Thursday, June 5, 2008
Goodnight, Game Over, Drive Home Safely
Well, I was wrong. Detroit won the Cup in 6 games. Damn. I guess experience won out. Hats off to them for a strong showing in the playoffs and let's prey there's not a repeat next year. Until October, so long.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Damn
Two games down and Pittsburgh hasn't scored yet in the series. Looks like I might be wrong in picking them.
Also, Chris Osgood should try out for the Canadian diving team. He's doing a great job of it in this series anytime a Penguin comes near the crease...in fact, last night late in the game Petr Sykora was skating behind the net and Ozzie stuck his arm out as he went by, and then when Sykora skated into it, he went flying and laid on the ice like Sykora checked him and he was hurt, which started a scuffle and got Sykora a penalty. This was his second flop of the period, and this is all after he took a slash to his near-bullet proof chest protector in the last series and flopped around on the ice like he was just shot. Way to ruin the integrity of the game you f-ing prick. Nobody should knock Crosby anymore, but they will because NHL goalies are protected by the league like they're on the EPA's endangered species list, and it's jackasses like Osgood who abuse this power.
Also, Chris Osgood should try out for the Canadian diving team. He's doing a great job of it in this series anytime a Penguin comes near the crease...in fact, last night late in the game Petr Sykora was skating behind the net and Ozzie stuck his arm out as he went by, and then when Sykora skated into it, he went flying and laid on the ice like Sykora checked him and he was hurt, which started a scuffle and got Sykora a penalty. This was his second flop of the period, and this is all after he took a slash to his near-bullet proof chest protector in the last series and flopped around on the ice like he was just shot. Way to ruin the integrity of the game you f-ing prick. Nobody should knock Crosby anymore, but they will because NHL goalies are protected by the league like they're on the EPA's endangered species list, and it's jackasses like Osgood who abuse this power.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Coincidence?
Damien Cox, a great hockey writer out of Toronto, said in an article on espn.com that the NHL has been almost "self-destructive" over the past 15 years due to careless expansion into non-hockey markets, a deadly-boring style of play that became prevalent around 1996, and two lockouts (this wasn't in the article but countless rule changes and owners who care only about profit haven't helped much). Current comish Gary Bettman, who was a NBA man, came into office in 1992. That's 16 years ago, one year before the downfall began. Coincidence? You be the judge.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Finals Preview
Well, Detroit ended any speculation of a Dallas comeback last night with a convincing 4-1 win. It was 3-0 after the first period, so the game was pretty much put on ice early...terrible pun. Anyway, that set up a pretty sexy Stanley Cup Finals match-up between Detroit and Pittsburgh. Two teams who can score at will and are pretty good at preventing the puck from going into their net. Many people are saying that this is the series that hockey needs to start generating some interest in the sport. Sidney Crosby, often called "The next one" meaning that he is the next record-breaking player similar to Wayne Gretzky, who is "The great one" is making his first appearance in the finals...along with several other Penguin players who are either barely old enough or aren't old enough to legally drink the champagne from the Cup if they win. (Noelle, this is uncommon. The Penguins are probably the youngest team in the history of the league to make the finals.)
Because of their youth, some people think Pittsburgh will lose. Detroit has many older, experienced players who have been here before, including both of their goaltenders. The Pens' goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, is barely older than me. I think Gary Roberts may be the only player on the team who has won the cup before.
Some experts are picking the Pens because of their youthfulness. It's one of those they might be too young to know better things, meaning that they may not cave in to the tremendous pressure because of youthful innocence.
Here's my take on the series. Detroit is the best puck possession team in the league. This begins from the breakout, is maintained through the neutral zone, and extends into the offensive zone, where they are very good at generating scoring chances. They also play in a conference where very few teams play an aggressive forecheck, if any forecheck at all, consistently. The Penguiuns consistently forecheck hard. For those who may not understand, I'll put it in basektball terms. Pittsburgh's forecheck is similar to a full court press. The Red Wings are used to (what appears to me to be) a more common basketball defense, which doesn't press as hard and allows the attacking team to come up the court easier and at their own pace. I think Pittsburgh can force enough turnovers to balance out the Detroit puck possession game, or at least force them to play a way they don't like to play.
On the other hand, Detroit also has some very big open ice hitters on their team. Pittsburgh hasn't seen a team like this yet. Their big guns like Malkin and Hossa are used to people checking and holding them up along the boards, but there's a big difference between being hit into the boards, where there's something to absorb the hit, and being hit in the open ice, where there's nothing to absorb the hit. Pittsburgh generates a lot of their chances by skating the puck hard up the middle of the ice and trying to beat the opposing defense into the zone. Knowing that there is a monster lurking in the neutral zone to hit them could cause the Pens to change their attacking style, which would be bad.
Detroit has the best defense in the league, but they also play in a defensive conference. The only team with a half decent offense that they've played yet, Nashville, gave them problems. I think an offensive team like Pittsburgh who tends to make the most of their chances can expose them. If Detroit doesn't dictate the tempo of the game, they usually lose. It's going to come down to goaltending (the two goalies in this series are the top two goalies in the playoffs), and secondary scoring, which Detroit has not consistently had yet. Their top line is dangerous but they get very few goals beyond there...Pittsburgh gets goals from all four lines.
ESPN's Scott Burnside picked Pittsburgh, ESPN's Barry Melrose picked Detroit, and LVC's Nate Yinger is going with Pittsburgh. Game 1 is Saturday night at 8 on Versus.
Because of their youth, some people think Pittsburgh will lose. Detroit has many older, experienced players who have been here before, including both of their goaltenders. The Pens' goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, is barely older than me. I think Gary Roberts may be the only player on the team who has won the cup before.
Some experts are picking the Pens because of their youthfulness. It's one of those they might be too young to know better things, meaning that they may not cave in to the tremendous pressure because of youthful innocence.
Here's my take on the series. Detroit is the best puck possession team in the league. This begins from the breakout, is maintained through the neutral zone, and extends into the offensive zone, where they are very good at generating scoring chances. They also play in a conference where very few teams play an aggressive forecheck, if any forecheck at all, consistently. The Penguiuns consistently forecheck hard. For those who may not understand, I'll put it in basektball terms. Pittsburgh's forecheck is similar to a full court press. The Red Wings are used to (what appears to me to be) a more common basketball defense, which doesn't press as hard and allows the attacking team to come up the court easier and at their own pace. I think Pittsburgh can force enough turnovers to balance out the Detroit puck possession game, or at least force them to play a way they don't like to play.
On the other hand, Detroit also has some very big open ice hitters on their team. Pittsburgh hasn't seen a team like this yet. Their big guns like Malkin and Hossa are used to people checking and holding them up along the boards, but there's a big difference between being hit into the boards, where there's something to absorb the hit, and being hit in the open ice, where there's nothing to absorb the hit. Pittsburgh generates a lot of their chances by skating the puck hard up the middle of the ice and trying to beat the opposing defense into the zone. Knowing that there is a monster lurking in the neutral zone to hit them could cause the Pens to change their attacking style, which would be bad.
Detroit has the best defense in the league, but they also play in a defensive conference. The only team with a half decent offense that they've played yet, Nashville, gave them problems. I think an offensive team like Pittsburgh who tends to make the most of their chances can expose them. If Detroit doesn't dictate the tempo of the game, they usually lose. It's going to come down to goaltending (the two goalies in this series are the top two goalies in the playoffs), and secondary scoring, which Detroit has not consistently had yet. Their top line is dangerous but they get very few goals beyond there...Pittsburgh gets goals from all four lines.
