info-graphic source: imgur

Bruins vs. Rangers:
Firstly, I was surprised that the Bruins started Tuukka Rask in net.. obviously not because I don’t think he’s good, but we usually start Tim Thomas against top teams like the Rangers.  However, Rask hasn’t gotten a whole lot of play time, and his stats for this season are amazing.. I think he’s still leading in the important stats.  He had something like a 0.93 GAA going into the game.. just checked, now its 1.69 and he dropped down to 2nd best, but he’s still the best in Save % with .943.  I also want to add that he played really well, especially considering it was against one of the top teams in the league.
Next, I want to mention Andrew Ference’s goal.  It was great, he was looking like he was a forward..  He drove to the net, got a perfect pass from David Krejci, brought it to his backhand and lifted the shot.  Props to you Ference!
On a side-note, it’s totally lame that the NHL suspended Ference for 3 games for boarding in overtime.  The guy he hit, Ryan McDonagh, didn’t even hit his head, which is where most suspensions come from.  Ya he hit the boards hard, but he was fine, so wtf?  Well, according to the rule about boarding, they can do this on pretty much any hit against the boards.. it says the penalty is for any hit that causes the victim to hit the boards violently or dangerously.  This seems kind of stupid to me.. I agree this penalty should be used for when a player really tries to hurt an opponent, but this was pretty much a normal check into the boards.  I’m all for protecting the players, but at the same time, this is hockey!  Hard-hitting, fighting, and all physical play are what make this sport unique and exciting to watch, in my opinion.  They’ve been talking about taking more and more of this away from the game..  If they end up taking this all out of the NHL, true hockey will cease to exist and we’ll be left with team cricket on ice.  Please don’t ever do that NHL!  PLEASE!
Now back to the rest of the game..  I wanted to congradulate Adam McQuaid on his first goal in 28 games!  Great shot buddy!  What’s even cooler is he knocked a pass out of the air to control the puck right before shooting.  He’s definitely got skills!  Next, at the end of regulation, Milan Lucic hitting one of their guys in the face and the shoving match that followed were certainly enjoyable.  Then, in overtime, we got that bullshit penalty on Ference, which was a 5 minute major.. so we had to do the last few minutes of overtime down a man (4 on 3).  It’s an amazing feat if you can kill a few minutes of penalty time with only 3 players..  Well, we held it down till only a few seconds remained..  Rask made a few bag saves one after another, but the Rangers finally managed to get one by him with 3 seconds left!  AAAAAARRGGHH!  We lose 3-2.
It was definitely a tough way to lose.. especially since we were only 3 seconds away from going to a shootout that I think we could’ve won.  So I just wanted to say that I feel we were the better team even though we lost in overtime..  There were so many times where we took a bunch of shots in succession and it seemed like at least one of them should’ve gone in.. like Rich Peverley’s bad-angle shot off the post.. aaaarrggh.. so close.  Oh well, as I said, we were still the better team (at least by a little bit, because the Rangers are definitely a top team) and we did play well.. and we did get one point for going to overtime.. so, let’s move on.

Bruins vs. Flyers:
This was another great game.. it was intense, back and forth, fast-paced action the whole time, with each teams scoring five goals in regulation.  There were also some frustration visits to their end of the ice where we had shot after shot that just wouldn’t go in.  Also notable was when a Bruins player checked a Flyers player in front of their goal and he went flying.. in a diving fashion, that is.  He totally acted it, so I was pissed when they called a penalty on the Bruins!  However, I guess the NHL made up for it because they then also called a diving penalty on them.
Now about the scoring..  The Flyers’ Scott Hartnell got a hat-trick.. good for you buddy..  The Bruins’ players don’t get as many hat-tricks, but it’s for a great reason.. it’s because we have more depth on our team than pretty much any other team.  In other words, our 4th line is better than most teams’ 2nd line..  Sometimes our 2nd or 3rd lines are even better than other teams’ 1st line.  Basically, we have a lot of good players, unlike most other top teams that have only a few really good players.  It works out better for us because we can just send wave after wave of high quality play at an opponent, while the type of team I just mentioned can only throw a tidal wave at an opponent, followed by several little ripples.  So, I’m ok with not getting hat-tricks because we win.. plus being able to say that we had five different players score goals is pretty cool.  Oh and Tyler Seguin pretty much did have a hat-trick.  He scored two goals for the Bruins during regulation.. then, when it was still tied after overtime, he scored the game-winning goal the shootout!  We won 6-5!

