HipE wrote:Crosby finally fought tonight, and handled himself very well against Andrew Ference.
He did. He had to, Ference was all over him during the game, including a bit of a cheap shot hit after Crosby scored. The bout I really wanted to see go longer was Chara-Laraque, and both times it ended rather quickly.
M. Gaborik had a monster of night scoring five goals vs the Rangers, great player to watch. I hate the Wild and he's as exciting as they come.
10spro wrote:The league has suspended Simon for 30 games and they think it's harsh for a repeat offender like Chris. Weak, he should have been gone for the remainder of the season.
Do I hear the sound of Colie Campbell slapping Simon's wrists? The sound is so weak, so faint, that I'm having trouble hearing it.
Take care,
PK
Isn't this the longest suspension in league history? Can you really call that a slap on the wrist? I think the punishment is a good length for the crime.
pk500 wrote:
vader29 wrote:Before last nights Penguins game they mentioned that the NHL is thinking of doing an outdoor game every year and next seasons game may be the Penguins playing the Flyers in Beaver Stadium.
I sure hope that doesn't happen. The novelty factor of the outdoor game would evaporate after a couple of years of annual games, and the new fan or passive fan -- who will watch the outdoor game Jan. 1 from Buffalo -- won't tune in.
These games should be done every few years, not every year. And they DEFINITELY should be done in cold-weather markets like Canadian cities, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago, Minnesota and Colorado, not in Sun Belt NHL cities.
The entire point is that the outdoor games are an ode to pond hockey, and a marketing gimmick. I doubt there's much shinny played in Anaheim, Phoenix or Atlanta.
Take care,
PK
As I understand it, this is just an idea the Flyers came up with and are floating with the Pens and the league. I'm not convinced it's a good idea yet, but how crazy would it be to have a (theoretically) 50/50 crowd of 100k for the increasingly nasty Flyers-Pens rivarly?
Naples, the ideal suspension for C. Simon would have been the entire season including playoffs for what he did to J. Rutuu. The guy has no respect for others and the reason why I think he deserved more is because of his history of violent offenses. The way he's living his Hockey life, he may come back, play a dozen games and totally lose it again for whatever reasonagainst another player. Simon needs some serious counselling for whatever problem plagues him personally, and it's not Hockey related.
Yeah, that is ridiculous. Just as bad as what Simon pulled.
It's also a farce that Marty Lapointe got just two minutes -- not even a match penalty -- for deliberately going knee-to-knee with the Oilers' Ales Hemsky on Sunday night in Chicago. Lapointe should get at least 10 games or sit as long as Hemsky is out injured -- whatever is longer.
That f*cking washed-up, has-been Lapointe may have just put a fork into what was left of the Oil's season after injuring their most talented player, and he gets a whopping two minutes in the sin bin?
Colin Campbell is becoming almost as much of a joke as Gary Bettman. That's saying something.
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
The thing that is so annoying about Campbell is that he gets some things just right, like 25 games for Boulerice's terrible stick attack or 30 games for Simon's stomp. And then a very similar incident happens in another game and there's no suspension whatsoever. Mind boggling.
Feanor wrote:The thing that is so annoying about Campbell is that he gets some things just right, like 25 games for Boulerice's terrible stick attack or 30 games for Simon's stomp. And then a very similar incident happens in another game and there's no suspension whatsoever. Mind boggling.
Agreed. Well said. The lack of consistency is inexplicable.
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
The next megastar of the NHL had a great start in the World Juniors. If you guys get some kind of TV feed of the event, watch 17 year old John Tavares.
10spro wrote:The next megastar of the NHL had a great start in the World Juniors. If you guys get some kind of TV feed of the event, watch 17 year old John Tavares.
DAMN IT -- the games are on the NHL Network, and I forgot to set the DVR. Thanks for the reminder, though!
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
BTW, I'm not quite sure what camera angle they call it, isometric from NHL 2K7 is what comes to my mind now, but that's the ideal angle to broadcast any Hockey game. During PP's, it's great to watch. That was a great game against the Czechs, who are not a walk in the park by any means (a couple of J. Jagr's coming along).
It was a nice outdoor event and more importantly, the non Hockey fans seemed to have enjoyed the game. Sadly the snow and poor ice conditions made the game crawl to about 3/4 (sometimes half) of the usual speed these guys are used to playing with several stoppages to fix the ice. But in terms of attracting attention to the game, I think the NHL got it in this game.
It's hard to argue from the marketing point of view when you have 75.000+ spectators watching the coolest game on earth. There's talk about promoting another outdoor event next year, if so, I hope they can improve the ice conditions, and improve NBC's coverage (boring).
There's talk that the Habs & Rangers will do the outdoor event next season.
10spro wrote:There's talk that the Habs & Rangers will do the outdoor event next season.
Minnesota should be the next U.S. spot. A cradle of hockey in this country where pond hockey is an institution.
You're right about NBC's coverage: Piss-poor. As an example, that "feature interview" with Crosby between the second and third period was nothing more than an MTV video with about 10 seconds of Crosby speaking.
Plus I can't stand Mike Emrick. He's the Mike Patrick of hockey, hyperventilating over plays that don't need the melodrama and endlessly reciting meaningless stats, player hometowns and AHL career affiliations just so he can thrust his hockey geek on the Western world. He sucks. This game begged for Gary Thorne and Bill Clement.
Eddie O added little to the broadcast for NBC, and neither did Panger.
But who cares? It still was a great day for hockey, as Badger Bob Johnson -- God rest his soul -- used to say.
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
pk500 wrote:Minnesota should be the next U.S. spot. A cradle of hockey in this country where pond hockey is an institution.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure where they could play the game. Maybe after the new Twins stadium is built it could work as a host facility, but everything is either too small or indoors right now.
At least the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships are being held on a lake in Minneapolis later this month.
The great thing about today's game was that it brought the skill level of the game to an understandable level for mere mortals.
Guys who played at a high level in high school or collegiately like Sudz can identify with the incredible skill of NHL players. But beer leaguers and pond hockey zealots like me can't, as much as I follow and love the game.
But there were a bunch of times I saw rolling pucks today and passes getting neutered by the snow on the ice, and I thought, "Damn, I've had that happen to me a zillion times on the pond or the local town rink!"
Simply magical.
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
pk500 wrote:Minnesota should be the next U.S. spot. A cradle of hockey in this country where pond hockey is an institution.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure where they could play the game. Maybe after the new Twins stadium is built it could work as a host facility, but everything is either too small or indoors right now.
At least the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships are being held on a lake in Minneapolis later this month.
Dave:
How about the Gophers' new home football stadium on New Year's Day 2010? Play a game in Montreal next New Year's Day, moving to the new outdoor football stadium in 2010.
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
pk500 wrote:How about the Gophers' new home football stadium on New Year's Day 2010? Play a game in Montreal next New Year's Day, moving to the new outdoor football stadium in 2010.
After the debacle this season, I forgot the Gophers had a football team, let alone getting a new stadium! But you are correct, that would be an ideal venue.
pk500 wrote:Eddie O added little to the broadcast for NBC
He does an excellent job for the Hawks television broadcasts but he usually uses the replays a lot to show things going on in the game. It was weird not hearing his analysis over a replay. He almost seemed handcuffed by NBC's coverage.
I am a patient boy.
I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait.
My time is water down a drain.
