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?!

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*

Playoffs Daily | SCF Game 7 | June 17th, 2011

OMFGWTH was Don Cherry wearing? Yeah, that was the first question that hit me when I started watching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Words cannot describe it, so here is a pic lol


Don Cherry's Floral Arrangement - Should Have Left It In The Vase

[Bruins-Nucks] 4-0. Bruins win the series and get to hoist the Cup! What an awesome night for Thomas. To finish the season off with a shutout. It is stuff movies are made off. I just read he is the first goalie to win with a shutout whilst on the road and he is the fourth goalie in the history of the NHL to have a shutout in Game 7. The Bruins needed 21 shots to get four goals. The Nucks had 37 shots on goal and got none. Thomas made sure of that!

♦ I am always on the edge of my seat the first few minutes when the Bruins play. They have had some really bad first few minutes these Playoffs. So any time the Bruins do not get scored on in the first few minutes I know we are going to see a good game from them at least. The Nucks did get the first few shots on goal, but nothing special. Earlier games showed a much more energetic Nucks start, but looks like the Bruins have found a way to disrupt the fast Nucks play early on. The first goal sort of hit me unawares. Not a particularly interesting build up or a rush, but in itself a nice feed to Bergeron by Marchand. After the first I goal I was waiting for the Nucks to bring more energy to the ice, but fizzled out

♦ Second period started off interestingly enough. The Nucks seemed to be a bit more into the game and they were definitely hunting for a goal, but then Marchand twisted and turned and scored a marvelous goal. That was some nifty work. Recchi must have felt inspired because a few seconds later he broke free of the Nucks D and nearly scored a goal. He was darting across the ice like a young kid. Amazing to see this 43-year old guy display this type of energy and eagerness! Unlike after the 1-0, the Nucks actually amped up their game and started to be a bit more threatening in front of the Bruins' goal and Timmie was definitely called on for some top saves. The Nucks had one PP this game and perhaps pre-SC they would have used this opportunity to score and switch momentum. Instead, Bergeron scored a shorthanded goal and that made 3-0!

♦ If you were supporting the Bruins, the third period was a much less stressful event than the start of the previous two periods. A 3-0 does not mean you are safe, but it sure is confidence inspiring. This period was still exciting, it was after the final twenty minutes of the season, but the Bruins were just making sure they had good puck possession and a tight defence and the Nucks just could not muster up the necessary energy to create extra chances. And as time started to slip through their hands you could see the faces get sadder and sadder on the Nucks' bench. With three minutes to go, Luongo was pulled to add an extra attacker, but Marchand made sure that was punished straight away by scoring an empty-netter within seconds. And that was that. No usual last minute frenzy, it was just over and here and there you could see little celebrations starting

♦  Some extra kudos to my fave Bruins D-guys: Seidenberg & Chara. Both again put in most time on ice, 28:51 and 27:12 respectively. Chara actually made a few awesome saves there and Seidenberg had two assists

♦ I liked the almost 'don't care if you guys kill eachother but we are not going to hand out a lot of penalties'-approach the refs had to this game. The first penalty was dealt way back in the second period (Chara interference on Kesler) ... but some hits should have been punished though. A few stuck out:
1st period: Higgins on Chara, elbow to the head
3rd period: Timmie 'gently' pokes Hansen with his hockey stick ... could pass it off as an accident I suppose, but still, that was naughty ;)

♦ The standing ovation Thomas got was really nice

♦ Need I mention the riots that took place in Vancouver after the home team lost? I will just drop it. Because us true sports fans know that that crap has nothing to do with being a fan

♦ I called this is one right in my last prediction!

Well, that concluded a very interesting post-season. I feel a bit deflated. What to do next? How will we get through the Summer without watching our beloved hockey? I will have to figure out something ... for now, let me close this article with the Stanley Cup Presentation :)

Playoffs Daily | Game 5 & Game 6 | June 14th, 2011

Say you are a regular reader of my little scribblings, in that case I apologise for the infrequency that snuck into my postings. Work has been unbelievably hectic and personal time as well. In itself not a bad thing, but it has kept me from watching games as soon as I can and writing them up. So here with some delay my shorter than usual views on both games.


