Caption it Contest! Week of Nov 29th.

HEDGS Yes! (H-E-Double Goalie Sticks)

10 Q's From The 5-Hole: JuiceinLA

Since I originally came up with the idea of a "get-to-know-you" survey for our new blog, I was given the honor of conducting the first interview. I chose to take it coast-to-coast and let you all get to know about my West Coast counterpart. Juice is one of the most passionate Red Wings fans I've ever met (and I've met quite a few!). Juice grew up in Detroit, attended Michigan State and eventually landed in very sunny and warm Los Angeles. I've been lucky enough to live near my favorite team's market my entire life, but I knew Juice would have an interesting perspective as a fan displaced from her beloved Red Wings family. Without further ado...


1) Favorite team(s):

Any team with the words “Detroit” “Red” and “Wings” in the name. Very fond of LA Kings, SJ Sharks, and for some weird reason, the Canucks. I reserve the right to revoke any such fondness for said secondary teams upon meeting up in playoffs.

Recon on Recon: 10 Q's for the Five Hole

Have you ever wanted to know just why Mchionsky gave up his gig driving the zamboni at Philips Arena for the night shift @ Hooters? (hint: it wasn't the wings...ok ok it probably was...)

Maybe you want to know how a Defensewoman from Canada ends up the most prolific TB Lighting Blogger this side of Panhandle...

Or how on earth an actuary from the UK mathematically justifies his lifelong allegiance to the NY Rangers...

Or how an ass kicking (former) punk rocker became the sweetest Pens fan in history?

Well Cats and Pajamas: Grab a McRib, your favorite flavor of sizzurp and Stay Tuned because we here at Hockey Recon are soon introducing a new monthly feature: "Recon on Recon: Ten Questions for the Five Hole". Brief but piercing, probing but not Probert, in depth interviews of your Recon Team, by your Recon Team.

Why and how does this relate to Hockey? I'd tell you but then wikileaks would get a hold of it, and I just don't need anymore Canadian Mounties showing up at my door, asking me questions about how drunk I was the night I "Chatted up" Kirk Maltby. (LOOK PEOPLE, it was at least 12 years ago and I was so hammered I don't even remember it, I didn't even know it was him... Let. it. go.)

In other words, You'll have to find out for yourself. But I will tell you this: Your Recon Team is truly the oddest lot of Hockey Fan Sports Writers you'll ever meet. We have lawyers and high school students. We have writers "on the inside" of the hurricane, and some who blog from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico; we have players and television producers and geologists. We have burlesque choreographers, pickle tasters and animal trainers. We have Mackseyev!

It fair to say that on any given Sunday, your Recon Team is as interesting as the sport we cover.

I hope you'll enjoy the new feature, and btw- feel free to submit questions you want answered by your favorite Recon Team member!

jooce crest out.

Quarter mark team reviews

In a highly original, groundbreaking concept, Team Recon will be bringing you bitesize reviews of the first quarter (roughly) performance of all 29 NHL teams, plus the New York Islanders.

As our affiliations do not quite cover each team, some of the commentary may feature elements of ill-informed guesswork and hearsay based on watching only a couple of games, but hey, that never stopped Mike Milbury offering an opinion, so why should it stop us?

Team reviews will be drip-fed by our correspondents within this post (after the break) - keep checking back for updates.

Jump to:

Anaheim Ducks; Atlanta Thrashers; Boston Bruins; Chicago Blackhawks; Colorado Avalanche; Columbus Blue Jackets; Dallas Stars; Detroit Red Wings; Edmonton Oilers; Los Angeles Kings; Minnesota Wild; Montreal Canadiens; New Jersey Devils; New York Islanders; New York Rangers; Phoenix Coyotes; Pittsburgh Penguins; San Jose Sharks; St. Louis Blues; Toronto Maple Leafs; Vancouver Canucks; Washington Capitals

Connecticut Hockey Fan

I grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, and watching the Carolina Hurricanes, the former Hartford Whalers, win the Stanley Cup was like watching an ex-girlfriend get married.

Now, without a team, a hockey vagabond, rink rat (“You guys need fans?”), I watch with an analytical, but unbiased eye. And it sucks. I find that I no longer root for a team with the passion I once had.

