What you missed last night because it was the first seder

I watched NHL on the Fly: Final this morning. I don't understand when they have game highlights, but without commentary. And why did they have the radio guy only for the Panthers game. At least I got to hear some of his awesome pop-culture goal calls.

Hurricanes beat the Thrashers, 4-1: In short, Cam Ward is back and played well.

Sabres beat the Bruins, 3-2: Its a good thing Nemmy is on vacation.

Predators beat the Panthers in OT, 3-2: Randy Moller called one goal by saying, "but look at his hair!" I don't get it either.

Ducks beat the Stars, 3-1: Selanne got a cool plaque for goal 600.

Wild beat the Kings, 3-2: That sound you hear is everyone jumping off the Kings bandwagon.

Weekend Wrap Up or the roller hockey season opener was a success!

There were no outstanding highlights from Friday's games.

However on Saturday, there was this:



I'm really amazed that Marleau has those wheels. I really like the celebration also.


This goal looks a lot better with the behind-Krejci view. He really picks out that top corner:



Also, the Flames suck.


This is a good save:



It definitely made up for the bouncer from Owen Nolan he let in.

Look up quick release in the dictionary:



Thats what you find.


What did I miss?

-Bress

Friday

In last night's mens league game I broke a one-piece that I had bought 2 games ago.

It doesn't get any worse than that.

Here's Doug Gilmour.

It almost doesn't get any better than him.



I'm on vaca next week. When I get home I'm sure the Bruins will be out of contention and the Rangers will be on a tear. Suck my ass.

- Nemmy

Weird

Please play this video through the reading of this post. I love the setting of this video in the very beginning with the old black and white count chocula/dracula/munster/house on a hill in a warehouse stage set up in a back lot in Studio City. LOL!!!!

Despite the Islanders racing as fast and as furiously to the bottom with a meager...a meager short covering rally in the middle of the season I have weirdest Islander related siting of the year.
This device seems to have been a vending machine at one point. Why this resided in our server room in my trading office in midtown Manhattan hoggles my mind...absolutely hoggles it. And the only reason I have encountered this is because we moved our office and this is on the floor of the old office getting ready to be tossed away. Sprite, Coke, A&W Root Beer and Bud Light as the Buttons. 1000! So weird and bizarre. Thank god its Thursday and not Friday and I have an 8:30 game tonight.


Saw this woman on the subway...her hair is Samson 1000! Ridiculous. She must step on it or other people must step on it here and there.



And if this isn't a soon to be animated version of myself at my kid's ice hockey game following in my father's footsteps than I don't know what is.

I love this man. By the way that is a looney toons hat of Marvin the Martian he is wearing. Sometimes things fit and you don't know why. Feeble and Frail.


- Zellia

3D Hockey

I haven't seen Avatar but when I was a kid I took in a Captain Eo show in Epcot Center. That being said I think it's pretty sick that tonight's Rangers/Isles game will be broadcast in 3D. If you pay $20 you can sit in the Theater next door to the Garden or if you own a pair of glasses I think Cablevision will broadcast into your living room. Tonight Michal Rozsival's defensive errors will really seem like they jump off the screen. Ba dum bum.

Here's how to top the 3D game:

1) Broadcast the game in 3D from a camera located in Henrik's contacts. The league tried this years ago with Tomas Vokoun in an ASG wearing a huge camera on top of his helmet and it wasn't that great. But a Lundquist contact cam would really blow people's minds. Picture Being John Malkovich if he spent his evenings screened by Redden and staring at tits in the stands.

2) Mic up Sean Avery and let him go uncensored. If the NHL put this On Demand and charged a fee I would be a better buyer. Kovalchuk hears one thing out of Avery's mouth and he loses control so I have to hear what kind of smack he comes up with. Also the Rangers should take every opportunity to mute Joe Micheletti.

3) Here are the top 5 Girl Scout Cookies because it's GSC season and I got bored with writing about the Rangers and only wrote this post because I went on the site and saw that no one else wrote anything:

1) Thin Mints - chocolate and mint and so good frozen. These are easily #1 in my book because I rank these in the number of cookies I can eat in one sitting. Thin Mints are easily a 4 or 5 sleever.

