great great game for Colorado last night.

They just completed a road trip against the slugs of the Western Conference where they played like dog doodoo - no effort. Heck, they played the Blackhawks the day of the deadline and the Hawks were short 2 forwards to start the game and they still just barely squeaked out a win.

So I was ready for a letdown yesterday with the start of the big home and home with the Flames. But it was like a different Colorado team. A playoff team. Calgary came out hitting...and the Avs hit back. They played solid defense, the worked hard the entire game, they scored on the powerplay, the scored shorthanded, they killed penalties. Hejduk, Tangay and Sakic each had a goal and an assist, and each looked simply terrific. And Peter Budaj? Holy cow he's looked good since the deadline. Now, their only in place by 1 point, and the Flames have 3 games in hand, so I'm not getting all goofy...but if they play like that in the postseason, they might have a chance to get out of the first round.

meanwhile, I've past JiMG temporarily for 1st place in the Yahoo Fantasy B-League (picking up Huet during the Olympic break has paid of rather well...)
It's a good day for hockey.

I'm in a bit of a conundrum about one thing, though. When should I start growing my playoff beard? I do it every spring, but I've never known exactly when was good protocol to start. Is it too early?

It's too early. The playoff beard should not be started until after the regular season ends. I used to grow one every year (until I got a job in an office that wouldn't really tolerate that). I would shave the last day of the regular season and then not shave it off until the Wings were out of the playoffs or won the Cup.

I'm not a naysayer, im a biased fan of one of your major rivals:D ....With that said, Sabres are playing excellent, Leafs, not so much, though i will never give up. Go Leafs:cool:

It's sooo nice to start looking ahead of where the Canadiens are instead of behind... 1 point up on TB and 3 points back of NJ with a game in hand on both. Huet with back-to-back shutouts, and I'm suddenly not very worried about TB tonight because, well... they seem to be playing Jose Theodore in nets disguised as Burke and Grahame... I'm now very happy we didn't ship Aebischer to Tampa after we got him...

The team now seems to know what they are doing... Gainey put in a system and everyone knows their role... 2 scoring lines, and 2 defensive lines seems to be working like a charm.

That mid-season slump seems worth it now that the team is playing so well.

I still like the idea of going with a platoon of Huet-Aebischer because Huet has started 15 or so straight games... let's just hope the Habs can knock off TB, play well against Carolina and go into the "easy" part of their schedule on a high note (2 games vs NYI, TOR, WSH and PIT) to end off the month.

:D Well, I applaud your optimism. In fact, I'd love to see another Buffalo/Toronto playoff series so I'll make a point of not rooting AGAINST your Leafs for the rest of the year. ;)

The playoffs are always better when Toronto is in.

So far, the Rollie The Goalie experiment has not worked out too well in Edmonton. This got me wondering: Are there any examples of a team picking up a goalie at the trade deadline and then going far into the playoffs with that goalie? I haven't though too deeply on this, but I can't think of too many. I know it's never worked for the Wings.

In other deadline related news, much like Mario Lemieux with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Cory Cross scored a goal during his first shift and on his first shot on goal in a Wings uniform.

So you shaved every day in the 80's then? :)

Dwayne. Roloson.

The loss against Colorado was all Kiprusoff's fault - he let in a goal. How does he expect the team to win if he doesn't get a shutout? :( Defence is fine but something more than 9 goals in 6 games would be nice.

Now you're just being mean.

You're right. I'm sorry. I take it back.

Cool. Now if only Doug Risebrough would :)

The jinx is on...:mad:

Canucks are looking great! 5 straight losses!

Anaheim can pull even with Edmonton and Vancouver in the West with a victory against Detroit tonight. ok, so that probably won't happen

Canes win 5-3 at home against the Rangers and Weight is finally pulling his...er...weight as he seems to be settling in finally with a pair of goals, his third in two games. The win also broke team records for wins, home wins, and points in a season. Now Carolina has to go on the road again for four more games against the Northeast Division, starting in Montreal Thursday, then winding through Boston, Toronto, and Buffalo over the next week. A tough grind of four games in seven days.

Anyone catch the Ducks-Avs game last night?

Wow, my Ducks are playing good. To get down 4-1, and come back to tie it, and then win on an overtime penalty shot? The Pond was rocking last night.

