HBO said that they can edit the episode up to about an hour before it airs sometimes and last night we were shown why that flexibility is important to making a series named 24/7 be just that. Claude Giroux was only JUST officially diagnosed on Tuesday with a concussion and that was shown last night. We got to see him entering the quiet room for testing, saw more testing the next day and then saw him with a sheet of paper that looked like some type of maze that he had to solve. At the end if this it was established he was concussed. Just think, we only saw a small portion of it and this protocol is done in full everyday to check on the status of a players brain. It was nice to get more of a feel as to what happens since the concussion epidemic is alive and well.
Other things we learned this episode along with Bryz wisdoms (he's a rockstar)
-Laviolette was the first to drop the f-bomb. The good people who unofficially track this stat said there was a total of 43 in this episode. Of the 4 coaches we have seen in 2 series, Bylsma is a boy scout.
-The f-bombs that were used were well placed and not just for the hell of it. I managed to understand what the coaches wants and they seemed to fire up the players.
-Max Talbot managed to 1-up his own ugly sweater from last year.
-Dan Bylsma made a cameo and ripped on Talbot for suddenly being a goal scorer now with the Flyers.
-Jagr has no clue whether his heart or his head made the decision to come to Philly (he said this summer his heart was in Pitt). He claims you have to follow your head not your heart sometimes and fully is aware that the odds his jersey ever hangs from the rafters with Lemieux's are slim to none since he signed with the Flyers. This was the fancy foreigner way of saying " I took the money and ran."
-Wayne Simmonds is one of twenty-eight black players in the league. There's a fact for you. He also concussed his teammate Giroux with a knee to the head. Another fact. Simmonds is going to be fact machine. Fact that I liked best: HBO refrained from playing hard-core rap music while Simmonds was driving through downtown Philly since the moment Simmonds opened his mouth he sounded just like a hipster. Have he and Sean Avery met?
-A group of Rangers took a group of kids from the Garden of Dreams program to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. They needed to wear 3D glasses. Why I would love to know. So glad I got to go before it got all wacky. Highlight for the kids: meeting the Rangers. Highlight for the Rangers: meeting the Rockettes.
-Ryan Callahan has the coolest 90 year old grandma. I hope they manage to fit in her and her fur every chance possible. Rock on grandma C.
-Bryzgalov is the greatest philosopher to ever lace on skates. He moved to Philly to tend goal while players told him Philly would be like "going to hell" and that's its a "miserable market for goalies". At least there are parks in this hell. He also said his son is his mini-me (future generations rejoice, you will still have a Bryz to receive wisdom from) and gave his two cents on the solar system and Russian liquor bottles. The solar system is "humongous" although it sounded more like hu-man-gous coming from him.
-Peter Laviolette believes Bryz "is different". You got that right sir.
Final Bryz quote, "Don't worry, be happy."
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Concussion All-Star Teams
“Crosby is an ambassador for people who have brain injuries and who have endured head trauma, " said Keith Primeau, a 14 year NHL vet said earlier this week. "The fact is, Sidney had the courage to speak up when something wasn’t right. Good for him. Maybe people don’t realize it, but that’s a true sign of courage. It really is.”
And because of his speaking out, being concussed is almost a cool thing to admit to (in a twisted way), so I bring to you the concussion All-Star team. When the actual All-Star teams are determined (by popular fan vote, not just on skill) I will then also make up 2 teams of the concussed (or formerly concussed) players that have earned All-Star distinctions in my book. The determinations will be based on length and star power among other facts that are honestly still to be determined. There's enough people going around that maybe we can even play a legit game (we have two goalies already). Any player who has suffered games lost this season are eligible for this pool. Below I have a assembled a list of players that is probably somewhat inaccurate since it seems almost anyone who plays in the league has visited concussion-ville this season.
Sidney Crosby (Penguins)
*Tyler Kennedy (Penguins)
Kris Letang (Penguins)
Zbynek Michalek (Penguins)
Milan Michalek (Senators- yes he's Z's little brother)
*Ryan Miller (Sabres)
Claude Giroux (Flyers)
Chris Pronger (Flyers)
Andy McDona (Blues)
Brayden Schenn (Flyers)
Mike Richards (Kings)
Marc Staal (Rangers- he was concussed by his own older brother Eric of the 'Canes!)