Trefoils - Shortbread is sneaky amazing. Plus it's in a cool shape that when you hold one in your hand you can imagine that you won a challenge from the Vh1's the Pickup Artist.

Tagalongs - aka Peanut butter 1000s. They melt so quickly that you are forced to put them down in one bite. Not a bad thing.

Thanks-A-Lots - I've never eaten one but the description says shortbread and chocolate. They say thanks on the cookie so you don't feel bad about crushing a box or two. You're doing a good thing!

Samoas - I think toasted coconut is gross but I could still put down a half sleeve easily.

That's it.

- Nemmy

8 vs 9

A year ago at this time the Bruins were doing coke with natural-breasted rippers on speedboats. What a difference a year makes as tonight they play the post trade deadline Atlanta Thrashers in order to stay relevant. Shit happens. Instead of sitting around wondering how the hell the Coyotes are the team to beat in the West let's watch a few clips of guys ripping slappers on penalty shots.



Chara gets in so close before opening up. Scary. We all know his shot from the high slot is over 100 mph. How fast was this one travelling? It's like when ESPN shows us how hard the 12 year olds in the LLWS throw and then give us the equivalent from an MLB mound. Whatever.



Vanek is sick. He really makes it look so easy. He seems to freeze Huet (or whoever) on his back swing. Very Ernie Els-like.



Hossa rips top shelf. Sorry for the remix video but it's all I could find of this awesome clip. Dirtiness.

Thrashers host Bruins at 7.
Boola-Boola




- Nemmy

Today Sucks

As you may be aware the Bruins hosted the Penguins last night. The Bruins got shutout in the big revenge (and bigger playoff implication) game and Cooke walked out of the arena with only a scratch.

Sucks for Marc Savard who is still in such bad shape that he can't even watch TV. This poor guy has no idea that the White Collar season finale was terrible. In a month he'll be able to sit down and watch an hour show without headaches, load up the DVR and be totally disappointed like the rest of us. At least the writers let Bizarro Jerry shoot that crooked FBI agent. But mostly it sucked.

Sucks for the Bruins that not only is their #1 center and playmaker on the shelf for what could be a very long time but they had all this revenge attention on a game that they needed to get points to stay in the playoff conversation. Instead of getting fired up to face the defending champs at home they were answering questions about how they would handle Matt Cooke. Matt Cooke should should never be on anyone's mind, ever.

Sucks that Cooke answered the bell wearing a visor. Even when he tries to do the right thing he's a douche.

Sucks for James Wisniewski who got 8 games for a ridiculous hit the other night. He totally deserves to sit for running a defenseless Brent Seabrook but I think he got 5extra games that Cooke should have been handed.

Sucks that the NHL can't get their shit together as far as protecting its players.

Sucks that I don't understand how or when an attempt to injure infraction can be used.

Sucks that NHL refs don't either.

Sucks that guys like Mike Rupp or Billy Black have to answer for dirtbag teammates like Matt Cooke. I remember watching a teammate kick a guy with a skate when he was on the ground. A few of us on the bench looked at each other in disbelief. It would be us to had to answer for one lunatic teammate who got tossed from the game. Another time our captain went out a speared a kid after the final buzzer. He graduated and the next year it would be the remaining guys who had to get ready for the retaliation. I've never backed away from the physical aspect of our game but it sucks when you have to get involved for ridiculous reasons and it makes it seem like you cosign one idiot's actions. You really want the other squad to know 2 things: 1) the kid is a retard and it was a dirty play but 2) if you try to retaliate I will eat your face. That position sucks.

Sucks when you go out for a beer and some drunk Australian crowbars his way into your conversation and you can't get rid of the guy. And of course he is completely alone at the bar so it's not like you can tell him to go back to his buddies. And of course you are trying to be polite but he is getting belligerent and you might have to slap around some drunk guy just to get him to butt out of your conversation. And of course all you are talking about is the Frasier where Daphne goes to the fat farm or how you'll listen to any song covered by Sixpence None The Richer but this guy just wont leave you alone. Why is the guy drinking alone? Can't he go somewhere else?

Sucks for Marquette and ND.

Sucks ever worse for Georgetown.

Today sucks.

Tonight will be great. Have an awesome weekend.

