Holiday Weekend Wrap Up OR Does anyone know where I can watch the daytime hockey games online?

First I'll review the last weekend of the NHL before the Olympic pause, and then I''ll talk Olympics.

I didn't anything of real interest happened Friday night, except for this sweet game-winner from Nicolas Bergfors:



And Dion falling back into his bad defensive habits:



Calgary HATED when he chased guys behind the net.

However, the Fridy Canadiens/Flyers match up did set up this:



I love a good opening face-off fight and Lapierre did some nice work. Jeff Carter was also happy


And then danny briere went at got a hat trick. I'm not sure he deserved a penalty shot for the 3rd, though.



Nice finish, nonetheless.


Heres some sweet backhand sauce, courtesy of Robbie Schremp:





As for the Olympics...

First of all, for all Team USA news go here: http://teamusanews.org



We'll be keeping that widget up for the remainder of the games.


Second - it sucks that the hockey won't be on the main NBC channel. I don't really care about exposure or audience size - I mostly just care about watching great hockey in HD. I don't know if CNBC or USA or MSNBC or HGTV have HD versions. If I'm the NHL, I'm pissed because of the numbers stuff. They shut down and then get put on channels that only do slightly better than Versus.

Speaking of Versus, if Comcast owns NBC now and has always owned Versus, why aren't games on Versus? Thats rhetorical - ad space is sold way in advance, yada yada, but shouldn't Versus at least do a nightly recap show of the hockey. Yea, that would be logical and helpful, so of course they won't.

Anyway, USA starts on their road to Gold (or bronze) with an afternoon game vs the Swiss. Where can I watch this online?

Thanks,

Bress

Weekend Wrap Up OR Some girls are out-of-control hot

So yea, there was a big trade on Saturday and then a smaller, but then canceled trade yesterday. Remember 2 years ago when Dion Phaneuf was actually untouchable or he at least would have attracted a top pick and prospect and scorer in a trade? Well, not he went to Toronto for 40% of the Leafs scoring (not as impressive as I just made it sound) and Jamal Mayers and Ian White. Who knows how this trade will turn out, but my first instinct is that its pretty even.
I think Burke's better trade was the one for Giguere. Not because of Giguere's possible return to form, but because he somehow convinced Brian Murray to take Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake. Jason Blake! True story, Blake was supposed to be traded to the Ducks at the deadline the year they won the Cup, but Garth Snow didn't get the paper work to the NHL on time.


Besides that, nothing else really changed in the NHL. The Caps keep winning and the Islanders and Bruins keep losing.

Sheldon Souray made sure he won't be traded by breaking his wrist/hand in this fight with Iggy:



Those old school Flame jerseys are awesome.

Here is an example of great hand-eye coordination from Jason Spezza:


Heres Bress' tip of the weekend:




Crosby popped the water bottle in the shoot-out, but Malkin's move was better:



What did I miss?

-Bress

How was your weekend?

I don't speak Russian but the announcers don't seem impressed at all with this goal.


Dion sure wears a lot of jewelery.

Henrik Sedin is your current scoring leader. Will it last? The only thing I know about Henrik Sedin is that he is a well-paid twin.


- Nemmy

What you missed last night while you were cleaning your kitchen

It's Wednesday, so its time for mid-week Monsters!

Flames shut-out the Canadiens, 1-0: Dion Phaneuf - It would be easy to put down Kipper or Iggy as the Monster for this game, but Dion really did it all (besides score). He hit, ask Kopecky or Pacioretty. He put tons of shots on net. Great game Dion. Some good fights in this game, but I still don't understand the tackle after a big clean hit. Just wait a bit and then go get the guy.

Senators beat the Oilers in the shoot-out, 4-3: Alexie Kovalev - His game can be summed up in the shift in which he assistes on Cheechoo's goal (finally). I can't ever remember Kovalev forechecking, let alone hitting a d-man, then stealing the puck and feed the slot-crashing Cheechoo. There were other spots of briliance for Kovalev, but that stood out. And he scored in the shoot-out.

Wild win over the Leafs, 5-2: Nik Backstrom - Yea, he had plenty of offensive support, but the Leafs were kind of swarming last night and Backstrom made big and impressive and timely saves.

Blues roll over the Canucks, 6-1: David Perron - kid had a hat trick, enough said.

Bruins shut-out the Penguins, 3-0: Tim Thomas - guy had the shut-out. He can really thank his post as well. There was some sort of weird carrom off the glass that somehow defied the laws of physics after hitting the post.

Sharks beat the Predators, 4-3: Dan Boyle - He got the game winner on a ridiculous rush capped off with a rocket of a shot that went bar and in.

Everybody just relax!

Take a look at this hit:






Legal hit, lofty hit. Unfortunately Kyle Okposo left the game on a stretcher and has been diagnosed with a concussion.

This is hockey, these hits happen. Don't try to slow it down and look to see if Dion left his feet (probably, but after contact) or led with his elbow (Okposo was stumbling downwards). Its a hockey hit. Is it kind of stupid that this happens in preseason? Yea, but Dion had an awful year last year and probably needs a confidence booster. So I guess the preseason big hit is kind of the equivalent of taking the fat chick home from the bar the week before a big wedding weekend. You don't want to do it, but in you need to in order get ready for the real deal.

Hopefully Kyle will be AOK, and that will be that. If the NHL got serious about "headshots" then this might be a different post, but its not. Lets get ready for the real season to start!

If you haven't...

Seen Alexander Semin's goal from his knees last night with no time left in the period please do so now.



Been a part of this internet ridiculousness please do so now. One of the sneakiest, greatest things I have ever seen in my life. Comedic timing and all. Please! These guys are about to move as a unit into a battle in a video game and the hilarity that ensues.