Jay Beagle (Capitals)
**Marc Savard (Bruins- was shutdown before the season even began)
Robert Bortuzzo (Penguins)
Jeff Skinner (Hurricanes)
Joni Pitkanen (Hurricanes)
Nathan Gerbe (Sabres)
James Reimer (Leafs)
*Aaron Asham (Penguins)
*player had a concussion but is currently back on the active roster and playing
**never played a single game this season
You'd think that with all the players concussed this season that the NHL would compile a running list to help us out at home, but alas they have not. A simple link for each week of the running injury pool would be of great help. But from here on out, I am going to do my best to write down every name I come across that has concussion attached to it.
Now to get ready for 24/7: Rangers-Flyers :)
And because of his speaking out, being concussed is almost a cool thing to admit to (in a twisted way), so I bring to you the concussion All-Star team. When the actual All-Star teams are determined (by popular fan vote, not just on skill) I will then also make up 2 teams of the concussed (or formerly concussed) players that have earned All-Star distinctions in my book. The determinations will be based on length and star power among other facts that are honestly still to be determined. There's enough people going around that maybe we can even play a legit game (we have two goalies already). Any player who has suffered games lost this season are eligible for this pool. Below I have a assembled a list of players that is probably somewhat inaccurate since it seems almost anyone who plays in the league has visited concussion-ville this season.
Sidney Crosby (Penguins)
*Tyler Kennedy (Penguins)
Kris Letang (Penguins)
Zbynek Michalek (Penguins)
Milan Michalek (Senators- yes he's Z's little brother)
*Ryan Miller (Sabres)
Claude Giroux (Flyers)
Chris Pronger (Flyers)
Andy McDona (Blues)
Brayden Schenn (Flyers)
Mike Richards (Kings)
Marc Staal (Rangers- he was concussed by his own older brother Eric of the 'Canes!)
Jay Beagle (Capitals)
**Marc Savard (Bruins- was shutdown before the season even began)
Robert Bortuzzo (Penguins)
Jeff Skinner (Hurricanes)
Joni Pitkanen (Hurricanes)
Nathan Gerbe (Sabres)
James Reimer (Leafs)
*Aaron Asham (Penguins)
*player had a concussion but is currently back on the active roster and playing
**never played a single game this season
You'd think that with all the players concussed this season that the NHL would compile a running list to help us out at home, but alas they have not. A simple link for each week of the running injury pool would be of great help. But from here on out, I am going to do my best to write down every name I come across that has concussion attached to it.
Now to get ready for 24/7: Rangers-Flyers :)
Monday, December 12, 2011
Videos, Jeopardy and 24/7
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Greetings Once Again
Since I have successfully moved, the NHL decided they too needed a change and managed to vote on a realignment in an hours time yesterday. Yes, they did it in an hour (faster than my move took) and got 26 of 30 votes. It's still nameless and they say they will deal with the naming issues later. Will it become the names of 4 great players or something much more boring? For now, I've dubbed them all something- some are just boring and others have too many fun options)
Conference A (lets just call this the West because that's what it is)
Anaheim Ducks
Calgary Flames
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
LA Kings
Phoenix Coyotes
San Jose Sharks
Vancouver Canucks
Conference B (lets call this the "make Detroit happy conference since we won't let them be in the East")
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets
Conference C (lets call this the Eastern conference, or East part A. Snowbirds could also work thanks to very North to the very South travels)
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightening
Toronto Maple Leafs
Conference D (so many names, where to begin. It's really the East part B but technically its the old Atlantic Division with some new toys, or the "Gary Bettman needs to make us all happy because we are a cash cow", but really the best name is "The All-Staal Conference".)