- Nemmy

What you missed last night because you were drinking cliche irish drinks

Flames beat the Avalanche, 3-2: Vesa Toskala played so well, I thought it was Kippersoff in net. These 2 teams have nice little rivalry going and there were some good fights.

Ducks beat the Hawks, 4-2: Wisniewski's revenge hit on Seabrook is absolutely suspendable. It was premeditated and targeted the head with an intent to injure. It was dirty and high its laughable that he got 2 minutes for charging. People want to blame Colin Campbell for the discipline issues, but really, its the calls on the ice that need to change. Refs need to have more conviction.

Devils beat the Penguins, 5-2: God, those green pants looked sweet. Devils dominate the Penguins. Same story, same headline. The Pens pp is embarrassing versus the Devils. On 2 consecutive plays, Devils got short handed breakaways by anticipating the d-to-d pass.

Really

It scares me that people ask me about the 2man all the time and where we are and I have to say we are on a hiatus currently when this stuff is happening. Tough to do something like this when it's so silly and you have to keep it going and it gradually getting funnier. I give him credit.

Check it out.

What you missed last night while you were charing your roomba (not a euphamism)

Red Wings beat the Flames, 2-1: The Wings goals were scored in the exact fashion that you would expect them to score. Datsyuk makes a move and with no release, snipes high blocker. Holmstrom in front, tip, goal.

Devils beat the Bruins, 3-2: Marty Brodeur caught the puck, made a sick saucer pass to Clarkson, who scored on Thomas. Was anyone else surprised that Chara made no play on Clarkson?

BJs beat the Oilers, 5-3: Why would I watch this game?

Weekend Wrap Up OR What I missed because the power went out

There were a ton of good fights this weekend. Here they are in no particular order:



Owen Nolan - Love that he's still playing and fighting



Rick Rypien is fearless!



Not a great fight, but I love when the players take off their buckets



This counts a "loss" for Boogaard, right?


I'll briefly talk about the Ovechkin hit: You can't hit a guy in the numbers. If you see numbers it means that the player has beat you. Let it go. The only reason that the call (5 min and a game) is up for discussion is because the refs don't call it consistently enough. You want players to let up on those dangerous hits - then the refs need to make consistent calls. I don't know if Ovy should get suspended, but the right call on the ice was made. Shut up, Mike Milbury.

Heres a great pass from Ovy, from Friday versus the Lightning:



Pat Eaves has dangerous speed and Ryan Miller should really stop even thinking about using a poke check:



Formula for a great save = highway robbery + late in game x team has lead... as done by Halak



It was Ottawa's only goal, but boy was it pretty. Vintage Jason Spezza:



Steve Mason has a slow glove hand, apparently:





Heres a nice passing play from the Isles, to put away the Leafs last night:




What did I miss?

-Bress

Atrium Animism

From ESPN.com

Cooke has been suspended previously for hard hits.

Cooke was suspended two games this season for a hit to the head of Rangers center Atrium Animism. He also drew a two-game suspension for a hitting Carolina forward Scott Walker in the head on Jan. 20, 2009.

Cooke was not suspended for a knee-to-knee hit on Carolina's Erik Cole that occurred during last season's Eastern Conference finals.

Atrium Animism. Wow.


- Nemmy

Attention:

This is a legal hit in the NHL for the remainder of the season.



Please adjust your game plans for the rest of the season accordingly.

- Nemmy

I'm an Artist

- Nemmy

Life's Unfair

So Patty Berg came back from Vancouver with a nicked-up groin

and Marc Savard got decked by Matt Cooke

and now Chara is sitting with a "lower body injury"

and don't forget to check out the clown that Marisa Miller is banging.



waah waah.

Quit your crying and get back to work. We've got 19 games left to secure a playoff spot and we need all hands on deck.



Let's roll.



- Nemmy

What you missed last night while you were talking someone out of single ahandidily reruining the economy

Stars beat the Capitals in the shoot-out, 4-3: Turco made 49 saves, the Stars came back. Yadda yadda yadda. Stephan Robidas got walked twice by Ovechkin. It was awesome. In the first period Ovy, beats him to the outside, but gets stoned by Turco. In the 3rd period, Ovy fakes outside then goes in and rips a wrist shot by Turco. Thats called thinking mans hockey.







