Saturday Night Hockey: Suspension Only

Ok, so nothing happened this week. Right? RIGHT?

Bit of a busy week for me (exams, BOOOOOO!). I'll get to the Super Series recap, the concussion lawsuit, and the Rogers TV deal in the next few days. For now just the normal stuff.

Suspension Of The Week

Only one this week, as Kevin Westgarth boarded Mark Borowiecki. This wasn't as egregious as another (kinda similar) hit made earlier this year in a different league, but it's still bad. Looking at the suspension video, it is clear that Westgarth originally head toward the side of Borowiecki to get the puck, but did change his direction and ended up hitting Borowiecki as he was getting up. Also interesting to note, Shanny pointed out that he wasn't going in at a high speed. It's a stretch, but I'm calling this the first time I've ever seen a suspension sentence being reduced as a result of a guy not going in full force.

Congrats Kevin Westgarth, the newest winner of the SOTW Award.

Lineup Notables

Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Rangers

Tortorella: Jordan Schroeder (ankle) is out. Roberto Luongo will be in net.
Vigneault: Derek Dorsett (wrist) is questionable. Cam Talbot starts this afternoon.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens

Toronto: Dave Bolland (ankle) and Joffrey Lupul (groin) are injured. Jonathan Bernier gets the start.
Montreal: Davis Drewiske (shoulder) is injured. Carey Price is in net.

Calgary Flames vs. Los Angeles Kings

Calgary: Curtis Glencross (knee), Sean Monahan (foot), T.J. Galiardi (back), Dennis Wideman (hand) and Mark Giordano (ankle) are injured. Karri Ramo starts tonight.
Los Angeles: Trevor Lewis (lower body), Matt Frattin (lower body), Matt Greene (upper body) and Jonathan Quick (groin) are out. Ben Scrivens is expected to start.

2013 Super Series Preview - Russia vs. WHL

Wow, Russia won both games against the OHL. Did not see that coming. The CHL still leads Team Russia in points (7-5) and now depend on the WHL to close out the series with two games in Alberta.

Rosters

WHL

Goalies:

Name	Team
Eric Comeau	Tri-City Americans
Tristan Jarry	Edmonton Oil Kings

Defense:

Name	Team
Madison Bowey	Kelowna Rockets
Dillon Heatherington	Swift Current Broncos
Josh Morrissey	Prince Albert Raiders
Derrick Pouliot	Portland Winterhawks
Ryan Pulock	Brandon Wheat Kings
Griffin Reinhart	Edmonton Oil Kings
Damon Severson	Kelowna Rockets

Forwards:

Name	Team
Connor Bleackley	Red Deer Rebels
Troy Bourke	Prince George Cougars
Colby Cave	Swift Current
Greg Chase	Calgary Hitman
Jaedon Descheneau	Kootenay Ice
Jujhar Khaira	Everett Silvertips
Morgan Klimchuk	Regina Pats
Curtis Lazar	Edmonton Oil Kings
Taylor Leier	Portland Winterhawks
Brendan Leipsic	Portland Winterhawks
Mitch Moroz	Edmonton Oil Kings
Nic Petan	Portland Winterhawks
Sam Reinhart	Kootenay Ice
Hunter Shinkaruk	Medicine Hat Tigers
Chandler Stephenson	Regina Pats

Team Russia

Goalies:

Name	Team
Ivan Nalimov	SKA St. Petersburg
Igor Shesterkin	Spartak Moscow

Defense:

Name	Team
Viktor Baldaev	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Alexei Bereglazov	Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Vladislav Gavrikov	Loko Yaroslavl
Pavel Koledov	Loko Yaroslavl
Kirill Maslov	Loko Yaroslavl
Alexander Mikulovich	Niagara Ice Dogs
Rushan Rafikov	Loko Yaroslavl
Mark Skutar	Metallurg Novokuznetsk
Mikhail Tikhonov	SKA-1946 St. Petersburg
Rinat Valiev	Kootenay Ice
Kirill Vorobyov	Krasnaya Armiya

Forwards:

