The good news is the next three games are at home. The bad news is it starts off tonight against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins (I’ll be at the game by the way, probably rocking back and forth in my seat like I’m waiting for the psych unit to start the intake process).

The problem I have with this season’s less than stellar performance is what I’ve learned about hockey. I never pretended to know what it takes to win an NHL game, build an NHL team or evaluate an NHL player. I’ve also not relied on the press for insight because they’re in the business of ‘selling papers’ so they say what they need to say. But after meeting Coach Pat Curcio of the San Francisco Bulls and picking his brain on what it takes to win hockey games, the difference between talent and hard work, and what it takes to win a championship, I’ve been contaminated with the idea that the Sharks are just not willing to put in the effort to win hockey games. The exception of course is if they’re injured. Or if they are playing with all their heart then we lack the talent to compete at a championship level.

It’s hard to stay positive. I think I was better off before – ignorance is bliss.

Whatever the problem all I know is if the Sharks miss the playoffs I’ll save a ton of money on playoff tickets, money I’ll pump into season tickets for the San Francisco Bulls. For now it really does come down to one game at a time starting tonight against the Bruins. When I bought tickets to this game it looked like a great opportunity to see how well we’ll match up going into the playoffs, but now it’s shaping up as a game to see if we can even compete at a championship level.

Just win please…

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However one commercial, perhaps the best one this past Super Bowl, wasn’t shown here in the United States. Instead it was only shown in Canada. Enjoy:

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The Stanley Cup Finals are over (although for many fans, the finals were over in April! Sorry Toronto…again!), the awards have been given out, and Free Agency was admittedly very interesting for a few days, but is now just picking up 4th line and backups.

So what to talk about?

Detroit have been making a couple of changes, but nothing amazing. Rafalski retired, and Salei is yet to sign a deal, but we’ve picked up Mike Commodore, and Ian White.

Commodore is a player I’ve always admired. Not just for his defensive play, ability to hit, and determination on the ice, but also for his ability to grow a frankly epic playoff beard. He arrives with 104 points from 454 games in the NHL. I like the deal at $1m for 1-year and also that the defenceman suggested he wears number 64, so that his jersey will read ‘Commodore 64’.

Ian White is a little different however. The former San Jose D-man was a pain in the behind for Detroit in the playoffs last year, as his ability to close down the neutral zone, play hard along the boards, and willingness to hit a shot from the blue line made him an excellent Rafalski replacement. White has tallied 143 points from 401 NHL games with the Sharks, Hurricanes, Flames and Leafs. He signs a 2-years deal at $5.75m.

Elsewhere in the NHL, the free agency when pretty nuts. Vokoun was expected to be the top goalie moving, and yet he was pretty much left sitting on the outside looking in as Auld, Budaj, Boucher, Varlamov, Hedberg, Smith, Garon, Theodore, Elliott, and Giguere, all signed new deals before the ex-Panthers goalie suggested a deal to the Washington Capitals.

Brad Richards delayed making his decision until the 2nd day, but eventually moved from Dallas to the New York Rangers.

However, some of the biggest headlines were due to trades, rather than Free Agents. Philadelphia tied up Bryzgalov, but had to trade Carter to the Blue Jackets for very little in return (Voracek, a 1st and a 3rd), along with Mike Richards to the Kings for the slightly more respectable Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn. Now I know many Flyers fans were dumbstruck about this deal, but this to me looks OK in the end. Philly have had goalie problems for a while now. They didn’t have the cap space to bring in a solid and reliable netminder, and so had to give up some forwards to get Bryzgalov. In return they’ve got some lower line forwards, but I also think they’re players that are ready to come good. I’ve always been a fan of Wayne Simmonds and think his work ethic is second to none. I wouldn’t mind seeing him sporting a winged wheel.

The Calgary Flames traded Regehr, Kotalik and a 2nd to Buffalo for Butler and Byron. That’s the most lop-sided trade I’ve ever seen. Regehr is arguably the best defenseman to move this off-season and I’m amazed at Calgary’s salary dump.

Heatley and Havlat swapped San Jose and Minnesota. I understand Heatley was getting a bit of stick from San Jose in terms of both fans, and possibly in the dressing room too. The general concensus is that Havlat is the better deal, and the Sharks came out of this with the superior player.

Finally, the big talking point was Jaromir Jagr. He spoke at length to the Penguins, Habs, and Red Wings. Slowly, all three withdrew from negotiating with Jagr, and all I can imagine is that he was demanding something the GM’s were unwilling to bend to. Finally, he signed with the Flyers, maybe placating the fans who were very upset with the Carter/Richards trades.

So all in all, a lot of trades, and a lot of changes in FA. I think it’ll take a little while to get use to this!

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As a child, you grow accustomed to the things in your environment, and they become second nature. Take swimming for example. If you live on a small island, surrounded by the ocean, then swimming is something you will learn as a child and become very adept at, whilst if you live in the heart of China or Russia, where there’s very little in the way of natural lakes and oceans, then there’s no instinct to learn, and thus the people are less likely to start this ability. My father grew up on the Isle of Wight, and clearly remembers having to go for mandatory swimming lessons, simply because the English Channel formed such an integral part of the life of an islander.

The same can be said for skating. Many children in Canada learn to skate very early on in their lives. Not simply for the fun of it, but because when the majority of the country is frozen for the larger part of the year, it’s a very effective and useful skill to have. Therefore it’s taught in the same way that football is in the UK. Ice Hockey is the national sport (or so I’m told my multiple patriotic Canadians), and so surely it’s going to be more natural to a country that is very cold and very icy for the majority of the time.

The problem is, that Ice Hockey as a sport is appreciated all over the world, and thus you end up with many people catching the hockey ‘bug’ who are not only unlucky enough to not be Canadian, but not able to skate.

Enter me, aged 12. I buy NHL94 for my Sega Megadrive (Genesis) and am instantly hooked. I try skating, fall over a lot, and it hurts, but I love it. I decide it’s going to take some serious practice to learn to skate well, and since I’m playing football a lot, for two teams, and very regularly, it’s best that I stay as uninjured as possible. Thus I live in a split world of sports, where I love hockey, and all its charms of speed, excitement and fighting, and yet play football, which has the added bonus of being a sport I can play without spending £5 a time to fall on my knees for 2 hours. So this carries on until adulthood, and the ability to purchase the ESPN network for myself, and the hockey bug gets worse than ever. I now want to play, and I want to join a team.

My wife at the time told me that I would struggle with injury (the 9 years of Sunday League football take their toll on your knees and ankles), and that I’d end up crippling myself. She probably had a point, and thus I listened. Now however, I’m no longer having to listen, so not only am I learning to skate, but I’m learning to play hockey.

Now, for the latter, it’s not too much of a trial. I know the rules, I know the game, and I know where I’m supposed to be and when. Watching the game for the best part of two decades gives this instinct. The issue is the skating bit. Learning to skate as an adult is very difficult. I’d like to think, aged 28, that I’ve mastered the balance issues of life. I can walk without falling over, I can stand still, and I can hop on one leg when required without falling on my face.

Let me tell you, when I did take to the ice, for the first time in 15 years, I was absolutely terrified. However, fear is an obstacle that is to be overcome in life, and in my case, it was the obstacle stopping me from joining a hockey team and playing my beloved sport. I took a friend who was able to at least skate forwards and keep his balance. His tutorial consisted of, “Always keep your knees bent, and grip with your toes to give you more control of the skates”. These were wise words, and I found myself able to skate forwards, under control, and at a comfortable pace pretty quickly.

Getting a little cocky, I weaved between some other skaters and started to direct myself around the bottom of the rink. In a split-second my skates were out in front, and I was falling backward. My only image at that moment was of Donald Brashear’s head pounding onto the ice after McSorely whacked him with his stick. Not that anyone hit me with a stick, but the image of the back of Brashear’s head hitting the ice was enough to instinctively pull my head forward. Luckily, as I landed flat on my back, I’d saved my head, and my neck from being damaged, and so got up and skated on. Whatever happened now, I’d already fallen over, and so nothing could really phase me anymore.

I lobbied myself harder to get a team, and managed to get an invite to train with a team through a contact of a friend of mine (thanks Ollie!). Suddenly realising that buying all the kit was fine, but I needed to make sure I was at least able to skate from one end of the ice to the other without falling over, I arranged on my day off to head down to the rink and brush up.

You know those people that give themselves a really hard time if they don’t pick something up dead quickly? Yeah, I’m totally one of them.

I took my skates to get sharpened, but had to leave them overnight since the sharpening guy was off sick, and so for my final skate before training, I was forced to hire some skates, and join a public skating session, with no pads or helmet. Things turned from bad to worse as I took to the ice, and promptly forgot everything I’d learnt. Standing up straight, I kept my weight on my heels and I found myself going in whichever direction momentum took me, rather than in the direction I wanted to go in! After a couple of hefty falls, I got annoyed with myself. I’d grasped the whole knees, and toes thing again, but was angry for not being able to skate like Gretzky and Messier’s lovechild, and believed that after a few hours of skating, over a course of a couple of months, that I should be a God of the ice. Did I mention I give myself a hard time?

My frustration was funneled into aggression, and I skated harder and faster. My head started to calm a little bit when I realised I had built up a decent head of steam and could skate fast and with purpose. Stopping was out of the question though, and I bodyslammed the boards on a couple of occasions. One in particular where I felt myself crumple into a heap as powered along the wing, having lost control, and my prostrate body hurtled into the boards. Luckily, I broke my impact with my face, so managed to avoid hurting my limbs further. Had it not been for the fact my face was on the ice, getting very wet and very cold, I would still be lying there, groaning, with international curling going on around me.

Skating fast was great, but if I couldn’t stop, then it was pretty pointless. My knees were screaming, and my right one in particular was swelling up quite large. My hip was definitely bleeding after a nasty boards impact, and I was aching all over. I later found that both my elbows, and my right shoulder had joined in the swelling party, and I spent the evening not moving from the sofa unless it was absolutely necessary. I even seriously considered for about an hour, the possibility of peeing into a pint glass to avoid getting up.

I’d stayed overnight at a friend’s house, and in the morning, was barely able to get out of bed. I physically rolled to my left as I couldn’t lift my left leg, and the only way to get out of the depression of the mattress, was to hurl my entire body to one side. This I finally managed at the 3rd attempt, and landed with a wet crunch on the floor. Now I had another problem, and that was getting up off the floor. Trying to pull myself to my feet I audibly gasped at the state of my limbs. My elbows were large and puffy, and coloured in a deep green and yellow. Both knees were huge, and I struggled to put my jeans on over their bulbous swelling. The kicker however, was my left hip, which had indeed been bleeding, and although it had kept its shape and colour, hurt like nothing else I’ve ever experienced.

My first training with a new team was in 3 day’s time, and I could hardly walk.

I’ve a couple of friends who play hockey regularly, and even they were a bit shocked at the state of my limbs. They kept telling me “When you’ve got the pads on, you barely feel a thing”, and I just prayed they were right.

The day game, and I arrived with all my gear, got kitted up in the changing rooms and headed out onto the ice with my new team. My head was spinning ‘stay confident, skate smooth, forget you’re a beginner, it’s ok to lean on your stick, knees bent, toes gr…’ I was already staring at the neon strip lights of the rink. I’d made it about 3 yards from the door onto the ice and was sat on my ass holding my stick in the air like some unusual and elaborate trophy. Thankfully, my friends had been correct, and the fall didn’t hurt one bit. I mentally thanked the guy on eBay who sold me the majority of my pads, and skated off.

Luckily, the guys on the team were already aware I was a beginner, and their assistance and tips really helped. By the end of the session, I was able to skate in the direction I wanted to go, turn pretty sharply, at a decent speed, and get myself into shooting and passing lanes.

I was told by the coach that it was clear I knew where I had to be, but that getting to those areas when it was still relevant was the issue. I completely agreed. Second session, my skating got stronger. I was able to improve my acceleration, and I started handling the puck. This was a completely new concept. I’d always played sports with my feet, and now I was having to use my hands, and a stick where the controlling bit was nearly 5 feet away from me. Luckily, I didn’t give myself a hard time, as I was able to control the passes, pass relatively accurately to teammates, and even fire a couple of shots.

The most important thing, was that I adored it. I skated about, playing the puck to teammates, and moving into positions where I would hopefully be effective, all with a huge grin on my face (not a great idea when wearing a half-visor, as your teeth make a decent target for errant pucks!).

Had I ignored the desire to brush up my skating, and simply gone and trained, therefore sparing myself the anguish and pain of slamming myself into the boards and ice so frequently and without padding, then I’d likely have been a lot more confident when I did start training.

And to think, it’d all be so much easier if I’d carried on skating when I was 12, or of course, been born in Manitoba…

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I know I’ve been a little quieter than usual, but a damaged wrist ruined my ability to type for longer than a couple of paragraphs. Now it makes a lovely cracking sound when I stretch it, like reaching for a sieve, or changing gear in my car, and all to the disgust of my girlfriend, who cringes at the wet crunchiness of it all.

Anyway…

The Sharks celebrations at ditching Detroit were short lived. They fell at the next hurdle, losing 4 games to 1 to a Vancouver team who look to be gaining in confidence. The Canucks are one of those teams that are obviously players of the highest calibre (after all, they’re always there or thereabouts in the Western Conference), but seem to lose out in the playoffs. All I can imagine is the issue they face is one of mentality, and the belief that even if they win a couple of games, they’ll still drop out at the 1st or 2nd round. This year’s team looks different, in that there seems a genuine belief that the Canucks can win.

