Black Friday Hockey

Black Friday Hockey. Or as I like to call it, "Hockey Night In Holland'. There were so many early games that I was able to watch a whole bunch of games before 1am! So I got myself some nice tasty food morsels, Cherry Coke (usually drink water only, so that is my guilty pleasure lol), started up NHL Gamecenter and settled in for a hockey-filled evening.


Starting off with the WINGS @ BRUINS. Tuned in just in time to see my hero Datsyuk score one of his awesome goals to make it 2-1. A pleasing score ... but I wasn't that happy with the Wings' play once they got there. There was a sense of complacency, which would have been alright with a 2-goal lead perhaps. My view is that when you lead by one goal, you keep pushing pushing pushing for another one before you take it down a notch. And I love Zetterberg, but that was a disgusting giveaway. Of course Bergeron would not let it go by unpunished!

At least it lead to a more animated remainder of the game. The OT was hectic with the Bruins looking just a tad sharper, but it ended in SO. Seguin and Pevs missed, Horton got a goal. But the Wings won this one with pretty nice goals by Datsyuk and Bertuzzi. Yeah! I would have liked to see the Bruins continue their awesome 10-game winning streak and turn it onto an even longer one, but not at the expense of my fave Western Conference team.


Next up. HABS @ FLYERS. Hmm. I had planned to to switch to this game as soon as it started, but the Wings game got me excited enough to keep watching. Unfortunately I saw that at the end of the 1st period the Habs had scored. I hate the Habs so much and for a minute considered watching the Oilers game instead. But have to stick with my Flyers, eventhough I noticed that I hate the Habs so much, that seeing them on Flyers ice made me quite nauseous!

But I persevered and tuned in for the second period. In the early minutes I saw several interesting attempts to score on Price, most noteably a breakaway rush by Sean Couturier and just a few seconds later Roo and Talbot had a great chance as well, both attempts making me wonder 'How in the hell did they not score?!' ... but I like it when my Flyers start playing hard and fast and they definitely went for it. By the time Roo equalised the game, my guys had thrice the shots on goal (2nd period stat: 5 vs 18). And Roo's wrist-shot was amazing. One of those shots taken from an apparently impossible angle. And they kept going and going, succesfully killing a PP and following it up smoothly with another goal. Voracek this time. He's one of the new additions that make sense to me. I am still trying to discover what Lilja and Rinaldo are supposed to add to the mix (feel free to add your thoughts about this in the comments). But I digress, because with 5.9 seconds left in the 2nd, Roo scored again. 3-1! YEAH!!! Oh, Kessel better get some goals tonight, Roo is close to taking over his spot in 'most points'. The third period saw no goals, but I liked the energy shown by my guys and they kept it interesting to watch. And I must point out Sergei Bobrovsky's awesome goaltending, he had several big saves today and looked as sharp as ever.


After that fun game I tuned in to the RAGS @ CAPS game. The Rags were ahead 3-1, but the first thing I got to see was a goal by the Caps which gave me good hope of a possible turnaround for the Caps. Unfortunately just a bit later the Rags answered and made it 4-2. Third period wasn't good for the Caps either and when the Rags made it 5-2 I gave up and switched to ....


... the OILERS @ WILD game. I had been switching back and forth, but decided to go with this game permanently, because I like to see the young Oilers play (4 points combined this game) and they were en route to beating the Wild. A 5-2 win for these former underdogs. And in the end the Caps lost 6-3.


It's 1am here and I don't have any energy left for watching the Pens. The Leafs game is even later, so I will watch those games tomorrow and share my thoughts about later!

Let me finish this post with a fun pic and a little musing ...

That is one scary 'tache! I like my Roo smooth, so can't wait for December lol

Musing: Wouldn't it be funny if Bobs became the starter once more and we'd have the most expensive back-up goalie?!

Twitter Time #14 | Sidney's Return

Ha, I noticed NHL was blogging some players' tweets too the day Crosby's return was announced ... #copycats ... although that would imply they'd come across my puny blog. I doubt it! :D

Anyways, I creeped all the NHL and AHL players I follow on Twitter ... SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO! It was a boring task. Here the tweets I came across ... the prize for funniest tweet goes to Colby Armstrong.

Enjoy! Or not ... ;)

Ryan Whitney
"yup, this leagues still a joke for me." -Sidney Crosby 4 minutes into first game back 

Tyler Bozak 

Wow Sidney Crosby. What a player. It was great for the game of hockey to have him back on the ice putting on a show again 

Colby Armstrong 

Great to have Sid back and healthy. Hes been out a long time but it's exciting for the NHL and our fans to have a player like him back #NHL 

Colby Armstrong 

After this Crosby return stuff all media will turn to trying to find out the return of me....right?? It's gonna be crazy. #mediacircus 

Matt Lashoff 

Wasn't expecting any less from 87. So fun to watch. 

Logan Couture 

Saying #87 makes it look easy is an understatement. 

Jordan Eberle 

Hordichuk told me today CBC was supposed to cover his return tonight but then Crosby stole his thunder 

Paul Bissonnette 

Had to drop myself in fantasy hockey today. Welcome back Sidney Crosby. 

