Whoa

Since when does Rick Nash have 400 goals?


NBC sucks but nobody's perfect.

- Nemmy

What you missed last night because the bar didn't have the center ice package the week after

Friday Haikus are back!

Canucks beat the Thrashers, 4-2:
One of the Sedins
had a hat-trick. Which one? I
don't know. I think Dan.

Penguins beat the Canadiens, 3-2:
Backhand sauce from Bill
created the first goal. That
third goal was awful

Senators shut-out the Flyers, 2-0:
In Canada, the
worst team is the Leafs. Then Sens
or Oilers. Right, Zim?

Bruins beat the Leafs, 5-2:
No matter how drunk
you are, David Krejci is
not the next Steve Y.

Predators beat the BJs, in the shoot-out, 4-3:
Rick Nash's long reach
led to him having 2 break
aways. He scored one.

Kings beat the Coyotes, in the shoot-out, 3-2:
Long shoot-outs are
only exciting when they
keep scoring - not saves.

Only 1 game last night...

...and I missed it because I has couple drinks and fell asleep on my floor.

Anyways

Check out this goal from Antione Vermette. Nash calls for the puck behind the net then does his very best Jagr impression and uses his frame to keep the D off him as he walks out in front. Vermette (after passing to Nash) gets to the doorstep and receives a behind-the-back pass and buries it. Is this a set play?



That was really it. We have an official half day in the 2Man offices as the staff gets ready for Thanksgiving festivities. It's early yet but it looks like Scotty and I will be the only ones making into work here. Our interns all went boozing last night and our secretary is out on maternity leave. Since I doubt anyone in America sitting behind a computer will actually be working we will try to fill the blog with some mindless hockey stuff to keep people occupied. Tonight we have 14 games on and Hossa returns to action. I think Scotty is trolling the internet for ridiculous youtubes of fat kittens as we speak. Stay tuned.

- Nemmy

Weekend Wrap Up OR Do kids these days know what a trapper-keeper is?

I've been MIA on this and some recaps the past few weeks. Truth is, I'm actually getting crushed at work. I never experienced that before, so give me some time to recalibrate. Also, I'm going on my first non-hockey-related since 2004 tomorrow, so the recalibration won't actually start until after Thanksgiving.

Onto the games...

Tavares' first goal Friday night is sneakier more impressive than you'd like admit.



Its the veteran savvy to wait for the puck to come down below the crossbar and then the sweet hand-eye coordination to actually pull it off.

And then there was this move:



Ok, its not a move, but impressive that Nash composed himself to finish. And the reverse motorcycle kick might have stunned Giguere.


So maybe Giggy was embarrassed, but not as much as Luke Schenn was here:





So, that was all on Friday.

Saturday, had the game of the weekend - Bruins v Penguins



Crosby going to the net opens up the passing lane and Guerin beats Thomas.


2 players had hat-tricks Saturday night - Zetterberg and Sedin (I don't know which one). None of the 6 goals were really "highlight worthy"

There were a few games yesterday - the best goal came from Maxim.

Its a great pass and a tough finish.




So, what'd I miss?

-Bress

What you missed last night while you were experiencing/watching/participating in a show/art piece/wierdness

Its the Mid-Week Monster Wednesday


Canadiens beat the Thrashers in the shoot-out, 2-1: If Ondrej Pavelec had won the game, he'd be the Monster. He had some sick saves in the 35 or so. But since he lost, it goes to Scott Gomez. Gomez scored in the shoot-out and beat a little piss about Slava Kozlov after Kozlov hit him from behind in OT.

Penguins win over the Blues, 5-1: Dear announcers, not every time Sidney Crosby makes a pass is it a "great pass from Sidney Crosby." A lot of pros can make that pass. Case in point, Sid's assist to Alex Goligoski. The d-man was wide open in the slot and Sid had a ton of time. I think I can put that pass on his tape. Anyway, the Monster for this game was Marc-Andre Fleury. Maybe he didn't have that much work, but he made the saves and kept his head in the game.

Flames beat the BJs, 6-3: Both captains had their Monster moments. Nash scoring short-handed on the 5-on-3 and Iggy's sick snipe in the third period. But the Monster play goes to Freddy Sjorstrom. I can't describe it. I've never seen a play like this.

