What you missed last night while you were figuring out why NHL players can't count

Canucks beat the Kings, 6-4 (series tied 2-2): There were 2 too many men on the ice penalties in this game!

Bruins beat the Sabres in double OT, 3-2 (BOS leads series 3-1): There was1 too many men on the ice penaltyin this game and it led to the GWG.

Capitals beat the Canadiens, 5-3 (WAS leads series, 3-1): The Ovechkin killer wrister is back


Saves of the night:

What you missed last night OR How old am I, that I can't stay up for west coast OT?

Sabres beat the Bruins, 2-1 (BUF leads series 1-0): One word reason for the win: Miller

Canadiens beat the Capitals in OT, 3-2 (MON leads series 1-0): 2 word reason for the win: Soft Corvo

Canucks beat the Kings in OT, 3-2, (VAN leads series 1-0): 4 words about the game: Both Sedins are great


Goal of the night: Its a tie between the Sedins and Gomez

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

What you missed because of your internet connection, working late and a reasonable bedtime

U.S. beats Switzerland 3-1

Let me just say for every person at my office that stopped to watch the 3PM game vs. the Swiss at the TV near my desk there were 3 guys at the other end of the floor watching a soccer match. I hate my office.

I can't find any clips of the goals so I'll try to describe them.

1) Some Swiss defenseman turns the puck over and Bobby Ryan rips a shot from the slot past Hiller's glove. The puck was just sitting there and Ryan without hesitation ripped it upstairs. I imagine Hiller sees that shot everyday in practice.

2) Miller kicks away a pretty decent Swiss scoring attempt and Blackes scoops up the puck at the circle and carries it the length of the left side of the ice. He beats some Swiss D wide, cuts across the crease and pots the puck by Hiller. Jonas might have been afraid to poke because Blackes would have severed his arm. Total power move.

3) Ryan Malone (who was wearing shoulder pads so loose that you could see his upper body ink) knocks home a rebound through the legs of Hiller. Thankfully no one around the TV makes a "Swiss cheese" joke.

Thoughts:
- Blackes, Malone, and Brown were punishing people. Malone scored after a frothy forecheck and the Swiss couldn't control him in front of the net.

- Parise, Stastny and Kane is a ridiculous line. They weren't completely in sync but could really get it going when they cycled.

- All in all the US team looked sloppy. Part of me thinks they were trying to do too much with the puck. Instead of getting everything deep, banging away and causing turnovers they settled for forcing passes. Part of me (and I hope this isn't the case) thinks that they were freaking the fuck out.

- Drury and Callahan were awesome in the little ice time they got. I think Cally hit the pipe on a shot?

- Miller is a rock.

- Hnat Domenichelli has not dropped off the face of the planet. He played big minutes for the Swiss.

Canada beats Norway 8-0
They took a little while to get going but Canada opened up for 8 goals. Norway didn't skate any current NHLers but they were a little bit of a tougher matchup than the score showed.

- Iginla (had a hat trick) opened up the scoring with a one-timer from Sid. It was the prototypical Jarome goal and it helps to have Rich Nash screening for him.

- Crosby (3 helpers) and Weber were the most impressive Canadian skaters.

- Heatley had 2 goals but Marleau and Thornton were pretty unnoticeable.

- Getzlaf didn't look like he was missing a step from that ankle issue.

- During one of the breaks Milbury and JR were discussing Ovy in comparison to Sid. It is such a tired subject but they went for it and it gummed up the entire broadcast.

- Mike Richards scored off of his own rebound. If he and Patty Bergeron are killing penalties together it will be a huge problem for the rest of the world.

- The Canadian team is that good.

Russia beats Latvia 8-2
I didn't watch this. I don't want to ruin the mystique that has built up around the Russian team. I want Ovy and Semin to kill Carl Weathers on the ice and have Talia Shire scream at Joe Pavelski that he can't win. Plus this game was on too late and I fell asleep before the CAN/NOR game was over.

- Nemmy


- Nemmy

Happy Friday

I'm just going to see where this one takes me.

I know many people are against the shootout to determine regular season winners. BUT if you spent money to go watch the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers battle to a 0-0tie at the end of regulation I think you deserve to see a little show at the end. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy defensive battles and scoring chances and goalie duels. But to think that some parent spent $200+ bucks to take their kids to an ice hockey game without Savvy and Black Booth and didn't see one tally makes the shootout okay with me.