These were two great games and I just can’t get enough of these Bruins!  Keep it up guys!  Now it’s on to the nation’s capital to kick ass one more time before the All-Star break!

Thanks for reading,
Matt

Fighting in the NHL is an essential part to the game no matter what anyone would like to say about fighting being unnecessary in the game. Much like hitting in the NHL Fighting has been much maligned over the past years as the NHL tries to make their sport fan friendly for the audience. Removing fighting has been discussed many times but repeatedly has been met with resistance from players and fans. I am on the side of keeping fighting as it serves a purpose in hockey as a way to instantly change momentum by winning the fight or at least putting on a good show for your team and the fans. It immediately brings fans back into the game if the team has fallen behind and pumps up the rest of the players who want to go out and sacrifice like the other guy just did. Fighting does not seem to be on its way out of the NHL even after many people used the tragic deaths of three NHL enforcers in the offseason to prove that fighting takes its toll. With fighting seemingly safe there have been a number of fights already in the NHL and all have been a way to pump up their team. With this energy going into a fight and the reasoning an enforcer can easily get over excited and do something he regrets. This was true for Pittsburgh Penguins’ Arron Asham. Asham is a new age enforcer who has the skill to play, although not at a superstar level, but will still drop the gloves if he feels he needs to. Aham did this in a game against the Washington Capitals. Asham took on Jay Beagle and knocked him out with a few right hands. The general rule between fighters is to respect each other after the fight especially if the opposing player could be hurt. Asham seemed to forget this in the heat of battle when, as he skated to the box, he made gestures like he was sleeping referring to his opponent. The gestures immediately angered every NHL analyst and player as the unwritten rule of respect was broken. This is one of the cardinal sins in the NHL as disrespect is dealt with in a very physical way. Luckily for Asham he may have stopped any retribution with is classy act in the post game interview where he said that his actions were classless and he apologized for what he had done. This was a great thing to hear from the enforcer as he realized he had done something wrong and apologized for what he had done. Although he apologized and the majority of hockey specialists have forgiven him the NHL has not. With the NHL executives keeping a close eye on everything, especially head shots, Brendan Shanahan got another responsibility as the NHL has vowed to crack down on unsportsmanlike play. The main reason for this was Asham who could face a suspension or fine at some point for his actions. Whether or not you agree with a suspension the NHL has a new crusade that could be a distraction from head hits for a short period at least. With an existing rule in place, that seems to have been forgotten due to the head hits, the NHL will begin to crack down on celebrations both on the ice and off. Arron Asham could be the first victim as he brought the discussion to light and could be used as the poster boy for the NHL’s new focus. Look for the belt to tighten around these celebrations that could range from what Asham did to goal celebrations depending on how the NHL wants to interpret the rule. This is just another mission for Shanahan as the NHL seems to be grasping at every small thing that anyone criticizes. It seems as though Gary Bettman is playing doctor more than trying to prevent things he is trying to stop things from getting out of hand after they happen. The NHL cannot keep going like this as the U.S. continues to lose interest and they continue to go through issue after issue with no real solutions as of yet. With the resurrected rule in place one thing is for sure Brendan Shanahan’s hair might begin to turn grey and the bags will continue to grow under his eyes as he continues to hold the toughest job in the NHL and continues to have more to look at every day.

