Road to the Winter Classic: Rangers/Flyers (part 1)

OH MY HOLY SWEET JEBUS

Okay. I have more that I want to yell at you but I just have to contain myself. This isn't tumblr....

Time for the serious. Pffft.

Anyway. I loved it! As you've probably gathered.

The narrator sounded like the guy who does some of the History Channel stuff. It just made it that more intense.

I love love love Ilya Brygalov. There are a whole slew of quotes I could bombard you with, but I won't. Do some searching and you'll find out why he has the awesomesauce award. His kids get awards too.

Max Talbot. There's so much I could say about you but I don't know where to start so I won't.

I wanted to cry when they highlighted Claude Giroux. Watching that hit was painful. Watching his subplot was painful. And I feel like they're going to continue following it in some respect so that's just a point of depression in the series.

(side note: Liev Schreiber is the narrator. And apparently he’s done a lot of work for sports stuff. Which is why I recognize his voice!)

The difference in the teams was clearly highlighted.

The Rangers are city boys. Going to upscale restaurants and just seeming a bit like pretty boys. (Avery is a model!) It’s not negative, though. They work where they work and that has an effect on them. I don’t think I can really capture it in words.

But it could also come down to the lighting and shots used for the Rangers clips. Low lighting and up-angle shots. The camera operators spent a lot of time putting the Rangers in positions of power in the way things were filmed. 

The Flyers. Oh gosh. They're just so much fun! Not that the Rangers aren't. It's just a different kind of fun. They all seem a little bit rough-and-tumble while still being good-time-guys. I think the best word for them is: dorks. And I mean that with a heart full of love. They get the Southern "Oh, [insert name here]? Bless his heart, that boy..." and two thumbs up. 

I think it was their post-win dance to Mac Miller's "Knock Knock" that sealed it. 

I need to go purchase that and Chelsea Dagger via iTunes. Infectious songs. 

Can't wait for part two! 

Me Roosta

So.... Claude Giroux is currently out of action for the Flyers. Along with Pronger, Gustafsson, Lilja, Laperriere, Schenn, and Betts.

It's painful. I can say that much. The French-Canadian red head has quickly become a favorite. He's energetic, loves the sport, and plays as well as some "unmentionables."

As much as I love his on ice persona, my enjoyment of watching the Flyers will only be slightly diminished. They're a great team.

That being said, I'm looking forward to the 2012 Winter Classic! My top two teams going at it.

(I know I'm a walking contradiction for loving the Rangers and Flyers with all the bad blood between them but I don't care.)

GET WELL SOON ROO!

Really NHL? 4 conferences? Really?

COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!

This is utter stupidity! 

Seriously.

Okay. So I get the teams concern about traveling and all that jazz. But seriously. It's jank.

Why are the FL teams in the same conferences as Buffalo and Boston and all them fools? How is that alleviating geographic stress?

Would four conferences do away with the Circus trip?

NHL....what kind of stupidity are you running up there? Address the fans, broski. Address the fans. Plenty of them think this is over doing it.

Maybe it's just a classic reaction to change. A immediate cry of, "Resist the man!" But in this case, I think it's warranted.

"The four conferences are designed to alleviate geographic concerns among several current Western Conference teams that had been unhappy about their extensive travel through one, two, and sometimes even three time zones. Some of those teams argued that the late start of road games in the Pacific time zone were affecting fan interest, especially among younger fans."

Part of the hockey appeal is that they do this rough and tough sport with a crazy schedule.

Also, y'all are FREAKIN NHL TEAMS. You make money. It's not affecting fan interest.

Let's be honest. As a young person not to far out of my teens, I can tell you that if a kid wants to watch a sports game, they're going to watch it. They'll find a way to sneak and watch it. Or follow it online. Either way, they're finding out about the game.

If we want to make an argument about fan interest, how about this: Uh... why do I have to pay for extra channels to be able to watch 90% of the games of the regular season? Even the games in my division get bumped for other things. I barely see the Canes games. And can someone explain why I saw a Preds game on FSSO if we're the Eastern and they aren't?

I follow most games online because the games I want to see aren't played in my region. I'm 6 hours from Carolina and Nashville yet I barely see their games. That's not helping fan interest. Screw WHERE they're playing. I want to see the Canes games. All of them.