I can't believe it right now, but as it grades out, the Ducks have a terrific chance to finish fifth in the West. You told me that was the case three months ago and I woulda told you you were nuts.

Anyone who is not a hockey fan is missing out on these last few weeks. Six teams for four spots, five points total separating them all.

Shootout results from last nights Hawks-Stars game:



Chicago Matthew Barnaby shootout goal
Dallas Sergei Zubov shootout goal
Chicago Rene Bourque shootout saved
Dallas Jussi Jokinen shootout saved
Chicago Mikael Holmqvist shootout saved
Dallas Mike Modano shootout saved
Chicago Radim Vrbata shootout saved
Dallas Antti Miettinen shootout saved
Chicago Mark Bell shootout miss
Dallas Jere Lehtinen shootout saved
Chicago Dustin Byfuglien shootout miss
Dallas Niko Kapanen shootout saved
Chicago Mark Cullen shootout saved
Dallas Jason Arnott shootout saved
Chicago Kyle Calder shootout saved
Dallas Brenden Morrow shootout goal



I still like the shootout!

LOL @ Matt Barnaby shooting first.

I still don't like the shootout.

Of course Sachmo likes the shootout with him and his Jussi Jokinen character...

I've come out in favor of it. I just look at it in very simple terms. The 4-on-4 OT is over. The game is tied. Here are H_B's options:

A) Watch Datsyuk (or insert any other NHL player's name here) go one-on-one with a goalie.

B) Start watching another re-run of Law & Order: SVU (if I'm lucky) or some other show.

I will take Option A every time.

Detroit's first shooutout of the season came earlier this year against Columbus. All game the Wings fans booed Fedorov whenever he touched the puck (this pisses me off to no end and I don't understand it, but the same could be said of the majority of Red Wings' fans and their actions, but that's another post) and the shootout came down to Fedorov vs. Osgood. If Ozzie makes the save, game over, Wings win. If Fedorov scores, we go to the 1 and done shooutout. It was as loud and as rocking as I have heard/seen the Joe since the 01-02 season. It was a mad house. Ozzie made the save.

Two games ago the Wings lost a shootout against Nasvhille. But there were two great moments. The first was Datsyuk's move on Vokoun. It was amazing and made Vokoun look silly. The second was Yzerman's shootout goal. It was just great to see the Captain dazzle once more.

Those three moments are likely some of the highlights of the regular season so far. Without the shootout, we wouldn't have them.

LOL even harder that he scored.:eek:

actually, I could deal with the shootout. I still think it should be 5 shooters per team instead of 3. 3 just ends too early. And I still think that OT should be longer to try to resolve the game that way first - shootouts should be rarer.

I really am more and more becoming annoyed with teams getting a point for an OT/SO loss. We keep seeing teams gain points in the standings by losing, and that just isn't right. I'd like to see a 10 minute OT played and If it's still not decided, then the shootout. Winner gets 2 loser gets 0 just like all other games.

Jokinen has missed his last two! :D

I still say the way to go is no-limit OT. Just play til somebody scores. The shootout sucks.

I heard that the NHL is considering going to 5 shooters per team next year.

Boston just fired Mike O'Connell. It's about time.

Playoffs, yes. Regular season, no. 82 games + any 5 minute OTs is long enough.

What a weekend for the Blue Jackets, probably the 2 most exciting games I've seen in a while. On Friday, they play the most physical game of the year against Calgary, beating them 3-2. Klesla put Nilson into Calgary's bench with the best hit I've seen all year.

Then last night, coming back from a 3-0 deficit against Detroit in Detroit was just amazing to see. Its nice to see a team who's not in the playoff race still give it 100 percent and not give up on games.

and see, just after I riff on the 1 point for a loss thing, Colorado loses...and gets a point out of it, moving them into a tie with Calgary.

And if the Canucks beat the Kings tonight, they move into a tie with Edmonton, 2 points back of Colorado and Calgary. It's going to be a fun final 10 (or so) games in that division.

I can't believe we have almost 1 month left in the regular season. Well, 23 days left. That's a long, long time...

It'll never happen, but a 60 game season would be so much better.

No comment about Saturday's game?

(Please don't kill us too badly tonight.)