ESPN's Scott Burnside picked Pittsburgh, ESPN's Barry Melrose picked Detroit, and LVC's Nate Yinger is going with Pittsburgh. Game 1 is Saturday night at 8 on Versus.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Good Riddance
The Flyers just joined my Avs on the golf course after being demoralized by Pittsburgh 6-0 in game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Pens now await the winner of the Detroit - Dallas series, which is 3-2 Detroit. The Wings were up 3-0 before Dallas won the last 2 games. Game 6 is tomorrow night at 8 on Versus...can Dallas force a game 7? Part of me hopes so, but part of me wants Detroit to win just so they can ensure there are no sun belt teams in the Cup finals this year. I'm sick of warm climate teams who don't belong in the NHL winning a trophy that originated in Canada for a sport that, for awhile, couldn't be played anywhere that couldn't sustain natural ice in the winter. Anyway, more to come after the conclusion of the Western Conference series.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Third Round Thoughts
Each conference final is well under way, so I figured it's time for an update.
Detroit has a 2-0 lead over Dallas in the West, as they remained unbeaten at home in the postseason. They have been playing their traditional stifling defense and puck possession offense, winning game 1 4-1 and game 2 2-1. Things got chippy at the end of game 2, with Dallas' Steve Ott going after a Detroit player and earning himself a 10 minute misconduct, and then Detroit goalie Chris Osgood caught Stars forward Mike Ribiero with a sneaky butt-end to the face, which prompted Ribiero to turn around and slash Osgood across the chest. Osgood went down like he had been shot and rolled around on the ice. Umm...those chest protectors can take 100mph slapshots Ozzie...you're telling me you had to roll around on the ice for taking a little slash like that? I think he just eliminated any shot he ever had of being a big time actor.
In the East, Pittsburgh is also up 2-0, winning both games on home ice 4-2. The Flyers were in trouble on the blueline without Kimmo Timonen, who is lost for the series with a blood clot in his ankle, and then in the last game Brayden Coburn, their second best defenseman, was lost for the game when he was hit in the face by a slapshot. As a result, Jaroslov Modry, who normally doesn't dress when everyone is healthy, had to play 20 minutes, and Derien Hatcher, who can sometimes be confused for a pylon the way opposing forwards blow past him, had to play almost 30 minutes. This is a lot of ice time for those two guys. Hatcher was in the penalty box when the Pens scored their second goal (it was a weak call but going by what the rules say, the correct call) and was well out of position for the game winner. However, I don't want to hear anymore crying about the refs having it in for the Flyers, because they have had a fair share of calls go their way so far.
Game 3 of the Western series is tonight (Monday) at 8, and game 3 of the Eastern series is tomorrow night at 7:30 in what should be a raucous Wachovia Center. Both games are on Versus.
Detroit has a 2-0 lead over Dallas in the West, as they remained unbeaten at home in the postseason. They have been playing their traditional stifling defense and puck possession offense, winning game 1 4-1 and game 2 2-1. Things got chippy at the end of game 2, with Dallas' Steve Ott going after a Detroit player and earning himself a 10 minute misconduct, and then Detroit goalie Chris Osgood caught Stars forward Mike Ribiero with a sneaky butt-end to the face, which prompted Ribiero to turn around and slash Osgood across the chest. Osgood went down like he had been shot and rolled around on the ice. Umm...those chest protectors can take 100mph slapshots Ozzie...you're telling me you had to roll around on the ice for taking a little slash like that? I think he just eliminated any shot he ever had of being a big time actor.
In the East, Pittsburgh is also up 2-0, winning both games on home ice 4-2. The Flyers were in trouble on the blueline without Kimmo Timonen, who is lost for the series with a blood clot in his ankle, and then in the last game Brayden Coburn, their second best defenseman, was lost for the game when he was hit in the face by a slapshot. As a result, Jaroslov Modry, who normally doesn't dress when everyone is healthy, had to play 20 minutes, and Derien Hatcher, who can sometimes be confused for a pylon the way opposing forwards blow past him, had to play almost 30 minutes. This is a lot of ice time for those two guys. Hatcher was in the penalty box when the Pens scored their second goal (it was a weak call but going by what the rules say, the correct call) and was well out of position for the game winner. However, I don't want to hear anymore crying about the refs having it in for the Flyers, because they have had a fair share of calls go their way so far.
Game 3 of the Western series is tonight (Monday) at 8, and game 3 of the Eastern series is tomorrow night at 7:30 in what should be a raucous Wachovia Center. Both games are on Versus.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
FYI
The Western Conference finals start tomorrow night (Thursday, 8 May) and the Eastern Conference finals start the following night. It looks like all of the games are televised on Versus.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
So Freakin' Excited
The Penguins beat the Rangers 3-2 in OT today to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Their opponent? The orange and black of Philadelphia, who surprised many people by easily ousting the top seeded bleu, blanc, et rogue (Montreal) in 5 games, a series in which they exposed a young, inexperienced Montreal team who many people thought overachieved during the regular season to get the top seed in the East. Holy shit am I excited for this series. Pittsburgh and Philly is the best rivalry in the NHL right now, which has been created by the renaissance that transformed Pittsburgh from perrenial cellar-dwellers to a team you don't want to face, a couple of lop-sided wins for both teams against each other, and some incredibly physical play that has resulted in more than one fight, including at least one line brawl (the term for when multiple players on the ice start fighting instead of the normal one on one fight). Will there be fights in this series? Maybe...fighting does not happen much in the playoffs, but with the hostility that exists between these two teams, dont be surprised if the gloves are thrown in this series. Hockey isn't about the fights though...this series will have everything that makes hockey beautiful: graceful skating, pinpoint passes, highlight reel goals, earth-shaking hits, and breath taking saves. I can't wait.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Time for Golf
Detroit took the liberty to end Colorado's misery last night courtesy of an 8-2 shellacking to complete the sweep. The injury riddled Avs just couldn't skate with Detroit. Even with a healthy roster, I'm not sure much could have been done...Johann Franzen scored 9 goals in the 4 game series, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk were on the score sheet quite a few times, and Colorado's piss poor offense couldn't generate much against a strong Detroit defense. I'm calling for a new coach in Denver...Quenneville's "try to play oppressive defense" system that worked in St. Louis prior to the lockout and crackdown on obstruction doesn't work anymore. I can see next year being the worst year in the Quebec/Colorado franchise since 1991/92 when they went 20-48-12. Some of their key offensive players are old and banged up (Sakic and Forsberg) and who knows which young free agents they will re-sign. It's going to be an interesting off season in Denver. For now, though, it's time for them to dust off the golf clubs and hit the links.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Switching Gears
I'm going to talk about something other than hockey for a minute because I feel like it. I'm reading about the media's reaction to the Watergate scandal in the 70's and it got me thinking...does it bother anybody else that ESPN named this whole Patriot's cheating thing "Spygate," which is a knockoff of one of the biggest government scandals in American history??? FOOTBALL IS NOT THAT IMPORTANT!!!!!! NEVER should something from a sport be named after something of such magnitude in this country's history.
Back to hockey...Montreal goalie Carey Price is showing that he really is 20 years old instead of the near-immortal he looked like during the season and Boston series. The Flyers won 3-2 last night to take a 2-1 series lead. Price was pulled from the game after giving up 3 goals on 12 shots. Two of the goals were weak and should have been stopped. This is deflating for a team. If Montreal is going to win, he's going to have to show some serious mettle and rebound in game four, or else the fat lady will sing in Montreal.
Back to hockey...Montreal goalie Carey Price is showing that he really is 20 years old instead of the near-immortal he looked like during the season and Boston series. The Flyers won 3-2 last night to take a 2-1 series lead. Price was pulled from the game after giving up 3 goals on 12 shots. Two of the goals were weak and should have been stopped. This is deflating for a team. If Montreal is going to win, he's going to have to show some serious mettle and rebound in game four, or else the fat lady will sing in Montreal.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Some say he's in the wrong sport...