Oh I came close last year. I was screaming at my TV when Parise knocked in a rebound with seconds left in the US-Canada game, and cursing like a drunken sailor when Sid the Kid (of all people) scored the winning OT goal. I watched the World Juniors, and that too was amazing. But regular nights, I flip through games, watching individual players, lines, coaches, power plays, break-outs, dump and chase and cycle, cycle, cycle. I root for playmakers; David Krejci (the cog in the Bruins offense), Nick Backstrom, and Crosby (who I dislike on principle, but admire his passing). 

Tampa Bay Lightning fans, just remember to breathe

As posted on Raw Charge, Tuesday, 16 November 2010.

Okay, everyone. Let's all take that collective step back from the ledge and regain some perspective. Things are not quite as dismal as you may think.

The Lightning aren't gunning for first in the East here. The goal is playoffs - that's it. And most people have this team as coming in at 7th or 8th in the East, which is reasonable.

Let's revisit where they've been. In the past three drafts, the Lightning have picked first (2008 - Steven Stamkos), second (2009 - Victor Hedman), and sixth (2010 - Brett Connolly) overall. That means that the team has sucked in a big way the past few years, if you're trying to block that out. I won't go into the traumatic details, but anyone who's followed this team for a while already knows what's happened.

So while the team got off to a strong start this season, they weren't likely to keep it up. The law of averages demands that bad times follow the good. That's just life.

[More after the break....]

Caption It Contest for Week of Nov 15th

here ya go!

Why Bloggers are the Fourth Estate: “Bob McKenzie is a Patsy” Edition.

As I hydrated myself with G2 and ate pizza over looking Monterey Bay at sunset, begging for a massage and an early bedtime after running my first half marathon in Big Sur this weekend, some Hockey sizzurp went down like Claude Le Mieux in a fight.  

NB:  I must start with a caveat: I don’t drink tea, I can’t stand Sarah Palin, and I don’t usually disparage or even think about the mainstream media and its ineffectualness- except to the extent that I get all my news from Jon Stewart and Puck Daddy. That said, a story broke yesterday that should be covered in every nook and cranny of the sports and hockey worlds.  Yet 24 hours later, only the blogging/twitter world is afire.

Yesterday, Hockey Blogger, Tyler Dellow, who goes by the nom de plume  “MC79Hockey”   unearthed a series of emails written by the NHL’s Vice President of Player Operations, Colin Campbell, that damningly expose an inappropriate personal bias and arguably an indication of corruption within the ranks of the NHL’s Top Brass.

Plenty of smart sports bloggers have analyzed the immediate issues concerning Campbell over the past 24 hours, but what struck me as poignant is the utter bias in mainstream media.

In his even handed and fair exposure and analysis of Campbell’s emails, (which you can read here) Tyler Dellow does what main stream media fails, and has failed for sometime now, to accomplish- whether in a sports related arena, or in coverage of a world event:

Dellow reports facts culled from legal records and court transcripts and analyzes them, identifying factually related matters and most importantly, asking the tough penetrating questions of the parties under fire.

Nothing Dellow has reported can be construed as anything other than truthful reporting of facts as stated by Campbell from court records and probing analysis. The questions which such factual documentation give rise to, and the conclusions which Dellow's reporting leads us to draw, are appropriate and hard pressing. This is real investigative journalism, frankly, at its finest.

The fact that this story spread like lightning across the blogosphere, without much mention of this league shaking controversy, by any mainstream news outlet is telling.  The lack of coverage after this blog broke all over Twitter is endemic of the emasculation of mainstream media.  (more after break)

Confessions of a Tampa Bay Lightning writer

As posted on From the Rink, Thursday, 11 November 2010.

Hi. My name is Cassie. And I have a problem.

I'm in denial. You see, the Tampa Bay Lightning are currently second in the Southeast Division, fourth in the Eastern Conference, and sixth overall in the NHL. Many people would be happy with that, especially considering what this team has been through in the past couple of years. But I just can't quite wrap my head around all of that.