Name	Team
Alexander Barabanov	SKA-1946 St. Petersburg
Ivan Barbashev	Moncton Wildcats
Alexei Baskov	Omskie Yastreby
Georgy Busarov	Dizel Penza
Vladimir Butuzov	Sibir Novosibirsk
Alexander Delnov	Seattle Thunderbirds
Eduard Gimatov	Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
Nikolay Goldobin	Sarnia Sting
Denis Gorbunov	Baie-Comeau Drakkar
Sergei Kuptsov	Izhstal Izhevsk
Ivan Petrakov	Loko Yaroslavl
Igor Rudenkov	Chaika Nizhny Novgorod
Nikita Shcherbak	Saskatoon Blades
Ildar Shiksatdarov	Krasnaya Armiya
Nikolai Skladnichenko	Metallurg Novokuznetsk
Vladimir Tkachyov	Omskie Yastreby
Sergei Tolchinsky	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Kirill Voronin	Loko Yaroslavl
Valentin Zykov	Baie-Comeau Drakkar

Games

November 27 (Red Deer)
Russia vs. WHL

November 28 (Lethbridge)
WHL vs. Russia

Last 6 Matchups

Russia (5-2) - WHL (1-0) - Russia (7-5) - WHL (5-2) - Russia (5-2) - Russia (7-6)

Predictions

Game 1: Russia 4 - WHL 2
Game 2: WHL 3 - Russia 2

I've clearly misjudged this Russian team throughout the series, so time to give them their due. I can see the WHL eventually pulling out a win and taking the series for the CHL though.

Saturday Night Hockey: Milestones, No Helmet Pardy In Winnipeg

Milestone Week

This week saw two milestones happen: Martin St. Louis playing his 1000th game, and Jaromir Jagr tying both Mario Lemieux in goals and Gordie Howe in winning goals.

For St. Louis, this was a surprised. A diminutive player that went undrafted and cut by his first NHL usually don’t get a second chance, but St. Louis was given that chance by Tampa Bay and the rest is history. A Stanley Cup, 2 Art Ross’, a Hart Trophy, a Pearson (Ted Lindsay) Award, and 3 Lady Byngs later, the 37 year old had overcome the odds and reached the 1000^th game mark.

For Jagr, it only took one goal to reach two ??. The first was only a matter of time, “Mario Jr.” finally reached the senior’s in goals (and he still has plenty of time to add to it). For the game-winning goals record, he finally ties Gordie Howe at 121 goals (after being misinterpreted earlier this season).  

The Jets Don't Pardy Hard

After the helmet incident in Chicago, it was almost inevitable Jets fans wouldn't take it lying down. It was planned that Thursday's home game against the Blackhawks, Jets fans would wear helmets to the rink. That was sadly squashed by the fun police (aka Mark Chipman). This is something of a missed opportunity for the Thrashers Jets organization. If you're not going to allow fans to wear their own helmet, then they should have handed out cardboard ones. But now the tables could be turned. How great would it be to see another fanbase wear helmets to a game when the Jets play their team? It would be a pretty big "Hey, look how cool my team's owner is" move. Of course, if a hat trick is scored then there may be problems.

Suspension of the Week

Dennis Seidenberg wasn't suspended for his elbow on Bobby Ryan, so there is no suspensions this week (probably a good thing too, since I screwed up last week by adding Jesse Winchester's elbow in again, that error has been fixed). One thing about that elbow: did that ever looked embellished. Not saying the elbow was bad (it was), but Ryan just flew back after contact. It couldn't have been that powerful.

Lineup Notables

Minnesota Wild vs. Winnipeg Jets

Minnesota: Keith Ballard (upper boy) and Niklas Backstrom (concussion) are out while Torrey Mitchell (lower body) is questionable. Josh Harding might be in net.
Winnipeg: Jim Slater (hernia), Zach Bogosian (groin), Mark Stuart (hip), Jacob Trouba (upper body) and Paul Postma (blood clot) are out. Ondrej Pavelec starts this afternoon.

Washington Capitals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Washington: John Erskine (upper body) and Jack Hillen (tibia) are out. Braden Holtby gets the start.
Toronto: David Bolland (ankle) is out while Tyler Bozek (hamstring) and Mark Fraser (lower body) are questionable. James Reimer might be in net.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens

Pittsburgh: Chuck Kobasew (lower body), Rob Scuderi (ankle) and Tomas Vokoun (blood clot) are out while Beau Bennett is questionable. Marc-Andre Fleury starts.
Montreal: Davis Drewiske (shoulder) is out while Rene Bourque (lower body) and Michal Bournival are questionable. Carey Price is in net.

Ottawa Senators vs. Detroit Red Wings

Ottawa: Ottawa is healthy (still waiting on that Spezza injury). Craig Anderson will start.
Detroit: Daniel Alfredsson (groin), Stephen Weiss (groin) and Danny DeKeyser (shoulder) are out. Jimmy Howard starts.