Finally to some good news, especially if you are a Penguins fan, as superstar Sidney Crosby has finally been cleared for contact. Crosby is the golden child of the NHL and is considered the best hockey player in the world. He has done little to disprove this theory as he seems to continue to impress everyone from year to year. He did not have this opportunity to impress for the last half of last year as he was hit by David Steckel and looked dazed. Crosby continued to play until he was hit a few games later by Victor Hedman. After the Hedman hit Crosby the superstar was diagnosed with a concussion that ended his season. Not only did it end his season last year but Crosby has yet to practice fully with his team and has not been cleared for contact. That is until this week as Crosby was finally cleared for contact in practice and has finally taken his next step towards returning to the NHL. After months of no progress Crosby tried a new and somewhat controversial treatment called Chiropractic Neurology that focuses on the head through spinal and chiropractic practices. After Crosby’s visit he felt much better and lost his nagging balance issues and headaches. With this breakthrough Crosby began his recovery period which would have seen him playing this year if he had been able to start sooner. Crosby seems to be a for sure to return this year as he will now go through contact drills to begin his return to regular playing time. Crosby won’t be back that quick as he is only doing light contact but within the next few months he will return to the Penguins as their top centre and continue a great career. The biggest question for him will be whether or not he will be able to return to his former self or if he will never be the same player. Having a concussion as serious as his may wonder into his mind when playing and he might not be as willing to go into the tough places for a subconscious fear that he may suffer another setback. Only time will tell as Crosby has finally made progress towards his return and the NHL and Penguins cannot wait for him to get back to regular playing time.

Standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins (8)

2. Philadelphia Flyers (7)

3. New York Islanders (6)

4. New Jersey Devils (6)

5. New York Rangers (2)

Northeast Division:

1. Toronto Maple Leafs (6)

2. Buffalo Sabres (6)

3. Boston Bruins (4)

4. Montreal Canadiens (3)

5. Ottawa Senators (2)

Southeast Division:

1. Washington Capitals (8)

2. Carolina Hurricanes (5)

3. Florida Panthers (4)

4. Tampa Bay Lightning (4)

5. Winnipeg Jets (0)

Western Conference

Central Division:

1. Detroit Red Wings (8)

2. Chicago Blackhawks (5)

3. Nashville Predators (5)

4. St. Louis Blues (4)

5. Columbus Blue Jackets (1)

Northwest Division:

1. Colorado Avalanche (8)

2. Minnesota Wild (6)

3. Vancouver Canucks (5)

4. Edmonton Oilers (3)

5. Calgary Flames (2)

Pacific Division:

1. Dallas Stars (8)

2. Phoenix Coyotes (5)

3. Los Angeles Kings (5)

4. Anaheim Ducks (4)

5. San Jose Sharks (2)

NHL Three Stars
1. Phil Kessel, RW (Toronto)

5 G

3 A

8 P

7 +/-

2. John Tavares, C (N.Y. Islanders)

5 G

3 A

8 P

4 +/-

3. Kari Lehtonen, G (Dallas)

4-0-0

1.48 GAA

.955 avg

0 SO

Key Scores:

Montreal Canadiens 5 – 1 Winnipeg Jets

- The Winnipeg Jets were welcomed back to the NHL rudely after being blown out in front of a capacity crowd in Winnipeg by the Montreal Canadiens

Philadelphia Flyers 5 – 4 Vancouver Canucks

- The matchup of the last two Stanley Cup losers saw the new look Flyers take the win but did not come out of the game easy against the Canucks

Washington Capitals 3 – 2 Pittsburgh Penguins (OT)

- Event without Sidney Crosby the Pens and Caps rivalry took off again with the game extremely close and finishing in a Capitals overtime win thanks to their superstar Alexander Ovechkin

Los Angeles King 3 – 2 Philadelphia Flyers (OT)

- Mike Richards made his return to Philadelphia after being traded in the offseason and made an impact setting up the overtime goal for the L.A. Kings win over the Flyers

Phoenix Coyotes 4 – 1 Winnipeg Jets

- The old Jets and New Jets faced off on Sunday as the Jets looked to get their first win over the Coyotes but it was not to be as the Jets were dreadfully outplayed by Phoenix

The Week Ahead:

Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (Mon. Oct. 17^th; 7:30 pm)

