Curious, BTW, because I'm not sure I have ever heard Boulirice pronounced, so I was always think "Bowl of Rice".

Close...

Bowl-er-reece

Interesting player poll on TSN tonight. They asked 45 players "Is the increase in fighting good for the game, bad for the game, or neutral?"

The results: 35 players said good, 10 said neutral. Not one single player said that increased fighting as a bad thing.

Might want to look into which 45 players they asked...

Well, given that it's TSN I'm pretty sure it was a random sample. And it was an anonymous poll, so it's not like the players had to worry about looking bad.

So about the only thing we can guess for sure is that Wade "Crimson Mask" Redden wasn't on the list.

Carolina in Ottawa tonight and the Sens are unbeaten so far after five games. Hopefully we'll get a repeat of two years ago when we were the first team to beat Ottawa and of course, if history actually repeated itself, this would in turn set off the chain of events tha result in a second Stanley Cup. This one's in Ottawa, though, so I'm not holding my breath too much (yet).

Ouch

Stephane Beauregard.

What a game last night!

Never should of had that last beer.... or those 2 mexi-melts, chicken casadia, and spicy chicken burrito. :)

Okay, Buffalo leads Atlanta 5-0 after two periods.
Thrashers been outshot so far 20-8, with only three SOG from their forwards.

Hell, I'm starting to wonder if they aren't trying to get Hartley fired.

Jon,
Atlanta look like they didn't even show up. Buffalo managed to play special teams finally. Hopefully they can keep it that way.

Leafs have outscored their opponents in the past two games. Stanley's coming home baby!

A couple of notes from tonight's game:

- Funny moment when Mats Sundin was given an assist on Kaberle's goal, breaking Sittlers career points record. The game was paused, he got a long ovation, fans chanting his name, etc. One problem -- he never touched the puck on that shift. They took the assist away later in the game, but he got it back to set the Leafs all-time points record twice in one game.

- With the Leafs up 6-1 mid-way through the third, the Leafs TV "player of the game" had rookie callup Simone Gamanche leading the fan voting even though he hadn't done anything in the game. Think maybe Leaf fans are anxious for some changes?

Chicago vs Detroit: 2-0
Chicago vs rest of NHL: 0-2

:D

SI

Thank you!

Not sure if it's been commented on, but I love the Caps going back to their old look. Their new (old) jerseys are great.

w00t! Canes swept the Canadian portion of the road trip with a 3-1 win in Montreal tonight. Now it's on to Philly and Pittsburgh for a pair of back-to-backers before returning home. Very good showing so far, though. Carolina's now got a three-point lead already in the Southeast.

One very big positive has been Cam Ward. He didn't live up to expectations last year after winning the Conn Smythe during the Cup run, but he's clearly recommitted himself here in the early going, posting a 1.99 GAA and .939 save percentage in four games played, all of which earned at least a point for Carolina (3-0-1). Much has been made of the fact that he dropped 20 lbs in the offseason and so far it seems to be to good effect.

Good news: Atlanta finally found some offense, scoring five times tonight.
Bad news: The only winless team left in the NHL allowed six goals.

Your team might suck, but you made me laugh so hopefully that makes you feel a little better.

{shrug} I'm already getting to the point that it's so bad that it's kind of funny even to me. They're just a really bad team right now, with a stupifyingly bad GM and what may be a bad coach at this point (something I couldn't have imagined saying just two years ago).

Hopefully the ECHL Gwinnett Gladiators will be contenders again this season.
They're at least a half hour closer to me, in a better building, a hell of a lot cheaper, and without fail simply a more entertaining & user-friendly experience in every way, so if they can contend like they did two years ago then I'm good for hockey all season.

the devils-thrashers game was just sloppy, sloppy hockey all around. i didnt feel good about the devisl winning, but damn if it wasnt a fun finish.

Good news for Oiler fans: The teams youngest players, Sam Gagner (18) and Andrew Cogliano (20) are looking like legit NHL forwards with a great future ahead of them.

Bad news for Oiler fans: Just about everyone else on the team has taken 2 steps back in their development/skill set.

Pens put up 50+ shots on the Leafs Saturday night. And only gave up like 26. Maybe that's because they were in the Leafs end so much, but...the Pens D is awful, 26 shots against is actually an improvement.

Toronto just looked...plain bad.

So with Bowl of Rice getting 25 games, who here can name at least five of the eight other 20-plus game suspensions handed down by the NHL for violence on the ice?