[Game 5: Bruins-Nucks] 0-1. Nucks lead series 3-2. I hate 1-0 games. I hate them just a bit less if the team I root for wins. But I hate them nonetheless. Upon seeing the result on my NHL applet I decided against watching this one. I am sure it had it's moments, but I just refuse to watch it. There you go. Nucks are a game ahead at this point and could have claimed the Cup in Game 6.


[Game 6: Nucks-Bruins] 2-5. Series tied, again. On home ice there is just no stopping the Bruins. They do not just play and somehow win, they dominate.

♦ That was an awesome first period. If you are a Bruins fan anyways. Everything went right for the Bruins here and they scored four goals in this one period. Marchand, Lucic, Ference scored in quick succession at which point the suffering Luongo was replaced by Schneider. Not that it helped much, as just a minute later Ryder (although at first it looked as if it was Kabby) scored the fourth one
♦ The second period was scoreless and apart from some hacking, slashing, checking, you could say not much went on it this period
♦ The third brought some more excitement. At least the Nucks got on the scoreboard. Sedin (Henrik) scored just seconds into the third. But Krejci made sure the message was clear and scored the fifth goal for the Bruins. Lapierre added a second goal for the Nucks, but for this game it was just not in the cards for the Nucks

Other stuff.
♦ Hits. Yes. Some took place. Some bad too. Of course I will mention the Boychuck hit on Raymond. By now we know that Raymond has a few fractured vertebrae and that he will be out for a few months. I wish him all the best and hope that he will have a quick recovery. As for the hit itself, I am a bit on the fence here. Both guys were fighting for the puck and Raymond was doing some weird contortionist act to get to the puck before Boychuck would. He sort of folded his own body around and underneath Boychuck's. And that is a big dude, so that close to the board it was an accident waiting to happen. I do not even want to imagine what that hit would have looked like at full speed, I am just glad the speed had already dissipated a bit. Still, I wonder if Boychuck maybe could have tried to avoid it, but I am sure he would have if he could 
♦ But the nastier hit was performed by Eidler. He thorougly boarded Pev. On an icing! Right. Eidler, read up on rules will you? Hmm and Bergeron had mean elbowing going on against Ehrhoff. Not very nice either

Some final thoughts:
♦ Does anyone else thinks that the Sedin twins are airing their frustration with lots of nasty mean little hits and pokes, of which most go unpunished?
♦  Who else misses Kesler? Well he is there, but he must be in some serious pain due to some sort of injury. He has been a ghost of his former self the past few games. Damn, I hate when such a great player is pretty much sidetracked due to some undisclosed injuries :(
♦ OK. So the Nucks barely win, but still, win, at home. The Bruins utterly dominate on their home ice. I am not so sure what to make of this. If the Bruins can bring even a bit of that extra energy they seem to have at home to Vancouver for Game 7, I can just see them win the Cup. Would be nice!

Playoffs Daily | SCF Game 2 & Game 3 | June 7th, 2011

A very busy weekend kept me from watching Game 2. Usually I manage to catch up eventually, but not this time. But better luck for Game 3! I have seen the result, but I cranked up the DVR and am watching it now. As the intro takes place I will spend a few minutes wrapping up Game 2, but it will be very short.

Game 2
[Bruins-Nucks] 2-3. Nucks lead series 2-0. Well, another close game with amazing goaltending on both sides. The game went into OT, although you could hardly call it an extra period as Burrows scored after just 11 seconds with an admittedly nice wrap-around. I am sure Timmie should have made other choices in how he chose to defend this attack, but I am sure he knew what he was up to despite the bad outcome. And let me quote Thomas himself: "I've got a pretty good idea of how to play goalie. I'm not going to take suggestions or advice at this time." I like it.


Game 3
[Nucks-Bruins] 8-1. Nucks lead series 2-1. That was an awesome way to get back into the round I think. 8-1 is a definite punishment this far ahead in the Playoffs and this large a goal difference does not happen often.

