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!

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*

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 :)

Leafs Nation | Play of the Year Award - WINNER | May 24th, 2011

Fellow Leafs Fans! The verdict is in! And I voted for the Winner too. So hurry over to the Leafs site ... or if you are too lazy to click ... just check the last sentence of this post ;)

 Leafs Nation | Play of the Year | THE WINNER IS?! CLICK HERE



Complete voting overview:

Round 1
Monster's Stick Safe vs Reims' Stick Safe >>> winner is: Reims
Rosehill fights Lucic vs Muhammad Aulie >>> winner is: Aulie
Dion Steamrolls Ruute vs Brent's Blocking Awesomeness >>> winner is: Brent
Bozak's 5-on-3 Shorthanded vs A Dangling Crabb >>> winner is: Bozie
Brent Fakes Ward vs Brown Dances & Lups Scores >>> winner is: Brent
Grabo's Spinorama vs Nazeem's Nifty Mittens >>> winner is: Grabo
Kulemin Can Dangle Too vs Schenner Beats Everyone And Scores >>> winner is: Schenner
Grabo beats Pens vs Grabo beats Bruins >>> winner is Grabo lol in Boston

Round 2
Reims' Stick Safe vs Brent's Blocking Awesomeness >>> winner is: Brent
Muhammad Aulie vs Bozak's 5-on-3 Shorthanded >>> winner is: Bozie
Brent Fakes Ward vs Schenner Beats Everyone And Scores  >>> winner is Schenner
Grabo's Spinorama vs Grabo Beats Bruins >>> winner is Boston Grabo

Semis
Brent's Blocking Awesomeness vs Schenner Beats Everyone And Scores  >>> winner is Brent
Bozak's 5-on-3 Shorthanded vs Grabo Beats Bruins >>> winner is Bozie

FINALS
Brent's Blocking Awesomeness vs Bozak's 5-on-3 Shorthanded >>> and the winner iiiiiissss .... BRENT!!!

Leafs Nation | Play of the Year Award | May 2nd, 2011

Fellow Leafs fans, this one is for you. You can vote for your favourite play of the year right here:


Leafs Nation | Play of the Year | VOTE NOW


The voting starts with two awesome saves by The Monster & Reims. Guess who I voted for ;)

Voting so far included:
Round 1
Monster's Stick Safe vs Reims' Stick Safe >>> winner is: Reims
Rosehill fights Lucic vs Muhammad Aulie >>> winner is: Aulie
Dion Steamrolls Ruute vs Brent's Blocking Awesomeness >>> winner is: Brent
Bozak's 5-on-3 Shorthanded vs A Dangling Crabb >>> winner is: Bozie
Brent Fakes Ward vs Brown Dances & Lups Scores >>> winner is: Brent
Grabo's Spinorama vs Nazeem's Nifty Mittens >>> winner is: Grabo
Kulemin Can Dangle Too vs Schenner Beats Everyone And Scores >>> winner is: Schenner
Grabo beats Pens vs Grabo beats Bruins >>> winner is Grabo lol in Boston

Round 2
Reims' Stick Safe vs Brent's Blocking Awesomeness >>> winner is: Brent
Muhammad Aulie vs Bozak's 5-on-3 Shorthanded >>> winner is: Bozie
Brent Fakes Ward vs Schenner Beats Everyone And Scores  >>> winner is Schenner
Grabo's Spinorama vs Grabo Beats Bruins >>> winner is Boston Grabo

Semis
Brent's Blocking Awesomeness vs Schenner Beats Everyone And Scores  >>> winner is Brent
Bozak's 5-on-3 Shorthanded vs Grabo Beats Bruins >>> winner is Bozie

FINALS
Brent's Blocking Awesomeness vs Bozak's 5-on-3 Shorthanded >>> and the winner iiiiiissss .... ?

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!

Stars, Stars, Stars ... forgot to reach for the stars | April 11th 2011

ESPN America was very gracious yesterday and showed two early games so I had a hockey-filled Sunday evening! The Flyers and Leafs played their last games on Saturday (will post a short message later) so I thought I would have a nice tension-free hockey evening.

