I wonder...

...if anyone told Alexander Semin that he's just having a streak?

Suddenly because Semin is tied with Malkin atop the scoring race, he thinks he's hot shit.

"What's so special about (Crosby)? I don't see anything special there," Semin said in an interview with Yahoo.com. "Yes, he does skate well, has a good head, good pass. But there's nothing else. Even if you compare him to Patrick Kane from Chicago . . . (Kane) is a much more interesting player. The way he moves, his deking abilities, his thinking on the ice and his anticipation of the play is so superb."

Well, all I can say is... Kane, buddy, all star game... don't drop the soap if Semin is there. I think he's in love with you.

Here's the rest of the crazy talk.

"I think that if you take any player, even if he is dead wood, and start promoting him, you'll get a star," Semin told the website. "Especially if he scores 100 points. No one is going to care about anyone else. No one is going to care whether he possesses great skill.

As opposed to the good players that score 100 points?

"Let's say you put someone in front of the net and let him deflect pucks in, and he scored 50 goals, everyone will say 'Wow!' and then hand him a $10 million-per-year contract. That's what they like here."

Hmmm, can't actually think of anyone who fits that description. Except Semin.

"In Russia people like beautiful hockey, and not dump and chase," Semin told Yahoo!.

Yes they also like players that whine about money (see: Yashin).

"I just don't get it, why when a player is skating up the ice and no one is attacking him, he dumps the puck into the offensive zone and then chases it? Why would you do this if there is no one forechecking you?

you mean backchecking, right?

"I understand that if there is someone coming at you and you don't know whether you can get past that player, then you can dump the puck, pass it or shoot. But if not, then hold on to the puck, skate forward, create a chance. Why would you want to dump the puck and then chase after it and crash into the boards? I don't know. But that's just my opinion."

create a chance at a concussion (see: Lindross).

Avery Interview

I posted about this the other day. Here's the full interview!

I've got nothing.

...except for this hilariously awesome picture of Martin Brodeur.


I don't think I need to elaborate.

From last night...

Journal entry: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 – 12:22 a.m.

I’m sitting in my living room. It’s absolutely quiet. And absolutely dark except for some tea light candles on the side table and the glow of my laptop as it runs on battery power. I’m writing this into Microsoft Word right now.

That’s crazy Jenn, Why would you do such a thing?

Well, earlier I was watching the Montreal Canadiens play the Carolina Hurricanes. It was in French, on RDS. I saw the opening ceremony. I saw a goal by Carolina to make it 1-0. I then saw quite a few close calls around the crease of Cam Ward. I then saw a goal by Alexei Kovalev to make it 1-1. As he was celebrating the television screen went black. The cable was out. Great.

Ok all is not lost. RDS streams their games on the internet. Oh… that’s right the internet is out too because it’s run from cable. Cool.

Our phone is also out as well. It’s run through the cable by the same company whom shall remain nameless (*cough cough eastlink*).

So I still didn’t have contact with the outside world by 11 o’clock. so I couldn’t even check the score.

Then the power went out.

I don’t know if you can tell. But I’m upset.

The weather is not particularly bad outside, definitely not bad enough to think the power would go out. But it’s gross enough to want to stay inside and watch the game.

Anyway, I finally got word from the outside world via text messages:

11:59 p.m. > “3-2 habs in a shootout. It was terrifying at the end when price put it over the glass with 2 minutes left in the third. Price was 3 for 3 in the shootout. Koivu scored the winner. Oh and tang scored on a pen(alty) shot earlier in the game. Was a good one for sure!”

Pretty good recap for text messaging if a do say so myself.

And so I suppose I should go to bed. I can’t charge my phone so I hope it lives through the night to wake me up.

End Journal Entry: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 — 12:38 a.m.

It wasn't a head shot.

First let's take a look at the hit in question.
Doug Weight hits Brandon Sutter:



Doug Weight does not lift his elbow or his shoulder. He is going for a normal hit. Brandon Sutter is reaching for the puck.

Why this is stupid:
- Sutter has lowered his head to shoulder height.
- Sutter is in the neutral zone. Has anyone learned anything from Eric Lindros?
- Hey Sutter! Were your laces tied? you were looking at them awful closely.

Doug Weight went in to stop Sutter from getting the puck and going for a skate. I don't think Weight expected Sutter to suddenly start reaching for the puck and stick his head into Weight's shoulder.

It's sort of like that time in a UFC fight when Rampage Jackson joked, "He really beat my hand up with his face."

It was a clean hit.

I wasn't going to post on this, as I thought it was pretty straight forward. During the television cast the commentators caught on pretty quick that Sutter lowered his head. And most others got it right away as well:

"Sutter, 19, spent Saturday night in the hospital after he was leveled by a hard, clean check from Doug Weight in the Hurricanes' 4-3 victory," said the Free Press.

