In Glacialis Blog

Permaneo nox noctis, EGO vigilo Flyers quod Insula pugna is sicco in Venatus 6 of 1980 Sto Vas Denique in NHL Network. Unus of res ut EGO couldnt’ succurro animadverto erant awesome mustaches, talis ut illud lusum per Bryan Trottier quod Expedio Gillies. Miserabile, they iustus dont’ grow ‘em amo ut anymore. Solus mustachioed vir quisnam statim adveho ut mens inter current NHL ludio ludius belongs ut Ducks: George Parros.

Est illic a ludio ludius sicco illic quisnam can erigo talea in mustaches? (illud nasty Oreo crustulum mustaches dont’ duco, aut) Olie had a bonus satus fere viginti annus abhinc, tamen is eventually added goatee pro eschewing facial saeta omnino. Lascivio barba quoque dont’ duco, acsi Ovechkin did lucror “ lascivio Barba of Mensis” exPlayoffBeard.com. Utpote fossa es cyclical, suus’ tantum a res of vicis pro mustache formo est tergum. Quod EGO dont’ volo video vidi visum illud penicullus- tenuis tardus ’80s mustaches. Reputo Ius Nazi ut econtra ut John Aequora.

Donatus Folium C Jiri Tlustys’ repensnaughty photo incident, maybe is should satus growing a magnus ol’ mustache illo dissimulo vultus ( tamen non quoque Volubilis Fingers vel quisquam). Iustus a sententia.

Quispiam valde frigus est venio procul Honda Center in Aneheim. FSN Occasus vescor NHL Center Glacies est ostendo LA Rex rgis Anaheim Ducks venatus. Ut’ Northmanni. Quis isnt’ est ut illic es haudrenuntio Iustus sanus of venatus quod plebis. Oh, quod totus venit Angli es ex glacies campester per quis they dico “Rinkside Visum”

Eatenus, solus narro per ullus renuntio est typical velox spatium per a ludio ludius procul terminus of period quod a inviso decorus labor lapsus of Zamboni per FSN personality Bill MacDonald inrideo per. FSN has quoque captus vos visum ut vantage ex broadcast tabernus quod organist.

2nd intermission quoque brought nos a brevis video accersitus “ lusum Scientia” sermo super cattus- amo pondero of a hockey calx. Is eram membrana procul Kettler Caput Iceplex per Olaf Kolzig quod Alex Ovechkin. An Ovechkin slapshot ex 25 feet pervenio Kolzig in .22 secundus. Cepit .11 secundus pro Kolzig ut locus puck, tamen commotus suus glove in positus in .10 secundus, quod probo ut Kolzig does vero have cattus- amo celeritas.

Iam pro satus of 3rd ex glacies campester vacuus renuntio.

Had EGO notus is eram venio, EGO would have coepi vigilo primo of venatus neque nec 3 minutes left in 2nd. Forsitan Comcast SportsNet vires amo experior is sicco quondam. Secundum totus, they broadcasted a venatus per renuntio inter scamnum.

Update[: A highlight video ex Rinkside Visum broadcast can exsisto seen hic.]

Quis would a manus manus of hockey bloggers careo divinatio pro novus NHL season?

Nos dont’ vindicatum potior aut crystallus ball vel spys’ eyes inside palaestra castra of 29 alius stipes, tamen nos sententia is vires exsisto benevolens ut nostrum lector ut congero a album of offseason ( quod tardus permaneo season) ludio ludius tractus, in a concisus lima, quod have aliquantulus fun vitualamen sursum nullus- quoque-accountable “ pollex Sursum” vel “ pollex Down” forecasts pro totus 30 teams.

Basically, a team meritus a “ pollex sursum” si nos sententia suus manuevering quod maturation innutum ut itd’ amplio super suus 2006-07 cuspis numerus. Stipes ut “ subsisto pat” vel engineered boneheaded volo quod/ vel inedicabilis, altus- terminus solvo procurator farewells erant awarded “ pollex down.”

