Ponds and Pucks

There’s been a lot of brouhaha in the hockey world this week regarding the Flyers’ latest suspension and warning from the NHL.

And on the heels of that, the Flyers have recalled Steve Downie, the minor-leagues whose 20 game suspension before the season was even underway began the new era of the Broadstreet Bullies.

First things first — Riley Cote was given a three-game suspension for an elbow on Matt Niskanen. I haven’t seen the play, and I think my head will hurt too much if I try to understand how an elbow could warrant a three-game suspension. Especially while not one but two Bruins players were absolutely drilled — one while the guy was on his freakin knees — and that’s only worth two games each. NHL, inconsistency is thy name.

Then Commish Gary Bettman essentially put the Flyers org “on notice” (with apologies to Steven Colbert). Does the NHL even have any power to do anything about this? If Downie runs someone else, can the NHL prove that coaching and management sent him out to do it? And wouldn’t that be a tad obvious on the Flyers’ part?

Philly plays Minnesota tonight. Considering these two teams play once a year if they’re lucky, there shouldn’t be any of the usual intensity that leads to vicious hits and shots to the head. But then, Vancouver’s Ryan Kessler probably thought the same thing before he met Jesse Boulerice.

Downie has already been quoted as saying he doesn’t plan to change his style of play, saying it’s what’s gotten him “this far”. I’m not sure what “this far” means, in terms of the NHL, since he’s been suspended from the NHL for, oh 20 games more than he’s played in it, but hey, whatever works.

Steve Downie, Riley Cote, Matt Niskanen, Gary Bettman, Steven Colbert, Ryan Kessler, Jesse Boulerice

I figured the Boston/Philly game could go any number of ways, however the one thing I didn’t expect was that Philly would rough up yet another Boston Bruin.

Here’s the hit for anyone who hasn’t yet seen it:

I never thought Scott Hartnell was that kind of player. What are the Philly coaches putting in the water bottles?

Hartnell has been suspended (2 games of course). I’m glad the NHL is taking shots to the head seriously again (is my sarcasm clear enough?). I’d love a count of Flyers’ suspensions compared to every other team in the league. The Jesse Boulerice suspension alone probably totals more than all the other teams in the NHL combined. But those Flyers, they keep on trucking…. top of the division and no sign of stopping now.

Scott Hartnell, Jesse Boulerice

I’m glad TSN.ca had the preview of the Boston Bruins/Philadelhpia Flyers game on their front page, otherwise I wouldn’t have thought twice about it.

For those like me who forgot, the last time these teams met, Patrice Bergeron was taken from the ice in a stretcher after being checked face first into the boards by Randy Jones. Jones received a two game suspension from the NHL, adding to a string of dirty hits and suspensions for the Flyers.

I wasn’t aware that Bergeron has yet to return to play. He has a Grade 3 concussion and a broken nose, and may not return this season.

So, like so many other “re-matches” of the season, this game is being hyped, by TSN anyway. Maybe it’s a slow hockey day.

Is any revenge going to be exacted tonight? These are both good teams playing well, in the case of Boston, shouldn’t they be more concerned about gaining more points in the standings, increasing the distance between themselves and the Sabres… and Toronto?

The Bruins have too much going on to be distracted by revenge. As much as a big brawl is fun to talk about, as the Boston Globe points out, the media is making more out of this than the players are. (The Boston Herald also went with the points over revenge theme today).

Some of Boston’s biggest heavyweights are hurt, making a fight seem even less likely.

But I have a feeling someone will go after Jones, just to enforce a certain code of honor, even if it’s just to duke it out, then get on with the game.

Boston Bruins, Philadelhpia Flyers, Patrice Bergeron, Randy Jones

In honor of the Devil’s Martin Brodeur and his 500th win the other night, here’s a YouTube selection of some of the goalie’s best moments:

From the Stanley Cup Finals of 2000. Dallas was trying to repeat, the Devils were having none of it. I love this video because it shows just how good Mike Modano can be and how good Brett Hull was. But Brodeur was better.

Not only can he stop them, he can score them! Brodeur scores what I think is his first NHL goal here. The goal itself is one of the nicest goalie-goals I’ve seen, not touching the ice until it’s past the red-line. And while you can’t see Brodeur’s face too clearly, he looks pretty darn pleased with himself.