Nathan Thompson

What a night for hockey getting the best player in the world back on the ice. #sidthekid 

Luca Caputi 

Is anyone not watching this game? #sidthekid back in action!   

Luca Caputi
Wow! #sidthekid Sickkk 

Scottie Upshall
Great day for NHL today w/ Sid comin back. Here's him and my bro @brento_ at our last game. Sick stache! #movember pic.twitter.com/Y6957J8T 

Luke Adam
This crosby guy is pretty good i guess, its not even really fair is it? #87isback @NHL 

Mark Dekanich
Any guesses on how much money Crosby put on the board last night? #10grand 

Thomas Kiriakou
Hide yo kids. Hide yo wives...Sid's back!! #GetExcited

Tired Leafs | Game 21

Taking full of advantage of my new NHL Gamecenter subscription and watching as many live games as I can. Luckily that included one Flyers and two Leafs games this weekend. With the weekend gone I'll have to make do with delayed watching, but Gamecenter sure makes that easy!

And after the Taylor vs Taylor post I need to post a real article too ;)

LEAFS @ CANES

Ouch, my guys looked tired during the anthems and looked even more haggard as the game started. I knew this was going to be a tough one. Back to back games, awkward travel timing, just a few hours of rest, lots of players in sickbay, those not in sickbay depleted of energy (that game versus the Caps sure took care of that), our third goalie in goal. Wow. In the end it wasn't even that bad come to think of it.

♦ The first period was weird. Canes generating turnovers, at times upping the pressure just a bit and Scrivens was called upon several times, had a great save to start with too; then Phaneuf went to the penalty box for hooking. I had a look at that several times and that was no hooking, that was Skinner hanging onto Phaneuf's stick for dear life. Oh well, karma will get back at him eventually. OK, the Leafs hardly managed to circle the puck, so it was tough for them to get into that flow where things seem to run so effortlesly. Then we had a boring part, lots of center ice play and just as I thought we'd survive the first, the Canes pressurised Scrivens, took several shots on goal and had everyone scrambling and I was just waiting for a stupid goal. With 29 seconds left, Harrison did score. Boo!

♦ Again a messy start and the first five minutes had my Leafs in some type of survival mode. The game got even weirder when Scrivens ended up without his stick as the Canes were in attack mode. Scrivens did well there, robbing the Canes pf several goal opportunities. In the meantime Connoly had lost his stick as well and it all looked frantic. How the Canes didn't score here, I don't know. Next to be robbed of a goal was Dwyer. Scrivs, bless him, did really well. Unfortunately Jokinen then scored on the PP.  What I missed in my Leafs during this period was any type of forechecking and winning faceoffs. I dare not look at the faceoff stats, because I have a feeling we didn't win much of those. *has a look anyways* ... ouch 20 FO wins vs 37 FO wins by the Canes. No wonder the Leafs had a hard time playing offensively. I kept thinking 'Sound the horn please!'

♦ Ah, the third period. A little rest and the Leafs came out looking much fresher. Don't know what type of incantations were cast during the intermission but at least my guys looked much more alive. They skated better and added some speed and created some opportunities too. And who but Kessel would score to make it a one-goal game? Well, uhmm, Kessel indeed. Several Leafies had their chances after this goal, but lacked precision. It was good to see the energy, but unfortunately it got tempered by Skinner on a breakaway. Staal just ran off with the puck, but Scrivs denied him the goal. Unfortunately Skinner was in pursuit as well and scored on the rebound to make it 3-1. Look, a better team would have pushed on now and enhanced the lead and the Canes sure tried. But the Leafs kept hanging in there, with just a bit over a minute to go, Scrivs was pulled and we had 6 guys attacking and sure enough, Kessel scored another one! The final seconds were exciting, but time ran out and we lost 3-2 

♦ In hindsight we can still be pleased. PPK and PP are both still working well, Scrivs may not be perfect but showed great stamina during the game and despite a total lack of energy, the Leafs at times managed to call up just enough energy to cause some havoc. Sad we lost, but not disappointed in my guys. Onto the next one!

And in other news, the Red Wings beat the Ducks 4-2. Yippee! And I wonder how Crosby's first game will pan out ... exciting!

Hockey Shenanigans #1 | Taylor vs Taylor

Probably not the first one to point this one out, but it's just so uncanny.

*ponders*

Maybe I *am* the first one to point it out to some of you lol ... not sure how many hockey fans are into the whole Twilight Saga. I am never one to shy away from fessing up to stuff, so yeah, I have seen the movies lol

Horrible? For sure.
Entertaining in a crazy way? Yes, unfortunately.

Anyways, Taylor Hall (he of Oilers fame) and Taylor Lautner (he of Twilight fame). Could've been twins!

Eerie!!

By the way, Lautner is a hockey fan. He's been spotted at a Stanley Cup game a few years ago, sporting Red Wings gear and apparently he plays EA's NHL game. Yay for Google Search ;)

Sidney Crosby | He's Back

 Ladies and Gentlemen.