Two games: Red Wings vs Blackhawks and Penguins vs Thrashers. If you have read any of my previous posts, you will recall that the only team I like out of these four are the Wings. The Pens & Thrashers are on my hate-list and the Blackhawks ... I just really do not like them. Hmm, odd, I thought I hated the Pens & Habs most, but at least I *love* to hate them. Blackhawks, I do not even want to think about them really, I just pretend they do not exist lol

OK the games.

Pens-Thrashers >> 5-2
- A rather boring game. I was definitely not on the edge of my seat
- But memorable because after all the games had been played, the Pens confirmed their penalty killing grandness, 86.1% ... have to give them props for that!

Wings-Blackhawks >> 4-3
- Hell yeah! That was exciting. I was definitely on the edge of my seat for this one!
- I wanted the Blackhawks to lose this one, because then the Stars would have the chance to clinch the 8th spot in the Western Conference and boot the Hawks out of contention!
- So you can imagine my chagrin when just 5 minutes into the game the Hawks scored. And you could see they had momentum. How different it was just a few minutes later. The Wings managed to reclaim momentum really quickly there! First Holmstrom scored and a minute later my man Datsyuk scored one too (he was also awarded the 1st star)
- And from there on the Wings did not give up the lead although the Hawks kept hunting. Both teams played a high-octane game and after three periods I was tired just from watching ;)

And that brings me to the title of this article. The Dallas Stars were in control of their own destiny. All they had to do was beat the Wild. But they did not. Instead they fell, hit Earth atmosphere and fizzled out in the atmosphere not even reaching the surface. I have not watched the game so cannot offer my view on how that went, but it's a pitty they failed to win this one. I am sure they agree ;)

[edit April 12th] Watched a rerun of the Dallas-Wild game yesterday and cannot say I was surprised at the outcome, Stars were not shining

So much happened in the past month ...

I will never be able to catch up and share all The Highs & The Deeps. Maybe I will try for my next post. In short: Flyers are second in Conference, with Caps in first. Two games to go. And there was a time I was hopeful they would clinch the League, feel a bit delusional in hindsight xD ... Leafies are out for the post-season, but what a memorable post-ASG run! Will forever be proud of the current roster just for that.

Today I have nothing of great interest to share lol ... but I was conversing with a mate and expressed my hopes for the Canes to keep the Rags out the play-offs. He asked me why I have this love affair with the Canes. So I went on a little rant (slightly adapted for easier reading hahah).

I do not have a love affair with the Canes at all. It really is just a matter of me hoping that the Rags will not make it to the play-offs! But there are a few teams out there that do not bother me and get me to go "Awwwwwwww". I do not care so much what happens with them in the standings though. In no specific order:

{The Oil} Such little troopers, abysmal year, bless them!
{Canes} Just nothing to hate about them and I liked the way they hosted the ASG
{Ducklings} What's not to like about Ducklings? And it is hard to dislike what once were the Mighty Ducks. Who has not seen that movie? And bear in mind I am based in the Netherlands!
{Yotes} Must be hard to skate out there in the desert and people hate them just for being there lol ... awwww (see!)
{Bolts} Nothing to hate, like the way they play.
{Jackets} They have Rick Nash ♥ lol ... that guy should find a real team, his talent is wasted there. Once he leaves, this team is off this list hahah.

If I do have a love affair it is with these:
{Red Wings} Any team with Datsyuk on roster, is OK in my book. What a dangler & deker! They are my favourite Western Conference team and should they win the Cup? No hard feelings!

{Isles} Hahah, this would be like a dirty affair with a hot cabana boy xD (not that I ever had one, but it works as an analogy) ... since that memorable game vs the Pens and their not too bad streak after that game I just like these guys! I know I should not like them, but hahah, I do lol ... I don't care if they are successful or not and do I ever want them to win the Cup? Nah.