Sic weve’ dummodo panton “primer” a puckhead could postulo hic.

Praeter beer.

Team	Comings	Iens	Juvenis est Servo	Verdict
	Mathieu Schneider	Selanne quod Neidermeyer ( pro iam?), Pulvis Penner	Bobby Ryan
	Eric Perrin, Ken Klee, Todd Niveus	Scott Mellanby, Crur Hnidy, Glen Metropolit, Keith Tkachuk, Denis Harniis, Eric Belanger,	Bryan Parum(?)
	Glen Metropolit, Aaron Pupillus pupilla, Peter Schaefer	Crur Donovan	Res Ferito (?)
	Jocelyn Thibault	Fere sulum	Dan Paille, Drew Baculus
	Adrian Aucoin, David Vigoratus, Cory Sarich, Owen Nolan	Tony Inter, Jeff Amicus, Romanorum Hamrlik, Brad Stuart, Andrei Zyuzin	Eric Nystrom (?)
	Res Runco	Jack Johnson, Anson Currus, David Tanabe	Nullus	Hmm . . .
	Brent Spoel, Robert Lingua, Sergei Samsanov, Andrei Zyuzin, Yanic Perreault	Michal Manus manus, Adrian Aucoin, Peter Vinculum, Jason Cullimore	Jonathon Toews, Pium Kane, Jack Solers
	Scott Hannan, Ryan Smyth,	Ken Klee, Pierre Turgeon, Ossi Vaananen, Pium Brisebois	Nullus
	Michael Peca, Jiri Novotny	Vepres Boucher, Bryan Berard	Gilbert Brule, Insulto Orichalcum (?)	Hmm . . .
	Todd Fedoruk	Res Barnaby, Jon Klemm, Eric Lindros, Ladislav Nagy, Pium Stefan, Darryl Sydor	Niklas Grossman
	Vepres Rafalski, Dallas Drake	Robert Lingua, Todd Bertuzzi, Kyle Calder, Danny Vestigium, Mathieu Schneider	Igor Grigorenko
	Crusta Acidus, Joni Pitkanen, Pulvis Penner, Denis Grebeshkov, Dick Tarnstrom	Ryan Smyth, Joffrey Lupul, Petr Sykora, Jason Smith	Sam Gagner, Ryan OMarra’ (?)	Hmm . . .
	Uber Zednik, Radek Dvorak, Tomas Vokoun	Ed Belfour, Alex Auld, Bellicus Gelinas, Sarcalogos Memor, Todd Bertuzzi	Nullus
	Brad Stuart, Tom Preissing, Kyle Calder, Michal Manus manus, Ladislav Nagy	Mathieu Garon, Jamie Heward, Tom Kostopoulos, Jamie Lundmark, Aaron Miller	Jonathon Bernier, Jack Johnson
	Eric Belanger, Sean Tumulosus,	Ratio Fernandez, Todd Niveus	Benoit Fomentum (?)	Hmm . . .
	Romanorum Hamrlik, Bryan Smolinski, Tom Kostopoulos	Crusta Acidus, Radek Bonk, Sergei Samsanov, Mike Johnson	Tutela Pretium, Kyle Chipchura, Andrei Kostitsyn
	Bellicus Gelinas, Radek Bonk	Fere sulum	Villa Koistinen, Kevin Klein (?)
	Fastidiosus Zubrus, Vitali Vishnevski, Kevin Weekes, Karel Rachunek	Scott Gomez, Vepres Rafalski	Nicklas Bergfors (?)
	Bill Guerin, Mike Socius, Ruslan Fedotenko	Fere sulum	Sean Bergenheim (?)
	Scott Gomez, Sarcalogos Drury	Michael Nylander, Karel Rachunek, Res Runco, Kevin Weekes, Brad Isbister	Proficiscor Staal, Ryan Callahan (?)
	Tondeo Donovan, Luke Richardson, Denis Harniis	Mike Socius, Tom Preissing, Peter Schaefer, Oleg Saprykin	Nick Foligno, Vepres Lee
	Daniel Concisus, Joffrey Lupul, Jason Smith, Bellicus Biron, Scott Upshall, Kimo Timonen	Peter Forsberg, Joni Pitkanen, Kyle Calder, Robert Esche, Todd Fedoruk, Mike York	Braydon Coburn, Ryan Parentis
	Alex Auld, Radim Vrbata, Niko Kapanen, Mike York	Owen Nolan, Jeremy Roenick, Velum Joseph, Mike Ricci	Peter Mueller
	Darryl Sydor, Gary Roberts, Petr Sykora	Eric Cairns, Joel Kwiatkowski, Jocelyn Thibault, Michel Ouellet, Nils Ekman, Josef Melichar	Kristopher Letang
	Craig Flumen, Jeremy Roenick	Scott Hannan, Bill Guerin, Vesa Toskala	Nullus	Hmm . . .
	Paul Kariya, Keith Tkachuk	Radek Dvorek, Dallas Drake, Glen Metropolit, Jamie Flumen	Erik Johnson
	Michel Ouellet, Sarcalogos Memor, Jan Hlavac	Cory Sarich, Ruslan Fedotenko, Eric Perrin	Karri Ramo (?)
	Jason Blake, Vestigium Campana, Vesa Toskala	Jeff ONeill’, Michael Peca, Yanic Perreault, J.S. Aubin	Jiri Tlusty (?)
	Brad Isbister, Ryan Crur	Bryan Smolinski, Brent Sopel, Jan Bulis, Rory Fitzpatrick,	Luc Bourdon (?)
	Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov, Tom Venenum	Fastidiosus Zubrus, Kris Beech, Bryan Muir, Jiri Novotny	Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Viridis, Tomas Flesichmann