♦ The game started of pretty fine, no early goals and you could see by the intensity of the players that this might be an emotional game. Just when I settled in nicely to watch this game, that late hit by Rome on Horton happened. I had seen footage of the hit earlier today but it still hit me hard. What struck me most was the dazed look on Horty's face and I immediately felt very worried. By now we know that Rome has been suspended for four games. Maybe a bit much, but well Horty is out for the rest of the Playoffs and now so is Rome. These things are always up for debate. Horty should perhaps have kept his head up, but Rome was after him with a purpose and the shoulder was set for a big hit. Horty really flew backwards on impact. And it was a LATE hit. Yeah. I still see that dazed look on Horty's face. Creepy

♦ OK, the game continued with a five minute PP. But the Bruins could not turn it to their advantage. It was not a bad period really. The Nucks had some good shots, but Timmie was not having it. He made some top saves. The Bruins were playing well enough too, but missed a certain sharpness

♦ Second period and just a few seconds into the period Ference scored the first one for the Bruins. Minutes later Recchi scored on the PP, although lets face it, that was a very unfortunate assist/goal by Kesler. What a difference from Game 1 though (and quite possibly from Game 2 as well, but I have not seen it in full so I cannot be sure), the Bruins were not only strong on the defence, but their offence looked very alive as well in this period. Next up to score was Marchand, a marvelous short-handed goal no less. Krejci closed the scoring during this period with a nice wrist-shot. The Nucks played decent enough too, but Timmie was on fire. Of course the period ended with a bit of a skermish. That is how emotional this game was

♦ Third period continued much the same. Some good chances by the Nucks again, but Timmie was just a rock. The game that I thought was physical enough, got grittier in this period and there were a lot of game misconducts and fighting majors, especially after a fight that occured around the 11 minute mark. Lucic, Kesler, Seidenberg and Burrows all vanished into the locker room. And was Lucic trying to feed Burrows his fingers as a little snack during the fight? My word, not very classy, but I found myself giggling a bit anyways. All this fighting fueled the Bruins even more and shortly after the game was resumed Paille scored a short-handed goal making it 5-0. Hansen then scored to make it 5-1, but that was all Timmie was willing to give away. Next three goals - all within a span of two minutes - were by the Bruins (Recchi, Kelly, Ryder), giving them an amazing 8-1 win!

♦ Amusing moment: Timmie not only did his share of saving ;) ... he also got in a hit on Sedin: Hit & Save!




♦ Some stats to finish off ... Bruins had 38 shots on goal, the Nucks had 41. And the Bruins looked more physical on the whole and that reflects in the PIM and hits. PIM was 75 for the Bruins and 70 for the Nucks. The Bruins had 39 hits and the Nuck 31. Very intense!

Looking forward to Game 4. I hope the Bruins bring the same energy!

Playoffs Daily | SCF Game 1 | June 2nd, 2011

I was so excited for Game 1 of the Final! I spent the entire evening fighting off sleep and sure enough, the clock struck 2am and I was still up. Hockey Night In Canada tune ... anthems ... puck drop. So exciting, even more so than the previous games!

[Bruins-Nucks] 0-1. Intense game. Not exactly because of gameplay, but just because of what is at stake and both teams really wanting to win but obviously getting frustrated as time went on and no goals were scored ...

♦ But it started off with a barrage of shots by the Nucks in the first few minutes. Timmie had to show up early and in the first two minutes alone made about 5 saves, but at least the Bruins made it through the first minute without allowing a goal. If you have been following them these Playoffs, you will know it is not uncommon to happen
♦ It took the Bruins a bit longer to get the first shot on goal, well into the third minute but Luongo managed to deflect the puck with his skate. Would have been an easy tap in otherwise
♦ D. Sedin then performed some nasty high sticking on Chara giving the Bruins their first powerplay, all 4 minutes of it. The Bruins moved the puck around pretty well, but it was not really offensive and the Nucks had a very effective PK. Rather tame four minutes actually, instantly livened up by Sedin's return to the ice ... Timmie had some blistering saving to do straight away. What followed were a lot of intense moments and quite a lot of PPs
♦ The game settled in the last few minutes though, only to be livened up by a skermish right after the whistle was blown. Bergeron and Burrows got into it and I just read that Burrows bit Bergeron. What?!
♦ This period was the busiest in terms of SOG: 17 Bruins, 12 Nucks 