Sidney Crosby is a great player. One of the biggest complaints about him is that he dives to draw penalties. Diving is not something that great players do...honestly, I don't understand why anybody would be that cowardly, but maybe that's just me. I have to admit, he does go down rather easily sometimes. The Rangers have brought this complaint back to the surface after what they call a questionable penalty that was sparked by a Crosby "dive" (I did not see the play) in Game 1 lead to the game winning goal, and another incident in yesterday's game (he did appear to go down pretty easily here). His first year in the league, I think Sid dove a lot. Now, he still draws a lot of penalties, but I think because of his speed and talent level, he forces other players, especially big, slow defenseman, to clutch and grab and take penalties. This is an example of first impressions lasting a lifetime, and I don't think it's fair. Yes, there are times where he draws a penalty becuase of going down that probably wouldn't be called if a lesser known player had the same thing happen to them. That's not his fault, though, is it? There are players in the league who do dive, and the NHL needs to implement an automatic fine and suspension for a diving penalty to eliminate this problem. I don't think Sid is a problem diver anymore, though.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
April 25 Recap
Hershey's season ended on a sour note last night, as they gave up four third period goals en route to a 7-3 shellacking in Wilkes Barre. The Bears actually scored the first goal of the game and had a 2-1 lead at one point, and were down 3-2 after two periods before the Baby Pens exploded for a four goal third to put the game out of question. After winning the Calder Cup two years ago and losing in the finals last year, a first round exit is a bit of a disappointment for the guys in Chocolate and White, but oh well, you can't make it that far every year. Just making the playoffs is a respectable season.
One of the bad things about the AHL is that there are a lot of roster changes from one year to the next as guys either move up to the NHL or switch teams because of either being involved in a trade or signed as a free agent to a minor league contract by another NHL club. My guess is Chris Bourque, Alexandre Giroux, and probably Sami Lepisto will be in Washington instead of Hershey next year, although Giroux and Lepisto could go elsewhere. Hopefully Hershey doesn't lose too many key players, or they are able to make good offseason signings.
In the NHL, the Penguins erased a 3-0 deficit early in the second period by scoring four unanswered goals, including the first two in a 14 second span, to open their series against the Rangers with a 5-4 win. Per usual, Sidney Crosby created controversy amongst the opposition, who claims that he took a dive to embellish the penalty that lead to the game winning goal. I think Sid does draw some BS penalties, but in this case, I'm not complaning as I want the Penguins to win the series.
Dallas beat San Jose 3-2 in OT to take a 1-0 lead in that series. Look for OT to be a constant theme there...if not OT, definitely tight, one goal games. I didn't watch the end of this game because of being exhausted from getting up at 5:30 to go to Penn Relays for the day, but the first two periods weren't terrible...not a lot of shots, since both teams are strong on D, but there wasn't a lack of opportunites or action.
One of the bad things about the AHL is that there are a lot of roster changes from one year to the next as guys either move up to the NHL or switch teams because of either being involved in a trade or signed as a free agent to a minor league contract by another NHL club. My guess is Chris Bourque, Alexandre Giroux, and probably Sami Lepisto will be in Washington instead of Hershey next year, although Giroux and Lepisto could go elsewhere. Hopefully Hershey doesn't lose too many key players, or they are able to make good offseason signings.
In the NHL, the Penguins erased a 3-0 deficit early in the second period by scoring four unanswered goals, including the first two in a 14 second span, to open their series against the Rangers with a 5-4 win. Per usual, Sidney Crosby created controversy amongst the opposition, who claims that he took a dive to embellish the penalty that lead to the game winning goal. I think Sid does draw some BS penalties, but in this case, I'm not complaning as I want the Penguins to win the series.
Dallas beat San Jose 3-2 in OT to take a 1-0 lead in that series. Look for OT to be a constant theme there...if not OT, definitely tight, one goal games. I didn't watch the end of this game because of being exhausted from getting up at 5:30 to go to Penn Relays for the day, but the first two periods weren't terrible...not a lot of shots, since both teams are strong on D, but there wasn't a lack of opportunites or action.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Stayin Alive
Hershey staved off elimination last night with a 3-2 OT win at home against the Baby Pens. WB/S scored with 19 seconds left to tie the game, but Hershey ended the agony and avoided the sweep just 20 seconds into OT. Game 5 is tomorrow night (April 25) in Wilkes Barre, as Hershey looks to live another day. Eric Fehr's return from Washington should be a big offensive boost for the Bears, as well as a leadership boost. LET's GO BEARS!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Round Two
The Flyers (shit) and Sharks both won their decisive game seven's last night, officially ending an exciting first round. Here are the match-ups for round two.
Montreal vs Philadelphia
Pittsburgh vs New York Rangers
Detroit vs Colorado
San Jose vs Dallas
I'm really excited for these match-ups. Montreal and Philadelphia usually play entertaining games and they have a history of action packed playoff series. They both had seven game first round series, so neither team will be more well-rested than the other. They each have potent offenses and block a lot of shots on defense. I'd give Carey Price the edge over Marty Biron in goal based on his resume in playoffs in lower levels, and the fact that the last two Montreal rookies to start in the playoffs were these guys named Ken Dryedn (1971) and Patrick Roy (1986). Guess what? The Habs won the Stanley Cup both times, and both goaltenders went on to Hall of Fame careers. I hope history repeats itself here.
The Rangers and Penguins are Atlantic Division rivals, and it features a high powered Pens offense against a stingy Rangers defense; however, the Pens defense is the most underrated part of their game, and the Rangers offense came alive in the first round against New Jersey. This one could go either way.
Colorado and Detroit used to be THE rivalry in hockey, but it has gradually died down over the years as players have moved on from the clubs or retired from hockey all together. I don't like the odds for my boys from the Mile High City, as they only scored two or three goals against the Wings in four regular season games. Hopefully these games are more entertaining than they were during the season, as they were very one sided in Detroit's favor everywhere but the scoreboard, which had very low scores on it. Keep in mind, the Avs did not have Peter Forsberg, Ryan Smyth, Joe Sakic, and Paul Stastny for much of the regular season. They will be keys on offense if the Avs are going to put up a fight.
I don't have too many thoughts about the San Jose and Dallas series. Dallas looked very strong in their first round demolition of defending champs Anaheim, and San Jose was pushed to the brink against a Calgary squad who they were supposed to dispatch of easily. Many experts picked San Jose to win it all, but I think they will be lucky to make it out of this round alive.
The first games of the second round are Thursday night...not sure of the start times yet.
Montreal vs Philadelphia
Pittsburgh vs New York Rangers
Detroit vs Colorado
San Jose vs Dallas
I'm really excited for these match-ups. Montreal and Philadelphia usually play entertaining games and they have a history of action packed playoff series. They both had seven game first round series, so neither team will be more well-rested than the other. They each have potent offenses and block a lot of shots on defense. I'd give Carey Price the edge over Marty Biron in goal based on his resume in playoffs in lower levels, and the fact that the last two Montreal rookies to start in the playoffs were these guys named Ken Dryedn (1971) and Patrick Roy (1986). Guess what? The Habs won the Stanley Cup both times, and both goaltenders went on to Hall of Fame careers. I hope history repeats itself here.
The Rangers and Penguins are Atlantic Division rivals, and it features a high powered Pens offense against a stingy Rangers defense; however, the Pens defense is the most underrated part of their game, and the Rangers offense came alive in the first round against New Jersey. This one could go either way.
Colorado and Detroit used to be THE rivalry in hockey, but it has gradually died down over the years as players have moved on from the clubs or retired from hockey all together. I don't like the odds for my boys from the Mile High City, as they only scored two or three goals against the Wings in four regular season games. Hopefully these games are more entertaining than they were during the season, as they were very one sided in Detroit's favor everywhere but the scoreboard, which had very low scores on it. Keep in mind, the Avs did not have Peter Forsberg, Ryan Smyth, Joe Sakic, and Paul Stastny for much of the regular season. They will be keys on offense if the Avs are going to put up a fight.