It has finally been announced.
Sidney Crosby is back.

Courtesy of NHL.com

Set to play on Monday 21st, 2011.
Isles @ Pens.

Pens, the Bruins have properly disarmed the Isles last night.
All you have to do is just gently skate across the ice and take shots on goal.

Sidney, I hope you play well and feel well. And that this time no crazy antics take place. Remember that 1 million penalty minutes game last year? Not that kind of shit. You need an easy game to get back on track.

The best of luck in any case!

Season 2011 - 2012 | My 1st Night With NHL Gamecenter

And what a glorious night it was. Could have been even better, but more about that later.

My Gamecenter view - and a nice 7-1 win for the Leafies

If like me, you are European, you will know that getting your hockey fix has been problematic at times. If not, in short: at the end of last season ESPN lost the international NHL broadcasting rights to some shady consortium. I am sure it's not as shady as I make it out to be, but it has definitely less cachet than ESPN in my opinion. Up until the very last week before the season start we had no idea if and where we'd be able to watch hockey, but then word came that we could all sign up for NHL Gamecenter. Since then, in some countries, hockey has returned to television which actually messed up people's access to their Gamecenter accounts (if they got one of course). And ESPN America does on occasion air a game or two (weird stuff), but OK, the Netherlands are not much of a hockey market so I don't have to worry about any TV station acquiring the Dutch broadcasting rights anytime soon ;)

I didn't get Gamecenter straight away. I have very little opportunity to watch games live and I wasn't sure if it would be worth the investment. I have caught a few games online, but stream hunting is not really appealing and quite illegal as well ;) ... so yesterday I decided to give myself an early Christmas present and ordered a year's worth of yummie NHL games!


The first game I watched was the FLYERS-JETS game and this is why the night was not as glorious as it could have been ...
♦ They lost 6-4. To the annoying Thrashers, ah, I mean Jets. Whatever. What is it with these guys that makes my guys choke? The last nine encounters between the two, the Jets won eight times :p
♦ Bobs was in net. I saw people demand his head on a plate. Sure, I will not deny he let in a few soft ones, but lets face it, those first ten minutes of the game the whole team was playing in a most disgraceful manner. This was his first loss in regulation and he still came out of this game marginally better than Pavelec ... .872 vs .871 ;)
♦ So the first ten minutes were horrible, unfortunately the same was true for the second period. At this time I was ready to just ignore the game and solely focus on the Kings-Red Wings game. But I gave it another go as the third period started and was happy enough to find the guys were playing are more focused game and managed to score a few goals to make it 5-4. Actually, I made that sound a bit dull, but it was actually a pretty exciting third period. And damn, Matt Read. Two awesome goals, a huge slapshot followed by a precise wrist-shot. Nice, I was on the edge of my seat. One to watch for sure :D
♦ I will never understand why Lavvy then chose to go for an early - if you ask me - empty net ... a huge gamble if you ask me. It looked uncomfortable from the get go and yeah, that didn't work out well at all
♦ And a final musing about why Bryzgy didn't play this game. Looking at the losing trend we have when meeting the Jets and that horrible game in October - yeah, the one that we lost 9-8 and which had the highest number of goals in one game in the last 15 years and made both teams look crap - and Bryzgy's subsequent loss of confidence ... I am not surprised at all that Lavvy sent in Bobs. Better to preserve Bryzgy's new-found confidence right?


During this game I also kept an eye on the RED WINGS-KINGS game. Gamecenter makes it so easy to switch between games! I needed myself a bit of Mike Richards and Anze Kopitar and of course the Red Wings, who are my fave Western Conference team.
♦ So what a stroke of luck that I changed to that game just in time to see Richie score an awesome shortie! Speed, cunning and precision execution. It was beautiful to see. And he seems happier in LA. He wasn't even grumpy during the intermission interview! :D
♦ And then the Red Wings went on to score four goals, unanswered by the Kings. My hero Datsyuk got two goals. So all is good in the West in my book
♦ And can I just say that the Kings' black home jersey is the most awesome jersey in the league? I see a Richie or Anze jersey in my future lol


At this point I was a bit tired, but decided to wait for the 1am start of the CAPS-LEAFS game. I was a bit scared, what with the November slide and all. And eventhough the Caps are having a bit of a struggle too at the moment, it's still the Caps! 
♦ So, although I had plenty of reasons to be worried (Reims still out; Armstrong, Grabovski, MacArthur, Lombardi *and* Komisarek as well, the Monster in net, a few annoying losses in the last couple of weeks) I needn't have worried. My Leafies looked just fine in the first period and went into the second period with a 2-1 lead. And that's when the schooling started. Four awesome goals, three of which on the PP! And to finish things off, a third period short-handed goal. BOOM! 7-1! I mean I have a soft spot for the Caps and don't like to see them struggle, but when my guys win this big, I can't help but feel elated!
♦ Who did all this scoring you ask? Ah, it started with Connolly, not even two minutes into the game. Then Frattin scored his first NHL goal. Grats! In the second period we saw awesome goals by Bozak, Kessel (14th this season, still leading the League *kiss*), Lupul and Franson. Steckel scored against his former team in the final minute of the game and celebrated like it was a game-winning goal. But hey, he hadn't been involved in a goal in eleven games, so who can blame him. Nice going
♦ Monster looked confident in net and made some awesome saves, and didn't play so messy on the rebounds; lets hope he can keep this up till Reims returns!
♦ And I need to put the spotlight on Lupul for a bit. A goal and three assists! And the game's 1st Star. I liked the way he played at the end of last season and I am glad to see him progress this season as well. Love him! *let me fawn for a bit* Love the Kessel-Lupul-Bozak line in general