{Caps} I blame it on that HBO documentary: Road to Winter Classics. Ovi is cool in a crazy superstar kind of way and the Caps are just cool. Will not be too upset if they win the Cup.

Speaking of the Winter Classics documentary. It is pure evil! It even made me like some of the things about the Pens :S :S >.< :((( *gasp*

But. All of the above is nothing compared to the true love for my Leafies and Flyers hahah - it is just a case of really liking the game and appreciating there are other interesting teams out there :)

Another crazy week | March 9th, 2011

It's a good thing this is more like a diary than a blog worthy of following xD


Because after a few very bad games by mainly the Flyers, I couldn't find the inspiration to write things up. Absolute low point: Flyers 7-0 loss to the Rangers. The Rangers!! And just a day earlier they had lost 5-3 to the Sabres. Not only do I hate both teams, but my top Flyboys couldn't even help my Leafies by destroying these two teams. If it were up to me, the Sabres and Rangers would burn in hell ... *feeling particularly evil*


The Leafies did not win all their games either, but hell, they definitely won more than the Flyers and they had some OT points too. Did not like the 5-3 loss to the Blackhawks. And I certainly wish they had gotten the OT point vs. the Isles yesterday. Considering my Leafies were constantly trailing ... glad we got the one point though. The Isles. Just can't hate them since that memorable game against the Pens (apologies for constantly referring to this game lol) ... and they play a very liberated game at the moment. They really have nothing to lose and it's showing in their brawny play. That makes them a rather quirky opponent to play against. You just can't tell what will happen. Anyways, when I first saw the result I was like "Now we're never going to make it!". But hey. The Sabres lost to the Pens and really, anything can still happen. So I will just keep on hoping. Seeing my guys in 10th place is cool anyways, considering they were in 14th place just a few months ago.


Poor Reims by the way! Early in OT it looked as if he injured his hand. Even looked like Giggy would go in. But thank god all was good! A quote:
"My hand is fine,'' he said, a bag of ice covering it. "Shot caught me in the right spot. When I pulled my hand out, I was expecting my finger to be in a couple pieces.''


Hahah, damn, I love that guy.


And then I had to laugh a bit when I read this - Comeau about the play-offs:
"We're not out of it yet,'' Comeau said. "As long as we keep winning, crazier things have happened."
Ah see, there is no end to the amusement provided by the Isles.


OK, back tot he Flyers. YAY Flyers! They finally won again. Read the recap just now though and by the looks of it, they still need some work there. A quote: "The Flyers dominated the first period, outshooting Edmonton 17-1. They were outshot 24-9 the rest of the way, and needed some big saves from Bobrovsky."


By the looks of it they sort of let things slip in the 2nd and 3rd again, but they were still scoring and winning! I'll take it! To make things even more peculiar, we got all three stars :S ... I need to watch this one to form a better opinion.


And what kind of hockey world are we living in when I think stuff like:
- Thanks Habs for keeping the Bruins at bay?
- Thanks Pens for beating the Sabres?


lol disgusting xD

Now remember that game that made me so nervous in my previous post? Leafs-Flyers? Well, my Leafies won and they need the points to get to the play-offs. I was at the same time over the moon for the Leafies and in total despair for the Flyers. And to make matters worse, they meet again next Thursday. Still need the Leafs to win, but I hope that they win in OT or SO.


Just reread this post and I apologise for the lack of order hahah. My thoughts are all over the place!

A crazy week

I am in turmoil! Tonight the Leafs meet the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. Yes, my two hockey loves. Against one another. And not just tonight. A week from now they meet again, in Toronto. One way to look at this is that I am in a win-win situation. Whoever wins, I win! But it's not quite like that. Because the downside is that one of my faves will bite the dust *sigh*


To make matters worse, I would actually like to see the Leafs win, but only because they need any win they can get their hands on in order to make it to the play-offs. I read some place that they need to have a 19-5 streak at least and even then it might not be enough. As the Flyers are pretty sure of their spot in the play-offs, it makes sense I would really prefer a Leafies win, right? Well, the fact remains that I would also like the Flyers to win. They in turn, need all the points they can get in order to claim the first place in the League! The Nucks are a tough bunch to beat in that respect. So a mate came up with this one: Leafs win in OT, giving the Flyers at least 1 point! And I think I can live with that for sure.