I don't have too many thoughts about the San Jose and Dallas series. Dallas looked very strong in their first round demolition of defending champs Anaheim, and San Jose was pushed to the brink against a Calgary squad who they were supposed to dispatch of easily. Many experts picked San Jose to win it all, but I think they will be lucky to make it out of this round alive.
The first games of the second round are Thursday night...not sure of the start times yet.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
No creative title today
The Bears lost Sunday night. They're down 3-0 now. Hopefully they can salvage one Wednesday night and start working their way back into the series.
The Caps won in Philly last night, coming back from a 2-0 second period deficit to win 4-2 and force game seven tonight in DC. I have night class...out last one before the final. DAMN IT! Maybe I'll "have to write a paper" or something... The San Jose-Calgary series is also going to be decided by a game seven tonight. I'm gonna be up until all hours of the night and be a zombie for 8a.m. class tomorrow. It will be worth it though hopefully.
The Caps won in Philly last night, coming back from a 2-0 second period deficit to win 4-2 and force game seven tonight in DC. I have night class...out last one before the final. DAMN IT! Maybe I'll "have to write a paper" or something... The San Jose-Calgary series is also going to be decided by a game seven tonight. I'm gonna be up until all hours of the night and be a zombie for 8a.m. class tomorrow. It will be worth it though hopefully.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Trouble in Chocolatetown
Things aren't looking good for the Bears...they lost 6-2 in Wilkes Barre tonight to go down 2-0 in the best of seven first round. A pivotal game three is tomorrow afternoon in Wilkes Barre. It's pretty much a must-win for Hershey. A win would give them some momentum coming home and would make it easier to even up the series. If they go down 3-0, however, that's pretty much an automatic lights out. The game tonight was 3-2 going into the 3rd period, and then WB/S exploded for three goals in a span of a couple minutes to put the game well out of reach. Cassivi has been the goaltender for the first two games, which is understandable because of his playoff experience and two Calder Cup championships...I wonder if Bob Woods will look to rookie Darren Machesney, a fan favorite, before the end of the series if Hershey doesn't win tomorrow?
On a completely random aside, I forgot just how good of a song Summer of 69 is.
On a completely random aside, I forgot just how good of a song Summer of 69 is.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Insert Nelson Muntz laugh here
The Devils bailed out in the first round for the third time in the last four seasons, and the only time they made it past the first round, in 2006, they lost in the second round. Marty Brodeur, arguably the greatest goalie of all time, has looked mortal in every single playoff series the past four years becuase he plays anywhere from 70-77 out of the 82 games each year. The average starting goalie plays maybe 55-65 games. So, come playoffs, Marty is burned out. The Devils put so much emphesis on playing defense that they never load up a good offense and can't score. They brought in Kevin Weekes, an experienced goaltender, to be Brodeur's backup this year and ease his workload. He got at most two starts in the last three months of the season. Brent Sutter was brought in as the new coach and said he was going to implement a more offensive system. Two weeks into the season they were playing their same old boring, responsible hockey that GM Lou Lamouriello forces his coaches to play or else...Sweet Lou...in my eyes, you are the reason for your club's playoff demises. Let the coaches you hire run the team. You've tried your hand at coaching twice and failed twice. The Devils' Stanley Cup days where Brodeur could shoulder such a work load are well in the past.
I love seeing the Devils lose. HA HA!
I love seeing the Devils lose. HA HA!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
For your entertainment...
Here's a quote from ESPN hockey analyst John Buccigross about the first round series between Nashville and Detroit...
I picked the Red Wings in seven because Nashville's fans just go bonkers when the Red Wings come to town. It's like they are at a Toby Keith concert with free Milwaukee's Best.
The part about the Toby Keith concert with free Beast made me laugh out loud.
I picked the Red Wings in seven because Nashville's fans just go bonkers when the Red Wings come to town. It's like they are at a Toby Keith concert with free Milwaukee's Best.
The part about the Toby Keith concert with free Beast made me laugh out loud.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Bitter
I hate the Flyers. I really do. Okay, maybe I don't hate the team itself. It's (most) Flyers fans that make me dislike them. They're ignorant and classless - I've heard them boo or jeer injured players from the opposing team. A referee makes a legitimate call and they start an ASSHOLE chant. No, douchebags, you aren't funny. Their announcers are extremely unprofessional. Sure, you should have a bias for your team if you work for a regional network. These guys take it to a new level. Any time something goes against the Flyers it's because there's a conspiracy against them. That leads to five minutes of complaining about how incompetent the officials are. They commit and obvious penalty and the refs don't know what they're talking about. The other team gets away with something and the refs have it in for them. They never acknolwedge something good that the other team does. If you watch Penguins games, their announcers will acknowledge things such as milestones players from the other team achieve, commend a good play, and if an unfavorable call goes against them, they may disagree, but instead of griping about it for five minutes they say "Well, they call it like they see it, and the Pens have to deal with it and move on" or something to that extent and continue on. Flyers games are so bad I frequently have to watch the game on mute. The sad thing about this is...they're better this year than they were in the past. Maybe I should stop complaining and just take it for what it is. I'm mostly bitter because they just won.
Listen up, Buddy
Every game of the Colorado-Minnesota series has gone to overtime. Every game of the series has seen the Avs blow a third period lead, being outscored 6-2 in the process...that's EVERY REGULATION GOAL MINNESOTA HAS SCORED IN THE SERIES. The Avs pulled it out in game one, but Minnesota has taken the past two. I've got enough grey hairs for a 21 year old. Joel Quenneville, stop insisting that your team can sit on a 1-0 or 2-0 lead. They can't. They haven't been able to for about seven years. Please, let's work on winning a game in regulation...or winning a game for that matter.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Bring on the Baby Pens
The Bears clinched a playoff spot last night with a 5-2 win over the Phantoms. Bridgeport needed to win out and have the Bears lose to clinch a playoff spot, but fortnuately they lost last night, so the Bears are in. Their first round matchup is Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. This is a divisional rivalry between two pretty evenly matched teams. The Bears easily disposed of the Baby Pens in the playoffs last year, so hopefully this year is a repeat. After a skid that almost put their season in jeopardy, Hershey seems to be back on track, going 6-2-1-1 in their last ten games. They conclude the regular season tonight with a game against Binghampton, and then the playoffs begin on Wednesday the 16th. Hopefully everyone is healthy and well rested by then. I'd love to see a third consecutive trip to the finals for the boys in Chocolate and White.
In other news, Boston College beat surprising Notre Dame last night 4-1 to win the NCAA Men's Hockey championship, their first since 2001 and third in program history. I kind of wanted Notre Dame to win because they were the underdog and it would have been their first national championship. They scored what I think was a legit goal that would have made it 3-2 midway through the third period, but the goal review team declared that it was kicked in. The instant replay showed the puck deflect off of the guy's skate and in. This is legal as long as there is no distinct kicking motion. There was a kicking motion AFTER the puck had hit his skate and was on its way into the net, but he did not make a kicking motion when he actually hit the puck into the net. I think it was a bullshit no goal. Thirty seconds later BC went down and scored to make it 4-1 and that was that. That's just how the puck bounces some days.
In other news, Boston College beat surprising Notre Dame last night 4-1 to win the NCAA Men's Hockey championship, their first since 2001 and third in program history. I kind of wanted Notre Dame to win because they were the underdog and it would have been their first national championship. They scored what I think was a legit goal that would have made it 3-2 midway through the third period, but the goal review team declared that it was kicked in. The instant replay showed the puck deflect off of the guy's skate and in. This is legal as long as there is no distinct kicking motion. There was a kicking motion AFTER the puck had hit his skate and was on its way into the net, but he did not make a kicking motion when he actually hit the puck into the net. I think it was a bullshit no goal. Thirty seconds later BC went down and scored to make it 4-1 and that was that. That's just how the puck bounces some days.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
I wish...