"Sutter was hurt during Saturday's 4-3 win over Islanders after taking a hard but clean check from Doug Weight," said the Canadian Press.

But then I go over to TSN.ca and they have this piece of work using this Weight-Sutter hit as an example of how the NHL is ignoring hits to the head.

Todd Bertuzzi hits people in the head. Ryan Hollweg hits people in the head. When these guys do something f&%king crazy, go ahead and run this story. But there are hits that happen, and they happen to involve the head. Write your story tsn, but it should be about how players continually put themselves in these stupid and vulnerable positions.

Doug Weight is one of the cleanest players out there. I highly doubt he was head hunting. And if he knew Sutter was going to do what he did — he probably would've held back.


from TSN:

It was an all-too familiar scene for the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, when rookie winger Brandon Sutter went down with a concussion after a hit from former Hurricane and current New York Islander Doug Weight.

The Hurricanes have sustained four severe injuries in recent years, all resulting from shots to the head.

Sutter's concussion was the last straw for Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford, who suggested the league is paying lip service over its concern for players' safety when it comes to headshots.

"The league should at least stop saying it's concerned with hits to the head, because it's not," Rutherford told TSN.ca. "I've had four players - Erik Cole, Trevor Letowski, Matt Cullen and now Sutter - get badly injured on hits to the head and only one of the guys who hit them was suspended. So don't tell me the league is concerned about hits to the head because it's not."

"You can say it's a contact game and it is, and I'm fine with that," added Rutherford. "Just don't say you care about players getting hit in the head because you don't."

But policing becomes a complex issue with a part of a game that's technically not illegal and is deeply entrenched in hockey culture.

Many of these hits occur with a player getting caught with his head down so it's easy to preach against but not so simple to correct, given the pace of today's NHL.

The Montreal Canadiens, opponents of the Hurricanes on Tuesday, have their own story to tell, having lost Andrei Kostitsyn to a concussion last week.

Kostitsyn was injured when his head slammed against the glass and he landed face-first on the ice after being hit. by Kurt Sauer of the Phoenix Coyotes. He is awaiting medical confirmation to decide whether he will face the Hurricanes or miss his third game. The decision could come later today.

"They're trying to eliminate hits to the head and this was a hit to the head, whether or not it was intentional. He got him with his arm," Montreal head coach Guy Carbonneau said after the game.

Carbonneau wonders how long it will be before a player suffers a fate potentially worse than a concussion, such as former Hurricane Erik Cole, whose career and life were jeopardized.

Carbonneau suggests players need to make choices before hitting somebody in a vulnerable position. For the French press he drew a metaphor saying, "I've held a gun in my hand, but I've never wanted to shoot somebody."

Dispatch: from the front lines.

I'm writing this crouched underneath a table. I figure the sky will fall fairly soon.

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat Ottawa.

It's only a matter of time. Duck and Cover.




Hangover.

And that's what happens when you don't play for a whole week. The Canadiens haven't played since Monday. It looks like Carbonneau should've just played Tanguay for the whole game. Because he was on fire.

Jaroslav Halak started the game because Carey Price had the flu. But Price ended up in the net in the end.



Holy Hockey Batman.

All teams are in play tonight! I heard that this is the first time that absolutely every team is playing at once in a while. Something about the lockout was mentioned. Or 2005? meh. There's a lot of hockey tonight.

Strombopoopoobus.

"And he went after me when he was on Stopulopulus," said Don Cherry on Coaches Corner tonight.

He was referring to the comments made by Sean Avery when he was a guest on The Hour, hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos. Close Don... real close. (Actually it's a helluva lot closer than i would've expected. But I can't give you any points since you actually work in the same damn building as him.)


Bad Prediction?

Um, so far the Lightening are playing like the women's Italian hockey team. Apparently the team is in disarray. On the Satelitte Hotstove, Al Strachan even said that the players are not on the same page. He also said that the GM came into the locker room at intermission during the Europe trip.

They lost 3-0 tonight.

Palin injures Manny Legace.

Okay. Okay. She didn't injure him directly. But he did trip over her red carpet and suffered a "lower body injury". Palin, her husband, and entire hoard of children dropped the ceremonial puck at the game in St. Louis tonight.

Anyway T-10 days until the election. If there is any type of big dude with a beard in the sky... hopefully we won't have to deal with her much longer.


Now I'm the Magician.

Now that i've got that ridiculous story out of the way, I'm going to apologize for my long absence from the world of blogging nerd-dom (how do you spell that?). This was my first week in radio workshop at school. So there was a bit of a learning curve. You can check out past shows. Ok, it's not a great excuse. So there was this pack of wild dogs....


Ovechkin.

Last year's MVP is off to a super-slow start that has people wondering what's happened to the league's top player. The other day a wise person said, "stay off the drugs, stay on the booze."

Have some beer, man. I always do my best work half in the bag. Maybe it'll break your curse!