Hockey lost unus of suus valde is weekend: Max McNab mortuus in Sunday, September 2nd.

Porro- vicis fans may memor ut in 1975 McNab quoniam Caput’ imperator procurator. McNab subsisto GM insquequo 1982; Caps drafted prominent ludio ludius amo Rick Viridis, Ryan Walter, Mike Gartner, Bengt Gustafsson, quod repens U.S. Aula of Laus adduco Bobby Lignarius, totus per McNab procul galea.

Exsisto certus ut lego is heartwarming USA Hodie fabula super Maxs’ filius David McNab, suffragium GM pro Anaheim Ducks ( quod quondam Lavatio Caput explorator), ut abbas quod filius celebrate Ducks’ Sto Vas victoria una.

Gary Melior hodie proventus sequens editio in obduco of Max McNab:

“Max McNab ludio ludius quod cogo quod curo in dozens of civis, quod is no amicitia pro hockey in sulum unus of lemma. Solus affectus ut validus suus superbia in venatus eram tripudium is traho ex is. Ut a ludio ludius, ut an effectus, ut patriarch of an palmarium hockey prosapia quod ut an orator nostri lusum, Max McNab eram a champion. NHL mos requiro him carus. Nos transporto nostrum profundus sympathy ut suus diligo ones quod amicitia”

Ut lego magis super McNab, click hic quodhic.

Iocus’ Rink permissum Caput’ angustus season ticket contemplatio ex pera ut quondam iterum broached thema of “ glacies Puella”. Neither OrderedChaos neque nec EGO suscipio season ticket contemplatio, sic nos dont’ teneo si is comprehendo praeter quinque questions memoratus per Iocus’.

Tametsi nos have penso informatio of Lavatio Caput’ Glacies Puella, nos dont’ teneo si is est a perfectus paciscor necne. Potissimum ceterus teams have iam held suum tryouts. Est Lavatio secundum curvo, sic oro? Vel have eximius specialis auditions iam been held quod glacies puella es promptus pello pepulli pulsum glacies in September 8th?