McSorley on Brashqueer, Simon on Hollweg, Downie on McAmmond, Gordie Dwyer for punching a linesman and I'm drawing a blank on the rest - didn't Tim Hunter get suspended for a while once?

Bertuzzi.

Duh. I even thought that, and then didn't put it down. Doubly bad as that is all the OC press talked about for two weeks after he was signed.

Pretty good. It was Dale Hunter, BTW, bhlloy.

Only two unnamed, and one of them sounds hilarious. I might have to look it up to see how true it was, because I don't remember it.

I remember that Dale Hunter hit. Turgeon scored, he was skating along the board, arms raised in triumph. There were spotlights swirling around, horns blasting, the crowd was going wild...

Dale Hunter comes out of nowhere and blasts Turgeon into the boards dislocating his shoulder.

Hunter's excuse was that he thought the play was still going on...

So far the Wings have been all right. Other than not being able to maintain 2-0 leads versus Chicago and that pesky Robert Lang, the Wings have pretty much held their own.

There are some reasons for concern. This team is being carried by one line: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom. For a while last year, between around December through February or March, that was the hottest line in hockey. Then Zetterberg got hurt.

At the moment, they could be the best line in the game again. Other than Draper (4 goals), no one else is really scoring. The Wings let Bertuzzi, Lang, and Calder walk, thinking that guys like Hulder, Filpula, Cleary would step up and add some offense. So far, that hasn't been the case.

Didn't May get 20 for a slash at a guy's head? I don't remember it being that bad, but it was right after the McSorely slash so he got hammered.

Avs are 3-0 at home, outscoring their opponents 15-5. In those 3 home games, 2 guys have hat tricks (Sakic and Stastny) and Milan Hejduk has 2 2-goal games.

On the road? 0-2, outscored 8-1. Last year, they were a solid road team.

They are about to enter a critical stretch - 15 of the next 18 games are in their division. They have 5 against the Flames, 4 against Edmonton and Minnesota, and 2 against the Canucks. A nice streak would be good here, but, knowing the NW, the teams will all continue to be amassed in a big clusterfuck


Hunter, by the way, was traded from the Nordiques to the Capitals a few years before that hit for a first round draft pick. That trade is still paying dividends for the Avalanche today.

I don't know how Dale Hunter could ever say that he thought play was still going, at least not with a straight face. I just watched video of it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xte-Vtxg-m8, about 40 seconds in), and he actually stopped playing, watched Turgeon celebrating, and then popped him. I'd forgotten just how much of a cheap shot that was. My goodness.

Dola

I just read on Yahoo that the Devils are looking to trade Richard Matvichuk. I haven't seen much of the Devils yet this year, but if Matvichuk doesn't fit into Sutter's system, it'd be nice to let him go now. It seems like such a waste, though. Matvichuk only played in one regular-season game last year because of the salary cap (although he was steady in the playoffs). The guy basically only got to play one season in New Jersey and wasted all of last year without any ice time. I don't see what the Devils can get for him, especially since it's been announced that he's not wanted anymore.

For even more comedy, Yahoo lists Danny Markov as a potential signing for the Devils. If Markov signs with New Jersey, that would be his sixth team in the past six seasons. I don't know a whole lot about him, but with Maple Leafs and a couple of Red Wings fans here, maybe somebody can tell me why nobody seems to want to keep this guy?

Markov is awesome. The guy is legitimately crazy. His career highlights include:
- Getting suspended in the minors for shooting the puck at a referee
- Getting suspended in the minors for attacking a mascot
- Standing at the blueline and doing the Jagr salute at the Penguins after the Leafs knocked them out of the playoffs
- Getting hit in the face with a slapshot in the playoffs against Ottawa, then trash-talking their bench as he skated off with blood spurting out of his head

Seriously, I would love to have him back on Toronto. He's easily one of my favorite non-Leaf players.

As to why nobody is signing him, basically two things. He wants a lot of money ($3.5M) which is a little higher than his skills would warrant. And also, he's had problems with alcohol in the past that may or may not be under control.

Markov was great last year for Detroit. He was a steady defenseman and has a bit of an edge to him. I liked him fine. The only reason he is not back in Detroit is because he was asking for too much money. He signed a 1 year, $2.5 million deal last year. The Wings were looking to bring him back at about the same, but Markov was looking at a longer term deal at a higher price. Considering the Wings went out and signed Rafalski to a big deal and had some capable 5-6 defensemen in their system (Meech, Quincey, and Ericsson), they didn't feel the need to meet Markov's demands.