Today I also watched the OILERS smash the BLACKHAWKS. Yeah! And BOSTON had a great evening as well, schooling those pesky ISLES.
♦ Love all those youngsters at the Oil. Hall, Eberle, Hemsky all scored goals. Nugent-Hopkins didn't, but he was certainly a driving force with 5 assists, creating great opportunities for his teammates. And some of the goals were so beautiful. Just for a certain tic-tac goal I think I will have to post a second article to feature some of my fave goals last night, cause there were plenty all across the league 
♦ The Bruins had an uncharacteristic start of the season, dwelling near the last place in the Eastern Conference, but they are on a huge winning streak ... won last eight games now. And I haven't seen an Isles game in a while, but this is the weakest I have seen them play. They hardly gave any resistance at all and the Bruins just trampled all over them. The scoreless second period was odd, but hey, still got six goals in the end


*reads back*

Whoa, apologies for that waterfall of words, just couldn't stop myself ;) ... so just a few final observations and then I'm posting this monster!

Other noticeable occurances:
♦ Thank you Yotes for denying the Sabres aka BKK aka Blunt Kitchen Knives the win
♦ BizNasty scored. A goal I mean. And this is sweet, his mother was there for the first time ever to witness it. Biz told us she has been ill for the past two years but for the first time felt good enough to make the trip to the rink (yay for Mum)
♦ BOOOO! The Habs won. Don't like the Rags either, but I like the Habs even less (and I am putting that politely lol)   


PS ... I hope the Leafies have an awesome game tonight versus the Canes ... *keeping fingers crossed*

Season 2011-2012 | The First Month

Looking at how the first month went, I can only say: "Wow. That is quite unexpected."

Lets just start with the current conference standings. I'm an Eastern Conference girl, but lets have a look at both. So, compared to last year, what is odd in the Eastern Conference? Yes, indeed! My Leafies are the current lead. And Boston is not. But, and this is actually quite ironic :D ... as I was writing this, the Bruins gave my Leafs an awful trashing (7-0). I like these little ironies of life! Plus admittedly, Seguin looked really good out there (got his first hattrick) and Timmie was up for his first shut-out game this season. Annoying, but praiseworthy nevertheless. Although I must point out that they were facing our third goalie, Ben Scrivens, recently called up from the Marlies.

Another unexpected turn of events: the Habs having a horrible season start. Well, not quite unexpected maybe, they didn't really look so strong at the end of last season either. Right now I can only gloat however, and I hope their season will get even worse. They did finally manage to go on a four-game winning streak, but that was curtailed by the ever despicable Rangers. Thank you! *yuck*

Onto the West. The Nucks and Red Wings are both struggling and not even in the top eight. Whereas one of last year's 'losers', the Oilers, are doing quite well. The young ones, Hall, Eberle & Nugent-Hopkins are having a great season start and I suppose that acquiring the seasoned Ryan Smyth from the Kings has proven useful. And how about Khabby?! Nice comeback. They were on my 'Like'-list last year (I love the underdog) so I will definitely keep an eye on these guys! Chicago as the current Conference leaders, that is just painful to see :p

But back to my Flyers and Leafs!


Flyers

It's like watching a brand new team. I am not going to lie. It took me a few weeks to get used to the new guys and frankly, I still have no idea what to make of them all. Simmonds and Couturier have impressed me somewhat, but all that money that went into acquiring Bryzgy ... are we getting our money's worth? I doubt it. I mean I like the guy and I have definitely not given up on him, but his season start is less than stellar with an SV% of .893. And when I look at how Khabby ($15m - 4yrs) and Vokoun ($1.5m - 1yr) have been performing, both the Oilers and Caps got themselves a steal for much better performing goalies.

Still, despite a few bad games along the line, all in all we are going strong enough. #4 in Conference is good in my book and you can tell the team is brimming with some type of weird energy. I just watched them play the Blue Jackets and they sent them home crying by winning 9-2! Apart from being delighted with seeing my guys win by such a margin I felt sorry for Rick Nash. Keep wondering when he will finally decide to move to a real team ;)

Leafs 

I know that staying at the top position in the Conference is an almost impossible task, so I am not going to expect that of my guys, but I am very hopeful about them making it to the Playoffs. They play well and along the way also manage to create enough chances and win games they are less comfortable playing. All the lines seem to be producing goals and I am enchanted especially by Kessel and Lupul. Sure, Kessel is a streaky guy, so it's a volatile player, but I like how he started the season. He's such an awkward young man off-ice, I just have to root for him.

