National Hockey League

[Runey]

Great night! US wins the gold. The Hurrica...oh wait, they still suck.

[ass reamer]

Hell of a game last night between the US and Canada. I didn't think there was any way the Americans were gong to pull it out in overtime after their collapse in the third. Not to mention it was done by soon-to-be Washington Capital John Carlson .

[Ryan]

I'm still kind pissed we lost, but the US deserved it. Still can't get over the heroics of Jordan Eberle.

[WingedWarrior]

I'm still amazed Campbell managed to only let in 2 goals after the latter part of the third and the entire overtime was completely dominated by Canada. Great defense from USA too.

[Tornado Rex]

HO-LY sh*t. The Wild just came back from a 5-1 deficit with about 11 min left in the 3rd to win 6-5 in a shootout over Chicago. If you guys get the chance to watch it, do. It was a great game.

[darthYENIK]

The Ducks have their first four game winning streak since last season. This is a good sign. That and Selanne has 2 goals in 2 games. Yeah, so one goal was only his because it bounced off the shaft of his stick, and probably would have gone in anyway, and the other goal is an empty netter. But that empty netter took some skill. I can see this as the point where the Ducks make their come back. The division is probably a lost cause, but the playoffs are still very much in sight.

[ass reamer]

The Caps laying an ass-whooping on the Pens last night was beautiful. Would've loved to have been there when Ovie was announced first star.

[darthYENIK]

What pisses me off is they didn't even show that game on a nation wide channel, in the U.S. or Canada!

[WingedWarrior]

Meh, it was during a weekday. They'd get bad ratings in the US and in Canada since both are US teams.

[ass reamer]

Meh, it was during a weekday. They'd get bad ratings in the US and in Canada since both are US teams.

The local affiliate here (CSN-DC) had record-breaking ratings for that game. And if I recall correctly, when the Caps and Pens met for an afternoon Sunday game on NBC's game of the week it got some of the highest ratings for a regular season hockey game in years. Caps/Pens is a pretty big draw nowadays, I'm amazed it wasn't on a national channel in either country.

 

Anyway, the caps are really rolling right now. I've finally acknowledged that sending Chris Clark and Milan Jurcina to Columbus for Chimera was a good trade. Guys like Chimera and Fehr are who allow us to have 3 scoring lines right now. I know there's still a long way to go in the season, but I've got a damn good feeling about this team.

 

I just bought tickets for when the Penguins come to town on Feb. 7th. Can't wait.

[WingedWarrior]

It's a great month to be a Sens fan. After today's overtime win over Montreal, Ottawa set a franchise record with 9 straight wins.

[Tornado Rex]

Holy sh*t. Did anyone see the huge deal the Leafs made today?

 

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=515662

 

 

The complete deal was Phaneuf, right wing Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie to Toronto for forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White.

and

 

Burke was back at the podium later in the day to announce the acquisition of Giguere from the Anaheim Ducks, Burke's most recent post before assuming the reigns in Toronto last season. Sent to Anaheim were goalie Vesa Toskala and winger Jason Blake.

 

Just wow. That's some major players to be tossing around. We'll see if Burke is a genius or an idiot

[WingedWarrior]

He just threw away all of his offense. o.O

[Ryan]

He just threw away all of his offense. o.O

That's what I'm thinking. Be interesting to see how it pans out.

 

Nice to see they finally have a #1 goalie. They're definitely going in the right direction.

[WingedWarrior]

It'll be nice to see how Giguere adapts. Ever since his dad passed away last year, he never really returned to his form. Now that he's reunited with his old goalie coach, he gets an opportunity to find his game again.

 

However, since Toronto is sh*t, he'll get most of the sh*t flying his way when the team continues to lose.

[darthYENIK]

It'll be nice to see how Giguere adapts. Ever since his dad passed away last year, he never really returned to his form. Now that he's reunited with his old goalie coach, he gets an opportunity to find his game again.

 

However, since Toronto is sh*t, he'll get most of the sh*t flying his way when the team continues to lose.

I believe he's been almost back to normal, since at least the beginning of the season. The only reason you saw Hiller, was because I believe Ducks GM Bob Murray, wanted to push Carlyle to play Hiller, so they could give Giguere the boot, and have a younger goalie with a lot of potential. That or Carlyle just doesn't like Giguere.

