Hot or Not?

Looking at the games last night its easy to see who's rolling and who's toiling. At midseason, there's always the opportunity for redemption and to get your shit together, or for things to fall apart and bust at the seams. Based on the games last night let's check out who's hot and who's not.

Chicago 5 vs. Boston 2

• Boston gave up a two-goal lead, and looked lost after that with no offensive spark. Is that due to the injury (?) to Savard? Is that going to be one of those injuries that looks like nothing and turns out to be a broken leg that puts him out for months?
• Thomas got yanked after allowing four. I know he's an unorthodox goalie, but he's no Hasek, and his flopping is starting to look like a fish out of water that's about to get stepped on.
• Miro Satan scored in his first game as a Bruin, that could be the start and end of hot streak for him.
• Keith with two goals on wise shot selections from the point, a slapper from the point that was ripped, and a nice flutter for the second.
• Kane is on a nine-game point streak.

Chicago is hot, Boston is not. Chicago will definetely make the post, Boston probably will too.

Ottawa 2 vs. Washington 5

• Leclaire's good year in Columbus was a total fluke, he's a flunkie.
• Cheechoo has his fourth goal this season, he's on pace for eight. That's four less than last season.
• Backstrom is still growing into the game, that is fucking scary.
• I think you could power a small city with the amount of electricity that Ovechkin creates when he has the puck.

Washington is hot, Ottawa is not. Washington's a sure bet, Ottawa not so much.

NY Rangers 1 vs. Atlanta 2 (SO)

• Hot and cold, that's how the Rangers run. After that breakout game against Dallas, they follow it up with a stinker in Atlanta. I don't know how they're in the seventh spot in the Conference.
• I don't think it could get any emptier in Atlanta. If Kovalchuk leaves, is there any reason to keep the franchise there? If Kovalchuk takes $10mil/yr. or some other ridiculous number, is there any reason to keep the franchise there? You can thank Waddell for that little scenario.

NY Rangers are lukewarm, Atlanta is not. The Rangers will probably make the post, just because the lower half of the East sucks, including Atlanta.

Florida 0 vs. Montreal 2

• Halak is either giving Gainey fits, or making him very happy. Since Allen Walsh's tweeting, Halak has pushed Price to be better, and Price has been.
• Florida is missing David Booth, and any type of consistency.

Montreal is hot, Florida is not. Montreal has a good shot, Florida has just about blown it.

Philadelphia 7 vs. Pittsburgh 4

• What a shootout, and Philly actually had 8. That no goal call was bullshit. Richard's look back to the referee was priceless when he was getting an explanation.
• Despite the call, Gagne has looked solid since returning with an assist in each of the last three games, not to mention the four point night he had his first game back with a hat trick.
• vanRiemsdyk had two "breakaways" and finished with the exact same move, backhand through the five hole on Fleury and Johnson.
• Crosby absolutely blasted that rebound past Leighton, he had no chance. Letang made a great move at the point to get that shot off.
• This was definetely a Peter Laviolette-type game the Flyers played, lots of speed on the forecheck, more wide open, the score is the result. Its finally starting to come together.

As of right now, Philly is hot, and Pittsburgh is not. I think Philly starts to surge here and moves up the standings, the Pens would need a dramatic fall from grace to miss out.

Carolina 2 vs. Nashville 4

• Nashville is second in the Central, 10 behind Chicago, 5 ahead of Detroit. They just keep pluggin' away.
• Carolina has 11 wins on the season. Eleven. That's four less than Toronto, the second worst. Nothing is working.

Nashville is warm, Carolina is frigid. Nashville looks like they've got what it takes to make it to the dance, Carolina has got what it takes to get a good pick in the lottery.

Columbus 4 vs. Edmonton 2

• Columbus breaks their four game winless streak by beating an even weaker opponent.
• Where is Steve Mason? Steve not Chris.
• Rumors swirl after Andy Murray was shown the door in St. Louis, that Hitchcock is next. Hitchcock is a good coach, but his style is not meshing with the type of hockey that needs to be played in Columbus. That is, exciting hockey.
• Edmonton is lost, another rumor floating out there is Biron to Edmonton. Why?

