Round Two, Games Two

-I’m so happy that the NHL is getting time on a major network in the US. Thanks to NBC for that…
-Brett Hull is an asshole…he constantly makes references to his “prolific” (and yes I know he is 20th in all time points…) career while he belittles Ray Ferraro and his career. I’m sick of it…
-Detroit has got the SCORE! I highly doubt they will be able to win the best of seven second round series versus the San Jose Sharks.
-HASEK! Oh wow…that was quite the give away, he’s gonna be kicking the crap out of himself later for that one…
-Datsyuk, oh where oh where have you gone? Remember how you just singed a seven year, $46.9 million (that’s $6.7 million per year)? You did a great job in the first round of showing you deserved it, but have been invisible in these first two games of the second round.
-GO GO MATTY!! (Carle that is…)
-that’s what I’m talking about Datsyuk! Set up Zetterberg and show your value…GREAT play!
-Patrick Rissmiller out of Holy Cross…still makes me laugh that Minnesota sucks so bad….
-Mike Babcock looks really confused throughout this game…that’s probably not a good thing…
-lots of mention of college teams (Holy Cross, Michigan Tech, University of Denver) I love it!
-Pierre MacGuire is surprisingly not as annoying as usual…also he has a pretty big gash on his forehead…perhaps he took a puck to the head?
-seriously Ron Wilson? That is some saweet facial hair you got goin………
-wow Daniel Briere, that is some outfit…blue spandex shirt, taupe stripped jacket…I’m in awe of the terribleness….
-great interview by Danny, excellent job of highlighting the talent on the Sabres, especially classy that he said the Sabres are led by Chris Drury when Briere is in fact the co-captain.
-there are few things better in hockey than a shorthanded goal, especially when the home team is down in the playoffs…
-throwing octopi on the ice is easily one of the grossest things…I would have to be one of the people who has to clean those things off the ice, yuck!
-I really like the Versus/NBC Inside the Glass features. It’s pretty sweet that the teams allow a reporter to basically sit on their benches and listen in…
-ok, Hasek really frightens me (and obviously the fans in Detroit as well) every time he leaves the net to play the puck. Kinda like Marty Turco, he just shouldn’t leave his net, EVER!
-so for the last several weeks, NBC has been pushing a special on Barbaro. Seriously? It’s probably because I don’t really like horses in general but I’m really tired of hearing about this horse in particular. Yes, I understand he was an amazing horse, however, I wonder if the American public really gives a hoot about this horse…
-DATSYUK SCORES! Holy cow that was amazing…
-I <3 Patrick Marleau
-Jimmy Jimmy Dowd!! I miss him…
-I almost forgot how much I enjoyed watching Zach Parise and Travis Zajac…almost
-“There was a time when a two goal lead for New Jersey was money…” seriously?
-Alfredsson shows what being the leader of a team means…this playoff run he’s stepped up when his team has really needed him.
-lol at Martin Brodeur throwing away his glove after allowing 4 goals on his glove side in the first game of the Sens/Devils series
-HEATLY SCORES with 26.4 seconds left in regulation! That’s the best…
-Now in double overtime…John V talking about how hungry the players are since they haven’t eaten since 1pm. It’s about 11:40 in NJ right now….
-Jamie Langenbrunner on the breakaway scores 1:55 in the 2OT! I was pulling for Ottawa but since Langebrunner scored on an outlet pass from Travis Zajac, I guess it’s all good…

It's crappy outside...

so naturally, it made me think of hockey season...and here are some funny hockey videos to brighten even the gloomiest day! ENJOY!!

Some more thoughts on the NHL Playoffs

-Does Brian Engblom own a mirror? I somehow doubt it judging my his absolutely TERRIBLE hair….
-I’ve been less than impressed with Malkin’s play in the Senators/Penguins series. It’s hard to say if that comes from his apparent lack of visibility in the series or if Ottawa has just done a great job of eliminating his effectiveness. I’m not inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I’m most definitely biased in my opinion of Malkin as I think Stastny deserves the Calder more than Malkin but that’s another story…
-this game has no fire…it’s really boring….i’m not even really paying attention to it anymore…that’s sad…
-Staal makes an impression. He makes some great decisions with the puck and is strong on defense as well as faceoffs.
-I love the CBC broadcasts…because of this, I’ve decided to move to Canada…
-That was some hit by Cleary on Phaneuf…
-Could Lombardi be any hotter? I don’t think it’s possible…
-Iginla=eewwweeee…..