- The Battle of the Sunshine State kicks off with the struggling Panthers looking to get back on tracks against a very good Lightning squad

Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames (Tue. Oct. 18^th; 9:30 pm)

- The Battle of Alberta is here again as the Oilers and Flames face off with the Flames looking to get back to their winning ways while the Oiler try to continue their good start

Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers (Thurs. Oct. 20^th; 7:00 pm)

- A matchup of polar opposites as the bruising Flyers take on the quick Capitals with both teams looking to get on a hot streak to start the season

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens (Sat. Oct. 22^nd; 7:00 pm)

- The Montreal and Toronto rivalry goes to the second round as the Canadiens look to avenge their opening night loss against their bitter rivals in Toronto

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1. DON CHERRY IS WHO WE THOUGHT HE WAS, SO REACT ACCORDINGLY

To the people upset over the rant Cherry ripped of Thursday night —  deriding retired NHL enforcers like Stu Grimson as “hypocrites” and “pukes” because they now speak out against fighting in hockey — I get it and I’m with you. The screed was as ill-informed as it was illogical, and offensive to anyone who understands “sport” and “savagery” aren’t synonyms.

You can demand Cherry retract what he said, but he already said it and there are several ways to react.

With outrage, which is completely fair. Turning on a reformed goon like Grimson is like trashing an ex-addict who now crusades against drug use. There’s actually something admirable with maturing and realizing the way you came up was corrupt, and counselling others not to repeat your mistakes. Most of us understand that, but most of us are not Don Cherry.

You can also counter Cherry’s flawed reasoning with logic, and point out that the net number of available jobs doesn’t change. The people pushing for the eradication of fighting aren’t asking to eliminate each enforcer’s roster spot. Instead they realize what most of us do: that if you get rid of the guy getting paid to fight you can pay a different player to actually pay hockey. But again, most of us aren’t Don Cherry.

Or you can ignore him, and understand he gets paid not for intelligent commentary but for sound bytes that trigger reactions. Those types litter the sports media landscape like potholes mark Detroit streets.

That means they’re everywhere.

In Cherry’s case he picks a target — Europeans, non-fighters, ex-fighters — and blasts away until his quotes make the paper, make the evening news or make a link-by-link journey around the internet. You can point out, correctly, that Cherry is neither a journalist nor an analyst, but you can’t deny that the formula has earned him a huge audience.

And it grows every time we enable him, and we enable him by splashing him with attention every time he says something offensive.

I’m not saying we should tolerate ignorance on our airwaves.

I’m saying Cherry’s brand of ignorance finds airtime because his bosses know people will tune in to hear it.

If enough of us tune out CBC will get the message and maybe Cherry will temper his.

2. TIM BRADLEY SIGNS WITH TOP RANK — RUMOURS WILL DIE AND SPRING TO LIFE

I’m excited to see Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley hop back into the game. Follow me long enough and you’ll figure out how much I hate the idea of any fan or media member throwing the “coward” label at any prizefighter — as if any of us would risk our lives for other people’s entertainment. If somebody cuts me for six stitches I’m not finishing seven hours at the keyboard, let alone 12 rounds in the ring. I’m going to the hospital then I’m going home to rest, and so is any other Cubicle Warrior with the nerve to suggest any world-class prizefighter is afraid of a little pain.

So I’m happy and relieved at this new contract, mainly because it will help squash ludicrous rumours that Bradley was ducking Amir Khan this summer when it was pretty clear refusing the fight had nothing to do with Khan. Bradley wasn’t going to fight anyone until his old contract with Gary Shaw expired.

But that’s all done and Bradley is once again doing his fighting in the ring.

If he handles Joel Casamayor Nov. 12 we can look forward to a fresh round of negotiations for a big-money fight with Khan.

And now that Bradley’s aligned with Bob Arum, we can also look forward hearing that Floyd Mayweather is afraid to fight him… while Arum works to arrange a Pacquiao-Ortiz title fight for May 2012…

3. STACKED UFC CARD HAS ME THINKING THE UNTHINKABLE

courtesy mmaweekly.com

Like what if the UFC had split titles?

