Predictions

I predicted the outcomes for each of tonight's games and only got one right on the nosey. I was close with a few of them! This was pretty cool and I am thinking about doing it more often. 1 out of 10? I have to beat that!
(Actual scores)

WSH/PHI 4-3 (2-3)
DET/PIT 1-2 (1-4)
BOS/CAR 3-1 (3-2)
MTL/BUF 2-1 (1-2)
ANA/OTT 4-1 (2-1)
CBJ/TBL 2-3 (2-3)**
LAK/STL 2-0 (1-2)
VAN/COL 3-5 (3-4)
NSH/PHX 2-3 (5-2)
MIN/EDM 3-2 (4-1)

Taking "What did I miss?" to a Whole 'nother Level

When I left to take a shower, the score was Toronto 3, Atlanta 1. When I got back, it was 8-1. (Now it's 9-1) Holy shit, what's happening?!!! I thought there was somewhere between 13 & 8 minutes left in the 2nd period before I left... I... I can't even comprehend...

BHTV Christmas Edition; Joey the Junior Reporter

TOO CUTE. I hope Joey got his Nintendo DS. Mario Kart is my favorite game too!
Why was Brouwer wearing Skille's hat? And how could Campbell tell a five year old Christmas isn't as much fun when you're older?! hahahaa

Don't You Hate When that Happens?

Kept Kristian Huselius on the bench last night and he scores a hattie. ARGH! At the start of the season I was in second place; I have now been stuck at 11th for the past couple of months, only occassionally making it up to 10th.
I am thinking about ditching Reasoner. I only took him because he had a few good games and I thought he would keep it up, but he certainly has not!

Thanks, Wikipedia!

Timmy played for Jokerit for TWO YEARS?

Edits

Legace's shutout was the first in his entire hockey career, apparently.

It was Boyer who was taken down by Millman.

Here is what I gathered about the ineligible player call:

Just over a minute later, PEI sniper Samuel Morneau was handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for crosschecking Cape Breton captain Morgan Ellis in the face.

With Morneau sent to the dressing rooms, the Rocket failed to send a player to the penalty box. When Philippe Paradis jumped on the ice following the end of the five-minute major, the Rocket were handed a rare two-minute penalty for illegal substitution.

My question remains: What would have prevented this?

Hockey Night (& Afternoon) in Canada

Went to Prince Edward Island for the weekend and caught two PEI Rocket games. They played the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Saturday night at 7 and Sunday at 3.
First off, the Civic Centre is a nice, cozy rink. The lobby looked nice, the seats weren't bad, and the "jumbo"trons at both ends of the rink were easily seen. Ok, so I have never been to a bad rink, though the place in Dyer could stand to get chairs instead of bleachers (but I understand money is a big obstacle since it's AA hockey which isn't considered big and important) and maybe put in a miniscule-tron.
Anyway, my seats were the same for both games:

Great spot right off center ice and behind the visitor's bench. Didn't even have to sit next to anybody on Saturday. On Sunday I sat next to an old gentleman & his grandson. I talked to the man a couple times... he was nice. Said he was neighbor's with the mascot.

Saturday - Scoreless after one period. During the intermission (might've been the second int, but that's not important) I caught a frisbee that had a 2-for-1 coupon attached to it for the local video store. I gave it to the woman at the B&B because she'll probably get more use out of it than I would have! (The coupon, that is. I kept the frisbee!)
The first goal was a PPG by Nestrasil in the second period. That was the only goal after 40 minutes. At the very start of the second period we (I say "we" because I was rooting for PEI, of course) were penalized for delay of game at the 20 minute mark of the first period. How can there be a delay of game when the period's already over? Third period, Nestrasil scored another PPG to make it 2-0! Then Dion from CB scored a PPG. And finally Paradis scored a plain ol' goal to end the game 3-1. Andrej Nestrasil was the first star of the game. Following was Provencher and Polasek.