(And I'm not stupid. I know networks have contracts with teams about how many and which games they will be able to air exclusively. But I'm bitter so get over it.)

Heck. Even when the Thrashers were here, I didn't get to see all of their games. What. The. Heck.

Okay. Enough ranting and raving about the stupidity of the NHL peeps. Time to offer a solution. One I've shared in numerous places and have seen others also state on their own....

My solution as shared on the NHL Facebook page:
 Making this WAY more difficult than it is. Move Peg to Central in Western and then either the Blues or the Preds to Southeastern in Eastern. Preds make more sense cause of geography but the Blues make more sense to keep the conference like it was when the Thrashers were here. There's no need for four conferences!

Busy NHL weekend

Well. Kind of. Depends on who you are.

There were some changes in the Southeastern division over the weekend.

The Hurricanes and the Capitals both got new head coaches.

I don't really care about the Crapitals.

But I was getting to know Paul Maurice. Now I have to start over with the coach.  Just slightly irritating at having to learn the idiosyncrasies of this new guy. But management has to know what  they're doing. (I hope.) Just looking at the stats, I can see why they let him go for a second time.

Au revoir Monsieur Maurice.

2012 ALL STAR VOTING

GO VOTE

Voting

2012 All Star fan ballot!

So.....

They announced the 2012 All-Star fan ballot!

This is a lot of excitement. And I meant to comment on this a few days ago, but I got lazy...and then busy. So you get it now. Deal.

Anyway. Excitement. I'm covered in it.

People getting my votes, conditions permitting:

Goaltenders:

• Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers 
• Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes 
• Ilya Bryzgalov, Philadelphia Flyers 
• Kari Lehtonen, Dallas Stars 
• Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins 

Defensemen:

• Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks 
• Kimmo Timonen, Philadelphia Flyers 
• Marc Staal, New York Rangers 
• Chris Pronger, Philadelphia Flyers 
• Brent Seabrook, Chicago Blackhawks 
• Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings 
• Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins (He's pretty. Leave me be!) 
• Mike Green, Washington Capitals (Also pretty.) 

Forwards:

• Danny Briere, Philadelphia Flyers 
• Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings 
• Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche 
• Brad Richards, New York Rangers 
• Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers 
• Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers 
• Patrick Sharp, Chicago Blackhawks 
• Jeff Skinner, Carolina Hurricanes 
• Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks 
• Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
• Jaromir Jagr, Philadelphia Flyers 
• Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks 
• Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings 
• Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks 

I think there's a limit on the number of people I can actually vote for. We'll see. If there is, the bold peeps are getting my vote. And if I can vote more than once, I'll probably throw in a couple votes for everyone else at some point.

I don't really remember the voting from last year and as that was my first time, I'm still a noob to all this. But I look forward to it. And all the speculation about who will go to which team. Who the captains will be. All that jazz and pizzazz.

And yes, I did screenshot the fan ballot list. Thank you for asking.

I have no clue what this is really supposed to be about. Just rambling....

I feel the need to say this, though I've probably already said it.

I love hockey. The sport. Not the men who play it.

That being said, I'm not blind and I'm completely hetero so I know some of the men are gorgeous.

Like Ben Eager. Loved him as a Blackhawk. Loved him more as Thrasher...then we went to San Jose and I was marginally aware of his existence. Now he's an Oiler. (I tried to spell the city but I couldn't and I'm too lazy to look. That's how much I pay attention to them.)

In my world, that's like he retired or got sent to the minors. Even though his team is doing pretty well.

A man can be as cute as he wants, but if he doesn't have marginal (tremendous) talent to overshadow his looks, I have to wonder why he's in the league.

I really don't know where this came from.

I think I'm still on a high from all the hockey wins tonight.

Rangers took the Habs 5-3. Had a 3-0 lead after the first but in what appears to be true Rangers fashion, they got stupid going into the second. Things stayed stupid but they got it back. Barely.

The Flyers just pwnd the Blue Jackets. 9-2. Part of me wanted to feel bad but then I saw the score sheet and was so happy about all the assists getting passed around and the fact that only one person had 2 goals out of 9. So...the love got passed around.

