LW's NHL Road Trip 2011 (Final Part)

Final game of the trip.  Looking for a four-game winning streak.  Here was Part Six.

Game #7: Winnipeg Jets 0-3 New York Rangers

• Predictably, far fewer Jets jerseys in the crowd than there were Canadiens jerseys last night.  The fans must have opted to spend all their ticket money to sit under a leaking ceiling on Long Island.  Understandable choice.
• During the anthems, somebody unfurls a banner reading: "2012 END FED RON PAUL".  I'm not heavily into U.S. politics, but it seems odd that Ruslan Fedotenko's contract status would be such a prominent issue for Republicans.
• After the excitement of last night's game, it seems back-to-back games for both teams is showing.  The first period is unremarkable, notable only for one crazy sequence in Marty Biron's goalmouth in which the puck is stopped on the goal-line two or three times and ends up with every player on the ice bar Jets goalie Ondřej Pavelec either in or right around the crease.  Dustin Byfuglien does a passable impression of an NFL fullback leaping over the pile at the goal-line, but cannot force the football to break the plane.
• The second period is almost equally unremarkable, notable only for Derek Stepan's PP goal to open the scoring.
• A bit more interesting in the third.  Three quick Jets penalties, give the Rangers the opportunity to get booed for failing to score on an extended 5-on-3 PP.  (Actually not that bad a PP - Pavelec mostly responsible for the lack of scoring.)  Then Marián Gáborik converts on a 2-on-1 rush led by the recently excellent Derek Stepan.
• Late Jets pressure is pretty sporadic and Gáborik seals the game in the last seconds with a lob wedge backhand empty netter.  Biron earns his first shutout as a Ranger and continues his strong start to the season.
• Signs of the tenuous strength of the financial support provided by Winnipeg fans are revealed when two of them duck the fare barriers at the crowded subway station rather than face the outrageous $2.50 cost.

So, another winning record for the Rangers during my trip.  They look a far better team than the one that struggled throughout the majority of the seven-game international road trip that preceded the homestand, if still a bit fortunate to earn as many points as they did.

Still a few questions to be answered too, such as:

• When will Marc Staal recover and return to the line-up?
• Will Dan Girardi die of exhaustion if that doesn't happen soon?
• When will "Sausage Boss by Andrew Carmellini" finally open at MSG?

LW's NHL Road Trip 2011 (Part Six)

Enjoy the penultimateness. Here was Part Five.

Game #6: Montréal Canadiens 3-5 New York Rangers

• Beaucoup trop de partisans des Habitants ici.
• I'm surprised to see that somebody actually purchased one of these monstrosities:
  
  
  (Meaning the style of jersey.  Nobody would be stupid enough to pay lots of money for an actual Gomez, right?)
• Bad news for the Canadiens Rangers is that Gomez is still injured and will not play.  The Rangers do ice the best two players involved in the Gomez trade: Ryan McDonagh and No Gomez.
• An interesting start, as Mike Blunden flattens a speeding Brandon Dubinsky by the Habs' bench, sparking a huge get-together.  "Clean" hit from Blunden, had it not been for the fact that he jumped off the bench early to make the hit.
• After Ryan Callahan and Blunden fight and a separate one between Mike Sauer and Petteri Nokelainen (the latter two receiving game misconducts), we emerge with a 5-on-3 PP for two minutes to the Rangers, on which Erik Christensen capitalises.
• Well into the game, we finally see a shift for returning hero, Sean Avery.  First time I've heard grown men squeal with excitement at MSG.
• The first period ends 3-0 Rangers, the third goal a particularly good one, a shot block by Dan Girardi leading to a rush the other way, capped by a great pass from Derek Stepan to a streaking Michael Del Zotto to beat Carey Price.
• As expected, the Habs score early in the second period and pull to within a goal midway through the period on a 5-on-3 PP of their own, courtesy of Brian Gionta's wonky sense of balance as much as anything worth penalising.
• After surviving more than one shot off the post and some dangerous rushes from the apparently not-dead-yet Erik Cole, things become more comfortable for the Rangers as Brad Richards wires one past Price late in the second.
• The game tightens up considerably in the final frame, but a frantic finish is ensured once Gionta get his customary goal against the Rangers with two minutes to go.
• Captain Callahan eases nerves with the empty-netter, the puck amusingly being followed into the goal by Garden crowd favourite, P.K. Subban, spinning on his derrière.

Next up: The homestand and my trip ends with the visit of Dystugien Bufflin and the Jetlanta Thrasherpegs.

LW's NHL Road Trip 2011 (Part Five)

Recalled back to the NHL grind. Here was the AHL experience of Part Four.

Game #5: Anaheim Ducks 1-2(SO) New York Rangers

• Back in the cheap moderately less obscenely expensive seats for this one.  Hence, not surrounded by corporate no-shows / BlackBerry idiots.
• Instead, I'm sat next to somebody who talks loudly non-stop for the entire game, none of which is about the game or hockey generally, except for: "I ****ing hate the ****ing Montréal Canadiens.  Not only are they from Montréal, but they are ****ing Canadians."
• After a pretty poor game between the two teams in Stockholm four weeks ago, much of this one is similarly uneventful, the Ducks mustering only two shots in the first period.
• The Rangers open the scoring through the increasingly Paul Coffey-like Jeff Woywitka, before the moustache-free George Parros is again engaged in a not-at-all-staged fight on the restart, the Bahama Bomber, Andre Deveaux taking the place that Mike Rupp filled in Stockholm and proving less like a Parros punchbag.
• It's tied after 40 minutes thanks to Bobby Ryan wiring a screened wrister high past Henrik Lundqvist.
• A more eventful third period sees the Ducks carry most of the play, Ryan Callahan missing a shorthanded breakaway with no Duck skater within 60 feet of him (his only breakaway/shootout move failing him), and both goalies playing well.
• A fairly crazy OT session somehow ends without a winner, before the completely unexpected sight of Marián Gáborik (2-for-19 career record coming in) scoring in the shootout and Bobby Ryan this time not fanning the final attempt past Lundqvist.

Next up: Having not played a Canadian team for an incredible stretch of two games, the Rangers face the ****ing Montréal ****ing Canadiens.  Will the MSG crowd get the chance to shower the usual acclaim on returning hero, Scott Gomez?

LW's NHL* Road Trip 2011 (Part Four)

*Apart from this bit, which is an AHL Road Trip. Here was Part Three.

A travel snafu prevented my planned attendance at the Devils-Leafs game in the evening.  I hope Marty Brodeur's return performance was as amusing for those in person as it appeared to be on TV.

Game #4: Connecticut Whale 3-4 (OT) Bridgeport Sound Tigers

• A 90-minute train journey from Manhattan for an 11am faceoff.  Not my usual kind of trip.
• The reason for the early start: Some sort of schoolkids promotion.  So, a few thousand kids in the stands make the atmosphere one part hockey game, nine parts Justin Bieber concert.
• A completely indecipherable P.A. system and unfamiliarity with many of the players will make it tougher than normal to keep up.  And to know when the building is being evacuated.
• Line-up news:
  
  • The Whale are now Avery-less (must've been publicised somewhere), but still feature recent Ranger demotions Tim Erixon, Kris Newbury and Mats Zuccarello-Aasen.  The mini-Fishsticks include Nino Niederreiter and the overwhelmingly talented Trevor Gillies.
  • Kevin Poulin versus Cam Talbot in net - no start for Chad "Dos Nueve" Johnson (apparently "Tres Cero" in the minors)
• Why does the typeface on Calvin de Haan's nameplate say: dE HAAN?
• The Whale's first goal (Jonathan Audy-Marchessault from Mats Zuccarello-Aasen and Tim Erixon) smashes the record for most letters combining on a goal I've seen.
• Gillies (who doesn't appear to even get a regular shift at this level) takes an appropriately dumb penalty, leading to the stuff of nightmares: Wade Redden as the PP quarterback.
• The between period T-shirt toss produces a painfully shrill noise.
• A fight between Micheal (sic) Haley and Stu Bickel is broken up almost as soon as it starts, while doing so, the linesman presumably screaming "Won't somebody please think of the children?!"
• The Whale take a 3-1 lead early in the third, the goal (Jonathan Audy-Marchessault from Mats Zuccarello-Aasen and John Mitchell) smashing the record for most letters combining on a goal I've seen, if falling just short on the syllables equivalent.
• Showing impressive dedication to becoming Rangers, the Whale then blow their lead over the last 11 minutes and lose in OT, the Tigers' Tim Wallace completing his hat-trick on the winner.

Next up: Back to MSG for yet another intense clash for the Rangers against a hated divisional rival, the Anaheim Ducks.

