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 last night while you were talking someone out of single ahandidily reruining the economy

Stars beat the Capitals in the shoot-out, 4-3: Turco made 49 saves, the Stars came back. Yadda yadda yadda. Stephan Robidas got walked twice by Ovechkin. It was awesome. In the first period Ovy, beats him to the outside, but gets stoned by Turco. In the 3rd period, Ovy fakes outside then goes in and rips a wrist shot by Turco. Thats called thinking mans hockey.







Kings shut-out the BJs 6-0: This was embarrassing for the Jackets and Mason.

Volume Alert

High unusual volume surge in Steve Mason as of late.

Shutting out Buffalo and San Jose in back to back games. 10,000% Mason. Keep it coming love.I cannot get over how bad this Mason highlight video is. None of the shots show the actual full saves...the guy who made it is like trying to slow it down and speed it up but is ruining the shots for the saves. It attempts to be 1000% but it is negative 250%

What you missed last night while you were about to make an offer to the Thrashers

I don't have a haiku about the trade. Like any trade, everyone will try to evaluate it in the present moment, but its actual worth won't be known until after the season and possibly next year. Will the Thrashers make the play-offs with Bergfors and Oduya? If the Devils lose in the first 2 rounds again, is it a failure? We'll see. Everyone just calm down and enjoy watching the best scorers in league (except ovechkin) play in the Atlantic.
Speaking of Ovechkin:


Capitals beat the Rangers, 6-5:
Ovy's goal before
the 2nd was sick. One
handed: a thousand!
-paraphrased from nemmy's emails to me this morning

Canadiens beat the Bruins in the shoot-out, 3-2:
When is the last time
the Bruins won a game or
scored more than 2 goals?

Senators beat the Canucks, 3-1:
I wonder if the
winning streak has fixed the sales
problem in Ottawa.

Wild beat the Oilers, 4-2:
Guilliame Latandresse
scored a beaut and gave a sweet
feed to Havlat. Score.

BJs beat the Stars, 2-1:
Mason looked to be
in freshman form and RJ
got the empty net.

Kings beat the the Ducks, 6-4:
Kopitar's nail-in
-the-coffin goal showed off his
hands. Nice curl and tuck.

Lightning beat the Islanders, 5-2:
As a fan, should I
give up on the play-offs and
hope for a high pick?

Predators beat the Avalanche, 5-3:
I can't believe Steve
Sullivan is still in the
game and kind of good.

Sharks beat the Blues, 4-2:
The coach called Greiss, "a
copy machine." What the hell
does that even mean?

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.

What you missed last night while kicking short or line drives

Canucks shut-out Coyotes, 4-0:
Alex Burrows will
be the first star of the week
You heard it here first.

Canadiens shut-out the Panthers, 2-0:
Who is the number
one tender in Montreal?
Trade the other one.

Capitals beat the Senators, 5-2:
Ovechkin scored his
first goal as captain. It was
a sweet backhand play.

BJs beat the Oilers, 4-2:
When 2 slumping teams
play, one gets out of said slump.
Steve Mason still sucks.

Blackhawks beat the Bruins, 5-2:
Of all the fire
power on the hawks, it was
Keith who scored nice. twice.

Flyers beat the Penguins, 7-4:
The Flyers should
have had 8, but 7 was
enough for the win.

Wings beat the Kings, 2-1:
Howard's shut-out was
lost on a fluky bounce,
but Helm won it late

Predators beat the Hurricanes, 4-2:
The Canes should blow up
their team like the Flyers
did a few years back.

Thrashers beat the Rangers in the shoot-out, 2-1:
Rich Peverly got
robbed twice during the game
by not Lunqvist. Who?

Ducks beat the Blues, 4-2:
Nemmy texted me,
"Backes is ready." I love
him fighting Northers.

What you missed last night because you just couldn't watch anymore

Thrashers beat the Stars in OT, 6-5:
Peverley is the
waiver-wire pick up of
the decade. 2 goals!

Flames beat the Kings, 2-1:
Giordano
and Brown were throwing hits all
night. Great physical game.