Kings shut-out the BJs 6-0: This was embarrassing for the Jackets and Mason.

Bruins Blog Roundtable

We recently participated in NESN's Bruins Blog Roundtable fielding questions about the current state of my beloved Bs.

Even though everyone calls me Nemmy I'm up on the site as "Dan". That's cool too. Not all of my answers were posted so I'll paste all my answers. Everything in italics I just wrote in as after-the-fact commentary.

1. What aspect of the Bruins' game must improve for them to be Stanley Cup
contenders?
Every aspect must improve. The Bs don't have a shut-down defense that can keep them in games when they are only scoring 2 goals or less. Tuukka has been strong but it would be asking a lot from him to steal multiple games from teams like the Pens or Caps.

The way Thomas played the other night made me think that the Tank Engine could steal games in the postseason. Then I remembered that he was facing Toronto. If I threw on my Mylec street hockey pads and a jai alai cesta I could keep the Leafs under 2 goals.

2. How did Peter Chiarelli and the Bruins do at the trade deadline?
It seemed like it was a sellers market so we're happy that the Bruins didn't give up too much yesterday. Trading for a sniper would have been great but we'll settle with upgrading the D and not giving up valuable picks.

I wanted to blast the Bs for not acquiring some help for that first line but selling the farm to rent Kovy wasn't going to make things better. You bolster teams at the deadline and the Bruins need more than 1 or 2 pieces.

3. Both Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask are performing well. Who do you feel
should be relied upon for the remainder of the year?
The Bs should go with the hot hand down the stretch and right now it is Tuukka's net to lose. If suiting up Satan will help win games then Claude should start him.

I sent this in before Tuukka injured his knee. I hope my response didn't jinx things. Also when I wrote that Satan should start in net if needed I didn't mean Miro Satan, I meant the actual lord of darkness. In every picture I've seen of the Devil he has sick horns and muscles 1,000. Would the league let him put a blocker on his tail and dominate?

4. Will the Olympic break help or hurt the Bruins?
Krejci was a beast in Vancouver so if he can keep up that level of play it will certainly help the squad. But all in all, the added rest for injured Bruins will be totally offset by the added wear and tear on Chara and Bergeron during the Olympics.

For real. Chara looks like he wants to lay on a humongous couch and somehow Bergeron injured his groin while taking 5 faceoffs in Vancouver. Not a great sign.

5. Are the Bruins better than, worse than, or exactly as their record
indicates?
We would like to say that the Bruins are better than their record indicates because, with the exception of Rask, the entire lineup is underperforming. But maybe last season was too good to be true. We aren't sure right now.

Look at me using the 2Man royal we. Can someone do a polite golf clap at your desk for that one? BTW I was told to keep the answers short but everyone else on the site went yard with their responses. But if you are a reader of this site you already know that I can't write anything of length because my weak grasp of the English language. Thanks to Evan at NESN.com for the look.

- Nemmy

What you missed last night while you were taking a bath

Bruins beat the Leafs in the shoot-out, 3-2:
Miro Satan's move
was dirty. Even though it
made no sense at all.

Sharks beat the Canadiens, 3-2:
Dany Heatley is
completely unlikeable.
I hate his face shield.

Hurricanes beat the Senators, 4-1:
Did Pascal Leclaire
get hurt again last night? Is
he softer than Rick?

Coyotes beat the Avalanche, 3-1:
I am rooting for
the Coyotes. I don't care
that the league "owns" them.

Capitals beat the Lightning, 5-4:
I wonder if the
Caps have the record for most
games scoring 3 plus?

Penguins beat the Rangers in OT, 5-4:
Paul's status - "Cindy
Crosby diving. Big Surprise."
Paul, you stop crying!

Blues beat the Stars, 6-1:
Paul Kariya, great
college hockey product or
greatest product?

Predators beat the Kings, 4-2:
Johnny Quick looked bad.
He must be rusty from the
press box in BC.

Thrashers beat the Islanders, 6-3:
How come Garth couldn't
move one keeper? This team is
about to implode.