Red Wings took the Ducks 5-0. Me gusta. There's not much to say about that.

I've give an honorable mention to the Bruins for bulldozing the Leafs 7-0. And more to Tim Thomas for his funny Discover commercial.

LSU

Oh hockey...

So me and a friend were talking about sports to day. We discussed how much drama surrounds the players outside of the actual games.

I was just reminded of how much I love hockey and why I love hockey. The players tend to keep their disputes on the ice. They may not always speak highly of each other's actions but they usually have something nice to say about the rest of the guys in the league.

But every so often.....something like this comes up.

It's not really "drama" per se but it is off the ice and not friendly. Tortorella was, in my opinion, telling Thorton to stuff it. Which I think he had the right to do. As a couple commentators on NHL-Network said, he could have done without the jab at the lack of Lord Stanley in Thorton's achievement bank, but eh.

He defended his team. A team he was probably already peeved with. Thorton got some of that attitude.

No big.

In other news: Avery is back! Me gusta. He's "little." He's a prick. He's awesome.

Duncan Keith is day-to-day with an upper body injury. That's balls. (or pucks....)

The Flyers.... I'm enjoying Talbot. I know he's not the whole team, but I feel like he's meshing well. Claude Giroux is showin out and I love it! They're playing well.

I've officially adopted the Hurricanes as my division team. They've adopted GA as part of their market and I don't see that as a problem. The other options were TBL or the Preds. No and no.

I've been getting myself acquainted with the Canes and I have to say that I like what I see. I've already picked my players (Ponikarovsky, LaRose, Ward, Skinner, Stewart, Allen. In that order. The rest of the team is collectively in 7th place).

(FYI, in the Rangers/Ducks game....Rangers struck first! Woywitka....who then got in a fight.)

Anywho. I am enjoying the Canes. I think I'm going to like being part of their family.

I have to be honest. I don't pay attention to the Wings until playoff time. That's probably bad but meh.

So the list has been re-made. 1. Rangers. 2. Flyers/Canes 3. Blackhawks/Wings. It doesn't make sense. But....I don't really care. It's the order of games I watch. Well most nights. I've been favoring the Flyers and Canes because the Rangers are making me mad.

GO PACK!

And I think this is long enough. So until next time mes amies. Au revoir et à bientôt.

My comments. Finally...

I really have no comments about the former Thrashers. It's painful. I've been pretending that it's not true. I can't see the word "Winnipeg" without wanting to either cry or commit a violent act.

I have to find another team to see. I'm trying to decide who is more worth it: the Canes or the Preds. So far the Canes are winning cause they have 3 players I can stand and some more I neither like or dislike. The Preds have Shae Weber and he is no bueno. (Yes I'm still hostile toward him because of the 09-10 playoff series against the Blackhawks.)

However. It's a 6 hour drive from where I live to the Canes. So basically an overnight trip.

Let's move on before I get really upset.

This is not a "happy place" either.

I was sitting by one beautiful day reading the trade news. The Flyers organization was on the prowl. And they picked up a dead skunk. Why is there a flightless bird littering the roster of my Flyers?! Isn't that oxymoronic anyway? Penguins don't fly. Hence, this fool can't be a Flyer.

Maybe my logic is tainted by my pure disgust of anything hockey related that hails from the Pitt.

But seriously?!

He walked into base of the enemy camp.

I won't even go into detail of how screwed up I think they are. I'll just list: Richards- Gone. Leino- Gone. Boucher- Gone.

My Rangers on the other hand. They've done good. They kept Dubinksy, Callahan, and Anisimov. Added Brad Richards (who, as it stands, I like because he likes the Packers. And he was on a team I semi-rooted for last season.) Hopefully this pays off. They've made a couple moves that I don't get but the major players are still there....for the most part.

I don't understand Troy Brouwer going to the Crapitals. I don't understand a lot of what the Blackhawks did this off season, but I hope it works. At least they extended Sharp's contract!

Detroit is hockey royalty so I won't even begin to question their trades.

Ben Eager is all but falling off my radar! I love the man, but the Oilers? I can't watch the Oilers.

