Life Before Stanley
I’m not obsessed with hockey, but last weekend was a hard hard thing in my life…
My best friend and college roommate of three years, Amber, got married on Sunday. Thanks to NBC, the NHL decided to schedule Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday.
So, yours truly was faced with the prospect of missing both games because I was a bridesmaid in Amber’s wedding. The rehearsal was Saturday evening, and the actual wedding was Sunday afternoon/evening.
I toughed it up and went to the wedding, and had a blast. And Amber was cool with me ducking out of the rehearsal and the reception in time to blog both games for the Penguins website. All in all, it worked out for me. Not so much for the Penguins, who are faced with a 2-0 deficit for the second year in a row in the Final. Below, the bride and me, sporting my official Penguins’ playoff hat.
Amber and Debs at the Rehearsal Dinner.
Add comment June 2, 2009
Playoff Predictions
Today is the day. Opening day of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The time of year when every second of every is 100 times more important that it was just two days ago. Let the games begin!
These are my predictions:
Round 1:
-Boston over Montreal in 5, just because of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cr89xbl26g
-Rangers over Caps in 7, because “Jose the open door” will be Alex the Great’s downfall as King Henrick dethrones him.
-Devils over Canes in 6 becuase Parise is underrated and the Staal-Cole line is overrated.
-Pens over Flyers in 6, obviously, so that I can work for them longer because my internship ends when their season does. But also because Dan the Man is an awesome coach (seriosuly, 18-3-4?!).
-Ducks over Sharks in 7, because they set up the Pens with Kunitz, so I hope they fare well, oh and Ryan and Getzlaf are sweet.
-Detroit over Columbus in 7, only because Mason is a rookie prodigy, or else I would say Wings in 4.
-Vancouver over St. Louis in 6, because the Sundin twins supposedly read each other’s minds.
-Chicago over Calgary in 7, did you see how the hawks dismantled the Wings on Easter Sunday? Jokinen or not, the Flames are toast.
Round 2:
-Boston over Rangers in 5 because New York’s offense is no match for that Giant called Chara.
-Pens over Devils in 7, Marty may very well be the best goalie in the league, but he’s no match for the potent Penguins offense.
-Detroit over Ducks in 5, because that’s how mo-town rolls.
-Vancouver over Chicago in 6, just because.
Round 3:
-Pens over Boston in 5. Seriously. I’m calling it. Fleury will be on fire at this point, and so will Sid, Malkin, Guerin, Sykora, etc.etc.
-Detroit over Vancouver in 6.
Final:
-Pens best Wings in 6, and Hossa considers hanging himself in the visitors locker room at the Mellon Arena.
Add comment April 15, 2009
Weekly Twitter Gossip: the ‘Yotes’ have identity crisis
It’s time for the weekly installment of the NHL on Twitter! As promised, I have plucked the weeks best tweets for your enjoyment:
From the Flyers:
FlyersOnTheFlyThe team just touched down in Detroit on a flight from New York.
It’s too bad they don’t go into more detail…was it a crash landing? Bad weather, or perhaps just a field trip to take a look at ol’ Stanley himself?
From the Ducks:
AnaheimDucksBig game tonight vs NSH & the popular Beer Pack is available! 2 tix, 2 beers & 2 hot dogs for $41 ($20 off!) http://tinyurl.com/c3wzk5
CanadiensMTLGrâce à ses habiletés sur la patinoire et hors de celle-ci, Yannick Weber se prépare tout un festin.http://twurl.nl/lyiqx6
CanadiensMTLFind out Yannick Weber’s recipe for success:http://twurl.nl/m0cz5c
NHLBlackhawksAn awful call – not penalty. Seabrook’s hit was definitely clean.
Again from the Blackhawks: (You have to appreciate the way teams keep their injuries under wraps)
NHLBlackhawksBarker is done for the night for an unknown reason; the coaching staff is calling it an “upper, middle or lower body injury.”
phoenixcoyotesLoved the effort last night. Crowd loved physical aspect by Yotes. Team needs to have an identity. Maybe they’ve found one!?-Strader
Add comment March 20, 2009
To MVP or not to MVP? That is the question.
After Evgeni Malkin’s spectacular performance in the Penguins, 6-2, victory of the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday night, how can there possibly be any question that Malkin deserves the Hart Memorial trophy, awarded to the league’s Most Valuable Player at the end of the season? Makin netted two goals and three assists for a five-point night against Atlanta. He just about made it a hat trick in the final minutes of the third period when he was awarded his first ever penalty shot, but the shot went wide. Regardless, Malkin proved himself in a big way in the game. (Catch the highlights here).
Crosby, Malkin and Gonchar cellebrate one of Malkin's two goals (photo Yahoo! Sports).
Malkin’s closest competitor for the award (besides teammate Sidney Crosby) is fellow countryman, Alexander Ovechkin. The Capitals frontman is currently trailing Malkin in the scoring race by 12 points, but he is a valid contender for the Hart Memorial none the less. Ovechkin is an excellent hockey player who plays exciting hockey. But the thing about “Geno,” as Malkin is called in Pittsburgh, is that he continually puts his team in a position to win hockey games.
“When you look at that award, it’s an award where they look for someone specifically who puts their team over and above and makes them win and (Malkin) does that for us,” Sidney Crosby said to PittsburghPenguins.com.
I’ll simply let the numbers speak for Malkin in this case. I will just leave you with one point to consider: The majority of Malkin’s point come from assists. In fact, 70 (70!) of Malkin’s 102 points are assists. He is leading the league in assists, followed closely by teammate Crosby, who has 65 assists. In my mind, there is something noble about a player who is leading the league in points but the majority of those points came from setting up his teammates. It takes humility and true team play to tally numbers like that. On the other hand, Ovechkin leads the league in goals with 49 (90 points, third best in the league).
Evgeni Malkin
Alex Ovechkin
You Decide: Who deserves to be MVP?
Add comment March 18, 2009
Irish Obsession
Why is the NHL obsessed with St. Patricks day? The league doesn’t do this for any other holiday, but when it comes Saint Patty’s, they create an entire line of products. At the Penguins games against the Senators and Bruins this weekend, the crowd at the Mellon Arena was clad in all sorts of green garb. Many fans even had the special St. Patrick’s day green jersey’s.
The Atlanta Thrahsers are even having a silent auction of their special St. Patricks Day jerseys (Click here for that story). Honestly, I want to know what the craze is all about? I just don’t get the NHL’s random obsession with St. Patrick’s day. Is there even one single Irish player in the NHL? Now there’s some food for thought. Well, feel free to let me know what you think about the St. Pat’s gear. Would you buy a green jersey of your favorite NHL team? Why?
3 comments March 16, 2009