What you missed last night while you were talking about Brett Favre and then lighting yourself on fire

Rangers beat the Devils, 4-3: Ok, who picked up Michael del Zotto in fantasy? Obviously, I don't think he'll keep up this pace of goal scoring, but he runs the PP, so points are there. The Rangers were impressive last night. I wonder how much of that can be attributed to Tortorella's early game time-out and subsequent yell-fest. I thought that might come back to bite the Rangers in the ass when, late in the third, the same Ranger's line kept icing the puck. It didn't, because of a Lundquist's great blocker save into the stands.
I understand that Bryce Salvador needs to stand up for Paul Martin, but it actually cost the Devils. Instead of going on the PP, the Rangers win the face-off in the 4-on-4, and score to tie up the game. Oh, and Paul Martin was fine.

BJs beat the Canucks, 5-3: Canuck fans must be flipping out. Its not just the 3 losses, but Luongo got pulled last night and except for the 3rd period, the BJs kind of worked the Canucks. I don't understand how the Canucks gave up a 3-on-2 shorthanded goal while on the powerplay. Hey forwards, backcheck! It was a sweeting passing play though. Simple drop from Nash, who went to the side of the net, got the puck back and then fed a sweet cross-crease pass to Vermette. By the way, Nash had a playmaker last night.

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 - Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets
Finished 4th in the Central. Swept by the Wings in round 1.
Signed F Sam Pahlsson
Signed backup G Mathieu Garon
Let F Jason Williams, G Dubi, D O-K Tollesfsen, F Manny Malhotra and backup goalie Freddy Norrena walk out the door.
Resigned F Derek Dorsett, Alex Picard and Derick Brassard.
Let Sergei Fedorov walk.
Gave Rick Nash an extension.

Questions going into 2009-2010:
Is this going to be Nash's 50 goal year?
Does Steve Mason struggle in his sophomore season?
Does it concern anyone that Mason was shaky in last year's postseason?
Wouldn't the Wings make any goaltender look terrible?
Does Nash have enough help?
Does Nikita Filatov make the leap this season?
Does Derick Brassard pick up where he left off after shoulder surgery?
Freddie Modin, Antoine Vermette, Kris Huselius, Jason Chimera and RJ Umberger - sneaky, right?
The entire defense is a question mark

Question for NYU 2002-03 hockey players:
Does Jason Chimera look like Matt Archer?

Poised for a huge season:
Bressler thinks that Nash goes heavy bike this season. I too would like to see him go gonzo after getting a new contract.

If you had to buy one BJ sweater:
I'd throw Nash on the back for the hell of it. But really I'm disappointed that a team with the colors red, white and blue couldn't come up with anything better as far as logo and style. At least the team got rid of that neon bug. Cartoony shit doesn't work well on hockey jerseys.

Most annoying/aggravating new wrinkle about the NHL today:
How Russian players threaten to run to the KHL if they are unhappy with playing time etc.

Old guys:
Only 3 guys on the roster are over 30

Young guys:
Nikita Filatov is 19

Tough guys:
Middleweight Derek Dorsett fought 12 times last season,
Light heavyweight Jared Boll fought 2x as much.

Favorite old school BJ:
David Vyborny was the answer to pretty much every Blue Jacket trivia question before he was put out to stud in some Euro league.

Nostalgia:
First ever draft pick Rostislav Klesla (#4 overall in 2000) is still plugging away with the team.

Jersey that I'm buying Bressler for Hanukkah:
How insensitive is it that the NHL won't let me put "Hung" on the back of a Blue Jackets sweater? What about all the Korean fans?

Goaltending coach:
Dave Rook

Um, Alicia, Ursula, Megan, Jackie and Casey, I'd like to see you in my office please:
Everyone else better luck next year.

Interesting?:
Per Wikipedia: The name "Blue Jackets" was chosen to celebrate "patriotism, pride, and the rich Civil War history in the state of Ohio and city of Columbus." When President Abraham Lincoln requested that Ohio raise ten regiments at the outbreak of the Civil War, the state responded by raising a total of 23 volunteer infantry regiments for three months of service.

NHL 94 players:
I don't think anyone on the current BJ roster was on an NHL roster in 1993-94.

Prediction?
Same thing as last year. Mason holds down the fort, team sneaks into the playoffs and gets blown out by Detroit.