The worst part about this is that I write for the SB Nation Lightning site, Raw Charge. So I'm watching all of their games, reading Lightning news, writing many of the game recaps, et cetera. It's not as if I'm just a casual fan of the team or a bandwagon jumper or anything like that.

Yes, Steven Stamkos is currently leading the NHL in both points (24) and goals (13). Yes, goaltender Dan Ellis ninth overall in the NHL with save percentage (.924), and seventh overall with goals against (2.11). Yes, Vincent Lecavalier is having a much better season than he has in a while, and Martin St. Louis has scored more goals at this point in the season than he had last season. I get all of this.

I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop is all.

[More after the break....]

LW's NHL Road* Trip 2010 (Final Part)

*Technically, featuring no roads

Following Part Six, a few brief observations from the final game I'm attending while on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

Game #7: Buffalo Sabres 2-3 (OT) New York Rangers

• Just because I haven't seen enough backup goalies this trip, Henrik Lundqvist is a late flu victim (late pull out rather than it being fatal...) so Marty Biron gets another MSG start. Lundqvist not even in warmups, but he'll have to be on the bench
• The returning Marián Gáborík gets crunched into the boards on an early shift. I (and probably most of MSG) ignore the rest of the shift to instead see if he's hurt on his return to the bench - he seems OK
• Rob Niedermayer misses on a breakaway as he exits the penalty box - further proof, if it were needed, that Drew Stafford does not belong in the NHL
• After a shaky looking first period from Jhonas Enroth in the Sabres goal, the Rangers take advantage by pummeling him with four shots in the second, which ends tied at two as the Rangers obligingly let Mike Grier stand in the crease untouched to score with 2.9 seconds left
• I even manage to watch the whole second period without painting the floor of an MSG bathroom vivid orange
• The crowd becomes mildly incensed when Ruslan Fedotenko has a goal chalked off in an "intent to blow" scenario. Especially odd for a quick whistle (at least an intended one) to come when two earlier goals came from similar situations that were allowed to play out
• Things look bleak for the Rangers when Brian Boyle takes a penalty with six minutes left shortly after yet another PP failure - a circumstance that has not produced favourable results on roughly 300 other occasions this year already. However, the PK holds firm
• Alex Frolov's third period contribution includes another slam dunk chance missed from right in front of goal and a sensible decision to ice the puck late in the game rather than take two strides in open ice to reach the red line first
• In OT, a Vanek/Roy 2-on-1 is survived by the Rangers (not the first such mess up by Vanek the last two nights) before Artem Anisimov secures the two points with his second goal of the game

All in all, a satisfying end to the trip and another strong showing by Beer Pong, which hopefully earns Lundqvist the lighter workload this year that the Rangers are looking for. A 3-3 record for the Rangers in my presence, just about maintaining my streak of non-losing records (19-9-1 overall for those scoring at home...)

LW's NHL Road* Trip 2010 (Part Six)

*Technically, featuring no roads

Following Part Five, the continuation of a few brief observations from the games I'm attending while on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

Game #6: Buffalo Sabres 5-4 (SO) New Jersey Devils

• Despite spending most of the day in bed or on the toilet and feeling like I've lost about 10lbs in five hours (the "Reverse Brodeur"), the lure of seeing two bad teams that I don't support proves too much, so I make the late decision to head out
  
• Surprising to see the box office lobby so full of people. Is it Tommy Albelin's jersey retirement tonight? Ken Daneyko's TV make-up crew having a meeting? Whatever it is, precisely one other person is actually there to buy a ticket, which makes more sense
• More backup goalie dueling tonight - Enroth and Hedberg are filling in for the injured Miller and Brodeur respectively
• My section is jam packed with annoying fans tonight:
  
  1. Your typical sports radio idiot sat right behind me. He yaps away constantly (sample: "I hate all Canadians except one. Spezza. And Rick Nash.") and is well on pace to smash the records for most instances of saying "Just shoot the puck!" and calling Mattias Tedenby "Tanabe", until he is moved on by someone actually having tickets to sit there
  2. His replacement is a kid unfortunately prone to greeting any routine clear or two foot pass with an exclamation you would perhaps hear had Marv Albert starred in "When Harry Met Sally" and smoked 100 a day from birth
  3. A Sabres fan rhetorically asking why Drew Stafford (#21, right-hand shot, not playing due to injury) was still in the NHL every time Rob Niedermayer (#20, left-hand shot, actually playing tonight) touched the puck. For the whole game.
     