Both Columbus and Edmonton are not hot. Columbus is not to far away from filling my prophecy of missing the post, Edmonton never had a chance.

Phoenix 0 vs. Vancouver 4

• Burrows has his second hat trick in as many games. None of them were empty-netters or Power Play goals, one was shorthanded.
• Luongo gets his third shutout of the year, and sits in 5th with 23 wins.
• Vancouver is starting to come together, is it at the right time, or is it a little too early.
• Phoenix is playing well sitting in fourth in the Conference, just not in this game.

Vancouver is hot, Phoenix has cooled a little. Both teams make it to the dance this year, which is huge for Phoenix.

St. Louis 2 vs. Anaheim 4

• 'So Andy Murray wasn't the reason we were losing? Oh shit.'
• 2003 Calder winner Barrett Jackman with a two goal night, one a shorty.
• Bobby Ryan scores a goal, his first since a two goal night back on December 29th.
• Jonas Hiller teetered on going .500 for the year, but got the win instead of going 13-13. 10th in the League in losses, not good in your contract year.

Neither team is hot, St. Louis is colder. Right now, neither of these teams are getting in.

Detroit 2 vs. Los Angeles 1

• Jimmy Howard stopped 51 to get the win. Some ridiculous saves, but he got some bail out help as well. The Kings took 27 shots in the second, and didn't score until the third on a Power Play to tie it at 1-1.
• Darren Helm with a great individual effort to get the game winner with 18 seconds left to play, you gotta watch the whole play (1:13). Detroit dumps it in from outside the blue line, Quick goes to play it but it doesn't make it to the trapezoid, so he tries to box out Helm who's forechecking hard to the puck. Detroit gets control, and Helm's mucking in the corner, gets knocked down by O'Donnell who allows him to get up and take it strong to the net. Awesome goal.
• I don't know who's to blame on that one. Quick shouldn't have allowed it, but O'Donnell got blown by going to the net. I think O.D.'s days are numbered.
• Ryan Smyth finally fits on a team again. Don't cry.

Detroit is starting to roll, they're hot, Kings are lukewarm. They need to pick it up if they want to make the post, I have no doubt Detroit will get in.

Notes From the Night 12/9

What you see above folks, is known as a Moleskine. Its what I normally take notes, do doodles, and use as my hangar for paper airplanes. Why is this important you ask, its not. I just figured I drop some useless knowledge on your ass. More useless than normal.

My game tonight was Calgary and Atlanta, why I don't know. I wanted to finally get a good look at Kovalchuk, since I've been talking him up so much. I wanted to keep a close eye on the newest Flames, sure you loved (Pocket) Dawes right away, but its taken you some time to warm up to the Orangutan. But my main reason for watching was because I've been really crushing on Miikka.

But I did get to watch a few other games, so don't change the channel just yet.

Washington @ Buffalo
*Ryan Miller is the real deal, if the Sabres go anywhere in the playoffs it'll be because of him. He was guilty of robbery more times than once tonight.
*I think I would have started Var-LAH-mov instead of Teddy against the Sabres, considering the goals they scored.
*Did you notice the Hail Mary's the Caps defensemen were throwing up the ice? I counted at least three.


New York Islanders @ Toronto
*Finally, the Leafs defenseman start shooting the puck at the net.
*Schenn absolutely plastered Jon Sim.
*Did you hear about Brendan Witt getting hit by a car in Philadelphia the other day? Hilarious. Would have been better if he was unable to play hockey again. Oh that's right, he can't do that anyway.
*Tavares with two power play markers, he's certainly moving along with 15 goals.
*Blake with the dagger to take out his old team. Blonde bastard.
*What's this? The Leafs are starting to win? 7-2-1 in their last 10? Only 5 points out of a playoff spot? Pretty scary.



