NHL 11

So the new season is almost here and the new video game as well. I pretty much only play the hockey games on xbox at this point and have gotten scary good. I said that I would attempt to contact the EA Sports headquarters...you know like their question, comment, feedback thing which I'm sure they have about some new ideas for the upcoming games. Obviosuly I didn't because I'm lazy however I'd like to list the additions and deletions as I see them. Maybe I'll get these in for 2012 game.

They apparently have altered the faceoff system which is solid. Meaning instead of the pull it back only situation, you can now push and pull the opposing center and have a forward come in on your team or you can actually go for the shot off the faceoff in the offensive zone which will be cool. Move OVY to the center in a clutch sitch and have him just rip off the faceoff. I like this.

Apparently there was a huge push for broken stick effect. WHAT! Stop it...this takes up graphic and memory space to make the game work properly. Yes it makes the game more realistic but its not realistic its video games so can we please do something else and stop wasting valuable space on this stupidity.

They added dekes and the Brad McGann texas two step hop over opponents that have fallen or you just want to do the Texas Mac Two Step around an opponent. They have added more moves like the Bure to the skate and such and other things which is solid.

The thing I like the most is apparently they have stretched out the amount and type of hits that occur. Meaning you wont see the same type of hit very often. Different body reactionary movements from the hits. I love this. Because I love turning up the aggression meter and the hitting difficulty down and just re-writing history with Zdeno Chara.

Overall it looks to be sexy but here is what I wanted to submit to the gaming programmers.

In the opening menu there are game modes like international tourney, season, playoff...whatever. I thought you could create a mode like pro-beach roller hockey with the ramps behind the net and your on the beach. Maybe you can use alumni like McSorley, Gretz, Mess whoever. And they use a ball so it bounced and does different stuff than puck mode does. Xbox hockey games used to do pond hockey which was sick along with mini games and such. Bring that shit back. Its video games....have the mode that resembles real hockey like every game has and than spin it up. And most importantly...enable gamers to be able to play with 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 in season mode or tourney mode. I always wanted to be able to play with like Washington and use Ovy Backstrom and Green and do a 3 on 3 tourney instead of 5 on 5. Or use Getsome, Perry and Niedermayer, no line changes and just have fun. Make the flip passes easy and high arcing so you can home run breakaways easily. And about the flip passes, 2 years ago you would flip a pass out of the zone and it cxould bounce in the neutral zone and than bounce over the opponents Defenseman's stick and you'd be off to the races. In 2010, it bounces in the neutral zone and the computer glitch intercepts it all the time. Don't make it all the time...its fun in video game world to homerun passes.

What you missed last night because you were a Caps fan who couldn't stand to watch

Canadiens beat the Caps in game 7, 2-1: It was all Jaroslav Halak and his merry men of shot-blocking defenders. Hall Gil's long stick (not a euphemism) was in the in way all night. Ovechkin never had space, Mike Green was cottage cheese, and Marc-Andre Bergeron scored in 4 minutes of ice time.:

Second round starts up tonight. Here are my picks:

Wings over Sharks in 7
Hawks over Canucks in 6

Pens over Canadiens in 6
Bruins over Flyers in 7

Traveler's Diarrhea

I'm back from vaca and I haven't had a solid shit in 4 days.

Before I left I predicted the Rangers would have a playoff spot and the Bruins would be golfing. Let's just say that I'm pleasantly surprised with the how the standings look right now. That's the best you get with this year's Bruins: you are just happy to be in the discussion.

And it's the same with last night's game against DC. I thought the Bruins had a great chance to get 2 points but they couldn't and I'm ok with losing in OT. My expectations have officially been tempered. Going sideways just might be enough to get into the final two spots in the East this season.

Before I get into it...What was with the camera work for Versus last night?? I literally cannot describe what was going on with the way that game was shot for tv.

Anyways Patty Bergeron's goal was nifty and I'm going ignore all the negative stuff about the game and highlight the bright spot.



First Dennis Wideman (I'm ignoring the fact that he took the high-sticking penalty in OT) spins away from a Mike Knuble check and looks to break out of the zone.



What drives me crazy about Dennis Wideman is how he tries to do a little too much with the puck. He has Lucic open and Patty Bergeron (being the mayor he is) is giving Wideman an out. Wideman instead looks up-ice to Recchi by headmanning the puck through a scary part of the ice. Maybe I'm just a pussy but c'mon.