Carolina Hurricanes (Eric is the Captain and Jared is in their farm system)
NJ Devils
NY Islanders
NY Rangers (Marc)
Philadelpia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins (Jordan)
Washington Capitals
I personally like this division of teams. It keeps many rivalries alive that Bettman and Co. can't afford to lose and of course harbors their love for the Ovi-Sid match-up more often (which vaguely still exists in the back of someones' brain somewhere). The Western teams draw of big name talent to warm all those arena seats still is there while attempting to make the Red Wings happy with central timed games and teams in the same travel circle, rather than all West Coast teams.
The travel budgets are going to inflate wildly as Eastern teams are expecting $500,000 to a $1million extra per season due to added expenses headed West that much more often. It does attempt at evening out some of the travel and a team could probably be relocated much more easily (Phoenix). Of course this whole thing began because Winnipeg is playing the current Southeast and they could have done a much more simple swap. 2 Florida clubs playing teams more North than their Atlantic counterparts just shows you how important that Atlantic area is to the revenue the league can make. Being in the same time zone though helps to alleviate the travel a bit.
In other news....
Bruce has settled in with his new team, the Anaheim Ducks (thank god they aren't on 24/7- can you imagine all the potential screw ups just waiting there for him?) and the Caps are slowly trying to find some wins with Hunter. The Hurricanes don't seem to know what happened when they got a new coach and are having a welcome to Carolina BBQ for him I suppose.
The Penguins must have a secret clause in this years agreement with the league to always have a concussed player and since Sid proclaimed that he did time, Kris Letang and Zbynek Michalek have stepped up to the plate. Tyler Kennedy also served his time this season already. No timetable of course. They also have a boatload of injuries: Deryk Engelland is day to day with some unspecified issue and Richard Park is day to day with something lower body (also unspecified). Dustin Jeffrey had a setback in his knee rehab, while Ben Lovejoy (broken thumb) and Brian Strait (elbow) are another 2-4 weeks per the club. Whose left? Has anyone managed to play every game thus far for the team? Wild.
Finally this past May at just 28, Derek Boogaard, a feared enforcer who was known as Boogeyman died of an overdose. His family donated his brain to science at Boston University and in October it was announced they found he had C.T.E. (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) which can be caused from getting hit in the head constantly. It bears many of the same symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Although the lethal drug mixture did kill Boogaard, they believe had he lived,he could have started to experience dementia by his mid-forties. The New York Times has a great (but long) 3-part piece on Boogaard. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Conference A (lets just call this the West because that's what it is)
Anaheim Ducks
Calgary Flames
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
LA Kings
Phoenix Coyotes
San Jose Sharks
Vancouver Canucks
Conference B (lets call this the "make Detroit happy conference since we won't let them be in the East")
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets
Conference C (lets call this the Eastern conference, or East part A. Snowbirds could also work thanks to very North to the very South travels)
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightening
Toronto Maple Leafs
Conference D (so many names, where to begin. It's really the East part B but technically its the old Atlantic Division with some new toys, or the "Gary Bettman needs to make us all happy because we are a cash cow", but really the best name is "The All-Staal Conference".)
Carolina Hurricanes (Eric is the Captain and Jared is in their farm system)
NJ Devils
NY Islanders
NY Rangers (Marc)
Philadelpia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins (Jordan)
Washington Capitals
I personally like this division of teams. It keeps many rivalries alive that Bettman and Co. can't afford to lose and of course harbors their love for the Ovi-Sid match-up more often (which vaguely still exists in the back of someones' brain somewhere). The Western teams draw of big name talent to warm all those arena seats still is there while attempting to make the Red Wings happy with central timed games and teams in the same travel circle, rather than all West Coast teams.
The travel budgets are going to inflate wildly as Eastern teams are expecting $500,000 to a $1million extra per season due to added expenses headed West that much more often. It does attempt at evening out some of the travel and a team could probably be relocated much more easily (Phoenix). Of course this whole thing began because Winnipeg is playing the current Southeast and they could have done a much more simple swap. 2 Florida clubs playing teams more North than their Atlantic counterparts just shows you how important that Atlantic area is to the revenue the league can make. Being in the same time zone though helps to alleviate the travel a bit.