Duthie-isms

Being away for so long has also meant we're way behind on duthie-isms. We're basically up to our ears in them right now. I don't know why I say we, as if there's a crack team of journalists putting together this blog. It's just me. One day... one day. ummm, enjoy:

"When Torts eats pizza, he just looks so happy. Hard to believe it's the same guy whose post game soundbites have more beeps than a Roadrunner cartoon."

"“Hey Wilson, you need to turn those guys into a bunch of Wendel Clarks’!” Wilson, who majored in Sarcasm at University, responded: “Wendel was good, but how many Cups did he win?”"

"Hey, Sean Avery. Got a minute? Really sorry to bother you…hate to be a nuisance…but if it’s not too much of an inconvenience…I was just wondering if you might possibly…SHUTUP!

"It would provide me great pleasure if rookie Toronto rookie defenseman Luke Schenn married former world champion figure skater Lu Chen. Just say it aloud a couple of times. It’s endless fun for all ages."

Yzerman appointment today.

Told you so.

September 18.
"Who will fill Gretzky's shoes? It's not really about filling them, and more about throwing them the hell through a window and finding a new pair. As I've stated before, the 2006 Men's Olympic Hockey Team was probably the worst possible team you could have chosen. (Please see: leaving Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Sidney Crosby at home = dumb, dumb, dumb.)

As I posted already, I think we've already found a new pair of shoes. Steve Yzerman."

The official appointment will happen today in about an hour and a half. You can watch the press conference live.

some arena worker is in trouble.

"That was the third time that happened in the game, so I don't know what happened," Habs coach Guy Carbonneau said of the wacky bounce late in the third period that resulted in the Bruins tying goal. "We had the Disney show in here, so maybe they didn't put the boards back properly. We'll check on it tomorrow. I'll make sure..."

Welcome to the 100th season, Montreal.

Jean Beliveau

Ooooh, they blew the 3-0 lead on purpose so that they could have a dramatic shootout victory at their first home game of their 100th season. I get it.

Canadiens legends Elmer Lach, 90, and Emile Bouchard, 88, two of the oldest surviving Canadiens alumni dropped the puck on the Canadiens season at the Bell Centre. They were joined by ten other Canadiens Hall of Famers: Jean Beliveau, Dickie Moore, Henri Richard, Yvan Cournoyer, Guy Lafleur, Bob Gainey, Guy Lapointe, Steve Shutt, Larry Robinson and Dick Duff. It's one of the truly nice things about Original Six teams like Montreal, they have this immense history and their former players are more than willing to come back and share.

Emile "Butch" Bouchard (#16) greets Elmer Lach (3)

The Canadiens built up a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period, with goals by Saku Koivu, Alexei Kovalev and Maxim Lapierre. But it slowly began to unravel, and silly old me thought that the Canadiens were going to blow it completely and lose. But all they wanted to do was have a thrilling finish. Ya gotta spot the other team some goals for fun, right? I mean really, what's the fun in destroying a team 6-1? (editors note: actually it's really fun, especially when it's Toronto on the wrong end of that score) Boston's David Krejci scored the first goal in the second period to get it rolling for Boston.

Carey Price had a bit of a bad bounce when he wandered behind the net. It was also extremely poor timing — there was 48 seconds remaining. As Price came to get the puck it took a strange bounce, hit the back of the net, squirted out front, and landed on the stick of Marc Savard. Price dove back at the net in a futile effort to make himself look like he tried. Savard also had the Bruins second goal of the night.



Price redeemed himself by stopping Patrice Bergeron, Phil Kessel and former teammate Michael Ryder in the shootout. And Alex Tanguay helped save the day by scoring the only goal for the Canadiens. Quebec boy does good.

Montreal has nine points of a possible ten this season. Boston continues its road to being not very good.

Alex Tanguay after scoring the shootout winner

Election hangover.

Well our election is done, and boy was it useless.


Let's back it up 8 weeks or so.

"I do think it's fair to say that in the past few months, and particularly over the summer, we have seen increasing signs that this Parliament is really not working very well anymore, it's becoming increasingly dysfunctional," said Prime Minister Stephen Harper on August 14.

So, this is going to be a bit of an outrageous question. It's really crazy guys... really really wacky. I doubt anyone else has the opinion. What the shit is different? What is stopping this new parliament from being "dysfunctional".

Let's not even get into the fact that Stephen Harper was the only person in Canada who thought that the last parliament was dysfunctional. But if it was dysfunctional before, how will it be any different now. It's still a Conservative minority, there's just a few small difference in numbers. I would almost say the opposite.

If anything I think this is going to cause more problems. Brand new cabinet ministers. Remember how good an environment minister Rona Ambrose was?

Ok. I'll be alright.


In hockey news, an update on the cause of Alexei Cherepanov's death, story from the Canadian Press is below:

MOSCOW - Russian hockey player Alexei Cherepanov, who collapsed and died during a game, had heart problems and probably should not have been allowed to play, a regional investigator suggested Tuesday.