Sunday - Teddy Bear Toss! People were asked to bring teddy bears to throw to the ice after the Rocket scored their first goal. I was so excited even though I didn't bring a bear!
The game started the same way as Saturday - scoreless after the first. CB outshot us 9-0 (or was it 11-0?) for the longest time and when PEI got their first SOG the crowd wildly cheered. Oh my goodness, about 5 minutes in there was a brawl that left one of the Rocket players bloodied on the ice. The ref ushered for the medic to get over quickly because this guy was down and out. I'm not sure who it was but it was someone between #2-8. Boyer? Yettman maybe?
Like yesterday, there was a confusing call: there was a penalty for us having an ineligible player on the ice. That was new to me!
Paradis scored (SH) in the second and the teddy bears were set freeeeee! It brought a smile to my face :D I loved watching the bears fall to the ice and the players brushing them with their sticks to the kids picking them up. There were so many teddy bears!
Late into the second Nestrasil scored to make it 2-0. Third period, Hobbs scored to finish the game at 3-0. Legace was in goal that night and that was his first shutout in the Q. Congratulations! So obvs Legace was the first star while Polasek and Paradis were second and third stars respectively.

In my humble opinion, Paradis and Nestrasil are going to be great in the NHL. If they could be on the same team that would be fabulous, but Paradis belongs to Chicago and Nestrasil belongs to Detroit. Great. Being the rivals that CHI/DET are, they will be pitted against each other!

Another Team

It has been decided, just this minute (a few minutes ago actually) that I am a Fighting Sioux fan. Ha ha I have seen at least a handful of their games so it seems pretty mandatory now to like them. Which is easy, you know, because they always win :)

(10-5-2)
(7x Nat. Champions!)

\o/

TIMMY'S BACK!!

Bad Penalty (but good for him!)

Another Reason to Move to Colorado

I have been watching the Avs lately. My attitude towards them has always been "meh," but now I am all =D Mostly I am in love with Mike and Peter (they deserve their own tag now). The team is actually pretty fun to watch too. And there is something about their rink that I like so much... Now not only do I find myself saying [loudly], "Peeeeterrrr Buuudaj" in empty rooms (eventually I'll get that video off my phone), but I am not finding myself shouting, "Numbah fowa!". Hey wait, speaking of Budaj, I am glad I kept him on my fantasy team! He has been great since taking over as starter since Anderson's injury.
Not so great? Johan Hedburg. I clearly was not thinking things through when I picked him because he is on the same team as Martin Brodeur. Um, hello? If you're on the same team as Brody you pretty much know you are going to get paid to sit on the bench. He was injured for a day or two and Moose didn't win any games :(
I'll have to post my stats because they are pretty decent. I'm 11th out of 17, but I made it as high as second place when the season started!

It seems the teams I like most are not playing so hot. Blackhawks have been sub-par, Thrashers have been so-so (same-same!), and Oilers... oh my goodness Oilers. I was certain their stellar preseason would carry over to the regular season. I WAS WRONG.
Oh yeah, and the Wolves? They aren't winning either. In fact, they just lost 8-2 vs. Texas last night.

So much to talk about, so little... motivation.

It Feels Like an Inside Joke

Sometimes the dumbest things are the funniest. Or maybe when it's past midnight I find it easy to laugh at anything. A little behind, but here it is:

***CLICK FOR FULL SIZE!***


In reference to the Canuck player that grabbed the Wild fan in the stands. I was lucky enough to have a free preview of Center Ice that night & got to watch it live!! Woohoo for me.

In the video all the kids did snow angels when they scored a goal. It actually was kind of adorable.

Waivers

I should have known it wouldn't last forever, but I chose to ignore the obvious. The Oilers had three goaltenders, so somebody had to go. Well, that somebody was Big D and it makes me saaaad! I like Little D too, and I would probably be just as sad if it was him being put on waivers, but... I don't know. Maybe it's because Big D is older that I think he should stay and Dubes should be sent to the minors. Yeah yeah, it's not about age, it's about how well they play...

Tied in with the next bit of news, both he and Valabik are on re-entry waivers I guess? I heard something about Valabik maybe having better luck in a European league. I like him and would hate to not see him again. Let's hope that doesn't happen. And I have my doubts about an NHL team picking up D and keeping him at that level. If he can stay in OKC, I could actually see him a couple times!

Shafted!