In other news....
Bruce has settled in with his new team, the Anaheim Ducks (thank god they aren't on 24/7- can you imagine all the potential screw ups just waiting there for him?) and the Caps are slowly trying to find some wins with Hunter. The Hurricanes don't seem to know what happened when they got a new coach and are having a welcome to Carolina BBQ for him I suppose.
The Penguins must have a secret clause in this years agreement with the league to always have a concussed player and since Sid proclaimed that he did time, Kris Letang and Zbynek Michalek have stepped up to the plate. Tyler Kennedy also served his time this season already. No timetable of course. They also have a boatload of injuries: Deryk Engelland is day to day with some unspecified issue and Richard Park is day to day with something lower body (also unspecified). Dustin Jeffrey had a setback in his knee rehab, while Ben Lovejoy (broken thumb) and Brian Strait (elbow) are another 2-4 weeks per the club. Whose left? Has anyone managed to play every game thus far for the team? Wild.
Finally this past May at just 28, Derek Boogaard, a feared enforcer who was known as Boogeyman died of an overdose. His family donated his brain to science at Boston University and in October it was announced they found he had C.T.E. (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) which can be caused from getting hit in the head constantly. It bears many of the same symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Although the lethal drug mixture did kill Boogaard, they believe had he lived,he could have started to experience dementia by his mid-forties. The New York Times has a great (but long) 3-part piece on Boogaard. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Monday, November 28, 2011
Cyber Monday: Coach Sale?
I guess in honor of Cyber Monday, the NHL wanted to get in on the action and two coaches were upgraded/replaced. The Capitals and Hurricanes have no one to blame for their coaches firing other than their lackluster efforts.
Rumors have been circulating for weeks that Bruce Boudreau of the Capitals could be on his way out the door and last night the rumblings became louder than a training rolling into the station. It was only a matter of hours before he was a goner. Dale Hunter, former Capital who has his number in the rafters of the Verizon Center, has taken over the reigns. For the past ten years he worked in the juniors and it seems on the surface he should right at home. He's inherited a team loaded with talented players who on paper should never lose, yet managed a 5-1 loss to the Sabres lineup that was ripped straight off the lineup card from the Amerks, their AHL team. When you have a lineup sporting the names of Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin and so forth, how do you lose to what is essentially an AHL squad?
Can Hunter light a fire under them and get Ovi and Semin to care again? Those are just 2 of the 3 million questions Hunter needs to begin to answer. He's used to dealing with teenagers and that's what the recent run of the Caps seems to have become: a locker room of teenagers that are very overpaid for their after-school jobs. They don't care and do the bare minimum required to keep their jobs. Ovi won't be traded, but Semin is the next to be on the sale block if the coaching change isn't enough, or if they don't respond to Hunter. The biggest issue against Hunter- he has no experience coaching close to this level. A bunch of 18 year olds are different. They are all trying to show off and get that one shot at the AHL/NHL; meanwhile these guys have been there, done that. They are already pros and won't drop lower than the AHL. Their contracts ensure they will get their millions regardless.
One side thought about the Capitals situation: Since Ovi was named the Captain, his play has suffered. Not everyone is cut out to be a Captain and guys in the past have given back the C to focus more on their own play. Not saying this is the solution, but maybe he needs to focus on himself and not have the added pressure of being Captain. Just my .02cents.
The Hurricanes couldn't let the Capitals have all the attention and fired head coach Paul Maurice and hired Kirk Muller in his place. The Hurricanes essentially asked for this to happen. They have been bringing up the end of the standings since the season commenced. Captain Eric Staal has been in a funk all season. Nothing about this team has been exciting, clearly another coaching change was in order. Best part: Maurice was fired for a second time by the same organization. Isn't there a reason you break up to being with? This was just a matter of time based on the history.
Surprised there wasn't a firing trifecta to be honest. Islanders head Coach Jack Caupuano should probably be thanking his lucky stars he can't get one healthy goalie for more than a game at a time because it takes the heat off the rest of the disaster ship that is the Islanders. Still, the plank is short and I don't see it holding on much longer.