"What do you think Abdul? Can you give us a number crunch real quick?"
"Oh my god he just ran in!"

Taken Patty Bergeron's broad side shot deep into your head, please try.




Put Datsyuk, Crosby, Ovechkin, Phaneuf and Barbonus on a video game line...let it happen and don't fight it. In order to obtain my own made up player, Scotty Barbonus, whom I thought I had deleted, I had to give up Staal, Rafalski and a 1st round pick. Get some!

Seen this in your lifetime and have absolutely NOTHING on the horizon right now, I mean George Costanza had the paper he liked to read. You have to have nothing going on. Eeeery and funny with Dorn in it.



Part II


Yes I know. Never again. But I had to get it out of me. Happy Wednesday! And a happy Newmark/Ess Express Merger first game later against Goldman Sachs.

Barzell

What you missed last night while you were making sure you fax works and that your clocks were set to time.gov

So, similar to last year, I'll be do a quick analysis of every trade that goes down today.

Here are some quit hits about last nights game and what each team who played last night could use.

Canucks beat the Wild 4-2: The Wild should move Marian Gaborik. The Canucks need a puck-moving d-man.

Devils beat the Maple Leafs in OT, 3-2: I think the Devils should stand pat, with the Havelid acquisition. No reason to mess with the best team on ice the past week. The Maple Leafs will not get the picks or prospects they want for the garbage on that roster.

Flames beat the Senators, 6-3: The Flames always seem to need more scoring depth. The Senators obviously need some toughness as Jason Spezza was fighting last night.

Predators win over the Oilers in OT, 6-5: The Oilers need some veteran leadership after Moreau went down. The Predators could probably use scoring depth, like a 2nd or 3rd liner.

Red Wings shut-out the Blues, 5-0: Regardless of last nights result, I don't see the Wings going far in the playoffs without some real goaltending. The Blues should probably stand pat. They are in the hunt, but have a good a young squad and shouldn't give up anything to lose in the first round to said Red Wings or Sharks.

Stars beat the Sharks, 4-1: No need for the Sharks to add anything and mess up their great season. The Stars could use a stay-at-home-help-marty-out d-man.

Blackhawks win in OT over the Ducks, 3-2: The Ducks could stock pile some picks and prospects if they move their big guns. The Blackhawks need someone who has been through the play-offs to help out the kids.

Flyers beat the Bruins, 4-2: They Flyers could use some more cap room or they won't be able to add anyone. The Bruins need a small shake up. They have been faltering lately.

Penguins beat the Lightning, 3-1: The Kunitz deal is already paying off wonderfully for the Penguins and they get Sidney back soon. I'm not sure what else they want to do. The Lightning think they thet get back something for waivers, but they don't.

BJs beat the Kings, 5-4: The Jackets need a forward to help out Nash. The Kings should sit tight like the Blues and wait for next year.

Panthers beat the Thrashers, 4-3: The Panthers should hold onto Bouwmeester unless they can get a top 6 d-man in return. The Thrashers should blow their team up.

Hurricanes beat the Capitals, 5-2: The caps need a shake-up and probably a goaltender. The Hurricanes need to much.

What you missed last night while you were smelling Marc Savard

Its, Friday, so its Hockey Haikus!

Blackhawks beat the Flames, 5-2:
Phaneuf scored a top
shelf goal, but forgot to play defense.
therefore, the hawks win.

Bruins beat the Senators in the shoot-0ut, 4-3:
Scotty screamed out YYEEEAAAAHHHHHHH!
at the exact right moment
to scare the whole bar.

Oilers beat the Blues in the shoot-out, 2-1:
Two teams who will miss
the playoffs, decide their game
via a skills comp.

Hurricanes beat the Sharks in the shoot-out, 4-3:
Seriously, does
Nabakov even practice
facing breakaways?

Kings beat the Capitals, 5-4:
The Kings scored a lot
of bar and in. but they let
the Caps make it close.

Predators win over the Ducks, 4-2:
I hope neither of
these teams make the playoffs. Their
games have bad lighting.

Avalanche beat the Stars, 3-2:
The Rangers want Sean.
Too bad the Stars have no pull
Its all on waivers.

Panthers win over the Islanders, 3-2:
Zednick beat one man
at the blue line, then jumped Witt
and scored for great goal!

What you missed last night while you were trying to stretch your hamstrings

Red Wings beat the Blues in the shoot-out, 4-3: There has been better goaltending in pewee games. Kris Draper played his thousandth game and is 20 shy of playing 1,000 with just the Red Wings. Has there ever been a more retrospective one-sided trade? The man was officially traded for "future considerations" which eventually amounted to $1 (canadien or US, I'm not sure). The man is everything a hockey player should be and has been integral in all Red Wing cups since his arrival (this could be an entire post, so I'll stop now). I was dissapointed that Datsyuk tried a different move in the shoot-out. Even if the goalie knows that the backhand toey is coming, it still works.

Avalanche win over the Flames, 4-3: Svatos had 2. The second was sneaky impressive. Analysts like to say that he outmuscled Dion Phaneuf to tip in McLeod's centering pass. Actually, he got the correct body positioning first and thats the only reason he could "outmuscle" Dion. The play to get that positioning actually started in the neutral zone where Svatos appeared to take the long way to the net, as soon as Dion turned his hips, Marek cut to the inside (with his stick on the ice!) and the rest is history.

Ducks beat the Sabres, 3-2: How long have the Sabres been on this road trip? I feel like it started in 2008. Anyway Craig Rivet had a goal and 12 PIMs. Solid fantast night.