The Wings' tactics seem to be to pay their "big" guys a lot, like Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Rafalski and soon to be Zetterberg. They then look for the rest of the team on the cheap. They low ball everyone, bring in some unsiged free agents and hope someone sticks. It worked pretty well with Cleary. They tried the same with Sopel this year, but he bolted for Chicago. I can't blame him. He got $1.5 million from the Blackhawks, which, I am guessing, is about twice what he would have received from the Wings.

Agreed on all accounts. He's also a chain-smoker, apparently, so there is some concern for his overall endurance.

Last year, early in the season, he put an amazing open ice hit on some Oiler. I don't recall who it was, but Markov just obliderated the guy. One of the best open ice hits I've seen in years.

Moreau went after Markov in a fight to get back at him and ended up dislocating his shoulder before the fight ever started. It ened Moreau's season.

Thanks for the info on Markov. I'm sure that Lou won't make a move until Matvichuk gets traded, so I hope that the trade takes place soon.

Matvichuk is only 34? I thought he was a lot older than that. I think the Wings could use an infusion of that kind of youth along their blueline.

so, watching the Hunter hit on Turgeon took me to the Downey one punch KO of Boulerice which took me to the Boulerice cross-check on Kessler.

It was the first time I saw the Boulerice crosscheck, and it raised a few eyebrows with me. Mostly because I saw Duvie Westcott do the same thing to Scott Parker (*insert ML "they still make that" joke here) on Saturday. Towards the end of the 5-1 game, Westcott and Wyatt Smith were tussling a bit behind the net. It wasn't even enough of a scrum to stop the play. Parker skated by and Wesctott, I think assuming he was going to come to Smith's defense, went into counterattack mode and crosschecked Parker in the face. Parker got a bloody mouth out of the deal, and Westcott got tossed from the game. Apparently, since Parker is not a skilled player and doesn't play for a Canadian team, there is big outrage over the incident, and it doesn't even sound like Westcott is going to get suspended, even though the hit seemed every bit as bad as the Boulerice one.

I actually missed this because I had went to bed already, but Westcott isn't a dirty player at all. I was a little surprised hearing that it was him and not Tollefsen. Not much else to add, but from the Columbus Dispatch this morning:


On another note, we'll gladly take a bag of pucks if you want Adam Foote back, he's worthless back there anymore, because he can't skate and now won't hit.

Parker was actually out there because of Tollefson - with the game out of reach, his only motivation seemed to be to take a run at Avalanche players who don't fight after the whistle.

In fact, in the Westcott incident, Parker himself got a roughing penalty (probably just to get the crazy man off the ice). Right on cue, Tollefson was out there on the next shift, running down the smallest Av on the ice. Parker, already at his boiling point from the cross check, went absolutely apoplectic that Tollefson conveniently chose a time when Parker couldn't be out there to pull that crap. He opened the door of the box, and looked like he was pretty close to jumping back on the ice. He didn't...but the tossed him anyway. Smart move.

I don't think Westcott is a dirty player either...but if we're going to suspend players for hits to the head like that, we shouldn't just stick to the goons.

oh, and what's the story with Chimera? Kicking players and getting bitchy when he gets taken into the board? Is he always a douche?

and, thanks, we'll pass on Foote.

to be truthful, I have never been the Foote fan that most Avs fans are.

Yeah, Tollefsen is probably our toughest player right now, especially with Shelley scratched and rookie Jared Boll was out with a shoulder injury. He's more a 'dirty' player than Westcott is by far and he's very good at agitating.

That doesn't sound much like Chimera, but I think its probably a team that was frustrated in their performance, which was the worst (by far) of the season, and looked much more like last years team. Chimmer's definitely an emotional player, but sometimes skates much faster than his head can go, resulting in some stupid plays.

BTW, here's the latest update on Duvie:

Boy, watching that game Saturday brought tears to my eyes. Power play was as useless as ever and while we certainly have enough skill players to run a good one, why we don't alter our approach is beyond me. Obviously teams know when Stoll and Souray are on the points that they are the primary focus so teams make sure that they keep two guys high...perfect, now you've got three forwards low to work on the two remaining players...that should equal at least one good scoring chance every power play but instead they insist on plunking somebody in front of the net that is of no use because they can't get the puck back to the point for a clear shot!!!! Adjust for chrissakes!!!! I thought we finally got rid of Simpson, our supposed power play specialist, but maybe it's been MacT running the PP all along!!!