Bieksa’s OT goal was indeed and oddity, with Edler’s round-the-boards play hitting a stanchion, and angling back across ice. The only person who seems to have anticipated this is Bieksa, who hit a slapshot towards goal. Everyone else on the ice is looking for the puck either behind the net, or has assumed it has gone out of play, and nobody is looking at the puck. Bieksa’s knuckling shot bobbles past Niemi’s left leg, into the goal, and Bieksa is celebrating at center ice before anyone else realises what’s happened.

The Sharks have a right to feel utterly dejected, whilst the Canucks are looking like a very strong and powerful opponent right now.

As for the Eastern finals, well it’s anybody’s guess. The Bruins and Lightning are currently at 3 games each, and some of the trials and tribulations in the previous 6 games have been surprising the say the least.

The Bruins looked a little lost after their 5-2 beat down in game one, whilst the Lightning seemed to have the measure of Vezina candidate Tim Thomas. Yet in game two, the previously solid Dwayne Roloson was pulled after two periods, due to allowing 6 goals on 27 shots as the Bruins destroyed the Tampa Bay defence, winning 6-5 after a nervy 3rd period where the Lightning potted twice to set up a tense finish. With honours even, game 3 in Tampa was an almost stalemate. The Bruins ran out 2-0 winners, with both goalies showing how they’ve managed to get their teams this far. Boston’s 1 game lead was levelled again when Tampa overcame a 3-0 deficit after the 1st period of game 4, and rallied to a 5-3 win. Again Roloson was pulled early, with Mike Smith shutting out 21 shots to keep the Lightning in with a chance, which they duly took with both hands.

Game 5 took another turn, as Smith started in goal, but still found himself losing 3-1, even though Gagne have given the Lightning the lead in the first. Finally, last night’s game 6 saw the Bolts turn up the heat once again. 3 Powerplay goals helped them overcome the Bruins in a back-and-forth affair as Boston led 2-1 after the 1st, Tampa led 3-2 after the 2nd, and won 5-4 overall, with Tim Thomas being pulled for the extra attacker for nearly 2 minutes.

Game 7 looks to be the kind of game hockey fans like me drool over. For the winner, a place in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Bruins have been absent from the finals since 1990, and haven’t won the cup since 1972, whilst the Lightning have only ever made one appearance in the finals, winning the cup in 2004. Whoever wins, they’ll be meeting the Vancouver Canucks, who have only ever made the finals twice (1994, and 1982), but have never won.

None of the teams still in with a shot have had an easy ride, with all three teams having shaky first round games, with Boston and Vancouver only progressing due to an OT game 7 goal. Let’s see if their luck can hold.

As an aside, the off-season is a time when players recuperate, have a bit of a holiday, repair injuries, and start training for the pre-season. It’s also when many players consider their future, be that with a new contract, a new team, or decide to retire. This week saw the retirement of Red Wings and USA defenceman Brian Rafalski, as well as Islanders and fellow USA international Doug Weight.

Weight was drafted in 1990 and took to the ice for the Rangers, Oilers, Blues, Hurricanes, Blues (again), Ducks and Islanders, winning the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006. He played 1238 NHL games, tallying 1033 points, and represented his country at 2 World Cups, and 3 Olympics.

Rafalski on the other hand, was never drafted, and played in Sweden and Finland before being picked up by the New Jersey Devils in 1999. He moved to Detroit in 2007, much to the reluctance of Devils’ fans, who didn’t want to lose him. Rafalski won the Stanley Cup 3 times, twice with the Devils, and once with the Red Wings, racking up 833 NHL games, and 515 points. The defenceman also played for the USA in the 2004 World Cup, and 3 Olympic games.

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1st round it’s fairly straightforward as you would expect. Both East and West have dominating teams (Detroit over Phoenix, Washington over New York Rangers), and 7 game series (Vancouver over Chicago, Tampa Bay over Pittsburgh). However, the 2nd round could not have been more different.

In the East, Tampa Bay sweep the Washington Capitals, decimating the Eastern Conference champions in devastating style, with just the right mix of ruthless offense from St Louis, LeCavalier and Downie, coupled with tight defense from Hedman and Roloson. Equally, the Bruins exorcise their demons by sweeping the Flyers, and doing it with flying colours, outscoring Philly 20-8 over 4 games, with only one reaching overtime. Both teams now have a week’s rest whilst they prepare for their Eastern Conference Final. Usually, the team that has the longer rest tends to find themselves out the zone and a little bit mentally rusty. In this instance, there’s no advantage either way since both teams are in the same boat.

However, the West has become the focal point of the season so far. The Canucks, victors in 7 games over Chicago after giving up a 3 game lead, found themselves having to battle hard once again to knock out the Nashville Predators. The Canucks eventually came good in 6 games, but not after struggling to outplay the Predators, especially as Weber and Rinne stood tall to deny attack and attack. Also noticeable is the absence of point from the Sedin brothers. Ryan Kesler is putting up the big points whilst the Swedes, who were unstoppable during the regular season, now find themselves struggling to get to grips.

The big story, however is the Wings vs Sharks series. Not necessarily for the 3-0 lead the Sharks had, which has been clawed back to 3-3 ahead of tonight’s game 7, but the hockey that has been played has been nothing short of outstanding. Every game (barring Darren Helm’s empty netter in Game 6) has been decided by one goal (Detroit outscoring San Jose 16-15 over 6 games), 2 games have been decided in overtime, and the matches have been a masterclass in quality goaltending from both Antti Niemi and Jimmy Howard. Even when you split the stats a little more, you find the teams to be closer than ever. Detroit have been called for 72 penalty minutes compared to San Jose’s 78, just 6 minutes different over 6 games. San Jose have fired 216 shots at Jimmy Howard, just 9 more than Antti Niemi has faced, and both teams are finding their 3rd and 4th line players are pulling the stops out to make the difference, with Setagouchi performing well for the Sharks, and Helm putting up points for Detroit.

So where will it end? Who will be the difference maker between these almost symmetrical teams? And more importantly, how will the victor fair against the Vancouver Canucks?

I guess we’ll find out come the morning…

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Vancouver progressed to meet Nashville, who disposed of the Anaheim Ducks in 6 games, with the final one being a 4-2 victory.

As mentioned in the previous installation of mine, the Red Wings swept the Coyotes 4-0, meaning they had a long break between games. Now usually, the rusty factor shouldn’t come into it. The players are top athletes and as such, should be fit and ready for the next game. The rust isn’t in the bodies, but the minds. That long without a competitive game is going to alter the way Detroit enter their second round.

They will meet the San Jose Sharks, victors in 6 games over the LA Kings. Once again, the Kings fall short in the Playoffs, and whilst the Sharks did show some defensive and goaltending frailties, they are winners over Detroit in 9 or the last 11 games. There are not many teams Detroit would rather play less than San Jose.

Vancouver v Nashville

Pekka Rinne was able to save 29 of 30 shots in the opening game of Round 2. Unfortunately for Rinne, the only goal he allowed became the winner, as the Canucks ran out 1-0 winners to take a series lead. Chris Higgins 2nd period wrist shot was enough to see off the Predators in the first game, with Vancouver outshooting their visitors 30-20.

Game 2 saw the Predators pull even, with a 2-1 in double overtime. Nashville came out the blocks a lot faster than their hosts, outshooting them in both the 1st and 2nd periods, but yet fell behind when Burrows scored shorthanded half way through the 2nd. Vancouver looked to be holding on for another 1-0 win, and into the last couple of minutes, the Predators pulled their goalie. Suter followed in his own blocked shot, rounded the goal and was able to bank a shot off Luongo’s skate to even up the score with 1.07 remaining. Into overtime and the Canucks turned up the heat, testing Rinne repeatedly with 18 shots as the OT period stepped into the 2nd 20 minutes. With Rinne keeping the Predators in it, Matt Halischuk fired a wrister past Luongo’s glove side to split the series.

Current status: Series tied 1-1

Upcoming games (if required):
@Nashville, Tuesday 3rd May 2011
@Nashville, Thursday 5th May 2011
@Vancouver, Saturday 7th May 2011
@Nashville, Monday 9th May 2011
@Vancouver, Wednesday 11th May 2011

San Jose v Detroit

The overtime specialists were at it again, as San Jose won their 5th post-season game, 4 of which came in overtime. Howard’s 44 of 46 saves were not enough as the Sharks seemed to be a step ahead of the Wings at all times. Nick Lidstrom’s opening goal in the first period put the Sharks on the back foot, but a resurgent team fought hard and threw 30 shots at Howard in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Pavelski’s goal in the 3rd was followed by a deliberate snow shower on Howard after he’d collected the puck, and a melee ensued where Howard punched Pavelski with his blocker, resulting in roughing minors for both. If it was Pavelski’s attempt to get under Howard’s skin, then it worked. Ferriero’s first playoff game was capped with a goal after the Wings had just killed a 4 minute penalty from Abdelkader’s high stick, when the Sharks fired home the winner, to take the first game of the series.

The second game saw the Wings move faster, and with more determination. That long break between the Phoenix game and the Sharks series did them no favours at all. This time, they looked a little sharper, but San Jose still had the edge. White scored a powerplay goal from the point, as he unleashed a laser into Howard’s net. The second became a scrappy affair, with Eager being given a misconduct for attempting to fight Bertuzzi, but ending up wrestling the Wings forward through the door into the bench. Into the 3rd, Wallin’s effort hit Howard and bounced over his shoulder into the goal. Freak occurrence, but the Sharks had a comfortable lead. Detroit came back with gusto and Zetterberg’s effort pulled one back for the Wings with Setagouchi in the box.

Current status: San Jose lead 2-0

Upcoming games (if required):
@Detroit, Wednesday 4th May 2011
@Detroit, Friday 6th May 2011
@San Jose, Sunday 8th May 2011
@Detroit, Tuesday 10th May 2011
@San Jose, Thurs. 12th May 2011

EAST

Washington’s fans were not comfortable with playing the Rangers in the opening round, but as it turned out, their fears were unfounded as the Capitals saw off the Rangers with a convincing 4-1 series win.

They will the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won their game 7 matchup with the Penguins 1-0, after some excellent work from Dwayne Roloson to keep the shutout and give the Lightning their victory. After being 3-1 down in the series, Roloson’s efforts in goal gave his team the defensive ability they needed to turn the series around.

Philly finally came good in their series against Buffalo, winning their Game 7 match 5-2, and showing what they were capable of after a few stuttering moments along the way. The goalie situation still needs to be addressed though.

Their next opponents are the Boston Bruins, who won the series against Montreal, and the final game 4-3 at the 7th time of asking. Nathan Horton won’t score many goals more important than his OT winner to clinch the series.

Washington v Tampa Bay

Game 1 saw the goalie matchup of Roloson vs Neuvirth, two of the best goalies in the post-season, according to stats. As it turned out, there were enough goals to go around, as the Lightning took the lead through Bergenheim, before Semin and Fehr put the Caps in front, and Downie then equalised. At 2-2, Stamkos scored the go-ahead with just seconds remaining in the 2nd. The 3rd period was a game of attrition and the test of Tampa Bay’s defence. With less than a minute left, Neuvirth left his net for the extra man, leaving Moore able to slot home an empty netter, sealing a 4-2 win for the Lightning.

Washington definitely came out the gate looking for revenge, and despite outshooting the Lightning 28-9 in the first two periods, they found themselves in a 1-1 tie. Veteran LeCavalier had given Tampa Bay a powerplay lead in the 1st nearly tearing the back of the net off with his powerful wrister, before the scores were levelled in the second by Laich’s backhander. St Louis and Ovechkin both scored wristers to keep the scores level, Ovechkin’s coming with just over a minute left in the 3rd. Into OT, and the Lightning came good with Vincent LeCavalier’s second goal, slotting the puck into the roof of Neuvirth’s net.

Current status: Tampa Bay lead 2-0

Upcoming games (if required):
@Tampa Bay, Tuesday 3rd May 2011
@Tampa Bay, Wednesday 4th May 2011
@Washington, Saturday 7th May 2011
@Tampa Bay, Monday 9th May 2011
@Washington, Wednesday 11th May 2011

Philadelphia v Boston

The opening game of these two teams, both Game 7 victors, was a hefty victory for the Bruins. With a 5-1 lead in the middle of the second, the Flyers clawed two goals back to make the Bruins a little nervous before Marchand and Campbell scored 3 minutes apart to secure a 7-3 victory and a 1-0 lead in the series. Philadelphia swapped Boucher out for Bobrovsky after 5 goals, and yet the backup still couldn’t settle, giving up 2 goals on 10 shots.

James Van Riemsdyk gave the Flyers great hope in game 2, scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes of the game. The Bruins didn’t roll over however, pulled two back themselves, Kelly and Marchand on the scoresheet. Some truly outstanding goaltending from Vezina candidate Tim Thomas kept the Bruins in it, especially in the 3rd where Thomas saved 22 shots in 20 minutes. At the end of the second, Boucher took a shot to the arm, and left the ice to be replaced again by Bobrovsky. Boucher was fine though, and returned for the 3rd. Into Overtime, and Boucher was beaten by David Krejci to win the second of the two games. Thomas saved a whopping 52 of 54 shots.

Current status: Boston lead 2-0

Upcoming games (if required):
@Boston, Wednesday 4th May 2011
@Boston, Friday 6th May 2011
@Philadelphia, Sunday 8th May 2011
@Boston, Tuesday 10th May 2011
@Philadelphia, Thurs. 12th May 2011

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Vancouver v Chicago

The Canucks opened their Playoff campaign against last-gasp qualifiers, Chicago. The starting game, saw the Canucks race into a 2-0 lead in the first period, and despite the Blackhawks throwing 25 shots on net over the next 2 periods, Luongo stood tall and denied all comers, shutting out Chicago.