Yulia Zhukova said Cherepanov, who died Monday playing for Avangard Omsk in a Continental Hockey League game outside of Moscow, apparently had chronic ischemia - a medical condition that occurs when the heart or other organs do not get enough blood.

"Checks will be conducted to clarify, in particular, why the sportsman with such an illness went onto the ice," Zhukova said.

Cherepanov's agent, however, said NHL tests showed him to be healthy.

A lawmaker suggested that the 19-year-old first-round draft pick for the New York Rangers may have died due to negligence on the part of paramedics.

Pavel Krasheninnikov, who sits on the Russian Hockey Federation's supervisory council and is a member of the State Duma, said there was no ambulance on duty at the Moscow region arena where Cherepanov was playing.

He also asserted emergency workers took too long to respond and didn't have a defibrillator - a medical machine that shocks the heart. It was unclear how much time it took paramedics to respond.

"There are elements of negligence here," Krasheninnikov said.

Vladimir Shalayev, the managing director for the newly formed Russian league, said a preliminary autopsy showed Cherepanov had a "hypertrophied heart."

"It has nothing to do with yesterday's game, there were absolutely no injuries," Shalayev said in televised comments. "He was not injured during this game."

Cherepanov's agent, Jay Grossman, said the player had tests at the NHL combine before last year's draft that didn't reveal any heart problems. He has been told that players in the Russian league receive regular heart and blood tests, similar to those given in the NHL.

The incident caught the attention of a high-level government meeting, chaired by President Dmitry Medvedev, to discuss how to revitalize Russia's deep sporting traditions.

"A person should not be allowed to take part in competition if he has ischemic heart disease," Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said. "This means that in fact there is no preliminary health control and monitoring. And this system should be very well-defined."

Former Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr played a shift with Cherepanov and was talking to him on the bench shortly after they left the ice. Cherepanov then suddenly collapsed, according to a Rangers spokesman who talked to Jagr.

There was no collision that preceded the collapse, the spokesman said.

Amateur video taken at the match showed players and coaches gathered around the Avangard bench and then carrying a player who appeared to be Cherepanov.

Cherepanov scored the first goal Monday and had eight goals in 15 games this season, his third with Avangard Omsk.

"It was really kind of a surreal thing for the players," Grossman told The Associated Press. "He was skating in on a 2-on-1 with Jaromir and then they came back to the bench. Jaromir was talking to him and he told him he has to score on that play. The next thing you know, he collapsed.

"(Jagr) went with him into the dressing room area and they revived him for some time and then he didn't make it," he said.

The 1970 Canadian Federal Election.

There's something wrong here... I didn't realize it was winter... or 1970. I totally missed out on New Years, must've slipped my mind. Is Pierre Trudeau running? Where am I?

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving

Canadians: Happy Thanksgiving everyone. And Happy Eve of the Federal Election Day — make sure you go out and vote.

Americans: Happy Columbus Day? Seriously guys? Do you always have to have a holiday on the same day as us? You have a Thanksgiving... it's in November. It's not our fault it's in November. Stop being all up in our grill. Geez.

Anything you can do I can do better.

The Toronto Maples can be worse than the Blues. No you can't. Yes I can!
Like i've said before, it's almost not fair to pick on the Leafs. But in today's game against the lowly St. Louis Blues, the Leafs blew a 3-0 lead to lose 5-4 in a shootout.
Speaking of bad.

The Los Angeles Kings' day just got better. They lost their young (but probably one of their better) defensemen from an injury against San Jose last night. Jack Johnson will be out 2-3 months with a shoulder injury.

Sad News.

Alexei Cherapanov,the Russian player touted to go near the top in the 2007 draft but ended up in the 17th spot with the Rangers, died today.

Cherapanov, 19, played for the Kontinental Hockey League's Avangard Omsk. He and collapsed on the bench during a game in Moscow and later died.

“We are extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Alexei,” Glen Sather, the Rangers president and general manager, said in a statement. “On behalf of the New York Rangers organization, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family.

The cause of death has not be released but speculation is that he had a heart attack.

Evil Reptilian kitten eater?

This has nothing to do with hockey, but I think it's funny.

New Hockey Anthem.

Ok I must admit, I like it. The winner was Colin Oberst, (our 13-year-old came second).

Where do I start?

Guys I'm so rusty. I didn't realize how rusty I was. There are too many games to deal with!!!

Two of my favourite people. (Ron MacLean and Peter Mansbridge.)

Destruction.

Ok, starting with the Montreal-Toronto game. Montreal dominated, (understatement), the final was 6-1. There was one point when the game was close, I think it was the first five minutes of the game. Toronto had a couple good chances but Jaroslav Halak shut them down.