Random thoughts from the second night of the NHL playoffs

-Seriously Iginla? Now you think you fight? Oh please…stick to “goal scoring” I know you’re trying to get your team (currently down 4-1) motivated for the next game, but don’t break your hands and make yourself useless to your team…
-Kris Draper and Chris Chelios=Two of the ugliest hockey players around….yikes!
-Datsyuk was AMAZING…I guess when a team signs a guy for a 7 year contract, he better make good on that show of confidence…scoring your first goal in 27 playoff games will make an impression!
-I love Eddie Olczyk…he’s probably my favorite color commentary guy on Versus…
-I’ve had Phaneuf of Dion! He’s a goon…and not in a good way……
-I love that Bud Light commercial where the guys do Rock Paper Scissors for the last Bud Light…and the one guy throws a literal rock at the other guy! “Low Five” It’s funny EVERY time! Good thing I like it cuz it was on about a hundred times…
-Henrik Zettterberg=Hot!
-I love when Versus has bonus coverage and they tap into the Canadian broadcasts. Tonight it was the TSN broadcast of the Sabres/Islanders game. My one problem with the broadcast: Pierre MacGuire…he chimes in constantly from the bench, so annoying…plus can we talk about his pink shirt and multi-pastel colored tie? Sorry Pierre, but you’re no Coach Gwozdecky…Pink is NOT your color…….
-DUBIE, DUBIE, DUBIE!
-Speaking of, I REALLY love his all black pads…very classy, very different.
-Three Words: Mullet of Destiny! I’ve really missed seeing Ryan Smyth…
-The number of former College players in the Sabres/Islanders game is astonishing! Not to mention, Miller and Dubielewicz, two of the great College goaltenders in the last decade facing each other…it doesn’t get much better than that!
-HOLY RYAN MILLER POKE CHECK! He blanked the Mullet of Destiny and the crowd erupts!
-Speaking of the crowd, holy moly are they loud! Probably most noticeable when they are booing every time Satan touches the puck…
-I have to admit, the “Buffa-Slug” logo has really grown on me this season. However I REALLY miss the Sabres Third Jerseys from last, the red ones with the crossed sabers on the front.
-Way to go Drew Stafford with the getting kicked out of the game at the end in defense of your teammates. Great game for Drew in general.

Some Notes

Last Saturday, Michigan State won the 2007 NCAA National Championship in St. Louis, MO. It was quite a weekend of hockey, with Michigan State beating out heavily favored Maine in the Semifinal, and Boston College (unfortunately) eliminated North Dakota, for the second year in a row, to advance to the title game. When it came down to it and I had to pick a team to root for on Saturday, I had to choose Michigan State, and here’s why: Jeff Lerg. He has such an inspiring story that I couldn’t help but hope he could win a national championship. In case you hadn’t heard, there’s really nothing about Jeff Lerg that screams Hockey Player. He’s 5’6”, 150 pounds, and has fairly severe asthma. Doesn’t exactly sound like a recipe for goalie success…However he beat all the odds and found himself in the National Championship game in his sophomore season. Overall, the game was quite boring, I’m not gonna lie. However things got interesting in the second period, when Boston College scored the first goal of the game. Brian Boyle, the overly hyped forward turned defenseman Captain of BC, scored on a power play. It only got better from there…Michigan State went on to score 3 unanswered goals, on an empty netter, to win the national championship, their first in 21 years. Congrats to the Spartans!