Game 2 was a slightly different affair, with the Hawks obviously regrouping and learning from their mistake the first time round. A much more even affair saw the Canucks come out just on top of a 4-3 game, with both teams trying to grasp control in the final period, and providing a great game of hockey for a neutral fan.

The third game, with the series now in Chicago, saw the Hawks again unlucky to lose out, this time of the wrong end of a 3-2 game. The teams were tied, with Vancouver taking multiple penalties, and giving up 2 goals on the Penalty Kill, before Samuelsson slotted the puck away with just 6 minutes remaining in the game. Chicago also lost heavily-relied upon defenceman Brent Seabrook to a hit from Vancouver’s Raffi Torres.

Finally, the Blackhawks took their chances with game 4, and after a 1st period tied at 1-1, Chicago blasted away the Canucks with 4 goals in the 2nd, and a further 2 more in the 3rd. Top goalie Luongo was chased after giving up 6 goals on 28 shots, and despite a couple of melees in the final period, Chicago stave off elimination for another few days at least.

Current status: Vancouver lead 3-1

Upcoming games (if required):

@ Vancouver, Thursday 21st April 2011

@ Chicago, Sunday 24th April 2011

@ Vancouver, Tuesday 26th April 2011

San Jose v Los Angeles

The Sharks managed to wrestle 2nd place in the conference from the Red Wings with just a game or two to spare, matching them with the 7th place Kings. The opening game was a very tense affair, with San Jose making the majority of the play, but LA goalie Jonathan Quick denying nearly everything that came his way. After the score was tied 2-2, then, the overtime period was nearly 15 minutes old when Sharks forward Joe Pavelski sealed the win for San Jose.

The second game was an entirely different sight, as the Sharks went down 4-0, despite heavily outshooting the Kings. Quick was again the man to thanks, and Drew Doughty came up big with 2 goals and 2 assists to level the series.

Game 3 became the stuff of history when the Kings raced into a 4-0 lead early in the second, chasing often-reliable goalie Antti Niemi. San Jose countered in the same period, with 3 of their own before the Kings tallied again, making it 5-3. The Sharks fought back with 2 goals in a minute to tie the game 5-5 by the end of the 2nd. The 3rd period was primarily neither team wanting to leave themselves open at the back. As the game entered OT, Marleau forged forward and got his pass across the Setoguchi who hit a one-timer and won the game for the Sharks, 6-5 in OT.

Current status: San Jose lead 2-1

Upcoming games (if required):

@ LA, Thursday 21st April 2011

@ San Jose, Saturday 23th April 2011

@ LA, Monday 25th April 2011

@ San Jose, Wednesday 27th April 2011

Detroit v Phoenix

Detroit faced Phoenix in the first round for the 2nd year straight. In the previous series meeting, Detroit had prevailed after a game 7 blowout victory in Arizona, but this year, they set out with a steely determination. An opening game 4-2 win was certainly going to help their cause, despite a messy facial injury to post-season talisman, Johan Franzen. Phoenix’s Kyle Turris actually took the lead before the Wings scored 4 (Datsyuk, Franzen, Rafalski and Hudler), before allowing a well-worked goal from Radim Vrbata.

Game 2 saw Detroit race out to a 4-0 lead before being pegged back to 4-3 by the third. Despite the Coyotes very best efforts, Jimmy Howard held off the attacks, and Detroit hung on to claim back-to-back victories. The main talking point of this game though, was Pavel Datsyuk’s stickhandling to set up Darren Helm’s goal, with the Russian forward playing the stick between his legs before firing a shot at Bryzgalov. The rebound was easily slotted by Helm and the Wings led the series 2-0.

The third matchup needed Phoenix to step up to the plate, but despite a huge raucous crowd, the Coyotes didn’t make home advantage count. Detroit scored twice early in the game, and then again at the start of the 2nd to set up a 4-2 victory, placing Phoenix on the brink of being swept.

Finally, before the fourth game, Coyotes coach Dave Tippet stated he needed Bryzgalov to come up big to halt the Red Wings domination, but it was not to be. Having already scored 12 in 3 games, Detroit dismantled the Phoenix defence, scoring 6 in the final game, to run out 6-2 winners, and sweeping the Coyotes. With the game tied 3-3 at the end of the 2nd, both teams quickly tried to gain

momentum, but it was Danny Cleary’s goal after 13 minutes into the 3rd, and Detroit went on to grasp control.

Current status: Detroit win series 4-0.

Upcoming games (if required):

N/A

Anaheim v Nashville

With both teams having always been there or thereabouts for the last few years, both are out to prove a point. Nashville always seem to be a playoff certainty, but never seem to really fulfil their potential, whilst Anaheim had a terrible start to the season, and should be grateful to have made the post-season at all. Their first matchup saw the Preds take a commanding lead, and by the middle of the third, they were 4-0 up, had chased Ducks goalie Dan Ellis, and were cruising to a shutout victory. Unfortunately, Teemu Selanne decided he didn’t like shutouts and scored on Pekka Rinne to finish the game 4-1 to Nashville.

By the end of the 2nd period in game 2, Anaheim were 4-1 up this time. Nashville’s attempts to get back into the game nearly worked, as Hornqvist and Ward scored to pull the score back to 4-3. Pulling their goalie for the extra man, they were caught out by Bobby Ryan, who scored an empty netter, to finish the game 5-3 to the Ducks.

Game 3 saw the Predators swing advantage their way in a topsy-turvy game, as they took a 2-0 lead on goals from Tootoo and Erat, before Selanne potted twice in a volatile and aggressive 2nd period. The 3rd saw Legwand take the lead for the Predators, Belesky equalise for the Ducks, and then Fisher win 4-3 for Nashville.

The 4th game showed how evenly matched these teams are, as a 3-3 tie at the end of the first (including Selanne’s 5th goal of the playoffs) was broken in the 3rd by Corey Perry’s shorthanded goal. This ruined the Nashville momentum and the Ducks went on to score twice more, winning 6-3 to tie the series.

Current status: Series tied 2-2

Upcoming games (if required):

@ Anaheim, Friday 22nd April 2011

@ Nashville, Sunday 24th April 2011

@ Anaheim, Tuesday 26th April 2011

Washington v New York Rangers

The Capitals topped the Eastern Conference this year once again, and kicked off their playoffs with a series against the New York Rangers. A rather tepid start to game 1 was soon forgotten about, as both teams scored in the 3rd period to set up a 1-1 tie and overtime. The Capitals turned up the juice in OT and Jason Arnott was able to set up Alexander Semin for the OT winner and give Washington the edge after the first game.

A couple of days later and the same could be said of matchup number 2. A relatively low number of shots were fired at both goalies, but Washington made theirs count with 2 goals in the second period, from Chimera and Arnott, and put the Caps 2-0 up in the series.

Back in New York for the third game and the series finally caught a spark. Neuvirth was the busier of the goalies, facing over 30 shots for the first time in the series, but he was unable to stop them all. After a 2-2 tie in the third, Dubinsky was able to notch the game winner with just over 1.30 left in the period.

The fourth match found the Capitals in no mood for allowing the Rangers an easy game, and despite the Rangers 3-0 lead at the end of the second, Washington fought back with three of their own in the third. Into overtime they went, with the first 20 minutes also scoreless, despite Washington’s onslaught of the Rangers’ goal. 12 minutes in the 2nd OT period, Chimera tipped in to give the Caps a 3-1 series lead, and heading back to Washington knowing only one more is needed to progress.

Current status: Washington lead 3-1

Upcoming games (if required):

@ Washington, Saturday 23rd April 2011

@ New York, Monday 25th April 2011

@ Washington, Wednesday 27th April 2011

Philadelphia v Buffalo

Last year’s beaten finalists met Buffalo in the opening games of the series, and didn’t get off to a great start. The first period was scoreless, before Philly piled on large amounts of pressure in the second. Buffalo held firm though, and were able to weather the storm before Patrick Kaleta snatched a goal in the third and stole the game for the Sabres, despite being heavily outshot.

Game two was a much more scoring affair. An aggressive game saw a 3-3 tie after just the 1st period, and also a combined 30 minutes of penalties. The Flyers capitalised on a further 12 minutes worth of penalties against Buffalo, and took a 5-3 lead, as Leino and Briere made the Sabres pay for their lack of discipline. Despite McCormick’s tally in the 3rd, the Sabres lost out 5-4 to leave the series tied.

The third game started out with a Powerplay goal each and a 1-1 tie after the first. Philly took the lead in the second with 2 goals, but the Sabres were not yet done, and Gerbe scored late in the 2nd to set up a close finish. Despite outshooting Philly 11-5 in the third, Boucher was not budging, and the Sabres pulled their goalie, only to give up an empty netter for Timonen in the final minute.

Matchup 4 was back to the Buffalo style they enjoy. The Sabres took an early lead inside 10 minutes of the first, courtesy of Jason Pominville, and held on for the 1-0 win, despite the onslaught of Philly shots in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Miller was up to the task, and shut out the Flyers for the second time in 4 games.

Current status: Series tied 2-2

Upcoming games (if required):

@ Philadelphia, Friday 22nd April 2011

@ Buffalo, Sunday 24th April 2011

@ Philadelphia, Tuesday 26th April 2011

Boston v Montreal

In what was supposed to be battle of the top goalies, Montreal headed to Boston to take on the Bruins, knowing Tim Thomas held the league’s top GAA and save percentage for the entire season. Unfortunately for the Bruins, Brian Gionta doesn’t care much for reputations, and managed a goal in both the 1st and 3rd periods, giving the Canadiens a 2-0 win on the road. Carey Price, who the media claims is having the season where he fulfils his potential, kept a 31-save shutout to deny Boston any joy on home ice.

The same was to be said of game two, where Montreal were again able to best the Bruins with 2 quick goals in the first, and despite Bergeron putting away an answering goal in the second, the lead was maintained when Yannick Weber was able to backhand past Thomas, and seal a 3-1 win for the Habs. Despite a torrent of shots against him, especially in the third, Price was able to handle the pressure, and left the ice knowing that in 120 minutes of hockey, he’d allowed just one goal.

Boston were not going to allow a sweep and set out into game 3 with determination. By the second period, they had already established a 2-0 lead, when a soft throw into the offensive end was cleared by Price, right into the path of Rich Peverley, who being a matter of 2 yards from net, could not really miss. Montreal fought back well and put away 2 goals to bring the game to a tense end, before Chris Kelly’s empty net goal killed any hope of comeback.

Current status: Montreal lead 2-1

Upcoming games (if required):

@ Montreal, Thursday 21st April 2011

@ Boston, Saturday 23rd April 2011

@ Montreal, Tuesday 26th April 2011

@ Boston, Wednesday 27th April 2011

Pittsburgh v Tampa Bay

Lacking star forward Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins know that they have a harder job than most. Their 2nd and 3rd line players will really have to step up if the Pens are to go deep into the playoffs, and there’s easier teams to face early on that Steve Stamkos and the Tamp Bay Lightning. All eyes were on Stamkos as he entered his first playoffs, after a 91-point season. All those eyes soon saw Brooks Orpik crush Stamkos with a huge hit behind the net, and the Lightning forward was knocked off his game for the duration of the 60 minutes. After two scoreless periods, the Penguins put 2 goals away in 20 seconds during the third, and then Chris Kunitz was able to grab an empty netter at the end to seal a 3-0 victory.

Game 2 could not have been more different, with Tampa Bay racing out the blocks and into a 3-0 lead after the first period. Despite a Craig Adams goal, the Penguins had no reply, and Martin St Louis’ powerplay goal late in the second sealed Pittsburgh’s fate. Roloson was also playing very well, saving 34 of 35 shots. Matthias Ohlund managed to capitalise on an ‘all-or-nothing’ play from the Penguins, scoring a shorthanded goal into an empty net, late in the third to finish with the Lightning winning 5-1.

After convincing wins for each team, game 3 then seemed to level off. Early in the third, St Louis scored his second of the night to level the score at 2-2, before Kennedy scored for the Penguins only a minute later with a wicked wrist shot to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 win and the lead in the series overall.

Game 4 was all about pressure and counter. The Penguins provided the pressure and got the rewards from it, scoring twice through Kennedy and Asham. Unfortunately, Tampa Bay played the part of the counter, and came back to grab two goals of their own through St Louis (his 4th of the post-season) and Bergenheim. At 2-2 by the end of the third period, the game headed into OT. After the third period, Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson had already face 40 shots, and headed into OT, where he faced 11 more. After 20 minutes, there was still no victor, but shortly after the start of the 2nd OT, James Neal fired from an almost impossible angle, over by the boards, and managed to whip the puck by Roloson, for the OT win, and a 3-1 series lead.

Current status: Pittsburgh lead 3-1

Upcoming games (if required):

@ Pittsburgh, Saturday 23rd April 2011

@ Tampa Bay, Monday 25th April 2011

@ Pittsburgh, Wednesday 27th April 2011

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· Vancouver win their division, the Western Conference and the League. Edmonton win nothing. Not even any pride. But they do get to feel a little heartened to see their name removed from both the Worst PP and Worst PK columns.

· Vancouver also score the most goals, and concede the fewest. I mean, there’s winning and then there’s stomping your opposition into the dirt, simply because you can. New Jersey gave all their money to one player, and hoped he would propel them to the playoffs. Unfortunately, he didn’t, and he also didn’t score much either, as the Devils registered the fewest goals. Colorado leak goals like a rusty sieve…that got disintegrated by a nuclear attack, and now is just a handle. A rusty one. With holes in

· The old adage that being a physical team makes up for lack of skill turns out to be complete rubbish, as the Islanders register the most PIMs, but won nothing. Also, if there’s an adage that skill makes up for a lack of physical play, then that’s also rubbish, as the Panthers also won nothing

· The Canucks work the best power play, and despite not taking many penalties, the Panthers are unable to capitalise on their man-advantage chances, with a pitiful success rate.