Also, the goal where two defensemen ended up behind the net on a 1-on-2 only to have that guy end up in front of the net all by himself to pot the rebound was an absolute disgrace.

Let the kids play because I'd rather see a 20 year old make that mistake and hope he learns from it...because it's obvious that the vets are just lost out there.

Mind you, one vet I'm really impressed with is Sanderson. He's got great wheels and I'm convinced he'd be a better fit on the first line with Hemsky instead of Horcoff. Will it happen? Probably not...but if it does, you heard it here first!!! Unless somebody else said it first.

Geoff Sanderson is kind of a Todd Marchant clone, isn't he? Or is it the other way around? Or am I off base?

As for the power play, I've watched a couple Oiler games so far and had the same thoughs: the point is covered, so start working down low. It isn't rocket science.

The biggest problem with the PP right now is that it has Horcoff on it.

Being a tad more serious though, why they insist on having one forward (away from the puck) sitting in the corner on pretty much the goal line is beyond me. They let Hemsky run things from the side boards, and at that point they were trying to get Penner into the slot, meanwhile Horcoff is playing backside one timer 5 feet off the goal line, but 20 feet away from the net meaning there is absolutely no screen and Hemsky is forced to pass because the goalie has no problem seeing him release a shot. You're already giving Penner and both D as passing options, park Horcoff's ass in front of the goalie and give Hemsky the option for a potentially screened shot and actually have somebody inside the defensemen to battle for the rebound if there is one.

Sanderson has been fantastic so far and actually skated on a line with Hemsky already, so while they've actually tried that (I think Cogliano was the other third of that line for a while), I hope Sanderson goes back on Reasoner's line soon. Reasoner is still an effective setup man and it's nice seeing him have a bit of a trigger man on his line (also assuming that Moreau will fit onto that line when he returns, giving us a very good checking line in the process with a bit of offensive punch). If Torres and Horcoff don't get it going, they should have their butts stapled to the bench. For all his talk of being a #1 center, Horcoff has one nice looking goal and 2-3 other "good" plays on the season so far, then a long list of looking lazy and disinterested. Pouliot, Nilsson, Cogliano, Gagner and Schremp are all better suited to play skill line minutes and are the future of this team. The sooner they learn the tricks of the trade (thank goodness we have Hemsky to somewhat mentor them unlike when he was having to figure his way through things), the better this team is going to do.

Long winded? Yes. Frustrated with the coaching staff? Yes. Happy with the current direction of the roster? Definitely.

I think the only thing they have in common is blazing speed.

Once upon a time Sanderson was a good goal scorer while Marchant is nothing more than a third line center who will never hurt you defensely and can chip in with the odd goal here and there.

Sanderson is not the same guy he was in the mid-90's but you'd have to think that he's got the mental capacity and the skill to play with the young guys and not look too out of place, offensively. He is a defensive liability, so sticking him on a checking line really wouldn't make much sense...but we're talking about MacT here...that isn't his strong suit.

The Philadelphia Flyers placed suspended right wing Jesse Boulerice on waivers Monday, according to a report on Canadian web site TSN.ca.

Leafs and Sabres played the game of the year tonight. Well, maybe not the game of the year, but definitely the period of the year. The Leafs lead 2-0 halfway into the last frame, and six minutes later it was 4-4 and headed into overtime. Then we got five minutes of end-to-end action before Bryan McCabe drilled home a one-timer with three seconds left to win it.

Cough.

Anyways, it looks like the Leafs could be the most entertaining team in the league this year. They can skate, hit and score, and they're absolutely hopeless defensively. Let's just say this won't be their last 5-4 game of the year.

I'd cry if that weren't so funny.

Tom Lysiak for taking out a ref on a face off.The suspension basically ended his career as he was never the same player again after he came back.

Didn't Bertuzzi get suspended for a while after his rabbit punch?

Perhaps they will rename the Gemini Awards, the MONSTER Awards.

TSN's esteemed NHL on TSN broadcasts won two trophies Monday night at the 22nd Annual Gemini Awards celebrating excellence in English Language television, including Pierre McGuire, who was named Best Game Analyst.