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vancouver Canucks

Chicago: Bryan Bickell (lower body), Michal Handzus (upper body), Brad Mills (lower body), Michael Kostka (lower body), and Nikolai Khabibulin (lower body) are out. Corey Crawford will be in net.
Vancouver: Jordan Schroeder (ankle) and Dale Weise (lower body) are out. Roberto Luongo starts tonight.

2013 Super Series Preview - Russia vs. OHL

After Team Russia failed to get a win against the QMJHL, they head off to face the OHL. Same gripe as last year: Russia playing back-to-back games, OHL gets 2 teams (although comparing to the amount of Russia players, it's a mute point), the ridiculous wait between games. Russia did finally win their first game against the OHL last year. This year, they might not be as lucky.

Rosters

OHL

Goalies:

Name	Team
Daniel Althshuller	Oshawa Generals
Matt Murray	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Jake Paterson	Saginaw Spirit

Defense:

Name	Team
Chris Bigras	Owen Sound Attack
Josh Brown	Oshawa Generals
Trevor Carrick	Mississauga Steelheads
Aaron Ekblad	Barrie Colts
Matt Finn	Guelph Storm
Slater Koekkoek	Windsor Spitfires
Darnell Nurse	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Adam Pelech	Erie Otters

Forwards:

Name	Team
Josh Anderson	London Knights
Nicholas Baptiste	Sudbury Wolves
Sam Bennett	Kingston Frontenacs
Connor Brown	Erie Otters
Mathew Campagna	Sudbury Wolves
Michael Dal Colle	Oshawa Generals
Max Domi	London Knights
Brendan Gaunce	Belleville Bulls
Bo Horvat	London Knights
Scott Kosmachuk	Guelph Storm
Scott Laughton	Oshawa Generals
Conner McDavid	Erie Otters
Brock McGinn	Guelph Storm
Zach Nastasiuk	Owen Sound Attack
Ryan Rupert	London Knights
Kerby Rychel	Windsor Spitfires
Chris Tierney	London Knights
Carter Verhaeghe	Niagara Ice Dogs

Russia

Goalies:

Name	Team
Ivan Nalimov	SKA St. Petersburg
Igor Shesterkin	Spartak Moscow

Defense:

Name	Team
Viktor Baldaev	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Alexei Bereglazov	Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Vladislav Gavrikov	Loko Yaroslavl
Pavel Koledov	Loko Yaroslavl
Kirill Maslov	Loko Yaroslavl
Alexander Mikulovich	Niagara Ice Dogs
Rushan Rafikov	Loko Yaroslavl
Mark Skutar	Metallurg Novokuznetsk
Mikhail Tikhonov	SKA-1946 St. Petersburg
Rinat Valiev	Kootenay Ice
Kirill Vorobyov	Krasnaya Armiya

Forwards:

Name	Team
Alexander Barabanov	SKA-1946 St. Petersburg
Ivan Barbashev	Moncton Wildcats
Alexei Baskov	Omskie Yastreby
Georgy Busarov	Dizel Penza
Vladimir Butuzov	Sibir Novosibirsk
Alexander Delnov	Seattle Thunderbirds
Eduard Gimatov	Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
Nikolay Goldobin	Sarnia Sting
Denis Gorbunov	Baie-Comeau Drakkar
Sergei Kuptsov	Izhstal Izhevsk
Ivan Petrakov	Loko Yaroslavl
Igor Rudenkov	Chaika Nizhny Novgorod
Nikita Shcherbak	Saskatoon Blades
Ildar Shiksatdarov	Krasnaya Armiya
Nikolai Skladnichenko	Metallurg Novokuznetsk
Vladimir Tkachyov	Omskie Yastreby
Sergei Tolchinsky	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Kirill Voronin	Loko Yaroslavl
Valentin Zykov	Baie-Comeau Drakkar

Games

November 21 (Oshawa)
Russia vs. OHL

November 25 (Sudbury)
OHL vs. Russia

Last 6 Matchups

OHL (2-1) - Russia (2-1) - OHL (6-3) - OHL (10-7) - OHL (2-1) - OHL (4-0)

Predictions

Game 1: Russia 3 - OHL 6
Game 2: OHL 4 - Russia 1

I get the feeling that this might not be a close series. OHL regain dominance over their Russian opponents.

Fun side note: during the look-up for the Russian squad, I seen an ad for a Red Stars (junior all-stars) tour of New England. They'll face an EHL all-star team and four colleges (Yale, Harvard, Colgate College, Cornell). It would be interesting to see how the results from that Russian team stacks up to how this Russian team fares in the Super Series.