· The Penguins pick up the best PK unit, and the Avs give up the most goals, but then, that’s not strictly limited to the PK as we’ve discussed.

· San Jose like to shot a lot, and it seems to work, as they finish top of the Pacific and 2nd in the West. Minnesota hold back too much, and pay for it. It seems there’s no bad thing can come from throwing the puck as the net at every available opportunity

· The Hurricanes are happy for you to take a pop at their goal, probably since they know Cam Ward is in net, so it’s maybe a fruitless effort to go anywhere near the Carolina goal. The Devils allow the least shots on their goal, but still manage to have a rubbish season and miss the playoffs. Surely that says something about the standard of goal tending in New Jersey, and not in a good way!

· Corey Perry came from nowhere in the last stint of the season, and had a great finish, racking up 50 goals in total. The Sedin’s combined for the most and the 3rd most assists, as well as the most points overall for Daniel.

· Zdeno Chara is on the ice a lot when Boston score, maybe because the opposition defensemen are too busy trying to keep away from hard objects like boards, stanchions and Zdeno Chara.

· Konopka seems to think fighting is the way forward. Unfortunately, the rest of the Islanders listened to his inane rantings, and both Haley and Gillies joined his way of thinking. It’s like the A-Team, but with all the violence the A-Team went out of their way to avoid…and much more facial hair.

· Ovi, Buf, and Carter shoot the puck more often than anyone else, but yet aren’t in the top scorers list. Why? Because shooting the puck is good, as the Sharks can testify, but it appears that these three players are major skaters for their team, and maybe try to carry the team on their own too much?

· Chicago rely a lot on Duncan Keith. So much so, that Keith has given up going back to the bench, as Quennville glares at him and shouts “What do you think you’re doing? If you want a drink, scrape up some snow off the surface…”

· Cal Clutterbuck is the man to what out for on the ice, and lead the NHL in hits. Luckily, it’s quite easy for many players to spot Clutterbuck, as he’s the player with the ridiculous facial hair, and even more ridiculous name.

· The Islanders actually come out on top of the Shorthand Goals list, with both Neilson and Grabner heading off the NHL. However, when you’re on the PK as often as the Isles are, then if they didn’t score shorties, they probably wouldn’t score.

· Steckel is the man in the faceoff circle, whilst Stepan isn’t really a man at all, a circular one or otherwise, but he once saw the film FaceOff with Nicholas Cage and John Travolta.

· Kovalchuk gives the puck away far too often, but then, he probably doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with that. After all, he’s can always cheer himself up by heading back to his house made of money, and lie on his money bed, or swim in his money pool, or drive his money car, which runs on rare and exotic birds of prey fed straight into the gas tank.

· Chara is the tallest, which is no surprise, and Byfuglien and Boogaard are the heaviest (What?! No Kyle Wellwood?), but it appears Buffalo are now attempting to win a cup using paper-thin dwarves…

· Recchi is too old to play hockey now. Even in the faceoff circles, Patrice Bergeron has to point Recchi in the right direction and tell him the bus is running late to make him move quicker.

· Tim Thomas practically wins everything in all goalie categories, with only Luongo showing up with most wins, and Lundqvist with most Shutouts. However, there’s something to be said for a goalie who comes up with least goals conceded, and best save percentage, when your team doesn’t even win the most games, or score the most goals. There’s a strong defence in Boston kids, and it shows no signs of weakening.

· DiPietro has unfortunately the dubious honour of being the goalie with the worst GAA in the league, for goalies playing over 20 games. However he can console himself with featuring in the best goalie fight of the year. That is, until someone fills in that 25 second gap from when Johnson was skating out of his crease towards centre ice, to coming round in the locker room and looking for half your jaw that appears to be AWOL. Let’s just hope Rick doesn’t Google his own name any time soon.

TEAMS
Points
MOST - Vancouver Canucks (117)
LEAST - Edmonton Oilers (62)

Points Percentage (percentage of points gained from points available)
MOST – Vancouver Canucks (.713%)
LEAST - Edmonton Oilers (.378%)

Goals
MOST - Vancouver Canucks (258)
LEAST - New Jersey Devils (171)

Goals Conceded
MOST - Colorado Avalanche (287)
LEAST – Vancouver Canucks (180)

Penalty Minutes
MOST – New York Islanders (1515) 71x Major 31x Misc 11x GMisc
LEAST - Florida Panthers (716) 26x Major 1x Misc 1x GMisc

Powerplay
BEST – Vancouver Canucks (24.3%)
WORST – Florida Panthers (13.1%)

Penaltykill
BEST - Pittsburgh Penguins (86.1%)
WORST – Colorado Avalanche (76.1%)

Shots
MOST - San Jose Sharks (2832)
LEAST - Minnesota Wild (2148)

Shots Against
MOST - Carolina Hurricanes (2725)
LEAST - New Jersey Devils (2152)

PLAYERS
Goals
Perry (ANA) 50
Stamkos (TBL) 45
Iginla (CGY) 43

Assists
H.Sedin (VAN) 75
St Louis (TBL) 68
D.Sedin (VAN) 63

Points
D.Sedin (VAN) 104
St Louis (TBL) 99
Corey Perry (ANA) 98

+/-
BEST – Chara (BOS) +33
WORST – Phillips (OTT) -35

PIM
Konopka (NYI) 307 inc 25x Major 10x Misc 2x GMisc
Neil (OTT) 210 inc 12x Major 7x Misc 1x GMisc
Peckham (EDM) 198 inc 10x Major 6x Misc 1x GMisc

Shots
Ovechkin (WSH) 367
Byfuglien (ATL) 347
Carter (PHI) 335

Time On Ice per Game
Keith (CHI) 26.53min
Boyle (SJS) 26.14min
Bouwmeester (CGY) 25.59

Hits
Clutterbuck (MIN) 336
Ruutu (CAR) 309
Brown (LAK) 300

Shorthanded Goals
Nielson (NYI) 7
Grabner (NYI) 6
Prust (NYR) 5
Marchand (BOS) 5

Faceoff Percentage
BEST
Steckel (NJD,WSH) 62.3%
Malhotra (VAN) 61.7%
Gaustad (BUF) 59.8%

WORST
Stepan (NYR) 38.5%
Cogliano (EDM) 41.6%
Hecht (BUF) 43.1%

Giveaways
Kovalchuk (NJD) 104
Thornton (SJS) 98
Schenn (TOR) 95

Takeaways
Thornton (SJS) 114
Toews (CHI) 93
Byfuglien (ATL) 85

Height
TALLEST – Chara (BOS) 81”
SMALLEST – Gerbe (BUF) 65”

Weight
HEAVIEST – Byfuglien (ATL) 265lbs / Boogaard (NYR) 265lbs
LIGHTEST – Ennis (BUF) 157lbs

Age
OLDEST – Recchi (BOS) Born Feb 1st 1968
YOUNGEST – Niederrieter (NYI) Born Sept 8th 1992

GOALIES
Save Percentage (more than 20 games played)
BEST – Thomas (BOS) .938%
WORST – Conklin (STL) .881%

Goals Against Average (more than 20 games played)
BEST – Thomas (BOS) 2.00
WORST – DiPietro (NYI) 3.44

Wins (more than 20 games played)
MOST – Luongo (VAN) 38 (Played 60 Started 60)
LEAST – Gustavsson (TOR) 6 (Played 23 Started 21)

Shutouts
Lundqvist (NYR) 11 Played 68
Thomas (BOS) 9 Played 57
Price (MTL) 8 Played 72

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EASTERN CONFERENCE here: http://www.hendrickshockey.net/?p=434

And to complete the absolutely true* reasons behind the naming of the NHL Hockey teams, here for your delicious pleasure, are the Western Conference franchises.

Chicago BLACKHAWKS: Original GM Fred McLaughlin had served in WWI with the “Blackhawk Regiment”, and honoured his military past by naming the hockey team after them. McLaughlin was fortunate to be posted to a unit with a pretty awesome name like the Blackhawk Regiment, as the Chicago 333rd Machine Gun Battalion of the 86th Infantry Division, is a little long-winded to engrave on The Stanley Cup.

Columbus BLUE JACKETS: In respect of Ohio’s civil war history, the hockey team’s name of the Blue Jackets refers to the victorious Union colours, as well as the logo incorporating the Stars and Stripes. It appears that American patriotism is high on the agenda for Columbus and its hockey team. It is therefore interesting (and a little disappointing) to then learn that the Captain (Nash), Coach (Arniel), and GM (Howson), are all Canadian, and their top points scorers in franchise history are Canadian (Nash), Czech (Vyborny), and Russian (Zherdev).

Detroit RED WINGS: Considering James Norris took the idea for the Red Wings from a team in Montreal, it surprising that the name isn’t Detroit Aile Rouge. Norris had been involved with the Montreal Hockey Club, who were nicknamed the Winged Wheelers, and brought the premise to Detroit when he bought the club, taking over from the Detroit Falcons. Norris transformed the logo into a wheel…with wings (can’t help think he took the Winged Wheelers thing a bit too literally), and made it red. The Red Wings were born from a kind of ‘say what you see’ attitude to the logo that was created from Norris thinking about another clubs nickname and put it down on paper. Still with me?

Nashville PREDATORS: When you see the Nashville logo, then sure, the Predators certainly seems straightforward. However, all is not what it seemed. The Predators had originally unveiled the logo without a name, and held (yet another) name-the-team competition. The three shortlisted were the Fury, Attack and Ice Tigers. Owner Craig Leipold then decided to add in his own effort, Predators, and surprise, his suggestion was chosen. I guess we need to be grateful, as the team may have been one step away from being the Nashville Leipolds.

St Louis BLUES: W.C.Handy composed the blues classic “St Louis Blues” from which the NHL team takes its name. If the city wasn’t named in the title, then the other teams from W.C.Handy numbers may have included St Louis Yellow Dogs, St Louis Aunt Hagars, and maybe the superb, St Louis Ole Miss Rags. In hindsight, it looks like St Louis Blues was actually a really good choice.

Calgary FLAMES: A slightly strange one this one. Since the Flames was a name inherited from the Atlanta Flames when the franchise moved to Calgary, it bears no relevance to the city of Calgary at all. The name was originally chosen by Atlanta in reference to the burning of Atlanta by General Sherman during the civil war. This in itself, a slightly odd choice of reference. What else was up for decision, the Atlanta Plague?

Colorado AVALANCHE: Another weather-related name, but this time with dangerous undertones. Although the Rocky Mountains are indeed, snow-covered the majority of the year, and therefore susceptible to avalanche, these are surely dangerous and feared things. Large amounts of snow tumbling down hillsides, collecting trees, goats, bears, small huts, vehicles and anything that gets in the path, can’t really be celebrated, but since weather seems to be a running trend throughout the NHL, then I guess we should come to expect it. I actually think that’s what happened to Bigfoot. He got too close to an avalanche and was probably knocked unconscious buy a goat travelling at great velocity, before being buried in snow. That would at least explain the reasoning behind the badge of the big hairy foot that is sewn onto the Avs jerseys!

Edmonton OILERS: There’s apparently oil in Alberta, which is handy, because there’s absolutely nothing else there to reference. The Edmonton Oh Look Another Trees, or the Edmonton Maybe Today I’ll Look Out The Other Windows just don’t have quite the same edge. The team was originally the Edmonton Oil Kings, and was shortened to Oilers in 1973. I don’t think there was an abdication, it was probably just easier to write in the snow in one single stream…

Minnesota WILD: There is obviously some justification to be done here, in terms of how Minnesota can claim to be ‘wild’. Did someone count how many trees, wolves, and bears there were in the state of Minnesota and claim they had the most, and were therefore vindicated? How would you be sure that you didn’t count the same bear twice? Maybe you’d have to mark the bear with paint to ensure fairness. Now I’m not a huge fan of my job, but wild bear painter sounds like something a lot worse. Cal Clutterbuck’s facial hair has paid homage to his team’s name, whilst most others pay homage to Cal Clutterbuck’s facial hair.

Vancouver CANUCKS: Taken from the friendly description of a Canadian, and from James Edward Alexander’s “L’Acadie” – ‘we also met a lusty fellow in a forest road with a keg of whisky slung round him, who called to us ‘Come boys and have some grog, I’m what you call a canuck:’ Surely if that was the basis for a name, a bloke wandering in the woods carrying round barrels of alcohol, and insisting that strangers drink it with him, then we could have been looking at the Vancouver Hobos, or the Vancouver Drunken Gypsies. I don’t mind admitting, I quite like Vancouver Hobos. Imagine the playoff beards…

Anaheim DUCKS: When Hollywood actor Emilio Estevez was given community service, his punishment was to train a PeeWee hockey team, District 5 in Minnesota. He managed to get sponsorship from his lawyer’s firm, run by Gerald Ducksworth, to provide new equipment and move the team to Anaheim (closer to Hollywood for Estevez I guess) where they thrived, and became an NHL team of their own. Unfortunately, Estevez doesn’t seem to be associated with the team any more, and neither is original goaltender, Greg Goldberg. Shame, as they’d be proud to see what they’d achieved.

Dallas STARS: Now Dallas got lucky. The franchise they received had previously been the Minnesota North Stars, and so fans of the original team didn’t have to learn any new chants at least. Add to this the nickname of Texas as the ‘Lone Star State’, and you have a naming match made in heaven…or Minnesota. Since the North Stars was a name taken from Minnesota’s state motto “L’Étoile du Nord”, which is a French phrase meaning “The Star of the North”. Maybe Dallas knew this all along, but looking at the crowd in the American Airlines Centre, I may be crediting Texans with a little too much intelligence.