LW's NHL Road Trip 2011 (Part Three)

Here is Part Three.  Here was Part Two.

Game #3: San Jose Sharks 2-5 New York Rangers

• Right off the opening faceoff, Brandon Prust and Ryane Clowe "tangle".  Approximately 10 minutes of pirouetting and helmet punching ends with the pair almost landing on top of Pierre McGuire in his usual spot licking Mike Richards' shoes between the benches. 
• News of Sean Avery's impending recall and the Rangers not actually losing at the time make the (mostly failed) attempts to start the "We want Avery" chant more confusing than ever.
• Ryan McDonagh: 1-0.  Scott Gomezhahahahahahahahahahahaha.
• Brandon Dubinsky and Derek Stepan somehow exploit Colin White's legendary footspeed to make it 2-0 in the first; the Rangers looking strangely competent.
• However, it's tied midway through the second period, the tying goal by Logan Couture coming at the end of a shift of six or seven minutes of the crack Jeff Woywitka-Steve Eminger pairing being trapped in their own end by the Sharks' top line.
• Not tied for long as, befitting of a player who looks like Joe Sakic for one game every two months (Joe Sakic's wife for the rest), Erik Christensen makes two great passes on goals by Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov.
• In the final minute of the second period, Callahan makes a spectacular stretch/dive from behind the net to poke home a rebound and give the Rangers the unassailable three-goal lead that has not been assailed by a Rangers opponent in, oh...two days.
• The third period is largely a non-event.  Shame.
• In front of me tonight:
  
  • Firstly, your typical MSG BlackBerry Man.  Not even a glance towards the ice during the entire first period.  Doesn't return to his seat for the third.
  • Replaced in the third by a fan in a Patrick Marleau jersey wearing an "Occupy Madison Square Garden" sign around his neck.  Loses marks for not sitting with a friend in a Jeremy Roenick costume holding a bag of guts.
• After the game, Joe Thornton bizarrely (given he was fairly anonymous in defeat) decides to call the Rangers the softest team the Sharks played on their road trip.  With the two teams not meeting again this season (neither team has a chance of winning the Western Conference Final series), this appears to be Jumbo Joe's Halloween equivalent of knocking on the Rangers' dressing room door and running away.

Next up: Logistics and apathy permitting, a two games in one day odyssey spanning a morning (!) AHL clash in Bridgeport, CT - now not featuring the star Avery attraction - and an evening (zzz) dull-fest in tropical Newark, NJ.

LW's NHL Road Trip 2011 (Part Two)

Here is Part Two.  Here was Part One.

Game #2: Ottawa Senators 5-4 (SO) New York Rangers

• An unseasonal October snowstorm means dangerous conditions have to be navigated on my journey to the game - dopey 5th Avenue tourists wielding umbrellas in the manner of a blindfolded Dan Carcillo.
• I'm seated directly in front of one of the press boxes, tonight featuring legendary former Leafs GM, John Ferguson Jr, now scouting for the Sharks.  I successfully sell my hot dog to him for $300.  Not sure why I need a no-trade clause though.
• Line-up news: MSG fan favourites, Erik Christensen and Wojtek Wolski are rewarded for their consistent work ethic and gritty play with the assignment next to Marián Gáborik for at least one shift (and probably one shift).
• A predictably terrible first period from the Rangers sees them heavily outshot and 1-0.  One relatively quiet and quickly aborted "We want Avery" chant results.
• Not for the first time (nor the last), the between periods puck shooting contest sees the participant mercilessly booed for his repeated failures.  He still has a better than 50% chance of playing on the Rangers top line for the rest of the game though.
• Momentum shifts after Zenon Konopka pleases his many fantasy owners by getting five plus a game for performing his own renovation of the MSG glass using Artem Anisimov's face as raw materials (though the hit was actually not that bad, if at all).  The Rangers shock the world by putting away two (two) PPGs on the major penalty.
• Despite another patchy performance at best, the Rangers work themselves into a 4-1 lead with eight minutes left in the game, the third goal by Gáborik from a great pass by Derek Stepan being the pick of the bunch.
• Despite...something, the Rangers then work themselves into a 4-4 tie with three minutes left as, shockingly, the strategy of panicking and spending the rest of the game chasing the puck in their own end fails to pay dividends.
• Milan Michálek scores the only goal in the shootout, the building erupts with joyous emotion.

Next up: An easily winnable game against perennial Western Conference doormat, the San Jose Sharks.  Right here on Versus!  Let's hope Milbury is in a Swedish prison wearing a visor attendance.

LW's NHL Road Trip 2011 (Part One)

More like a homestand than a road trip this year (bar perhaps a trip to the minor league operation in Bridgeport, CT and a trip to the minor league operation in Newark, NJ), but here is Part One of my comprehensive, analytical coverage of the Rangers' upcoming six game losing streak.

Game #1: Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 New York Rangers

• After finding my seat easily despite apocalyptic warnings about the layout of the partially-renovated Madison Square Garden, I find myself sat right behind somebody with the unfortunate appearance of a homeless Barry Melrose.
• I then witness the impressive feat of a man managing to dump a beer over his own head after stumbling on the stairs.
• The Rangers controversially opt to introduce the players individually at the home opener - not something that has occurred every year, mostly for boo-related reasons.  Accordingly, nobody gets booed (yet).
• Apparently, a huge pro-Avery, anti-Tortorella banner is unveiled somewhere in the crowd.  Either I completely miss it, or it was behind me.  (Apparently, the banner was subsequently banned by the tolerant MSG staff.)
• Against type so far this season, the Rangers actually put together a decent first period to lead 1-0, also having two other efforts chalked off for reasonably marginal contact with a very shaky looking Jonas Gustavsson in the Leafs' net.
• While I did not feel the need to test any of the new facilities, I can only assume the bathrooms and concessions are of the highest standard since I was seemingly the only person in my section to leave their seat fewer than 18 times a period to visit the concourse while play was in progress.
• Entirely not against type so far this season, the Rangers decide to exploit a very shaky looking Jonas Gustavsson in the Leafs' net by giving him practically no work at all the rest of the way, while Henrik Lundqvist allows a few weak goals for the first time in a while, despite also stopping two Phil Kessel breakaways.
• Patient and moderate as they are, a sizeable chunk of the home fans use the late third period to start a "We want Avery" chant, seizing the opportunity to remind everyone that a lack of defensive depth and completely dysfunctional start from most of the point producing forwards can only be corrected by the return of a 3rd/4th line forward who scored three goals last year and the coach doesn't trust.
• The Leafs' fourth goal from noted sniper Mike Brown with six minutes to go sees the New Transformed Exits brought to you by Chase at Madison Square Garden adequately tested for the first time.

Next up: An afternoon game against hated rival, the superstar-laden Ottawa Senators.  I can hear the booing already.

LW Road Trip: NHL Premiere 2011 in Stockholm

My usual précis (French word, meaning "list compiled by lazy writer unable, unwlling to construct paragraphs") of the NHL's latest Europansy expedition, following on from my attendance at games in Stockholm in 2009 and Prague last year.  This year, a team I'm actually bothered about!

New York Rangers 2-3 (OT) Los Angeles Kings, 7 October 2011

• What is Swedish for "Far too many Crosby jerseys?"
• In contrast to the policies put in place by the draconian concourse police in Prague, again I am actually free to enter the lower bowl during warmups without creating a major security crisis.
• Unlike last time in Stockholm, there is no game night presentation to speak of and no sign of the internationally acclaimed Bullet or Backyard Babies to provide live music pre-game, presumably victims of the European financial crisis. A scheduling clash with his Unicef humanitarian endeavours in a foreign land again robs us of an appearance from Scandic beats colossus, Basshunter.
• An wholly unreasonable 100kr once more secures me (suckers me?) a match(es) programme, once more almost entirely in Swedish, bar what will stay unread forewords from the charasmatic Messrs Bettman and Fehr.
• Despite the language barrier, I'm fully on board with the sentiments of the Canadiens' season preview:
  
  
• For the player introductions, large crowd reactions for Henrik Lundqvist, Tim Erixon and Mats Zuccarello-Aasen on the Rangers side, only really anything for former SEL player, Anže Kopitar for the Kings.
• Notionally a Kings home game in the record books, but despite the presence of the team mascot, the Rangers' P.A. announcer and a significant disparity in fans make it sound otherwise. There are even a couple of half-hearted airings of the "Potvin sucks" chant.
• Among the crowd and featured on the big screen at various points: Mats Sundin (similar ovation to two years ago), Markus Näslund (similar strangely disinterested expression as two years ago), Ulf "Reason why Potvin sucks" Nilsson, Kent Nilsson, Anders Hedberg and Mattias Norström.
• As far as the game goes...the Kings dominate the first period completely but the Rangers somehow escape at 1-1, mostly thanks to Lundqvist.  Kopitar, the best skater all game, scores off a Callahan giveaway ending up with roughly 27 Rangers face down on the ice, our glorious leader tying it up from a bad angle.
• Marián Gáborík shovels one home in the third at the end of a great shift by Brad Richards, earning him an assist and already the title of most successful UFA signing in franchise history.
• As is customary, NHL Commissioner of Respect and V.P. of Public Sobriety, Mike Richards scores against the Rangers to tie it up late, mostly thanks to Michael Del Zotto failing to tie him up late.
• Ryan McDonagh takes a slightly careless offensive zone penalty in OT, with more than a little help from a world class dive from Willie Mitchell, whose leg functionality is somehow directly and completely related to the muscles in his left shoulder.  Jack Johnson scores the winner, Brandon Dubinsky and his obliterated stick express mild consternation at the referee's penalty call.  Meh.