 

It's not a bad trade, for a cap space, and maybe goalscoring standpoint. But the loss of Jiggy marks an end of an era. Giguere has tons of heart. He thrives on pressure, and has a ton of gas left in his tank. I wouldn't be surprised if he takes the Leafs to the playoffs, maybe not this season, but in seasons to come.

 

Giguere is, and will always be, Anaheim's goalie.

 

 

[Ryan]

And there goes Ottawa's 11 game winning all thanks to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

 

Toronto beat them 5-0. Back-to-back shutouts for JS Giguere as well.

 

I know it's only been a few games, but Toronto seems to be a whole new team with Giguere and Phaneuf. Hopefully they can keep it up. Nice to see them doing well for once.

[darthYENIK]

Every game that Jiggy gets a shutout is another game Randy Carlyle and Bob Murray look like the fools they are. I mean, Murray is okay, but Carlyle just plain sucks. He never gave Jiggy a chance after last season, and would practically insult Jiggy by playing Hiller in back to back games, when Jiggy hadn't played in weeks. I love it.

[Ryan]

And there goes Washington's 14 game winning streak, all thanks to the Montreal Canadians.

 

At one point Montreal was up 5-2, but Washington fought back and tied it at 5-5 with 16 seconds left in the third. Then with 8 seconds left in OT, Montreal managed to score. Definitely didn't expect this from Montreal tonight.

[Tornado Rex]

Sounds like it was a pretty good game. I have it recording tonight so I'll probably check it out tomorrow.

[darthYENIK]

The Ducks have finally clawed their way out of last place in the pacific. Now they just got to win on the road as often as they win at home.

[Tornado Rex]

Man don't start with me on road woes. The Wild are like a completely different team at home. I mean that literally too. It's like watching a completely different team.

[darthYENIK]

Damn, it seems like every team trying to get into a playoff spot in the west either win or lose in sync. But then there is the times when those teams play each other and one has to lose.

[WingedWarrior]

Man don't start with me on road woes. The Wild are like a completely different team at home. I mean that literally too. It's like watching a completely different team.

Was watching the Wild-'Nucks game today and you're right. The Wild completely dominated Vancouver in pretty much every aspect. I guess it's easier to focus on your game when you know you have a solid netminder.

 

Sens crawled out from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Isles 4-3. Great way to end things before the Olympic Break.

[trip]

Oh man. Us v Canada for the mens gold tomorrow. Gonna be a good one.

[darthYENIK]

Was a good one.

 

Read 'em and weap boys. Nine (of nine Olympians) Ducks players made it to or past the quarterfinals, and seven of those medaled. Two bronze, two silver, and three gold.

 

I just hope they aren't too tired to play the rest of the season.

[trip]

It was a great game. Man that tie goal with 24seconds left in the 3rd was freakin awsome!!

 

Even though I would have enjoyed seeing the US take the gold, it doesn't hurt that much at all that Canada won. Although, I would have preferred someone other then Crosby getting the winning goal.

 

I'm going on record here. I can't stand Crosby.

[Ryan]

I think Crosby's goal is easily now the the biggest Canadian hockey history moment. Paul Henderson's goal to win the Summit Series for Canada was an amazing goal and went down in Canada history as "that" moment in hockey. Crosby winning the game in overtime for Canada on Canadian soil is now the new "that" moment in hockey.

 

Seriously though, the Sidney is only 23 and he's done it already. For those of you who whine about how you can't stand him, what has Ovcheckin done compared to Crosby? That's right; nothing.

[WingedWarrior]

But then again, look at Crosby's supporting cast, during the Olympics and the NHL. I haven't watched either enough to make a proper judgment on either player, but you have to consider the many factors that have a play in both player's success.

[darthYENIK]

In the tournament he was pretty average, including that soft goal to win gold. But it was a clutch play, and he deserves praise for it. I'm not necessarily a Crosby hater. I hate when the media focuses on him, and doesn't give credit to people like Malkin. That may make me sound bitter toward him, but overall I respect him. Do I think he's even close to having Gretzky's or Mario's talent? I'll just say no comment.