So my boss and I were partners in a company-sponsored beer pong tourney for all the credit trading guys. Everyone else was in suits and ties at Down the Hatch - yeah. Negative 1,000. Anyways since they made us partner up and sign up we thought there would be a structure and brackets and maybe a trophy. Wrong! We might as well have been drinking in Somalia. So my boss and I dominate and lose one game to 2 guys who didn't use the whole pitcher to fill their cups. I'm still salty about it. Here's my point/question:

We were down 2 cups to 1 at our final game and my boss and I go back to back hitting the final 2 cups. Now the team across from us had one cup to hit and they took their turn and one hit the final cup thinking they forced OT. Shouldn't we have gotten something for hitting back to back on the final 2 cups? I thought we should have gone again because we brought it back and if we hit a cup it would have been a walk off. It really doesn't matter because we were ossified and looking to go home. Don't get me started on people leaning over the table. If your tie is in your beer you need to step back. Why are you still wearing a tie????

Chris Neil has 60 PIM already. With some luck he'll go 250+ this season. That's why I have him on my fantasy roster. Look at his steak head. He wants to fight your mother. Every roster needs a PIM machine like Neil. You know what the difference between you and Chris Neil is? If Neil was in your seat he'd have a casein/whey mix in in that file cabinet. He wouldn't be excited for the premiere of Lopez Tonight and he wouldn't be wasting his day reading shitty hockey blogs.

I just got this email from my fiance:

"i just remembered that i really liked this song in high school. do you still want to marry me?"


Yikes

Scotty told me that the rumor floating around is that Kovy, Ovy, Gonchar, Malkin, etc. are all taking their time with injuries because they are saving themselves for Vancouver 2010. I'm sure there's nothing to it but the fact that team Russia may be up to shady ish makes this rumor awesome.

I was going to make a big deal that 2Man buddy, Vinny Bruiser picked up Jeff "the Truth" Tambellini in our fantasy league because the truth is a 2Man favorite. Vinny dropped him 4 hours after picking him up.

Who will be the first NHLer with a leaked sex tape?

92.3 used to be an awesome station in the New York area. They used to play rock music and have Howard Stern in the morning. Now it's top 40 no guitar Long Island girls with platform sandals BarNone bouncers and guys with gel drinking Corona shit. I'm at the gym from 8-9:30 a few days a week and some guy named Chunky on "92.3 Now" plays the same shit over and over. I'm sure Chunky is a good guy but every time I hear the Black Eyed Peas and Britney Spears back to back I want to break my face open.

So this kid DuckDude8 has a ton of videos on youtube where he's scoring on some goalie that is probably his little brother. The video is short and there's not much going on but I love how the goalie gets beat and stays on the ground the whole time.



Look at our current goalie options for Vancouver:
Ryan Miller leading in Save % and GAA. Timmy Thomas is tied for the lead in shutouts and Craig Anderson is tied for the lead in wins. Anderson is making everyone forget about John Quick.

Can someone explain that bear pong issue to me?

- Nemmy

What you missed last night while you were drinking away the pain of getting older

Sooo, I'm going to change this week's Mid-Week Monster to today, just because there were so many damn games on last night.

Islanders beat the Rangers (in regulation!), 3-1: Dwayne Roloson - the guy made the necessary saves to be the first star of the game and then did a post-game interview with his mask on. He must be a Ricky Williams fan.

Avalanche beat the Flames, 3-2: Craig Anderson - maybe he was supposed to get a day off, but the swine flu got to Peter Budaj, so once again Anderson won. The first goal he let in was a bit of a softie, but he made the difference from there as Wolski scored a sweet game winner.

Penguins beat the Canadiens, 6-1: Sidney Crosby - he had a hat trick. His first goal is what will eventually be termed, "vintage Crosby." He sits on right post and even when the keeper anticipates, Crosby sneaks that one-timer inside the post. His second goal was a spin around back hand that he ROOFED. He might have kicked the third one in.

Sabres win over the Devils, 4-1: Ryan Miller - I didn't watch this game, but since he only gave up one (Scotty hates him for never getting shut-out), I'll assume he deserves it.

Stars beat the Maple Leafs in OT, 4-3: James Neal - He got the game winner, but he's also the guy that when you say, "howd the stars win the puck in the corner?" it was him.

Sharks beat the Kings i n the shoot-out, 2-1: Patrick Marleau - his slap shot goal, literally put a hole in Jon Quick. Seriously. Also, does the HP Center have the worst camera angles in the league? Its an arena that only has hockey and they couldn't do a better job setting up the cameras? For shame, sharks. For shame.

Blues beat the Hurricanes, 5-2: Andy MacDonald/Scott Walker - these 2 guys had the bests goals of the game. Scott Walker batted his own rebound out of mid-air. MacDonald took a sweet pass from Big Walt and cut in on Ward and scored.

