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.