YouTube:
This hit got Oshie a spot on Burke's Olympic roster. BTW Worst in-game announcers on the planet.



- Nemmy

What you missed last night while you were miss-playing a line drive to left field

Canucks beat the Blues in OT, 3-2 (VAN win series 4-0): I finally got an OT call right. Anyway, the OT was probably the best (almost) period that the Blues played all series. If not for repeatedly shooting at Roberto Luongo's chest, they might have won that game. Chris Mason actually made the better of the saves, but was once again supsetable to the weak five-hole shot. Did you catch Burrow's celebration? Yea, it was the bow-and-arrow tribute to Luc Bourdon. Got to love that.

Penguins beat the Flyers, 3-1 (PIT leads series 3-1): Marc-Andre Fluery was the difference in this game. He got peppered with 46 shots and made 45 saves, some in that you might categorize as sensational. The Flyers played well, real well. Mike Richards was an absolute beast on the ice, but it came down to Fleury making saves and Biron, not.

Sharks beat the Ducks, 4-3 (ANH lead series 2-1): The Sharks persevered last night in spite of Evegeni Nabakov. He was kind of awful - Carey Price level soft goals. Scoring 4, should give the Sharks confidence, especially since it was their big guns doing the work.

Red Wings beat the BJs, 4-1 (DET leads series 3-0): Before the puck dropped, Fox Sports Ohio (or whoever shows the BJs games on Center Ice) gave the viewers a look inside the BJs locker room. Wow, they were fucking tense. Not one smile. Just a lot of guys saying cliches ("play our game," etc). Then the Red Wings killed the crowd with that early Holmstrom goal. How impressive was it, that Hossa got the rebound upstairs so quickly off his backhand? Anyway, story of the series, Nash a non-factor and Osgood non-sucking.

Hurricanes beat the Devils, 4-3 (series tied 2-2): What a comeback ruined! Devils fight back from 3-0. Score 2 in the final period and then let up the game winner with less than a second. This is when a short memory comes in handy. Does anyone else think Brodeur acts the same way he did at the end of this game as when some takes the last drumstick at dinner?

Weekend Wrap Up OR The return of the confusing t2MA! playoff pick game!

First of all, for Islander, King, Thrasher, Lightning, and Avalanche fans, your one-day play-off is tomorrow for the 1st overall pick. Here is my guess - the Kings get the #1 pick, then Isles, Lightning, Avs, Thrashers.

In other news, The 2 Man Advantage will be participating in a Sportsnet.ca play-off fantasy game, thing with some bloggers. We were invited by The Battle of Western Canada, so follow it there. We'll update you as well.


Heres the simple truth about the playoffs right now based on the past weekends games (in bullet format):

• Washington looks like it could be the top seed to go down. Theodore is playing worse than a blind man in a poker game. Even though the Rangers couldn't score on midget in a soccer goal, Lundqvist is on fire and hot goalies rule all in the universe known as play-off hockey.

• Speaking of hot goalies, the Flyers don't have one. Thusly, they will be beaten by the Penguins in the first round. And even if Philly somehow makes it a series, they'll regret losing that home ice advantage on the last day of the season.

• If the Montreal/Boston series could be won by getting more penalty minutes, then the Canadiens might win. Tim Thomas is a beast while Carey Price will make 2 great saves, but still give up a softie.
  
  
• Does anyone care about the Devils/Hurricanes series?

• Sharks and Ducks series will be a bruiser. In nature, the Sharks would win easily.
  
• The Red Wings looked prime for an upset if they faced any other team then the currently awfully playing BJs. Only Steve Mason can save them now.... well and Rick Nash

• Will the Flames be able to have a full roster? Do cap issues affect the post season?
  
• The St.Louis Blues are the feel-good story of the league. Unfortunately, they are facing the shut-out robot 2000 aka Roberto Luongo.
  

Finally, we will be having our own game again this year. You pick the winner of each series and how many games it will take. You get 7 points if you pick the right team and games. Its a one point deduction for each game off you are. And you are awarded zero points if you pick the wrong team. Does that make sense? Put your picks in the comments. The winner will get a t-shirt!

Here are Bress' picks:

Boston in 5
Washington in 6
New Jersey in 7
Pittsburgh in 7

San Jose in 7
Detroit in 5
Vancouver in 6
Calgary in 7

What you missed last night while you were trying to figure out the NHL "Portal" commercial (why is there a rusty sink at the end?)