Right up to his 500th win, Brodeur was making those incredible saves. Check out:

Rapid fire drill, All-Star game 1999. I was lucky enough to see this live. Bonus: Close up of the Jagr mullet.

Sean Avery bowls over Brodeur. Brodeur won’t stand for it and goes after Avery, and complete and total chaos erupts. His teammates rush in to help out, but I think Brodeur would have liked to have taken care of Avery all on his own.

Still not sure what this is, but it’s nice to see Brodeur doing his best to keep the fans amused. Scratch “Russian dancing” off his list of talents though.

They weren’t all good goals. Marty managed to pot one on himself in a rare misstep in the 2003 Stanley Cup finals.

But mostly, he is busy making saves like this. Enjoy.

Martin Brodeur

Going Five Hole’s post on the NHL Officials Association site got me thinking about that age old incident between the New Jersey Devils‘ head coach Jim Schoenfeld and NHL ref Don Koharski.

To refresh your memory, during the 1988 playoffs, Koharski was reffing a game between the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. Schoenfeld was less than impressed with the quality of the officiating and waited for Koharski after the the game to “discuss” the matter with Koharski. Their discussion disintegrated into a screaming match with Schoenfeld eventually shoving Koharski (ok, it does look like Koharski tripped, but that’s been debated to death, and it’s more fun to say he was shoved) and uttering the now famous “you fat pig”, quickly followed by the even more famous “have another doughnut”.

Naturally, because this is the NHL, everything was caught by nearby cameras:

The NHL suspended Schoenfeld, but he was re-instated after the Devils got a court-order. As a result, NHL referees stood by Koharski and boycotted the playoff game. The league had to use replacement officials for the game.

As silly as our refs can be, at least the NHL has never had to deal with an NBA-type ref scandal. Yet.

Don Koharski still refs in the NHL and runs an Officiating and Development Camp in Canada in the summer.

And of course, the incident was immortalized in the movie Wayne’s World, with a character called Officer Koharski (police… doughnuts… c’mon it’s funny!).

New Jersey Devils, Jim Schoenfeld, Don Koharski, Boston Bruins

Some of the highlights of Sean Avery’s career that have little to do with hockey:

• Avery first made his presence known when he spoke out during the 2004-2005 NHL lockout, claiming the NHLPA had lied to its members about the lockout.
• In the 2005 season, Avery made his now legendary comments regarding French-Canadian players and visors. After Denis Gauthier gave Jeremy Roenick a concussion, Avery said this was typical behavior for French players with visors, to play rough and not back it up. Avery later apologized for his comments.
• Later that same season Avery was accused of calling Georges Laraque a “monkey” during a heated exchange on the ice. Avery continues to deny that allegation.
• Still that same season, Avery became the first player in NHL history to be fined under the new “diving” rules. He was fined just over a month into the season.
• Avery was fined again the next day for mouthing off about the fine and the NHL’s Colin Campbell, claiming the fine wasn’t about diving, but something about Avery himself.
• At the end of the same season (still in 2005-2006), Avery was caught up in a very public feud with former player and current announcer Brian Hayward. Avery took exception to Hayward’s comments that Avery had backed down from a fight, and slammed Hayward’s abilities as an announcer and a player. Hayward famously retorted, “How would you know? When I played, you were in your third year of eighth grade.”
• Unsurprisingly, near the end of the season, the Kings suspended Avery, saying he was arguing with coaching staff and refusing practice drills. However, the Kings signed Avery to a $1.1 million deal in the off-season.



• Avery was traded to the New York Rangers in February of 2007. Within two months the Rangers had made the playoffs despite being well out of contention for most of the season. Coaches and players credited Avery as being the catalyst behind the turnaround, saying he had acted as a leader, pumped up the team and led by example.
• However, by the time arbitration came around the following off-season, even the Rangers labelled him a “detriment to the team” and “not a mature player”.
• All wasn’t rosy by the beginning of training camp either.

Avery returned from injury on November 3. It took a week for the madness to return.

Sean Avery, Denis Gauthier, Jeremy Roenick, Georges Laraque, Colin Campbell, Brian Hayward

Did Sean Avery finally take it too far?

By now the story is known throughout the hockey world: During the warm-up of the Saturday night game between the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Avery decided to stir things up. In classic Avery fashion, he said something volatile to Toronto’s Jason Blake (so say the Leafs).