This marks the first Gemini Award for McGuire, who was previously nominated in 2004. One of the game's most passionate and knowledgeable analysts, McGuire, who joined TSN in 1999, has been selected numerous times by The Hockey News as one of the game's 100 most powerful and influential people. A former NHL coach and scout, McGuire won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins.


The NHL on TSN was honoured with a second Gemini Award for Best Sports Analysis or Commentary Program, Series or Segment. Mark Milliere, Vice-President, News & NHL on TSN, accepted the award on behalf of the NHL on TSN team. This marks the second consecutive award for Milliere, who last year won for Best Live Sporting Event for TSN's coverage of the 2006 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship gold medal game.


TSN is nominated for three additional Gemini Awards. Brian Williams and James Duthie are nominated as Best Host or Interviewer in a Sports Program or Sportscast. Williams is being recognized for his work on the six-part amateur sports series Bell Spirit of the Game, while Duthie, a five-time nominee, got the nod for his role as host of the NHL on TSN.



The winner will be announced on October 28 in a televised ceremony from Regina. TSN.ca, Canada's leading sports website, is also nominated for Best Cross Platform Project, with the winner being announced at tonight's ceremonies.

The voters had to be deaf and had no knowledge of the game of hockey.

I've debated doing this on and off for probably the last two years of reading these threads, but I'm going to come clean and confess that I don't get the hate for Pierre Maguire.

He's not my *favorite* announcer by any means -- he looks like a weasel and he talks more than he should (or needs to), but in terms of analysis, he's very very good. I don't know if NBC dumbs him down a bit for the American audience (I haven't done a side-by-side comparison), but I generally enjoyed him on TSN and even at his worst down here, he's no worse than "tolerable" to me.

Your mileage may (obviously) vary. :)

Maguire has been a regular on Ottawa radio for several years, going back to before hsi NBC stint. From this, I know two things about him:

- He's a shameless self-promoter who will tell the audience whatever it wants to hear. He'll go on Ottawa radio and badmouth the Leafs, then hang up and go on Toronto radio and talk them up. He does this, apparently, because he's still desperate to get back into the NHL in a coaching or front office position, and wants to be a popular choice of the local fans when jobs open up.

- He doesn't sound anything like he does on TV. It's pretty apparent that, at least early in his TV career, he had people yelling in his ear "Be more animated! Be louder! Let's see some personality!" When he first started on Canadian TV it was really obvious how uncomfortable he was with all the yelling, not sure if that still comes across in the US.

I'm with ML. the self-promoting crap drives me insane.

I don't think his analysis is a spot on as you might think, either. I feel he tends to have some stuff prepared in his mind, and then try to fit what happens on the ice to match that. I think he's got a decent hockey mind, but really has crafted himself into much more talented than he is.

Thrashers lose again, 4-0 to Philly. Still don't have a single point, much less a win.

Meanwhile, HUGE win for the Avs tonight. The Flames go up 4-0 early in the 2nd period. Budaj gets yanked, Theo goes in, and the team has looked pretty lousy up until then. This one is clearly over.

And then, the Avs get a quick goal from Marek Svatos. Scott Parker and Eric Godard fight. Godard is visibly afraid to fight, and Parker drops him easily, and it seems to rally the Avs. Before long, Andres Eriksson scores an own goal to make it 4-2. Brunette makes it 4-3 and then Kurt Sauer ties it before the end of the 2nd period. Sauer had no goals last year, was a healthy scratch for most of the first part of the season, and now he's getting loads of ice time and scores the first goal for the Avs defense this year (only TB and SJ still have no goals from their D). The Avs go on to win in the shootout.

Smyth ties a franchise record with 11 shots. Theodore stops all 17 shots, plus 2 of the 3 shootout shots to get the win. Huge.

Always love to see the Flamers lose...and when they lose ugly, it's even sweeter. I wonder when the Red Mile will start calling for Keenan's head?

As for Pierre...I'm in the "I hit the mute button when I see his face" camp. There is only one Don Cherry and that's Don Cherry. I wish he'd stop trying too hard to be edgy and "in your face" about the most insignificant detail. And whoever came up with the idea of sticking him between the benches is an assclown to the nth degree. Why not have him lace up the skates and coast around the ice during the game instead? Pffft. Let the players be while they're playing and get the commentators back up in the press box where they belong.

The Flyers are 4-1 so far this season, they did not win their fourth game last season until November 15. So the Flyers are almost a month a head of last year's pace.