Carolina @ New Jersey
*The Brodeur shutout watch is in full swing. God, I hope he gets it soon, so that this doesn't have to drag out.
*Cam Ward is back, the first victim of the leg laceration for the Hurricanes. Joe Corvo's the other.
*Highlights praising dull goals from a defenseman who hasn't scored since the Swedish Elite League. Yeah, Jacques Lemaire hockey is back in Jersey.
*All unlikely goal scorers for Jersey, Greene with two, Rob Niedermayer, Elias. Yeah, Elias.



Florida @ Columbus
*I don't know how Brassard snuck that in on the short side up high on Vokoun. Nice shot.
*Steve Mason (not Chris) with his first shutout this far into the season? Sounds like the sophomore slump to me.
*When is David Booth coming back? Please.


Edmonton @ Tampa Bay
*Stortini looked like he was trying to slap Konopka in that early scrap. Zach was certainly busy in this game, with a goal, an assist, and plenty of the usual shit-stirring with the tackling of Downie. Nice Howe trick.
*By the way, nice pass Hale.
*Hedman's shot was vicious.
*Dustin Penner with another one. That's 17 goals.
*Deslauriers' got four straight wins. Khabby's contract was worth how much?


St. Louis @ Detroit
*Conklin doesn't like it when you don't renew his contract. He always finds a way to beat his old team. "I'd be lying if I didn't say there isn't a little extra motivation," honest guy. Nice shutout, he stood on his head to get it, 42 saves.
*Todd Bertuzzi might be the most useless human on Earth. He had all day on that breakaway, and couldn't even argue his way into a goal.
*How many power plays did Detroit get? And a five on three? And got shutout? Babcock must be pissing needles.


New York Rangers @ Chicago
*When Avery's agent pulled off the miracle of getting him back on the Rangers after his sloppy show in Dallas I thought 'Good, that team is too vanilla.' Well Avery's so brainwashed about keeping his hands clean that he's now more boring than vanilla. I saw him do his usual brush-by on Seabrook, and Brent wasn't having any part of it, and just totally whacked him like a fly. Sean let out one of those 'Hey, he hit me' that fell on deaf ears.
*Is it me, or is Duncan Keith trying to do too much since he signed his ridiculous 12year contract. He even looks like he's trying to add another stride in between his normal stride just so that he feels like he's working harder, but it makes him look like he's going slower. Like when you're riding a bike in the wrong gear, pedaling to nowhere.
*Lundqvist played his ass off in that game, keeping the Rangers in it. Its a shame they couldn't help him out, and backcheck in overtime.
*Byfuglien's goal was just pure effort of outworking your opponent. Beauty goal to win it in OT. Goal of the night.


Minnesota @ Colorado
*Duchene's goal was legit, that was robbery by a convict in stripes.
*Backstrom looked stellar as usual. But Andy, no I'm sorry, Budaj wasn't bad either.
*Yeah that's pretty much it. And it was Versus. Fooey.


Los Angeles @ San Jose
*Drew Doughty is the complete package.
*Marleau has another goal. That's 20. Twenty.
*Thornton provides 2 assists tonight for 35. That makes 42 points.
*Nabokov runs hot and cold I'll tell ya. Some nights he looks unstoppable, other nights (like the playoffs) he looks like a backup's backup.
*Kopitar finally get another one, after he was tearing it up in the beginning of the season.
*Malhotra had a nice rip to tie it up.
*Dustin Brown with the OT winner to break his 80game goal-less streak.


And last but not least...


Atlanta @ Calgary
*This game started out super slow, as if the Flames knew they could just control the whole game and were biding their time waiting for the perfect opportunity. Scoreless first period.
*Colby Armstrong was a dirty little bastard in this game, and was doing an excellent job of getting under the Flames' skin. Glencross(X) put him on his ass early and then whispered in his ear, "I'm going to beat your ass later." Colby wouldn't be disappointed.
*I am loving Jokinen and Iginla on the same line when they can draw bodies to them, and dish to the other for the wide open shot. Perfect example on Olli's goal.
*Dawes probably would have had two if he didn't bat that one down into the net.
*Kovalchuk really did not impress me whatsoever in this game. Maybe an off night, maybe I'm giving him too much credit. Kiprusoff robbed him with the glove on more than one occasion, speaking of which...
*Miikka was dreamy.