:)

A couple fluky goals but all credit goes to Toronto for their work ethic in the game - they deserved to smoke the Sabres that's for sure. Toronto played an excellent hockey game.

Buffalo is bound to get swept if they don't awaken from their slumber. That was as poor an effort as I've ever seen out of a Sabres team.

They get Hecht, Briere and Mair back for tonight's tilt and supposedly are scratching Vanek, who just isn't showing a consistent work ethic.

It's nice to see the Leafs overhauling things a bit...the kids look good. Too little too late though, I'm sure you'll agree.

Never say never. The kids look good, Aubin is on fire, and the team is playing with heart. If there's one thing we've all learned about the Leafs, it's that they have grit and determination and are never going to quit and just when advserity seems to have...

Ah fuck it, who am I kidding, they're done.

Some jerk wants to buy the Penguins and move them to Hartford.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2400450

Only if they're renamed the Whalers.

This whole deal with the Penguins could be so easy. Give Isle of Capri the slot parlor license, and they'll build a new arena in Pittsburgh and contribute money to revamp a sputtering area of the city. Isle of Capri has promised to do both of these things. The other casino companies are offering proposals that require taxpayer money, and they have no plans to help rebuild parts of Pittsburgh. What's so difficult about this?

Anyway, a new arena doesn't necessarily mean that the new Penguins ownership would keep the team here, but it'd be pretty silly to leave if there's a brand new building in town. The state and Allegheny County (where Pittsburgh lies) are fucking this one up badly.

Dola

I'm scared about my Devils playing Montreal tonight. :(

Go Sharks!

Actually it would mean they would stay. Lemieux stated that whoever he sells the team to will have to follow the same rules that he has. Which means if they get a new arena the Pens stay, if the arena falls through, the team is free to leave.

Sounds good to me. :) I'm not a Penguins fan, but I love having the NHL nearby. So why haven't they given the Isle of Capri this license yet? :D

There is talk that Gov. Rendell is getting kick backs from the other bidder. And what makes it even more fishy is how he hurried up and made a Plan B just incase the Isle of Capri falls through. Seems to me that he already knows who is getting it but doesnt want it to look like he didnt try to save the team.

Edit: I am not a Pens fan either, but I like going to watch the Flyers play 4 times a year

w00t.

talk about peaking at the right time.

still worried that we only have one scoring line, but they keep scoring. brodeur looked fantastic.

big game against the rangers tomorrow. catching the flyers isnt out of the question at this point. amazing.

This story cracks me up...

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=161766&hubname=

Based on that transcript, my score card has it Hayward 2, Avey 0.

I love Sean Avery. The league needs guys like this. Villians. He plays the role wonderfully. He has since he was in juniors. Don't get me wrong, he's an ass. A major, major ass. I agree with him, though, Hayward was never any good.

I think Avery should have a -1 because his "insult" didn't make sense.

I, of course, listen to Hayward all the time, and I also get a lot of opportunities to watch Avery. I like Hayward okay. He gets the job done, even if he won't be remembered much for it. He's a bit too much of a homer, but for some reason, I like that more with the Ducks than I usually do.

I also like Avery, his personality. He makes me laugh a la Chad Johnson.

All that said, Hayzie is spot on about Tuesday's game, which I also watched. Avery was a little bitch (as usual). He's like one of those medium-sized bullies who picks on kids, but he runs when someone his size (much less bigger, like Fedoruk) comes along. He deserved an ass-whooping and acted like a coward.

I might add that his stupid penalities and mistakes were the primary reason the Kings lost 6-2 that night in a game they absolutely needed to keep their playoff hopes alive.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/14310160.htm

Robitaille to Retire at End of Season

I'm going to miss Lucky Luc on the ice. What a terrific skater and scorer. The Kings have been great for him, too, in the long run, although I really feel they could have done better by him this year.

Adieu, Monsieur Robitaille.

Seriously!! A few weeks ago, one of the guys on Atlanta sports radio said the Thrashers had the best chance to make the playoffs against the Devils, who he thought would easily fade out of the picture. Wonder what he is thinking now :D.

I've always liked Lucky Luc. An amazing goal scorer. No player that I can remember has ever accomplished so much with so little. He was a horrible skater. He wasn't that big or strong. I have no idea how he scored so many goals. It's quite remarkable.