I'm watching the Boston at Montreal playoff game and wow, I wish I could be there. 21,000 phenatical fans must be deafening. I also wish I could have been at the Flyers at Capitals game last night. It was a great game.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Damnit, Nate
I hate fantasy sports. I really do. They cause people to root for players who are on their favorite team's rival team becuase they "help their fantasy team." Not only that, but it gives ESPN an extra excuse to talk about football year round by predicting which players will have a big fantasy impact next year for 3 months after they do their 3 months of mock drafts. So someone please answer me this: WHY THE HELL DID I JOIN A FANTASY HOCKEY LEAGUE???? It's only for the playoffs and it's with a group of friends, but it still violates my principals. Hopefully this doesn't kickstart an addiction.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
We're Goin to the Playoffs!!!!
The playoff's are set in the NHL. Here's the first round...
Eastern Conference
Montreal vs Boston
Pittsburgh vs Ottawa
Washington vs Philadelphia
New Jersey vs New York Rangers
Western Conference
Detroit vs Nashville
San Jose vs Calgary
Minnesota vs Colorado
Anaheim vs Dallas
I'm really excited for the Eastern battles. Montreal vs Boston is a rivalry that dates back to the 1920s and the atmosphere at those games will be electric. Pittsburgh and Ottawa have a past playoff history as do Washington and Philadelphia (as well as exciting regular season games), and New York and New Jersey are rivals separated only by a river...bring extra security to these games.
In the West, I'm not too sure about the first series, although with strong goaltending Nashville could upset Detroit. Minnesota and Colorado are divisional rivals, and Anaheim and Dallas have had heated, closely contested games all season. Look for some black eyes in that series. No predictions for Calgary and San Jose...S.J. is the hottest team in the league right now, but Calgary has the West's only 50 goal scorer in Jarome Iginla.
If you're looking for a prediction...sorry...I can't make an unbiased prediction. Most experts are picking Detroit, Anaheim (the defending champs) or San Jose, although I hope to hell it's a team from the East who doesn't have New in their name.
The playoffs start this Wednesday, April 9th. Early round coverage can be seen on Versus (channel 62 here in Annville) if you're interested in tuning in.
Eastern Conference
Montreal vs Boston
Pittsburgh vs Ottawa
Washington vs Philadelphia
New Jersey vs New York Rangers
Western Conference
Detroit vs Nashville
San Jose vs Calgary
Minnesota vs Colorado
Anaheim vs Dallas
I'm really excited for the Eastern battles. Montreal vs Boston is a rivalry that dates back to the 1920s and the atmosphere at those games will be electric. Pittsburgh and Ottawa have a past playoff history as do Washington and Philadelphia (as well as exciting regular season games), and New York and New Jersey are rivals separated only by a river...bring extra security to these games.
In the West, I'm not too sure about the first series, although with strong goaltending Nashville could upset Detroit. Minnesota and Colorado are divisional rivals, and Anaheim and Dallas have had heated, closely contested games all season. Look for some black eyes in that series. No predictions for Calgary and San Jose...S.J. is the hottest team in the league right now, but Calgary has the West's only 50 goal scorer in Jarome Iginla.
If you're looking for a prediction...sorry...I can't make an unbiased prediction. Most experts are picking Detroit, Anaheim (the defending champs) or San Jose, although I hope to hell it's a team from the East who doesn't have New in their name.
The playoffs start this Wednesday, April 9th. Early round coverage can be seen on Versus (channel 62 here in Annville) if you're interested in tuning in.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Down to the wire
The Flyers were indeed out of the playoffs when we woke up this morning, but a 3-0 win over the Devils combined with Carolina losing their final game of the season to Florida clinched a playoff spot for the Flyers. They play Pittsburgh on Sunday in a game that will mostly be for seeding rather than fighting for their playoff lives. Washington needs a point tomorrow night to make the playoffs. Their opponent? Florida. Hopefully the Panthers don't play spoiler two nights in a row.
With seven games left in their season, Hershey currently sits in either 7th or 8th in their conference, I'm not sure exactly which. Either way, every point is important down the stretch, as the 9th place team in the conference is only 2 points behind them.
With seven games left in their season, Hershey currently sits in either 7th or 8th in their conference, I'm not sure exactly which. Either way, every point is important down the stretch, as the 9th place team in the conference is only 2 points behind them.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Uh-oh
The Flyers are in trouble. They could be out of the playoffs by the time we go to bed tonight if Washington wins. Let's go Caps!!!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Because I feel like it
Writing about the nostalgia of the outdoor rink earlier made me feel like posting this. It's our 2004-05 Hill hockey seniors. I'm the first one on the left in the front row, sporting longer hair than now. Hey, it was hockey hair.
Nostalgia
Have you ever skated on an outdoor rink? Odds are no, since they are a dying breed. I did, however. Our rink at The Hill School was a covered outdoor rink. The rink was built in 1953 as a completely outdoor rink; a roof was added in 1965, and this continued to be the home rink until a new indoor one was built in 2006.
The rink at Hill was my favorite rink ever. The arch supports for the roof were wooden, and the rink was situated right next to the gym, which was built in the Depression, and at the far end of the rink there was an old brick wall that was also built during the Depression. It had a really old feel to it, which was awesome.
Playing on an outdoor rink is a unique experience. Unlike an indoor rink, where the temperature is conrolled, an outdoor rink goes with the weather. Our ice making equipment could maintain ice up to 70 degrees, so there were a couple of times where we walked to the rink in shorts and a tee shirt and then had to get in all that gear and go play. Talk about sweating your ass off. Conversely, there were times we played where the temperature was single digits. The water bottles froze in about five minutes, and the front of your jerseys would also freeze from any sweat you managed to produce. If it rained, the glass and ice fogged up and you could not see the other end. If it snowed, it felt like you were playing in the snow, which is unreal, becuase when people think about hockey in its purest form, it is playing on a pond in the snow.
My favorite exerience was playing at night. Walking to the rink, you suddenly saw a big bubble of light in the middle of the darkness, and a fresh sheet of ice begging to be skated on. Our locker rooms were about 75 feet from the rink, and we had to walk thru an open pathway to get there. For games, we would come out of the locker room into "the gauntlet," surrounded by darkness, heading towards the light at the end of the tunnel. Raucous students lined the walkway screaming their support. When we got to the ice, we would run through the door onto the rink to another rousing cheer that, if there were enough peoople at the game, could be heard all over campus. The fans standing on the metal bleachers were playing drums or banging hockey sticks onto the metal and shouting chants reminiscant to a European soccer match. There wasn't enough body to contain all the adreneline pumping through you. Words can't describe the experience; it is something you had to experience for yourself.
I really miss playing on that rink. The structure is still there to be used as a pavilion, but the boards have been taken down. It just isn't the same. Because of the global warming bullshit, many rinks that were once outdoor have been converted to indoor rinks in the past 15 or so years. It's a shame, playing outside was an experience.
The rink at Hill was my favorite rink ever. The arch supports for the roof were wooden, and the rink was situated right next to the gym, which was built in the Depression, and at the far end of the rink there was an old brick wall that was also built during the Depression. It had a really old feel to it, which was awesome.
Playing on an outdoor rink is a unique experience. Unlike an indoor rink, where the temperature is conrolled, an outdoor rink goes with the weather. Our ice making equipment could maintain ice up to 70 degrees, so there were a couple of times where we walked to the rink in shorts and a tee shirt and then had to get in all that gear and go play. Talk about sweating your ass off. Conversely, there were times we played where the temperature was single digits. The water bottles froze in about five minutes, and the front of your jerseys would also freeze from any sweat you managed to produce. If it rained, the glass and ice fogged up and you could not see the other end. If it snowed, it felt like you were playing in the snow, which is unreal, becuase when people think about hockey in its purest form, it is playing on a pond in the snow.