Blake, if you remember, was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year, so there’s a lot of speculation Avery’s comments were related to that.

Whatever they were, Darcy Tucker — not exactly of the cooler heads variety himself — overheard and took exception, and the next thing you know, the teams are having to separate Tucker and Avery.

And that was just the warm up.

Naturally, Tucker and Avery fought in the first and Tucker made it sound like their battles weren’t even close to over when he was interviewed by the CBC in the first intermission.

They didn’t fight again, but Avery managed to set up Brendan Shanahan for one goal and scored his own a few minutes later, which was sure to irritate the Leafs further.

Now Colin Campbell wants a word with Mr. Avery.

You can find more coverage at ESPN, Canoe.ca, and the Globe takes it up a notch by saying Avery is equally angry about the public accusations from Tucker. This is going to get interesting.

(more…)

Sean Avery, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Jason Blake, Darcy Tucker, Brendan Shanahan, Colin Campbell

Leafs fans chanting “Let’s Go Raptors” during the Leafs 7-1 loss to Washington? Ouch. What is wrong with the Leafs that they can’t seem to string a series of wins together at home? They keep blaming defensive woes, but registering a single goal a game isn’t going to help matters much either. Whatever doesn’t kill you will make you….. ah nevermind.

Ovechkin got his 7th and 8th if you’re keeping score. Pretty much everyone else on the Capitals got in on the fun as well, with 6 different goal scorers.

And Leafs fans? NBA opens tonight. Maybe the Raptors will fare….. nah.

***

On the other end of the goaltending spectrum, the Flames locked up former Vezina trophy winner Miikka Kiprusoff yesterday, paying a paltry $35 million over 6 years. What a brilliant move. Kipper may be starting slow, but by November he usually shakes off the rust and carries the Flames the rest of the season.

Give Flames GM Darryl Sutter a lot of credit: 2 years ago the Flames were looking at having to resign 3 major UFAs in 2008 — Jarome Iginla, Robyn Regher and Kiprusoff, plus one RFA in Dion Phaneuf. The 3 UFAs are now locked into long-term contracts (Iginla and Regher each signed for 5 years), and the Flames can focus entirely on Phaneuf.

***

Philly’s Randy Jones has been suspended 2 games for his hit on Patrice Bergeron. Is it just me, or is that a complete waste of time? Clearly the Flyers didn’t care enough about a pair of 20 game (or more) suspension to clean up their act. Granted, this hit was a lot different. Fact is, the Flyers are successful right now, and their rough play (insert 70s Broadstreet Bullies reference here) is part of the reason they’re doing so well. Why on earth would they stop now?

If the NHL is going to hand out a suspension to deter these actions, they should make it, you know, an actual deterrent.

Ovechkin, Miikka Kiprusoff, Darryl Sutter, Jarome Iginla, Robyn Regher, Dion Phaneuf, Randy Jones, Patrice Bergeron, Broadstreet Bullies

Time for my weekly look and the wonderful and wacky world of NHL standings.

Standings fun:

• Ottawa continues to own the east with nine wins. Detroit has the same in the west.
• At the other end of the spectrum, Atlanta has surged to win three games, tying them with follow bottom feeder Phoenix. And it only took Atlanta 11 games to do it!
• Every team in the Northeast Division is .500 or better, with only the Sabres sitting right on the .500 mark.
• Islanders, Lightning, Coyotes and Blues have all played only 9 games, while Anaheim leads the league at 13 games played.
• Washington and Florida are ahead of New Jersey and the NY Rangers. Who says parity is dead? There’s no such phenomenon in the west… everyone is well ahead of Phoenix and Nashville, surprising no one.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

• To most it’s just a Sunday night matchup between two struggling teams, but to the Ducks and the Oilers it’s another chapter in the feud between their respective GMs. Give this round to the Oilers. Of course, the focus was on Dustin Penner. His comments and attitude in the story are actually pretty classy. The bonus was that GM Brian Burke presented Penner with his Stanley Cup ring in the GM’s office after the game. Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall for that little scene?



• Bruins fans are a hardy folk, how else could they get through so many seasons of misery with barely a whimper? The latest in their string of misfortunes, the injury of Patrice Bergeron — one of the few bright lights in the Bruins organization — might be less serious than previously thought as Bergeron was released from the hospital Sunday. Tests showed no injury to Bergeron’s head and neck.

