Late Weekend Wrap Up OR Its not a Free Agent Preview

Thank goodness the Islanders took John Tavares. I would have been happy with Victor Hedman, and I probably could have sold myself on Matt Duchene. But, it had to be Tavares. I'll call his stat line for next year right now:

32-41-73


I d0n't have much other insight into any other draft picks. It was fun to watch Burke being so pissed when the Kings took the younger Schenn. I was surprised that he (Burke) took Kadri, who's small and had a less than stellar year.

I really really wanted the Islanders to take Ray Ferraro's son in the second round, but they went with a goalkeeper, which I guess make sense.

The Pronger deal was the best hockey trade in a long time. Pronger is perfect for Philly and the Ducks just restocked for another run. Imagine what they'll get for Giguere. I think they are a sneaky pick for Western Conference champs.



Free agency opens tomorrow and I'm excited to see where players go, but have no high expectations for any of the tri-state teams.
I could make wild predictions, but I won't.

Who do you want your team to sign?


-Bress

What is going on in this picture?

*Special thanks to Kerri D'Ambrosio for the unreal photo*

Congratulations, Pittsburgh

So in preparation for Friday's Game 7 Scotty and I took off from work early to have some cocktails and watch Predator and Major League. Those two movies and a few tall boys put us in the proper mood to really enjoy the NHL playoffs. Since HBO has added Predator to its OnDemand channel I've watched the movie about 6 times.

We had a few friends meet up at the Tavern for the game. We arrived around 7 and the place had just cleared out from the happy hour crowd and he dug in for the night.

The Tavern puts the big screen and sound for the big games so we had that going for us. It was a solid group of sprited Americans and we all sat around confused as to why they made Milbury and Pierre give their fake pregame speeches to empty lockerooms. That was the worst.

Out of the 20 or so people we had with us only 2 were really rooting for anyone. Adam wore his Yzerman sweater hoping to bring bad luck for the Pens because he is a salty Ranger fan and Rice Pilaf wore his Crosby sweater to show love for his team. Everyone was else just wanted to get drunk and see triple OT.

Thoughts on the game itself (from what I recall):

Both teams got away with calls. I liked how the refs put away the whistle for the most part.

MAF's glove save on Saltby was awesome.

Talbot's first goal was perfect. Perfect. Even though Pitt scored first everyone felt that Detroit would come back huge. Little surprised that they didn't dominate at home. We were waiting.

Our Director, Artem, showed up at the bar. We hadn't seen him in weeks because he has been shooting some movie. He smelled a little.

Crosby knee injury looked harmless from the first replay. This was also the first time I recall Johan Franzen being alive in the last couple of games.

Max Talbot, welcome to snipe city. What a goal.

Of course Detroit was going to score on a play that started with a shot from the point. At this point we are drunk and going nuts on every close play. Bress's beard was starting to perspire.

Someone on Detroit hit the crossbar and Bress's friend, Tasha nearly got trampled. Ugly scene for a minute. It looked like Iranian election aftermath 2009.

I was standing on a couch at one point and completely fell on the ground. My girlfriend had to help me up.

MAF's save on Lidstrom was perfect. What a sick was to end Game 7.

If Black Guerin had scored we would have burned the place down.

Lots of shots were passed around during the game. Plenty, our good buddy and mens league netminder was in attendance and likes to mix Goldschlager and Jameson to make a "Dirty Lenti". It's his signature shot and he goes overboard with them. It's not to be confused with a "Dirty Weindel" which was Mr. W's signature shot in college. Here's a little NYC secret: If you go to the spot where Finnerty's used to be on 3rd Ave and whisper "Dirty Weindel" 3 times in the reflection of the Robin Raj windows our buddy Matty will haunt you like the Candyman.

The Tavern filled up with a few Pens fans after the game. They looked so happy and I was jealous. I can't wait until Boston gets to lift the Cup.

Luis Castillo tried his hardest to ruin our night. Unreal ending to the Mets/Yanks game. I didn't puke from all the Jager but I got the spits when I saw that dropped ball.

Late night Scotty and I hit up McDonalds and I woke up with a bag full of nuggets and a double cheeseburger. Thanks, Crosby.

Great season, great ending now let's shoot some hockey interviews.

-Nemmy

Monday

Great video compliments of 2Man outsourcing from Adam Weinbrom. Espn did it and it came out well. A little Konstantinov remembrance.



And to lighten the mood a little. It is Monday after all. Nemy got me started on Predator.





Well this one is just it.