Reims seemed on track too, so I hope his current injury will not continue nagging him. I need him back in goal. The Monster has played some decent games and makes for a fine backup I suppose. Scrivens had one good game but today got totally snowed under by a Bruins onslaught. OK, the D left much to be desired as well, but with Reims in net I doubt the 7-0 would have happened.

Who'd have thought ... ?

♦ That Max Talbot would work out so well? You may recall I once wrote I have a secret crush on Talbot, which was doubly clandestine as he was ofcourse playing for the Penguins. So his very unexpected transfer to the Flyers was almost a blessing in disguise for me ;) ... and if he keeps up his current scoring trend he might be on his way to a 30 goal season (he had 8 goals last season). Anyways, he makes for an interesting addition and he seems to have taken on a bit more serious demeanor

♦ That Kessel would have such a hot start? I mean he was last season's top scorer of course and there is no reason why he wouldn't be again, but it was still unexpected and wonderful to see

Disclaimer ;)

Yes, yes, I know, by the time I posted this, the Pens had won their game and with one more game played are current Eastern Conference leaders, but for dramatic effect - and it's just a snapshot in time anyways - I am leaving the standings as they were when I started writing this article ;)

Season 2011-2012 | The First

It has been a while. And I apologise to all my followers! Yes, to the both of you! You know who you are ;)

After the shock of entering hockey draught, which left me feeling lost for a while, I actually welcomed the thought of having a little break from this blog. The final weeks of the regular season were frantic. The World Cup was really interesting. The Stanley Cup run kept me on the edge of my seat. Not to mention the craziness of Free Agency Day. I spent hours and hours each day writing stuff up! So a little time off from the blog? Why not?!

During the first few weeks, like the hockey addict that I am, I was on the look-out for hockey-related topics to write about anyways. August came and the withdrawal symptoms had subsided quite a bit and I could finally enjoy the holiday. Then September came and I was ... *gasp* ... only mildly looking forward to the pre-season games. I was a wee bit worried about myself at this time ;)

Then the regular season started and I went straight back into hockey addict mode! Timewise it is difficult for me to actually watch the games (being located in Europe and all) and I have noticed I need my sleep over the weekends too. So far no all-nighters to catch a Leafs or Flyers game live. And come on NHL, throw a European a bone and have some interesting early games over the weekends! I had a look at the next few weekends and it's hardly a ball. So I will just have to go with the recaps and whatever people care to write about.

But getting into blogging mode again, that is taking quite some time. So here is to the first one of the season. Empty when it comes to real hockey information or some of my amazing insights ;) ... but at least it is a start. And since blog-wise I missed the first month, the next article I write will be filled with my views on how the first month went ;)

Beware! ;)

Twitter Time #13 | Richie Luvs Carcillo | August 9th, 2011

Ha, just the one tweet this time. Didn't actually realise Richie was tight enough with CarBomb to warrant a tweet about him, but here it is:

Mike Richards

http://t.co/nkM8rGm What a Beauty, going to miss playing with Carcillo. Hilarious Press Conference #NHL #Blackhawks #Canucks 

That press conference really was quite amusing too. And it's not often you see Dan this cleaned up and with this many teeth either ... so go have a look lol

Twitter Time #12 | A Bit Of Everything | July 27th, 2011

So I had a browse through my Twitter timeline to see what the (mostly) NHL players I follow were up to and there was a bit of everything. Some of it funny, some of it just telling us what folks have been up to. Here an overview, nicely sorted by type of tweet for your perusal ;)


Chirping
Bobby Ryan

@JamesVanRiemsdyk you seem like a smart north jersey kid haha. Cue the south jersey jokes

James van Riemsdyk

@BobbyRyan haha cue the gutless twitter mentioms


Puckbunnying I

Bobby Ryan

For the record, overwhelming Jennifer Aniston lead right out of the gates

Taylor Hall

@Bobby Ryan Can't ever go wrong with J-bomb. Might be a headcase because of all the failed relationships, but I'd gut it out for her anyday

Bobby Ryan

@Taylor Hall like ur style. Feel like she would age as well as a fine red wine


Puckbunnying II
Ben Shutron

Another week of hockey camp. Younger kids = younger moms #winning

Taylor Hall

@Ben Shutron no wheels = no broads


Puckbunnying III

Nathan Thompson

Big fan of @hopesolo on US Women's soccer team. #USA


Puckbunnying IV

Paul Bissonnette

Ya @BIGmack25, goodluck to my girl @hopesolo. Why don't you pull some Nike strings and get me a date?


Puckbunnying V

Tom Sestito

Mila Kunis..... Not even sure what to say? #WillYouMarryMe #SmokeShow


DryIslanding

Justin Wallingford

Wonders how many guys would have signed up for "dry island" on the 06' Fronts?
@ChrisStewart @Ben Shutron @AnthonyStewart #notthisguy

Ben Shutron

@Justin Wallingford @ChrisStewart @AnthonyStewart rather spend my career on Shutter Island with ol' James C McColl.