It wasn't all coaching changes on Cyber Monday. Sidney Crosby was named first star for the week which shouldn't be all that surprising. In 4 games, he collected 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists) and reminded the league why he's the best. At this pace he should be the points leader before the years out. He's already back up to an average of 20 minutes of playing time and making his mark on the season. If Crosby's return and a new coach doesn't wake Ovechkin up, I deem that his career is officially on the decline. At a whopping 26. Couldn't even try to hold on till 30 Ovi? It's ok. We will always have memories of your head floating around in lockers for that extra creepy commerical and that awesome tramp stamp tattoo.
Saturday I have come to realize is the day the most crazy stuff happens in hockey, so if you want to see a good fight, just wait for Saturday. It's a worldwide phenomenon. A Finnish team on Saturday amassed the most penalty minutes in a game and the KHL forgot to play hockey and just had line brawls and goalie fights all game.
Also James Neal decided he disliked Carey Price's goalie stick and broke it with a shot. Max Pacioretty, whose face meet the turnbuckle last season, decided to defend Price's stick with a nasty hit on Kris Letang, who was dripping blood from his broken nose. Letang on the hit, "Obviously, I had my nose broken and the doc put it in place, so I was ready to go". I've broken my nose and it's a kind of a biggie. It's dripping blood and aches like hell. Breathing is also next to impossible till it stops bleeding, but Letang came back and scored the game winner. NO BIG DEAL.
Finally December is almost here (yippee!!) and the cameras will be joining the Flyers and Rangers for their filming of 24/7. CAN NOT WAIT for this. Chris Pronger will be out for the next 4 weeks (will he miss the winter classic?) with knee surgery to fix something that has been bugging him. Meanwhile the Flyers have said he's out recently because of a virus. Knee injury or virus? Anywho, hopefully because of this we won't be seeing him as much on 24/7. No offense, I'm not sure I want to see him on tv screen up close and personal. Few hockey players are great looking but he's right down there on the bottom rungs. In fact the Flyers might be one of the worst looking teams collectively.
Max Talbot of the Flyers and Mike Rupp of the Rangers (both formally of the Penguins) will be participating for round two of 24/7. Talbot will be playing in his 3rd winter classic which earns him a new ugly Christmas sweater for this strange distinction. Catch a preview of the new series here. Can't wait to see if they are able to stifle us from the wisdom of Bryz!
Rumors have been circulating for weeks that Bruce Boudreau of the Capitals could be on his way out the door and last night the rumblings became louder than a training rolling into the station. It was only a matter of hours before he was a goner. Dale Hunter, former Capital who has his number in the rafters of the Verizon Center, has taken over the reigns. For the past ten years he worked in the juniors and it seems on the surface he should right at home. He's inherited a team loaded with talented players who on paper should never lose, yet managed a 5-1 loss to the Sabres lineup that was ripped straight off the lineup card from the Amerks, their AHL team. When you have a lineup sporting the names of Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin and so forth, how do you lose to what is essentially an AHL squad?
Can Hunter light a fire under them and get Ovi and Semin to care again? Those are just 2 of the 3 million questions Hunter needs to begin to answer. He's used to dealing with teenagers and that's what the recent run of the Caps seems to have become: a locker room of teenagers that are very overpaid for their after-school jobs. They don't care and do the bare minimum required to keep their jobs. Ovi won't be traded, but Semin is the next to be on the sale block if the coaching change isn't enough, or if they don't respond to Hunter. The biggest issue against Hunter- he has no experience coaching close to this level. A bunch of 18 year olds are different. They are all trying to show off and get that one shot at the AHL/NHL; meanwhile these guys have been there, done that. They are already pros and won't drop lower than the AHL. Their contracts ensure they will get their millions regardless.
One side thought about the Capitals situation: Since Ovi was named the Captain, his play has suffered. Not everyone is cut out to be a Captain and guys in the past have given back the C to focus more on their own play. Not saying this is the solution, but maybe he needs to focus on himself and not have the added pressure of being Captain. Just my .02cents.