 New York Rangers 1-2 (SO) Anaheim Ducks, 8 October 2011

• A more visible and audible block of Ducks fans in attendance than was seen from the Kings contingent, but still a heavily blue colour to the crowd.
• Clear from the player introductions that even Swedes like Teemu Selanne.
  
• After the Zambonis exit prior to the start and the teams line up for the anthems, from above, the wide expanse of gleaming white surface reflecting the house lights is always an impressive sight. Then Ryan Getzlaf puts his helmet back on and we're ready to go.
• As well as some of the ex-players we saw yesterday, we see former Ranger Jan Erixon (father of current Ranger Tim Erixon, who is son of former Ranger, Jan Erixon), the bloke out of Roxette, who earns a surprisingly enthusiastic response, and the Swedish soccerball squadron, apparently fresh off a rivalry match-up against Findusland in the EuroSoccerPansy play-in tournament.
• I'm sat a mere three rows behind the Swedish TV announcers, including Calle Johansson (Washington Capitals fans: Google "Calle Johansson").
• As advertised, the Ducks top line of Andrew Cogliano, Andrew Gordon and veteran Devante Smith-Pelly prove tough to stop, Cogliano opening the scoring off a well-Emingerneered rush.
• Getzlaf and Gáborík manage to upset each other off the play for some reason. One benefit of the relatively benign atmosphere in the arena is the unexpected ability to hear from the second tier Getzlaf call Gáborík a "pizza shed" (I think) across the benches.
• Not much at all to note from a pretty useless game - nice to hear a couple of awesome Lundqvist saves elicit a big crowd response, but probably a sign that the game is going the wrong way.
• Brad Richards saves a point late in the third after a quiet game, before opting to leave the puck at center ice for his SO attempt.  The Ducks win in sudden death thanks to Bobby Ryan majorly whiffing on the puck, the change up beating Lundqvist.

Bringing the Noise and the Funk- Brendan Shanahan Sets a Needed Tone

God and Ireland Bless you Shanny, for doing it right.

2 Solid Suspensions for two thugs, including one who should have left that chip on his shoulder back in the AHL. And its only Pre-season. Suck it Shelley and Letourneau.

(That said, I have to admit I was impressed with the way Mary Kay Letourneau has reinvented herself. Let's hope this 40 year old pedo-teacher can keep it in her pants, and tone it down a notch. At least on the ice.)

No, I don’t care that its “only” pre-season, and neither should you if you have the sense god gave a dung beetle. And NO this isn’t just about setting a tone and sending a clear signal, although I am happy that it does both. This is about intentional infliction of harm. Intent to Harm. And if you are fooling yourself into thinking otherwise, you’ve never been to Anaheim or Philly.

Oh- and yea, tell the guy with the pre-season concussion that its “only” pre-season.

Set that tone Shanny. You have the chops, the intellect, the balls and the charisma to make the right calls this season- even when it gets tough, and you have a HUGE fan base of support for settling these assholes down...More after the break

LW's Burning Questions - Western Conference

Arriving unexpectedly within a week of the Eastern Conference preview - timing Matt Cooke would call "a damn hurry" - presenting...er, the Western Conference:

Anaheim Ducks

Why is there all this talk about the anticipation over the long-awaited return of the veteran winger with the $4m cap hit to the Canadian city where he was so beloved, when the schedule says that the Ducks and Jason Blake don't even play in Toronto this year? 

Calgary Flames

Does the close proximity of the words "no movement clause" to the words "Curtis Glencross" elicit the same confusion in everyone else as it does with me? 

Chicago Blackhawks

Will universally popular new recruit Dan Carcillo finally prove that he is not dumber than he looks in the only possible way - by tattooing "Nah, I looks dummah" on his forehead? 

LW's Burning Questions - Eastern Conference

The month of September means it's Burning Questions time in the NHL (except for Vancouver fans, where questions about burning stuff get asked in June).  So, here is the Eastern Conference - with a guarantee that somewhere less than 100% of last year's material has been re-used.

(Publishing note: As is customary, due to time-zone differences, the Western Conference equivalent will likely not follow for another 2-3 months.)

Atlanta Thrashers

How is the season ticket drive going?

Boston Bruins

Is Brad Marchand hampering his chances of being signed before training camp by his insistence on repeatedly punching Peter Chiarelli in the face during contract negotiations?

Buffalo Sabres

Will Terry Pegula be forced to hire more personal security staff to deal with the daily onslaught of individuals wanting to shake his hand and express their overwhelming joy about his ownership of the team, or will Ville Leino and Christian Ehrhoff eventually leave him alone?

Carolina Hurricanes

Will the notoriously potty-mouthed Paul Maurice be able to find a more acceptable way of shouting Justin Faulk's name on the bench if he makes the team?

 "FAULK, OFF!"

The Grind and the Buck stop here: Kris Draper will announce his retirement tomorrow.

Kris Draper will announce his retirement tomorrow, marking the formal end of the Grind Line Era. Sure, you might say that when Macs and Malts quietly stepped off the ice for the last time, the Grind Line was done, but you’d be wrong. As long as Kris Draper was on the ice to remind us what real speed is, the Grind Line lived on.

I was hoping he’d be back for one more year, but so far, the hockey gods are not granting my wishes in 2011. I mean who else can keep up with D-Helm? Nobody, that’s who.  

Most will remember Kris Draper as the grinder with the tremendous heart, who was maimed  by that filthy pig cochon deucebag Claude le-pew who viciously blindsided Draper in a devastating boarding back in 1996, a violently disgusting criminal act against Kris Draper that left him hospitalized for months with multiple broken facial bones and required reconstruction of his jaw,  an incident that forever formed our most intense and hated rivalry and around which the Wings organization and her fans rallied as the Wings utterly humiliated Patrick Wah and his Avalanche teammates soon after.

You may even know that the Wings picked Drapes up for the cost of a song. $1 dollar man. The best $1 ever spent by a sports organization EVER. Kris Draper, like his bretheren, Maltby, Osgood and McCarty gave his heart and soul to the Wings organization, integral in everyway to its on ice success.  But there are some things you might not know about Kris.

In the 1990’s, Draper and quite a few other Red Wings would head to the training room after each game and hop on a bike to do cardio or other workouts. A practice pretty much unheard of in the NHL at this time. I mean Messier’s preferred after game routine involved single dollar bills and strippers for christsakes. Draper was one of the first Red Wings (and players in the NHL) to embrace trainer John Wharton’s workout philosophies, and incorporate post game workouts, plyometrics, cross training and other techniques, helping turn the world of NHL from one where the boys played a game, threw a few punches and then headed out for beers at the Post (or worse, if you were Mark Messier), to a world where each player could better his game and better his team by more fully functioning as a world class athlete. Chronic knee and back injuries, such as those suffered by Stevie Y. and Mario L. are virtually a past remembrance due to the changes in training techniques first successfully employed in the 1990s, and Draper was a pioneer.

In the way Jimmy Howard credits Chris Osgood for mentoring him, Guys like Darren Helm and Jiri Hudler can and have given credit to Kris Draper for his role in helping them grow their game.

It was Kris Draper who first gave Darren McCarty his second, third and fourth chances to launch his come back, including his heartwarming rise back onto the Red Wing Roster in 2008-2009.  In fact, this is a story that bears repeating – please click here to read about the incredible strength of friendship, loyalty and generosity between two life long friends and teammates: Mac and Drapes.  