Yes, I realize the proliferation of meaningless title belts helped confuse and alienate fans (did you guys know there’s a International Boxing Union?) and dilute the value of boxing championships. It’s been a decade since I last kept track of who held which organization’s title. Your status as an elite fighter shouldn’t depend on your willingness to pay a shady organization’s “sanctioning fee,” and my level of interest in a fight doesn’t depend on which trumped up belts are at stake (what exactly is a “super champion,” anyway?).

But this weekend’s 155-pound showdown between Melvin Guillard and Joe Lauzon on the UFC 136 undercard doesn’t just showcase the UFC’s deep reserve of anglo fighters with french last names. It also reminds us that the list of deserving contenders in the weight class is much longer than any champion can accomodate by fighting twice a year.

And that’s a shame.

Mixed martial arts is a brutal, fast evolving sport. Opportunities for meaningful fights are few, careers are short and a fighter’s time at the top of his game is often shorter.

So maybe boxing-style alphabet-soup titles aren’t the answer, but it would be nice to see deserving fighters like Guillard and Lauzon land more often in fights that matter.

And that pay.

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After a couple days of double-talk and phony-baloney posturing to mollify fans and sponsors, the decision-makers at the NHL’s GM meetings refused to ban the hits to the head that are causing a frightening number of concussions.

Commissioner Gary Bettman and the collection of players-turned-executives tinkered around the margins, while the elephant wandered around the room with its gloves dropped.

We eventually heard the toothless proclamations of stricter enforcement of existing rules, better diagnosis, and standardization of the safest equipment and rink construction.

Recommendations will be made for future study, a committee of former players will talk things over, the Board of Governors will take things under advisement, etc., etc., harrumph.

Two GMs’ comments to the AP spoke volumes.

“The consensus is that the rules in the book are sufficient,” Toronto’s Brian Burke said.

“It would take a lot of hitting out of the game,” Said Bryan Murray of Ottawa. “A lot of the physical part of the game that makes our game so appealing.”

The elephant was right behind him as he spoke, yet nobody wanted to mention it.

Everyone involved with the halfhearted efforts to protect players from injury is aware that the NHL is quickly placing itself in an indefensible position when it comes to the acceptance of fighting. It simply makes no sense to any reasonable person that the two facts can coexist: there is concern about hits to the head in hockey, but not about hitting each other in the head.

Even the league itself estimates that eight percent of this year’s concussions have resulted directly from fights. Celebrated goon Bob Probert was recently found to have had degenerative brain disease from repeated blows to the head in his hundreds of on-ice bouts.

It would seem to be an easy number of concussions and sub-concussive head blows to eliminate, if you really cared.

They say they do, aware that megastar Sidney Crosby may never be the same, cover-your-eyes video of violent shots like the one on Max Pacioretty are shared virally in an instant, and that any player could be the next Paul Kariya or Adam Deadmarsh.

Yet fights continue, still serving no purpose other than to sell violence. Any convoluted attempts at justifying their existence are easily dismantled, particularly the silly idea that fighting is needed for the vigilante self-policing of otherwise-uncontrollable, animal behavior.

And fighting can’t be important for the protection of supposedly defenseless skill players when so many of them are hurt so often, regardless. In today’s high-velocity NHL, a legal smack against the glass is more likely to take out a scorer than a wayward blade from some battle-scarred oaf from Saskatoon.

Video captures everything. Anybody so emboldened to play dirty by the removal of the retaliatory threat would soon realize the fines and suspensions are coming, harder, faster, and more painfully than any bare fist.

Lose fighting, and you lose a bunch of concussions with no effect on the quality of the game.

The league knows this well, but lacks the guts or desire to act on it.

They can’t ban hits to the head, because then some other questions will be asked – questions for which they have no good answers.