Sharks beat the Ducks, 4-1:
Marleau doesn't give
a fuck about the C. He
just wants Ws.

Predators beat the Oilers, 6-3:
Arnott had a sick
one-touch, slap-plass to Hornqvist
for his goal. yea!

Penguins beat the Flyers in the shoot-out, 3-2:
Rupp and Asham fought
again. When will Philly make
the "shake-up" big trade?

Red Wings shut-out the Lightning, 3-0:
Drew Miller knocked the
puck out of mid-air, scored, then
flew over the goalie.

Rangers beat the Islanders, 5-2:
When Redden is in
the press box, the Rangers are
better. Who is shocked?

Wild beat the Canadiens, 3-1:
The crowd is better
at the Molson center than
any other place.

Coyotes beat the Blue Jakces in the shoot-out, 2-1:
What is wrong with the
BJs? Is it Hitch? Is it
Mase? Seriously!

What you missed last night because all the game were pretty much on at the same time

Sabres beat the Oilers, 3-1:
Plus - Ryan Miller
Minus - Why can't Ryan Miller get the shut-out?

Capitals beat the Islanders in the shoot-out, 5-4:
Plus - Semin's rip of a wrister 8 seconds in
Plus - Trent Hunters bar-and-in slap shot to tie the game
Minus - That was the most boring extended shoot-out I've ever seen.

Red Wings roll over the BJs 9-1:
Minus - Steve Mason in the first period
Minus - Putting Steve Mason back in the game
Minus - Bressler for making "Steve Mason is the new Andrew Raycroft" jokes
Plus - Todd Bertuzzi scoring like Holmstrom

Hawks beat the Sharks in the shoot-out, 3-2:
Plus - Craig Anderson still getting it done
Minus - Does Colorado have a back up?
Plus/Minus - All the goals for Chicago were high-short-side snipes

Kings beat the Hurricanes, 5-2:
Plus - Manny Legace's white helmet
Minus - Manny Legace's goaltending

Devils win over the Ducks, 3-1:
Plus - David Clarkson's goal

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 changing too slow

Devils shut-out the Hurricanes, 1-o (NJD lead series 3-2): Brodeur was one better than Cam Ward and thats all it came down to. A tip from David Clarkson - shot actually broke his stick - was all the Devils needed. I like how Brodeur, in the game after his meltdown, pitched a shut-out. Thats leadership and a veteran calm. Not much more to say about this game, except that between this and the Caps/Rangers series, its showing that 1-0 games can be exciting.

Ducks shut-out the Sharks, 4-0 (ANH leads series 3-1): The Ducks have one line. Really. Teemu Selanne is playing with Andrew Ebbits. Rob Neidermayer is a great grind guy. The Ducks only have one scoring line and Sharks can't keep up. Bobby Ryan (rookie stud), Corey Perry (freak stud), and Ryan Getzlaf (stud stud) roll through San Jose like they roll through SoCal. Is this really how its going to end for the Sharks? Also, Nabakov sneaky sucks this series.

Flyers shut-out the Penguins, 3-0 (PIT leads series 3-2): Holy crap, there were a lot of shut-outs last night. Not much to say about this game. Flyers did what they need to do. Penguins seemed slow. Back to Philly.

Red Wings win over the BJs, 6-5 (DET wins series 4-0): Heartbreaker for the BJs. Not that they would have won the series or even the game if it went to OT, but to comeback (twice!) and lose it shorthanded because of too many men on the ice call. That hurts. Also, imagine if Steve Mason actually played like he did in the regular season. This could have been a series or at least one more game. For everyone else in the West, if you can shut-down that offense, Osgood didn't look too sharp last night.

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 because Nyquil knocked you the fuck out

Canadiens beat the Lightning in OT, 4-3:
2 point is 2 points.
Thats all the Canadiens
care about right now.

Coyotes beat the Oilers, 3-2:
Every team is
still in the play-off hunt out
west. Go Coyotes!

Blue Jackets shut-out the Flames, 5-0:
All that O, and the
Flames can't score 2 nights in a
row. Mason is stud.

Blues win over the Canucks, 4-2:
If the Blues make the
play-offs, is Andy Murray
the coach of the year?