I will remember Kris Draper as the incredibly hardworking, tough as nails speedster who could explode across the ice faster than any other player, even players half his age. I will always remember and be grateful for the days of “Grind and Kocurs”, and I will fondly remember the last couple years of watching him play with Darren Helm, and the speed and accuracy with which they could pick off any defense and leave their opponents standing between the blues as if the whistle had been blown. Thank you Kris Draper for all you have given the Red Wing Organization and us fans. We are forever in your debt and just like Ozzie, Malts, Macs, and even Joey- Wings Fans adore you.

A Letter of Gratitude to the Great and Powerful Wizard: Chris Osgood

Dear Ozzie:

Just because we all knew this day would come as we watched Malts hang 'em up and worried while you fought off groin injury after groin injury, doesn’t make the announcement of your retirement any easier for true Detroit Red Wing Fans.

When I heard the news, the first thing I thought of was one of your first Stanley Cup speeches, where you simply and humbly thanked all of us, the 1,000,000 fans crammed into Hart Plaza, the fans across the state, country, all of Metro Detroit.

Thanked us. 

As if we had given you even a modicum of what you gave us or the Red Wing Organization. Its absurd really, when we have so much to thank you for, so much we need to tell the greatest goaltender to wear the Winged Wheel and a mask, one of the greatest goaltenders to stop a puck (that’s you, FYI). yea I said it. See, I can concede that Terry Sawchuk was also the greatest goaltender to wear the Winged Wheel- the greatest goaltender to wear the Winged Wheel without a mask. But this isn't about TS, let it go.

Oz, Detroit Red Wings fans everywhere owe you endless and overwhelming thanks for your 14+ years of unwavering loyalty, amazing talent, monstrous heart, never ending hard work, Stanley Cup gifts, clutch wins, reinventing your game, your wicked sense of humor, endless generosity, boundless grace, love and respect for the Detroit Red Wings organization and for us, the people of Metro Detroit, the Wings fans.

We will never forget or stop adoring the “rook” who wanted so badly to help the Detroit Red Wings and her fans bring a Cup back to Detroit after 35+ years, that he took his youthful mistake painfully to heart ; or the calm, steely yet humble record holding veteran who flawlessly executed in Red Wing Goal when so many others labeled “great” could not; or for bringing the Red Wing family its 9^th, 10^th and 11th Stanley Cups; or the sassy, generous, wizened mentor and (now) goaltending coach the Detroit Red Wing Organization knows it has been impossibly lucky to have within the fold, because Chris Osgood gives the Wings, and her fans everything.

The class and poise you have exhibited just by virtue of being the most absurdly and erroneously maligned goaltender in all of hockey makes you a bit of a saint, but having survived, achieved greatness and excellence for 14+ years as a Detroit Red Wing Goaltender makes you a legend and a superstar.

And all that time, you have humbly, continually and heart-fully expressed your overwhelming thanks to and appreciation for Red Wing Fans. Laughable, because the only people who should be bestowing thanks are Red Wing fans. We owe you a lifetime of gratitude and praise. 

And so does all of hockey. For the record, there are gads of stellar stats and achievements tucked under your fight strap.  Here is a list of some of your NHL goaltending achievements.

3 Stanley Cups (Only 6 goaltenders in history have more: Sawchuk, Plante, Dryden, Smith, Worsley and “Wah”).

401 Wins ranking you the 10^th goalie to ever win that many games in the history of the league.

4^th Best Win Percentage of all-time with a career WP of 53.9%, (Only Brodeur, Dryden, “Wah” and Plante have a better W%).

7^th Best GAA of all-time with a career GAA 2.49 (amongst goalies playing more than 500 games, since statistic was first tracked)

4^th Most playoff shutouts of all time with 15 (Only Brody, Cujo and “Wah” have more).

8^th Winning-est playoff goaltender of all time with 74 playoff victories.

16^st Best SV% of all-time at .905 (Amongst goalies playing more than 500 games, since statistic was tracked).

24th Most Shutouts of all-time with 50.

3 time All-Star.

2 time Jennings Winner.

One of only 8 NHL Goalies to score a goal, 1 of only 5 NHL Goalies to put the puck in the opposing team’s net.

Most Wins of Any Detroit Red Wing Goaltender (401). Only the Great Terry Sawchuk has more wins, played more games or has more shutouts wearing a winged wheel.

32 single season victories in 2000-2001 still ties the NYI franchise record.

15 years playing in net for a franchise that is historically known to be brutal on goaltenders (well, we did run Cujo out…).

Only the 4^th Detroit Red Wing of the Wiley Kenotye Holland GM Era to be given the post UFA deadline opportunity to come back if he wanted. (Stevie Y, Sergei, Shanny being the others.)

Osgood? No. OsGREAT.

The heart of a lion made you impossible to beat in the net when it counted most. A strong left hook meant Patrick Roy would twice be called out as the sissy we knew him to be. The character, class and grace of a champion and the insight of an elder statesman make you one of the all time greats to ever wear a Winged Wheel. Heartbreakingly, a long battle with a recurring groin injury ultimately ends one of the most storied, least appreciated goaltending careers in all of hockey.

No, I take that back. You are appreciated. Your talent, contributions and generosity have been greater than almost any. You embody what it means to be a Detroit Red Wing as surly as Stevie Y., Nic Lids, Pavel, Igor, Hank, B-Raf, Malts, and Draper always will: Greatness, Excellence, Loyalty, Heart, Selflessness, Strength of Character, Leadership, Modesty and Drive.

So thank you, Chris Osgood for all you have given Detroit Red Wing Fans everywhere. We adore and appreciate you more than you can possibly know.

Sincerely,

Juice

Nobody Beats the Wiz

The Commodore 64 Campaign is ON like Donkey Kong! A Donkey Kong Charity Drive

Well Kids, if you build it, they WILL come! The day Mike Commodore signed with the Detroit Red Wings, George Malik (one of my favorite blog/sports writers) started a Facebook-Twitter campaign suggesting Commie wear the number 64 as a Wing. I loved the idea, twitted it and then forgot. Luckily the rest of the Hockey/Wing/IT/Geek/Gen X/Slacker world did not:

Today Puck Daddy announced they are raising money for charity in an attempt to get Mike Commodore to agree to wear No. 64. And Mike Commodore has been in touch with Puck Daddy on the matter, and is responding positively, as his twitter account shows!

SWOON!!!!



On behalf of the Hockey Recon Team, and and my website, la-juice.com We have collectively pledged our $64 toward the cause. The cause beign twofold:

1. Get Commie to wear No. 64 as a Wing.
2. Money will go to the charity of Mike's choice.

If you want to contribute- and why wouldn't you? email puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com and let Wysh know!

Sharks toss Loyalty, Hunger, History and Heatley out like Chum

It’s a common and non-controversial belief of mine, one which can be proven factually over in at least a dozen different ways- that the San Jose Sharks, in their dogged pursuit of a Stanley Cup, have modeled their system after the Detroit Red Wings. From coaching to Blueline, I have spent the past 7-8 years thinking of the Sharks as “Mini-wings” – and if they had ever gotten farther through the playoffs than past the Wings in these last two years, I would have probably internally uttered the phrase “And the Student  becomes the master.”

Of course we all know that on paper, even with a President’s Cup in glove, the Sharks cannot have so far been unable to seal the deal. I suspect that it has something to do with not having 100% complete full buy in to the system. If not lack of buy in, it’s a lack of heart, and frankly, of all the other teams I watch, I scrutinize the Sharks, and I can tell you that from my seats (which- when they are in HP Pavilion-are in the rafters) I don’t see a lack of heart on the team.  (Take that JR)

In other words the puzzle pieces are there. Frankly, I suspect that what they need now is the pain, the suffering that comes from getting so close that you spend the next 365+ days doing nothing but pursuing the Stanley Cup. Because that is precisely how the Wings of the 1990s did it. And I have thought of these San Jose Sharks as heading down the same path as my beloved Red(Army)Wings.

But what I see now is a lack of patience, and a pursuit of the short term, perhaps borne of a lack of history and therefore perspective. It began last year when they let Nabby go. Sure they got lucky with Niemi, but that was a HUGE gamble that luckily paid off.

I know you are thinking, Niemi has a Cup, Nabby doesn’t, how could it possibly be a bad trade?  And to that I say, in my opinion, Niemi was an unknown whose true talent would not be experienced until he stopped goaltending for a defensive juggernaut (the 2010 Blackhawks) who made his job relatively easy.

In retrospect, I think the Sharks got lucky because Niemi does indeed seem to have the talent. But I think they gave up something crucial in letting Nabby go: they lost the hunger, loyalty and the history. They tossed away one of their core, one who has suffered and fought and tasted bitter loss, and who still wanted it. They lost a historied statesman who had shown time and time again that he had massive talent and could win clutch games. They tossed away things that cannot come with a new goaltender, things that have to be earned:

Loyalty, Hunger, History.