In ullus theca, nos erant curiosus ut ut quot alius teams have talis squads. refero may admiratio vos.

• Anaheim Ducks Vox Ludio ludius
• Atlanta Thrashers Puteulanus Crew
• Boston Frendo Glacies Puella ( link ut Glacies Puella pelagus page eram lost secundum profugus ut NHL servo)
• Calgary Flamma Glacies Crew
• Carolina Turbo Tempestas Squad
• Pullus Blackhawks Glacies Crew
• Columbus Puteulanus Jackets (quisnam vere have 2 humus) - Vox Patronus & Glacies Crew
• Dallas Astrum Glacies Puella
• Florida Pardus Glacies Presul
• Nashville Predators (quisnam quoque have 2 humus)
• Calx Puella
• Presul
• NY Insula Glacies Puella
• Ottawa Orchestra Vox Patronus (magis of a phasmatis humus quinymo quam glacies puella/cheerleaders)
• Philadelphia Flyers Glacies Team
• Phoenix Coyotes Sarcina
• Pitsburgh Penguins Pens Patronus (magis of a phasmatis humus quinymo quam glacies puella/cheerleaders)
• Tampa Sinus Levitas Puella
• Vancouver Canucks Glacies Team

update[: Dan Steinberg est procul Kettler quod has non seen ullus “ glacies- substructio letifico alio”]
update[ 2: Dan Steinberg suscipio confirmation ex Nate Ewell, Presul of Interventus Consanguinei, ut illic erohaud glacies- substructio letifico alio roaming Phone Tabernus is season.]

TSN has grizzly retineo. Tamen BB didnt’ relinquish suus tener vox porro Pulvis Penner quiete: “. . . is est alter vicis is annus in meus sententia Edmonton have dedi a grossly inflatus salary parumper ludio ludius, quod is labefactum in totus 30 teams quod EGO reputo suus’ an factum of desparatus per a imperator procurator quisnam est bellator ut servo suus job.”

Caput did ut pollicitus: they erant major domus ludio ludius in solvo procurator venalicium is offseason. Quod suus’ haud certus res ut theyre’ perfectus paciscor, ut negotium of RFAs via professio has been a civitas calx of team pro mensis.

Im’ non sententia ut Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov quod Tom Venenum erant absolute optimus hockey ludio ludius sursum pro carpo; tamen volo reddo smart permoveo ut directus oratio teams’ postulo vacuus caveo posterus. Plurimus maximus, permoveo amplio team statim dum servo satis crumens manus manus ut obfirmo in Ovechkin quod Semin — Id’ quinymo animadverto team ante sursum illi duos super ullus of magnus- nomen porro huic annus’ UFA proventus. Los Angelus Rex rgis took a similis propinquo ut Caput’, volo cardo Michal Manus manus ( quattuor annus, $16M), volatilis Ladislav Nagy ( unus annus, $3.75M ) quod Kyle Calder ( duos annus, $5.5M) quod D Tom Preissing ( quattuor annus, $11M). Alius cognatus responsible restocking huic offseason of magnus prodigo.

Quam did ceterus 28 teams fare? Puteus, lets’ recenseo pauci of notabilis. Quinymo quam a typical grading ratio, Peius’ rudimentum a Hollywood Astrum ratio instead: Scarlett Johansson, Lindsay Lohan, vel Nicole Uber.

Scarlett Johansson

Undeniably venustas, smart, quod sexy. Quod Scarlett aint’ nocens aut. Nonnullus teams no iustus vox permoveo, non only in suum choice of ludio ludius tamen quoque per paciscor they dedi. Quinymo quam prodigo amo Datum Trumps’ e-wives, certain teams instituo vox ludio ludius() pro vox pretium.

