Saturday Night Hockey

Lineup NOTables

Ottawa Senators vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Ottawa: Peter Regin (shoulder), Jesse Winchester (concussion), and Ben Bishop (lower body) are out. Craig Anderson will start this afternoon.
Philadelphia: Chris Pronger (concussion), Ian Laperriere (concussion), Blair Betts (knee), Tom Sestito (groin), James Van Reimsdyk (foot), and Andrej Mezaros (back) are out while Kimmo Timonen (upper body) and Ilya "Why you heff to be mad?" Bryzgalov (foot) are questionable. Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to start.

Buffalo Sabres vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Buffalo: Jochen Hecht (concussion), Matt Ellis (knee), and Christian Erhroff (knee) are out while Nathan Gerbe (upper body) is questionable. Ryan Miller will start.
Blue Jays: Joffrey Lupul (shoulder), Nikolai Kulemin (finger),  and James Reimer (upper body) are out while David Steckel (lower body) and Jonas Gustavsson (lower body) are questionable. Ben Scrivens is scheduled to be the starting pitcher.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals

FREE FROM GAUTHIER!!!: Brian Gionta (bicep), Scott Gomez (concussion), Travis Moen (upper body), Mathieu Darche (upper body), Rapheal Diaz (lower body) and Tomas Kaberle (upper body) are out while Yannick Weber (lower body) is questionable. Peter Budaj starts tonight.
Washington: Tom Poti (groin) is out while John Erskine (lower body) and Tomas Vokoun (lower body) are questionable. Michal Neuvirth is expected to start.

Winnipeg Jets vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Winnipeg: Eric Fehr (upper body), Nik Antropov (lower body), and Chris Thorburn (lower body) are all listed as questionable. Ondrej Pavelec will start.
Tampa Bay: Adam Hall (upper body), Ryan Shannon (shoulder), Nate Thompson (upper body), Dana Tyrell (knee...I mean NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!), Marc-Andre Bergeron (back), Mattias Ohlund (knees...yes, thats plural), and Mathieu Garon (lower body) are out. Sebastien Caron (remember him?) might start.

Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks

Calgary: Mikael Backlund (arm) and T.J. Brodie (upper body) are out while Cory Sarich (upper body) and Derek Smith (upper body) are listed as doubtful. Henrik Karlsson starts tonight.
Vancouver: Daniel Sedin (concussion), Steven Pinizzotto (shoulder), Aaron Vopatti (shoulder), and Keith Ballard (knee) are out. Roberto Luongo is expected to start.

Saturday Night Hockey: Standings Update, Comment on Crosby

Standings

It's been a while since I pulled out the old division board. Let's take a look at it.

Six Thoughts:

• Crosby is back (again). Expect the Rangers and Pens to switch places.
• It feels weird seeing Ottawa in 2nd place.
• Even more weird: Florida in 1st.
• Not as weird: St. Louis in 1st.
• Vancouver 1st and Edmonton last? You don't say...
• Between 1st and 4th, expect a lot of shuffling (sorry Anaheim, better luck next year)

Quick Crosby Comment

Tonight will be Crosby's 2nd game in Canada this season (or first if your a separatist).

Frankly, I don't get all the Crosby hype this year. He has just as many goals as Scott Gomez!

Lineup NOTables

Calgary Flames vs. Dallas Stars

Calgary: Mike Cammalleri (upper body), Mikeal Backlund (arm), and T.J. Brodie (upper body) are out while Cory Sarich (upper body) and Derek Smith (upper body) are listed as doubtful. Miikka Kiprusoff starts.
Dallas: Only Mark Fistric (abdominal strain) is out. Kari Lehtonen will start this afternoon.

New York Rangers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

New York: Mats Zuccerallo (wrist), Micheal Sauer (concussion), and Steve Eminger are out. Martin Biron might start.
Toronto: Joffrey Lupul (shoulder), Nikolai Kulemin (finger), and Mike Brown (thigh) are out while Matt Frattin (lower body) and Clarke MacArthur (upper body) are questionable. Jonas Gustavsson is expected to start.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators

Pittsburgh: Brent Johnson (lower body) is out while Matt Niskanen (upper body) is questionable. Marc-Andre Fleury starts.
Ottawa: Peter Regin (shoulder) and Jesse Winchester (concussion) are out. Ben Bishop might start.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Montreal: Brian Gionta (bicep), Scott Gomez (concussion), Travis Moen (upper body), Mathieu Darche (upper body), Rapheal Diaz (lower body) are out while Tomas Kaberle (upper body) is questionable. Carey Price might start.
Philadelphia: Chris Pronger (concussion), Ian Laperriere (concussion), Blair Betts (knee), Tom Sestito (groin), James Van Reimsdyk (foot), and Andrej Mezaros (back) are out. Ilya "Universe" Bryzgalov starts tonight.

Winnipeg Jets vs. Nashville Predators

Winnipeg: Eric Fehr (upper body), Nik Antropov (lower body), and Chris Thorburn (lower body) are out. Ondrej Pavalec is expected to start.
Nashville: Colin Wilson (groin), Brian McGrattan (upper body) and Roman Josi (upper body) are out while Paul Gaustad (upper body) is questionable. Pekke Rinne will start.