• I'd like to be able to describe the first two Sabres goals, but I was too busy projectile vomiting a bottle of orange juice across the nearest bathroom floor. Should be more embarrassed by that than I really am...
• Having regained control of my stomach, I get to see four more second period goals as the Sabres and Devils both do a pretty good impression of teams with bad defense, which (against type and reputation) they actually seem to be
• After the Sabres tie it up again in the third, they have most of the chances the rest of the way with Hedberg somewhat fortunately surviving several scrambles in his crease
• His confidence up after missing the net by roughly 30 feet on a partial breakaway late in the third, Ilya Kovalchuk then caps off the shootout in sudden death by amusingly flubbing the puck slowly into the corner

Next up: The Sabres and their aforementioned backup goalie and bad defense head to MSG, where they will undoubtedly shutout the Rangers in my trip finale

Kovalchuk -- We are all witnesses.

What should I do?

Should I admit that I've made mistakes? Should I remind you that I've done this before? Should I tell you about Atlanta's playoff trip?

What should I do?

Should I tell you how I fill the stands? (So...this went well.) Should I really believe that I have a legacy to ruin?

What should I do?

Should I just sell skates like Ovechkin? Should I put my unattached head in a locker and tell you "Soon the championship will be ours!"?

Seriously? What should I do?

Should I tell you I'm a championship chaser? Did it for the money? Cup? Should I be who you want me to be? 

Should I accept my role as the selfish Russian? Maybe I should just disappear and go to the KHL.

Should I have never listened to Lou Lamoriello? He's Lou Lamoriello!

Should I try acting?

(Kovalchuk glides down the ice, is checked off the puck and...and falls. The refs arm is up. I haven't seen acting like that since our last broadcast in Pittsburgh.)

Should I make you laugh? Should I try to be a better teammate?

"I skate down ice. You give me puck. I shoot, score goal. We win. Okay? Okay!"

Should we just call out the zamboni? Try again next period?

What should I do?

Should I be who you want me to be?

JUST DO IT

LW's NHL Road* Trip 2010 (Part Five)

*Technically, featuring no roads

Following Part Four, the continuation of a few brief observations from the games I'm attending while on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

Game #5: Washington Capitals 5-3 New York Rangers

• A smattering of Caps fans / Ovechkin fanboys in evidence during warmups - including one confused kid wearing a Caps jersey and Rangers hat
• The guest anthem singer is apparently the former frontman of Barenaked Ladies - US/Canadian diplomatic relations become strained as he botches the lyrics
• A fast, physical start as Ryan Callahan dumps Semin in the corner
• Brandon Dubinsky and Mike Green discard helmets and square off - more grabbing than punching going on though. Smart move by Green to take the more talented, dangerous offensive threat off for five minutes...
• Despite the 24/7 efforts of some of the finest minds in the hockey world, nobody has yet found a way of stopping Brian Boyle scoring goals
• John Erskine is revealed as tonight's winner of the "Player Who Never Scores Or Is In A Horrendous Slump Until He Plays The Rangers" Lottery
• That is soon surpassed by the frankly astonishing sight of Derek Boogaard channeling his inner Pavel Bure, as he blazes a path down the left wing (slight exaggeration) before unleashing a laser of a slapshot (no exaggeration) over Michal Neuvirth's shoulder - I struggle to surpress laughter for the rest of the period
• Despite playing much better than the last few games and containing the Caps reasonably well over the last 40 minutes, the crushingly inevitable tie-breaking goal from a fourth line scrub, followed by the crushingly inevitable total inability to control the puck with the goalie pulled kills off the Rangers

Next up: After this incident-packed game, it's back to Newark for what promises to be a classic snoozefest between the high-flying Sabres and Devils. Bring a pillow.