Last night was the Wolves/Stars game. I had been looking forward to it all summer since finding out at their last game in May that you can talk to the players after the game. I'll get to that later.
For starters, we had SEATS ON THE GLASS. SEATS. on the GLASS. Best seats everrrrr. I just bought a camera, one that doesn't suck, so I got a couple "good" pictures. Definitely need to practice with it before I take it along to another game.
Krahn didn't play and I was so disappointed! I thought for sure he would. With the Stars at our end twice and having seats ON THE GLASS, I could have gotten some tight pictures.

The game was a let-down too. They scored, then we scored, then they scored and it repeated this way until we lost 4-3. Far beit from me to speculate what the problem is, but it seems like the team isn't getting the rebounds they should, sometimes they hold on to the puck too long, and... I don't know... they need to try a little harder? What do I know.
Anyway, after the game we waited for the players to come out because I wanted BK to sign my puck. I bought paint markers and a case for the occassion because I was serious about this! We waited there for an hour before getting kicked outside where it was like, 30s/40s. He never came out. I was like, Seriously? I waited 5 months for this?
But so is my luck...









Wednesday was the Wolves/Barons game which I decided to go to because I had nothing else to do. I could have gone to work, but uh, no thanks. OKC is a new team and affliated with the Oilers, so I wanted to see them. We sat in the 200 level right behind the net. Since there was nobody there the usher said we could sit anywhere; could even move down to the lower level if we so pleased. We wanted to see what it was like up there because we've never done that before, so we stayed put! Awesome seats, but not great for picture taking.
Guess who was there! Pavs!! Our little group of 100 fans gave him the biggest ovation. Unfortunately we did not do much cheering after he let in 3 goals and we only scored once. The Barons won 4-1 with an empty netter.
Sadly that was his only game (conditioning) and he is back in the NHL now. It would be nice to see him play again, but let's hope he does not have to be sent back for obvious reasons!

If I had known I wasn't going to see Krahn I would have had Pavelec sign my puck. He is not my favorite, but I still like him, especially since he did so well for us in 2008 :D

:) and :|

Glad to see the Oilers keeping two back-up goalies at the moment.

Not glad to see Valabik on waivers.

193 Penalty Minutes

Thanks again to Scott Laughlin for news I wouldn't otherwise know about:

Over in the CHL, the Colorado Eagles and the Odessa Jackalopes had quite a night.

4 fighting majors handed out in the first 1:39 (third period), then the big one at 9:26 which resulted in Odessa captain Dave Van Drunen getting sucker punched by Brad MacMillen. The punch resulted in Van Drunen needing 5 plates and 18 screws to repair the damage.

MacMillen received 2 for instigating, 5 for fighting, 10 minutes and a game for instigating and another 10 for intent to injure.

Paul Gillis, coach of the Odessa Jackelopes, sent his team to the locker room, then informed the officials that they had forfeited the game.

Jackelopes owner Rick Gasser had this to say:

“I’m asking the league for a lifetime ban for MacMillan, at least 20 games for Mario and a season-long suspension for (Eagles assistant coach Greg) Pankewicz, because he was the one running the team that night while their coach, Chris Stewart, was watching the game from the stands to evaluate.”

(Full article)

That sounds like a boring, scary! game. I don't mind seeing a fight every now and again, but this sounded ridiculous. And that thing with MacMillen... geez. Guy needs to GTFO of hockey & into boxing.

Fantasy Hockey

Going into night one, there were many that were concerned about Nikolai Khabibulin. His pre-season performances left a little to be desired and many weren’t sure how his game would translate back to his regular season form of a year ago.

Khabibulin stepped up. Big time. A shutout performance on opening night made him the most valuable player on the ice and he followed it up with another impressive performance on Sunday against Florida.

While Khabibulin’s cap hit means he’s a greater investment for your lineup, his early season success indicates he’s ready to perform on a nightly basis. The first two games saw plenty of inconsistency from the team and certain players, but the one constant was Khabibulin’s brilliant play. There’s no reason to stray from him at this point, so definitely get him into your lineup for Wednesday’s Northwest Division battle against the Wild.