That's it, thanks for playing.

Anybody Can Be Cool... But Awesome Takes Practice

God damn right. How radical is that picture, looks like a typical bullshit '80s public service announcement that they used to make us watch in health class, in between learning about the vas deferens and fallopian tubes. Standard on VHS. The acting was awesome on those things.
Just some news and notes and highlights and shmilights from an almost super Saturday. 13 games around the League today, and just about one Awesome in every game. Not sure what I mean, hop aboard, lets go for a looksee.

The Matinee, Nashville Predators @ Los Angeles Kings
*Well it was a matinee out here.
*Dan Ellis backstopped a solid win against a rolling Kings team, after a miserable effort on Thursday from Rinne. And right after I gave him that glorious review. Ellis trying to steal that job back from the young Finn? Both in final year of contract.
The Awesome? Joel Ward's move on Quick for the Preds third goal.

The American Northeast Division Matchup, Buffalo Sabres @ Boston Bruins
*How is Boston winning this game? Oh, Ryan Miller's not playing. Neither is Lalime, (groin). Enroth? Didn't play that bad but looked out of position on a few goals, not unlike Mr. Jimmy Howard.
*Is Patrice Bergeron back? Or is he still woozy? He kinda looks like he's returning to form again with a season post-concussion under his belt. Although I must say that breakaway attempt was brutal.
The Awesome? Shawn Thornton with two scraps on the night, and two wins, (technically three). Whooped Montador's ass, and then finished strong on Gaustad.

Hall of Fame Game, Detroit Red Wings @ Toronto Maple Leafs
*You know its bad when... You get your ass handed to you by the 2-7-5 Leafs.
Osgood looked like shit. But don't worry, he never doubts himself. Fucking little prick.
*Gustavsson is a difference maker. Goaltending is crucial.
*The Detroit penalty kill was passive as hell. Dan Cleary was the only one working out there.
*Kessel gets a real crap goal for his first in Toronto, and the messiah has arrived. Can you imagine if his shoulder hadn't healed well and he was out longer, or if he didn't take 300 shots in the last two games? Shit, he would have been crucified. Now he's just delaying that until later in the season.
*How fucking useless is Todd Bertuzzi? A graph should be made. Mirtle?
The Awesome? The only thing better than the Red Wings losing, is the Rangers losing.

Vinny Returns, Tampa Bay Lightning @ Montreal Canadiens
*Vinny's got to be hurt right? Lecavalier is too good to be playing this bad without something else going on. Have you ever seen this guy play live? He's just pure, natural talent. I predict some time off in the near future.
The Awesome? Andrei Kostitsyn's double hit on two Tampa players for an icing touchup. Yeah, there wasn't much here.

Yeah, I don't know, New Jersey Devils @ Ottawa Senators
*Ottawa blows a two goal lead to lose 3 to 2. Three power play goals will fucking kill you every time.
The Awesome? The Devils are 8 and 0 on the road. Lemaire doesn't miss a beat. Not much here either.

The Worst of the East? Atlanta Thrashers @ New York Islanders
*Pavelec is the greatest thing since sliced bread, then looks like ass the next. I wasn't fooled.
*Who the hell is this guy Moulson? I've seen him chip shit in almost every night. WTF?
The Awesome? The Isles have won four straight at home. Yippee kaiyea motherfucker.

Missoura @ Pennsyltucky, St. Louis Blues @ Philadelphia Flyers
*Two Awesomes in one barn burner of a game.
Awesome #1 - The scrap between Cam Janssen and Arron Asham, best of the night.
Awesome #2, and bigger awesome - Chris (not Steve) Mason's stop on Fartsmell halfway through overtime. That was just awesome, that was fucking awesome. To make that save and then lose in the shootout does just suck, it fucking sucks.