To me it was the first crack- or break, if you will- from a crucial part of the formula, the one that brings so much success to the Detroit Red Wing Organization. In the late 1990s through several early exits and heart breaking conference and Stanley Cup Final losses, the Wings stayed with their core. Some tinkering or retiring players were moved or let go, but the core stayed solid. Only when the chance to bring a truly phenomenal talent in arose did the Wings depart from the script.

Because they believed in themselves, they believed in each other, they believed in their team, they believed in the Red Wing Organization, the system. Top to bottom, full 100% buy in. And on top of that they were patient. And then they won, and then they kept on winning. Since 1996, almost every 4 years, if not more, a Detroit Red Wing Team wins a Stanley Cup. 20 years of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs, more than any team in any professional sport. The system works, and if you don’t buy in you don’t stay.

(I’d like to point out the Sharks have a impressive playoff streak too- second best in the league, as a matter of fact.)

By tossing Nabby, the Sharks showed an impatience, and perhaps fear that they don’t know how to put together a Stanley Cup winning organization.  They show that they don’t either have top to bottom buy in, or that they don’t believe: in themselves, their team mates, their organization.

The Heatley trade reflects this same crack. As does letting Setogucci go. They brought Danny in for grit and hands. He came and played with grit, talent and heart. He bought whole heartedly into the system, or so it seemed. He had chemistry with his tram mates and linesmen, he was a power play dynamo. The guy played his heart out through broken hands, high ankle sprains, groin injuries (all in the playoffs). He brought monstrous points to a team that already had monstrous points. He fit into the system. Honestly, I could be talking about any number of great Detroit Red Wings here. Players who Mr. Holland and Illitch would never let go. Heatley fit so well, I thought of him as core: with Marleau, Thornton, Guci, Clowe, Nabby.

Heatley had 39 goals in a year he played with a “serious groin injury” for cripes sake. This is not a guy you trade away for Marty Havlat.

Heatley and Guci for Burns and Havlat? Sorry this looks insanely “short term” to me. Even if they are as talented as Heater and Gooc, it looks like you are trading away key, crucial, intangibles, things that these new guys cannot bring you: your history, your Hunger, your loyalty, chemistry, buy in.

Sure its unknown, maybe Havlat and Burns have the hunger. Then again, they played for the Wild and that was also a team on paper that should have gone farther than it did in the last 3 years.  Something tells me the Sharks have probably destroyed any chance they had to move on further into the playoffs next year. Sure I could eat these words come Spring ‘12, I just don’t think I will. I don’t think short term gambles on the unknown will pay off. I think the Sharks truly don’t understand what a talented team they had, and they don’t understand the concept of long term payoff. These trades make me sad and disappointed for the Sharks Organization.

Its funny, you would think that this would be fine by me: Sharks taking more after Chicago and performing a mini-implosion than emulating my Red Wing Organization. But here is the thing. Since 2008, the Sharks are the only team that I ever though was truly as talented, deep and worthy- top to bottom- as my Wings. I both dreaded and prayed for a playoff series with the Sharks. I considered the last two Wings-Shark playoff series to be the true Stanley Cup Finals, and I sincerely believed both the Sharks and the Wings could have defeated the ultimate SCF teams if matched up. And I was broken hearted when my Wings lost in both of those series.

Now as it stands, knowing the injury counts, things like Brian Rafalski giving us clutch game winners, all while skating without a ACL for –oh a year- and that my Red Wing Organization would never have considered trading him and in fact are feeling a little lost without him- I know with certainty that the Red Wings continue to be the Winning Organization I will always be in awe and proud of. I am proud to be a Detroit Red Wing Fan. Above all else the RWO is loyal and cohesive. And it pays off year after year after year.

But my heart breaks for the Sharks. Even if I am wrong in thinking that they are making colossal fundamental errors in the management of their organization, and these changes end up taking them further in the Playoffs, I will still believe they traded in long term success for short term gain.

Free Agent Frenzy and Happy canada day!

Wings fans typically watch Free Agency Day with a bucket of popcorn and some 3-D glasses. owever this year for the first time in recent history, we have holes to fill- and the shoes are enormous:  Rafalski's retirement and Chris Osgood's status makes us vulnerable.  And given the mediocrity of this year's UFA pool, well this Wings fan is a nervous as a fox in a hen house...

As the minutes tick down to RFA frenzy hour, and some of the choice UFA D-men get signed for STUPID contracts that not only set an unreasonable precedent for this years free agent contracts, but are so overblown that they will affect next's years Free Agency Class- I am talking to you Buffalo and Columbus- Here are the day's biggest questions

1. If Jagr won't go to the Pens (and he won't, they pulled the offer a minute ago), then whose gonna pay more than 1.5MM for the guy? Wings won't (yes I remember of our Hossa contract shenanigans, but we had no holes that year) Rangers probably cannot. That leaves Philly- with plenty of cap room....

2. Could Doughty be lured away from LA?

3. Will Brad Richards go to LA?

4. What is Colorado going to do about the empty net?

5. What kind of Offer sheets will Stamkos see?

What are your biggest questions for Free Agent Frenzy day?

I tell you, so far the smartest players in the hunt this week and day are the Pens, 'Nucks and Wings, with the Pens pulled Jagr offer and 2MM for Tyler Kennedy giving them the Edge, while the Nucks over the Wings on smart reasonable contracts, but only by an Ericsson. Vancouver has signed only players taking under 2MM/year so far.

Who are the big winners and losers of the day?

NHL Connect goes offline forever June 30th.

Every blogger here at recon met and developed their chops at the nhl fans site "NHL Connect". We've become fast loyal great friends over the past three years. We are from all walks of life. No matter why any of of left connect, its legacy lives through the great writing, great fandom, great friendships and ice cream.

The NHL has announced that as of June 30th, NHL Connect will be no longer. I haven't been back to connect in years, and I was left unsure of how this makes me feel. It got me wondering: How does it make you feel, and what will you remember most?

Me? I will remember those dog days of summer when the mint chocolate chip and  Guinness flowed and we all were so full of joie de vivre and sugar that we even believed Hank Zetterberg would chat with all of us no-named slobs.

Some thoughts on fans

It’s down to two now. The two best teams left vie for the Stanley Cup. It was a long road to get here, and lots of pain and suffering endured just for this reason. All the other series are a memory. It’s all about Vancouver and Boston for most hockey fans and that’s the way it should be.
But I can’t stop thinking about the Western Semi Finals between the San Jose Sharks and The Detroit Red Wings. Man did I love that series. And I learned some stuff too. Weird stuff.

The Detroit/San Jose series was the best hockey I’ve seen all season from both clubs. Real edge of my seat drama for every game. I hated it when San Jose won Game 7 with a seamlessly perfect effort, because I didn’t want that amazing hockey to end. But I have a short attention span, and I tend to drink a lot during the games, so I often find myself looking at stuff other than the on ice action. For instance, it became clear to me during this series that while I am and will always be a diehard Red Wings fan and Detroit Defender, San Jose has really attractive fans. Really attractive. For instance, the smoking hot blonde who sat behind Todd McLellan for every one of the Sharks home games made sure her hair was perfectly artfully tousled, had flawless makeup, and wore her eye poppingly deep vee Sharks jersey like a second skin. Maybe even a first skin, or more properly, skin. It was that snug. When it comes to attractive women in revealingly ripped jerseys I come down strongly pro snug. The women sitting next to her were similarly geared up. They had obviously put some concerted effort into this. I noticed the cameraman seemed to stay on them even after Todd had walked out of the shot. I make no assumptions on their hockey knowledge. They seemed to be following the game with a rapt attention that indicated familiarity and knowledge.

The rest of the Sharks fans that I could see were styling it as well. Lots of dapper men in V neck sweaters with just a touch of grey at the temple even though they looked too young for grey temples. Men who looked like they doubled as the guy on the ‘Just for Men box’. They even had that weird ability you only see in commercials where they cock their heads slightly towards their companion and point at something off camera and smile, and immediately make you wish you could see what it was they were pointing at because it had to be incredibly interesting. I'm certain they were wearing expensive cologne.

The crowd at the Joe, on the other hand, were mostly guys who look like me. Our jerseys are snug too but they’re all size XL so this is not a good thing. We have grey at our temples too, as well as on the rest of our head, beard and legs. San Jose fans won the Men’s event hands down.

It was closer for the Women’s event. There were lots of hot women at the Joe, but they didn’t seem to put any real thought into how to artfully shrink, cut and tear their jerseys to achieve maximum classy sluttiness. Of course it was still spring in Detroit and after enduring a Michigan winter, even hot women want to be warm in Michigan in spring. I’ve never been to San Jose but it looked balmy to me. That could have been the difference. I'd say that one was a tie.