AwefulSpeilling [yeah see what I did there?]

Logan Shaw
Goin to pick up some grociers and makin some supper #missyoumom

F1-ing

Mike McKenna

Loved the F1 race from Nurburgring! Passing, strategy, twitchy fast cars on a proper racetrack. Elevation changes, fast & slow corners, flow


Rocking

Matt Carle

Heading down to #TCFBankStadium for the #U2 concert w/ @Nathan Thompson ...gonna be another terrible time #el #a #vey #shon #whoooo

Matt Carle

Great #U2 concert last night, got rained on pretty good, but it was worth it http://t.co/pYKmjCa http://t.co/bHQ9a8e http://t.co/J729RC4


??????????

Eric Tangradi
Time to really focus on trying to make a hockey team . I'm taking a year away from twitter. Thanks for all your support everyone!

Although I like Tangradi's spirit, I do not see how sending an occasional tweet will keep you from winning.


OK, I hope you made it this far, because this is my fave tweet this month:

Joffrey Lupul

Fed ex guy got me w/ this one... He's lucky it didn't say go Habs or it would be go time. http://t.co/1vb0901

Richie's Move | It Still Hurts!! | July 22nd, 2011

Just came across this headline in my FB news:

Live Interview with Mike Richards of the Los Angeles Kings

And no, I am not ready for this. It still hurts. Actually, the pain has grown since July 1st. Maybe I was just shellshocked at the time and the enormity of the news had not hit me in full force yet ...

Sorry for the lack of real news, just wanted to share the pain a bit ;)

*sulking in a corner*

 

 

[edit July 26th] And I am glad he did not give in to the whole Dry Island fiasco ;)

Summer Time Equals Hockey Draught | July 20th, 2011

Summer is so boring without hockey. Free Agency Frenzy fizzled out fast, leaving just some unsolved mysteries such as "When will Stamkos be signed?" Personally, I do not care when and by whom Stamkos will be signed (probably the Bolts). My main concern is "When will Burke finally sign Luke Schenn?"

That is how I started this article a few days ago anyways. Then did not really know where to take it and stopped writing. Hockey draught is bad for my creativity.

Oh, since then Stamkos got resigned. Of course. I do not even understand why people were so psyched about this guy hitting free agency. And was there really any other course of action than for the Bolts to resign him? I think not. Although admittedly, for a few hours I was worried the Flyers would actually do something stupid - on top of all the crazy moves that had already taken place - and make a crazy offer to the guy. Still no news on Schenner though, it is driving me nuts.

#IsItOctoberYet?

That is the question that keeps popping up in my mind. Have watched a lot of sports in my life, but have never missed a sport this much during off-season.

So what do YOU do to tide it over? Please post suggestions ;)

I have been:
♦ Reading tweets and following even more hockey-related accounts to keep that timeline interesting
♦ Puckbunnying

Puckbunnying you ask? Yes indeed and I must thank @PsychoPuckLady for aiding us ladies in this endeavour. You can read her latest blog article RIGHT HERE!! It is her Top 10 reasons why you should be rooting for the Blackhawks coming season and it is probably not a Top 10 you would expect ;) ... at least you were warned. But ladies, you will not be disappointed ...  I was nearly swayed, but hell no, the grudge is still there. Remember SCF 2010 Finals?

OK, back to reading some tweets. Might make a selection of the best ones of the past week and post Twitter Time #12 soon!

Free Agency Day | Aftermath Update | July 5th, 2011

 Just a quick update, because I am so happy ...

♦ Yeah, finally Leafs news, and good news too! Clark MacArthur signed for two years at $ 6.5m ... awesome news. Thank you Burke! Would be weird to see Kuli and Grabo without their bud right?
♦ And Bozie got resigned too! Yeah! A two-year deal at $ 1.95m ... bit of a steal maybe, but the guy does still have to prove his worth. Not quite ready for first-lining and all, but so much potential and with a bit of the pressure off, perhaps he can start developing his skills and prove he can be eventually. Also, a great fit with the team! Next signing ... Schenner?
♦ Not really Leafs news anymore, but hell, still love the man: Kabby has been signed by the Canes and I think this is a great deal for him; three years at $ 12.75m - and he gets to play with Brent

Brent was definitely happy:

Tim Brent

WOW! just found out i'll be playing with my boy Thomas Kaberle 'kaba' for the next 2 years! #beauty #hellofaplayer #loveit

Tim Brent

Tomas not "Thomas" typoe- MY BAD!

Tim Brent

Okay even I know its funny when you make a typo writing "typoe" haha 2 excited about Kaba I guess!

Man, already missing Brent. Guess I will be keeping a close eye on the Canes as well this year.

And Bozie, as always, tweeted a bit as well:

Tyler Bozak

Thanks for the congrats everyone! Glad to be back with the leafs to play in front of the best fans in the world!

OK, if you are interested in my first post about Free Agency Day ... CLICK RIGHT HERE :)

Twitter Time #11 | Priorities | July 2nd, 2011

In the midst of all the trading, count on our Tweetionista BizNasty to lighten up the mood a bit. Thanks Biz! Had me chuckling first, then all out laughing.