Los Angeles KINGS: I’m well aware that Los Angeles doesn’t have a King. I’m also aware that the USA doesn’t have a King. The USA is not an empire, nor does it have a monarchy or Royal Family of any kind. In fact, there’s absolutely no good reason I can see as to why Jack Kent Cooke decided to call his new franchise the Kings. Then again, if you can afford to buy an expansion franchise, fill it with players and staff, and build a new arena within the space of 2 years, then I guess you can call your team whatever the heck you wish!

Phoenix COYOTES: This is a name I actually don’t mind. It’s something that Arizona seems to do quite well. The NBA team is the Phoenix Suns (weather…again), the MLB team is the Arizona Diamondbacks (snakes), and the NHL team the Phoenix Coyotes. Just from those team names, you get the idea of the sort of place Arizona is. A dry, dusty, scorching hot, desert-type of land. The only real paradox in all of this, is that the team named after a desert dog, then take to the ice. I don’t think a Coyote from Arizona has ever encountered ice, and looking at last seasons defense, I don’t think Keith Yandle had ever encountered ice either.

San Jose SHARKS: San Jose is on the Pacific coast, and sharks like to live in the Pacific (maybe they like surfing…or surfers!). This all makes a lot of sense. Also, the shark is an aggressive, intimidating and formidable creature, attributes that wouldn’t be out of place written on motivational posters in the locker room. Sharks also travel with their mouths open, eating anything in their path, which is quite a lot like San Jose forward, Kyle Wellwood.

* – Not actually all true, but the bits that sound like they’re true, probably are…

So there you have it, part history lesson, part guesswork. I think we’ve all learnt something.

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Here listed for your reading and ridicule are the reasons why the teams of the NHL are known by their names.

New Jersey DEVILS: The Jersey Devil, according to Wikipedia, “is a legendary creature said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many variations”, including an eerily similar description of Jacques Lemaire. It has almost ‘Bigfoot’ type status in the Jersey area.

New York ISLANDERS: The team is based in Long Island, NY, and was formed when a collection of persistent pests and criminals of New York were herded out onto an island as punishment for their heinous crimes. Only one of these men still lives, at over 350 years old, immortal, and resistant to the aging process, Trevor Gillies cannot be harmed by conventional weapons.

New York RANGERS: The original team was known Tex’s Rangers, and had the logo of a cowboy on a horse waving a hockey stick in the air. The owner of the team was a man named Tex Rickard, and the team was locally known as Tex’s Rangers due to the owner and logo combination. The name was adopted by the club officially and became the New York Rangers in the mid 1920’s. Sean Avery has since paid homage to the original logo by standing in front of goalies, and waving his hockey stick in the air.

Philadelphia FLYERS: Vice-President of the Philadelphia Eagles basketball team, Ed Snider noticed that hockey was expanding in 1964, and put together his proposal for a team. The name was chosen by a ‘name-the-team’ competition, to drum up interest in the new franchise. Apparently the Philadelphia Cheese Spread’s weren’t really agreed upon and it was decided to keep the whole Eagle/Flyer theme. Fought off a late challenge from the Philadelphia Goons Who Will Smash Your Face In As Soon As They Cans.

Pittsburgh PENGUINS: Originally playing in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena (nicknamed the ‘Igloo’), the Penguins were founded in an expansion that included the upgrading of the Pittsburgh Hornets. The Penguins nickname was chosen on account of their arena nicknamed, and that original president Jack McGregor had an image of a large penguin, waddling about on ice skates and generally making a nuisance of himself, and it wouldn’t go away. McGregor’s dream was realised when the Pittsburgh signed Matt Cooke from Washington.

Boston BRUINS: When looking for a team name that would portray speed, agility and cunning, Boston named it’s team the Bruins after the old English word for bear, a huge animal that lumbers around the woods and has an unnatural attraction for honey. To continue this ideal of attitudes, new players were regularly subjected to vigorous tryout criteria, including skating as quickly as you could from one goal to the next, dodging pucks thrown at them from the stands, whilst answering difficult arithmetic questions every time they crossed the centre line.

Buffalo SABRES: Another team subjected to a ‘name-the-team’ competition, Buffalo owners the Knox family liked the idea of a Sabre being a weapon carried by a leader. Many other local sports teams were named the Buffalo Bison, leaving the only other ‘name-the-team’ entry being the Buffalo Hot Wings. Luckily, the Knox family went with the Sabres, as the copyrights on the other name would have caused all sorts of problems in later years.

Montreal CANADIENS: Formed by French Canadian owners, for French Canadian communities, with players who were strictly French Canadians, the name for Montreal’s team comes as an identifier that the team was all Canadian…But you had to speak French. The team still has the nickname Les Habs, coming from Les Habitants, the name given to original settlers in the Montreal region, with this name often being used by Canadian fans of the team. Settlers of course, who came from France.

Ottawa SENATORS: Although previously known as the Ottawa Generals, and the Ottawa Capitals, the Senators is just another in the line of authorative names used by the Ottawa team. Unfortunately, in these modern times, the next authoritive names to be used are the Ottawa Bosses Secretaries, and then the Ottawa Hall Monitors.

Toronto MAPLE LEAFS: Despite the constant grammatical question of the plural of ‘leaf’, the team is named after a WWI regiment which had a Maple Leaf insignia. Therefore the word ‘leaf’ is the proper noun, and should not be altered to create the plural. Considering this was Conn Smythe’s regiment, and he’d served wearing the badge on his uniform, that people would take his word for it, but no. It appears that even in 1917, there were grammar nazis.

Atlanta THRASHERS: Named after the Brown Thrasher, Georgia’s state bird. Strangely, the Brown Thrasher is described as “bright reddish-brown above with thin, dark streaks on its buffy underparts”. Those streaks on the underparts don’t sound very attractive, but then, if you had to go toe-to-toe with Evander Kane, there’s likely to be more than just streaks in your underparts.

Carolina HURRICANES: So called after the adverse weather conditions in that part of the USA, the Hurricanes picked an often occurring natural disaster. Other weather conditions suggested were turned down, as the Carolina A Bit Rainys, Carolina Holy Crap It’s Hot In Heres, Carolina Brass Monkeys and the Carolina Bad Winds were all rejected. The latter, of course, being rejected on grounds of hilarity.

Florida PANTHERS: The team were named after the endangered species of cougar that lives in the swamps of Florida. The big cat is often sighted causing panic and alarm with members of the public. Since the cat is endangered, it is shooed back into the swamp as soon as possible, as lot like Stephen Weiss. The Florida Panthers management tried to shoo Weiss away at first, until several local children jumped up and down shouting “Can we keep him, can we keep him pleeeeeeeeeeeease?”. Eventually the organisation took Weiss on with a contract, just to shut the kids up, on the grounds that if his species reach the verge of extinction, he will return to the wild.

Tampa Bay LIGHTNING: Another team named after weather conditions, the Lightning are known as “Lightning Capital of North America”…apparently. This of course, then gives way to a huge amount of newspaper and media puns regarding lightning, bolts, shocks, strikes and a whole wealth of possibilities regarding electricity. It is suspected that founding owner Phil Esposito just knew the kind of crap headlines that journalists would like and therefore the whole “Lightning Capital of North America” was a title made up for this very purpose

Washington CAPITALS: Since being based in the capital city of the USA, Washington couldn’t really choose another name for their team, and therefore they were pretty much stuck with it. Even other major sports teams have, or have had, the same fate (NBA team Washington Wizards were previously Washington Bullets, and the Capital Bullets before then, MLB team the Washington Nationals and MLS team D.C. United). Unfortunately, when the Capitals are playing poorly, the opposition fans will regularly refer to them as the Crapitals, something which the original naming committee obviously overlooked. Luckily, this isn’t often the case with Washington’s NHL team…unless Semyon Varlamov happens to be in goal.

Next time, the WESTERN CONFERENCE.

I’m sure you all can’t wait!

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What makes these feats more remarkable is that the roster has often been decimated by injuries, most notably to key players like Alex Edler, Manny Malhotra and, recently, Dan Hamhuis

The playoffs commence on April 13, and Vancouver will be the favorite. Since the 2005-06 season, only one team that won the Presidents’ Trophy has gone on to win the Stanley Cup (Detroit Red Wings in 07-08). All the achievements the club has reached so far are great, but…

Can the Canucks win the Stanley Cup?

Recently, five of the best Canucks bloggers and pod casters were asked that very question. Here are their thoughts:

“To be frank, there’s no reason why the Canucks shouldn’t win the Cup,” said Katie Maximick, a freelance writer from Vancouver.

“They have two great goalies, one of the best blue lines (when healthy) the team has seen in its 40-year existence and four lines of talented, driven forwards. If there was a year when the Canucks would or should win the Stanley Cup, it would be this on

“The Malhotra injury is unfortunate but it’s not the end all be all to the team’s shot at the Cup.”

Maximick thinks Kesler has been outstanding for the pride of BC this year.

“Kesler has stepped into an irreplaceable and vital role on the team; one that’s going to help shoulder his teammates deep into the playoffs. His drive, determination and grit represent the Canucks’ elite performance this season, and (to me) he’s undoubtedly been the MVP on the roster.”

She isn’t only singing the praises of Ryan Kesler.

“The team is the most cohesive it’s been since 1994 and it shows. They’re on top of the league not only in points but in individual player’s stats (Daniel, Henrik and Luongo). You have to also give some credit to the coach, AlainVigneault has really picked up his coaching this season.”

If the team doesn’t win the cup, Maximick feels there will be a myriad of perplexed fans.

“If, however, they don’t get it done, millions of people out there will be wondering how the best team in the NHL couldn’t capitalize on such a fantastic season and talented roster.”

You can read more of Maximick’s opinions at www.canuckshockeyblog.com, where she writes a Monday column called “Ask Katie.” She’s also currently the only female hockey writer contributing to major newspapers in the city.

Jason Kurylo hosts “Pucked in the Head,” a Vancouver-based hockey pod cast company hosted by Chris Withers. “Pucked in the Head” has listeners on four continents.

Kurylo believes the 1994 Canucks squad was lacking in certain areas.

“Previous iterations of the team had some impressive pieces, but there was always something missing. Even when the West Coast Express line saw Markus Naslund & Todd Bertuzzi finish second & third in scoring, they were hampered by the atrocious Dan Cloutier between the pipes.”

This time around, Kurylo thinks it’s a little different.

“The Vancouver Canucks, for perhaps the first time in their history, have a legitimate shot at taking home the big prize. This team has two solid scoring lines, and may see the Sedins not only become the first brothers to ever win successive Art Ross Trophies, but they also may end up 1-2 in scoring this year. Their defense is looking up after pandemic-like numbers with man games lost to injury and lets not forget Roberto Luongo, on pace for his best statistical season yet.”

He does have one concern.

“With all the pieces the Canucks have in place, the only thing that might hold them back is coaching. Two years running, the Chicago Blackhawks have seen Joel Quennville out coach Alain Vigneault in the second round, just hope Vigneault can keep the boys focused enough to do what they quite realistically ought to do; get a parade route in place to show off Lord Stanley beside English Bay.”

Apart from hosting his hockey show, Kurylo is a freelance writer who has been published in national magazines, Vancouver newspapers and heard on CBC Radio.

If you have ever visited www.Canadianpuckbunny.blogspot.com, you will know it has a tongue-in-cheek name but offers both serious and humorous views on the Vancouver Canucks and other NHL related topics.

Victoria Pattison is a writer and stand-up comic with a passion for hockey, and she also owns Canadian Puck Bunny. Victoria has a strong belief in the Vancouver Canucks and thinks it’s time people stopped doubting the club.

“Naysayers claim Vancouver has done well in the regular season before and still tanked in or before Round 2—they’re right. It’s not the points, or clinching the Division title or even the President’s Trophy win that makes this season different. It’s the fact that Vancouver is mentally a different team than they’ve ever been in the past.”

Pattison explains how Vancouver has undergone a drastic change that’s only made it better.

“Vancouver has mastered something else this year that’s evaded them previously, they’ve learned to adapt. Despite the scoring struggles of Raymond and Samuelsson, as well as the unending injuries to key players, the Canucks have found a way to win.”

She draws comparisons with clubs that have won in recent years.

“That ‘Never Say Die’ mentality is a crucial trait Stanley Cup winning teams like the Red Wings and the Penguins consistently exhibit and now we have it too. This is why I think we can win the Stanley Cup this year.”

Kevin Vanstone is a lifelong Canucks fan from White Rock. He is one half of a great tandem of Canucks writers for www.hockeyindependent.com. Vanstone also runs www.theflyingv.com.

“I had come to believe that this year’s edition of the Canucks was indeed capable of winning the grand prize. That was, of course, before the loss of Manny Malhotra and Dan Hamhuis. Prior to the injuries, the Canucks were the indisputable front-runner, the loss of key players is devastating; but the Canucks remain capable of hoisting the Stanley Cup without them.”

“This season the team has learned to persevere in the face of adversity. I truly believe the Canucks have what it takes to win the Stanley Cup.”

Christine Archambault is the sort of person who likes to make people smile and laugh. That was her goal, when one day whilst feeling bored, Archambault decided to create her own website, http://playmethatballard.blogspot.com. Since then, she has been featured in the Vancouver Sun. The displaced Vancouverite now living in Oil Country is very optimistic about her team’s chances come the playoffs.

“I have never been more excited and hopeful for a team as I am with the 2010-2011 Canucks,” said Archambault.