Avalanche fans ero thrilled per Ryan Smyths’ adventum in Colo colui cultum. Per addo in Smyth (5 annus, $31M) quod Scott Hannan (4 annus, $18M), Avs adepto duos scabrosus- quod- tumbus ludio ludius cuius penicullus opportunus team perficio. 31-annus- vetus Smyths’ quinque- annus paciscor est non tantum a iuste affordable solio ledo, tamen a oportet tentatio ut foedus ut nonnullus alius volo.

Detroit Rutilus Pennae persevero suum minor- est- magis propinquo per volo iustus unus notabilis ludio ludius in prothoplastus duos dies of UFA- Solemnitas: Vepres Rafalski. Secundum losing 38- annus- vetus Mathieu Schneider ut Ducks, Pennae curo ut upgrade dum non losing a dime per volo 33- annus- vetus Rafalski. Suus $6M per annus pro quinque annus est super quis Ducks es pensio Schneider per annus; etiamnunc Rafalski est quinquennis iunior. In addition, Rafalski notched 55 cuspis permaneo season (30 in PP) dum lascivio Diabolus’ ultra-conservative ratio. Unus would reputo abyssus’ tractare vel melior in Motor Urbs’ magis suscito penicullus of lascivio. Quondam iterum, Detroits’ procuratio curo facio vox permoveo vacuus effrego bank; suus’ haud admiratio theyre’ jugis contenders.

Lindsay Lohan

Nonnullus teams went in sinus ut certantibus Ms. Lohan’s. Novus York Rangers quod Philadelphia Flyers signed magnus nomen players to ignotus pactum — condita sexy tamen rabidus permoveo. Amo Tyrone Maior per fragor cocaine, neither team could reluctor prolecto of prodigo per relinquo. Videlicet utriusque teams’ rosters es dramatically amplio pro tunc season; tamen is quasi freewheeling prodigo backfires magis sepius quam non. They utriusque es trying emo championships; quod in hockey, ut rare officina.

Philadelphia coepi suum binge mane, conicio rabidus pre-July 1 paciscor procul Kimmo Timmonen quod Scott Hartnall — utriusque appealing tamen iam- opprimo ludio ludius — whose pactum es rabidus secus ultum in terms of annual salary ut they es in terms of tentatio. Tunc Flyers occumbo themselves per giving telum- ut--groin Daniel Concisus an duodeviginti annus paciscor. Sulum illorum ludio ludius est undeniably ingeniosus; tamen pupa quod tentatio illorum pactum planto unus admiratio si Bobby Expedio est etiam in Philadelphia, opus campester ut vir secundum velum.

Mens vos, Rangers’ rudimentum facio Novus York Yankees videor amo cheapskates est iustus ut attonitus. Snagging utriusque Sarcalogos Drury quod Scott Gomez est per a pluma quippe. Tamen $7M per annus ut Drury, combined per a $51.5M septem- annus paciscor ut Scott Gomez ( quisnam has validus 20 calx iustusquondam in septem annus of lascivio), est insanity.

Comprehendo Jaromir Jagr, they iam have prodigo super a tertius of suum salary solio inthree ludio ludius, quod they have non subcribo Brendan Shannahan, Sean Mediocris, vel Henrik Lundqvist etiamnunc. Yikes. Unus admiratio quamdiu capiet Jagr queror super damnum of Nylander si suus adjustment ut Gomez/Drury est minor quam perficio. Verum, is sanus amo hes’ iamlaying groundwork pro posterus queribundus.

Nicole Uber

Eatenus, ceterus 2/3 of Novus York eram ferinus diripio per solvo procurator’ incursio. Amo Nicole Uber, Sabres quod Insula es skeletal remnants quisnam practically species pro Foedero calamitas suffragium.