Paul Bissonnette

After New York State Taxes, Brad Richards could buy every song on iTunes 5 times. Oh and 1.5 million Dances of the Lap.

Paul Bissonnette

To clarify my last tweet. Its one or the other. Not both. Decisions decisions.

Paul Bissonnette

On a serious note, I'm heading to Lake Placid for a week. How's the talent? What's the age bracket im dealing with? #ScoutingReport?

Watch out Lake Placid!

Free Agency Day | Aftermath | July 2nd, 2011

FREE AGENCY DAY! The Aftermath.

This was my first Free Agency Day and I was nervous in the days leading up to it and today was like, wow. I could not take my eyes of Twitter, Facebook, my go-to websites ... oh yes, I went all out obsessive on this one.

In my previous post I said I found it exciting and excruciating at the same time and boy was it. I am not going to lie, it was not pretty. This day had me quite literally crying and laughing.

I had just a few wishes, let me revisit those first:
♦ Leino *must* be resigned by the Flyers
♦ Meszaros too, what the hell. Last night I came across a rumour that he is on the move. I honest to god hope that is a joke. We need our Mesz at the Flyers!
♦ Tim Brent, went UFA, come on Brian Burke, you have to keep this guy at the Leafs
♦ Max Talbot, up until now my somewhat sleazy - and mostly secret - hockey crush, might possibly move to the Leafs, which would finally enable me to cheer for him legitimately lol


If you have been following all the action you will know that:

♦ Leino in fact did not get resigned. Instead he went to what is probably the number two team on my hatelist: Sabres. Or the BKK as I like to call them. Blunt Kitchen Knives. See what I did there ;) ... anyways. I do not know how to deal with this yet. Leino and Mesz are my favourite Flyers. To see Leino move to the Sabres is like the proverbial dagger through the heart to me. Having said that, at least the Sabres were serious about Ville and apparently gave up on the idea of acquiring Brad Richards in favour of securing Leino as he was their primary target. Numbers: 6 years at a whopping $ 27m. And some say that is too much, but damn, I think he is going to be worth it

♦ No movement in regards to Meszaros

♦ Tim Brent. Well, did the Canes get themselves a steal or what? Two years, $ 750k a year. What the hell. Burke could not even offer a few dollars more to keep this guy on board? Guess not. But I like the Canes and I am glad they picked him up. Here is hoping to Brent having a great season!

♦ Max Talbot. Oh man. This is just funny. Here I thought he might be headed for my Leafs. Instead, he has landed in Philadelphia, at my Flyers! Oh boy, a Penguin in the Flyers camp. Numbers: 5 years, $ 9m. Fair amount for him I think, not everyone agrees. I think I would have liked seeing him at the Leafs just a bit more, but hell, I can see how this might work out right. Welcome aboard!

So what else happened? Oh not much ...


♦ Like hell! BOOM! Only the biggest upset of the day: the Jagr signing by the Flyers! Not easy to upset a crazy trading day like this. Unexpected twist and turns, crazy terms & salaries. But Holmgren managed to cause the biggest one, by snatching Jagr away right under the noses of the Pens and Wings. A one-year deal at $ 3.3m. Overpaid, waste of money, locker room poison are just the few negatives I came across today. I only recall him from Olympic games and this year's World Cup and I liked what I saw. Plus he has had a good season in the KHL. I have no idea how this will work out though. But I am going to give this deal the benefit of the doubt. Still. I am going to say that Holmgren is now certifiably insane. Will gladly eat those words if we win the 2012 Cup, but I have great difficulties seeing how this new team can possibly glue ...

♦ Flyers also acquired Andreas Lilja from the Ducks (3 years at $ 1.7m) and extended Voracek's contract

♦ J.S. Giguere signed with the Avs. A 2-year deal worth $ 2.5m. Glad Giggy found a home, he is a great guy. Just did not work out well for the Leafs. The Avs also acquired Semyon Varlamov, saving him from returning to the KHL. Varly will probably be the primary with the seasoned Giggy as a back-up. A bit crazy, but could work. Wonder why the Avs did not go for Vokoun though ...

♦ Burke was in Kandahar and did not acquire anything today. Might not be so bad looking back, but I was expecting *something*

All in all this day brought all the excitement I thought it would. Happy with Max, OK with Jagr, sick with sorrow about Leino. I wonder what the rest of the week will bring! I do know that Flyers-Pens games will be even grittier than before. There will be blood. Fun season ahead!

Oh before I sign off, if you want a crips and clean overview of all the transfers, have a look at:
http://www.eliteprospects.com/


[update July 4th]
♦ On July 3rd, second day of trading, the Leafs acquired Cody Franson & Matthew Lombardi from the Preds. And here is the killer: in exchange for dead balast Brett Lebda! Oh and also Robert Slaney and a 2013 4th-round pick. Good job Burke!

One of my Twitter contacts describes the trade best on his site: LeafsHQ!