Plus a big congrats to the Boston Red Sox on their World Series win!

Dustin Penner, Brian Burke, Patrice Bergeron

Tonight’s games:

NY Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins - Rangers are 2-4-1, Pens are 4-3-0. Jordan Staal and Marc Staal will be playing against each other for the first time. Rangers recently lost Straka to injury and are in a 3-game losing skid, while the Pens are hoping to extend their winning streak to 3.

Atlanta Thrashers at Toronto Maple Leafs - Atlanta is 1-7-0, while Toronto is 3-4-2. Both teams have had disappointing starts, Atlanta’s coach was fired last week. The rest is too depressing to mention, between defensive woes and goaltending nightmares, winless streaks and goals against. Click the link if you really want to know. Or skip the whole thing and watch Family Guy instead.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Chicago Blackhawks - Columbus is 3-3-1, Chicago is (5-3-0). These division rivals have languished at the bottom of the league for years, so it’s nice to see some improvement on both sides. Chicago’s highly touted rookies Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have made all the difference, and are both among team leaders for points. Columbus goalie Pascal Leclaire already has an amazing 3 shutouts this season, and Rick Nash is leading the team with 5 goals.

Anaheim Ducks at St. Louis Blues - Ducks are 4-5-1, Blues are 4-2-0. Blues are another Central division team that has taken off early in the season thanks to free agent signing Paul Kariya and to solid netminding from Manny Legace. The Ducks are struggling and currently mired in their longest season-opening road losing streak ever.

NY Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Jordan Staal, Marc Staal, Straka, Atlanta Thrashers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Pascal Leclaire, Rick Nash, Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues, Paul Kariya, Manny Legace

The Canadiens allow a goal with 11 seconds remaining and go on to lose in a shoot-out to the Panthers.

The Flames rise to a 4-0 lead early in the second period and go on to lose in a shoot-out to the Avalanche.

Which team deserves the dunce cap more?

***

ESPN’s second power rankings of the season are up. No surprises here, though I think the Penguins-love is a little heavy. 5th overall for a .500 team? Ranked ahead of 3-1-0 teams like the Flyers and Lightning? I know all it takes is Sid the Kid to kick start his game and the Penguins are right back in the top 5, but it hasn’t happened yet.

***

A quick look at the NHL standings shows some interesting things:

• Minnesota remains the only team unbeaten in regulation.
• At the other end of the spectrum, at 0-6-0 Atlanta has yet to register a single point in the standings. Those of you with bets over the first coach fired should start looking at who has poor Bob Hartley.
• Philadelphia is the only Atlantic Division team over .500. Both the Northeast and Southeast divisions have 3 teams over .500.
• Los Angeles has allowed the most goals in the league (30). Toronto is a close second at 29.
• Toronto also has scored the most goals in the league (26)
• Anaheim has played twice as many games (8) as Pittsburgh, Tampa, St. Louis and Columbus.
• New Jersey and Boston have yet to play a home game. Every team in the league has played a road game.

The city of Philadelphia may be seeing the resurgance of the Broadstreet Bullies!

We’ll start with the obvious:

1. Jesse Boulerice cross-checks Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler

   The jury is still out on how many games Boulerice is going to get for this hit, but considering the trend started by teammate Steve Downie in the pre-season, I can’t imagine the NHL is going to be too lenient. This video also has an excellent collection of the sparring Boulerice and Kesler had been involved in prior to the hit.

2. Steve Downie hits Dean McAmmond

   Pre-season. What else is there to say? Downie got 20 games for this. Considering he left his feet, I’d say he’s lucky.

3. Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers set single game penalty minutes record

   Ok, I’m cheating a little here, but how can I not include the game/fight that set the NHL single game penalty minutes record? Bear in mind, this 7 minute YouTube video is only part 1 of 3 covering the mayhem that night.

4. Denis Gauthier’s late hit on Vincent Lecavalier

   Disclaimer: I love Denis Gauthier. I also love Vincent Lecavalier. But there is no love between these guys — and that goes back years. This isn’t a dirty hit as much as it’s a cheap shot, and a debatable one at that. One could argue Gauthier had Lecavalier lined up well before the puck went in and didn’t have time to stop. Either way, you’ve got to love any player who can score a pretty goal like that, then turn around and start pummeling the guy who hit him.