Sabres lost utriusque suum co- caput quod videor habeo reverto ut suum spendthrift mores. Secundum suum season of excellentia eram eclipsed per Ottawa Orchestra, Sabres procuratio permissum utriusque caput ingredior absentis per promptus minimal nixus ut subsisto lemma. Per penitus league- prolixus penitus in utriusque Drury quod Concisus, nemo specto Sabres ut retain utriusque ludio ludius. Tamen losing utriusque est a contricio pulsus ut team, non iustus in terms of solers tamen of gubernatio pariter. Procuratio’ dimidium- pectus pectoris pactum dedi, proprie ut locus vir Drury, testimonium a “ puteus, nos exertus” attitude subsido in per Buffalos’ orichalcum. Hic’ unusSabres fan stilus pro ESPN quisnam certainly sentio ut via

Ut pro Insula, they lost Kozlov, Venenum, Ryan Smyth — quisnam verto sicco futurus a quinymo carus pensio, sumptus duos quondam primoris- rotundus picks plus is years first’ teres — captain Jason Smith, quod Uber Zednik. They videor futurus emulating Florida Mara, tantum vacuus championship ( puteus, non in preteritus 20+ annus). Tunc theyll’ rename suum pulvis ut Nassau Mausoleum. Isles fans cannot exsisto gauisus losing three of suum caput capitis six scorers — quod suum sole UFA volo of Jon Sim est non refero. Atrum dies es ahead in Insula.

Quod. . .

Alius teams were relatively silens, plurimus notabilis Caps’ Inferus certantibus. A Visum ex Vilis Sessio vultus procul Caps’ divortium foes, quod est similis unimpressed per suum volo eatenus.

Pauci alius permoveo of nota: Puteulanus snagged Kariya quod Tkachuk (a.k.a. “ St. Louis Boomerang”), Folium us Jason Blake ex decimated Insula, quod Penguins sapienter re- subcribo Ryan Niveus ( tamen quis’ per Darryl Sydor volo? Umbra of Phillys’ Insulto Securis erroris), quod Pullus brought in Robert Lingua. Ducks opprimo Todd Bertuzzi ut subsequens they have quispiam sumo bardus poena si Pronger gets vulnero. Nusquam quoque suscito illic, sententia Puteulanus es videlicet vultus to return to the playoffs per illud veteran paciscor.

Ut pro Caput, fans videor pulchellus gauisus super teams’ acquisitions; nonnullus may vel abdico suum hockey grumpiness. Hogs essimilis commodo,quod Off Pennae Sententia has nonnullus interesting laudo ex GMGM placitum dico.

Totus in totus, suus’ been a bonus iugo dies pro Caput bloggers quod fans pariter. . . with forsitan magis bonus news on horizon.

[sentio solvo ut stipes vestri take ut a ineo — aut in Caps’ permoveo vel alius teams’ signings.]

Joel Stein est a funny guy. Stein grew sursum a intereo- ferreus hockey fan in Novus Jersey ( amo mihi); is has written proVicis magazine quodEntertainment Weekly, co- populus EGO Diligo 80s in VH-1, quod iam writes pro L.A. Vicis (non amo mihi).

Is weekend ispenned a litterae ut Los Angelus, quod ut U.S. civitas universe, railing super interventus’ quod publicus’ imperator disinterest in lusum nos diligo. Suus sententia super hockey — as puteus ut suus pop humanitas obsession — so prope refero meus own ut EGO volo communico lemma vobis.

In proprius suus ire obviam Anaheim est perspicuus; instead of a Vas minae, urbs’ celebration convenienter of “ pensilis sicco in Honda Center ortus sors procul 630: in Imbuo quod exspecto pro solvo fervens dogs, Pepsi quod Aramark tonsor potato chips. Ut’ non a celebration. Ut’ Dies 3 pro Katrina victims.”