Free Agency Day !!!! | July 1st, 2011

FREE AGENCY DAY!

wh00000000000000000000000

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

See that? It is exciting and excruciating at the same time.

By the way, apologies if I lured you here and made you think you would read some amazing insights. Because you are not going to. But if you arrived here for that purpose, let me forward you to these places, it is where I go to check up on stuff:

http://www.thefourthperiod.com/freeagents/top30.html
http://www.mynhltraderumors.com/2010/06/01/2011-unrestricted-nhl-free-agents/
http://www.capgeek.com/free_agents.php

There, what I want is to just vent. Here my few wishes, based entirely on emotional motives:
- Leino *must* be resigned by the Flyers
- Meszaros too, what the hell. Last night I came across a rumour that he is on the move. I honest to god hope that is a joke. We need our Mesz at the Flyers!
- Tim Brent, went UFA, come on Brian Burke, you have to keep this guy at the Leafs
- Max Talbot, up until now my somewhat sleazy - and mostly secret - hockey crush, might possibly move to the Leafs, which would finally enable me to cheer for him legitimately lol

Oh, and one thing I do not want to see happen: Stamkos to Flyers. Up until the last few days I appreciated Stamkos for his talent, but that is it. Not a fan. Nor a hater. Then the rumours of a possible trade started and I developed a very irrational hate for the poor guy. I am sorry, I just cannot picture him in Orange & Black. The idea makes me positively hateful. Now Holmgren yesterday confirmed that they would not be putting in a offer for him, and I want to believe it so badly. But they have been lying to us a lot this year, so who knows what Holmgren has up his sleeve. I know I will feel better and go to a normal state of mind about Stamkos once the trade is definitely definitely definitely out of the picture.

So, what do you want to see happen? And no, not in answer to my own little wish list, am interested in what other folks are hoping for regardless of team and/or player preferences! I will even allow comments about the Habs, because it is also Canada Day - Happy Canada Day all you Canadian hockey fans!

Anyways, share your wishlist in the comments (you probably will not) or join me on Twitter ... @violet_nl ... I will be lurking in there all day long, waiting for stuff to happen. Sorry boss! ;)

Flyers Store | Come Get Our Guys Cheap! | June 27th, 2011

Holmgren must have developed some sort of Evil Master Plan that will have us forgive him his rather erratic trading behaviour.

Look what just happened! He just traded Darroll Powe to the Wild (poor guy!) for a 2013 third round pick. Surely Powe is worth more than that? Hell, I am sure folks can come up with several reasons why he should have been traded in the first place, but I always found him a good, hard worker. The type any team should be happy to have in their line up.

Holgmren did sign Nodl and Sestito. Not entirely sure about Sestito, but Nodl is a keeper in my book. Next up I would really want to see Leino signed. Apparently he has been asking a bit too much, but surely Holmgren will not let our guy be picked up by some other team?!

[edit June 27th] The organisation has extended Qualifying Offers to Kalinski, Simmonds and Voracek. Oh my, bad times on the horizon for Carcillo? And as I was taking in the roster, I suddenly had to smile at Zherdev still being in the line-up.

[edit June 28th] Next development was Carcillo not receiving a Qualifying Offer, which turns him into an UFA ... guess the earlier edit about bad times ahead for Carcillo are in fact looming ...

So back to the opening sentence ... Holmgren must be plotting something interesting right? Divesting a top notch team like ours ... he better be.

Twitter Time #10 | Flyers Fallout | June 25th, 2011

What a night Thursday night was. Still reeling from all the moves executed by Holmgren. Twitter was alight. Here an overview of what some of the players had to say about it all. Starting with a tweet by Richie himself:

Mike Richards
Thanks to everyone in Philly for a great 6 yrs. What a great city and an awesome place to play. #NHL #flyers

Bryzgalov
Proud to be a Philadelphia Flyer)))

Matt Carle
Speechless like everyone else about what happened today, but sometimes that's the nature of the beast...best of luck to both of those guys

James van Riemsdyk
Best of luck to carts and richie. Were great teammates on and off the ice and helped me a ton making the jump into the nhl

Joffrey Lupul
I am scratching my head w/ the rest of you guys... I guess anyones tradable. Good luck to 2 great guys!

RJ Umberger

Lost great teammate in Voracek, But excited to be teammates w/ my 1st ever NHL center #Jeff Carter #CBJ Fans be excited. #Crazy

RJ Umberger
Mike Richards traded also? Say What??? #WhatsIntheWaterInPhilly #Crazy

Matt Lashoff
Lot of action going on today! Did Philly just trade those two guys? #shocked

Bobby Ryan
Paul Holmgren must have woke up and just said let's giver hell today. Some big time trades. Western conference just got two great players

Derick Brassard
Lost a great friend/ teammates in voracek!! Philly fans should be excited !! Great future ahead of him

Derick Brassard
Wow Really excited about Carter!! #cbj fan I hope u guys are excited

Ryan Jones
I am curious to see what the next 48 hrs holds after the bombs Philly just dropped. Should be interesting.

Eric Tangradi
Wow Philly Wow