And the Leafs really do need a win. Last Saturday they played the Pens and lost in OT. Then they played the Sens and lost in OT as well. They gpt a point for each game, but in order to beat the opposition to the 8th spot, it just is not good enough. But at least they got some revenge vs. Pens yesterday! Going into the third, they still trailed by a point, but then Kessel (bless him) scored a crazy goal involving his pants. They got the game to OT and then in the 42nd second ... BOOM! Grabo scored! And I just have to mention that Phaneuf has been putting in some good work again lately, showing us why he carries that 'C'. Welcome back I would say! He basically set up the OT goal as he coasted from end to end, showed stick skills and kept the attack alive.


Back to tonight. I am so nervous. I am glad I cannot watch the game (work in the morning so no time for an all-nighter ;) ) ... I will only have a few nerve-wrecking moments as I crank up the Leafs BlackBerry App when I wake up ...

Hockey Night In Canada | Feb 27, 2011

Yesterday I watched the Preds-Stars game as a warm-up for the Pens-Leafs game and it was a bit boring. Probably because nothing much happened and there was nothing to gain for my teams based of the outcome of this game. But it's hockey and I'll watch as much of it as I can ;) ... the Leafs game. Now, that was extremely exciting. I was on the edge of my seat throughtout the first two periods. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay up for the last period, I was so tired and it was way past my bedtime, but earlier today I watched the highlights and what I can I say. I am proud of my Leafies, they played a high-octane game! And although they did not win this one, they got it to SO and bagged an all-important 1 point to stay in the race.

Some folks will laugh and based on a really bad run in the first half of the this season, who can blame them? But we picked up pace and suddenly, the play-offs are still within our grasp! *gasp* ... and since we have not reached the play-offs since the 2003-2004 season, you can imagine how much we all want this to happen. Over the past few months I have seen many mad and disgusted Leafs fans on the FB fan page. Personally I am a strong believer of sticking with your team through the good times and the bad times and definitely not disrespecting them, ever. But I digress. Lately people have started to hope again although a similar amount of people is telling 'the hopers' to stop being idiots and that they will just disappoint us again. To an extent I agree with the latter. I think that maybe they found their form a bit too late. Sure, there is still time to reach that 8th, but there are so many factors influencing the final result. The Sabres, the Thrashers and the Panthers have not given up either and are putting in good games too. And I read someplace that even the Devils have an inkling of hope to make it. Hahah, that sound ridiculous, but OK ... the puck can bounce in mysterious ways.

My plan is to just enjoy each and every game. No matter what happens, safe for a few games, the Leafs have showed up and played their games with energy and dedication and sometimes frustration. Six more weeks to go ... and I bet we will be seeing many great games.

OK, back to yesterday. Very happy for Lupul to get his first two goals! And I think he was robbed of his hattrick! The goal that got waived was a good hockey goal in my opinion, although I confess I might be biased ;) ... and too bad that the Pens managed to equalise the game in the third period. The OT was wonderfully hectic. The SO much less so. Heheh, some nice efforts by our guys there, but you have got to hand it to Fleury, he is great on these one-on-ones. Annoyed we did not get the two points, but heck, we got the one and there's another game today!

On to my Flyers. Could not watch this game, and after having seen the hightlights and some of the comments by my fellow fans, perhaps that was for the best. A lacklustre game and it definitely lacked in energy. Even the goals scored by the Sens seemed accidental. So why were we this gloomy? I find it hard to imagine, but maybe the trading shenanigans of the day prior had something to do with it? We were a bit low on D. Prongs injured and the newly acquired Boynton could not make it on time due to travel issues. JVR had to be sent down to the Phantoms for just one game to make room in terms of cap. But no, that cannot be it! We are to good to let stuff like that bother us! So I am going to go with this: we are conserving energy and saving the best for last. Hah. OK.