I was perplexed about Carbonneau's decision to start Halák instead of Price (mostly because it would've been a guaranteed win, and I have Price in my pool). But I figured they probably wanted to rest price after playing last night where the game went the full legnth to the shootout and Price handled 36 shots. A friend also pointed out that Montreal needs to "showcase their trade bait."

False Hopes.

I haven't spoken to any Leafs fans yet tonight. Most of them are huddled in their dark basements quietly sobbing, i'm sure. Anyway, judging by the reaction that is usually garnered by the result of the first game of the season, I can't help but think that Toronto fans were excited after the big win against Detroit. Oh well.

Tanguay.

Gave all proof in the world that the difference between a good player and a bad player can be the playing style of the team they're on. Tanguay looks like he's been playing in Montreal for five years — he fit right in. 4 points (a goal and three assists) says it all.

Cherry.

Geez Don. I was on your side when you called Sean Avery a jerk. But i'm not on your side with this one. Cherry complained after the game that Montreal had their "top powerplay line on the ice with a couple minutes left and the game was out of hand". Well Don, it's the beginning of the season and Carbonneau is going to take the in-game practice for the line when he can. Second, if you don't want to play against the top power play line. Stop taking penalties.

Palin.
The Alaska legislative panel released their report into Sarah Palin's abuse of power allegations yesterday. So in classic Palin style, she did something hockey mom related to brush it off. Sooooo she dropped the puck at the Philadelphia Flyers home opener accompanied by the winner of some ridiculous "ultimate hockey mom" contest. On top of it all they gave out lipstick to the hockey moms in attendance.

Oh there was something else I was suppose to mention... umm... what was it... Oh yes, Flyers owner Ed Snider gave donations to the Republican campaign. That's good. Using your NHL team as a political pawn.

Kippers self-destruction.

Calgary was leading 3-1. At home. Home opener. Lost 5-4 in overtime. Todd Bertuzzi was a disaster on skates, hitting from behind and elbowing in the head... I think the fans in Calgary probably wished they were in Toronto. (now that's really sad.)

Happy Birthday Matt.

Happiest Birthday to my friend Matt, who says he's an Ottawa Senators fan. It's Ok dear... we understand. Hope it's a good one. :)

(un)lucky dude.

There are some people who are lucky in the worst way. You know... the type of luck where it's like, 'hey you fell 15 storeys and broke every bone in your body and then a bear dragged you through the woods and you got hypothermia but... you lived!!!'

Enter Clint Malarchuk.

The former Buffalo Sabres goaltender is most famous for having his neck slit by a skate in 1989. Just a few days ago he "accidentally" shot himself.

The Canadian Press story is below:

RENO, Nev. - An investigation into the shooting of former NHL goalie Clint Malarchuk concluded it was ''accidental under suspicious circumstances.''

Douglas County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jim Halsey said Friday that the probe into the Tuesday shooting at Malarchuk's Fish Springs home about 60 miles south of Reno was closed unless new evidence surfaces.

The 47-year-old Malarchuk, now a goalie coach for the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, was taken to a Reno hospital after being shot in the chin. He has since been released.

Malarchuk and his wife, Joan, insist the shooting was accidental. The couple said Malarchuk had been shooting rabbits and the .22-calibre rifle discharged after he placed the butt on the ground between his legs.

Halsey said the couple had an argument, and it's unlikely the rifle would have discharged from being set down.

''Because of the circumstances, it could be attempted suicide, but he and his wife are adamant that it was an accident. So we're classifying it as accidental under suspicious circumstances,'' Halsey told The Associated Press. ''Unless we have some contrary evidence, the investigation is closed.''

Deputies said Malarchuk was unco-operative with paramedics and initially refused medical treatment after the shooting.

Joan Malarchuk told deputies that her husband had been drinking and he was not supposed to consume alcohol while taking his prescription medication.

Malarchuk, best known for having his jugular vein slashed by a skate in a 1989 game with Buffalo, was arrested in October 2007 on suspicion of disorderly conduct and obstructing and resisting a public officer after being asked to leave a Gardnerville bar south of Reno.

''Our concern is with Clint and his well being,'' the Blue Jackets said Thursday. ''We are optimistic that he will have a full recovery very soon.''

He played 10 seasons in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques, Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres.

What were you doing when you were 13?

I was playing Sega Genesis.

But our buddy Robert Fraser-Burke is now in the top 2. The winner will be announced on Saturday night.

The winner gets a $100,000 and half the royalties.

Jay Onrait is my hero.

I was scouring wikipedia today in my attempt to procrastinate on something that mattered... I looked up Jay Onrait because to tell you the truth, he was on the television at that precise moment. He is hosting Off The Record for the week. Anyway I came across this gem. Proof that wikipedia does work!

"Onrait, a native of Athabasca, Alberta, joined NHL Network in 2001 as host of both the network's flagship show NHL on the Fly and Molson That's Hockey 2. He also filled in during the summer of 2002 as co-host of various editions of SportsCentre. Jay Onrait is known as a hero to all the young children out there to aspire to do something with their lives."