The NHL playoffs kicked off last night with a bang! I had the opportunity to see Ottawa host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Versus. As I expected, the Senators handled the Penguins with ease, winning 6-3 on goals from Andrey Meszaros, Chris Kelly, Tom Preissing, Dany Heatley, Chris Neil, and Mike Comrie. Penguin’s goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was chased with 8 minutes left in the third, which resulted in Pittsburgh scoring two goals to make the loss a little less embarrassing. Sid the Kid’s playoff debut didn’t go exactly as he planned, having scored only one goal on three shots and ending minus-1. There was however an apparent Crosby goal disallowed; as it was determined he pushed the puck into the net with his hand. The Senators played a solid game with great fore-check. Quite honestly, they manhandled the Penguins resulting in a very chippy end to the game. At 19:22, there was a small scuffle around the Ottawa bench as Jarkko Ruutu took exception to a check. He was assessed two minor penalties for Roughing. “Toilet Paper” Tom Preissing was also assessed a minor for roughing and, probably one of the best penalties I’ve ever seen on a boxscore, the Ottawa bench was assessed two minutes for Abusive language…seriously?

The second game on Versus last night was Vancouver hosting Dallas. It was a battle of two goalies I hate…Luongo with his greasy man mane and Fat Ass Turco with his, well, fat ass…This one was way to boring to watch the whole way through. I turned it off at 9:30 MST, which ended up being a very good thing as it went into 4 overtimes! By all accounts it was a great game for Vancouver fans, who spent nearly 5 and half hours watching their team. The astonishing stat of the game: Luongo faced 76 shots in the 138 minutes he played, while Turco faced a mere 56. Canucks won this one 5-4 on a (surprise surprise!) Sedin from Sedin goal, Henrik being the scorer.

There were two other games: San Jose at Nashville and Minnesota at Anaheim. In Nashville, Matt Carle scored the first goal of the game, which ended in a 5-4 2OT win for San Jose. Jonathan Cheechoo could be lost for a few games after a nasty knee-on-knee check from Scott Hartnell. The Sharks have said that Cheechoo is being evaluated and his return timeline is uncertain.

In Anaheim, easily the most boring playoff tilt, so boring in fact that only one of the games will be shown on national television in the US and that’s only because there aren’t any Eastern Conference match-ups to show before the Canucks/Stars game…But I digress…Anaheim beat Minnesota 2-1 on goals from Teemu Selanne and Dustin Penner.

Tonight’s Versus schedule will feature the Calgary Flames visiting Detroit. Other series playing tonight:
Islanders @ Sabres (Go DUBIE!!!!! GO DUBIE!!!!! But really I hope the Sabres win the series, just not beat Dubie!)
Lightening @ Devils (I have a soft spot for former UND players, so good luck Parise and Zajac!)
Rangers @ Thrashers (I could really care less what happens here…)

In Avalanche news, the Avs have signed TJ Hensick…I’m less than thrilled. Yes, I know Hensick is an amazing player, however I REALLY HATE his attitude…He’s immature and whiney. This was shown in the West Regional when he was given a 10 minute misconduct…He claims the ref was “chirping” at him the whole game, however I noticed he was approaching the ref after every play with some complaint. I’ve also heard that he had no interest in signing with the Avs because, having spent his entire life in Michigan, he really wants to play for the Red Wings…We’ll see how things pan out there…..

Lets take stock....

So it is mid April and my hockey season is over....OVER. The Pioneers didn't make the playoffs so I put all of my hope in to the Avalanche, and there for a while there was a real shot that we could possibly over take the final spot from Calgary....then the team decided "hey its been a while since we really sucked so lets try that again." Picture this, I'm sitting on my new couch with the lucky hockey pj pants on and we are oh so close to winning the game when Budaj lets in like 800 goals and all of the sudden it hits me, I have like five months of no hockey. Yeah I could convert and root for another team, and by another team I mean San Jose...for obvious reasons, but it would just not be the same. So I am currently trying to find out what normal people do on the weekends. I vaguely remember a time when I regularly saw my family and every conversation with friends didn't begin with "Do you have hockey this weekend." The view from where I am sitting is currently dismal.....so now I am counting down the days until the Burgundy and White game. If you are feeling the bleakness and sadness that it the recent hockey situation in Colorado let me know we can wallow in out sadness together....