♦ Onto the second period. This one started with a rush again. But the Nucks were - in my opinion - even less disciplined this period and soon the Bruins found themselves on a two man advantage once more. Unfortunately, again the special teams failed to monetise
♦ This period brought us the best hit of the game: Lucic got flipped over by Hamhuis (perfectly legally), but in the process Hamhuis managed to get himself hurt and he did not return to the ice once he finally skated off. Krejci did also crosscheck him as a bit of retaliation, but that was pretty gentle, so yeah, I am going with a self inflicted injury due to lifting a taller and heavier opponent. Still. Awesome hit, see for yourself (courtesy of NHL.com)

♦ Halfway through the period the Nucks to me looked just a bit more feisty, but the Bruins just grunted and beared it. Thinking back, Kesler had the biggest chance of this period shortly after that hit on Lucic
♦ The hit also served as a bit of a catalyst for the Bruins. They already had their share of penalties in the first period but seemed to have calmed down significantly, but the bear was loose again. Marchand wanted to retaliate a bit I suppose and made a great hit on Raymond, another flip. Seidenberg saw an opportunity to break away and did so but not without some kneeing first and was sent to the penalty box. Seconds later Peverley followed for hooking, giving the Nucks a 5-on-3 advantage. You would think that the Nucks would finally get a PP goal now, instead pesky Burrows got a penalty for tripping Timmie, making it a 4-on-3. Not nearly as exciting. This penalty seemed a bit unfair though, but Burrows had been a nuisance throughout the game, there had to be payback at some time. The game got very gritty
♦ But eventually things settled down a bit and we entered a much quieter part of the game, although by no means boring. Both teams were hunting for that first goal. What struck me towards the end of the second period is that neither team had a strong grip on strategy. Both Bruins and Nucks seemed to have a haphazard approach towards offence. Maybe it was the unsettling amount of PPS on which neither team managed to capatilise. End of second period and still no goals scored. Both teams had 9 shots on goal

♦ Third period, much of the same and the first big chance was generated by Hansen, who broke loose and went full speed ahead towards the Bruins net, but Timmie performed yet another awesome save. As we went to the final 10 mins of regulation, the Nucks picked up speed for a good five minutes, generating a few chances, but nothing paid off. Once again things settled down for the remainder of the third period and I think everyone had accepted the idea that the game would go to OT, but then Torres struck. 1-0 Nucks. Great goal too, but then it would take something special to beat any of the goalies this night
♦ The final period saw 10 shots on goal by the Bruins and 14 by the Nucks

♦ Funny moment 1: Thomas turning his back on the skermish at the end of the fist period and hitting imaginary posts (embedded via NHL.com):



♦ Funny moment 2: After the hit on Lucic and subsequent crosscheck on Hamhuis by Krejci, they replayed a barrage of crosschecks of Seids on Burrows I think it was (sorry, was too lazy to rewind during the game to ascertain) ... but no penalty awarded there. Could not find footage of this, but take my word for it, it was amusing

Final words. Not sure what to make of this game really. Great goaltending, that is a certainty. Both Timmie and Lu played an awesome game. The Nucks were a bit feistier. But the Bruins were steady and did not allow for much space. Both teams had 6 PPs and failed to score. For the Bruins this was expected, but for the Nucks less so. In the end I think the game was pretty even and either team could have/should have won. The Nucks got it this time, hopefully the next one will be for the Bruins. But both teams will have to work on some elements of their game and I want to see a bit more fireworks next time. Not talking about the goalies here, like I said, they were splendid!

Playoffs 2011 Predictions | Witchcrafting Part IV | May 30th, 2011

My Whimsical Playoffs Predictions - New & Improved For The Last Time

This time, I will not let The Coins interfere with my predictions. Instead I will just go with my emotions and wishful thinking. The Coins called the Nucks-Sharks wrong, so they get to sit still in my wallet.

STANLEY CUP FINAL
[Nucks-Bruins]
A far cry from my dream final: Flyers-Red Wings. But you have to appreciate the hard work of the teams that did make it this far. Still not a fan of the Nucks. I can appreciate the talent and all, but apart from Ryan Kesler, I find them bland. Personally. I know a couple of die-hard fans, so good luck to you guys! Jeffrey in particular! But I like the Bruins a lot. I like their style. I like Lucic. I like Bergeron. I like Ference. I like Chara. I like Kabby. I have started to like Seidenberg. I like the floppy Timmie as much as the magical Timmie. There is no one on the team that I do not like. So yes. Emotionally I want the Bruins to win. And because they like their wins hard worked for ... 4-3 Bruins.