The Hurricanes couldn't let the Capitals have all the attention and fired head coach Paul Maurice and hired Kirk Muller in his place. The Hurricanes essentially asked for this to happen. They have been bringing up the end of the standings since the season commenced. Captain Eric Staal has been in a funk all season. Nothing about this team has been exciting, clearly another coaching change was in order. Best part: Maurice was fired for a second time by the same organization. Isn't there a reason you break up to being with? This was just a matter of time based on the history.
Surprised there wasn't a firing trifecta to be honest. Islanders head Coach Jack Caupuano should probably be thanking his lucky stars he can't get one healthy goalie for more than a game at a time because it takes the heat off the rest of the disaster ship that is the Islanders. Still, the plank is short and I don't see it holding on much longer.
It wasn't all coaching changes on Cyber Monday. Sidney Crosby was named first star for the week which shouldn't be all that surprising. In 4 games, he collected 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists) and reminded the league why he's the best. At this pace he should be the points leader before the years out. He's already back up to an average of 20 minutes of playing time and making his mark on the season. If Crosby's return and a new coach doesn't wake Ovechkin up, I deem that his career is officially on the decline. At a whopping 26. Couldn't even try to hold on till 30 Ovi? It's ok. We will always have memories of your head floating around in lockers for that extra creepy commerical and that awesome tramp stamp tattoo.
Saturday I have come to realize is the day the most crazy stuff happens in hockey, so if you want to see a good fight, just wait for Saturday. It's a worldwide phenomenon. A Finnish team on Saturday amassed the most penalty minutes in a game and the KHL forgot to play hockey and just had line brawls and goalie fights all game.
Also James Neal decided he disliked Carey Price's goalie stick and broke it with a shot. Max Pacioretty, whose face meet the turnbuckle last season, decided to defend Price's stick with a nasty hit on Kris Letang, who was dripping blood from his broken nose. Letang on the hit, "Obviously, I had my nose broken and the doc put it in place, so I was ready to go". I've broken my nose and it's a kind of a biggie. It's dripping blood and aches like hell. Breathing is also next to impossible till it stops bleeding, but Letang came back and scored the game winner. NO BIG DEAL.
Finally December is almost here (yippee!!) and the cameras will be joining the Flyers and Rangers for their filming of 24/7. CAN NOT WAIT for this. Chris Pronger will be out for the next 4 weeks (will he miss the winter classic?) with knee surgery to fix something that has been bugging him. Meanwhile the Flyers have said he's out recently because of a virus. Knee injury or virus? Anywho, hopefully because of this we won't be seeing him as much on 24/7. No offense, I'm not sure I want to see him on tv screen up close and personal. Few hockey players are great looking but he's right down there on the bottom rungs. In fact the Flyers might be one of the worst looking teams collectively.
Max Talbot of the Flyers and Mike Rupp of the Rangers (both formally of the Penguins) will be participating for round two of 24/7. Talbot will be playing in his 3rd winter classic which earns him a new ugly Christmas sweater for this strange distinction. Catch a preview of the new series here. Can't wait to see if they are able to stifle us from the wisdom of Bryz!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
5:24
That's all it took for Sidney Crosby to remind the hockey world he's the ruler of their kingdom. 2 goals, 2 assists, just north of 15 minutes of ice time and 21 shifts. By next week he should have more points than Alex Ovechkin. And Ovi has 20 games on Sid.
He beat a rookie goalie, Anders Nilsson, who is now the trivia answer to whose life Crosby ruined his first NHL start. The Islanders make some truly baffling decisions since glass jaw DiPietro was "healthy" and on the bench for the show. Meanwhile Marc-Andre Fleury put on a goal tending clinic, stopping everything that came near him for his second shutout of the season.
If you need an article to read about the joyous occasion, just google Crosby. You'll find plenty. Avoid the Ottawa Citizen like the plague though. In an effort to cut costs, they hired a 12 year old to write their articles and fired the copy editor.