- Barbone

Game 7

Get a good pre-game meal in you. Tomorrow is the offseason. Let's make tonight last a little longer.





Be careful out there.

What you missed last night while you were pitching to Matt Stairs

Again, nothing.

Nothing new to report here. Of course Game 7 is on tonight. Thoughts on tonight's game:

Please let it go to at least one OT

I really want to see an overtime winner. The only thing greater than hearing the crowd EXPLODE when the home team pots one in OT is being able to hearing the guys scream and swear and go ape when the away team scores because it's so quiet in the arena. Really, nothing cooler than hearing that 6th guy jump on the pile screaming "Yeah, baby! Woooo!!!". I eat that up.

Chris Osgood is a sneaky badass

Bress always goofs on this guy because he looks like he could be working in the cubicle next to him but NHL goalies aren't always Adonises (think Belfour, Marty, Timmy Thomas. Not the best physiques). His stats are solid, he's way up there with total wins and he hung in there in that fight with Pat Roy, right? He's been real sharp in this series and has a chance to get another ring. We should kind of be applauding this guy instead of mentioning how bad he looked all season. Right?

Remember Ruslan Fedotenko's Game 7 a few years ago?

Tenk doesn't remember his 2 goals. How sick is that? Does he have some magic left?

The boys want to play a drinking game during the game

The idea is good if we were watching something I wasn't interested in like the Grammy's or another award show/event. This one I really want to watch and I don't want to sit and count everytime "Edzo" or "active stick" gets said (although I do anyway). I doubt we're going to order some new shot because Helm snuck a rebound past MAF. When you routinley blackout while watching hockey at your favorite bar you don't really need someone telling you when to drink.

The Subway Series kicks off tonight

Does this even matter anymore? Don't get me wrong I would love it if the Mets can go into the Bronx and beat the Yankees but the Mets have so much other shit to worry about than getting caught up in any interleague hype. Plus baseball doesn't really begin until hockey ends.

Does anyone really think deep down that Pitt will win tonight?

I think we see a 3-1 Detroit win. I know the Pens can win on the road but I don't know if Guerin and Co. has it in them. It's not good enough for just Crosby to have a game tonight. Everyone from Matt Cooke to Staal to the mascot needs to play well to beat Detroit at home. I'll say it again it's nice to root for a good game and not worry about anything.

How cool is it that Hossa may end up looking like a jackass after tonight?

I still say that he made the right move. Detroit is stacked! They had the best chance at repeating from day one. BUT wouldn't it be something if Hossa comes up short AGAIN? If Detroit loses at least Conklin didn't leave millions on the table just to end up in 2nd place again.

How cool is it that Guerin may go for worst to first after tonight?

This would be the equivalent of being lost a sea and eventually rescued by a Hedonism cruise ship. Either way good for him.

Draper gets the winner

God help us all if Guerin does it.

That's it. I'm pretty much braindead and all I want is to get some guys together, have some cocktails and watch the greatest Game 7 in the history of the NHL on tv. Please let it be a good game.

- Nemmy

Crossed over Friday

A snapshot from the ending of Mega Man 3

Well now that the front door of my apartment building is fixed after last Thursday nights debacle, we can look to the weekend. We can look toward improving that performance tomorrow night during game 7. People...we need game 7 friday night drinking games. That in your face burning, choking disgusting stomach pump type stuff. Well maybe not all that. How about 4 big macs tomorrow night...its ok! Don't feel bad about it. Do it and hit the track the next day after you recover. Get creative with this stuff.

What about a different shot for each player. Shot of Jack for every goal Hal Gil scores. Shot of BlackHaus for a Holmstrom goal. Shot of water for a Satan goal. Really explore the space.

For every time Pierre says "Edzo!" It starts a running tabulation. So by the fourth time you are chugging a beer for 4 seconds. I realize that the tab at the tavern might get up there but the bottom is in sight people so stay focused.

Every face-off that Staal loses is a beer swig. Not a sip a nice gulp.

Every shot on goal is a sip...not a sip but a SIP! Not a gulp a SIP!

Every dirty hit or chip or shank that Kunitz throws is a gulp.

And if...this is a big if but if any of the commentators say the word Black in the same sentence as Guerin...you black out. Or come as close as you can.

This video is just good.

By the way, I beat Mega Man 3 last night and half of Mega Man 4. Why the hell did I ever STOP playing these amazing games. Met game going in my underwear and playing games just like my pops! Thanks Chutley. Thanks 16 runners left on base by the Mets. Thanks Tsioma!

The bosses from MegaMan 3

What games can we play at the bar people?