Southeast Shootout, Florida Panthers @ Washington Capitals
*Cory Stillman, has still got it. Oh, he's only 36? Why does he look like he's a Korean War Veteran?
*Lots of Washington goals from whacks right outside the blue paint. Cats need to do a better job of clearing out the middle. Among other things.
The Awesome? Mike Knuble with a four point night, two goals, two assists.

If it wasn't for Bad Luck, Carolina Hurricanes @ Columbus Blue Jackets
*Carolina has lost 12 straight. That's completely unawesome.
*And Cam Ward gets his thigh sliced by Rick Nash's skate coming through the crease. If they weren't already fucked, I'd know what to call the shit they're in now. There have been rumblings of Schoenfeld making a move to shake things up in the locker room, but they haven't hit the panic button yet. Is Maurice the first to go? Do they pull the trigger to bring in a goaltender, or does Leighton earn himself another contract in his final year?
The Awesome? Steve, (not Chris) Mason's toe save a la Marty Turco.

Battle of Minnesota? Dallas Stars @ Minnesota Wild
*Does a Stars/Wild matchup have any special meaning? 'Cause no one else seems to care.
*On Zidlicky's goal, Grossman must feel like a total ass.
The Awesome? I guess Buttercup's shorthander ripped over Auld's shoulder was pretty cool.

Sloppy Seconds Eventual Fallout, New York Rangers @ Calgary Flames
*This was the game I devoted myself to for the night, unlike my family. Watched the whole thing through so there's lots of comments.
*Sean Avery's such a fucking chicken shit. He dodges the media all day so that he doesn't have to explain himself, and plays the entire game as if someone was about to take his fucking head off. As soon as he got the puck, he would dump it or just get rid of it. Fucking pussy.
*By the way, Phaneuf's hit on him in the third was not nearly enough. Don't think its over Vogue.
*Jarome Iginla in November is very different from Jarome Iginla in October.
*I love it when guys take it to teams that spurned them previously. Dawes helped on all three goals to down his old teammates.
*I think we should start keeping a camera on Tortorella every night. His facial expressions are hilarious.
*Higgins surprised me with some speed and almost beat Giordano to a lose puck.
*A lot of shitty, ticky-tack penalty calls in this game, only one powerplay goal.
*Surprised at how much Gaborik mouths off, he should let his game do the talking.
*Watching Mike Keenan fumble in the MSG broadcast was fucking priceless. Especially since they were playing Calgary. Its easy to see how he would lose teams if this is how he was in the locker room.
*Dubinsky blocked a shot from the point, Torts says out a while. Broken wrist?
*The hit on Drury? I don't know, it was too convoluted by homer announcers for me to even think straight.
The Awesome? Kirpusoff, the sole reason the Flames won.

Pacific Division Matchup, Phoenix Coyotes @ Anaheim Ducks
*Ducks weren't in penalty box for once, 6 minutes total.
*The Dogs almost climbed back into the game, with three goals in the third.
*Where is Giguere? Is he injured? I honestly don't know. Will Pogge ever get a start for the Ducks?
The Awesome? None from this game. Got tickets for a Phoenix game later this month. Going to take the temperature of the atmosphere around the Desert Dogs. Before its too late.

Would-be Stanley Cup Matchup? Pittsburgh Penguins @ San Jose Sharks
*Pittsburgh looked exhausted from a West Coast road trip, got their asses whooped. Game got billed larger than it actually was.
*Fleury got yanked after three goals on 14 shots. Not his best performance.
*I thought Brent Johnson's Zeppelin themed helmet would be bad ass, its fucking lame. And from the sides, those black Bauer pads make him look like he's wearing Cooperalls.
*Boyle's quick move to the outside, and even quicker shot for the goal was pretty sweet.
The Awesome? Douglas Murray has to be the worst skater currently playing in the NHL. You want some comedy watch that behemoth Swede(?) skate. Its like Fulton Reed playing for the Sharks.