Vancouver Canucks vs. Colorado Avalanche

Vancouver: Daniel Sedin (headbutting Keith's elbow concussion), Steven Pinizzotto (shoulder), Aaron Vopatti (shoulder), Andrew Ebbett (Collarbone), and Keith Ballard (knee). Roberto Luongo gets the start.
Colorado: Chuck Kobasew (back) and Erik Johnson (back) are listed as questionable. Semyon Varlamov is expected to start.

Saturday Night Hockey: OHL, Avery Retires

You Can't Suspend Stupid

After last weekend's horrible hit that knocked projected first overall pick Nail Yakupov out, Mike Halmo has been suspended 10 games. Wow that must have been some dirty, violent hit. Thankfully, these things can be found on YouTube:

Did I say dirty? I meant to say CLEAN! Yes, that was a clean hit. C-L-E-A-N. If this was the NHL, then there would be no suspension. Remember Malone's hit on Campoli? It's exactly like that. Yakupov was cutting through the middle (he kind of deserves being hit like that for cutting through the trolley tracks), losses the puck, and (the key point) LEANS FORWARD. This exposes his head to get crushed. Mike Halmo just so happens to be the guy that does it.

This is why I don't take the OHL seriously. OHL (and for some reason CHL) commissioner David Branch has been nothing but a deterrent to physical hockey. I get the feeling that in 5 years, the OHL will be the highest league to ban hitting.

Avery Retires

Earlier this week, Sean Avery went on Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" and announced his retirement. Then he backed up his claim in an interview with Larry Brooks of the New York Post.

While it's usually hard to see a player retire, this case is probably an exception. Taking out his off-ice stuff, he was nothing but a pest, which lead to his demotions to the AHL and eventual retirement.

This is how I imagine Martin Brodeur celebrated:

Lineup Notables

New York Islanders vs. Montreal Canadiens

New York: Only Rick "When aren't I injured?" DiPietro is out. Al Montoya starts tonight.
Montreal: Brain Gionta (bicep), Mike Blunden (knee), Travis Moen (upper body), Mathieu Darche (upper body), Scott Gomez (concussion), and Raphael Diaz (lower body) are out while Scott Gomez(concussion), Tomas Kaberle (personal), and Andrei Markov (knee upper body) are questionable. Peter Budaj might start.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators

Toronto: Joffrey Lupul (shoulder), Mike Brown (leg), and Nikolai Kulemin (finger) are out. James "Real Deal" Reimer is expected to start.
Ottawa: Peter Regin (shoulder), Jesse Winchester (concussion), and Craig Anderson (finger) are out. Ben Bishop will start.

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Vancouver Canucks

Columbus: Kristen Huselius (groin), Derek MacKenzie (concussion), Radek Martinek (concussion), Fedor Tyutin (hand), and Marc Methot (jaw) are out. Steve "Swiss Cheese" Mason starts.
Vancouver: Steven Pinizzotto (shoulder), Aaron Vopatti (shoulder), Andrew Ebbett (Collarbone), and Keith Ballard (knee) are out while Manny Malhotra (personal) is questionable. Cory Schnieder might start.

Friday Night Croatian Fight

Ok, so it really happened Tuesday...last week.

Not the point.

The point is: Croatian team + hockey brawl = PURE FRIGGEN AWESOMENESS

KHL Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia) vs. EC KAC (Austria)

Just take a look (YouTube link here):

Ok, first things first (puts on Pens fans Cooke/Savard hat) totally legal hit by Frank Banham.

Second (for the pacifist out there) this more so stems from the refs not escorting Banham back to the dressing room. He gets to the bench (solo) then all hell starts to break loose.

This view best describes whats going to happen. On the left, a Zagreb player just drags his opponent along. On the far right, EC KAC calls for backup.

What would be a brawl without a goalie fight? Nothing I tells ya. In blue, former Slovakian national team goaltender: Karol Krizan. In white, former Pittsburgh Penguins goalie (for all of 8 games): Andy Chiodo.

Kind of feel sorry for Chiodo here, it took him a while to get his balance before doing anything. That being said, you think that the years he spent in the ECHL should have helped him here. Apparently not.

The aftermath. A barren ice-land of gloves, sticks, an the odd isolated fight. Brings a tear to my eye that this one has ended. Overall, there was 9 ejections and 239 total penalty minutes. Talk about intensity being upped during the playoffs.

Oh, and since KHL Medvescak Zagreb is an applicant to join the (league) KHL, I think Vityaz Cherkov has some competition.

Thursday News and Notes

The Prodigal Son Returns...Yet Again

Yes, Kris Letang is coming back.

Ok, I was actually talking about Sidney Crosby. Which means now ESPN can bump their hockey coverage to a full 3% overall.

Just like the last return, Crosby will be facing a New York team. Its the good one this time, so he'll only get 3 points this time.

Now if TSN would smarten up and put it on the main network instead of TSN2, then the world would be a better place.

Stamkos Scores 50

Congrats to Steven Stamkos for reaching the 50-goal mark in a season for the second time in his career. Lets take a look at #50:

What. The. Hell. Turco.

Not to diminish Stamkos' achievement, but Turco looked like he wanted no part of it and just put in a half-hearted effort. Turco must have lost another fan bet.

Erik Cole: Ref Celebrator

I like his explanation: "He was the only one there, and I had to celebrate with somebody,"

Adam Burish: Glove Giver

For throwing Tanner Glass' glove into the crowd at the MTS Centre, Adam Burish has now been rewarded the key to the city banished from the province of Manitoba.