Handbill Handout

PENALTIES First period 13:28 BOSMilan LucicCross checking (2 min) 13:28 MTLTravis MoenCross checking (2 min) 14:26 MTLScott GomezTripping (2 min) 19:31 MTLMax PaciorettyInterference (2 min) 20:00 MTLTravis MoenMisconduct (10 min) (10 min) 20:00 BOSMilan LucicRoughing (2 min) 20:00 MTLCarey PriceRoughing (2 min) 20:00 BOSMilan LucicRoughing (2 min) Second period 07:32 BOSNathan HortonHooking (2 min) 12:36 BOSSteven KampferRoughing (2 min) 12:36 BOSZdeno CharaRoughing (2 min) 12:36 BOSBrad MarchandRoughing (2 min) 12:36 BOSTim ThomasFighting (maj) (5 min) 12:36 BOSTim ThomasGoalie leave crease (2 min) 12:36 BOSBrad MarchandCharging (2 min) 12:36 BOSMark RecchiRoughing (2 min) 12:36 MTLCarey PriceFighting (maj) (5 min) 12:36 MTLCarey PriceGoalie leave crease (2 min) 12:36 MTLMax PaciorettyRoughing (2 min) 12:36 MTLJames WisniewskiRoughing (2 min) 12:36 MTLBrian GiontaRoughing (2 min) 12:36 MTLBrian GiontaRoughing (2 min) 17:52 BOSSteven K...

I'm not wishing for the end of summer or anything, but I am looking forward to see how this shakes out . It's always great to see the best players on the international stage. Takes the edge off my disappointment that the Habs aren't going to play a game at the Big Owe this season after all, though that's for a good reason too - the Als are having a great year and need the place for a possible playoff date. Summer sports? Well, I am heading to my favorite minor league ballpark this weekend, though it is not a favorite of the players . Ah well, progress is inevitable and I suppose its inevitable that small towns will be run out of organized minor league ball. Players want big, well-lit luxury locker rooms before they get out of A ball, never mind the majors and there's money to be vacuumed from folks in bigger cities who want the charm of minor league ball even as the prices for tickets and concessions climb to what major league tickets cost just a decade or so ...

Seems like a lot longer, actually. New York was a different city then. My life was a different life. Regardless, 15 years ago today I witnessed the greatest sporting event I have ever seen in person. Or ever will see in person There are other games that I’ve been fortunate to see in person that come close. September 7, 1996 when Canada beat Sweden in 2 overtimes in the World Cup of Hockey semi-final in Philadelphia . I remember Mats Sundin getting roughly a million and a half scoring chances and cashing in on none of them. I remember Tommy Salo playing the game of his life in goal for the Swedes. I remember the Philly fans, hockey sophisticates all, yelling"C'mawn Lindrows" and not caring a ton for the rest of the action in what was a classic international contest. I sometimes wonder what the atmosphere for that game would've been like if it was played in Montreal where I was lucky enough to attend a couple of WCOH games in 2004. Another event I was luckey en...

Today is the CBC's annual celebration of the sport of hockey followed by a tripleheader of games featuring all six NHL teams based in Canada. It's a day I have enjoyed since they started doing it about eight years ago. Besides watching close to nine hours of hockey in a row the thing I really enjoy is watching all those stories from small towns spread across Canada, stories that show how the sport brings the people of Canada together and eliminates, temporarily, the lines drawn by race or language of politics. I'm not really sure we have an American corollary. Then again, we have a totally different culture here in the lower 48. Our "national pastime" is baseball, a sport that celebrates more often than not the achievement on the individual or the one-on-one confrontation between pitcher and batter whereas success in hockey is rarely based on the accomplishment of a lone individual but instead achieved through teamwork. Culturally this makes sense as th...

Doors open to the left.