I am personally placing a hundred-dollar bounty on the head of Tim McCracken. He's the head coach and chief punk on that Syracuse team.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The No. 7 that Paul Newman wore as Reg Dunlop in the cult hockey comedy "Slap Shot" is going to the rafters of the Syracuse War Memorial.

The Syracuse Crunch announced Tuesday that the team will pay tribute to the late actor by raising a banner before Saturday's American Hockey League game against the Rochester Americans. The banner will stay there for the entire season.

Crunch president Howard Dolgon says it's appropriate Newman's legacy should be recognized and honoured in the arena where parts of the legendary movie were filmed in 1977.

Newman died last month at age 83 after a battle with cancer.

A video tribute to Newman's role in "Slap Shot" will be shown during the ceremony

(Canadian Press)

I found my kid's skates today, how hard can it be to find Osama Bin Laden?

A friend just forwarded this to me... My favourite is "Can you tell a heartwarming hockey mom story?"

Why?

I'll get to hockey in a second. Right now I have a personal vendetta. I ordered a bag off ebay. It's fabulous. I love it. I ordered it last Monday (September 29). And it's coming from within Canada, so i'm thinking it should be here soon, right? Wrong. The package was submitted pretty darn fast, it shows it being accepted on September 30.

What's the package been doing since October 1? Service Delivery date, October 14? Why is it going to take a full two weeks to go from Edmonton to Halifax. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Ok, I'll be alright...


Anyway I don't have much for you tonight... the next regular season games don't happen until Thursday... And the way today went, that's going to take forever!
Anyway, if you've been following the aftermath of the Hockey Night In Canada theme song debacle you'll know that CBC has an "anthem contest" on. (I know, lord help us all). Anyway I guess they got something like 15,000 submissions. And one of the 5 finalists is a 13 year old kid! Check out the video:

Happy Birthday Mr. Keith.

October 5. Pretty much considered that last beer tent worthy party of the "summer". Today is the 213th birthday of Alexander Keith.

Most famous as a brewer (me and Mr. Keith are pretty good friends), he is also a former three-time mayor of Halifax. (And now you know the secret to a Haligonian's heart).

He came to Canada from Scotland and started his brewing company at the age of 25 in 1820.

And so every year the people of Halifax (And some other parts of Canada, since the brewery began exporting... although i'd argue it's taken a littler more seriously here.) celebrate his birthday.

In all reality it's mostly an excuse by the Keith's brewery to gather people in one spot and charge 6$ for a can of beer... but it's also an excuse to drink. So i'm Ok it. If you're in Halifax i'll see ya at the birthday concert tonight!

Cheers!

Alexander Keith

The brewery in the heart of downtown Halifax

The beer itself... in case for some reason you've never been introduced.

Live Bloggin, NHL 2008-09 OPENS!

Well folks, I think that's it. My laptop battery is just about dead.
Later homies!
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 6:44 PM 

So Ron MacLean had a silver Apple Powerbook in front of him at the beginning of the show. I actually made a quick note because I myself am a Mac user. I just notice now that they've placed a Hockey Night In Canada sticker over the apple logo. haha really? How come you can have a crap Dell computer sitting there and that's ok? weird.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 6:39 PM 

"It's almost as if Malkin needs a cookie or something. And then his confidence comes out" - Kelly Hrudey
"Well if he wants a cookie i'll buy him an economy pack of Oreos" - Mike Milbury
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 6:35 PM 

Ummmmm. Ok first the referees change their mind on the faceoff. And now CBC has to change the 3 stars?
so... they should read as: 3. Malkin, 2. Heatley, 1. Kennedy

What is going on?! I'm so confused.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 6:31 PM 

Overall it was a good game. It's a bit unfortunate that the first two periods were a constant flood to the penalty box. But there was some good action in the third, and you can't beat a good overtime win. I'll be interested to see if the teams are a little more comfortable on their special teams (and don't take as many dumb penalties) in tomrrows game. It's less than 24 hours away! Puck drop is at 3:30 AST again tomorrow.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 6:29 PM 

Three Stars: 3. Malkin, 2. Spezza, 1. Kennedy
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 6:26 PM 

GOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLL... Pittsburgh Wins the Game 4-3.
Tyler Kennedy with his second of the night. Gerber lets in another bad goal.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 6:26 PM 

End of third period. 3-3.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 6:17 PM 

Kind of an uneventful third period. There is some good end to end action. And the whistle seems to have been put away.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 6:11 PM 

GOAL... Pittsburgh: Rob Skuderi. first goal in 95 games! nice wrist shot. perfect pass from Crosby.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:51 PM 

Ottawa has a two-man advantage right now. Crosby is out there killing it. Is there anything he can't do? (besides find his way to the airport).
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:47 PM 