My favorite exerience was playing at night. Walking to the rink, you suddenly saw a big bubble of light in the middle of the darkness, and a fresh sheet of ice begging to be skated on. Our locker rooms were about 75 feet from the rink, and we had to walk thru an open pathway to get there. For games, we would come out of the locker room into "the gauntlet," surrounded by darkness, heading towards the light at the end of the tunnel. Raucous students lined the walkway screaming their support. When we got to the ice, we would run through the door onto the rink to another rousing cheer that, if there were enough peoople at the game, could be heard all over campus. The fans standing on the metal bleachers were playing drums or banging hockey sticks onto the metal and shouting chants reminiscant to a European soccer match. There wasn't enough body to contain all the adreneline pumping through you. Words can't describe the experience; it is something you had to experience for yourself.
I really miss playing on that rink. The structure is still there to be used as a pavilion, but the boards have been taken down. It just isn't the same. Because of the global warming bullshit, many rinks that were once outdoor have been converted to indoor rinks in the past 15 or so years. It's a shame, playing outside was an experience.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Hockey
Yesterday was Gordie Howe's 80th birthday, and a true hockey blog would not be complete without mentioning his birthday...my appologies for it being a day late.
Monday, March 31, 2008
High School State Championships
AAA - LaSalle 9 vs Pine Richland 1
AA - Greater Latrobe 3 vs Conestoga 2
A - W.C. East 3 vs Quaker Valley 2
Congratulations to all of the teams who won their respective tier championships. Two of the three winners (LaSalle and W.C. East)are Philadelphia teams. Eastern PA hockey seems to be stronger than Western PA hockey and I'm not quite sure why. For club teams, Pittsburgh AA is equivelant to Philly A. Judging by the results, the same is true for high school hockey. Hell, even in prep hockey it's like that. I'd like to see Shady Side Academy play LaSalle. Shady Side is a solid prep team from near Pitt, but they don't seem to have much luck when they come out to this side of the state or into Jersey. I don't think they've ever beaten Lawrenceville or Hill (Go Blues), but they don't get blown out by either team. LaSalle can play pretty evenly with both L-Ville and Hill, so it would probably be a pretty even game. That said, I'd also like to see them play Pine Richland and get a solid comparison that way.
On another note, the Frozen Four is next week. Semi-final games between B.C. and North Dakota, and Michigan and Notre Dame are on April 10, with the championship game being April 12. This will be some good hockey that ESPN should televise...watch a game if you get the chance, it's more enjoyable to watch than a lot of NHL games.
AA - Greater Latrobe 3 vs Conestoga 2
A - W.C. East 3 vs Quaker Valley 2
Congratulations to all of the teams who won their respective tier championships. Two of the three winners (LaSalle and W.C. East)are Philadelphia teams. Eastern PA hockey seems to be stronger than Western PA hockey and I'm not quite sure why. For club teams, Pittsburgh AA is equivelant to Philly A. Judging by the results, the same is true for high school hockey. Hell, even in prep hockey it's like that. I'd like to see Shady Side Academy play LaSalle. Shady Side is a solid prep team from near Pitt, but they don't seem to have much luck when they come out to this side of the state or into Jersey. I don't think they've ever beaten Lawrenceville or Hill (Go Blues), but they don't get blown out by either team. LaSalle can play pretty evenly with both L-Ville and Hill, so it would probably be a pretty even game. That said, I'd also like to see them play Pine Richland and get a solid comparison that way.
On another note, the Frozen Four is next week. Semi-final games between B.C. and North Dakota, and Michigan and Notre Dame are on April 10, with the championship game being April 12. This will be some good hockey that ESPN should televise...watch a game if you get the chance, it's more enjoyable to watch than a lot of NHL games.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Get a clue, NBC
Does it bother anybody else that any time the Penguins are involved in the NHL on NBC game of the week, Sidney Crosby gets interviewed right before the game? I like Sid, but this is an example of why people do not like him. He gets way too much exposure. This isn't his fault, it is the NHL's and NBC's fault. They need to stop trying so hard to market him and maybe market some other players. Sooner or later, people are going to be tired of Crosby and just tune out. He is a very good player, but there are plenty of other good players in the NHL who could be interviewed. Also, I'd love to see teams not named Detroit, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia shown in the G.O.W. Look at NBC's broadcast schedule; those teams are always involved. People in Phoenix aren't going to become more interested in hockey by watching the same east coast teams playing all the time. If the NHL wants to reach small markets, which they have tried to do time and time again and failed miserably time and time again, maybe that is a place to start.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The Heat is On
I don't think there has been a division in the history of the league that was as tight and evenly matched as the NHL's Northwest Division. As of this morning, here are the standings:
1 - Minnesota, 91 pts, 3rd in the conference
2 - Calgary, 90 pts, 5th in the conference
3 - Colorado, 88 pts, 7th in the conference
4 - Vancouver, 86 pts, 8th in the conference
5 - Edmonton, 83 pts, 10th in the conference
All of the teams have either four or five games remaining. The regular season ends on April 6th; between now and then, who knows how the standings in both the conference and the division could change. Keep in mind the leaders of each division get the top three spots in the conference, which also means home ice advantage in the first round. With mostly divisional games only left on the schedule, expect to see a lot of flip-flopping between these teams. Whoever finished eighth in the conference (the final playoff spot) will have a first round matchup with Detroit, who is 15-2-3 against Northwest divison teams this year. Ouch. Hopefully my beloved Avalanche don't have to play them, seeing how they scored only two goals against Detroit in four games this year. I'd like to see Colorado make a late push and overtake Minnesota for the third spot, because that will likely bring a first round matchup with Dallas, who Colorado has done fairly well against recently. As of now, they are facing a first round date with San Jose, who plays very tight defense and could cause problems for a Colorado team who tries to match their opponent's style of play rather than sticking to a consistent style. Stay tuned.
1 - Minnesota, 91 pts, 3rd in the conference
2 - Calgary, 90 pts, 5th in the conference
3 - Colorado, 88 pts, 7th in the conference
4 - Vancouver, 86 pts, 8th in the conference
5 - Edmonton, 83 pts, 10th in the conference
All of the teams have either four or five games remaining. The regular season ends on April 6th; between now and then, who knows how the standings in both the conference and the division could change. Keep in mind the leaders of each division get the top three spots in the conference, which also means home ice advantage in the first round. With mostly divisional games only left on the schedule, expect to see a lot of flip-flopping between these teams. Whoever finished eighth in the conference (the final playoff spot) will have a first round matchup with Detroit, who is 15-2-3 against Northwest divison teams this year. Ouch. Hopefully my beloved Avalanche don't have to play them, seeing how they scored only two goals against Detroit in four games this year. I'd like to see Colorado make a late push and overtake Minnesota for the third spot, because that will likely bring a first round matchup with Dallas, who Colorado has done fairly well against recently. As of now, they are facing a first round date with San Jose, who plays very tight defense and could cause problems for a Colorado team who tries to match their opponent's style of play rather than sticking to a consistent style. Stay tuned.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Division III
Congratulations to St. Norbert College from Wisconsin, who defeated Plattsburg State 2-0 in the NCAA Men's Division III national championship game yesterday.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Old Time Hockey
One of the most famous hockey photos of all time. In game seven of the first round in the 1952 playoffs, Montreal's Maurice "The Rocket" Richard was KO'd, only to return and score the winning goal in overtime against beat up Bruins goaltender "Sugar" Jim Henry. Look at the two of them, black eyed and bloodied, fierce rivals who just fought a seven game war on ice, yet still shaking hands. That photo speaks volumes. I think any big ego athlete today needs to look at that to see why people play sports.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Flyers Cup
CPIHL teams didn't fare too well in the Flyers Cup...not a big surprise. I think LaSalle will take the AAA crown...if you want to see good PA high school hockey, that is the team to watch.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Quoteworthy
"Too bad sense eludes so many otherwise-sane Americans who have been brainwashed by the win-at-all-costs crusade. At the end of the day, whether we're talking about recruiting battles, high school championships or Little League games, the only thing that seems to matter to many people is the W."