Dan Bernstein

Hockey's Newest Enforcer

The National Hockey League has agreed to a rule change that will allow players to carry guns on the ice.   NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said, “We need to be able to resolve some issues in our games while keeping up the interest of our fan base.”  “I think this will allow the guys to settle some of the disagreements we’ve seen lately while maintaining  the integrity of the Hockey Code.”  Bettman said he has alerted the minor league teams to be ready to send players up more quickly than usual.  “It may create some manpower issues for some of our teams but, the reward will be in the interest we think it will generate with our season ticket holders.”  The rule won’t take effect until March 10th to allow teams to install bullet-proof glass at all their venues to protect the fans.   Bettman added, “we may have to allow a few more minutes in between periods to allow the Zamboni’s to clean up the blood but, other than that the fans won’t notice any other disruptions.”

So during the second period one of our smaller players went down by the boards behind the net… get this… with one of the large man-childs from the other team on top of him.  If that wasn’t bad enough, their player started punching our player…. blatantly.  Four or five slugs.  The refs did jump in and save our player from major bodily harm, however, they LAMELY refused to call the penalty for what it was.  They deemed it roughing… not fighting.  Last time I checked, throwing punches is FIGHTING.  Roughing gains you two minutes in the bad boy box.  Fighting gets you thrown from the game, as it should. 

Being slightly competitive myself, and loving RULES as I do, I stood up in the stands and tried to help out the refs by letting them know what they should be doing by yelling, “Kick him out of the gaaaaaaammmmme!”  They must not have heard me.  I was rather loud, which sometimes just comes bursting out of me when I least expect it.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day.  Another day for the refs to do a better job. Another day for me to consider taking a sedative before my son’s game.

The amount of injuries that players endured during the first half of the season was unlike any I had seen before. So many players were blind-sided when there was no puck around (meaning the hit was not part of any play). Too many players were hit from behind and thrown into the boards. Too many players went into the boards head first due to another shoving him there. Too many players were cross-checked above the shoulders. And, far too many players received hits to the head. They were just plain dirty hits. Some of the hits were called, others were not.

I have heard the excuse, “the players were moving so fast, they didn’t have time to change their course”. I don’t buy it. Someone at the NHL level is skilled enough to control their movement. Or, at least it is expected that they be. Here is a perfect example involving Chris Pronger (yes, I know he is extremely skilled and one of the best defense men ever). His buddy Scott Niedermeyer was against the boards, head down, playing the puck. Pronger comes by. It was a perfect opportunity to throw the puck-possessor into the boards. Did he? No. He skated by. The point is, it can be done. There is no need for the non-play related violent hits that have been happening.

I think Don Cherry has a great idea when teaching kids to play hockey. He is promoting the wearing of a helmet with a STOP sign on the back of it. This is intended to teach hockey youngsters to not hit from behind.

Hopefully, the second half of the NHL 2010 season will not be so injury prone.

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Make that Lincoln-instigated brawl. It’s kind of tough to tell how bloody defenseman Doug Leaverton’s face is, but it was a mess – trust me. Bumped into him after Sunday night’s game and he’s got a large cut above his left eye and below it. There are a couple of stitches involved.

Asked him if he was hit by a stick, as someone told me. His simple reply: “Nope, a fist.”

Told him that it was OK because chicks dig scars, to which he replied smiling: “Oh, yeah. Absolutely.”

By the way, I’ve read a lot of feedback from locals about how the decrease in fighting has left them less interesting in the RoughRiders and USHL. The league is much more developmental than it used to be.

What do you all think? Answer the below poll.

Do in-game fights enhance your enjoyment of hockey?
( surveys)

RoughRiders defenseman Doug Leaverton came out the worst for wear, with significant cuts above and below his left eye that required a couple of stitches.

I was told after the game that Leaverton had been hit in the eye by a high stick, but Leaverton denied that.

“Nope, a fist,” Leaverton said.

Then it was pointed out to Leaverton that chicks do indeed love scars, which brought a smile to the nicked-up defenseman’s face.

Anyway, if you’ve got any video (phone or whatever) and you want to share, send it to me at here or at jeff.johnson@gazcomm.com

Thanks.