What do you think? Feel free to post your own predictions in the comments, anonymous our not ;)

Playoffs Daily | ECF Game 7 | May 28th, 2011

Hell yeah! I managed to watch nearly two periods before I had to call it quits and get some sleep. Hey do not judge me, the game started at 2am my time! So when I woke up this morning and saw the result I was relieved, happy for my buddy Sven who is a huge Bruins fan and pretty damn happy for myself as well as I preferred for the Bruins to claim the Prince of Wales Cup.  

[Bolts-Bruins] 0-1. Bruins win series 4-3. I did not know this, but it is the first time in 21 years that the Bruins have reached the Finals again. And they have not won a Cup since 1972. My year of birth. A good omen? lol




Courtesy of me shooting pics of the ESPN America CBC broadcast ;)


♦ A very tense first period! But at least no goal against for the Bruins in the first minute like the past couple of games. What followed was a pretty even game. Hard for either team to get through the neutral zone and near the goal and a lot of time was spent along the boarding. But the atmosphere was thick with tension! Both teams wanting to win, not wanting to lose. I think the Bruins had the best chance in this period. Happened around the fifteen minute mark with a breakaway by Lucic, but Roloson made one of many big saves right there. Moments before it was Timmie who had a a busy spell as the Bolts took a few shots on net. Timmie was butterflying all over the crease. Shots on goal: Bruins 15, Bolts 9

♦ Second period was scoreless as well, but not because the teams were not trying. Timmie made some great saves (8), but Roloson even more. He fended off 14 shots. Apart from some great hockey, this period saw a crazy helmet save by Roloson and quite painfully, Stamkos took a hard shot right in the nose. After treatment he returned to the game, but that looked extremely painful

♦ Both teams continued playing great in the third, but you could see the Bruins pushing just a bit harder. Or maybe that was wishful thinking on my part ;) ... but it sure kept me on the edge of my seat. There were 9 shots on goal by the Bruins and 8 by the Bolts. After Nathan Horton scored the winning goal, the Bruins went into lockdown mode and hardly gave the Bolts room to get out of the neutral zone. Ferocious forechecking by the Bruins! So much so that pulling Roloson in the final minutes was problematic. He spent 59:34 on ice! You know how in the final minutes the team lagging will pull out any magic trick they have and cause a frenzy in front of the opposing goalie. No such thing in this game. The Bruins' defence was so tight, that even the top guys in the Bolts line up could not get past them and did not even manage to fire a shot at Timmie. Wow. So impressed. Goosebumps!

♦ This was as much a goalies game as you will ever see. Both Timmie (sv% 1.000) and Roli (sv% 0.974) peaked. Both guys made some amazing saves, but Roloson was unable to stop that one goal.  Bruins' whole D-squad was awesome, but yeah I will point out once more how great Chara and Seidenberg are. Seidenberg again clocked most time on ice with 27:57

♦ Amazing fact: NO PENALTIES! It is so easy to forget that a game CAN be played with ferocity, intent and passion without shoving the opponent into the glass panels, illegal hitting, hooking and whatnot. OK, there were some moments that could have ended up in a penalty, but the refs really did a great job by letting the game evolve on its own but still keeping a grip on proceedings. Other ref teams should take note. Anyways, this game was intense without nonsense. Kudos to both teams. With PPs suddenly leading to goals more often again, it is not a bad idea to keep your players out of the penalty box anyways

♦  The goal. That was just a precision attack and beautifully executed. Horton skillfully finished what was set up by Krejci & Ference!  *courtesy of NHL & CBC*

Well, I got my wish. The Bruins have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. As for the Nucks. I should not have listened to The Coins, who predicted the Sharks would win. I said Nucks, but they said 'no way'. Wonder what the hell I am talking about?

Check my Whimsical Playoffs Predictions | Part III HERE. I will have to redo them now that The Coins let me down again ;) 


{edit: why did noone tell me I had written 'Prince of Whales Cup'? WHALES?! lol ... glad I saw that, after a while ... }

Playoffs Daily | ECF Game 6 | May 26th, 2011

Hmm. The Bruins sure like to make things suspenseful. I am looking forward to a Nucks-Bruins Stanley Cup Final, but I will have to wait another game to see if that will become reality.