Sean Avery is an idiot, but an entertaining idiot. The geniuses who run the NHL are even bigger idiots who couldn't market a Poland Spring stand in the middle of the Sahara. In case you haven't heard, Sean Avery has been given an indefinite suspension by the NHL head office. Did he club someone over the head with a stick? No. Did he hit someone from behind into the boards causing injury? No. Did he commit the unpardonable sin of waving his stick in front of a goaltender in a classic "Does this bother you? I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you..." manner again? No. Sean Avery has been suspended for commenting on the love lives of his fellow NHL players. In case you haven't seen it, here is a transcript (pasted from Yahoo sports) of Sean Avery's unpardonable crimes against humanity: _____________________________________________ "I'm really happy to be back in Calgary. I love Canada," an unprovoked Avery told the gathered reporte...

Warning, this post is rated PG-13 at the very least. Depending on your place of employment, it may even be rated NSFW. You've been warned. These folks are creative , but they are not original. While I am even prouder of my Scandinavian heritage than ever before, I have to admit this idea was first executed in the United States. In fact, we did it first, right here in NYC at the so-called World's Most Famous Arena. I may have told this story before, or mentioned it in passing, but it's one that bears retelling. Let us go back to the halcyon days of the spring of 1995. The NHL had thrown away half a season on a pointless lockout thus murdering any marketing momentum they may have had from the New York Rangers epic Stanley Cup victory the spring before. It was about to enter a ten-year spiral of numbingly boring neutral-zone trap teams with extremely limited fan bases dominating the championship scene broken only by the years Detroit and Colorado prevailed. The damage done to ...

"It's the save of the year , and it's not even the year yet!" Who says preseason hockey is boring?

So the early word out of Rangers camp is that the organization wants more productivity out of the fourth line. Blair Betts in particular. Um, OK, I may not pay as close attention to all of the nuances of the Rangers like I used to but it seems to me that dumping on a hard-working, reliable, shot-blocking forward who is an anchor on your penalty killing unit is a dumb way to open camp. So of course Sather follows it up by doing what he always does when in doubt: picking up another talented, soft forward with a questionable work ethic. Hello Petr Nedved , we never missed you while you were gone. Yes, the masterstroke to force Blair Betts into scoring more goals is to dig Petr Nedved out from the bottom of God-knows-what European league scrap heap he was quietly moldering in. Sounds like genius to you too, right? I mean seriously, Alexdander Daigle wasn't available? Alexei Yashin wanted too much money? If you're really going to put pressure on Betts , how about bringing in...

Looks like maybe a certain NY hockey team has learned a lesson . Then again, we'll see July 1. Meanwhile, I hope the Habs didn't give up anything for those negotiating rights. Death and hockey in the same day? We only deal with the big topics on this blog, folks.

Devils fans: Are they engaging in artistic appropriation or is it simply plagiarism? Way back in the latter half of the 20 th century, there was a man from Ottawa named Denis Potvin . Denis Potvin is one of the best defenseman to ever lace up a pair of skates in the National Hockey League. He won personal awards, Stanley Cups and is in the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Denis Potvin ’s only problem was that he played for a suburban team with a limited fan following in the shadow of the biggest media market in North America. This is not his story. It is rather the story of how he inspired a tradition among fans of the team that was Potvin ’s principal (and less successful) rival, the New York Rangers and how that tradition has been copied by the third New York-area hockey team. In 1979, Denis Potvin hit New York Rangers forward Ulf Nilsson and broke Nilsson ’s ankle. Many Rangers fans believe that this was a principal cause in the Rangers’ loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley...

Right here . Those guys do great work on that blog. Language NSFW, you've been warned

For those of you who might be a bit bored with the last few everyday real-life type posts, here’s a nice little diversion into the land of unreality. This will be a discussion of my favorite circus dating back to when I had very little bread. Yes, the Stanley Cup playoffs are here, and I know you’re all wondering “hey, what does that guy who writes about garbage cans and social anxiety disorder think about that?” Well, I’m glad you asked Mr. Voice In My Head. ‘Cause I’m gonna tell you: Montreal over Boston in 5 games : The B’s will finally win a game vs. the Habs this year, but Montreal has too much speed and the better goaltender. Youppi dances right on into the second round Washington over Philadelphia in 5 games : The Caps are on an amazing roll aided by the gift of Huet from the Habs at the trading deadline. The legend of Alex Ovechkin growing into the Russian Messier should begin to grow here. If I’m wrong, Philly has a shot. I don’t think I’m wrong. New Jersey over New York in 7...