Thomas the Tank Engine

"I hope I win 20 games in a row and shove it up their you know what"

- Nemmy

What you missed last night while you were debating whether this past trade deadline was the worst or worstest

There's no point in analyzing any of the deals. None were game-changers, only game adjusters.

Canucks beat the Red Wings, 6-3: I don;t think you can really consider Burrows and Kesler "grind guys," but on Vancouver, they kind of are. And when they get going, the Canucks are hard to beat. Kesler scored a sweet goal, splitting the D and stuffing the puck in 5-hole. Burrows scored by going to the net and tipping a great feed from one of the Sedins. Also, Kyle Wellwood sniped a high glove breakaway goal and didnt celebrate. The Wings first goal of the night was a great example of winning the puck along the boards, then Zetterberg perfectly used body positioning to wheel away from the D-man and fed a perfect pass to Jason Williams who blasted a one-timer home.


Blackhawks beat the Oilers, 5-2: Its officially "tank" season for the Oilers. Chicago's good and did score some pretty pretty goals. Jonny Toews walked the Oilers D, Hossa fed a sweet pass over the Kane. Its all there in Chi-town.

Wild shut-out the Flames, 4-0: The Wild scored a beauty of a goal in this game. A great passing play from Miettinen to Koivu to Brunette. Kipper never even had his car.

Avalanche beat the Ducks, 4-3: Peter Mueller scored in his debut. That's nice.

Panthers beat the Flyers, 7-4: David Booth got a Gordie Howe Hat Trick. He fought Richards. At first I was disappointed that Booth didn't remove his bucket, because he wears a visor. But then I remembered the whole concussion thing.

Capitals beat the Sabres, 3-1: Green's game winner was the result of a him picking his cut to the net perfectly and great selling of the "shot" by Tomas Fleishman.

What you missed last night while you were on a flight back from Vancouver

Red Wings beat the Avalanche, 3-2: This was really good hockey game. Not as a far of a drop-off in energy or skill from the Olympics that might have been expected. Granted, Detroits power play is full of 5 current or former olympians and they showed it. Datsyuks fake shot drop pass to Lidstrom was dirty it fooled Craig Anderson and 3 of the 4 Avs penalty killers. Johan Franzen's goal was superb; he recognized the forthcoming poke check, so he roofed the puck short side. I still don't understand the "incidental contact rule" that washed out a Detroit goal. Just take a note from international play and call in the crease violations. If Holmstrom stands in the crease, its a face-off outside the zone. If Anderson comes out side the crease, well then, incidental contact might occur.

Yes

Truly a great game...a great olympics and hilarious when i warned my girlfriend about the tying US goal and how the bar would virtually come down if they scored. Than I chatted quickly with Mike Myers. Yes the legend himself. In his Canada jersey...Mike was kind enough to deal with fans. I do say this...there are no other better hockey people to know in this city than us. The 2man brings the rain often and always in full. Not the best pic but what have you.

Here are some pics that NBC was taking. Look for the second one of Nemy and his face in the background of someone else's photo.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/blogs/niteside/NTSD--85802832.html

Scotty

Olympic weekend recap or Hearbreaking

Two weeks of excellent skill, high energy games, and just pure awesomeness is over. Both medal games were terrific - featuring comebacks and passion and everything we love about hockey.

The see-saw bronze medal game had the Slovaks storming out in the second period to take a 2 goal lead to the final frame. However, in the third, Olli Jokinen showed up scored 2 goals in like twelve seconds to ultimately win the game for the Finns. His second goal was a breakway that he put five-hole. The pass to spring him on said breakaway was superb.




And last night's gold medal game. Are there words to describe it? Probably not. It was spectacular, emotional, furiously paced, everything you ever wanted to see in a hockey game and then we got overtime. Unfortunately, for us US fans, of course Sidney Crosby scored the game winner. Of course he did. When Parise put in the that rebound with 24 seconds left, the bar erupted and the tension of the US fans was lifted. We all thought we had it. But we didn't. I can't stop thinking about that game - I'm still so sad. I won't get all simmons and levels of losing, but I really thought the US was going win it. Maybe that was foolish. Heartbreaking is the best way to describe that game, but what a showing from our boys. No one (myself including) thought they would even get to gold medal game.

It was an awesome 2 weeks of hockey.

-Bress