We'll see what else happens before the season opens.

A different kind of Gordie Howe: Avery Style

So....Sean Avery. Forward for the NY Rangers.

Well hello sir. You just completed your week with an off ice version of a Gordie Howe hattrick!

The goal: Opening your second restaurant, Tiny's.

The assist: "Avery also made headlines with his very public support of marriage equality in New York State" (Spector "Sean Avery Arrested").

The fight: Shoving an officer from LAPD when they showed up at your house party in the hills.

Wonderful.

When my friend told me about the cop thing, I was mildly hopefully that Avery had actually assaulted a police officer. As in full on jumped the officer in a blind rage.

I don't know why I was hopeful for that but eh.

We can put it down to being starved for hockey. Which will lead into the next blog post. The no-longer-around Thrashers and the off-season trades.

Playoffs

Fact: The four teams I had hopes for were eliminated. Two in the first round. Two in the second.

Theory: Maybe I can use reverse psychology on the hockey gods to get the teams I can barely stand but hate less than the others into the final round.

Thoughts: That's a stupid theory.

Game 7

HA!

My Flyers and Blackhawks have each forced a game 7.

INTENSE.

Completely excited.

WOOOOOO

So.... the Red Wings....

ARE GOING TO THE SECOND ROUND.

And I'm sticking my tongue out at a friend. He's a "Yotes" fan. Ew.

Don't get me wrong. I'd pick them over some other teams in the league but in the grand scheme of things? Not a fan.

Yes, I'm mad at the Rangers for letting that 3-0 lead slip into tragedy. What was that about?

The Blackhawks need to pull off a miracle. For sure.

The Flyers? Desperation. Need it. Get it. Keep it.

I realize that two of my teams have to get eliminated at some point. But it'd be cool if they all made it past the first round.

Just sayin.

Huzzah!

So NBC is getting in the hockey world more so.

Awesome.

Now there's just that much more of a chance of being able to watch games during the regular season. Instead of having to wait for the playoffs to have a "hockey explosion" on my TV.

And the explosion during the regular season is more like a firework going off.

I know. There are networks devoted solely to playing all the games. However. Those cost money. And I have not been able to talk my mom into investing in those channels. So I've been stuck with what I can get on Versus and the local channels when they play the Thrashers games.

"In a deal that will deliver more nationally televised hockey to American fans than ever before, the National Hockey League and the NBC Sports Group have reached agreement on a record 10-year television and media rights deal, taking the partnership through the 2020-21 season. "

That sentence alone is enough to make a girl squeal.

And so it begins

Teams I'm rooting for:

RANGERS.

Blackhawks.

Flyers.

Wings.

I refuse to make any predictions. But I'm excited.

Sweet. Jebus.

So....

I love hockey.

I really do.

However. My spirit for the game has somewhat fizzled with the Thrashers season. They're not my favorite team (that spot is reserved for the Rangers) but they're in second place (with the Blackhawks).

This season, I chose to follow them closely because they got a new GM, head coach and assistant coach along with some good role players. I wanted to see how far that would take them.

So as their season comes to a close and with talks of them being sold, my hockey heart is dying.

I know I'll be revived in time for the playoffs but I'm just kind of over hearing about hockey right now.

Well I say that and then I always want to watch whatever game is on TV.

I know the Rangers just need consistency. They have the player base to be awesome.

The Thrashers are getting there. Their lineup underwent massive changes this season but now they have the leadership to build on.

The Blackhawks are struggling. The core is the same but I kind of feel like they're struggling to find their balance still. I'm looking forward to them having a solid season next year, regardless of when their season this year ends.

The Wings and the Flyers are pretty solid. So I don't think there's much to say there. For the Wings, it's getting the injured players back in the lineup. The Flyers just need to keep the desperation in their game.

All the teams need to keep the desperation in their game. It's not about playing fancy or looking pretty.

Hockey isn't a sport for prima-donnas.

Play smart. Play hard. Play like every game is your last.

Been a while...

Thought I'd stop by. I watched most of the Blackhawks/Red Wings game earlier and I can say I'm happy with the outcome.

It will be interesting to see if Bertuzzi gets anything more than the game misconduct.