Things work out and Lucic (flying up the wing) gets the puck with speed crossing the red line. I'm too lazy to look up who the Washington left D is but I would like to see him bust back into that circled position to keep Patty Berg in check. But it's all good as long as Nick Backstom stays with his center.



He doesn't. Lazy Left D busts it to get back into action but he is toast. Backstrom gives an uninterested attempt to get his stick in the lane and Joe Corvo (giving Lucic way too much space) has what Eddie O would call an "inactive stick". Lucic's pass is pretty and this all doesn't work if Patty Bergeron isn't busting the entire time. Nothing sexy about Patty Bergeron. He is Tim Ducaning his way into the Bruins Captain's chair.

Bergeron bears down on Jose Theodore and all of a sudden a dog is on the trampoline and time stands still.





Berg shrugs off a desperate hook and somehow slides the puck past Jose. Mark Recchi is so happy he doesn't know who to hug.

The best part about this clip is that Mike Green got the night off to rest. Had Green been on the ice Bergeron would have never gotten touched.



I never get tired of seeing this picture.

It was a nice moment until the Bruins cough it up in OT. I'll take the 1 point at this stage. I just wish I could produce a solid bowel movement.

- 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 because you were leaving for BA

Bress sent an email last night that he was "leaving for BA". I have no idea what that means but Scotty and I have the keys to the blog for a few days. We don't blame you if you stop reading until after Thanksgiving.

Ottawa over TO 3-2
These two teams beat the hell out of each other. Chris Neil was a wrecking ball as usual. Luke Schenn gets respect for stepping up to try to stop Neil from running over the entire city. Mike Fisher had the first goal, the last goal and got to stare at his star girlfriend's bleached cornhole all night. Watch Colton Orr dominate Matt Carkner in this clip.



Montreal over Carolina 3-2 in a shootout
Brandon Sutter gets the game puck. I need to find the highlight of him giving the outlet pass to Whitney then going hard to the net with his stick down. This is why the 2Man needs a highlight show. Scotty and I would spend 22 minutes replaying this goal and going off. Eventually we would tire ourselves out and get McDonald's. Maybe it's best that we don't have a highlight show.
Maxim Lapierre went bar and in to win the shootout. Matt Cullen shook Carey Price out of his skates at the end but couldn't bury it.

Nashville beat San Jose 4-3
I watched garbage highlights of this game on the Nashville website. The only thing of note is when Jumbo scored to make it 4-2 Nashville he didn't celebrate at all. Thornton isn't a fiery guy by any measure but come on. If Jumbo rips a shot and grabs his teammates maybe he riles his squad up and jolts them back in the game. Maybe?

Colorado over Calgary 3-2
Colorado needed to right the ship and they went into Calgary and crashed and banged for a win. Anytime Cody Mac scores if needs to be mentioned - he runs shit. I'm trying to find highlights of Iginla's goal but here it is: Iginla gets room because he's a beast, finds an open space, gets a pass and one-times a rocket for his 12th of the year. It's the same goal you've seen from Hull, Shanny, Neely, Kovy, Ovechkin you name it. Can't play those guys tight because you'll get bullied, can't give them space because they rip from anywhere. Pure power.

Rene Bourque had a shorty and 9 PIM for a nice little fantasy night.

Washington over NYR 4-2
My buddy Brian got me a ticket to this game last minute so he gets a special mention here. Gabby was great. Ovy had his signature PP goal. Thornton needs to do 5% of Ovy's post-goal celebration to make a bigger impact on San Jose. The Sharks are running shit and Jumbo is having a strong start but a little fire can carry that team farther into the playoffs. I dunno. After Ovy scored he did his thing and eventually went down the bench hifiving his teammates. Brian, who coaches a mite house team, was surprised that Ovy celebrates the way his kids do. Matt Bradley got cut open by 2Man favorite, Aaron Voros and scored the GWG - Strong. What isn't strong was the riceball that I ate at some shit Sbarro on 7th avenue. Green with 2 PP assists and Gabby with 2 tallies with one on the PP. Strength.

- Nemmy

Finally,

The NHL regular season begins tomorrow night with some really sweet games.

Boston v Washington - I can't wait to see Tim Thomas give up a goal and flip out.
Montreal v Toronto - I imagine that the Canadiens will have about 10 power plays to the Leafs 2
San Jose v Colorado - I probably would turn this off right after the Sakic ceremony, but now I want to see if Heatley will get a hat trick with Thornton having all of the primary assists. Does anyone know who is wearing the C, for both of these teams?
Vancouver v Calgary - I'll be staying up to watch this one.