[Bruins-Bolts] 4-5. Series tied at 3-3. Another Game 7. I have to say the more hockey the merrier, so a Game 7 is cool! I just hope the Bruins will nail this one. Guys, my day was so hectic that I did not get around to actually watching the game and I only just managed to read up on the outcome. So this is going to be a short one - no really, I mean it this time! - for future reference and I will just list the basics. In all honesty, you might as well head over to the NHL site :D

♦ Considering the amount of goals, the actual number of shots on goal is low. Bolts had 26 and the Bruins just 20. Not a surprise then that the save percentages of both goalies are low. 0.800 for Roloson and 0.808 for Timmie. Definitely not a goalie game ;)

♦ Goalscoring for the Bolts: Purcell (0:36), St. Louis (27:55), Purcell (33:35), Stamkos (40:34) & St. Louis (50:15). Yeah you are seeing it correctly. Another very early goal against the Bruins. Still not doing their best from the get go. I really dislike goals when they are still showing the line-ups for the game

♦ Goalscoring for the Bruins: Lucic (7:09), Krejci (16:30), Krejci (49:46) & Krejci again (53:28)

♦ Yes, Krejci got himself a hat trick *throws a virtual hat on the ice* ... great job!

Well, that is all for now. Feel free to leave your insights about this game in the comments, will be happy to read those! And I am going to crank up the dusty Xbox and finally try my hand at Call Of Duty Black Ops ... have had the game since release date but it is still wrapped lol ... but I feel like shooting stuff after my very hectic day at work. Downside is that I am the worst gamer in the world, so I think it will be me getting shot at ;)

Playoffs Daily | ECF Game 1 | May 15th, 2011

Stayed up way too late last night and caught the first two periods and then I just fell asleep! It was not the best ever first game and I was a bit disappointed in the Bruins.

[Bolts-Bruins] 5-2. Bolts lead series 1-0. The game started cautiously. Both teams seemed to be testing the water so to speak. Some decent enough passing where the Bolts seemed to prefer a bit more speed and the Bruins were taking things more slowly, looking for opportunities and playing a much more controlled game. So the first goal the Bolts scored surprised me a bit. But not so much as the second and third Bolts goals! All within one minute and 25 seconds! Timmie was doing a great Timmie Tuna ... flopping all over the place. It makes him more human though, without these moments he would be a total awesome relentless goalie machine hahah. For a minute I thought they would send in Rask at this point, but then I remembered these are not the Flyers ;) ... other than that it was not all on Thomas, the D-guys totally let him down too there. It was nice to see Seguin score a couple of minutes later though and I thought they might do a bit better after getting rid off that zero on the scoreboard, but I must say that the second period did not impress me much. And of course I missed the third, so no idea how that one went, but the end result 5-2 tells me the Bolts' rather more energetic skating got the best of the Bruins and that the Bruins will have to ramp up their next game. Looking forward to it!

Playoffs Daily | QF Game 4 & 5 | April 22nd, 2011

Hmm ... *frowns* ... what are the Nucks up to? Not that I care for the Nucks, but I do hate the Hawks so I want them out. I do not want them to think they might actually still win this series. The Nucks are allowed to choke, but they need to wait for the Semi Finals!

[Bruins-Habs] 5-4. Series tied at 2-2. Thanks Bruins for believing it. And thanks for the intensity and some interesting moments. Yeah you know what I am talking about. I will add a picture of course ;)
[Blackhawks-Nucks] 5-0. Nucks still lead series 3-2. All is well still. But a 5-0 shut-out is not very inspiring. Well it might inspire the Hawks, but I certainly hope not.
[Sharks-Kings] 6-3. Sharks lead series 3-1. So far The Coins who helped me predict this particular series' outcome are on the money *hahah pun intended, I know it is bad lol* Never paid much attention to either team, but have seen a few of their games now and I must admit they do look good on the ice.