I came to the realization that I am not a puck slut.

I know. It's shocking.

However, as I was talking with a friend, I realized that my love for certain players does not overshadow my love for the game.

Case in point: Ben Eager.

I love the man. I really do. He has killer eyes and a nice build. Nevertheless. He plays for the Sharks. And that is not okay in my book. Just like Niemi, he is now in the no-zone. Two players I loved when they were on one of my teams.

But now?

When they're on a team I can't stand?

I find myself checking Ben's stats every few weeks. Just to make sure he's still actually playing.

I'm more concerned with the Thrashers. I desperately want them to make something of their last games.

There's talk of them being sold and that I can't have.

If they leave, I'd have to travel to Nashville to see games...or NC....and that's an 8 hr car ride. Come on. I don't like the Preds. At all. And as much as I like Eric Staal and Cam Ward... I'm not a Canes fan. So....

The Thrashers need to prove that they're worth keeping.

Because I have a two-year-old nephew that loves hockey. Gotta grow the boy up right.

So I Lied...

I got some good news today!

The Thrashers extended Dustin Byfuglien's contract for FIVE YEARS.

I was worried about the team.

They have players they can build on but with no talk of extensions, I was worried that everyone would get traded away.

BUT!

It didn't happen. Dudley is creating the foundation to make the Thrashers into a postseason team.

Glory.

And Versteeg came home! Well as home as it's gonna get for now. From those wretched Leafs to the Flyers.

Why yes, I did do a happy dance when I found out.

And.... get well soon Coach Q!!!

Trade Deadline

I'll get back to blogging about my beloved sport after the trade deadline. This month is hard to handle and full of expletives.

Fix it.

Soo......

I'm upset with what's going on with the Thrashers right now.

It seems they can't stay out of a slump.

I don't know what it's going to take for them to get it together, but it needs to happen soon. Very soon.

I can say it was nice to see captain Ladd get in a fight and draw blood when they played the Rangers.

Lundy cracked me up when he scraped the blood off the ice.... and when he was getting ready for the shootout. I should have taken video of it. Maybe if I get the chance to see them again.

Pain

First, I found out that Brandon Dubinsky, my Alaska boy on the Rangers, is out for a month with a stress fracture.

Painful because I'm going to the Thrashers/Rangers game on the 22 of January. Very painful. My only real consolation was that I might get to see Lundy in action and Ben Eager being a part of the Thrashers.

But no.... Ben Eager was traded to the San Jose Sharks on Monday.

WHAT KIND OF CRAP!

My pain has been tripled.

Now I have to make an effort to watch Sharks games to see him!

RIDICULOUS. I don't like the Sharks!

They have two good points: Niemi and Eags. Outside of that, I don't watch their games unless there are NO other games on.

My dirty, blue-eyed, rough and tumble boy is gone. I can admit he's the reason I started going to Thrashers games this season. But I feel in love with the team. It's just going to be sad not seeing him on the ice.

I'll miss you Eags!

/heartbroken.

All-Star captains!

Congrats to Eric Staal and Nicklas Lidstrom! They were named the All-Star captains for this years ASG in Raleigh, N.C.

I think my favorite quotes have to come from Staal in this article. The 'meh, I'll just wing it' attitude when it comes to picking his teammates says a lot about him. It's good to know that players can still just have fun when it comes to stuff like this.

Congrats guys!

Distraught?

Okay not really.

I'm more angry. I didn't see most of the game between the Thrashers and the Leafs last night, but from the score when I tuned in...I wouldn't have wanted to.

It was 8-1 at the end of the second period.

WHAT IS THAT?!

It's redonculous is what it is.

From what I did see, all of the third period, the team wasn't skating like they were back in pee-wee. There weren't an abnormal amount of turnovers and giveaways. The Leafs weren't even dominating in shots on goal.

So why the stupid high score?

I'm putting it down to a fluke. I have to. Because if I call it anything else, I could end up in jail for assault.

The Thrashers made a bit of a come back in the last five minutes of the period but it wasn't enough.

End score: 9-3. I hope I never have to write one of my teams on the losing side of a score like that again. Ever.

On the bright side, the Rangers, Blackhawks, and Wings won their games last night!