I really don't plan on moving any of my players ;) I was in second place a few days ago but have since moved to... SEVENTH?! That's news to me! Only three of my players have games tonight (& Budaj won't see action until Monday, at least at this point in time!), so I won't be moving up any time soon.

Trouble in Blueland!

Shit. No wonder it seemed like the game was taking so long when I texted Google for the Thrashers/Caps score and it was still the first period when it should have been, like, the middle of the second. Pavs blacked out! What a way to start the season, eh? That sucks... I blacked out once. It was summer band camp (which lasted 3 days before I said "Fuck this, I'm done." haha) and we had to stand under the hot sun and on the asphalt and me + heat + pop tart for breakfast = WORST ENEMIES. I collapsed into the people in front of me & holy shit, how awkward. I couldn't imagine passing out in front of thousands of people :\ Sounds like he's doing alright now, so that's very good! Better luck next time :D
By the way, they won 4-2! I knew they were saving their A game for the first game against the Capitals.

Good Start!

Sweet! My dear Oil babies shut out the Flames in their first game (4-0)! I am beaming with pride :D


Oh, but wait. The Blackhawks lost to the Avalanche 3-4. Not such a good start, but they'll get it. I'm not worried! From what I saw it wasn't a bad game.

Retirement

I am genuinely sad that Ian Laperriere is being told to retire due to the seriousness of his injury in the spring. It sounds like he's had a good enough run, but still. He's being told to retire! I would hate to be told I had to find another way to make a living, giving up the job I love. It sounds like he understands it would be best for him to leave hockey, but you know it's not going to be easy to fully accept it.

You know who's not retiring? Cheechoo. He returned to the Sharks where they sent him to Worcester. Or something like that.

Speaking of the Sharks, Lilja didn't make the team. Ok, whatever, but his visa expires in 3 days! If he doesn't find a job in 3 days he'll be sent back to Sweden! I heard Scott Laughlin talking about this on PowerPlay yesterday & that made me sad too! He tugged at the heartstrings by metioning the fact his kids are enrolled in school here. Poor babies!

Days Later, Months Later, Whatever (And So Much More)

A trip to McDonalds and two trips to Starbucks (today being nearly a 4 hour sitting, good lord) later and my download of Game 6 in the SCF is finally finished! Took long enough!! I skipped ahead to the last few minutes of OT & still get as giddy as ever when the Blackhawks win. "I'm just so happy they won!" seems to be all I can say. If I could leave home with only a handful of possessions, the DVD I'm about to burn would be one of those things I wouldn't want to leave without.

The Blackhawks won the last game they played, which was against the Red Wings on Friday. Pisani is growing on me, Skille needs to make the team, and I wish Paradis could have made it this far. He has such beautiful hair and I never got to see it in action!

OILERSSS! They beat the Canucks 8-2 last night! I was gone for the first six minutes of play and already they were ahead 2-0. Oh my little Oil babies, I am sensing good things are to come this season. They have already won more games than they did in two months in last season's run! In February I remember saying, "Oilers won 2 games IN A ROW! They've won 2 games in 2010! Maybe things are finally looking up?" hahaha Oh! And Khabibulin played the whole 60 minutes!!! And he looked good!

It kills me that none of the Stars games are being broadcasted & the highlights online are weak. I want to see BK & Burish, dammit. And apparently Cheechoo was on the team and let go already. What?! I am so sad he has lost his touch. I didn't know him when he was good, it was mostly a "I like his name" thing last year or the year before, whenever I heard about him, but I hope he finds a home somewhere in the NHL! Move him to Atlanta, or better yet - Minnesota. He could find his game there ;) I wish they were showing Thrashers games too!
haha On the War Room this morning, Peter and Mick were talking about how a lot of the guys shouldn't even be on the ice when the Stanley Cup banner is raised in the UC and they recieve their rings (which might not actually happen during the ceremony) because they weren't a part of the team last year! Mick joked that their first game should have been against the Thrashers. HA! Good thinking!

