A hockey video game weekend

Some nice video game goals from the weekend






barbone

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 helped out the girl across the hall who got locked out her apartment

Senators beat the Sabres, 4-2: The Senators are playing very well and their best players are lighting it up. Spezza scored 2 ridiculous goals. The first was short side on barely any release and the second was sick shot to the top corner. And Alfie scored the other 2. Meanwhile, Brian Elliot is coming into form nicely. Ottawa has escaped that clusterfuck of teams all battling for the 3 play-off spots.

Flames beat the Hurricanes, 4-1: Eric Staal got his face beaten up this game - a high stick and then his own man's skate after Mark Giordano dumped the cane into the bench. If Curtis Glenncross scores a hat trick, you should be winning.

Oilers shut-out the Flyers, 1-0: Oilers scored with 16 seconds left - heartbreaking. Also, because the Flyers had like 17 on-the-doorstep opportunities that they missed.

Blues beat the Hawks, 3-2: The Hawks goal were beauties. Kane went top shelf on the backhand on a breakaway and the pass from Toews to Hossa for the 2nd was pure filth.

Ducks beat the Wings, 3-1: Who's the starter and who's the back up in Detroit?

What you missed last night while you were catching up on Lost in preparation for next week's premiere

Capitals beat the Islanders, 7-2: You know its a bad night for your team when Brooks Laich is splitting the D and scoring top cheese.

Blackhawks beat the Oilers, 4-2: You know its a bad night for the Oilers, when John Toews scores 40seconds in on a relatively pedestrian shot.

Kings beat the Leafs, 5-2: You know its a bad night for the Leafs, when Ryan Smyth is scoring high glove on mid-range wrist shots.

Panthers beat the Canadiens, 2-1: You know its a bad night for the Canadiens when they only put 16 shots on Vokoun. Usually, thats just the first period for him.

Coyotes beat the Red Wings in OT, 5-4: You know its a bad night for the Red Wings, when they can't hold a 2 goal lead with less than 5 minutes left. Against the Coyotes.

Thrashers beat the Ducks, 2-1: You know its a bad night for the Ducks, when they can't be the Thrashers.

BJs beat the Predators, 3-2: You know its a good night for the Jackets, when Mason isn't pulled.

Weekend Wrap Up OR The Best of 2010, so far

2010 started off nicely enough with a good game and better fight at Fenway.



Then team USA was announced. At least those boys won't have the pressure of Canada.

Even if we don't beat Canada at the Olympics, at least we can beat them up.



Kovalev had 4 goals last night. His 4th was probably his nicest, mostly because his head is down most of the way.



The Penguins suck in 2010, but Crosby scored this nice wrister:


And then MAF gave up 5 goals. He's playing himself right to 3rd on the Canada goalie depth chart.

This goal by Toews is my favorite of the weekend. Because everyone on the Ducks forgets about him and he sneaks back door and also Kane, who makes the pass, is chewing on his mouth guard the whole time.


What did I miss?

-Bress

what you missed last night while you were flipping over taxis

Canucks beat the Hawks, 3-2: The Hawks had this game and then Willie Mitchell stepped out of the box and lit up John Toews. Clean hit, but unfortunate for the Hawks. It rattled the team and I guess goalie Anti Niemmi. The game-tyer and game winner were low stick side saveable shots (alliteration!). Cheesy line of the night from Ray Ferraro, after the play-by-play guy talked about the crowd cheering for Niemmi, "They're not anti Niemmi, they're pro-Niemmi." Meh.

Islanders beat the Hurricanes in the shoot-out, 4-3: I predicted a shoot-out loss for the Isles after the 2nd period when they were up by 2 goals. I guess I'm happy I was wrong. I really like Eric Staal's goal - making sure he put that puck in the open net. All three Isle's shoot-out goals were sweet and different: The Truth's snipe, the danish prince went top cheese on the back hand, and the future (patent pending) had a nice move, bar and in on the forehand.

Stars beat the Ducks, 4-2: Are the cameras at the Honda Center the farthest away in the league? I hate watching games on TV from there. It's like I'm pretty much overhead. Anyway, both goalies gave up goals by misplaying the puck.

Bruins beat the Predators, 3-2: This is the kind of game the Bruins are going to have to play with Savaard and Lucic out. All the goals were dirty, garbage goals. I loved it.

Sabres run over the Panthers, 5-2: Surprisingly, Bryan McCabe was NOT a minus 5 in this game.

Wild beat the Avalanche 3-2 in the shoot-out: How sweet are those Minny third jerseys? It was fun watching Boogard beat up Koci in one. It made the fight a bit more classy. Koivu's game tyer was a great tip, but I think the shot-pass was intended for the far post.