Hic’ magis:

Universitas terra est bafflingly uninterested in hockey. Tantum novem of civis ut have NHL teams bothered transporto opinio ut Anaheim pro denique; Novus York Vicis tantum sent quispiam ut Venatus 1. Novus placitum erant held super phone. Monday nox noctis’ venatus eram tied pro summitto-rated TV ostendo in history of NBC, network ut brought nos “Manimal.” An deprehendo lascivio game on NBC was ditched in favor of a Preakness pre-race show — which was just live coverage of a petting zoo. Hockey is the only thing Jerry Bruckheimer is involved in that America doesn’t watch.

“I’ve tried explaining the beauty of the sport to too many people, too many times. These are normal-size guys playing a contact sport while also ice skating, spinning beautiful ballet while beating the crap out of each other. Imagine how awesome ‘The Nutcracker’ would be if they actually did what the title promised.”

It’s good to see hockey getting some ink in the L.A. Times, even if it is only to object to the lack of hockey coverage.

Gustafsson and I watched Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Canadian soil — at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC. Elliot Segal was there to cheer on the Sens, as were fellow blogger friends DC Sports Chick, 1/2 Asian Man, and Ken of Japers’ Rink. You can see Elliot enthralled (along with the rest of us) by Don Cherry’s blustery tirade against modern hockey elbow pads on the far right of the big-screen photo below.

The event was hosted by Connect2Canada, “a way to exchange news and ideas, and find out what is happening in the U.S. related to Canada.” The organization was founded two years ago by former Ambassador Frank McKenna, and is a great source for information about our neighbors to the north.

That holy grail of Canadian beer, Alexander Keith’s, was also present, much to the delight of the evening’s attendees. Even better, we were thrilled to find authentic poutine: french fries topped with cheese curds (squeaky cheese!) and gravy. Trust me, try some if you get the chance; Gustafsson practically had a gravy IV.

While the result of the game disappointed the crowd of Canadians and Canadian well-wishers, the event was a rousing success. Embassy staffers were even kind enough to escort a few of us to the roof for a few photos. Additional thanks to 1/2 Asian Man [and DC Sports Chick] for snapping a few of the interior photos, particularly the one of me gleefully reveling behind our many beverage containers.

(Continued)

DJ Gallo, writer at ESPN, The Sports Pickle, and others, posted a fun Stanley Cup Finals Q & A on ESPN’s Page 2 I thought you’d enjoy. Here’s an excerpt:

If during this series anyone says “Getting Jiggy with it” in relation to Jean-Sebastien Giguere, am I allowed to punch that person in the throat?

Most definitely. In fact, I encourage it. And then once this person falls to the ground, follow up with a kick to the throat, too.

His discussion of the Finals’ likely television viewership is classic. Bathe in the sarcasm!

The Eastern and Western Conference Teams and Finals are now set. The Eastern Conference final has #1 Buffalo vs. #4 Ottawa starting on Thursday. The Western Conference final has #1 Detroit vs. #2 Anaheim starting on Friday.

Some tight-checking, defensive hockey over the weekend, including the rise of a player I’ve never been a particular fan of.

• Say what you want about his diving and his off-ice antics, but Sean Avery has been playing excellent hockey for the New York Rangers, in many cases being their best player on a given night. I’ll never be a fan, but props to his remarkable playoff performance so far.



• The Red Wings surprised me on Saturday. I thought for sure that San Jose had asserted themselves, but the play of much-travelled Dan Cleary has them tied in a series I thought was definitely going the Sharks’ way.
• It was close, but I think the video judges made an error on the disputed goal at MSG yesterday. The calls, in general, have been very odd in that series, and in the Sabres’ favor. I’m not an indulger in conspiracies, and I don’t think there’s any bias in the officiating, just some bad calls are being made, and they’re being called on the Rangers. The Sabres are a skilled, fast team, and that creates opportunities for the refs to call a penalty with only a split-second to make a decision. Buffalo Coach Lindy Ruff complaining about the officiating was out-of-line, if predictable.
• Zubrus has really been throwing the body this series, though his hit on Jagr looked a little low to me.
• I’ve liked Jonathan Cheechoo’s effort in the Detroit series.
• Anaheim is big, physical, and skilled. Vancouver did a fantastic job stealing a game from them, but I can’t see them taking it from the Ducks. The Canucks got good games from Luongo, the Sedins and Naslund and still lost. That doesn’t bode well.
• Martin Broduer looked like his old self on Saturday, which is bad news for Ottawa. The series is too close for me to strongly favor either team, but goaltending makes and breaks playoff series.