I am somewhat disappointed and not surprised that Mannino, MacIntyre, Machacek, Holzapfel, Postma, etc. are back in Chicago, but selfish me is also happy that I'll get to see them in person some more. I plan on going to a lot more Wolves games this year and I don't care if I have to go alone. It sucks that they (& the Blackhawks) have all their games on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays/Saturdays when those are the days that I work! I told April I could work Thursdays now, (and I could work Tuesdays in all honesty but don't want to for reasons I won't delve into here), so I'm hoping I'll get some Wednesdays or Saturdays off because of that, enabling me to go to lots of games.
Oh goodness, I just realized if Krahn makes it in Dallas I will have no interest in seeing the Texas Stars play anymore. Oh no! It also means I won't get to meet him :( Again, my selfishness wants him to stay in the AHL, but I should really be hoping he makes it into the NHL. If he does make it into the NHL I'll regret not picking him for my fantasy team!

Then there's Sterling who, in my humble & biased opinion, has a good chance of making it into the Pens organization. I've come to terms with this & would be happy to see him play in the National League.

To end this novella, the NHL commercials are drastically different from last year's & when I see the commercial for NHL 11 I wish Duncan Keith would record books-on-tape.


[EDIT] If Joey Crabb doesn't get picked up on waivers he'll be sent to the Marlies! THE MARLIES!! >:O

Wish & It Will Be

Exactly what I was looking for!

Oilers! etc.

It is so good to see the Oilers winning games (2 for 2!), I don't even care that it's only preseason! Paajarvi had a hattrick and one assist & Hall had one goal. Pretty darn impressive and I would love to see both of them make the team. Dubnyk only allowed one goal and so did Deslauriers. I really wish both of them could stay when Khabibulin comes back because they grew on my fast last season.

I don't care that the Blackhawks lost their first game either. I was just so happy to see them again, even though it seems like half the team is gone! Turco's aggressive puck handling made me extremely nervous and I really hope that won't get them into trouble. However, I was extremely happy to see Toews score in Winnipeg and throw one of his sticks into the crowd after the game was over. None of the new guys really stood out to me, but I will pay close attention tonight when they play the Red Wings and take note of the good and bad attributes of each.

Monday the Maple Leafs played the Senators and somewhere in the third period a beach ball made its way onto the ice. It was quite comical the way the commentators shouted "AND THERE'S A BEACH BALL ON THE ICE! BEACH BALL OFF THE ICE!" (not a direct quote, mind you!) because they had been loud about a delayed penalty already. It was a fine hockey moment. The Sens goalie knocked it over the glass... it's unfortunate I cannot find a video.

Going Back In Time - Part 3

Some texts I felt I needed to save because I have a hard time letting things go for some sad reason.

3/25

Blackhawks clinch berth in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the team's first consecutive postseason appearance since 1996-1997.

4/4

Blackhawks top Calgary 4-1; goals by Kopecky, Brouwer, Kane & Byfuglien. Hawks clinch 1st division title since '92-93.

4/6

Blackhawks win in Dallas 5-2; Fraser (2G), Hossa (G,A) with 2 points each. Hawks set franchise record with 50th win.

4/18

Hawks top Nashville 2-0; Kane with 2 points (G,A). Niemi earns Hawks' 1st playoff shutout since '96. Series tied 1-1.

5/3

Hawks edge Canucks 4-2, take Game 2 of the conference semifinals. Versteeg scores game-winner with 90 seconds left in regulation. Series tied 1-1.

5/7

Blackhawks beat Canucks 7-4; Toews nets his 1st career playoff hat trick, Niemi makes 26 saves. CHI leads series 3-1.

5/23

Blackhawks advance to Stanley Cup Final with 4-2 win over San Jose! Byfuglien nets game-winner with 5:55 left. Hawks' first SCF appearance since '92.

6/9 @ 10:20

Blackhawks win 2010 Stanley Cup with 4-3 OT win! Patrick Kane scores series-winner in OT, Jonathan Toews wins Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP.

6/23

Duncan Keith wins 2010 Norris Trophy, given to NHL's top defenseman. 1st Blackhawk to win since C. Chelios (1996).

Pens Would Be Crazy NOT to Take Sterling

[F]or 26-year-old winger Brett Sterling, scoring twice to help Malkin's team beat Crosby's team, 2-1, Monday morning in Pittsburgh was kind of important for a couple of reasons.

First, Sterling is new to the organization, and goals are never a bad way to make a first impression.