5. Ron Hextall

   
   

   Two for the price of one. There’s nothing else to say. The Chris Chelios attack was of course revenge for Chelios’s hit on Brian Propp earlier in the series (available on YouTube — but fairly gruesome).

Sadly, I was unable to include Dave Brown’s jaw-breaking cross check on Tomas Sandstrom. That hit netted Brown 15 games in November of 1987, still one of the longest suspensions in NHL history (though falling out of the Top 10 quickly).

For a fun list of Flyers’ misdeeds over the years, check out FlyersHistory.com. It’s been years since I’ve seen a suspension for “beating [another player] in the penalty box” (and 2 Flyers players were suspended for beating the same player!).

Broadstreet Bullies, Jesse Boulerice, Ryan Kesler, Steve Downie, Dean McAmmond, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Denis Gauthier, Vincent Lecavalier, Ron Hextall, Chris Chelios, Brian Propp, Dave Brown, Tomas Sandstrom

New Jersey Devils

Notable moves and changes:Signed F Dainius Zubrus (was with Washington). Named Brent Sutter head coach.
Starting goalie: Martin Brodeur
Summary of last year: It’s usually more of a surprise when the Devils DON’T take 1st in the Atlantic Division, and last year was no different. As always, the consistent play of Brodeur was a key reason — it’s gotten to the point where fans just expect Brodeur to be nothing less than the best goalie in the league.
Prediction for this year: The Devils suffered some key losses in the off-season — notably Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski. The core of the team remains strong and the addition of a Sutter in the coaching role is almost always a good thing. This will likely still be a year of adjustment for the Devils, though hopefully they’ll have at least a year to adjust. ‹insert joke about GM Lou Lamoriello’s tendency to fire coaches right before the playoffs here›.

New Jersey Devils, Dainius Zubrus, Brent Sutter, Martin Brodeur, Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski, Lou Lamoriello’s

Pittsburgh Penguins

Notable moves and changes:Signed D Darryl Sydor and F Petr Sykora.
Starting goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury
Summary of last year: It seems incredible now, but at the mid-point of the season, the Pens were languishing in the bottom half of the standings. Once the young guns hit their stride, they were off to the races, and finished second in the Atlantic.
Prediction for this year: What else is there to say? Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Ray Whitney, Fleury, and Sidney Crosby are all only going to get better (heaven help us all). There’s a nice mix of veteran leadership here too, with Sergei Gonchar, Gary Roberts and now Sydor and Sykora. With that playoff experience and that young talent, expect to see the Pens at the top of the Eastern Conferenced for years to come.

Pittsburgh Penguins, Darryl Sydor, Petr Sykora, Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Ray Whitney, Sidney Crosby, Sergei Gonchar, Gary Roberts

New York Rangers

Notable moves and changes: Signed F Chris Drury and F Scott Gomez.
Starting goalie: Henrik Lundqvist.
Summary of last year: Picking up the troubled Sean Avery from the Kings in February was by all accounts the turnaround moment for the Rangers. Avery lit a fire under the Rangers’ collective butts and sparked the team to jump from 11th in the Eastern Conference to making the playoffs and sweeping Atlanta in the first round. Who knew the problem child in LA would turn into a team motivator in New York? Another savvy Sather move.
Prediction for this year: The fact the New York Rangers went on a free agent signing over the summer is not news. The fact they may have actually improved their team is. Gomez and Drury more than make up for the loss of Michael Nylander and Brad Isbister. Yeah, the Rangers did well. Shanny’s back, Jagr’s still firing on all cylanders, Avery’s mucking it up (and helping out on the scoresheet), and Henrik Lundqvist is hopefully primed to continue his amazing streak from last year. Defensively they’re a little suspect, but with the improvements made this off-season, who will notice?

UPDATE: Looks like I spoke too soon. Sean Avery is already heavily rumored to be on his way out of New York according to ESPN. Seems Avery’s displeasure at the Ranger’s comments at his arbitration hearing has not faded and the Rangers fear the old distracting Avery might show up for camp. Stay tuned.

New York Rangers, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Sean Avery, Michael Nylander, Jagr, Henrik Lundqvist