Crib Notes - Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks
Finished 2nd in the Central. Lost in the conf. finals to Detroit in 5 games.
Signed Marian Hossa to a 12 year deal
Signed defensive center John Madden via free agency
Resigned young forward Dave Bolland and was forced into signing Kris Versteeg
Let G Nikolai Khabibulin walk to Edmonton

Questions going into 2009-2010:
Why do people still think that the team that lands Marian Hossa is automatically the team to beat?
How will Hossa's shoulder injury affect his play? (At least he has 11 more years to heal)
Is anyone worried about salary cap restrictions when the Toews contract comes due?
Are Blackhawk fans kicking themselves for the money shelled out to Brian Campbell?
Is Cristobal Huet the answer here?
Will the team miss Adam Burish?
All jokes aside: How ridiculous was the Pat Kane/cabbie incident?

Poised for a breakout season:
I'm not sure if this guy even makes the squad but hopefully Danny Bois pronounces his name Danny Boy and lights up the league.

If you had to buy one Hawks sweater:
The Blackhawks jersey is one of the sickest in all of sports. You can't go wrong with any name on the back unless you wear a 46. Byfuglien won't fit on a 46.
If someone bought you a captain Dirk Graham would you not wear it everyday?

Player whose game you like but you could do without all the other stuff:
Adam Burish plays a nice salty game but his trash talk in last year's playoffs was a little much.

Reason why the Blackhawks are a class organization:
They resisted the dopey calls to make third jerseys with "Hawks" on the front like the Senators and Lightning have done. They know better to mess with an iconic patch.

Old guys:
John Madden is 36

Young guys:
Kane is 20
Toews is 21

Tough guys:
Ben Eager and Adam Burish fight but not very well.

Favorite old school Blackhawk:
Jeremy Roenick. Pencils down. We would have also accepted Chris Chelios but not without a fight.

Nostalgia:
Seeing guys get tossed from the old Chicago stadium and have to take the stairs off the ice.

Jersey that I'm buying Bressler for Hannukah:
Because he thought "Missundaztood" was one of the best albums of the decade along.



One time Bress actually told me that Aerosmith's "Honkin' on Bobo" was one of the best albums of all time. He was dead serious.

Goaltending coach:
Stephane Waite

Memories:
The 2006-07 Ice Girls Crew. If you have been following the Chicago Ice Girls Crew you know that 06-07 was a banner year for the organization.



Interesting?:
Jonathan Toews's wikipedia page notes that he is "fluently bilingual in both of Canada's official languages."
Why not just say that he also speaks French?

NHL 94 players:
Jeremy Roenick, Steve Larmer, Christian Ruutu up front.
Chris Chelios and Steve Smith on D with Ed Belfour in net.
Really strong team here. Christian Ruutu blew my mind.

Prediction?:
This team is young and exciting and it's great for hockey having strong teams in Chicago and Boston again but I think people are over rating how successful the Hawks will be this season.

YouTube:
One of my all-time favorite youtubes that doesn't involve a 17 year old girl dancing to her web cam.



- Nemmy

Weekend Wrap Up OR Twitter makes me look like a fool

So a little background, ever since I can remember when a play-off game goes into overtime, everyone who I am with picks a winner from each team. If you follow The2Man twitter, you can see a time line of Bress' incorrect picks.

Anyway, the first weekend of playoff hockey was a great one. I'm not sure if its obvious to everyone, but you can just feel the players turning it up, tightening the D, and its only the first round!

Here are some surprises from the first round:

• The Rangers - seriously. Look everyone knew that only shot they had was Lundqvist, but I don't htink anyone expected him to pitch a shut-out on the road and have the Rangers be up 2-0 going back to the garden.
• Claude Giroux - kid had 51 points in 19 play-off games in the Q play-offs last year. And then with the big boys does plays like this:

that, my friends, is a penalty kill

• Chris Osgood - look, its not like he's the reason the Wings are up 2-0, but come on, he's doing what he needs to do and didn't Theodore a game. (yes, Theodore is now a verb).
• John Toews - Yes, he's the captain, doing what a captain should do in the play-offs. But my god, he's only 19 in his first play-offs ever (I don't count the frozen 4, those are single eliminations games)
• 
  

Its a sick pass, but Toews knows to put it upstairs.

Not Surprises:

• The Red Wings dominating
• 
  

If you can not hit Holmstrom, you'll score.

• The Canadiens/Bruins and Philly/Pitt series being all out wars.
  