The KGB line (Knuble, Gagne, and Briere) line looks really good but Jeff Carter and Mike Richards have stepped up their play. Lulpul last night made some great passes and along with Jason Smith the Flyers are not missing Pikannen at all.

Biron has been solid and finally I can watch a game without holding my breath everytime a shot is taken.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=220818&hubname=

Bob Hartley fired...

I'm with my man Simms on this one.I rather enjoy his insight into the game.

Geez, that's nucking futs. You guys have scored a goal this season, right?

I also just saw the Hartley post. Any idea what it'll take to fix things there? I'd have a hard time believing the season is unsalvagable just a half-dozen games in.

First thing that has to happen (short of winning 20 straight) if they want to get the fans back to being at least hopeful is that the moron who is going behind the bench needs to be on the first plane out of town. Don Waddell has done very little right in his tenure here and he's managed to get us into year eight of a five year plan without a single playoff win. The fact that he's going to coach while they look for a coach tells me he isn't going anywhere soon and I believe that means neither are the Thrashers. And that makes me both sad and angry.

As much as it pains me to say it (because I was really a big Hartley backer upon arrival) this does feel like perhaps it is the right move. I think he had lost the team. There have been rumblings occasionally through this awful start that captain Bobby Holik hadn't so much lost the team as that he never had them in the first place. Basically, I'm not sure anybody was running the show and it seemed like most of the players were just going through the motions (ironically, Kovy seemed like an exception this year, and he's often seemed like the most unmotivated guy on the team).

They've got a "goalie of the future" who is looking like the future may never come. They have very little in the way of NHL quality defensemen, they've got a collection of role players who can't seem to find their role beyond posing as major league caliber players, and they've got a pair of outstanding forwards. The minors are borderline okay but we have little in the way of historical success in coaching anybody up.

Damn if I know how to fix them short of going empty cupboard as quickly as possible. And the franchise probably wouldn't survive in Atlanta if they have to sell us on another five year plan.

Sounds like a job for Pat Quinn

that's Hartley's 2nd quick firing. The Avs canned him 31 games into the 2002-2003 season. Whispers then were that he was let go because he'd lost the team...

he did win the division last year, right?

then again, they were swept, so thats 0-10 in their last 10...

bummer for him

Honestly DD, I don't know that I ever had a feeling he really had this team in the first place. Not in the beginning, not now, not even during the stretch run last year.

He tried, I'm pretty convinced of that. One of the problems (in my mind at least) was that there wasn't much success from the players brought in that apepared meant to be "his guys". DeVries & Holik come to mind off the top of my head. Not stars, but guys that were on board with his system. Fans were ready to give DeVries away for a bag of pucks, and I'm not sure that we wouldn't throw in some pucks & a couple of powder blue jerseys just to rid ourselves of Holik.

His handling of goalies was downright bizarre at times and although I'm to the point where I think Kari Let-one-in is going to be ultimately be a flop (being too fragile physically & mentally), Hartley found nothing that ever seemed to help him either. Maybe that's not the coach's fault, but it is perceived at being part of his job nonetheless.

Throughout the off-season, we kept hearing how this year's team would be smaller but quicker. Instead, the only thing that appears quick about them is how fast they tanked.

ESPN's Scott Burnside sums up the sorry state in Atlanta pretty well
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/column...ott&id=3068340

That's a shame, really. Even as a rival, I feel like Carolina in some respects needs Atlanta to be successful because Atlanta is the big city of the South (Miami notwithstanding as culturally, it's nothing like the rest of the South). Theoretically, Atlanta should get a lot more media attention, but if the media's talking about a failing Atlanta team destined to relocate, it'll dredge up the SOS about hockey not being viable in the region regardless of how well Carolina or Tampa do at the gate. (Nashville to some extent already has this ball rolling with that fiasco in the sale of the team going on.)

I think it's probably a realistic possiblity. Hell, I like hockey quite a bit, have for a lot longer than the Thrashers have been around, but damned if I can justify paying their prices for decent seats, going through the hassle of a downtown arena that I don't really like, etc. to see a team that might not even be a top contender in the AHL (or at least doesn't look like one).

I have significantly more fun for a lot less money (although not as much less as it used to be) going to ECHL games at a better venue closer & more convenient to me, and see a team that's very competitive for it's level. And I say all of that as somebody who actually likes the sport. I can only imagine what it'll be like trying to convince anyone to actually come to games if they go through some sort of rebuilding phase with a team that never really accomplished anything in the initial construction.