That was written by Mary Buckheit of espn.com about the 8 overtime high school state championship game in Michigan that was declared a 1-1 draw for several reasons, with the biggest concern being that some players were no longer sweating from being so dehydrated. Some people commenting on the game were disgusted that no winner was declared despite the fact that the players on the ice could barely stand. It is a good article worth reading that makes some good points.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=buckheit/080314
That was written by Mary Buckheit of espn.com about the 8 overtime high school state championship game in Michigan that was declared a 1-1 draw for several reasons, with the biggest concern being that some players were no longer sweating from being so dehydrated. Some people commenting on the game were disgusted that no winner was declared despite the fact that the players on the ice could barely stand. It is a good article worth reading that makes some good points.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=buckheit/080314
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Bears...
...are not playing very well at all. They had a pretty bad nine game road trip that ended Friday night on a high note with a 5-3 win in Philadelphia, but they then came home and lost two games against Manitoba, 5-0 and 3-1. They just didn't look good at all. Granted, they are missing a fair amount of important players, but it is easy to see why they are sliding. They better turn this around by the playoffs.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Rough Stuff
This may be my favorite fight that there is a video of. Too bad there aren't more like this. Too much defensive fighting now and most of it is within the first ten minutes of the game.
Regional NHL teams
The Flyers lost both games of a home and home with Toronto, including one in which they were up 3-0 in the 3rd period. I love it.
The Capitals had a big come from behind win over Calgary last night, but unfortunately Carolina also won, continuing their hot streak. I don't think the Caps can catch them. They're 7 points behind with roughly a dozen games left to play for each team. Their best bet for the playoffs is to hope either the Flyers or Bruins go ice cold for the last 12 or so games and that they go on a tear and can sneak into one of the last playoff spots. They're only 5 points behind the Flyers and 6 behind the Bruins, who are the 8th and 7th seeds in the East, respectively.
The Penguins beat Buffalo in a weird one. It was 3-0 Pens going into the 3rd. The final score was 7-3 Pens. Seven combined goals in the third period. Wow. What is even more amazing is that Buffalo had two disallowed goals and hit the post. It could have been much closer than 7-3.
If the playoffs started today, the 1-8 matchup in the East would be Flyers and Penguins. What a series that would be. I kind of wish they started today just for that reason.
The Capitals had a big come from behind win over Calgary last night, but unfortunately Carolina also won, continuing their hot streak. I don't think the Caps can catch them. They're 7 points behind with roughly a dozen games left to play for each team. Their best bet for the playoffs is to hope either the Flyers or Bruins go ice cold for the last 12 or so games and that they go on a tear and can sneak into one of the last playoff spots. They're only 5 points behind the Flyers and 6 behind the Bruins, who are the 8th and 7th seeds in the East, respectively.
The Penguins beat Buffalo in a weird one. It was 3-0 Pens going into the 3rd. The final score was 7-3 Pens. Seven combined goals in the third period. Wow. What is even more amazing is that Buffalo had two disallowed goals and hit the post. It could have been much closer than 7-3.
If the playoffs started today, the 1-8 matchup in the East would be Flyers and Penguins. What a series that would be. I kind of wish they started today just for that reason.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Hockey or Soccer??
There were five 1-0 games in the NHL last week, culminated by the Rangers 1-0 shootout win over Boston on Sunday. It seems like there are more 1-0 games than ever before in the NHL this year, including the 2003-04 season when scoring was at the lowest level since the original expansion in 1967. This is not good for hockey. I am not one of those people who thinks every game needs to be 8-5, and that said, I am not an advocate of bigger nets. However, there needs to be more than 1 goal scored in a game. If games aren't 1-0, many of them are 2-1 or 3-2 in overtime or a shootout, and many of these games are very predictable. How can the NHL increase scoring (6 goals combined seems to be the popular consensus amongst experts such as Barry Melrose and Damian Cox for the average number of goals there should be in a game) without doing something as drastic as making the nets bigger? Here are my thoughts.
The style of play needs to be changed. That's the bottom line. During the lockout 04-05 season, one of the new rules that was adapted was eliminating two line passes, which was supposed to eliminate the trap. It worked for about half a season. Then teams discovered the 1-2-2, which isn't too hard to break, but many teams now play the 1-4, which has one passive forechecker in the offensive zone and the remaining four players stacked across the defensive blue line. This is almost impossible to skate through, so teams have to dump and chase. If this doesn't work, then more often than not the defending team sets up a controlled breakout, the team that dumped the puck in sets up their own trap, and we go the other way. If they do manage to get into the zone and get set up, then they are often confined to passing around the perimeter as the other team clusters all five players in the slot around the goaltender. The attacking team has to take an outside shot that either gets blocked, or is a routine save for the goaltender. There is a slight chance that the puck will grow a set of eyes and find its way into the net, but this happens maybe one out of 70 shots. This is what happens in most of the 1-0 games. There are a lot of shots (The Islanders took 53 on Florida in their 1-0 loss last week) but most of the shots could have been stopped by a pee-wee. There are very few good scoring chances and no rebounds or sustained pressure around the net.
I don't understand why teams refuse to play aggressive. You don't want to be overly aggressive, but what's wrong with a 3 man forecheck with the third guy staying high in the zone? I can't tell you how many times I've seen a puck squirt into the high slot begging to be blasted on goal or passed to a forechecker for a one timer, but nobody is there because teams are in their precious trap. Anaheim beat Detroit in the playoffs last year in OT in one of the later games in the series because they suddenly played a very aggressive forecheck, caused a turnover, and scored. Why don't teams do this for the entire game??? Sure, you might give up an odd man rush, but I will give up a 3 on 2 all day long. Half the time they are broken up at the blue line, 47% of the time the goalie makes the save or the shot misses the net, and MAYBE 3% of the time the team scores. If the third forechecker stays high in the zone like he is supposed to, then he can get back and tie the third attacker up before one of the other players can drop a pass to him or a good rebound chance emerges. Trapping just doesn't make sense to me.
The Western Conference is much worse about this than the Eastern Conference. In the east, if there is going to be 1-0 game, there is a 99.9% chance that Florida, Boston, New Jersey, or the Rangers are involved. All of those teams have trouble scoring but have coaches who preach defense first and play the aforementioned 1-4 trap and clogging the slot frequently. Most other Eastern Conference teams like to play a little more open style of play though. If you look at the scoring averages for the league, the average goals scored per game is about 2.7. There are six Eastern Conference teams below this number. Four of them are the teams mentioned in the last paragraph. However, the average number of goals per game in the East is 2.8, and would probably be closer to 2.9 if not for the four horrifically boring teams I mentioned. However, in the West, the average goals scored per game is only 2.6 This is terrible. Western Conference games are painful to watch because they are chess matches on a regular basis. Very rarely are they run and gun. There are low shot totals, which often results in low goal totals. Much of the game is played in the neutral zone. Calgary, Chicago, and Nashville are the only teams who are fairly entertaining. Detroit can score, but they play such oppressive defense that unless you are a Wings fan, you get so pissed off watching them do nothing but run controlled breakouts, trap, block shots and play puck possession that you have to turn the game off.