She hasn’t always felt like that.

“If you would of asked me three years ago, I could honestly say I never would of believed that we would have at least one player leading stats in almost every category in the league. I think there is a huge improvement in attitude most popularly shown by players like Alex Burrows and Ryan Kesler, they, along with the rest of the team are focusing on winning, and taking it a game at a time.”

Archambault thinks the Canucks will be victorious come June.

“The discipline, depth and bond within the players that this team has shown all year, makes me believe it may just be the recipe that will have us cheering, and crying, as Henrik Sedin raises the cup over his head for the very first time.”

So what are you thoughts? Is this the year the Canucks will be glorious?

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First round is now over in the LHJMQ. Of the eight series, the logic has been respected in seven of them. The only “surprise” was from Gatineau beating Montreal. I say “surprise” because it was the series with the less difference in points between the two teams (4 in favor of Montreal). Here’s a preview of the Matchups of the second round.

#1 St-John Sea Dogs VS #12 Gatineau Olympiques

Not much to say on that series. The Olympiques are coming out of a seven game win and the Sea Dogs won their first round matchup against the P.E.I. Rockets in five games. P.E.I finished the season with 13 points better than Gatineau. The only thing that may help Gatineau is the long distance in between the two teams. Gatineau is used to long bus drive, so I give them one win because of the fatigue of the Sea Dogs’ players.

St-John Sea Dogs in 5

#2 Drummondville Voltigeurs Vs #9 Rimouski Oceanic

Before I stat dissecting this one, you have to know that the Océanic is my hometown team. I grew up in Rimouski watching the Lecavalier, Richards, and Crosby. But they just won their game seven versus the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, in ot, and it took a lot on the players. They were up 3-1 before seeing the Sags come back in the series with the last three games finishing by a one goal deficit. The Voltigeurs are also the only team to sweep their opening round series, so they’ll be rest up and ready for the opening faceoff Friday night. It’s the second year in a row that the two teams meet in the playoffs, and sadly it will be the same result.

Drummondville Voltigeurs in 6

#3 Québec Remparts VS #6 Victoriaville Tigres

In this series, Quebec has home-ice because the team won their division. In reality, Victoriaville finished with six more points and five more victory, in a much harder division. Still we can never eliminate Patrick Roy’s Remparts and I’m sure it will be the best series of the bunch. Both teams had a so-so opponent in the first round, Quebec winning in five, Victoriaville in six.

Quebec Remparts in 7

#4 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies Vs #5 Moncton Wildcats

Another series where the huskies have home-ice advantage because of their division title win. Because of the distance between the two towns, games 3-4-5 will be played in Moncton. So even if the huskies were to win one at home, the Wildcats would still have the opportunity to finish the series in 5 before them home crowd. When you take in consideration that Rouyn won the weakest division, and that Moncton still managed to get 102 points (3rd overall) in the toughest division, it’s really a no brainer.

Moncton Wildcats in 4

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In 1879 students of the McGill University in Montreal were the first to develop specific rules, they played the game based on their rules. These were to be known as the McGill Rules. Years later numerous amateur leagues were founded; in 1917 the NHL was formed. Since then hockey has become a sport that is played all over the world with fans of the great game in countries like USA, England, Sweden and even Australia; hockey is truly a global sport.

Most nations have their favorite sport for example in India people enjoy cricket, the English are soccer mad and in the USA football reigns supreme. In Canada the most popular sport is hockey. What makes hockey so special to Canadians? Is it because there are a high percentage of NHL players who are of Canadian decent? Or maybe it’s due the fact that most people have memories of playing hockey as kids and pretending to be players like Johnny Bower or Dave Keon? Perhaps people like the late Foster Hewitt who coined the phrase “He shoots he scores!” or Don Cherry are partly responsible for creating a nation of hockey lovers?

There are many hockey fans across Canada who are proud of the game of hockey, some will follow the local junior team, while others choose to be enthusiasts of either of the six Canadian NHL teams. Of course living in Canada doesn’t mean your favorite NHL team has to be from Canada. Katie Lawrence lives in Vancouver but her team is not the Canucks. Katie is happy to reveal which team she likes to call her own. “My team is the Avs’ they mean a lot to me. I’ve cheered for them since I was six. It started as a way to bug my Dad but grew into a genuine love of the team. My hero is Joe Sakic, in my eyes he’s the best player ever.”

The last time a Canadian team won the Cup was in 1993 when the Montreal Canadians were victorious against the LA Kings. Prior to that the Edmonton Oilers won in 1990 and the Flames the year before. If the current NHL campaign was to end today, four of the six Canadian teams would make the play off’s, as it is those four teams have still not cemented themselves a spot. Every Canadian team has had its fair share of problems and struggled at some time over the course of this season.

This year fans of the Flames, Leafs, Canucks, Senators and Canadiens have been through many highs and lows with their team. Well that just comes as part of the territory doesn’t it, any hockey fan will tell you that, wont they? Perhaps the following six Canadian hockey fanatics can answer that question? So here are their stories.

Part One: Westside Stories

Calgary Flames:

Cedric Larouche is a 26-year-old native of Quebec; he was born and raised in Quebec City. For the last year he has been living in the town of Chicoutimi. His province is known for producing legends like Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau including current stars like Martin Brodeur. Like most people from Quebec, Cedric is a very passionate fan of his favorite NHL team. Unlike most people from his province he doesn’t follow the Canadiens. “I really dislike the Habs so much I can’t follow them, my team is Calgary.” Cedric used to be a Nordiques fan until they moved in 1995. “I had a choice to make, so I choose Calgary,” says Cedric, “The Habs are all everyone talks about here!”

Cedric is such a huge fan of the Flames that stopping up to the early hours to see his team play is just part of the commitment he has for his team. “Being in a Canadiens territory sometimes irritates me, I find Montreal fans a little annoying it gets me into a lot of arguments” Cedric also enjoys listening to local Calgary sports radio to fuel the love he has for his team.

Like most of the Canadian teams, the Flames are not having a very good season. As an avid Flames fan Cedric has his opinions as to why he thinks his team is struggling at the moment. “I really think it’s a chemistry issue, at the start of the season the big players didn’t produce, it was players like Dawes and Conroy that did most of the work. One team can’t survive by their third line alone.” Cedric also feels that when team Canada was announced the big three in defence were in his words “bummed out”. Well we all know what happened to one of those defencemen.

Talking to Cedric it’s clear to see that the people of his province are crazy about their favorite sport. When the local teams are not playing he, his friend’s, family and even co-workers love to chat about the countries obsession with the game of hockey. They even have a hockey reality TV show that is a must see. In Cedric’s spare time he likes to referee minor hockey games.

Oilers:

Martin Male (51) is an Oilers fan, born and raised in Edmonton. He has also lived in such places as Calgary and Canucks nation in Prince George BC. Martin now calls Yellowknife home he moved there in 2006. Prior to settling in Yellowknife he spent sixteen years living in the far north in Inuvik. Even in such a remote region there is a great enthusiasm for the sport of hockey Martin explains. “The locals were brought up with Toronto and Montreal and that is who they still cheer for predominantly. A few of the younger kids chose other teams but the Leafs and Canadians are the teams of choice”

During the season Martin and his friends take great pleasure discussing the nations most revered sport. “ We love to talk about our favorite NHL team, or the game that our son or daughter played the night before, or even the game you played yourself ”. When the hockey season has finished Martin occupies himself by doing other things, he misses hockey though. “ I secretly wish the hockey season would start again soon. In some of the bigger cities there are even summer hockey leagues being played so people can play their favorite sport year round”.

When Martin was a youngster he played hockey although he was much better at the game of soccer so he concentrated more on that. Nowadays hockey is just a spectator sport for Martin. “I am very passionate about the Edmonton Oilers, I have followed them from the first game they played in the WHA and still follow every game they play”. The WHA or World Hockey Association is now a defunct league that operated from 1972-1979.

Martin was fortunate enough in the 1980’s to still be living in Edmonton. “I was able to attend most games during the glory days. The game was played at a different level then by one of the greatest teams of all time and probably won’t be played at that level again” Martin feels that the Oilers teams post the 1980’s era may never be as good as the team that took to the ice during that decade. The Oilers won a staggering five Stanley Cups from1983 until the 1989-1990 seasons. “The unfortunate part about that great team is that every team that played after them was never going to live up to the excellent standards they set. But nonetheless I will always bleed copper and blue.” Martin is the sort of fan who will follow his team even through unhappy periods like the early 1990’s when the Oilers were awful. “Being a fan is someone who sticks with the team during the good and bad times, I will always follow my team no matter what the situation is.”

Edmonton are currently the worst team in the NHL with only eighteen wins from the fifty-two games played so far. During the month of January they failed to win a single game. What can the Oilers do to remedy this and why are they so bad at the moment? Martin has his views on this, “Factors such as veteran players who are overpaid but under achieve; the ineffective use of young guys and a team captain who just can’t lead”. Last season the players stopped listening to nine year head coach Craig MacTavish. The majority of fans were hoping he would get fired. “They got their wish after last season
everyone was happy again, once Pat Quinn and Tom Renney were instilled as the new coaches”.

Martin thinks that firing coach MacTavish was not the solution or the cure for a team that has been performing so poorly. “ I said from the beginning of last year that MacT was not the reason the Oilers were loosing. The problem was the lack of effort from the veterans and a lack of leadership on the ice. That did not change with the coaching change, the team is actually worse”. Martin feels that his team has too many players who are dead weights. He would like to see players who he believes are costly driftwood either traded at the deadline or for Management to buy out these players’ excessive contracts, or even by not resigning some of the unrestricted free agents on the roster who are under performing.

If a team finishes the season near the bottom of the standings there is still some hope for the fans. “ I think most fans will be ok with the team ending the season last or second last, as long as we can get the first or second pick overall and that team comes out with their younger players like Jordan Eberle or whoever they get with the fist pick”. Martin still remains realistic about his teams’ future. “ I don’t think the Oilers will win the cup in the next couple of seasons, but as fans we want to see the right things done before next season. We want to see the team compete on a game in game out basis, not just when they feel like it!”

Canucks:

Josh Hall (21) lives in the City of Chilliwack BC, which is approximately100 kilometers east of Vancouver. Although Josh is a Canucks fan his city does have it’s own team. “Hockey in this community is well, growing. Four years back Chilliwack got a WHL team, the Bruins”. Most of Josh’s friends are Canucks fans, but since moving from Surrey two years ago he doesn’t have quite as many friends as he did in the past. Josh explains how that isn’t a real problem. “This is British Columbia and in Canada there are hockey fans everywhere, I just haven’t met all of them!”

So what does hockey mean to Josh? “Lets just say I was lucky enough to be born into the greatest hockey country in the world, and that is perhaps the main reason why hockey is such a large part of my life.” Josh has happy memories of watching hockey as a young child with his Dad. In 1997 he was struck by tragedy when his Dad and hockey buddy passed away. Josh tells of how this had an impact on his life. “That was definitely a low point in my life, it has also made me stronger as a person”. The loss of his Dad has inspired him to continue his support for the Vancouver Canucks.

When he was 6 or 7 his Father took him to his first Canucks game against the Hartford Whalers at GM Place. Here Josh witnessed former Canucks Defenseman Dave Babych play in his 1000th game. “We lost something like 7-4, it didn’t matter because I was with my Dad.”

Hockey dominates Josh’s life and he will go to great lengths to see big games, that usually means watching on TV, as he doesn’t have the luxury of going to every game like other fans. “Tickets are so expensive these days and I only have two arms and two legs!” However he will make exceptions and book time off from work, like he did to watch Trevor Lindens number being retired and of course during the play offs. Like many hockey fans Josh enjoys watching Canadian institution, ‘Hockey Night In Canada’. “I will pump myself up for a whole week just because there is a huge game coming up on ‘Hockey Night In Canada’”.

He also likes to ensure that his viewing pleasure is enhanced with plenty of hockey food at his disposal. “I will buy ample amounts of my favorite comfort food”. Prior to a big game Josh is a little superstitious. “I like to make my place look sparkling in hopes that it will transfer to the Canucks having a sparkling bright and perfect game”. When he wears his Canucks jersey he never eats in case he stains his jersey and brings a stain on the season! He loves his country just as much as he does his favorite team. “I always stand and sing ‘O Canada’ before the game, and I never give up hope that the Nucks can come down from behind, we saw a few weekends ago versus Toronto a 3-0 lead is never safe”.

The Canucks are very important to Josh, to the point that he feels his team and the sport of hockey in general, is his life, “I wear my jersey in public and I feel proud to do so because I love showing that the Canucks are MY team.”

Supporting your favorite hockey team requires a lot of effort, dedication, and time, not to mention heartache if the team loses more often than wins. When Vancouver hosts the Olympics in the whole nation will be united in its allegiance to Canada’s Olympic hockey teams. Living in BC Josh will be able to witness this first hand. He tells us what living in the Olympic host province means to him, “The Olympics are going to display that pride and prowess that Canada possesses. Canada is the birthplace of hockey and there are no ifs or buts about it. We as a nation know that hockey is OUR sport”.

He can’t wait to see Team Canada play and thinks it will be a hockey tournament to remember. His favorite hockey memory to date is, by far, watching the Gold medal games between Canada and USA both the men/women at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. “Never have I been more proud to be Canadian, although I think that feeling could be eclipsed when Canada wins gold once again (knock on wood).”