Sabres beat the Maple Leafs, 3-1: So the Sabres are still alive until tonight when Florida should get 2 points from Atlanta. The Maple Leafs missed a lot of good chances and at times Curtis Joseph looked like he was doing an impression of me playing roller hockey goalie. In short, there's a reason both of these teams are on the outside looking in.

Blue Jackets beat the Blackhawks in the shoot-out, 4-3: This was a great game from 2 play-off bound teams in the west. In short, the complete opposite of the other game. Here's really why it was such a good game -the best players on each team were the best players on the ice. Khabibulan made some spectacular saves. Nash scored, got a penalty shot opportunity and put one in his own net. Havlat and Kane teamed up for one of the go ahead goals. It was kind of weird to see the BJs bench after regulation. They didn't know if it was alright to be happy or not. They got the one point to clinch there first ever play-off spot. I think they are a dangerous team in the first round.

The Writ of Habeus Corpus

So the 2man head to head league is heading into the homestretch in the final matchup with Bradly's team edging a slight advantage. I spoke with his opponent, team Spin-O-Rama and Trefo is upset over Bradly's consistent add/drop during the gentlemens weak of the finals. Me and Tanella laughed because he has no idea who he is up against. It is close, being tied through the first week and 6-5 currently going into the last weekend. Good luck to the both of you clowns.
In the video game parlor, the Spartans continue their seige on the league. 15-0. Mikey Heals has 8 shutouts and a 4 game streak going right now. Wendel has edged in points with 68 in 15 games with Bradly trailing by 5 or so. Nemy is leading the D pairing in points but Barbonus is crushing people. The best part is watching the computer try and even things out intra-division. Allow me to elaborate. I am in the southeast division so the computer sees my ranking based on the 5 starting players and how we have not lost. By the way to fill the roster, the rest of my team are players from the Japanese national squad. The computer gets frustrated and tries to cheat by stacking the other rosters in the southeast, which I don't mind because it fosters equality and competition. However, Carolina is running Ovy, Crosby, Datsyuk, Nash, Staal and Ray Whitney and couldn't even get a goal on Heals. We had a home and home with them yesterday and they grabbed a cloned version of Wendel to center the first line. Taking him fromt he free agent list, not obeying the laws of reality just in desperation. Our team is unstoppable. The king and his court. THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!

I really think Detroit will win the cup. 7 games...no one beats that team. Barring poopyshawn from Osgood which may very well happen. Conklin isn't too bad either, so there isn't TOO bad of a last option for them.

After watching the Rangers game yesterday, I have decided that Montreal is neagtive. Not flat, negative. And Sean Avery is a major positive for New York when he plays like he can and did. Nemy kinda liked the move on Tim Thomas but thats just silly too me. If anything say stuff to him like Paul Newman did in Slapshot. She's a dike.....I know! I know! That's good stuff. I can't wait to see Thomas in net for the U.S. next winter. Nemy won't live it down that I built up a massive short position in Thomas a few years back only to cover for a murderous loss late last season. I made back a little of the loss going long T. Thomas this season. Accept the loss and move on. He plays a tight game. I enjoy tight and succinct.

Does everyone clearly remember Al Iafrate's hair? I mean really?
Just refresh yourselves.

Sometime the shark go away....sometime he wouldn't go away.
Get some...have some cuz its awesome. The island of what? Which ever it is, thats where you can find me and Nemy on Friday afternoon with a bottle of Sark. It's like the island of Tinney and Delahee.

This is a picture of OVY just juicing. We were discussing who is the best (equipment wise) looking player in the league. Who do you think? Is it boaty Tkachuk or Andrew Cuomo?

Remember to get that glow this weekend and explode when necessary.

- Zell

What you missed last night while taking the best naps ever on LIRR

As always on Wednesdays, I'll pick one thing from each game you needed not to miss.

Ducks beat the Oilers, 5-3: MacT's bonehead move - Taking a page from Ron Wilson's book, MacT tried to get a late power play by getting Teemu Selanne's stick measured. Yea, it was legal. MacT's move put the Oilers down a man, when they were already down a goal. Maybe Wilson will hire him as an assistant in Toronto.