• The Devils/Canes series being very low scoring.
• St.Louis about to get swept
• The Sharks getting upset. Jonas Hiller is not Swiss cheese.

What did I miss?

-bress

What you missed last night while you on a late night duane reade run

Blackhawks beat the Flames in OT, 3-2 (lead series (1-0): I incorrectly called the winner, but didn't mind, at all, watching Havlat finish off a hell of a game. I'm not going to talk about the goalie interference - everyone just stop it. Part of this game is the human factor of the refs. Everyone always gets calls for and against them. Its frustrating, but don't let it ruin the game for you. The crowd at the United Center was out of control - surging with the Hawks rushes. I love that - you know when you here the crowd get excited just their team is developing an opportunity. Watch high-lights and listen to the crowd on Kane's semi break away. Anyway, there was so much goodness in this game. Toews was an absolute beast. He'll be in our top 5.

Red Wings bet the BJs, 4-1 (lead series 1-0): This game was a pleasant surprise in the physicality, but otherwise I was dissapointed with the Jackets game. Osgood was a nice surprise and thats not good for Red Wing haters or even fans who think Osgood is the achilles heel of the team.

Bruins beat the Canadiens, 4-1 (lead series 1-0): This game had a little bit of everything to please all hockey fans. Great saves by Timmy Thomas, for those who love to the most athletic players on the ice show off their stuf. Great hitting, all you have to do is watch Lucic. Some super vision - Metropolit seeing and moving the puck quickly to Higgins for the Canadiens first goal or Ryder putting the puck into perfect space for Krejci's backhand goal. It was all there and Kovalev's goal shows why he is the mayor of Snipe City. And of course, don't forget all the salt.

Ducks shut-out the Sharks, 2-0 (lead series 1-0): This was the absolute worst case scenario for the Sharks. Losing the first game, getting shut-out, all of it. If you take away one thing to remember from this game, let it be - Getzlaf's snap shot. It was the nail-in-the-coffin goal and it was bar and in. For that goal, Getzlaf get an honary key to Snipe City.

What you missed last night because you were taken hostage by Somali pirates

Senators beat the Bruins, 3-2: Dany Heatleys rush that hit the post - Heater, cut and jumped in between 2 Boston d-men. When he was on his back he managed to lift the puck over Manny Fernandez's shoulder only to be denied by the cross bar. Also Sen's coach Clouston got extended for 2 years - so he'll be fired next January?

Rangers beat the Canadiens, 3-1: Drury's 1st goal - It was kind of a broken play and Drury just turned and fired it on net and the puck went by Carey Price. Price's reaction was priceless (sorry) as he couldn't believe Drury found room. It wasn't a snipe, but it just shows pure skill and instinct.

Canucks beat the Flames, 4-1: Iginla's goal - All the Nuck goals were of the ugly, bouncy variety. Jarome was behind the net, practically, got the puck off his skate and onto his stick and in the net in the time it takes to look at cleavage and then look away.

Kings beat the Oilers, 2-1: The fights - Super tall rookie Brian Boyle had a nice scrap with much shorter Theo Peckham. Penner fought Johnson - meh. Later Zach Stortini fought Ratis Ivanis.

Wild beat the Stars, 3-1: Gaborik's goal - Overall, Marian had a great game, adding 2 assists to his goal. But the goal was nice, because of the patience and pass of Andrew Brunnette.

Blues beat the Coyotes, 5-1: Tkachuk's goal - Honestly, Bryzgalov was brutal and he gave the puck away to Tkachuk. But Tkachuk didn't just fire it on net. He waited, found the room and fired it upstairs. It was Mr. W-esque.

Maple Leafs win over the Devils, 4-1: Taylor Hanson's first goal - Li'l Hanson drove to the net and got his first ever NHL goal. Got to love that.

Blackhawks beat the Predators, 4-2: Toews snipe - First of all it was bar-and-in. I love that. Second of all there are few players who if you give room coming over the blue line can beat a keeper with a wrist shot. I hope Toews turns into one of those players.

Penguins win over the Lightning, 5-3: Crosby's first goal - There was a great camera angle for this goal. Crosby's one-time were perfectly placed, just inside the post. Rammo had no shot.

Sharks win over the Avalanche in the shoot-0ut, 1-0: Peter Budaj - His best save was the one he had where he robbed JR. He moved across and then got the glove up enough to beat JR one-timer attempt in front.

Capitals beat the Thrashers, 4-2: Caps backhand goals - Both Kozlov and Semin had sweet backhand goals. Kozlov's was in tight and Semin's was on a breakaway.

Hurricanes shut-out the Islanders 9-0: Its not even fair to talk about this game, but Staal did have a hat trick.