Part Two: Eastern Promise

Habs:

George Prax is a 24-year-old Canadiens fan who is currently living in Montreal. Hockey is so important to George, that he operates his own hockey website, “When I’m not on my site or other sites (which is often), I’m talking about it with family and friends”. Hockey is without a doubt the most popular sport in Montreal. The Canadiens have a rich history that includes winning the most Stanley Cups, twenty-four in total. Last year the team celebrated it’s one-hundredth birthday. “The community is crazy about it’s team, we are all very passionate about hockey. Very comparable to soccer in England.”

The people of Quebec really enjoy watching hockey. “On any given night you could have upwards of one million people in the province watching the game.” The media is also obsessed with the nations most adored team sport, George tells how much. “Media coverage is overly excessive, every TV station and every radio station covers it, you could have forty or fifty people in the press box for most games”

When you consider how successful the Canadiens have been in seasons gone by, you could be forgiven for assuming that the team should contend for the cup on a yearly basis. In recent weeks Montreal has endured more problems than some teams would be faced with over a two-month period. On January 30th the Canadiens current leading goal scorer Michael Cammalleri was injured in a game against Ottawa. Cammalleri may be sitting in the team’s sickbay for at least a month. To make matters worse GM Bob Gainey resigned on Monday 8th of February. It seems like Montreal’s troubles are going to continue, as it will have to add two more players to the teams IR list. This week it has been announced that Defenceman Marc- Andre Bergeron and Benoit Pouliot will be inactive for at least six weeks. It’s obvious that Montreal’s team is having some bad luck, although luck can’t be blamed for everything. George gives his thoughts on his teams’ less than perfect season. “As for the Habs they’re simply mediocre. They don’t have many draft prospects, the coach doesn’t match the players and they are terribly inconsistent. They need to rebuild to be honest!”

Leafs:

Mike MacDonald (34) has been a Leafs fan all his life. “I am sure I bled blue from my first breath” Mike’s Dad was a diehard Maple Leafs fan who has had season tickets from 1975. “Section 312 row 2 in the old girl on Carlton Street was where I spent many nights, with my idols Lanny, Borje and Sitler, and then Viave, Clark, Leeman and so many more.” Mike was given his first hockey jersey at the age of six; surprisingly it wasn’t a Leafs replica shirt, “It was a white (home at the time) Chicago Blackhawks jersey that was a hand me down, with Doug Wilson’s twenty – four on the back. Even though it wasn’t a Leafs jersey he would still wear it, “I wore it proud but it was not the same as the blue and white I saw on the TV. I asked my Dad why cant my hockey jersey be like the Leafs?” He was finally given a Leafs road jersey number seventeen, in 1986.

Mike was born and raised in Toronto; he now lives just thirty minutes away from the city, in the town of Ajax, with his Wife and twelve-year-old daughter. Mike’s daughter has also become a fan of the Leafs, “Last Christmas she asked for Toronto Maple Leafs stuff, I think she has a boyfriend.” When the Leafs held a seventies night his daughter and her Mom, had the privilege of watching the game in a company suite sitting four rows behind the penalty box. “Win or loose it didn’t really matter to her, she had the best time just like I did all those years ago.”

Even though the Leafs may not be the best team in the league most fans remain loyal. Mike is one of those faithful supporters, “ We are in a unique situation in Toronto, this team, no matter how much they may loose, will still sell out every game. This makes for a bit of a paradox when it comes to owners and managers they do not feel the same pressure to win as say a small market team like Carolina. If the Canes aren’t winning Jimmy Rutherford is light in the pockets, if the Leafs aren’t winning its business as usual.” Mike knows that there is still pressure for the whole Leafs organization including both players and management. “I am not saying that there is no pressure at MLSE, in fact it is probably a pressure none of us could ever understand. It is just a different pressure than the other 28 or 29 teams (give or take Montreal).”

Once again the Maple Leafs season is not likely to end with a triumphant play off run, Mike however continues to have hope for the future. “ The Leafs are struggling, yes, understatement of the year, but maybe it will be the same team for a few years dwelling in the basement. That’s just the beauty of hockey no one is there forever. Look at Detroit they were loosing for a long time but due to the system the Red Wings have, it enabled them to farm young players thus turning them into a winning machine”

With GM Brian Burke at the helm Toronto may well have a team that can compete for the cup, Mike has some thoughts about Brian Burke, “ We have entered into the Brian Burke era, everyone knows what Burke does, he goes into a city tears it apart and builds a winner. That is exactly what he has done this past year and more evident with the acquisition of Dion Phaneuf and Jean-Sebastien Giguere. I don’t think he is done, I know he isn’t done; the future is bright for Leafs fans. When you have reached the bottom the only place to go is up.”

Senators:

For fans of the Ottawa Senators the future looks very promising, as the Senators are currently one of the best Canadian teams in the NHL. Paul Turner (48) resides in the nations Capital, he is devoted to his team but in the past he has had to follow other teams. “I haven’t always been a Sens fan because we haven’t always had the Sens” Paul remembers enjoying hockey from an early age. “As a kid we always watched ‘Hockey Night In Canada’, even my 90 year old Grandmother watched the games on TV”. In those days there were only the original six teams, so Paul rooted for the Leafs or Canadiens. “I mostly cheered for the Habs as they were the better team especially in the early 70’s!”

The majority of children in Canada long to grow up to be a huge NHL star and they play out their dream with friends. Paul was no different. “As kids we all played in the street, stopping the game briefly as a vehicle went by, yelling CAR.” Paul even took part in some minor league hockey; unfortunately he doesn’t feel he was good enough. “I was too skinny”. That didn’t deter him from attending a summer hockey school, where he met former players Gary Unger, Bernie Parent, Dennis Hull and Allan Stanley. “Nothing came of the hockey school apart from lightening my Dad’s wallet”

In the past the Senators were a member of the NHL from 1917 to 1934. During the 1933 – 1934 season the Senators relocated to St Louis due to financial difficulties. After one unsuccessful season the NHL team was permanently suspended. Fifty-four years later the nations capital was reunited with it’s former team. Citizens of Ottawa were once again given the chance to support the Senators. Paul has fond memories of this. “When Ottawa was awarded it’s own franchise, we were reminded how the old Senators had played an important part in NHL history, for us it was important for the team to succeed.” Paul feels the new owner helped the team. “Having a new owner with a money commitment to succeed put this team back on the rails”.

When the 2006-2007 season started Paul was following his team fairly regularly. It was this season when Paul discovered how much of a true Senators fan he really was! “It wasn’t until a February 22 game against the Sabres that solidified my commitment as a fan” Paul describes an incident that happened while he watched the Northeast Division rivals. “A brawl had broken out during the game that had every member of the team involved including the coach. It was right there and then that I realized something historical was about to unfold” For the remainder of that season Ottawa dominated the Eastern Conference and reached the Stanley Cup finals. During the cup final Paul recounts how much the people of Ottawa supported it’s team. “The community was with them all the way, strangers became friends. If you were wearing something with a Sens logo on you became instant friends with a stranger who wore the logo.” He still chats with people from those days. Paul believes that the fans rally behind its team and the team rallies behind the public, by making regular visits to the Children’s Hospital, senior’s homes and other charitable organizations.

Like all fans Paul yearns for his team to get another chance to win the cup. Who knows maybe this could be the year. Paul could have the answer as to why the proud people of his beloved nation cherish their favorite sport, “So in the end what is one thing all of Canada has in common? WINTER! And what do you do in the winter as a team sport? Why you play HOCKEY my friend!”

The Overtime Period

The sport of hockey has been though many changes, but one thing that will never change is Canada’s adoration for it’s favorite winter sport.

With special thanks to:

Ron Grant
Bob Gray
Josh Hall
Cedric Larouche
Katie Lawrence
Rob Lowe
Mike MacDonald
Martin Male
George Prax
David Roy
John Sedore
Paul Turner

All feedback is greatly received: Follow me on Twitter.com/CanucksEdge

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Over the course of the first season we managed to post 375 pages of content. Almost half of those were the daily schedule and scores which took me 6 hours to manually enter (half before the season started, the other half after Christmas), one for each of the 182 game days in the 2008-2009 NHL regular season schedule. I queued them all up in advance, then at the end of every day I would update the day’s results. To maintain those scores I purchased a laptop to take with me when I traveled, researched wireless options at all my destinations and even jailbroke my iPhone so I could tether it to the internet when I went to places with no access whatsoever. We managed to find some loyal readers along the way, including regular color commentary by “Son of OT” and “FC Sharks Fan”. The site sometimes averaged up to 100 unique visitors a day which, with no advertising whatsoever, isn’t too bad. My statistics show that we have some readers who’ve subscribed to our RSS feed so if you’re reading this in your reader – thank you!

One of our finer achievements – getting a link to The .Net on the home page of the Official Detroit Red Wings Blog (I don’t know how we got there, but we did!).

I personally wrote approximately 82 posts on the Sharks, translating into almost one post every other day over the course of the 6 month regular season. I’d like to offer my sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to our cause, PittPen (Pittsburgh Penguins), The Old Timer (Vancouver Canucks), CapsFan (Washington Capitals), AJ (New York Islanders/New York Rangers), DuxRox (Anaheim Ducks), MeanE (Boston Bruins) and Sharks247 (San Jose Sharks). I want to thank you all for time and effort and I look forward to writing with you again!

So – got any trade rumors?!

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“Get him out, get him out!” Well, what a surprise, New York fans are calling for another coach to be fired. Except this time…………..it’s a hockey coach! Even I didn’t see this day coming.

Following Michel Therrien’s firing last Sunday, it was obvious that another NHL team this year was heading down the road of change. And then, the unexpected occurred, speculation about the security of Tom Renney’s job with the Rangers was all over the place.

Newsday blogger Steve Zipay argued that Renney should be booted if the Rangers fall to the Blues. Well, they did, in a tight 2-1 showing, and Renney still donned the suit on Wednesday, when the Rangers got a much needed victory in the Garden against the somewhat revitalized Islanders. But the Renney bashing goes back before the Blues game. Prior to the Therrien firing, Renney was criticized by Larry Brooks of the Sunday Post for a number of mismatches, including the placement of defenseman Wade Redden on the power play line. However, Newsday’s Mark Kermann probably sums up the Renney situation most accurately, saying that, “the current group is just not very flammable. It is a low-key bunch that wouldn’t have the bite of terriers if John Tortorella, Mike Keenan or the Wizard of Oz were coaching.”

Unlike, Michel Therrien, Tom Renney is admired and extremely respected by his players. Why they are “tuning him” out at the moment is beyond me, but I do know that Chris Drury’s lack of leadership, Scottie Gomez’s own zone turnovers, and Wade Redden’s lack of scoring activity are problems that Renney cannot handle. My NHL 2K9/BTR Network colleague summed it up perfectly when he said, “If their (the team’s) strategy worked once before, for the first half of the season, then it is bound to work again, it’s not Renney’s fault and the only people that could be blamed are really the players. They need to work around this.” But how exactly can the Blueshirts work around this?

I firmly believe that the most important thing to do in this situation is to go back to the fundamentals, as cliché as that sounds. Look, when Islanders coach Scott Gordon was asked during the early Isles’ debacle whether he would change his coaching approach, he answered with a stern “no.” Tom Renney should follow the same approach, and, just like our troublesome economy, the team will eventually come out of this slide. Maybe it’ll get worse before it gets better, but in that case, Rangers’ fans will have to quit complaining and pointing the finger at one man, and start examining the sorry six on the ice. And if naïve Rangers’ fans think that constant firings work for an organization, they should take a close look at the early decade before Renney’s tenure. Maybe then they’ll get off the Kool-Aid they’ve been drinking for far too long.

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Take this morning. On NHL Live they were discussing at length the differences between the situations in New York versus Vancouver – salary cap, team fit and roster moves. The first caller into the show – “I want to talk about Mats Sundin and just what it would mean to the New York Rangers if they signed him”. The next caller – what it would mean to the New York Rangers if they DIDN’T sign him.

Personally I hope the Vancouver Canucks win percentage remains the same. I don’t think it’s fair that some players have the ‘clout’ to be able to sit and wait to see how teams perform before making a decision on where they’re going to play.

But I can hear it now. The focus will be on “When is Mats going to play his first game for the Canucks?” Then it will be “Mats after 5 games, Mats after 10 games” and also “How would things have been different if Mats DID sign with the Rangers?”

Enough – just play.

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I watch hockey not only because my hockey club the only winning sports franchise in the area but also because I appreciate the relative overall level of humility and professionalism present in the NHL compared to other sports. Notice I said ‘relative’. I’ve grown tired of all the showboating, trash talking egomaniac athletes who think it’s all about them and don’t understand what ‘team’ means. And truly, what disappoints me the most is usually the off-court/off-field antics that show, through their actions, just how shallow these athletes can be. I don’t appreciate the kind of example they set.

I know – it’s almost ironic. My good friend Tom likes to quip how back in the oldie days you would never take a kid to a hockey game because there were just as many fight in the stands as there were on the ice. Locally at least the NHL promotes itself as a family friendly environment.

When Sean Avery makes the kind of comments like he did it doesn’t surprise me. What bothers me are all the fans defending him with this ‘right to free speech’ argument. Sean Avery can say anything he wants, but if he says something hurtful, hateful or inappropriate he can suffer consequences – that’s where there seems to be a disconnect..

If you work at Circuit City and you tell every customer you come into contact with that they should go shop at Best Buy because your boss is a loser you can expect to lose your job. If you start insulting people in the supermarket because their skin color is different than yours you may be asked to leave the store. You have the right to own a firearm (in the US) but if you go shooting people in a mall you can expect to go to jail.

I hope they throw the book at Avery but I’m pretty sure the irony of professional sports will once again reveal itself – the league will impose some kind of penalty saying ‘we don’t tolerate that kind of behavior’, and then some team will turn around and sign him saying ‘well, actually we do’.

