1 loss against Boston last week is what did him in. Bylsma had this to say, "It is obviously frustrating for Sid. Sid knows his body better than anybody else. He is not feeling 100 percent. He will return to practice and playing when he is feeling 100 percent." I'm thinking this is far more frustrating for Bylsma who is currently rocking a list of walking wounded that tops out at 9, with 2 listed as day to day. Of the 9, 6 are D men and of that 6, 3 were starters. If you check out the WBS transaction page, they have been one busy little team, signing guys off their ECHL team like they are candy since Pitt keeps taking the next guy on the depth chart.
The LA Kings are the next rumored team in market for a new coach. Winning one more game than they've lost on the season will tend to put a bulls eye on someone's back. At 13-12-4, something has to change and it's usually the coach. Ouch.
In case the Kings want some company in their misery, Mike Murphy of the Hurricanes boasts the strangest record in being the first goalie to lose a game while never having had allowed a goal. Brian Boucher, the Cane's backup goalie was injured so they called up AHL goalie Mike Murphy to replace him. When Ward was pulled, they were already losing 6-3 to Calgary and Murphy got to taste his first NHL action. He blocked 2 shots in 9 minutes but was pulled in favor of the extra attacker. With the net empty, Calgary scored their 7th of the night. Since Murphy was listed as the goalie, even though he was not on the ice when the goal happened, he still gets credited with allowing the goal. In conclusion, he never gave up a goal and stopped all shots he faced, but still has to take credit for Ward's disastrous 6 goal allowance. Awesome rule. This is totally going to be a Jeopardy question one day. Also under new Coach Kirk Muller, the team has gone 1-5. Wonder if that BBQ turned into a party....
Wednesday night marks the return of 24/7, this time featuring the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers. Having recently re-watched episodes 1-3 of last years series with the Penguins and Capitals, a few things stand out that I know I'm interested in seeing. Can anyone make practice seem more fun than Disco Dan and who could be more excited about ice cream at 9am than Bruce? We found that Sid is a coach in training and Ovi is learning the English language quite well. Well at least the one that includes curses thanks to a record number of f*ck's that fell out of Bruce's mouth in a speech. Green rides a Vespa and Rupp wore crazy Santa shirts. Sid is just all out crazy superstitious, while Talbot is an anything goes type guy and Ovi has an array of strange tattoos. The Penguins seemed to have been a cohesive group that shared the ups and downs, while the Capitals seemed more like a bunch of guys who just meet and decided to play some hockey.
Since the two teams being featured are a 2 hour car ride from each other, this will be an all out Atlantic Division war. Rangers coach John Tortorella might have the chance at beating Bruce's f-bomb count, though the Rangers are currently riding a hot streak so there might be less ammunition. Peter Laviolette's Flyers are currently without their Captain Chris Pronger who was suffering from a virus that turned into a knee injury that has since manifested itself as a concussion. Not confusing at all. Over the summer there were rumors that the Flyers locker room had a divide and it was Jeff Carter and Mike Richards versus Pronger and co. I wonder if part of the reason Carter and Richards were jetted off to new teams had anything to do with the fact the cameras would be catching every move this December and Ed Snider didn't want his team looking like fools. You don't tend to just trade players that you signed to crazy long contracts that had good stats. Well you do if your the Flyers and needed a goalie that held all the wisdom in the league I guess.
And in case you had any wonder about who will be providing some awesome quotes, look no further than goalie extraordinaire, Ilya Bryzgalov. This is what he told the media about leaving the game the other night. "It was an equipment issue. No, I'm a bad liar. It's an old boo-boo. It's still sore a little bit." Whatever you say Mr. Bryz.
No comments:
Post a Comment