Since we have talked about Iginla twice so far today... I thought i'd let you all know an extremely important detail... Wikipedia says this is Jarome's full name: Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla. Good God!
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:40 PM 

I don't know if "excited" is a word to use when talking about a one of the deadliest First World War battles involving Canadians. But I am really looking forward to Passchendaele, the epic movie directed/written/starred in by Paul Gross. The movie is one of the most expensive films made in Canada. Gross turned a portion of Alberta into a muddy, stark mess almost exactly as it would have been in 1917 and it's extremely historically accurate. Anyway I just saw the trailer for the movie and it looks amazing. It opens October 13, so if you've got a chance to see it. go.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:36 PM 

Toronto’s Ryan Hollweg was in three scraps last night against St.
Louis. Fist-trick! If you are trying to send a message to your
opponent, or impress your coach, wouldn’t one or two suffice? Jerome
Iginla almost dropped them with Nathan McIver in the Flames-Canucks game, until Corey Sarich wisely stepped in. Imagine Iggy breaking a hand in a 6-1 pre-season game. Oopsie. Hello 12th place.  
- James Duthie.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:28 PM 

End of period two.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:25 PM 

GOAL... Ottawa: Spezza. Shorthanded, 3 on 2 breakaway, over the glove. It appears powerplays are now cursed.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:23 PM 

Can someone please tell me why CBC is broadcasting in Punjabi?

 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:17 PM 

GOAL... Ottawa: Dany Heatley. Powerplay. all alone in the slot. wrist shot over the shoulder of Fluery. (And there's 3 points in my pool).
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:12 PM 

I am always so confused around this time of year. I try my best to stay up to date on all the movement in the offseason but sometimes it's tough with the smaller moves. Especially when there are two players in the league with the exact same name. Looks like the Ottawa Senators picked up former Halifax Moosehead, Alexandre Picard.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:11 PM 

ummm, Mad Max Talbot is fighting with his former teammate Jarkko Ruutu
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:07 PM 

#%@& I love chips!
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:04 PM 

I'm still not getting the new Scotiabank commercial. Where the mom finds the Art Ross trophy in the closet and she wanders through the house with it... (there's a kid driving a full sized zamboni in the backyard... but let's stay on track here.) She goes out front where Jarome Iginla is playing street hockey. "Who left the Art Ross Trophy in the closet?" and Jarome owns up to it and he gets a scorn from the mom.
First of all this obviously isn't his mom so why is she scorning him? (see: age of bearing children, skin colour). My other question is how did Jarome get the Art Ross. I seem to remember that Ovechkin kid winning it last. Is Ovechkin alright? Did Jarome tie him up and steal it? Why did he hide it in some random person's closet? I'm lost. Oh hockey's back on....
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 5:02 PM 

GOAL... Pittsburgh: Evgeni Malkin. shorthanded breakaway. I've just noticed now that Malkin has been given the "A".
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:53 PM 

If Ed stole my wallet on my way to buy a Proline ticket I would begin shaking every beer he owned.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:43 PM 

End of the first period. Man am i hungry. Sorry guys. Heading to the store for something horrible for me.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:29 PM 

Maybe we should rename Hartsburg the jedi. I think he just used jedi mind tricks to have the referees change the faceoff spot.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:26 PM 

Crosby standing all alone beside the net. Puck didn't come to him, but it could've. man i'm deep.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:24 PM 

And the constant stream of Senators to the penalty box is continuing. Chris Neil took a dumb dumb dumb penalty. Hitting from behind.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:20 PM 

Has anyone ever seen Timbits Hockey? For a couple minutes there this looked exactly like it... but bigger.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:20 PM 

Have I mentioned the Penguins offseason debacle? Can I add Jarkko Ruutu to that subject? He's blocking shots. BLOCKING SHOTS in the first game of the season. There are some players out there that only block a shot if it accidentally hits the on the ass while they're trying to skate back from the offensive zone.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:18 PM 

questionable penalty to the sens
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:11 PM

GOAL... Ottawa: Shean Donovan, deflection. mid period.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:06 PM

Malkin: you have a very nice shot. But you really need to hit the net.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:02 PM 

Man do I hate that penalty... delay of game for the puck over the glass. Chris Phillips is the first victim of the dumbest penalty of life.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 4:01 PM 

we got our first penalty. McAmmond playin a bit dirty behind the net. Let's see how this powerplay looks.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:57 PM 

GOAL... Pittsburgh: Tyler Kennedy, 40 seconds in. Really bad goal by Gerber.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:53 PM 

Well good thing the commentators are actually in Sweden because the video keeps cutting out.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:53 PM 

14,119 people are at the game. But according to a piece by TSN yesterday, it's the "worst ice the players have ever played on".
Also Mats Sundin looks as though he's quickly become a hermit while "contemplating his future"... He's bald on top and he's got a strange blonde beard... maybe it's just that he missed growing a playoff beard during all those years with the Leafs.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:51 PM 