So the first step is to convince teams to stop the controlled breakouts, trapping, and clogging the slot and play a little more run and gun and a little less chess. Step number two is to reduce the size of goalie equipment. This is a HUGE problem. Look at a goalie from 1980 and a goalie today. Goalies say that they need to be better protected, which is true, but I think it is possible to have ample protection with today's technology without having the goalies look like robo cops. The chest protectors are the first thing that has to be downsized. They're beyond gigantic. The pads are second. I was a goalie up until 2005 so I know the tricks. The NHL has to ban +3, etc. additions to the top of pads and force goalies to wear the correct size pad. Look at Henrik Lundqvist. A goalie pad is supposed to have 6 inches of pad above the middle of the knee. His pads have 9 inches. This is a legal way of cheating. With those extra 3 inches on each pad, a goalie can have a wider butterfly but still cover the 5 hole. Almost every goalie has these oversized pads, and I've seen quite a few pucks hit those extra inches during a game. There go a bunch of goals every year. Ten inch wide pads need to be reintroduced too. This was the legal size limit until 1990. They then increased it to 12 inches, and then in 2005 reduced it to 11. I don't think every goalie complies to this rule, though. When the Sharks were in Philly the other week, Evgeni Nabokov's pads looked wider than 11 inches. They should also eliminate the cheater on the catching glove. If goalies are such good athletes, make them show their true reflexes. I can't tell you how many shots I stopped with my glove by getting a piece of the puck with the cheater. One practice just for the hell of it I played with a glove from about 1985, which is when the cheater was a new concept but was still much smaller than it is today. I got absolutely lit up on the glove side with the smaller glove. So NHL, grow a set and crack down on the goalies. While the style of play is a big reason scoring is so low, the size of goalies is just as big of a reason.
The NHL will not attract new fans in the States by being played like soccer, but that is what's happening. So Mike Babcock, Randy Carlyle, Jaques Demares, Lou Lamouriello, Tom Renney, Claude Julien et al., please ditch your incredibly boring defensive, "responsible" systems and try to entertain people. Professional sports are part of the entertainment business. 1-0 hockey games are not entertaining 99% of the time. Predictable 2-1 games are not entertaining. Fans shouldn't pay $80 for a ticket to be bored to death. Please, for the sake of the damn game, switch things up and have the game look like it did in Gretzky's hey day.
The style of play needs to be changed. That's the bottom line. During the lockout 04-05 season, one of the new rules that was adapted was eliminating two line passes, which was supposed to eliminate the trap. It worked for about half a season. Then teams discovered the 1-2-2, which isn't too hard to break, but many teams now play the 1-4, which has one passive forechecker in the offensive zone and the remaining four players stacked across the defensive blue line. This is almost impossible to skate through, so teams have to dump and chase. If this doesn't work, then more often than not the defending team sets up a controlled breakout, the team that dumped the puck in sets up their own trap, and we go the other way. If they do manage to get into the zone and get set up, then they are often confined to passing around the perimeter as the other team clusters all five players in the slot around the goaltender. The attacking team has to take an outside shot that either gets blocked, or is a routine save for the goaltender. There is a slight chance that the puck will grow a set of eyes and find its way into the net, but this happens maybe one out of 70 shots. This is what happens in most of the 1-0 games. There are a lot of shots (The Islanders took 53 on Florida in their 1-0 loss last week) but most of the shots could have been stopped by a pee-wee. There are very few good scoring chances and no rebounds or sustained pressure around the net.
I don't understand why teams refuse to play aggressive. You don't want to be overly aggressive, but what's wrong with a 3 man forecheck with the third guy staying high in the zone? I can't tell you how many times I've seen a puck squirt into the high slot begging to be blasted on goal or passed to a forechecker for a one timer, but nobody is there because teams are in their precious trap. Anaheim beat Detroit in the playoffs last year in OT in one of the later games in the series because they suddenly played a very aggressive forecheck, caused a turnover, and scored. Why don't teams do this for the entire game??? Sure, you might give up an odd man rush, but I will give up a 3 on 2 all day long. Half the time they are broken up at the blue line, 47% of the time the goalie makes the save or the shot misses the net, and MAYBE 3% of the time the team scores. If the third forechecker stays high in the zone like he is supposed to, then he can get back and tie the third attacker up before one of the other players can drop a pass to him or a good rebound chance emerges. Trapping just doesn't make sense to me.
The Western Conference is much worse about this than the Eastern Conference. In the east, if there is going to be 1-0 game, there is a 99.9% chance that Florida, Boston, New Jersey, or the Rangers are involved. All of those teams have trouble scoring but have coaches who preach defense first and play the aforementioned 1-4 trap and clogging the slot frequently. Most other Eastern Conference teams like to play a little more open style of play though. If you look at the scoring averages for the league, the average goals scored per game is about 2.7. There are six Eastern Conference teams below this number. Four of them are the teams mentioned in the last paragraph. However, the average number of goals per game in the East is 2.8, and would probably be closer to 2.9 if not for the four horrifically boring teams I mentioned. However, in the West, the average goals scored per game is only 2.6 This is terrible. Western Conference games are painful to watch because they are chess matches on a regular basis. Very rarely are they run and gun. There are low shot totals, which often results in low goal totals. Much of the game is played in the neutral zone. Calgary, Chicago, and Nashville are the only teams who are fairly entertaining. Detroit can score, but they play such oppressive defense that unless you are a Wings fan, you get so pissed off watching them do nothing but run controlled breakouts, trap, block shots and play puck possession that you have to turn the game off.
So the first step is to convince teams to stop the controlled breakouts, trapping, and clogging the slot and play a little more run and gun and a little less chess. Step number two is to reduce the size of goalie equipment. This is a HUGE problem. Look at a goalie from 1980 and a goalie today. Goalies say that they need to be better protected, which is true, but I think it is possible to have ample protection with today's technology without having the goalies look like robo cops. The chest protectors are the first thing that has to be downsized. They're beyond gigantic. The pads are second. I was a goalie up until 2005 so I know the tricks. The NHL has to ban +3, etc. additions to the top of pads and force goalies to wear the correct size pad. Look at Henrik Lundqvist. A goalie pad is supposed to have 6 inches of pad above the middle of the knee. His pads have 9 inches. This is a legal way of cheating. With those extra 3 inches on each pad, a goalie can have a wider butterfly but still cover the 5 hole. Almost every goalie has these oversized pads, and I've seen quite a few pucks hit those extra inches during a game. There go a bunch of goals every year. Ten inch wide pads need to be reintroduced too. This was the legal size limit until 1990. They then increased it to 12 inches, and then in 2005 reduced it to 11. I don't think every goalie complies to this rule, though. When the Sharks were in Philly the other week, Evgeni Nabokov's pads looked wider than 11 inches. They should also eliminate the cheater on the catching glove. If goalies are such good athletes, make them show their true reflexes. I can't tell you how many shots I stopped with my glove by getting a piece of the puck with the cheater. One practice just for the hell of it I played with a glove from about 1985, which is when the cheater was a new concept but was still much smaller than it is today. I got absolutely lit up on the glove side with the smaller glove. So NHL, grow a set and crack down on the goalies. While the style of play is a big reason scoring is so low, the size of goalies is just as big of a reason.
The NHL will not attract new fans in the States by being played like soccer, but that is what's happening. So Mike Babcock, Randy Carlyle, Jaques Demares, Lou Lamouriello, Tom Renney, Claude Julien et al., please ditch your incredibly boring defensive, "responsible" systems and try to entertain people. Professional sports are part of the entertainment business. 1-0 hockey games are not entertaining 99% of the time. Predictable 2-1 games are not entertaining. Fans shouldn't pay $80 for a ticket to be bored to death. Please, for the sake of the damn game, switch things up and have the game look like it did in Gretzky's hey day.
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