The intensity of the two crowds was equal, but dissimilar. In Detroit, you didn’t have to be a master lip reader to understand what the fans wanted to do to Clowe. The old two word phrase that sounds a lot like ‘puck view’ that the sports world has come to know so well was repeated over and over. I believe it even got on the air a couple times. In San Jose, the fans were equally engaged and vocal, but they seemed a bit more, let’s say restrained in their epithets. You sensed a lot of ‘I say Kronwall, that’s just not cricket!’ or even 'Dash it all, that Datsyuk is a slippery fellow!' rather than the Detroit refrain of ‘Go F*** yourself Thornton! Yeah, you heard me! Go F*** yourself! And your dog! Didja hear me Thornton? Go F**** your dog after you F*** yourself!’ I could go through all the phrases used for the first 3 lines but you get the point. Now I’ve been to games at the Joe, and can honestly say Detroit fans are not a foul mouthed bunch. Certainly not as bad as many other NHL fans (are you listening Nashville?). I believe it was the intensity of the series that made them drop a filter or two from the brain to mouth circuit and go to the adult material. But San Jose folks seemed to be a strongly worded PG crowd even in their enthusiasm. I did notice something that I welcomed. Detroit fans never stopped screaming. It was as loud when they were down 3-1 as when they scored to go ahead. One long sustained raucous cheer from buzzer to buzzer. You can’t feel sad when that is going on. It’s like a wave of emotion buoying you. San Jose had lots of fan noise as well, but it came in peaks and valleys.

Even the food seemed different. Dogs and beers in the Joe. Occasional nachos, with the odd pizza box thrown in. Good solid hockey fare. There were several guys with a beer in each hand and a nacho tray balanced on their knee. A classic case of someone bringing them a beer before they had finished the one they had. This is a dangerous situation and only the most skilled fans are capable of surviving it unstained. There is a ballet like procedure that must be employed to successfully resolve this sports crisis. It’s a skill developed over a lifetime of practice. If you're right handed, it goes like this. 1. Thank the bearer of the new, cold beer and take it in your left hand. 2. Pound the old, warm beer in your right hand and immediately put the cup down on the floor. 3. Use your now free right hand to eat a nacho with 2 jalapeños to take your mind off the throat spasms from pounding warm beer. 4. Sip the new, cold beer in your left hand to take your mind off the jalapeño burn. 5. Transfer the new cold beer to your right hand. I actually saw one grizzled veteran of many a rink side beer quandary perform this ancient and risky move when the second period was about to start. I raised my glass in silent tribute.

But HP Pavillion seemed to have a whole different food system. I saw a woman eating what for all the world appeared to be a salad. At a hockey game. I couldn’t determine if it was a house, Caesar, or even possibly Arugula. It could have been a wedge for that matter. My point is that someone actually decided it would be a good idea to eat a salad at a hockey game. For all I know this could just be the tip of the food iceberg in San Jose. There could be caviar vendors with a warming pouch full of toast points. Asparagus hawkers with molten vats of Hollandaise sauce bubbling at their sides. Sweaty carnie style lugs with trays of Crème Brule on their heads weaving up and down the rows. Jittery espresso jockeys racing around in caffeine frenzies with multi handled urns strapped to their backs, batting people out of their way with enormous biscotti clubs. Honestly it boggled my mind.

All in all these two cities are about as different as two cities can be. One a former glittering gem now fallen on hard times, the other a new and shiny jewel with a bright future. One an Original Six powerhouse with a rafter full of legends, the other a young team on the rise, hungry for a sip from the Cup. One in the flyover Middle, one on the dazzling Coast. Blue collar versus New collar. It seemed on most nights that hockey was all they had in common.

But Hockey is enough. In the end, the clothes, the trash talk, the food, none of that mattered. Neither team made it out of the West, but even that didn’t matter. All That mattered was that two groups of passionate fans converged on their favorite barn to will their teams to win, and it was all about the hockey. Masterful coaching, stars playing like stars. Rookies playing like vets. Goalies making us gasp with their gymnastic brilliance. Role players raising their game to dazzle with skill they didn’t know they had. Everyone giving more than they thought they had to give in order to keep playing for the prize of a lifetime. That moment when time stops. That moment when you are handed the heavy, awkward, glittering embodiment of everything you have worked for your whole life. That’s why they play. And that’s why we watch.

Stanley Cup Final 2011: A Viewer's Guide

So your team has (yet again) not made it as far as the Stanley Cup Final? So jaded by the long grind of playoff hockey that you can't summon the energy to write an intro different to the one you used last year?

If you have nothing better to do, why not use my viewer's guide? Score along at home during the series and if you break 30 points, a multi-million dollar prize will head your way. At least that's what Chris Drury and Shawn Horcoff told me...

(I accept no responsibility for the consequences if you instead turn this into a drinking game. Watching a few playoff games is no excuse for drunken debauchery. At least that's what the Montreal Police Department told me...)

Throwing games in the NHL

[If the title led you to believe this would be an analysis of the team-building strategy of the Pittsburgh Penguins, I apologise.  It's not.]

The aftermath of the post-game torrent of giveaway paddles/clappers/rally drums launched by Tampa Bay fans onto the playing surface - and ever so accidentally in the general vicinity of one or two Boston Bruins players - last night has brought with it the usual furious, yet measured and consistent, response from NHL HQ today.

The Lightning organisation and the retaliating Nathan Horton have both been left reeling from the respective heavy fine and suspension laid down by the league.

Far from being rare, of course there have been many instances of unusual objects being discarded onto the ice at hockey arenas over the years.  Here is just a small selection:

No Words. Detroit Red Wings 3, San Jose Sharks 1- Game 6 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Tonight’s Wings win is not the sort of game a girl can let go by without blogging. And yet I find myself almost speechless. Dazed, shocked and awed. Stunned. 

From the first face-off until the final buzzer sounded, the Detroit Red Wings played with an intensity I haven’t seen in years. Game 7 of the 2008 SCF might have come close, but that had more grit and desperation.  And even bearing that game in mind, the singularity with which these Wings pushed the San Jose Sharks onto their heels tonight and kept an incredibly driven talented team on said heels for almost 60 minutes straight feels stronger, surer, more powerful than any playoff game I have seen in many, many years.

Typically, the Red Wings don’t charge out of the gate. Everything is done with maddening patience and calm. Sure, I am used to my team coming out strong enough and meeting their opponent’s intensity, but often there are large stretches when the Wings will sit on a lead, or fall into a holding pattern only to then rise up and, elevate their game over said opponent at just the right time. I am accustomed to seeing the Wings start rather slowly, only to surprise an opponent whose made the mistake of underestimating them, and then frustratingly taking time to rest on their laurels, only to have to scramble in the end to overcome gains made by the other team.

And through all of the years of  methodical, patient (often maddening) play, signature Red Wing style,  I never doubt the ability of the Wings to get it done when they want to.

All that ever stands in the way of a Red Wing victory is their own will to win. 

And occasionally injuries, let us never forget the Patrick Sharp spearing of Nic Lids' family jewels. But even injuries rarely stop the Wings when they want to win.

I won't lie, I really thought as Round 2 began, that the Sharks had an edge when it came to desire, hunger, will to win. And the Wings did not dominated much early in this series. Despite the brilliant full team effort tonight, we all know that Jimmy Howard has kept us in this series, almost singlehandedly.

And tonight his performance was on par with those series saving plays of the last 4 games. Jimmy Howard is proving himself a goaltender on track to be compared to the greats. I have rarely seen a Red Wing goaltender with the unwavering confidence and assured consistency that Jimmy Howard has exhibited in these Playoffs, and this season.Oh sure I am used to great, brilliant, clutch Red Wing goaltending (Nobody beats the Wiz), but the calm consistency here is near flawless.

Starting in the third period of Game 5 and rolling through every last minute of Game 6, I saw a Red Wings team like no other. Wave after wave, they worked the Sharks back, pushing them further and further out to sea. Relentless, driven, with an intensity unlike anything I can recall seeing.

There is no way San Jose knew what hit them. No one could have expected this. If it was intentional and strategic, Bravo, my brilliant RWO, bravo.

But something tells me that what really happened was that my Red Wings snapped to attention in Game 5 and began to feel and exhibit that innate, driven Will to Win that brings them to the playoffs 20 years straight and takes them all the way to the SCF more times than any team in the last 25.

Game 7 will not be easy and the Sharks will be ready for the sort of smothering onslaught we saw tonight. But if my Red Wings hold onto that momentum and will to win, nothing can stop them.