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This year’s rule change, where the face-off following a penalty is placed in the penalized team’s zone, is credited as part of this year’s scoring increase. Another reason is may be officiating, that the referees are calling penalties “properly”. Another proposed rule change we discussed here is during a delayed penalty, if the guilty team is defending in it’s own zone they have to clear the puck – simply touching the puck won’t be sufficient to stop the play.

In retrospect the NHL got what it wanted - a faster paced, higher scoring game where coming back from a 3 goal deficit is more of a possibility than ever before. The ESPN article feels the quality of the product, and NHL game, is better and more polished than it has ever been.

Here’s the problem – the underlying NHL theory is that if you increase scoring you’ll in turn increase your fan base – that new fans will be attracted to an offense-emphasized game. Unfortunately when you take out exchange rate issue of the Canadian Dollar, the NHL’s revenue is basically flat year to year, with the revenue increases simply matching ticket price increases, meaning your existing fan base is still your only support. My experience has been it doesn’t matter how many goals you score or how fast the game is, the casual viewer still doesn’t ‘get it’ until you take them to a game. Perhaps having teams play regular season games at neutral sites IN THE US would help expose potential fans to the live NHL experience. It frustrates me that the NHL continually rebuffs Canada by saying they need to expand the US market yet they hold neutral site games IN EUROPE! Have games in Seattle, New Orleans, Houston or Indianapolis – areas where there’s either no hockey and you can generate new interest or areas where hockey is ‘close by’ and fans can piggy back on their nearby teams.

If you can’t get to the game the other issue, brought up by the guys on NHL Home Ice, is the inconsistency in the camera angles and camera work at various NHL games. Everyone knows it can be difficult to follow the puck on TV, especially for the new viewer. I myself have to watch a few games at the start of each season before I’m back into “game viewing” shape. All other major sports have a consistently packaged television product. In the NHL, sometimes the camera is in the lower deck where the fans fill up the bottom of the screen and in other cases the cameras are behind each goalie where you can’t see the puck at all (read the ridiculous argument in favor of rink side cameras by FSN Executive Producer Tom Feuer). Americans watch sports so they can relax (relatively speaking), and not knowing what to expect every time you turn on the TV does not feed that need. On a very unconscious level sports fans expect consistency and when it comes to television the NHL is not very good at delivering that experience.

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Citing family reasons, Burke turned down a contract extension with the Ducks. Bob Murray, who had been the Ducks’ Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, has been promoted to General Manager

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The main reason for not disclosing specific injuries is the position that if the opposition knows what’s ailing a player they will make that player a target. The article sites the 2007-2008 season experiment with disclosing injuries and the resulting targeting of Johan Franzen during the playoffs.

The NFL has a full disclosure rule and one would assume their players would be just as vested in targeting as someone in the NHL. Ron Wilson says the NFL’s full disclosure policy is due to pressure from Las Vegas. At first I wasn’t sure how much weight I would give that accusation, but if the NFL did not disclose injuries a lot of gamblers would pay a lot of money to get injury information out of an NFL locker room. That dynamic could lead to some serious corruption issues. Point taken

As for Fantasy fans wanting full disclosure – too bad.

I think setting policy based on what is the best way to protect players is the responsible thing to do. At the end of the day the game is best served when the game is decided by the best players in the game and not by the best players left standing. It’s sad that players would intentionally target another player’s injury but in today’s modern NHL, where money is tied to winning and the amount money is growing, it seems like a logical paradigm shift. The only downside is when a player with an undisclosed injury plays below expectations he may have to take a lot of criticism from the fans and the press. I suppose a bruised ego always heals whereas the body sometimes never recovers.

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“Of the NHL’s 67 officials, counting both referees and linesmen, only seven will have Saturday night off.

According to the NHL, about 7,500 T-shirts and 3,300 NHL jerseys are expected to be sold, plus 23,000 orders of nachos, 33,000 slices of pizza and 95,000 soft drinks will be consumed.”

See USA Today for the full article.

Apparently they don’t have enough camera equipment to go around because neither myself nor my buddy TorturedKingsFan can watch our games.

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One the one hand I like this rule, it minimizes the effect of an intentional penalty just to stop play and take your chances on the power play. I liken it to football where, if the defense commits a penalty the play is allowed to continue to its natural conclusion.

On the other hand how much more oh-fence does hockey need? I think we should let the new goalie equipment rules settle in before more changes are made.

Like I said, I like the idea but on the other hand, sometimes less is more.

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In case you’re wondering, here’s how everyone fared that night - how’d your team do?

Columbus 2 @ Washington 3
NY Rangers 5 @ Philadelphia 3
Atlanta 0 @ Florida 2
NY Islanders 4 @ Buffalo 6
Montreal 2 @ Boston 1
Carolina 2 @ Tampa Bay 5
Pittsburgh 1 @ New Jersey 5
St. Louis 1 @ Detroit 5
Calgary 3 @ Minnesota 6
Ottawa 3 @ Toronto 2 (OT)
San Jose 2 @ Nashville 3
Los Angeles 4 @ Dallas 5
Anaheim 5 @ Chicago 3
Colorado 3 @ Edmonton 4
Phoenix 2 @ Vancouver 3

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Hockey in Canada is different than hockey in the United States so I’m curios if Toronto-area hockey fans could and would support another team. I think know the answer….

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Evgeni Nabokov - 2.39 GAA .893 Sv%
Jean-Sebastien Giguere - 3.02 GAA .899 Sv%
Marty Turco - 4.05 GAA .844 Sv%

The new equipment rules shortens the length of the pad covering the knee from 6 inches to 2.5. Even though it’s at the knee, apparently when a goalie drops into the butterfly position, the extra knee pad pushes the pads down toward the skate.

I know the Sharks had some defensive breakdowns in the Ducks and Flyers games so part of Nabakov’s numbers aren’t entirely his fault, but I haven’t seen enough Stars or Ducks games to know if they too are having defensive issues or if their goalies seem a little out of sorts.

Anyone out there seen enough games to have an opinion?

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“Everyone in Vancouver loves the Canucks. Our local paper (Vancouver Sun) usually has about a 6 page Sports Section and 5 of them are devoted to Hockey. 4 Pages for the Canucks and 1 for the rest of the NHL. The other sport’s page is dedicated to Cricket and other international sports. We love our hockey, eh.”

My first reaction was “Whoa!” My second thought was “…how big are the pages?” Canada sounds like opposite-world, a place where the impossible happens. I need to ask TheOldTimer to bring physical evidence of such claims the next time he comes down here.

What the hell is ‘Cricket’?!?!

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The schedule has been modified once again with the most notable (and desired) change being playing every club in the league at least once.

Here’s what you can expect to see this year:
• Each club will play their 4 division opponents 6 times (24 games)
• Each of the remaining 10 conference opponents will get 4 games each (40 games)
• Playing each club from the other conference, including playing 3 clubs twice, will make up the remaining 18 games.

Good luck!

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Apparently during the stoppage of play the goalie is not allowed to cross the blue line except for equipment issues or to get water. One of the captain’s allowances is to talk to the officials right outside the time keeper’s circle. If a goalie were to try to talk to the officials he’d be penalized for crossing the blue line.

I think they should let him wear the ‘C’ anyway, I’d like to see that on a goalie’s sweater.

One reason behind the move is the idea that they want to let Luongo know how much the team appreciates him in the hopes that he’ll continue to stay in Vancouver.

That’s fine.

But additional speculation is that it’s important to the City of Vancouver that the Canucks remain a good, competitive team to help bring attention to the city for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Some have also suggested that the uniform change, where the city’s name is plastered across the front of the jersey, was also put in place for the same reason.

If those things are true, is that a fair use of a hockey club? I’m sure the organizers of the Olympics have their own marketing budget so why would they need the help of their local hockey club. Is that exploitative or magnanimous?

I think the answer depends on where you live. I know hockey has a different cultural significance in Canada than in the US. In the US hockey gets very little media attention compared to other sports, so it would seem exploitative to suddenly pay attention to your hockey club when the city needs a boost. But I was trying to thing back when the 49ers were in their prime, if they were asked to help San Francisco promote a global event, it would seem magnanimous.

Can anyone from Vancouver offer any insight?

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Also during the off season I also purchased my first set of partial season tickets. I kept asking my sales rep questions, waited for the schedule to come out, got my application, mulled over which package of games I wanted and which seat level I wanted. When I mailed in my application I went to the post office because I didn’t trust the mailbox in my neighborhood. I impatiently waited for the application deadline to pass so I could find out where my seats were.

So the last week or so I’ve been wondering if I’ve been over obsessed with all of this. I’ve committed to update scores every day for the next 7+ months plus write articles as often as I can. I’ve already got 14 games paid for and who knows how many more games I’ll ‘add on’. I started to think maybe I’m not completely up to the task, that maybe I won’t be able to keep it up throughout the whole season. I was feeling like maybe I THINK I’m more passionate about the game than I really am.

My opinion changed tonight - I went to my first game of the season (albeit preseason). When I walked into the building the first thing that hit me was the smell. Yeah I know, sounds weird, but you’d be surprised how familiar it felt. And when you walk down the corridor and peek down the first aisle and see that sheet of ice for the first time - that feeling of excitement came right back.

Something about hockey really is different from other sports. Watching live football and basketball is actually, in my opinion, less dramatic. Sure the crowd is loud, but the action unfolds without as much drama because TV commentary adds so much to the television experience. But with hockey, the action unfolds so fast that you don’t really need commentators to heighten the experience. And there’s something about the sound of live hockey that the TV can’t match. Only in the building can you hear the familiar sound of stick-on-ice and stick-on-puck.

So now I feel like everything is in place, this site, my tickets, the season…I’m pretty sure we’ll have a lot to talk about between now and next June…

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Blogging is basically passionate commentary on a specific topic. As a fan I want to talk about the game from my side of the glass, where the love of the game and the game-time experience are the foundation of the fan experience. Fans love the game, they love their team, they hate their rivals. You can get completely absorbed and invested in your team but, come April through June, if your team gets eliminated it hurts but no one really GETS hurt. And at the end of the day, there IS always next year.

As a student of the media I was taught that reporters are supposed to be objective and simply report the facts. Anyone who reads an Associated Press article on hockey can see that yes, they are strictly reporting the facts. Many local sports reporters, mostly print, have sort of a hybrid job - some days they’re reporters and report the facts, other times they publish editorial commentary. Because they write both I think unconsciously we, the fans, interpret their commentary as news. There’s nothing wrong with that because, unlike real news, you can blur that line when it comes to sports.

When Ray ‘reported’ that the Sharks were guilty of selling themselves as better than they were my reaction was ‘guilty of what?’ If the Sharks put up 108 points, won their division and played some entertaining playoff games – I’d say that qualifies as pretty darn good. Ray underestimates a good sports fan. If a team tells us they’re good and you’re really not – we’ll know. Fans are better at evaluating expectations than you might think.

So even though we set out to provide a source of NHL ‘reporting’ written by fans what we’re probably going to end up with is more along the lines of fan commentary. That’s fine, because since our primary guideline is a community free of derogatory remarks, at ‘the .Net’ no one gets hurt.

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But you try to explain it anyway. I rely on every hockey fan’s go-to argument, I find something I know they find to be difficult and add ‘…now try it on skates.’ It’s like explaining my iPhone. Some people can’t justify owning one, especially if you compare it to a Blackberry. Both phones pretty much have the same set of features. But after all the side-by-side comparing, when I throw in ‘…it’s also your iPod’ people usually concede that’s the thing that makes it unique.

‘Imagine playing basketball but taking out all that wasted space in the middle. Have the top of one key touch the top of the other key. And play that on ice wearing skates!’

‘Imagine playing football but you don’t huddle, you only have 10 seconds between plays and sometimes you play 3 games a week. And play that on ice wearing skates!’

There’s no way to explain it in baseball terms. Baseball is the exact opposite of hockey…maybe that’s how I should explain it…

On Friday the guys on NHL Home Ice talked about what they felt is the NHL’s new marketing message, that being a hockey fan makes you an insider into a very small but special club. Talk about turning a weakness into a strength. It’s kind of twisted though, makes me feel like the fewer people that like hockey the more special I become!

And then there’s the ultimate argument - that in the world of professional sports The Stanley Cup hardest trophy to win. You can’t even go there with some people, might as well be arguing politics.

Tell us how you argue that one, we’re curious what works for you.

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No one contributing to this website has any affiliation with XM Radio - we pay for our subscription just like everyone else.

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That’s the life of a hockey fan in the US - it’s like we’re always playing short handed. We’re always down a man when compared to the NFL, the NBA, Major League Baseball, the Ryder Cup, the X-Games, The Breeders Cup…

And if you’re a West Coast hockey fan it’s even worse, it’s like playing two-men down. Last year during the playoffs I was listening the NHL Home Ice on XM and they spent 18 minutes talking about the Washington/Philly game and only 2 minutes on the Sharks’ Game 7 victory over Calgary. Two minutes on a Game 7!?!? Some of the commentators admitted they didn’t see the game because since they’re on the East Coast the game was on really late for them. Really late?!?! Are they in the 5th grade and it’s a school night?

It was then that I knew I had to do something. From that was born penaltykill.net. We’re here to fill the gap - fans turned reporters. We’re you at the game? Tell us about it. Got an uncle who works for the team, interview him. Fix zamboni’s for a living? Explain it. This is where hockey get’s its respect.

The philosopy behind this site is to provide news for the fan in a way that is positive and promotes the hockey in a positive way.

Our Mission: Promote hockey through independent reporting in an environment free of defamatory remarks. By hockey fans, for hockey fans.

‘

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