Coyotes beat the BJs, 4-1: Robert Lang/Keith Yandl - its duo because of the sick goal. Yandle on the point on the PP, walks in and does a fake-slap-shot-pass. This is different from a slap-pass because in the slap-pass its all in one motion. In the fake-slap-shot-pass, Yandle turned his body, because he found Lang away from the goal and some how Lang on no angle, tucked the puck in the top of the net.

Senators beat the Panthers, 4-3: Pascal Leclaire - even though he got hurt. he has sweet pads.

Predators beat the Wild, 4-3: Jerred Smithson - game winner and short handed, you sir are a Mid-Week Monster (to be said in booming voice).

One week to go: A short wrap up

Real, meaningful, hockey games start in less than a week. I've been barely keeping up with whatever pre-season games are shown on TV.

Did anyone catch the Leafs/Sabres game the other night on the NHL Network. It was in Buffalo at HSBC Arena, but I couldn't figure that out for a bit, because the boards had no ads. They were stark white. Also, Miller and a Sabres skater were wearing helmet cams. Of course, I didn't see one replay from those vantage points.

I watched John Tavares' debut on Long Island, versus the Devils. He didn't unimpress me. He actually made nicer plays on the defensive end, instead of showing off his offensive hops. Maybe he's saving that for the regular season.

Last night after the U2 concert, I caught the replay of the Capitals/Rangers game. Brashear and Sugden had 2 fights, but round 2 was solid.



Also, Brandon Dubinsky made a great play to set up the eventual game winner. Smart move by both sides to end that stand-off.


Gretzky stepped down and Dave Tippet got the job. Great trade off for the Coyotes. Gretzky was a great name and a not-so-great coach. Tippet is a proven winner. He's just go to teach the kids and get an everyone is against us attitude in the locker room.

What you missed last night while you were looking for sudafed you know you still have somewhere

Penguins shut-out the Flames, 2-0: It should have been 3-0, but Matt Cooke can't hit an empty net. I'm not really sure what he's doing out there anyway, protecting a lead. Malkin ran shit in this game. He was a beast, hitting, skating, etc. My favorite play was his end to end rush and when he made a move around a Calgary d-man, he high sticked him, just for good measure. Also, Pierre Maguire, described Crosby owning the end boards as "vintage" The kids 20, relax.

Hurricanes beat the Senators, 2-1: Is this the end of the Senators play-off run? Is Anton Babchuck the best-worst name in the NHL? Is Cam Ward a real goalie again? Lots of questions from this game.

Blackhawks win over the Sharks in the shoot-out, 6-5: This game was SICK. Early lead by the Hawks. Some nice goals in there. Comeback by the Sharks, capped by Jumbo Joe going hard to the net and tucking the puck somewhere. I don't think I've ever seen Joe put the shoulder down and drive to the net. Could this be a foreshadowing for the playoffs? If yes, and Joe turns up his game, the Sharks are scary.

Sabres beat the Panthers, 5-3: I feel for the Panthers. I want them to make the play-offs, but holy wow, they are playing awful the past 2 weeks. The Sabres get Miller, back so maybe they make a run.

Ducks killed the Avalanche and the Wild won big over the Islanders. Race to the bottom.

What you missed last night while you were resting your sprained ankle

In honor of "Brian Burke" being outed on twitter, all recaps will be 140 characters or less.

Flames beat the Blue Jackets, 4-1: when Iginla and Cammalleri both score the Flames are probably unbeatable

Canadiens shut-out the Canucks, 3-0: not only did Halak get the shut-out, he also should get credit for starting a goalie controversy reminiscent of any flyers team

Oiler beat the Lightning, 5-3: Stamkos' snipe was really really nice. Also I hope Vinny isn't hurt after taking that shot off the ankle.

Senators win over the Hurricanes, 4-2: Spezza must have taught Comrie the ol' fake slap shot down the wing freeze the goalie go wide and score move

Flyers beat the Capitals, 4-2: Carter had a goal and an assist, but he really had two assists if you count the pass he put on Ovy's tape in the first

Kings beat the Wild in the shoot-out, 2-1: not a real deserving win as the kings goal went in off a Wild player and then Doughty lost the puck five-hole in the shoot-out

Ducks beat the Sabres, 3-2: Even though the promos said otherwise, Ryan Miller did not play

Bruins win over the Panthers, 6-1: Byron Bitz... what a name!

Thrashers beat the Avalanche, 4-3: 2 of the 3 worst teams in the league in an empty arena. on ice that was ruined by the circus. no i did not watch

Blues beat the Coyotes, 2-1: Holy crap there were so many games on last night

Predators beat the Hawks, 5-3: is this the last one?