Friday's schedule is a little strange. All the teams that are opening the season in Europe are playing. That means the start times on the east coast are noon and 3pm. Why? Why aren't they playing on Saturday and Sunday. Why does the NHL have no games scheduled for Sunday?

Here are more questions I have about the upcoming season (and my guesses):

Will Marion Gaborik play more than 51 games? No

Who will be the first coach to get fired? Randy Carlyle

What D-man will have a huge regular season and then falter in the play-offs? Bouwmeester, I'm not saying the Green will be good in the play-offs, I just don't think he will have a huge regular season.

What team will get the 1st overall pick? Islanders, but not because they were the worst team, they'll just win the lottery. The Avalanche will be the worst team in the League this year.

Who will hit 50 goals first? Heatley first, then Nash, then Ovechkin, but somehow Ovechkin will still win the Rockey Richard Trophy.


Nemmy (I think), has finally finished his team preview series. I won't go into any detail, but below are my play-off teams for each conference(in no particular order), what I think the conference finals will be, and then the stanley cup finals.

East:
Penguins
Capitals
Bruins
Hurricanes
Flyers
Devils
Rangers
Canadiens

West:
Canucks
Flames
Stars
Sharks
BJs
Red Wings
Hawks
Kings


Conference Finals:
Penguins v Devils
Flames v Canucks

Stanley Cup Finals
Penguins over Flames in 7

Crib Notes - Washington Capitals

Washington Capitals
Finished First in the Southeast. Lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs to Pittsburgh in 7 games
Acquired all-time quarterback Mike Knuble via free agency
Acquired Brendan Morrison via free agency
Let Donald Brashear, Victor Kozlov and Sergei Federov go as UFAs
Resigned Boyd Gordon, Shaone Morissonn, Jeff Shultz, Milan Jurcina and Chris Bourque.
Shaone Morissonn broke my spell check

Questions going into 2009-2010:
Who's the day 1 starter: Semyon Varlamov or Jose Theodore?
Can Ovy score 70?
Is there enough secondary scoring on this team?
If Ovk throws up 130 points will the Caps need secondary scoring?
Can Mike Green top last season's totals?
Will Chris Clark play a full season?
Who is the SABR mathmetician who signed Michael Nylander to a $5.5MM/year contract?
Do the Canes have enough to outpace the Capitals?
Or are the Caps a lock to win the division again?

Poised for a breakout season:
Nicklas Backstrom has already broke through but if all goes right for this team he will flirt with 100 points.

If you had to buy one Caps sweater:
Our buddy wears a white Brooks Laich because he claims Laich's game "speaks to him".

Player whose game you need to like:
I've posted about my love of Mike Knuble before.

Reason to get behind this team:
There may not be a ceiling to Ovechkin's game.

Reason to hate this team:
Green's website.
Either that pic is in the insert for the latest Crazy Town record or a photo from Mike

Random thought:
Fergie's body is sick but your buddies would still goof on you if you took her home.

Old guys:
Mike Knuble is 37
Michael Nylander is 36
Brendan Morrison is 34

Young guys:
Karl Alzner is 20
Backstrom is 21
Ovy and Mike Green are 23

Tough guys:
Brashear is gone so John Erskine will look to handle the thug load.

Favorite old school Capital:
Alan May or Mike Liut

Reason why I am writing this so late:
I have a men's league game tonight and I am going to the beach tomorrow and I don't want to break my streak of doing 30 teams in 30 (business) days.

Goaltending coach:
Arturs Irbe
Our Head Political Correspondent and Washington, DC Bureau Chief, confirmed that Irbe wears his goalie skates when going through drills in camp.

Nostalgia:
How hasn't this team retired Peter Bondra's uni yet?

Interesting?:
The last time we went down to a game in DC our buddy got thrown out for passing out while riding down an escalator on his back.

NHL 94 players:
Peter Bondra, Dimitri Khristich and Mike Ridley up front.
Al Iafrate and Kevin Hatcher on D with Don Beaupre in net.
Rod Langway was rated a 44. A bigger injustice this blogger knows not.

YouTube:
Bondra was just plain nasty. He sneaky dominated the 1990's


- Nemmy

So last night...