And because everything the Penguins do has to have some sort of symmetry to it, last night was no exception. Game tickets were printed in August and guess whose face was on it? Mario Lemieux made his debut post retirement against goalie Garth Snow (who happens to be the GM of the Islanders these days) and collected a goal and 2 assists (Sid managed to one up him with a second goal). Mario also asked that they make signs that say "Sid" for the fans to hold up as they did when he returned to the ice. And his dad Troy decided during the fathers trip to Florida last week (before Sid even saw the doctor) that he would hang around for the Islanders game before heading back to Canada.
I'm beginning to wonder if this was all a dream, like we were a human experiment of Inception and Sid was controlling us all, because it looked like he had never missed a shift, let alone a game.
He beat a rookie goalie, Anders Nilsson, who is now the trivia answer to whose life Crosby ruined his first NHL start. The Islanders make some truly baffling decisions since glass jaw DiPietro was "healthy" and on the bench for the show. Meanwhile Marc-Andre Fleury put on a goal tending clinic, stopping everything that came near him for his second shutout of the season.
If you need an article to read about the joyous occasion, just google Crosby. You'll find plenty. Avoid the Ottawa Citizen like the plague though. In an effort to cut costs, they hired a 12 year old to write their articles and fired the copy editor.
And because everything the Penguins do has to have some sort of symmetry to it, last night was no exception. Game tickets were printed in August and guess whose face was on it? Mario Lemieux made his debut post retirement against goalie Garth Snow (who happens to be the GM of the Islanders these days) and collected a goal and 2 assists (Sid managed to one up him with a second goal). Mario also asked that they make signs that say "Sid" for the fans to hold up as they did when he returned to the ice. And his dad Troy decided during the fathers trip to Florida last week (before Sid even saw the doctor) that he would hang around for the Islanders game before heading back to Canada.
I'm beginning to wonder if this was all a dream, like we were a human experiment of Inception and Sid was controlling us all, because it looked like he had never missed a shift, let alone a game.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Weekend Wrap Up
Lots has been happening in the hockey world and we'll get to them in a bit. First off, this Thursday is Turkey day (gobble gobble) and I'll be traveling back to NY to see my grandparents and co. As I work in retail, I'll be trekking back home while in my Turkey coma to get sleep for anyone who can justify sleeping outside my workplace for some "deal" that's just not that great. I'm not jealous (I've been asked at the register if I was one year since I looked miserable per a customer) and I am miserable, but believe me I'm far from jealous. I'm miserable because you ruined my holiday and forced me to wake up at the crack of dawn to deal with you. And I will continue to be miserable and uncaring towards you since my company throws out all complaints logged on Black Friday. You think your getting the deal of year, but really I am. Hehehe. Secondly, I am moving (yay) and have been packing and cleaning and have lots more to go. I'm being brutal (or attempting to) in my cleaning and packing and this is taking up majority of my time.
Onto hockey.
Sidney Crosby has been cleared for his first game. Oddly enough, I think this was the last of the easy steps. If you thought the media was all over him in the 10 months he hasn't played, they are just getting warmed up. No goal or assist tomorrow night and someone will question if he still IT. If he can still be THE best, but lets remember he's a human being not a robot (although you do sometimes wonder about that). He'll see probably 10-20 mins of ice time and they will tear him down as much as they've been building up his return. I almost want him to just pick up where he left off to just stick it to everyone. They also don't have a game Tuesday so that gives him a day off immediately and a chance to confer with his conference of doctors on how he's feeling. Have I ever said that this is going to be the new unofficial protocol for how teams handle concussions because it totally is.
Crosby and Malkin and Staal make up what is called the three-headed monster of centers in the league. The three-head monster of centers will be taking on the three-head goalie rotation of the Islanders. It can only be considered a monster if you look at their injury records. No team has ever been able to legitimately carry 3 goalies without being looked at like a nut, but technically they are a 4 goalie team now. The Islanders had to recall a goalie from the AHL since Rick DiPietro is the lone man standing (and we know he can't stand up for that long). Evgeni Nabokov is on the IR and Al Montoya is considered unfit to play. Do they have the Mary Poppins bag of goalies? 4 are currently on their NHL roster that has a 23 man limit. You do the math on that one!!