Movember in the NHL

For those of you who don't know, Movember is a month-long fundraising event for men's cancer research. It is now a global campaign with a number of countries involved from North America to New Zealand. Movember encourages men to show their support by growing a moustache for the entire month of November. I imagine there are some pretty long and crazy-looking ones by November 30th. I first became aware of the event last year when a few Caps players participated and there are even more participants this year. The NHL in general is a big supporter of the 'Mo with players and staff from all over the league participating to help raise money with their facial hair.

Caption It Monday: Nov. 8th.

Find Last week's Winner in the Archives!

LW's NHL Road* Trip 2010 (Part Four)

*Technically, featuring no roads

Following Part Three, the continuation of a few brief observations from the games I'm attending while on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

Game #4: St. Louis Blues 2-0 New York Rangers

• A real buzz in the building as everyone anticipates the much-hyped, marquee goalie match-up of...er, Ty Conklin versus Marty Biron
• If you like having people walk across your line of sight repeatedly, including vendors carrying large objects above head height, then try and get tickets two rows back from the internal concourse at MSG. (Alternatively, just watch a Red Wings home game on TV.)
• Beer Pong has a strong first period to keep the game goalless, as the Blues dictate most of the play
• A break - aided by the fleet-footed Derek Boogaard stranding himself in the offensive zone looking for a pointless hit - sees Alex Steen open the scoring early in the second
• From that point, the Blues sit back and watch the Rangers painfully flounder for the rest of the game
• I was hoping for a disallowed goal from the Blues' #64, so I could say it was nixed as Nikita Nikitin kicked it in, but no joy...
  
• The only serious threat comes from a five-minute powerplay in the third period after B.J. Crombeen tries to decorate the boards with the contents of Derek Stepan's skull. The "threat" mainly one of being deafened by the booing of the practically impotent Rangers PP
• My view of the empty-netter is blocked by a few hundred people leaving - not that I care by that point. A pretty rancid game all round

Next up: The Rangers' powerhouse offensive machine hosts the anaemic, struggling forwards of the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. A Versus game! Possible Beninati sighting opportunity!

Central Division Update

Here's a little update on how the ultra-competitive Central Division fared during the month of October.


DETROIT

Positive: Pavel Datsyuk. While there are a lot of positives for this team firing on all cylinders at the moment, Datsyuk might the number one greatest thing about the Wings right now. He is on track for a career-high 45 goals this season, and on track to tie his career-best 97 points. He is definitely showing a rebound from last year's somewhat subpar season, but a lot of that may be attributed to the improved health of the Wings from this time last year. Datsyuk has not failed to dazzle every game for the past month with his stickhandling wizardry, goal-scoring prowess and strong two-way play.

Do NFL fans think NHL fans are better than they are?

As posted on From the Rink....

The place at which I work is an NFL office. That is the topic of discussion most days - football. Which, I don't mind; I actually like football. Though, I'm more of a college football kind of person than an NFL kind of person.

But an interesting point was brought up during a discussion of the local NFL team. I was making some point talking about hockey, of course, and someone said that hockey fans weren't like football fans. And he genuinely meant that; it wasn't just some flippant remark.

Isn't that nice? Even the fans of other sports know the difference. Not sure if that's a compliment or not, but that's not what I'm trying to get at.

The topic of discussion, at that time, was about getting autographs from players. And it wasn't that NFLers weren't as accommodating, as according to the NFL fans in my office, so much as he was suggesting that the fans weren't that nice. And, in their opinion, that's why the NFL players weren't so accommodating.

Think about that for a second. The reason why some NFL fans think that hockey players are so accommodating is because their fans are nicer. Again, not sure whether that's a compliment or not, but moving on....

[More after the break....]

LW's NHL Road* Trip 2010 (Part Three)

*Technically, featuring no roads

Following Part Two, the continuation of a few brief observations from the games I'm attending while on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