Second, Sterling's scoring touch is his ticket to the NHL. He netted 144 goals for the AHL's Chicago Wolves in the first four years of his career, and his objective is to prove he could do the same if given a chance in Pittsburgh.

"Hopefully I was able to do that a little bit today, but there's a lot more camp to go," Sterling said. "When you're fighting for a spot with this many great guys on the team, it's a tough situation."

Sterling's calling card is his shot. He showed it off Monday when he took a pass from Tim Wallace and wired a shot short side on goalie Brad Thiessen from the top of the left faceoff circle.

"If you need another shooter, hopefully I can fill that role," Sterling said.

For now, Sterling's short-term goal is to earn a spot alongside some top-six NHL forwards in one or two of the six exhibition games on Pittsburgh's schedule.

"You look at these centers. You look at the wings you can play with. Top to bottom, it's one of the best teams in the league," he said. "That's why they're consistently good and that's what you want to come to. You have to fight for your chance, but once you get it, you're with great guys."

(Full article)

Going Back In Time - Part 2

Nearly six months later I am getting around to discussing the end of the regular season. haha Why bother? Because I fear these thoughts won't leave my head until I type 'em out. But, what is left to remember?

The last week or two was... nice. We all said farewell to Mike Modano with a tear in our eye and later found out he will be playing with the Red Wings. I guess if you wanna keep playing it shouldn't matter that you've been with the same club for basically 20 years and now there's something irregular at the bottom of the list. No matter, it was really sweet to see the love raining down on him.

There was also another "IS THIS THE END?!" moment for Teemu Selanne. It is not the end. He also scored his 600th goal on March 21st, beginning of the 2nd period against the Avalanche. The whole team jumped off the bench to congratulate him & apparently they had to ok that in advance so they wouldn't get in trouble. He ended with 606 goals!

One weekend afternoon I "watched" the Thrashers at nhl.com's little, um, player tracker thing. The name escapes me, but it highlighted who was on the ice (plus on-ice time!), when a shot was taken & what kind it was, who scored, who got penalized, etc. It was surprisingly entertaining!

Speaking of Thrashers, they ended their season with a 1-0 shutout against the Penguins. If they hadn't lost the rest of their April games they might have made it into the playoffs. But, what are ya gonna do?

There was also that game in April when the Oilers were playing the Avalanche and Peter Budaj made a pretty impressive acrobatic save. He was up, he was down, he did the splits & jumped all over the place. Ever since then I occasionally find myself saying, "Peeeeterrrr Budaajjj." I love those Avs commentators.

Nothing memorable sticks out in my mind when it comes to the Blackhawks, but eventually I'll get around to gushing about their playoff games :D

BYE

Looks like Huet is leaving, too. So let's see, that's Burish, Byfuglien, Eager, Fraser, Huet, (Johnsson), Ladd, Madden, Niemi, Sopel, and Versteeg. Am I forgetting anybody? Not to mention the players that came and went during the summer (Reasoner, Crabb, why?!).

I am assuming Crawford is coming up to be a full-time NHL player? He's in the roster, so... We should have snagged Hedberg. If he had become a Blackhawk... I would have plotz, cried, died.

The Blackhawks now have Fernando "I have UC" Pisani. Dammit. Every time I see him I think about his commercial... This could be a trying season.


Did I mention Nabby is gone from the NHL too? :| Yeah, KHL - St. Pete'. There was a prediction that Niemi might be bought by the Sharks. That'd be fine by me, I suppose... I don't really know. It'd be weird.

Bleh

Antti Niemi is no longer a Blackhawk; I no longer have anything to live for. I just. don't. get it.

But hey! I am going to a Canes/Thrashers game in March! I have my beer money saved up & ready to go :)

WHEN WILL IT END?!!

I guess Joey Crabb moved to the Maple Leafs two days ago? I am sad and confused. I was really looking forward to watching him play for the Blackhawks.

If only I could find his jersey when I go to Toronto :( I would so buy one, but woefully that won't happen in the next month!

So Long

Brett Sterling to the Penguins? Are you fucking kidding me?

Suddenly I Hate July

It looks like this is the end...