NHL Awards - meet the contenders

[Re-posted from fine affiliate blog...]

Somewhat lost in the excitement of the playoffs over the last couple of weeks have been the announcements about the nominees for the various NHL awards (those that are voted on).

Once again, these are to be handed out in a faintly embarrassing lavish ceremony in Las Vegas in June attended by whoever comes up first on Bettman's "Best Rock of the 80s" iPod playlist some of the entertainment industry's biggest names and Eric Weinrich and Darcy Wakaluk many legends of the game.

Here is a quick rundown of the main awards and those in the running:

NHL injury analysis - more stuff

Presenting...

2010/11 end of season wrap

3-year aggregate analysis (2008/09 - 2010/11)

Which NHL Fans Deserve a Stanley Cup the Most?

As I watch some truly unexpected games 6 and 7 go down this week, I spend a great deal of that time doing/thinking about these things:

1. Scouting potential Wings opponents watching for injuries and weaknesses, trying to choose who I'd rather play; and

2. Congratulating/consoling my various hockey blogger friends on their teams victories and losses.

A few tears may even have fallen in Brentwood as my Wings swept the 'Yotes in what is sure to be their last home stand, and I felt quite a bit of sadness as the Sabres fell last night after a heroic and unexpected first round rally. It got me thinking: Which fans deserve a Cup the most?

or to be more specific:  

Of the Teams Who Have Never Won a Stanley Cup, Whose Fans deserve One the Most? 

Here are Juice's Contenders:

1. San Jose Shark Fans. I have never seen sports fans like this.  My personal experience sitting @HP watching a game with these people, in a year when most Shark Fans felt their team had the best shot was unforgettable. They are the classiest, most well informed fans. They appreciate and respect your team, but boy do they love their team. I don't know a collective group who loves their team more. I have never once heard from my friends who are shark fans even the remotest inkling that they would give up on them- EVEN in light of the last few years. Especially since 2008, (when SJ seemed so brilliant and poised, even after losing to Dallas and yet many in the hockey world felt it was inevitable that San Jose would soon get its chance at the Cup after that playoff run) these fans have been mindboggling loyal and true blue teal to their Sharkies.  Through 4 years heartbreaking years, having to deal with the damn Dirty Ducks in one year and utterly flopping the next, with the likelihood of SJ reaching a Final seems less promising than in years past, the fans never give up, or turn ugly. 
2. Buffalo Sabre Fans. I never realized faulking forgot about it, it but the Sabres have NEVER won a CUP.  Its tough enough that they had the Dominator and still lost, but now they have Hobie... Although I have never gone to see a Sabres game, I know quite a few sabres fans and they are as loyal as they come. These people will sit outside over night in the snow and sub-zero temps for tickets to a playoff game and dammit, that counts for something! 
3. St. Louis Blues. I don't know if its just all the residual guilt over my Wings crushing this franchise throughout the 1990s, but it makes me sad that this team hasn't won a cup. And I loved it in 2009 when the rumors of relocation started to swirl, the Blues fan base took up arms and came out with a near record on consecutive sellouts. All for a team that has only made the playoffs once since the lockout.
4. Minnesota Wild: While we are on the subject of teams that don't make the playoffs and the fans that love them: Wild fans get my utmost respect.  Did you know that up until last year the Wild held the record for most consecutive sellouts @381?  That is more than the Wings old streak and more than Vancouver.  Speaking of which...
5. Vancouver is it just me or do Vancouver fans seem to be operating under a dangerous sense of entitlement this year? As if winning the President's Trophy means anything (just ask Shark fans, they knows. And so do Wings fans, btw.)  I want to want this for the 'Nucks fans, but I am finding them to be a bit annoying. Anyone know why? Anyone agree with me?

Teams/Fans on the Cusp of probably maybe sort of deserving a Cup

Washington Caps.

Winnipeg Jets. Oh yea. I went there. I'm not afraid.

Teams who have never won a Stanley Cup, whose fans have not proven themselves

Los Angeles Kings. That is not to say I haven't met some great, loyal, long suffering Kings fans- its just there aren't enough of you. And your bandwagonner brethren suck.

Phoenix Coyotes- TL:TL

That is my story and I am sticking to it. go 'head, tell me why I am wrong.

Monthly NHL injury analysis - another (two) month(s)

Since nobody else in the hockey world appears to be talking about injuries right now (shame on you, Greyhound buses...), try the following for your fix of hurt:

Springing Malik: The Pain Game 2010/11 - Part Five

Sanctioned Brutality in the NHL must end: Chara-Pacioretty / LeMieux-Draper

ENOUGH! enough. enough enough. "ENOUGH" to mothra faulking infinity, enough.

I started this blog today to compare the Chara-Pacioretty boarding to the Claude LeMieux brutalization of Kris Draper in 1996, mainly because there are such striking similarities with the location of the hit and horrific outcomes.

But I am far too pissed about the heart of the matter: unnecessary sanctioned violence in professional hockey, to address so narrow an issue.

You can debate all you want whether Chara's (likely) career ending hit on Pacioretty was unintentionally brutal, because it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if it didn't look like a particularly bad hit. There is no need to continue to sanction and permit hits in this sport, especially because the risk of injuring or maiming a player far outweighs any misanthropic benefit.

But while we are on the subject, Do you really think Chara didn't know his "innocent check" wasn't a boarding? You think he couldn't see where -on the ice- they were as he drove his shoulder in? If so, you're a bleeding idiot. Sorry. Wait. No I am not.

Enough!

When will this league realize that the strength, grace and heart of this sport has nothing to do with hits or fighting? How many careers have to end by "innocent", "acceptable" hits from thugs?

What kind of professional sports league encourages, enjoys and sanctions willful, uncontrolled violence amongst and between its players in the course of a game?

The National Hockey League. The NHL, that is who. All the more horrific and astonishing because this sport does not need that shit to be incredible, exciting, explosive. Hockey, when played at its most skilled level is the most incredible sport on the planet. And yet year after year, the NHL pays only lip service to the cries of outrage as the preventable concussions and injuries pile up over the course of each season.

And what about the fans who continue to "fight for the right to fight"? How many "unintended" concussions to brilliant, talented players will you all continue to accept, just because you like seeing a fight or a hard check? And what kind of person are you that you want to see these things? What kind of dim Neanderthal monsters are you to seek out purposeful violence amongst players? What kind of a cretin enjoys such things, knowing each one- whether brutally crushing a guy's jaw against the boards or "unintentionally" snapping a guy's vertebra against glass edge- is more likely than not to end a career?

Why is it good gamesmanship to drive a guy into the boards,or poke your stick between his skates just because you are too damn slow to keep up?

This sport does not need the violence. These players do not deserve it. As long as it goes on in the NHL, hockey will never grow to be one of the top four professional sports in the world. Baseball, Football, Basketball, NASCAR, WWF, Soccer and Poker will continue to outrank the NHL in terms of popularity and fan base.

How, Dear Messieurs Campbell and Bettman, can we make you hear us? Why do you care more about a monstrous, demented fan base that seeks violence, than the health and safety of your players?

It needs to end now. Your priorities are woefully scrambled.

Built to (be) last

Juice 8:15: "And He dost proclaimeth that the men and women of Recon shallt guesseth most wildly who shallt finish in position named eighth and position named last both in conference most-westerly and that most-oriental."

[Editor's note: Due to circumstances beyond the control of our 1,000-strong monkey typist pool, submissions have taken a week or two to hit the press, so a comment or ten might seem slightly out-of-date now.]

Valentine's Day tidbit for Caps fans

From my "NHL Fact-A-Day" calendar:

Chris Valentine, an Ontario native, played three seasons for the Washington Capitals from 1981-82 to 1983-84, scoring 43 goals. He then played 12 years in Europe.

I hope this little fact warms your hearts.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Playoff Projections in the WC: Wild West Edition

Just how tough is it going to be to make the playoffs in the West this year, especially if you are on the cusp? If this month is any indication, the race for 8^th is tighter than Bryzgalov’s five hole.

LA Kings have at least a point in the last 8 games. In other words, no regulations losses, and yet the Kings have spent most of February being bumped around from 8^th to 10^th, fighting for their 63 points.

Until last night, Calgary (9^th, 64 pts) had won 9 straight games- 18 points straight (NB: NHL on the Fly is reporting it as 11 straight wins, but nhl.com says otherwise. If anyone actually knows, please drop a comment). 

8 straight games of points, 9-11 straight wins, and yet who emerged this morning in 8^th?

The Minnesota Wild.