Game #3: New York Rangers 3-0 New Jersey Devils

• Perhaps not the most salubrious surroundings and it's never close to being full, but Prudential Center is a really nice building
• Lots of Rangers fans in the house as normal. Personal welcomes limited to one old guy muttering "scum" under his breath as I walked past. Slightly disappointing lack of commitment to the insult there...
• A lot of injury absences on both sides (most notably, Gáborík, Callahan, Captain Clutch for the Rangers; Brodeur and Parise for the Devils). Olivier Magnan-Grenier's appearance in the Devils' starting line-up produces a "Who the hell is that?" comment from a Devils fan behind me
• Not a whole lot to report from the game, as it's mostly pretty (s)crappy throughout. The second period is perhaps the most poorly played 20 minutes of NHL hockey I've seen in person
• The man Duuuuuuubbbbbbbbbiiiiiiii is on fire - Stamkos Schmamkos...
• Hello, Ilya Kovalchuk? You there? Still, not all his fault or that of Uncle Lou - a lot of the blame needs to go to the Devils' owner (who is, of course, Henrik Lundqvist)
• Always a satisfying win, but it doesn't feel the same without a Maaaarrrrrrtttttyyyyyy chant

Next up: Loose plans to venture to the Island to attend the Flyers-Fishsticks game appear to have been thwarted by public transport construction issues, so it'll be back to asbestos-free MSG for the visit of the stingy Blues on Sunday.

Shizzurp from the Crease: Juice’s Friday Smoothie.

What interested and or amused you most about this week in our NHL? If I had a feather and a glass of Grape Ape for each of these incidents, I’d be tickled purple.

1. If you can carry it, they will loot… Flyers Fans get to pay to loot the Spectrum tomorrow at the “If You Can Carry It, You Can Keep It” event, where they can pay $25 to go in and take anything they can carry from the old arena. Really? RIILLY?  Look. Some of my besties are Flyers fans, and my adoration for all things “Hartnell Fro” is well documented- but can you think of a less well conceived idea? Does anyone think this is a bad idea besides me?

more after the break! 

Friday Night Wings Recap not from concentrate, mostly insomnia.

Who gets insomnia on a Friday night? At least I have the Wings-Oilers game on DVR, and what a fun game it was. Sleepless observations follow, forgive the grammar and the spelling.

Jimmy Howard's save at the 9:35 mark (ish) -Holy shizzurp. Jimmy MF Howard. BTW Jimmy Howard has 22 regulation wins in a row. 1.82 GAA. 93.3 Save %. Helluva a start kid.

BTW, anyone still think the Bulin Wall has been felled? Watch this game- Nicolai was phenomenal. The Bulin Wall not only took 30 SOGs, but a bucketful of PP shots and really great scoring chances by all four winged wheel lines all three periods.

More after the Break

Claude Giroux -- Yes, Virginia. There is a Santa Claus.

Yes, Virginia. There is a Santa Claus.

How worth it would a video be of Flyers' legend Bobby Clarke fumbling the name of Claude Giroux as the 18-year-old Hearst, Ontario native and QMJHL star who, despite being undrafted in his home league of the OHL, had his named "called" at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft?

Unfortunately, as far as I know, no video exists in the archives readily accessible to your average non-NHL personnel. (For those of you who are lost, that means that YouTube does not have a copy.)


Some of you must be questioning about now just how this little dynamo forward from Ontario managed to get skipped over by the OHL, signed by the QMJHL, and then skipped over 21 times at the NHL Draft?

LW's NHL Road* Trip 2010 (Part Two)

*Technically, featuring no roads

Following Part One, the continuation of a few brief observations from the games I'm attending while on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

Game #2: New York Rangers 1-4 Philadelphia Flyers

• On the main concourse, former NHL ref Kerry Fraser is signing copies of his new book. A fairly healthy line suggests that Flyers fans are generally prepared to spend an extra $29.95 to abuse an official from closer range than normal
• Some fairly obvious yapping between Carcillo, Avery and Boogaard during warm-ups. Carcillo in particular appears to eschew any involvement with the pucks on the ice the whole time, preferring to skate repeatedly along the red line past the two Rangers, even long after they give up paying attention
• The Flyers' PA announcer still has a voice that makes me want to slice my ears off with a blunt spoon
• Parents of ginger-haired children in the Philadelphia area: Your kids will have things difficult enough. You should really buy them the road white jersey instead.
  