Elsewhere in the League. You can tell it's getting close to the play-offs. I have found myself cheering for the teams I hate most ... yes, yesterday ... I cheered for the Habs. I need to take a break for a few minutes to overcome the nausea that comes with the thought alone.

Back. But OK, the Habs beat the Canes. And the Red Wings beat the Sabres in SO. The Sabres were ahead 2-0 for a long time and on the road to two points, but thankfully Datsyuk and his teammates fought on and equalised the game. So just one point for the Sabres. So on behalf of the Leafs, thanks Habs and Wings!

And on behalf of the Flyers, thank you Bruins for beating the Nucks and keeping the one-point lead the Nucks have in the League standings!

Hockey Sunday. Sundays are great. A few early games allow me to have a fun hockey evening. Going to watch the Bolts vs Rags. Gooooo Bolts. Then the Jackets vs Preds and I will watch at least the first period of the Leafs game tonight. They play fellow contenders: Trashers. Have to work tomorrow, so unfortunately cannot watch the whole game.

Telegram Update | Leafs vs Isles | Flyers vs Coyotes | Feb 22nd, 2011

Just a short note to express my utmost pleasure at the Leafs beating the Isles. Who would have thought that would be worthy of a little celebration? But with their latest games still fresh in my mind, I think it is worth a mention anyways ;)

And Reims got first star for his great goaltending. Did you lot know that he was playing with a severly upset stomach and that several times he thought he would actually throw up all over the ice? What a trooper! During the first intermission the Doc gave him some Gaviscon and he felt a bit better after that. My favourite quote:

"I think Grabner was coming down when they had a power play and I was kind of drive-heaving. I was like 'Please don't shoot.'"

xD

I have yet to see the highlights for the Flyers game, but I wish they would show up for the third period! And they better win the next few games to make up for this loss. I just like them in a winning-mood.

The Heritage Classic Hockey Weekend – that includes the Monday

Some memorable games this past weekend. And as there were many early games, I got to watch plenty of hockey this weekend, yay!

Unless you live under a rock you know it was time for the Heritage Classic. And unlike the Winter Classic, this time around, there was plenty of snow! Maybe they should have called this one the Winter Classic ;)

Let me start by saying that I love hating on the Habs. It is my duty as a Flyers and Leafies fan. But even if it had not been my duty, I still would have hated them due their annoying trolling fanbase and PK Subban. Talented as hell, but a lousy personality on ice and so far nothing has hinted at him being a wonderful person off-ice. So before I list my thoughts about this game, let me just say … HELL YEAH! A 4-0 shut-out for the Flames. No, the Price certainly was not right *hahah lame joke, I know*

Things to remember:

-          It was really cold, they reported at least -15, but apparently it felt even colder; just breathing must have been an act of epic proportions

-          If I had been in the crowd, I would have worn several layers of clothing, a warm hat of sorts, thermal underwear, thermal socks, warm boots, a blanket and maybe even ear warmers

-          The ice was extremely bumpy. It made for fun bouncing pucks. And the reason the Habs gave for losing: their game is made up largely of passing, so they were at a disadvantage because of the bumpy ice. Whatever, they just lost because the Flames were so much better

-          A 4-0 shut-out and the first one on open ice. Great stuff

How did my two hockey loves fare?

The Flyers beat the Rags for the 4^th time this season. Way to go! Although why they felt the need to give up a 3-0 lead is beyond me ;) … they got a bit complacent. But alright, they pulled through in the end, so I will not complain.

And the Leafies unfortunately lost in SO, but it certainly was not for lack of trying. They really played well, full out energy, but the Sens’ new goalie – Anderson – was on fire during his first game and denied us a score during regulation and OT. What a guy though, I am the world’s biggest softy, so I was happy for him to have such a great first game. He picked up the first star. And my favourite Leafie Reims picked up the second star. He was truly awesome! And he got his second shut-out. What a fine Leafie he has proven to be.