OK, with my short overview out of the way, time for some hockey fun. Ference of the Bruins first:

Oh yes. Ference flipped off the entire Bell Centre. He claims he did not, his teammates claim he did not and never would do such a thing. Equipment malfunction has been brought up as an excuse too. Everyone is 'shocked' and apologetic. I understand that. They can hardly go about telling everyone that "Yeah, Ference gave them the bird." It would be a public relations fiasco! And Ference himself seemed so suitably shocked at his own behaviour that I am willing to accept he did not mean to do it lol ... Having said all that:

Thanks Ference for doing what everyone else playing the Habs and facing their horrible fans would like to do.

And the next one is just fun and very comforting. A stumbling Tim Thomas (courtesy of NHL.com). It is cute!

Tumbling Tim

And saunter over here to see my complete Whimsical Playoffs Predictions:
My Whimsical Playoffs Predictions

Playoffs Daily | QF Game 3 & 4 | April 20th, 2011

I was fairly positive that I would wake up to a Nucks win. So seeing them being kicked in the nuts with a 7-2 Hawks win is hardly what I expected or wished for. But at least the Sharks are doing the right thing.

[Nucks-Hawks] 2-7. Wow. That has got to hurt! Really? 2-7? The Nucks better get to form in the next game.
[Sharks-Kings] 6-5. Whoa. Now I do not really care about either team, but the game recap tells me this was a wild game and I will watch the rerun tonight. I am sure that the Kings thought they had the game in their pocket once they got to the 4-0 lead. I doubt the Sharks can repeat such a feat again, so I think they used up their Playoffs luck. Not saying they can't move ahead in the Playoffs, just meaning to say they better not allow such deficits in the games to come ;)

Yesterday after work I watched the Bruins and Wings reruns. And I liked the way that the Bruins played in the first two periods. Thety should keep up that energy for the full 60. And they were a bit lucky that Thomas picked up his game in the third. But a blast to see the Habs lose :D

Should you care to see my Whimsical Playoffs Predictions, you can find those here:
My Whimsical Playoffs Predictions

{edit} I just watched the Sharks game and that was a WILD second period, very entertaining!

Playoffs Daily | QF Game 1 | April 15th, 2011

Yes, nothing quite as fun as checking in on nhl.com and find your team has lost their first game. Right. And to top it off, the Bruins were not able to win their first game either. Habs! *sends evil looks all the way to Montréal* 

[Habs-Bruins] 2-0. Say what? Hmm, this must be the 'by accident' Habs win I mentioned in my predictions. All is cool.
[Sabres-Flyers] 1-0. Oh boy, so much for my 'forecasted' sweep. Hmm, I am not sure why many of my fellow Flyers fans wanted to play the BKK (as I call them) ... they have been the nemesis for my Leafies much of the past few months, by beating a lot of teams on their way to 7th place. Grrrr. But Sergei looked solid for his first ever playoff game! Good vibes for the games to come :D
[Kings-Sharks] 2-3. Sharks might be listening to The Coins.

For my complete predictions, have a look at my previous scribblings:
My Whimsical Playoffs Forecast

Also, if you have not read my forecast yet, stuff like 'listening to The Coins' will suddenly make sense to you ;)

Poetic Announcers | March 19th Bruins-Leafs | April 14th, 2011

Although the Playoffs extravaganza has started and there is a lot of current stuff to write about I would like to reminisce a bit about the past season and share one of my favourite moments. On March 19th I tuned in for the Bruins-Leafs game. And then I was just bowled over by the poetic introduction to the game! I tell you, I rewinded it several times to hear it again - do you love your DVR as much as I do? - and I loved it so much, that I transcribed it!

And here is where things get shaky. I do not know who actually did the introduction hahah. Ron MacLean or Joe Bowen? In either case the guy said he was inspired by Tom Petty and some Irish author. I have tried to decipher the name of said author, but without success!

Anyways, here goes!

[disclaimer] I have no rights to these words at all, so hands off anyone who wants to make a buck out of it! Or something along these lines anyways [end disclaimer]

What time is it?
It's later than you think,
And the earth tilts and reboots your personal northern hemisphere
Your heart, your head,
There is a look on your face
And there is something lucky about the place
And your memory,
Your private story
As it must ... turns the page


Springtime! Something good coming for you and me
Something good coming
There has to be
We often accept the temporary peace over a more difficult and distant justice
We're buying time
Winter thinking
Then comes the sun, springtime!
Set aside the memories
Engage your imagination
And in pace ... with renewal


What time is it?
It's spring time!
Time to enjoy yourself
It's later than you think

BEAUTIFUL!