Arguably as crucial as the two points from their win over the Blues, the Wild (8^th, 65 pts) benefited from Vancouver’s 2 points over the Flames. (Vancouver (1^st, 81 pts) didn’t need ‘em anyway.) A practical gain of 4 points in one night.

H-E-D-H-S, as it stands, 4 points in any given night has the potential to utterly disrupt the western conference standings and the playoff picture.

Just 3 points separate Chicago (11^th, 62 pts) from Minnesota today, and only three points separate the Wild from Dallas (3rd, 68 pts).  Only Vancouver and Detroit seem relatively safe with respective 10 and 19 point cushions separating the top two from Chicago.Then again, a couple regulation losses by the Wings and a couple of regulation wins by the Wild on the same nights, with positive movement from Dallas or Nashvillle? Well you do the math, but I tell you it gets too close for comfort.

With only 6 points covering the spread, playoff seeds 3 through 8 are still up in the air in the West, and even the Wings are not out of firing range. 

Bottom Line? From now until April it will not be enough to just win in regulation for many teams.

It’s only Mid-February, and as it stands on every given night, no fewer than 10 teams have to fight not just for the win, but hope the right team loses.

Sure within a week or two some of these teams will stop believing they can make it, stop fighting- but at this point there is no telling who.  And in all honesty, I still expect Colorado (14^th 56 pts) or St. Louis (13^th 57pts.)  to flip a switch and return to early season glory, making a run at it. Making it that much harder for every other team fighting for its playoff life.

Never have I before given such credence to the cliché “every point counts”.

That said, I am not a huge advocate of winning your conference, and even less a fan of winning the President’s Cup. It stems from my firm conviction that the road to the Stanley Cup is a marathon not a mile. When I see teams like Vancouver and San Jose burn it out with 112 points in a year, I remember 1995.

That said, if you let yourself get to far behind, like Chicago, Calgary and even Anaheim- all who are nursing some injuries in key players, I can tell you that fighting for your playoff life at Valentine's Day will cost you after the 1^st round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

If February is any indication, this year’s race will put the “W” in Minnesota.

NHL on the Fly: Head Up His Arse Edition

Did you know that the NHL Network's NHL on the Fly does not have its own website? And did you know that the NHL Network doesn't have its own website? As the flagship program for the only sports network reporting on the NHL, it is utterly amazing to me that these two media outlets do not have their own websites. Upon realizing this, my first reaction was to categorize this fail as just another example of how archaic, poorly prioritized and woefully inept the League seems handle its media.

Adding this complaint observation to an already long list that includes the fact that neither its local contracts with all Fox Sports channels, nor Center Ice have "HD" broadcasting requirements, it becomes easy to believe the rumor that Doc Emrick is still broadcasting the play by play with a transistor radio plug in his ear.

And if that is the case, perhaps we've all been too hard on Pierre McGuire... You make the call.

 more after the break...

NHL All-Star Game - LW goes live-blog back-to-back

After last night's Versusastrophe, looks like I'm getting the CBC coverage of the game tonight...

Interviews with the laugh-a-minute Sedins precede the anthems.  Or they precede more commercials that precede the anthems.  No, they haven't switched teams etc etc...

Back from break to see the Montreal players not picked for the game with some kind of amateur dramatic tribute to the team captains and Caniac favourites, Rod Brind'Amour and Ron Francis.  Brind'Amour then takes the kids off the ice to bag skate them and lift weights for the rest of the evening.

NHL SuperSkills - LW's attempted live blog

Incoherent Red Bull-assisted thoughts to follow...

First disappointment of the night: I'm getting the Versus coverage rather than CBC. Doc Emrick providing the screech-by-screech commentary.  At least this means no Milbury (I hope)...

First record of the evening: Bob Harwood asks a question featuring fewer than 17 subclauses.  Meanwhile, Charissa Thompson clearly invades Nick Lidstrom's personal space during her harrowing interrogation.

ASG Weekend reading links!

Hey Reconners (don't worry that nickname can't possibly stick), I'll bet you are gonna jones for some non-ASG hockey related news this weekend, so here are a couple great links to keep you busy:

Biznasty and Doaner pick their fantasy ASG teams at TSN

Fantastic Blogger Super Dave (whom I constantly beg to write for us) confesses here

Hockey Recon's own Motley Su reminds us there are other leagues here

Maybe you like Waffles?

Annoyed by the ASG and want to get on with it already? start here

I'll add more as the weekend progresses, but for now enjoy this totally random flash from the past:

Why Nabokov will clear waivers, a team by team analysis.

In order of waiver priority, here are the reasons each of these teams won’t pick Nabokov from Holland’s pocket.

Obviously Nabby’s deal with Detroit isn’t likely to hurt most salary caps, even the 12 "OTC" (over-the-cap) teams (Rangers,Wings, Wild, Sharks, Flames, Devils, Canucks, Canadiens, Kings, Flyers, Leafs, Sens, Bruins), assuming their GMs were creative enough, or they had enough season ending injuries. Still, where applicable the cap is noted. All cap information gleaned from Hockey Buzz. Note:  Players on IR and two-way players and their respective cap hits are not factored.

New Jersey               Lou said they would not. What he should have said is “could not”. And you know why? K-O-V, A-L-C, ... M-O-U-S-E.  Devils are No. 1 on the Over the Cap Race, ringing in at +8MM.

Edmonton               The Bulin Wall is costing them 3.7MM/yr and they still can’t get out of the fivehole. Goaltending is not their biggest problem. 

NY Islanders            Although they have plenty of cap space, the Islanders have a rigorous pre-signing fitness exam and rumor has it they believe Nabby would undoubtedly fail the whip cream licking test.

Ottawa                    Still stinging over the Chee Choo and Emery Buyouts and having made that deal to pay Pascale Le Claire 3MM a year. Also, no cap space since they could not unload Spezza or Alfreddson.

Toronto                  Cap space at a negative, and with Giggy being their highest paid player, they are now counting on Kessel to do it all.

Calgary                   With the third highest Cap Hit in the league(<5MM) and Kipper, there is no way in hell this would go down, unless the management were colossally stupid. Oh wait. 

Buffalo                   They Have Cap room, but they also have Hobie.

Florida                   I have nothing clever to say about the Panthers, and I refuse to stoop to cliche. They can't all be winners folks.

Columbus                Too afraid to piss Holland off, plus Steve Mason keeps promising he’s not a fluke.

Los Angeles             Just spent all their Cap room to keep their GM’s mouth shut, and to install better goal cams in Johnny Quick’s net.

San Jose                  Pride. Yea, because they have loads of that these days in SJ. (I know. Even I think this is a cheap shot, but hells bells, we all were thinking it. Just like I am thinking it would be stupid of SJ not to pick him up. Seriously. No, I mean it.)

Carolina                   Perfectly happy with Cam Ward and their middle of the pack status.  Actually Carolina could be the sleeper in this equation.  I mean, its always been rumored in the Detroit Area that Karmanos and Ilitch are mortal enemies. It would be just like Karmanos to pick up a goalie just to screw Ol’ Mike. And they have cap room.

Atlanta                    I got nothing. But who really worries about Atlanta?

St. Louis                  Provided the St. Louis Management isn’t still balled up in a corner suffering PTSD from the Wellwood and Stavos fiascoes, this could happen- just out of spite.

Minnesota                Cap issues aside, with a net-minding tandem that includes Jose Theodore, there should be no need to even speculate. 

Anaheim                  Rumor has it they wanted Nabby, but he ain’t gangsta enough and has refused to purchase a mask with a gold grill.

Chicago                   No more room on their AHL affiliate for million dollar goaltenders.

Phoenix                   Owner Bettman won’t hear of it, keeps muttering “those who defect must be punished” in strange Slavic accent of unknown origin.

Colorado                  Absolutely no reason why they shouldn’t. Except that I am holding Joe Sakic hostage and will force him to snow blow my driveway if they mess with my Wings.

NY Rangers               Two Words: Glen Sather.

Montreal                   Two more words: Carey Price. This is not commentary on Carey’s skill and success in net. Its judgment.

Nashville                   Two more words: Pekka Renne. (This is commentary on Renne’s      amazing skill)

Washington               Have reached the little known, never publicized NHL Russian quota (established in 2002) referred to in secret circles as the “R5Q" (or "There will never be another Russian 5 in this league again Quota”) and may not pick him up.

Tampa Bay                Stevie Y. would never do this to Kenny, unless he expressly let him.

Boston                      Absolutely the only team in the League without the need. Thomas-Rask tandem is amazing.

Pittsburgh                 Team moratorium on any sort of relevant NHL activity until Sid’s head gets better.

Dallas                        Still laughing about the Modano signing, B. Hull doesn’t feel the need to kick his old team when its “down”.