Flyers beat the Panthers, 2-1: Hartnell's cross-check - Carter got the goal, but it doesn't happen with out the ref missing that call.

What you missed last night while you were learning that apple pie is not a great pre-game meal

Penguins beat the Devils, 6-1: If this game happened when I could write a haiku about it, it would be about how Sutter will get fired. Lou loves the late season firing, even though its only worked once (Robinson replacing Ftorek in 2000). I guess its a good thing that I can't write that haiku, because that would be overlooking how well the Penguins are playing.

Maple Leafs beat the Flyers, 3-2: Biron was pulled in this game. How is it possible that goaltending is consistently inconsistent in Philly?

Capitals win over the Islanders, 5-3: Mike Green got goals 29 and 30 last night. WOW. He never had more than 14 in junior. Un-real.

Blackhawks beat the Blues, 3-1: John Toews had a great goal where he cut in the slot with the puck and as he was tripped up by 2 Blues, he tucked the puck in far side. It will be nice to see him in the play-offs.

Thrashers beat the Sabres in OT, 3-2: I can't think of anything notable from this game besides Kovy's game winner. I have no idea how he beat Miller five-hole.

Coyotes shut-out the Avalance, 3-0: I get it Colorado, you really want Tavares (or Hedman), but isn't getting shut-out by the Phoenix Coyotes a little too obvious?

What you missed last night while you were making some last minute changes to your bracket

Flames beat the Stars, 2-1: After pretty much sucking on their long-ass road trip, the Flames returned home with a win. Eric Nystrom had the GWG. The goal was a nice wrist shot, but the play to keep the puck alive and onsides was awesome. With one hand, Dustin Boyd swept the puck to Nystrom who beat Turco.

BJs win over the Hawks in OT, 4-3: Currently, the Blue Jackets sit 6th in the west, meaning if the play-offs started today, they would face Calgary. I don't want the BJs to be a one(series)-and-done team, so I don't like that match up. Anyway in last nights game all the young kids scored. Patrick Kane off a great feed. Toews out-battled the BJ defender in front. And Nash scored a silly goal, that was equally silly and impressive (watch the overhead replay). Antoine Vermette scored the game winner when he outraced Brian Campbell and got to a pass and beat Huet in the 7-hole.

Hurricanes beat the Devils, 4-2: Sports Illustrated talks about how Erik Cole really changed or made the same again the dynamic in Carolina. Granted the Devils were coming off an emotional home game, but the Hurricanes have a lot of jump and now depth.

Ducks beat the Predators, in OT, 4-3: Bobby Ryan had a great power play goal - he found the rebound and then a sneaky little drag to get room to roof the puck. Selanne had the game winner in OT, when he deflected, on his backhand, the pass-shot from Pronger

Weekend Wrap Up OR Frost/Nixon was robbed!

Friday night I was back at my folks house, so forgetting that there was a free preview of the Center Ice Package, I got all my updates via a DVRed NHL: On the Fly on Saturday.

Zetterberg really did the most damage to the Ducks Friday night, but I really love the cherry on top (appropriate because Draper has read hair) that Kris put on the game by beating Giguere with the slap shot on a breakaway.


Am I the only one surprised by Joe Corvos cannon? He had 2. Heres the final one versus the Lightning



Saturday was Hockey Day in Canada. So for me it was Hockey Day on my Couch watching the NHL Network.
Chris Campoli and Mike Comrie were traded to the Senators on Friday and both were in uniform on Saturday afternoon. The Comrie addition gives the Senators a dynamic duo of girlfriends with Duff and Underwood. Can't wait for that CD.
Anyway, Comrie probably felt good being back and Campoli must enjoy dishing passes out to guys that can finish. However, Mr. Kovalev was back and killed penalties well and also dished:


Other Saturday games included Marty Biron dropping the ball (or puck) with this mistake that lead to Penguins win

There were Flyers highlights, like this so subtle, so sweet move from Mike "I love being shorthanded" Richards.

Quite possibly the worst D-to-D pass ever.

Is the Nashville/St. Louis "Rivalry" the lowest scoring rivalry in history. God, even the "highlights" from the game are boring: Kick save from Rinne... Onto the 2nd period, great breakout pass to Tckachuk... and a goal... Onto other action from Saturday.

Jimmy Howard is NOT NHL ready. How much more "rest" does Osgood need?
At least t2MA! man crush Owen Nolan scored by simply crashing the net.


Johnny Toews and the Snake Bitten Weekend:




NBC could have renamed "Game of the Week" to "The Ovechkin Show"
Enjoy:







What did I miss?

-Bress