• Jeff Carter's work ethic and ability to avoid cheap penalties are questioned by more than a few home fans in my section
• Unusual first intermission entertainment, as we get to watch ex-Flyer and celebrity moustache, Bill Clement, officially become a US citizen (despite messing up one of the oaths). Not entirely sure what I'm supposed to do with myself when the crowd is then asked to rise and join in a recital of the Pledge of Allegiance
  
• Fairly ridiculous pass from Claude Giroux to Mike Richards on the Flyers' first goal
  
• Despite rarely getting tested, Sergei Bobrovsky receives rapturous applause for even the most basic 50-foot wrister at his chest. Maybe the fans really aren't used to seeing such things...
• Carcillo with a dangerously cheap headshot? Really? I'm shocked. Shocked!
• The officials completely missing/ignoring said dangerously cheap headshot? Really? I'm shocked. Shocked!
  
• Generally a fairly even game until the Rangers opt to aim both barrels at their lower extremities to make it 3-1 - Michael Del Zotto with a horrendous giveaway in front of his net for Blair Betts to score; Henrik Lundqvist somehow deflecting a Nik Zherdev shot taken from the corner of a rink somewhere in Delaware into his own net
• The Rangers missed Marián Gáborík more than other recent games - some decent work down low, but hardly any good scoring chances created and practically nothing off the rush
• Maybe finally inserting Alex Frolov into the line-up after missing the first 12 games will inject some offense. Oh, wait a sec...

Next up: A Friday night in Noo Joisey, as the Rangers face the evil Fatso and his rag tag bunch of scrappy cellar dwellers.

Why Tim Thomas should have been the NHL's #1 Star for October

My Tampa Bay Lighting friends have much to celebrate so far. New owner Jeff Vinik, new GM Stevie Y and new coach Guy Boucher seem to have breathed new life into a team that has seen enough turmoil in the past few seasons to turn into a Hollywood blockbuster (which, looking at the team's old owners, wouldn't be so far-fetched). The Lightning ended the month of October sitting atop the Eastern Conference with a 7-2-1 record and saw young star Steven Stamkos picking up right where he left off last season, with 19 points (9 goals, 10 assists) in 10 games and earning the NHL's #1 Star for the month. Bravo, Lightning. Bravo! I'm happy for my friends who have ridden the stormy seas of uncertainty and loss with the team.

HOWEVER. I disagree with the NHL's choice of #1 Star for the month of October.

It's not that I think Stamkos isn't talented, because he is. Very talented. It's not that I think Stamkos isn't playing well, because he is. Very well. It's not that I think his accomplishments for the month of October aren't worthy of recognition. Because they are. Very worthy.

BUT... I believe someone was even more impressive in October.

Tim Thomas.

I'm not really much of a Boston Bruins fan. I don't like many of their players, except for Zach Hamill, who played juniors here with the Everett Silvertips. And as Zach hasn't played many games with Boston, I can safely say that I'm not much of a fan yet. I do like Tuukka Rask because, well, who doesn't? He's entertaining and you want to watch when he plays to see if he launches into any weird rants (or throws milk crates over the glass onto the ice).

No, my belief that Tim Thomas deserves to be the #1 Star for the month of October stems from his 6-0-0 start for the season his NHL-leading 0.50 GAA, his .984 save percentage and his 3 shutouts. But what amazes me even more about his accomplishments is that this man is 36 YEARS OLD and struggled with a nagging hip injury last season, which he worked hard to rehab during the off season.

Tim Thomas has been playing pro hockey for nearly as long as Steven Stamkos has been on this earth. He began his pro career when little Stevie was just 7 years old and probably hadn't even lost his first tooth in a hockey game. Timmy started college (1993) when Stevie was 3 years old and barely potty trained.

In hockey years, Tim Thomas is like a grandpa. Okay, maybe not like a grandpa yet. I'll reserve that status for guys like Chris Chelios and Mark Recchi, who seem to keep chugging on (or who might have paintings hiding in the attic, a la Dorian Gray). So, Timmy is more like an uncle. Make that an eccentric uncle - you know  - the one who blurts out family secrets during a highly charged Thanksgiving dinner. Because we all know that goalies are nothing if not eccentric (and maybe a little "touched" - to spend their lives trying to keep flying frozen rubber disks from smashing them in the face).

