Creepy Stalker Love.

My friend Dan went to the All-Star game. Yes, yes, I hate him too.

But he's pretty awesome.

When he told me that he brought me back a present from the All-Star game I was pretty stoked.

I mean, think of all the people that converged on the All-Star game. Some of my favourite players, Jon Toews, Sid Crosby and Brian (Soupy) Campbell.

But none of those compare to what he actually brought back.

Dan brought back his All-Star weekend pass signed by none other than...

...TSNs James Duthie.

oh. my. god. Awesome!

Apparently Dan mentioned that I had a reporter crush on him and that I too, had also gone to Carleton (it was only for a year, but that's okay).

If by now you're like... "who in the heck is James Duthie? And why are you so goddamned excited?"

To answer those questions, i'll send you on a little archival journey. A regular feature at the National Passtime is duthie-isms. Which are Funny quotes from James Duthie's blog and NHL on TSN broadcasts.

And for that second question. Nobody said I was cool.

It's now creepy stalker love. Sorry Duth.

Me with my prize from All-Star Weekend.

And now... the Pens, Habs, Hawks and Ducks!

You have to wonder about this...

Four teams. Yes, count 'em, four teams will be represented for the starting lineups of the All Star game.

In the East:

Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh)
Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh)
Alexei Kovalev (Montreal)
Andrei Markov (Montreal)
Mike Komisarek (Montreal)
Carey Price (Montreal)

In the West:

Jonathan Toews (Chicago)
Patrick Kane (Chicago)
Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim)
Scott Niedermayer (Anaheim)
Brian Campbell (Chicago)
Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Anaheim)

I like all these players. But I find it incredulous that they all finished first. I think that there might have been more vote stuffing than the NHL admits.

Canada Canada.

Slight concern, but they'll be ok.
Team Canada played Germany last night at the World Juniors. And it was pretty darn close for the first two periods. At one point it was 2-1 and Canada was playing like... Hmmm, I was going to say the Leafs, but that's just mean. Anyway, luckily for the Canadians they turned it on in the third, and the Germans looks fairly tired. I think Pat Quinn will have some type of coronary at practice today before the big game against the Americans tomorrow.

Oh yah! the Spengler.
Remember that random little tournament held each Christmas in Davos, Switzerland? Where Canada plays random Euro club teams? Well Canada is one win away from the final, they only have to beat the Moscow Dynamo to get there. Sure... why not.

All Star.
Other than the fact that the All Star game is actually somewhere where people care about the game this year... I'm not really that excited. NHL.com is filled with 'breaking news' updating the allstar voting results. I don't care. I like the skills competition. But the game is a farce and a waste of time. They need to change something, just not sure what. I'll think about it and get back to you.

Sometimes I worry about people...

...and what goes through their heads when they sit down to write an article...

From NHL.com:

Anyone wondering what Sidney Crosby would do for a midwinter encore 12 months "after scoring the winning shootout goal in the inaugural Winter Classic now has their answer. At noon ET today, Crosby eclipsed Jaromir Jagr’s record for the most votes ever received by one player in one season in the history of NHL All-Star Game fan balloting.

Apparently Sidney Crosby has done nothing since scoring that single goal in that one game back in January 2008.

He didn't lead his team to the Stanley Cup finals at age 20. He didn't get inducted into the Order of Nova Scotia. And he absolutely doesn't have 46 points, second only to teammate Evgeni Malkin.

So yes. Obviously surpassing Jagr in allstar fan voting is the obvious encore to that goal he scored outside. Obviously.

Not to mention that it is obviously extremely fair to compare Jagr's time with Crosby's. Online balloting has been around for years and the NHL hasn't had a ballot stuffing problem.

Question, what will Crosby do next?

Answer, if he keeps this up, he might even crack the olympic lineup.

Note: may contain peanuts... er, sarcasm.

QMJHL PLAYOFFS! Round 2 Game 2.

It was game 2 of the Battle of Nova Scotia, and it didn't disappoint. The Halifax Mooseheads pulled out the win 5-3 over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, and the two teams traded goals throughout the game until the Moose finally pulled ahead. The game was fast paced, and as usual a mix of both teams' fans. Unfortunately the officiating played a big part in the game. There was rarely a few moments strung together without a call, and most of the goals came from special teams (in fact, all of the Eagles goals were power play). A particularly brutal series of events occurred near the end of the second period, and I was sitting in the front row on the goal line so this was quite clear to me...

A Mooseheads forward went in on the goaltender on a quasi-breakaway, and was pushed from behind by a Cape Breton forward, as the Mooseheads player went full force into the goaltender he threw the puck behind him to another forward who threw it in the net. Not only did the ref call the goal back. But he also issued a penalty to the Moosehead forward who was pushed in to the goalie. Needless to say, of COURSE Cape Breton tied it up 3-3 with another power play goal.

Overall, I think the Moose played well, but if they're going to go on in the playoffs, they're going to need to play a bit better on the penalty kill and just better defensively overall. The team many times found itself scrambling in their own zone, icing the puck to get out of trouble, defensive zone turnovers and general confusion.


Games 3, 4, and 5 will be held in Sydney Centre 200, but the two teams have 3 DAYS off. I'm sure it's because that 5 hour drive between Halifax and Sydney is outright unbearable.



P.S.HABS beat the Leafs, and to clinch first place overall they need Pittsburgh to lose. An overtime loss would suffice. Tomorrow is the final day of NHL regular season play.

Also Canada (Team Martin of Alberta) got it's first win at the World Men's Curling Championship in Grand Forks, North Dakota against Denmark, winning huge 9-3.

And check out this news release from the Canadiens. It is their logo for the 2009 All-star game, being held in Montreal to commemorate the team's 100th anniversary.