A fun hockey weekend, and it’s always nice when there’s an early game and an evening game, so you can catch both without staying up to 1 am. Back to the late-night grind tonight.

And a fresh reminder why the NHL postseason is the most exciting and most grueling time in sports — and that’s just for the fans. Two overtime games, including a ruining-of-the-next-workday fourth overtime game in Vancouver, a more ‘tame’ second overtime game, a defensive contest and a goal-fest comprised the second season’s opening night.

A few thoughts from the night’s contests:

• The Ottawa Senators’ breakout could be used as a teaching video. Quick, crisp, and decisive.
• It’s hard not to wonder how Marc-Andre Fleury will react to his first playoff start. He could go a long way to ridding himself of his reputation for cracking under pressure if he bounces back the rest of the series.
• Speaking of goalies making their first playoff starts: Roberto Luongo of Vancouver’s evening? 76 shots faced, 4 goals allowed. It’s okay, Rob, they usually aren’t all this long.
• Talk about knee-jerk: Scott Hartnell’s knee-to-knee hit on Jonathan Cheechoo — which undoubtedly merited Hartnell’s ejection, and a suspension is not out of the question — did serious damage to Cheechoo. He left the ice without putting any weight on that knee. Cheechoo would be a huge loss for San Jose. The Preds-Sharks rivalry just got uglier.
• Chris Pronger logged a Herculean 30+ minutes last night, in a non-OT game. Ride your horses, indeed.
• I do have a minor quibble with Versus’ coverage last night — they didn’t show the replay of a penalty in the Ottawa/Pittsburgh game in order to show their ‘Keys To The Game’ graphic. I know there is a storyline to sell, but coming out of a break might have been a better time to run that.
• Always good to hear Joe B. calling a game.

An eventful night to start things off and help everyone reset their sleep patterns. With goalie heroics and letdowns, defensive lockdowns and offensive explosions, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

The latest issue of The Hockey News has ranked all 30 NHL team’s prospect systems. They have defined prospects as players under 22 years of age as of January 31, 2007. This ranking does not take into account any movement of players at the trade deadline. Note that three of the Caps’ Southeast Division rivals bring up the bottom-5 rear.

1. Pittsburgh [Last Year’s Ranking 1]
2. Washington [7]
3. Nashville [6]
4. Los Angeles [10]
5. Chicago [8]
6. Boston [12]
7. Anaheim [2]
8. St. Louis [28]
9. Montreal [17]
10. N.Y. Rangers [19] (Continued)

I found the following on James Mirtle’s blog:

TOP 20 SELLING PLAYER JERSEYS ON SHOP.NHL.COM (Feb. 1-28, 2007)

1. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Daniel Briere, Buffalo Sabres
3. Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
4. Maxim Afinogenov, Buffalo Sabres
5. Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres
6. Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres
7. Chris Drury, Buffalo Sabres
8. Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
9. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
10. Peter Forsberg, Nashville Predators/Philadelphia Flyers
11. Brian Campbell, Buffalo Sabres
12. Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
13. Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks
14. Mike Modano, Dallas Stars
15. Jaromir Jagr, New York Rangers
16. Brendan Shanahan, New York Rangers
17. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
18. Derek Roy, Buffalo Sabres
19. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
20. Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks

6 Sabre sweaters in the top 7? Talk about a blind eye for fashion!

(Although, ugly only gets you so far. Anaheim’s uglies barely broke into the top 20.)