Thrashers beat the Rangers in shoot-out, 5-4:
Valiquette got his
first assist, but needed to
make one more great save.

Predators beat the Sharks, 3-2:
If the Predators
are in the post-season they
better win a round.

Kings shut-out the Stars and win in the shoot-out, 1-0:
Even without the Nyquil,
I'm guessing this game would have
made me fall asleep


Panthers beat the Flyers, 4-2:
If Anderson keeps
winning, would he start the first
panthers play-off game?

What you missed last night while you were at work because of the awful "late email"

A lot of games, so I've just picked out THE highlight you should be sure to catch. If I missed the right one, tell me in the comments.

Canadiens beat the Oilers in OT, 4-3: The game winning goal - Montreal on the power play move the puck around to awesome acquisition Mathieu Schnieder. He puts the puck on net and great tip by Saku Koivu gets the win.

Devils beat the Flames, 3-2: Flames first goal - I have no idea how players get the puck up so quickly when they are so close, but don't over look the great pass to Olli Jokinen.

Maple Leafs win over the Islanders in OT, 3-2: Jeff Finger's big hit. This game wasn't great on any level, but Jeff Finger absolutely laid off Tim Jackman. Bruno Gervais fought, and according to Nemmy, "looked like a natural," but not the top highlight.

Red Wing beat the Coyotes in OT, 3-2: Shane Doan's tip to tie the game.

Penguins beat the Panthers in the shoot-out, 4-3: Malkin's goal - Back to the net, D-man on him and he roofs a backhand. Its so good its stupid.

Sharks beat the Wild in OT, 4-3: Owen Nolan's 400th - How'd he get it? Going to the net with a great tip. He got 401 to tie the game, but the side of the net tip was so great.

Thrashers shut-out the Avalanche, 3-0: no highligt - this game sucked

Flyers beat the Sabres, 5-2: Hartnell's first - side of the net and somehow got his stick on the laser pass from Mike Richards. The Flyers went back and forth cutting up the Sabre's PK and eventually a super pass to back post found Hartnell for the goal.

Blue Jackets shut out the Bruins, 2-0: STEVE MASON

Blues beat the Stars, 5-2: Neal's goal - James Neal, side of the net, fakes the pass across, and when the keeper went down, he put the puck top shelf from no angle.

Capitals win over the Predators in OT, 2-1: The Fights - Belak knocks out Brashear, Bradley owns up to his from behind and fought Tootoo (and got bloody), Erskine fighting Belak. All good boughts.

What you missed last night while you were trying to wrap your head around Kyle Okposo's move

In a scrimmage last night I tried doing the Okposo shoot-out move and failed miserably. I can't rap my head around that move.
Anyway, onto Friday's Hockey Haikus (sorry for the delay today, I had busy morning at the dayjob)

Devils shut-out the Avalanche, 4-0:
Parise's goal - WOW
Brodeur is back and got the
shut-out. Jers feels good.

Maple Leafs beat the Islanders in the shoot-out, 5-4:
Tambellini can
snipe, not in-game though. Blakes spin
is bush. Witts elbow - ouch.

Panthers come back to beat the Rangers, 2-1:
Shoulders hunched, arms crossed
that is the Tortorella
losing press meeting.

Hurricanes win over the Sabres in the shoot-out, 2-1:
For teams outside of
the playoffs, these three point games
must be killing them

Capitals beat the Thrashers, 4-3:
Ovy did not score
but tried to fight the wrong guy
when he got high sticked

Bruins shut-out and dominate the Ducks, 6-0:
Hard work always beats
skill. Example... Bitz outworks
Neidermayer, scores.

Sharks beat the Senators, 2-1:
Roenicks goal is hockey
Fake shot from point is pass to
Thornton, to slot, goal.

Predators beat the Coyotes, 4-1:
All of a sudden
the Predators can score or
maybe the Yotes suck

Blues win over the Stars, 3-1:
Steve Ott always does
something and contributes on
the scoresheet... sometimes.

Blues Jackets shut-out the Oilers, 1-0:
Big win for Jackets
and for Mason. He leads the
league in shut-outs, now.