Yeah, that's it.

Back Me Up

Some of the number one's or yet to be determined #1's have looked like shooter tutors in the first few games, bringing their game into question, as well as the viability of their back-up. Some teams have opted to go on the cheap for their #2 going into the season with supreme confidence in their starting goaltender. That decision may end up backfiring if the trend continues for some of the top tier netminders.

Khabibulin shit the bed in the last 45seconds of the game against Calgary, and then was letting in all kinds of softies against the Stars. The post saved his ass in the shootout and got him the win. Khabby will have a shot at redemption against the Flames tonight, but its not out of the question to think that Quinn wouldn't yank him if he looks awful in the early going. Then again, Patty boy would have to resort to Deslauriers, who was all kinds of unimpressive last year.

Turco has nowhere to go but up after a disasterous season, but didn't look all that special on the other end of the ice either, with the exception of the pokecheck on O'Sullivan in the shootout. Alex Auld is supposedly a good goaltender, but I wouldn't know from what I've seen.

Giguere looked absolutely brutal against Minnesota, giving up a three-goal lead almost singlehandedly, with the tying goal going right through the wickets. J.S. had a rough season last year with the loss of his father weighing heavily on his mind. Luckily for the Ducks, he has job stealer Jonas Hiller waiting to claim the spot coming off a very inspiring post-season against the Sharks and Wings.

Do you see how many pucks there are behind him?

Nabokov got chased by the Kings after giving up four, Greiss came in and made 8 saves to give the Sharks a chance to win. Nabokov is supposed to be a key piece in the puzzle that is San Jose, yet he didn't play with any sense of passion in the postseason, much like the rest of his team.

Toskala's already riding pine after being pulled in the game against Washington, the big prediction this week was Gustavsson getting the start against Ottawa. Big surprise. In a few weeks, the hot topic of hockey discussion will be about Toskala on the bench, and Monster stealing the show in TO.

Luongo has looked like absolute dogshit, especially in that game against Columbus, giving up several goals high glove side. Last night's statement win was more about the Canucks offense the Bobby's goaltending. Your Vancouver Canucks backup... 2003-04 Calder Winner, Andrew Raycroft. Yikes. Now that's going on the cheap.

"Sorry Vesa, I've got to go fuck up someone else's shit now."

Which brings us to our next flunkie, CrystalBall Huet. The Panthers were picking him apart, hitting the same spot all night in their game in Finland, again high glove side. Not sure who's getting the start against the Big Red, 0 and 2 Machine tonight, but it'll definetely be a proving ground for Huet or Niemi whoever it be.

Semyon Var-LAH-mov was pulled in the Caps battle against the Flyers, and I think Theodore only let one too many in for the loss. Its hard to know who's the #1 in this tandem, whether its based on dollars or playing time. Jose is making $4.5million in the final year of his deal, while whateverthefuckhisnameis earns a shade over $800k. If you judge it by last year's postseason performance, its without a doubt Varly, with the exception of Game 7 against the Pens.

On the other side of the paddle...

Emery looks sharp, at least for now, and Philadelphia now looks impressive on the ice, as opposed to only on paper.

Nice pads. They're orange. Dude.

Craig Anderson the miracle worker has played well, as has the rest of the Avs in the first few games of the season. Be hard to say if they're still riding Sakic's retirement wave, but that certainly got it going.

Its been fun to watch the expression on Kiprusoff's face after his defense clears out the front of the net, he seems to be chuckling every time as he skates into the corner. A renewed sense of confidence has seemed to fill that team, whether its the addition of Bouwmeester or the atmosphere of Brent we may never know.

Steve Mason and his gang of upstarts have made them relevant once again after last year's first trip to the postseason. They've only got two games under their belt, facing the Sharks tonight, but so far the whole team has looked strong.

Everything's speculation at this point, only a few games into a long regular season, but we're all just so damn excited that hockey's back on, aren't we?

Don't look at me like that Steve. Not Chris.