You knew the Capitals were going to come back last night versus the Islanders but you didn't know how and in what time span. I tuned in and out, but the last time I tuned in before the Mike Green overhaul was when the Isles had a 3-2 lead. The powerplay started and you knew a good team which the Capitals are, would probably be able with 10 minutes to go, to find a way to at least tie this up versus the last place team. The powerplay started and it was over before it began. I tuned back in about 5 minutes later to find that the Isles were down again and before I could even let out a Bressler groan which many of his friends know all too well, Mike Green's hands were in the air with another PPG. The man has 30 goals and over 40 assists and he missed 10 games. What!!!!! This is ridiculous. Howie Rose was saying how he couldn't imagine how any one else would win the Norris. Billy Jaffe than said Chara and Boyle would get high mention....yes they would but are you serious this year Mike Green? If he doesn't win the Norris, than the 2man Advantage ceases to exist...my goodness!

Of course Nikolai Khabibulin lost the shut-out bid for my fantasy squad with 2 seconds left on the clock. Are you joking dude? They took a penalty and the freakin wheels fell off. I would have rather he lost the game at this point. Go home!

On to other news. Last night, I created a new NHL 09 squad. Wow! The name of the created team is the St. Paul Spartans. The jerseys...well lets just say that they resemble the team colors of the Miami Dolphins from the first tecmo bowl nintendo game.

Obviously the team on the right.

Like a metallic sky blue with greens and dark blues throughout. So Sexy! Ridiculous but sexy! The squad is 5 men and a goalie like the King and his court. Matty Weindel centers the unit with Brad Mcgan on the left side and John Giardino on the right. What's really great is that they make you choose a name that the announcers call you by. Obviously they don't have Weindel but they have many other W's. I chose Winchester as the nickname for Matty, Maclean for Brad because I loved John Maclean from the Devils and more from Die Hard and Gianolla for Gio which is utterly ridiculous. The D-unit is comprised of Nemy and Scotty. Last night there was a great moment between the two D-men. The following video is Scott Stevens top 10 hits and # 3 when Niedermayer is tracking the opponent and curling up to hip him when Stevens comes freighting in to haul the trash out resembles best what happened last night.


Scotty Barbonus has Iginla in his sights and just as I was about to take him out, I switched over to Dance and Nemy laid him out.

Our netminder is none other than avid 2man blogger Mikey Heals playing with one hell of a color coordination. Undefeated in his first 5 starts with 2 shutouts and is looking strong. Mcgan is slightly in the points lead out of the gate with 17 in 5 games with Wendel 1 behind. It's a strong unit.

Man I hope Kovalchuk has 100 points. What a game winner last night. So good at hockey. Has everyone seen this because damn!




- Barbonus

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?

Holiday Weekend Wrap Up OR Seriously, what the hell is a truffle?

So I fell asleep real early on Friday night. I was getting ready for a big day on Saturday. Luckily, I didn't miss much. Mostly low scoring games, no memorable highlights.....
Saturday had some outstandingness to it.
Who knew an Oilers/Kings game would have so much punch (pun intended):


I initially thought Jack Johnson was fighting Andrew Cogliano - his old college teammate.

Mike Green set a record with this goal:

Its not the prettiest of his, not even the prettiest of the streak, but they all count.

So Friday was bleh, Saturday had its spots, but Sunday was where the NHL Center Ice Package pays for itself. Unfortunately, you really needed it, because NBC switched from the Devils/Sharks (2 best teams in each conference who played a 6-5 thriller) to Flyers/Rangers (we get it, NY is a big market).

Ovechkin had a hat trick. My favorite was his first goal. A low wrist shot snipe from the point:


The replay angle is perfect!



So the Islanders played in a matinee yesterday. Okposo tried his sick shoot-out move again and failed. Its so good.

And the Rangers lost again. Who's getting fired?

I know I missed a lot...

-Bress

Weekend Wrap Up OR Taken is all about kicking ass and taking names

If, per chance, you fell asleep without 2 minutes left in the 2nd period of the Stars/Rangers game Friday night, you might have been shocked by the final score of 10-2. See it was 3-2, Stars, until Mike Ribiero scored to make it 4-2 going into the final period. And then, well, as Nemmy might say, disaster.com. I'll try to break it down: Valiquette softening up + stupid penalties + low energy = 6 goals by the Dallas Stars in the 3rd. Steve Ott really had himself a game - a goal and 2 assists and 9 hits. And if hits could be assists, he would have gotten himself one for this play:



So Steve Mason is out for the BJs (and Rick Nash starts dusting off his irons) so Wade Dubielewicz got his first start in a country not named Russia. He played well, but not well enough and not better than his counterpart, MAF of the Penguins. I love the stretch he gets to keep Power Move Nash from putting in the wrap around:


Also on Friday night, Brendan Shanahan fought (yay)


Speaking of old man fights, Bill Guerin fought Ryan Malone, providing the only highlight in the Islanders/Lightning game:

I like Guerin protecting Sean Bergenheim.