I couldn't even tell you who the NHL's #3 Star for the month of October is, and frankly, I don't care. No offense to the player or fans of the team for which he's shining right now. I think the NHL did a great disservice to Tim Thomas by making him their #2 star and not #1, because let's face it: people EXPECT Steven Stamkos to be a scoring machine. That's why he was drafted. That's what you expect 20 year old phenoms to do. You don't expect a 36 year old goalie with hip problems to go out and blow the competition away, game after game. 

And whatever happens from this moment on, you've gotta take your hat off to Tim Thomas; a guy who has spent more years playing pro in leagues that DON'T begin with an "N"; a guy who should have hung up his skates (and gloves) after the Providence Bruins gave up on him and the only place he could play was in Finland; a guy who somehow fought his way back - first to the P-Bruins, then to Boston, where he won the Vezina in 2009. This is a man who does not seem to give up, even when you think the curtain has come down and the fat lady has sung several times.

Whatever happens from this moment on, I have found a new meaning for the word "perseverance." It is Tim Thomas.

Why is this Detroit Red Wings Fan searching for a Pink Crosby jersey? Blame Mackseyev

GGGGGGGaaahhh. I feel like I already need to say 12 "Our Hollands" and at least 2 "Hail Datsyuks" for this. But.

and its a Kardasian sized one....

But.

When your girl Juice isn't obsessing about the Wings, she occasionally does nice things that more often than not do not rhyme.  ahem.

  On Nov. 14th I am running a half marathon to raise awareness for a relatively unknown disease that affects my family: Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood. As part of my fund-raising efforts, I have promised that if we reach a certain donation level then I will take my last training run (on 11/11) through the streets of Santa Monica in a costume chosen by the people cheering me on, or as I like to think of them: "My athletic supporters".

There are two costume suggestions made by my Athletic Supporters and they are not pretty. In fact, our Girl, Mackseyev has thrown the Mothra Faulking gauntlet, people. She has dropped the goaltending stick, pushed the mask way back on her head and is sprinting toward Center Ice as if I were Patrick Roy and she were Mike Vernon circa 1997.

 Macks's lethal suggestion, after the break

LW's NHL Road* Trip 2010 (Part One)

*Technically, featuring no roads

Should internet connection and self-motivation allow, a few brief observations from the games I'm attending while on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

Game #1: Chicago Blackhawks 2-3 New York Rangers

• I'm sat a few rows behind a group of Swedish-looking people wearing matching red "I ♥ Hjalmarsson" T-shirts. Stockholm branch of the Jason Pominville fan club on vacation?
• Generally seems to be a fair few more Hawks fans than were at MSG for the same matchup two years ago. Hmm, why could that be?
• Tomáš Kopecký scores to give however many Slovakian fans might be in attendance something to savour, since the two Marians are both on the shelf
• As is ritual, the guy doing the intermission puck shooting contest gets a special MSG boo each time he misses the target
• Duncan Keith apparently played 27:23, but it seemed more like 57:23
• Odds on a Ryan Callahan jersey purchase have dropped further still
• Why can't the Rangers play like this more often? Pretty damn solid defensively, some timely scoring and Lundqvist making big saves when needed (I'll excuse him a soft looking second goal)
• Duuuuuuuuuuuubbbbbbbbbiiiiiiiii

Next up: The Rangers (and I) brave a trip to Philadelphia. Will they return with two points? Will I return with two arms?

Hockey is a mental game

We all know that hockey players are tremendous warriors. They sacrifice their bodies every game and suffer through terrible injuries that we can only imagine the pain of. You can literally see the battle scars on players’ faces. They are unbelievable human beings. But physical toughness is not all it takes to make it in the NHL. Mental toughness is key.

Sometimes it baffles me how much of a mental game hockey really is. The Philadelphia Flyers started off October with just 3 wins in 8 games. They were struggling to score and their PP was horrendous. They kept saying that they had to put in a full 60 minute effort and that they had to get their skating legs going, but the play on the ice never reflected those words. The team would offer up words of confidence and willingness to play better, but they still couldn’t do it. Saying it and doing it were clearly two different things.

Caption It Contest for Nov. 1...

Give us your best caption- Winner will get a used mouthguard and the Glory.