{edit May 2nd} Someone uploaded it! Now for the full experience check this:

And maybe it gave the Leafies good vibes too, because we beat the Bruins 5-2 :D

Oh, if anyone recalls this moment and knows who that Irish author that served as inspiration is, drop me a line! And if you could tell me if these words were spoken by Ron MacLean, Joe Bowen or even someone else, that would be even better!

Playoffs 2011 | Witchcrafting | April 12th, 2011

I would like to share my Whimsical Playoffs Forecast with you. One of my Twitter-buddies posted his predictions earlier, so I got inspired to try this as well. Staying true to my style, this is by no means an in-depth analysis and I will not be showing off my awesome hockey knowledge - hahahah! As if I possess such a thing! Nopes, it is a mix of wishful thinking, absurdity and hoping lol .. which is probably worse than runewatching or consulting a crystal bowl ;)

EASTERN CONFERENCE
[Series A - Caps vs Rangers]
Still hate the fact that the Rangers got through and left the Canes in 9th. So they must be dealt with in a swift and decisive manner. The Caps will dominate all but one game. I say 4-1 Caps.

[Series B - Flyers vs Sabres]
Sabres. Yuck. Still hurts seeing them in the Playoffs. My Flyboys will rise to the occasion and obliterate them. 4-0 Flyers.

[Series C - Bruins vs Habs]
This one is easy. Bruins will expunge the evil that is known as the Habs! I can see the Habs win one game by accident. 4-1 Bruins.

[Series D - Pens vs Bolts]
OK, I prefer the Bolts over Pens, but even in a delusional state of mind I just cannot see the Bolts move on past this stage. So with much regret: 4-2 Pens.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
[Series E - Nucks vs Blackhawks]
Blackhawks ... I pretend they do not exist. 4-0 Nucks. Cause Hawks? Where? *looks around, sees nothing, just some Nucks*

[Series F - Sharks vs Kings]
Have no idea and absolutely do not care. Tail is Sharks. *flips a coin several times* OK, sorry Kings, you are out! I flipped the coin five times and four times I had tails. Since The Coins seem so sure of themselves: 4-1 Sharks.

[Series G - Red Wings vs Yotes]
Like both but the Red Wings more. They have Datsyuk after all. And the Wings will really go for it. Yaps. 4-2 Wings.

[Series H - Ducks vs Preds]
Love the Ducklings! So I hope they can evade the Preds. Mama Duck will save them! 4-2 Ducks.

Ouch, what's next?

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS & FINALS
[Caps vs Pens]
Caps over Pens anytime and definitely not a prob for Ovi. So here is where the Pens buy it. Buh-bye! 4-2 Caps.

[Flyers vs Bruins]
Bobs {edit: ok so he got replaced by Boosh, and eventually Boosh will be replaced by Leights - I foresee pain in the future} settles in and beats Thomas. Yeah! Bruins have to go home now. 4-2 Flyers.

[Caps vs Flyers]
Caps, I love you guys, but my Flyers will be on a roll. 4-2 Flyers.

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS & FINALS
[Nucks vs Ducks]
The Ducklings feel confident and surprise the Nucks. Sedin twins are seeing Ducks rain and forget to play. Ridiculous? Very much so! But sticking with it lol. 4-3 Ducks.

[Sharks vs Red Wings]
No contest. Red Wings march through and quite easily too with lots of Datsyukian dekes. 4-1 Wings.

[Ducks vs Red Wings]
Who knew right? But it is happening. The Wings soar as the Ducklings have more issues with flying. All that lurking around in ponds you know ;) ... 4-2 Wings.

STANLEY CUP FINALS
[Flyers vs Red Wings]
My dream comes true. My Flyboys totally dominate and even Datsyuk cannot save the Wings. But good effort there! 4-2 FLYERS!!

So much for my witchcrafting. For a more meaningful prediction you should probably stick with the guys at NHL On The Fly or even with my previously mentioned buddy. Eventhough I have to warn you! He has this strange affliction, he is a Habs fan. *chuckle* You can read his article here: Stevie's playoff predictions 2010-11