Mats Sundin is dropping the puck for the faceoff. Hey Mats... shouldn't you be doing something???
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:50 PM 

OH SWEET LORD... three anthems.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:48 PM

Dear anthem singer... sing faster. geez. 
-Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:45 PM 

Sidney Crosby should grow his mullet back. 
-Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:45 PM 

Speaking of Mike Milbury... so far he's made a reference to mice and cats (when speaking about Khabibulan) and today he made a reference about letting the dog out of the house. Not sure if he's wise enough to have made it on purpose.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:42 PM

CBC is showing a fairly scary band right now. Ron Maclean just called them "a poor man's Marilyn Manson"... and then he told Mike Milbury they'd get Michael Bublé for him. Good start guys. You might even call it great. 
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:37 PM 

Alright the first game is over, the Rangers took the first game 2-1. From the pieces that I saw, there wasn't much defense going on. CBC has both games today. Apparently though, the first game was commentated via monitor in Toronto. Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson are actually in Stockholm for this one. 
-Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:35 PM 

Sorry everyone, I said 3pm (AST) but I got trapped at work.
 -Jenn Casey 10/4/08 3:26 PM 



Welcome to the first Live Bloggin of the new season. I trust all of your Hockey Withdrawal Syndrome symptoms have now faded and you're comfortably loafing on your coach with some beer and snacks.

While we're waiting for the game to start — I've tabulated my POWERRANKINGS (yes in my world IT'S ALL ONE WORD... HARDCORE!!!) for the upcoming season. Which, of course, was all very scientific... (it mostly involved rum and coke and pictures of the team logos). So, they're all probably horribly wrong. But that's why it's fun! Also I've put my rum-induced justifications in brackets beside each ranking.

The rankings take into account the silly standards that the NHL use for playoff positions. So the top three are the three who will finish atop their respective divisions, not necessarily who will finish with the most amount of points. Here we go:



EAST

division winners.

1. Montreal Canadiens (best powerplay, didn't lose many players of substance in offseason, scoring comes from all lines, Jesus Price, Kovalev's hair, Tanguay)

2. Philadelphia Flyers (i'm kinda counting on Mike Richards to destroy all in his path...)

3. Washington Capitals (the rest of the division is not very good)
---------------------------

made the playoffs.

4. Ottawa Senators (they'll rebound... just not into the top of the division... *Dear Senators, you better rebound, I have Heatley in my pool, yes that was a threat*)

  5. Pittsburgh Penguins (From second!?! well, they lost ALOT of grit in that ridonkulous Hossa trade...Have I said it wasn't worth it lately? Yes? oh. And in the offseason... Gary Roberts is a monster, you realize that right? And Gonchar is out for 6 months; Whitney until December. Oh and they lost their enforcer, their scary enforcer. But i'm giving the rest of the kids the benefit of the doubt that they'll pull out a playoff worthy performance.)

6. Carolina Hurricanes (Eric Staal carries team on shoulders)

7. New Jersey Devils (Martin Brodeur carries team on shoulders in search of beating Patrick Roys records)

8. Tampa Bay Lightning (Most people have them out. I'm putting them in because I think the mad scheme the ownership put in place might just work.)


---------------------------

a few points out of playoffs.

9. Boston Bruins (some ridiculous injury will happen to one of their stars in ... January... sure, why not.)

10. New York Rangers (every year I wager these guys will not make the playoffs. Even though everyone else has them in. Is this the year... that I am incorrect?)

11. Buffalo Sabres (seems like a good place for the Campbell-less, Satan-less *tehe* Sabres to finish)
-------------------------

no chance.

12. Florida Panthers

13. Atlanta Thrashers

14. New York Islanders

15. Toronto Maple Leafs (if they're wise... they'll finish here.)





WEST

division winners.

1. Detroit Red Wings (President's Trophy... again. I'm sure i'll rant about this at some point, but it's mostly based on the schedule and the fact they play their division [aka: the weakest, saddest teams] the most.)

2. Minnesota Wild

3. Dallas Stars
-------------------------

made the playoffs.

4. San Jose Sharks

5. Anaheim (mighty?) Ducks

6. Calgary Flames (Kipper finally adjusts to playing under Captain Hook.)

7. Edmonton Oilers (will kill themselves making the playoffs and lose in the first round.)

8. Chicago Blackhawks (yes Patrick... this is the year.)
---------------------------

a few points back.

9. Nashville Predators

10. Vancouver Canucks

11. Phoenix Coyotes (Wayne... you haven't a hope in hell. just sayin.)
----------------------------

not even close.

12. Colorado Avalanche (It appears I forgot the Avalanche got rid of Theodore... I stand by my "Barf" comment.)

13. Columbus Bluejackets (Rick Nash carries team into... mediocrity)

14. Los Angeles (I'm still baffled by the Cammalleri trade)

15. St. Louis (don't worry guys... you'll get that first overall draft pick one of these years.)