Puck Daddy had a headline the other day that read "Jeff Cater, Rick Nash still going down on the Columbus Titanic". You can read the story if you want to, but honestly the headline says it all. (And it's possibly the best headline in forever)
The Dallas Stars are quietly tearing up the Western Conference and got themselves an owner. Congrats kids. An owner is always helpful and he seems willing to spend some dough.
The Coyotes may not be the desert dogs next season since the NHL is holding firm that this season is the last they plan on owning the team, but Twitter superstar Paul Bissonnette scored his first NHL goal last night, and his mom was there to witness the event. Twitter star that he is, he took to his account following the game to thank everyone who kept him on their fantasy hockey team. And this is why he's a superstar. He keeps it all on perspective. The Coyotes are also holding firm on Kyle Turris and his sign or sit date of December 1. Turris might be calling Europe home soon.
Bryz gave his goalie stick to an 8 year old Winnipeg boy after warm ups and of course logic dictates he sits this game. So the fans that came to boo him, booed him while on the bench. Ouch. Even worse, the Jets won over the Flyers. Guess the lack of parks in Winnipeg means the Jets practice and ensure they play when they need to shut people up.
Back to some more cleaning and prepping for the Giants-Eagles showdown that will be taking place in my living room. I'm a Giants fan and my roommate is an Eagles fan. Should be a good one.
Onto hockey.
Sidney Crosby has been cleared for his first game. Oddly enough, I think this was the last of the easy steps. If you thought the media was all over him in the 10 months he hasn't played, they are just getting warmed up. No goal or assist tomorrow night and someone will question if he still IT. If he can still be THE best, but lets remember he's a human being not a robot (although you do sometimes wonder about that). He'll see probably 10-20 mins of ice time and they will tear him down as much as they've been building up his return. I almost want him to just pick up where he left off to just stick it to everyone. They also don't have a game Tuesday so that gives him a day off immediately and a chance to confer with his conference of doctors on how he's feeling. Have I ever said that this is going to be the new unofficial protocol for how teams handle concussions because it totally is.
Crosby and Malkin and Staal make up what is called the three-headed monster of centers in the league. The three-head monster of centers will be taking on the three-head goalie rotation of the Islanders. It can only be considered a monster if you look at their injury records. No team has ever been able to legitimately carry 3 goalies without being looked at like a nut, but technically they are a 4 goalie team now. The Islanders had to recall a goalie from the AHL since Rick DiPietro is the lone man standing (and we know he can't stand up for that long). Evgeni Nabokov is on the IR and Al Montoya is considered unfit to play. Do they have the Mary Poppins bag of goalies? 4 are currently on their NHL roster that has a 23 man limit. You do the math on that one!!
Puck Daddy had a headline the other day that read "Jeff Cater, Rick Nash still going down on the Columbus Titanic". You can read the story if you want to, but honestly the headline says it all. (And it's possibly the best headline in forever)
The Dallas Stars are quietly tearing up the Western Conference and got themselves an owner. Congrats kids. An owner is always helpful and he seems willing to spend some dough.
The Coyotes may not be the desert dogs next season since the NHL is holding firm that this season is the last they plan on owning the team, but Twitter superstar Paul Bissonnette scored his first NHL goal last night, and his mom was there to witness the event. Twitter star that he is, he took to his account following the game to thank everyone who kept him on their fantasy hockey team. And this is why he's a superstar. He keeps it all on perspective. The Coyotes are also holding firm on Kyle Turris and his sign or sit date of December 1. Turris might be calling Europe home soon.
Bryz gave his goalie stick to an 8 year old Winnipeg boy after warm ups and of course logic dictates he sits this game. So the fans that came to boo him, booed him while on the bench. Ouch. Even worse, the Jets won over the Flyers. Guess the lack of parks in Winnipeg means the Jets practice and ensure they play when they need to shut people up.
Back to some more cleaning and prepping for the Giants-Eagles showdown that will be taking place in my living room. I'm a Giants fan and my roommate is an Eagles fan. Should be a good one.
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