To be honest, for all the games on Saturday, there were few great highlights.

Goalies, don't piss of the Red Wings they have a lot of firepower. Rolosson was chased shortly after this:


Mike Green kept his goal scoring streak alive (holy cow!). A really nice snipe and then an empty netter later:


Seriously, doesn't San Jose have a goalie coach to teach Nabakov how to handle a breakaway?


The Red Wings nicely schooled the Penguins yesterday in the very boring Game of the Week on NBC. The Penguins are uniquely bad. They have so much talent and just can't put it together. And I usually love Pierre Maguire, but calling out MAF for poor rebound control on this goal is just crazy. He puts the rebound in the corner, how about calling out the D, for letting Datsyuk get the puck first and then walking around him?


So what did I miss?

-Bress

What you misses last night because you were in Brooklyn... weird brooklyn

There were a ton of games last night and I was in Brooklyn "experiencing" Winter in Alaska - ok it was pretty fucking cool, but I did miss a lot of hockey. Again, I am thankful to my DVR and NHL on the Fly: Final.


Canucks finally win, beat the Hurricanes, 4-3: Mats Sundin actually participated in a positive manner with a wrap around goal, but it was Alex Burrows late third period shorthanded top shelf backhand game winner that got the W.

Canadiens beat the Penguins, 4-2: My favorite goal was Chris Higgins super fast shorthanded breakaway snap shot snipe.

Kings shut-out the Senators, 1-0: I imagine the suicide rate in Ottawa went up after this one.

Hawks beat the Oilers, 3-1: Do any goalies have black pads? I thin Huet, who was outstanding last night, would look more badass with black instead of red.

Stars win over the Flames, 3-1: The Avery addition by subtraction rule!

Panthers beat the Maple Leafs in OT, 4-3: Would the Leafs be a better team with a better goalie? It always appers like shots are just squeezing through Toskala - just like McCabe's OT blast. I predict they will overpay for a keeper this summer.

Thrashers beat the Rangers in the shoot-out 2-1: Things I didn't expect to see last night: The Sopranos cast at Grave's number retirement and Ilya Kovulchuk miss an open net.

Predators beat the Coyotes, 2-1: The Predators sneaky keep winning and might turn a profit this year. Wow!

Capitals win over the Devils, 5-2: Caps goal of the night: Mike Greens power play snipe - just a sick pass (from Semin), handle and shot. Devils goal of the night: Langenbruner's short handed breakaway - read Theodore's poke check and roofed the puck early.

Islanders beat the Lightning, 3-1: Vinny had a goal and a fight. Vinny being Vinny

Blues beat the Blue Jackets, 4-2: Rick Nash has sneaky speed.

Weekend Wrap Up OR Pepsuber!

Scotty already wrapped up our Friday night (see below), so lets take some time to talk about Mr. Ovechkin's weekend:

2 goal versus the Red Wings Friday night. The first was a nice little handle of a pass between his legs and then a far side wrister..



And a hat trick on Sunday afternoon. He probably then hit all the numbers in his boxes and got a BJ while watching the Office.

Although, the Red Wings got beat, it appears that they have another very skilled European on their hands. This isn't the most graceful spin-o-rama I've ever seen, but it will work.


It wasn't just Ovechkin for the Caps. Obviously, other people have to score the other 6 goals. But lets talk about how Mike Green gave new meaning to saucer pass ( I can't find the highlight).


ANYWAY,

The Islanders won again! And before the Panthers pulled their goalie with 5 minutes left (it didn't work), Bill Guerin showed a little razzle:



Nemmy, finally the Bruins beat the Rangers.

This happened in Toronto:



There's nothing not to love about this whole play. Great hit by Schenn. Penguins have to protect their star. Kennedy (really?) takes off the shield and Schenn obliges.

The only good thing about those disgusting jerseys that the Canadiens wore on Sunday is that Carey Price wears the sweet throwback pads.

Nothing else really of note happened on Sunday, but I feel like this one-timer be Hemsky is an underrated super play


So, what did I miss?

-Bress