Awesome...Souray's out with a separated shoulder.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=220828&hubname=

devils won their last 2 games 6-5 and 5-4

i dont even recognize this as hockey. its madness for the devils.

whens the last time brodeur gave up 9 goals in 2 games and won both?!

So they are what, 6 games in?
So Ivan Hlinka still holds the record for quickest firing after beginning a season, at 4 games?

that's rough. who's going to take bad penalties for the Oilers in his place?

DAMNIT. There goes my flier on him in the hockey pool I'm in. And we can only drop one player for another once a month. Damnit.

Don't worry, Torres is still in the lineup.

I wished I could've seen the game last night against the Penguins. I only managed to catch the final five minutes. It's great that the Devils are actually scoring goals, but it's unsettling to see them give up so many. If they have to count on John Madden to keep scoring goals, or if Parise's assists start to dry up, I wonder if the Devils will be able to compete. Also, where is Sergei Brylin's ice time?

They need a real defenseman out there, too. From what I know of Vishnevski, he's OK, but I'm not sold on the others except maybe Oduya. Who is Mike Mottau?!?

I can't complain too much, as the Devils have scored tons of goals in the past two games. It's just that I'd like to see them be even better.

Oh don't you worry, Torres and Horcoff can fill that role without a hitch.

two votes for Torres. nice!

Mike "Pow Pow" Mottau.

So wait, the Oilers have a sudden need for a defenceman who can play a lot of minutes, score power play goals, and take bad penalties?

I think we may be able to work something out...

Does he make at least $5 mil/year?? If so, I'll get Lowe on the horn ASAP!!!!

Does he ever!

Only problem is he has a no-trade clause. Players are cool with going to Edmonton, right?

As long as they're single

...and have already signed an offer sheet from another team.

Thrashers beat the Rangers 5-3 for their first points of the year.

Of course, them being them, Lehtonen left in the first period with a groin injury, and Hedberg allowed 3 PP goals in the final 10 1/2 minutes.

Crazy final minute in the Toronto/Florida game. With the score tied 2-2, the folliwng happens:

- Ian White carries the puck into the Florida zone and gets driven into the boards from behind by Jozef Stumpel, a pretty obvious boarding call. The ref's arm stays down.

- White gets up, drops his gloves (for the first time in his career, I think) and grabs Stumpel, who does nothing. Not really a turtle, but he just doesn't react at all. White doesn't throw a punch, let's him go, and skates away. Again, no call from the ref.

- While all this is going on (and remember, White is a defenceman), Jay Bouwmeester dekes out the rest of the Leafs team, goes in alone on Toskala, and misses an open net when Toskala just barely brushes the puck with his stick.

- The Leafs come back up the ice and score the winner with 30 seconds left.

Good times, good times.

Henrik Zetterberg is the most under the radar star in the NHL. Just scored to retake the scoring lead in the NHL and has a point in every game so far this year.

Sounds like a bizarre night in the NHL based on those two posts. At least the Thrashers are on the board. And of course any losses by Florida, Tampa, or Washington are good ones and all three happened tonight. :D

Canes have a pivotal back-to-back starting tomorrow in Pittsburgh and then Saturday in Philly. Then it's home for three next week against Vancouver, Buffalo, and Montreal. Might try to make that Montreal game as a birthday present to myself.

the devils defense is atrocious.

i cant imagine lou is happy with sutter right now.

at all.

Can you imagine how much worse it would look with a different goalie in the net?

You're joking, right? The best player for a Stanley Cup favorite year in and year out is not somebody I'd consider "under the radar" by any means.

I hardly ever hear anyone talk about him. Maybe it's just here but I hear Datsyuk mentioned 10 times as much in the media here then Z.

Depends upon the radar perhaps.

I'd bet he has less than half the name recognition in the U.S. as, just picking somebody at random, Ilya Kovalchuk. Considering how low that number would be, half of it would be pretty far under the radar.

If you've seen the Red Wings play you know exactly who Z is because when he's on the ice he's the most exciting player out there.

Please, Red Wings fans, don't go all Pats-fan on us and start talking about how your star players don't get respect, everyone underestimates you, "haters blah blah blah", etc.

NOBODY APPRECIATES JAY PANDOLFO

Brodeur is'nt playing well?:)