Canucks beat the Wild in OT, 2-1: Henrik's GWG - Daniel led the rush and went parrallel to the blue line to make the drop pass to his brother. It seemed like the other two Canucks were crashing the net, so its a good thing the shot got through. I don't know where it beat Backstrom, but it did and the Nucks won.

Canadiens win over the Hawks, 4-1: Kovalev's first goal - It was an egregious give away by the Hawks d-man, but there was no hesitation from Kovalev when he put the puck in far side on the tight angle.

Panthers beat the Senators, 5-2: Cory Stillman's backhand sauce - It led to the first Florida goal, so its important. Stillman was on what appeared to be a solo rush down the wing, but with great vision comes great responsibility and when he saw Nathan Horton cruising the slot alone, he knew he need to get him the puck. And thats when the little flick of wrists caused the puck to jump and then land flatly for Horton.

Bruins beat the Lightning 4-1: Bergeron's pass to Chara - I know its a set play, but to find that seem so quickly is impressive. Also, Chara has to time it well. I also like how Chara has to get into a squat position to celebrate with Patrice.

BJs beat the Predators, 2-1: Nash's power move - He didn't score, but he consistently beats the d-man and gets a shot on net. Every d-man in the league thinks he has the angle on Nash, but then that big left leg comes about and you are done.

Stars beat the Kings, 3-2: No reason to watch this game.

Weekend Wrap Up OR College hockey was crazy, but I'm not going to talk about it

I watched hockey every time it was on this weekend, but I couldn't figure out what game I was watching in the NCAA's. Cornell was in the mid-west regional - thats confusing.


The Islanders shut-out the Red Wings Friday night. Yes, Hossa and company hit about a thousand posts, but Joey MacDonald made saves like this:



He looks like Nemmy during roller hockey.

Ovechkin embarrassed the Lightning again. Not with a stupid celebration, but with a solid night. Ovy had 2 and 2 assists:



Saturday night was fight night at the Coliseum, this heavy weight bought came right after Nate Thompson fought Dan Carcillo and before Aaron Asham dropped Tim Jackman. Also Doug Weight fought!



While the fights were happening on the island, a pond hockey game was breaking out in Toronto. Justin Pogge sucks. Or he's learning. He got pulled for CuJo - exactly the opposite of what happened the night before. Recchi had 2 sweet tip-ins. He's not a Jew, because he knows how to tip. (ed note: bress is a jew).
Of the 7 Boston scored this one is my favorite. Really make sure to watch the nice pass from Lucic.



Earlier on Saturday Crosby was Crosby and got the game winner versus the Rangers. Uhhh, good effort, Redden?


The Blue Jackets and the Blues played a home-and-home series (or more accurately home-and-away). The BJs lost both and Mr. Nash has a new nemesis.





Yea, thats TJ Oshie.

I can't think of a better way to end this recap than with this ridiculous slap-pass from Lidstrom to Zetterberg. And watch how Rik really put thats backhand through the five-hole, strong!





What did I miss?

-Bress

Weekend Wrap Up OR Who didn't have a hat-trick?

A quick rundown of players that had a hat-tricks this weekend:

Ray Whitney - I loved all 3 of his goals, the great pass on this one...



But the walk in slapper top shelf. It doesn't get better than that


Eric Staal - the very next night! and he had 4. But in a 9-3 win, you don't get the video highlights

Sean Bergenhiem - 2 against Brodeur and 1 (the prettiest) against an empty net

Rick Nash - All unassisted

David Booth - Just got it done.


Some more questions about the past weekend?

How bad was Calgary this weekend?
Gave up 11 total goals to Atlanta and Carolina and only scored 3. 2 of those were from Iggy.

Will Scotty's little brother be in love with Bobby Ryan the way Scotty loves Mikey Mo?


Is this the nicest saucer pass you've ever seen?


I wish they showed the end-zone view.


Does Pierre Maguire fawn over everything?


How Guerin doing in Pitt?
Pretty darn well. He and Crosby have some chemistry:

And old-school billy black showed up as well:


This isn't a question, but Steve Ott is awesome. The Stars lost in spite of him yesterday. He drew 3 penalties... in the first period alone. And lets not forget about the offensive skills he has (from Fridays game):

AND



So, what did I forget?

-Bress

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.

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.