And in other related news:

The Isles are continuing to impress me! They beat the Panthers 5-1 and Moulson got himself a hattrick. *musing* Hattricks have got to be good for business, because lots of people will be buying new hats after throwing their hats on the ice. Beaten Panthers are also beneficial  to my Leafies in vying for that 8^th spot on the Division. I know I’m deluded for keeping my hopes up that they will make the play-offs, but I just cannot stop myself ;)

My worries about tonight:

So, my Leafies are playing the Isles! Hah, with the current crazy scoring antics of the Isles I have to admit I am bit worried! I know that the Leafies can take them on, but for some reason they always seem to struggle a bit with (fellow) cellar dwellers. But I have to keep the faith. My Leafies will win! *mutters several prayers and sends Reims good vibes*

And my Flyboys play the Yotes tonight. These guys have been on 7-game winning streak. So time for them to cash in a loss *chuckle*. I know this should be easy for the Flyers, but am keeping my fingers crossed anyways. Waking up tomorrow morning and checking the results, will be a nerve-wrecking experience!

Leafs vs Sens - Feb 19th, 2011

Timezones! Yeah. Being a hockey fan is not easy when you live in GMT+1 ... 6 hours ahead of the US EST times. So my favourite games are the weekend games that start at 1pm EST. But yeah, not many of those :)

So waiting up to see my Flyboys or Leafies play is only allowed during the weekend. Being a former nightowl that usually is not a problem for me, but a busy week, followed by a busy Saturday lead to me giving up and go get some sleep, rather than watching the Leafs-Sens game. I managed to watch the honouring the troops thing but that's as far as I got lol ... considering the score, maybe it's better I didn't torture myself xD ... I may not watch the highlights.


OK, who am I kidding? I did watch the highlights just now lol, how could I not heheh and this is my opinion!


Bad stuff:
- Giving up a point in the SO
- Bitter fans on the Leafs fan page, not even going to access that page today, some of the posts that ended up on my FB wall are bad enough lol *ignore*


Good stuff:
- At least got the 1 point lol, that beats no points
- A cool Phaneuf hit on Foligno
- Rosehill in a somewhat fun fight with Lessard
- Reims ruling and getting his second SO - love that guy
- By the looks of it, the Leafies played with lots of energy (yay!) and they had good scoring chances, but the puck got denied access by Anderson. Look, I am a softy, so this being his first game at the Sens, I am glad for him he did well, too bad it was against the Leafies lolol
- Lots of interesting post-game interviews; watched them all but Wilson's ... can't stand him lol; Reims, such a pleasant personality; Lupul might make a fine Leaf :)

Finally: A game where the goalies get 1st and 2nd star, yeah, I like that! Great goalie fight (no, not a literal fight).


Other hockey stuff I found interesting:
- Obviously the Oilers game, thankfully there is 'on demand', so I can watch the second and third period again, it was really interesting!
- Wow, the Ducks got killed ... 9-3 loss x_x
- Poor Avs, another loss and a shut-out too
- And this one is maybe the funniest/best .. the Isles shut-out the Kings! Montoya, I think that is the Isles' 6th goalie this season! It didn't even make the NHL headlines. I think it should have!


Hockey today:
- Flyboys face the Rangers again. Hate the Rangers. And Avery in particular. And I hope my boys dish out some pain to the Rangers.
- Ah the Caps vs Sabres. As I hate the Sabres too, I want Ovi to get his superscoring mojo back and destroy them *sighs, wishful thinking*
- Ahahaha, speaking of hate ... Pens-Blackhawks. Yeah, disgusting game. Almost as disgusting as Pens-Habs. Might watch it and be disgusted all game long
- YAY, Heritage Classic ... more hating on the Habs lol


Well, I planned to go for a drive today, but instead I am going to stay in all day. I will do some laundry, clean, then bake a pizza (famous family recipe *chuckle*), and get ready for My Sunday Hockey Night! Early games today and the Heritage starts at midnight my time, so lots to look forward to!