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Greg Wyshynski | December 22, 2009

 

(Ed. Note: Sorry no headlines. Went to dentist. Ouchy.)

OK, this contest is getting downright sloppy now.

Kyle L.’s tribute to the Phuthbert and … er, Cavery? … well, Dion Phaneuf’s(notes) and Sean Avery’s(notes) dating history kicks off the second gallery in our "Create a Winter Classic Parade Float" competition, in which we asked you to help invent a virtual parade for the NHL’s Jan. 1 event between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins.

Our first gallery provided some strong, bar-setting candidates: The Montreal Canadiens-as-Shriners; the Chicago Blackhawks‘ self-congratulatory press conference float; and the one considered the early leader, Hockeysteve54’s Rick DiPietro tribute. As you’ll see in a moment, these entries have some stiff, snarky and hilarious competition from the Puck Buddy faithful.

Once more, with feeling: We’re asking you to send in your drawings, paintings, Photoshops and any other electronically-submitted visual media that depicts your concept for a Winter Classic parade float; i.e. something that honors hockey players, teams, stories, legends or tabloid fodder.

Prizes are being furnished by Two Eight Nine Design, home of the awesome new Truculence T-shirts, and by The Fourth Period Magazine, the best hockey lifestyle magazine around. Deadline for submissions is Wednesday, Dec. 23 at noon EDT. E-mail contest entries (.jpgs preferred) to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com. Judges are myself, Leahy and a 12-pack of Smithwick’s.

Now, behold the glory of Puck Daddy’s Create a Winter Classic Parade Float Contest Gallery, Part 2.

And here … we … go.

Stephen P. presents a masterful portrait of truculence, as the Toronto Maple Leafs give our parade a fisting.

Oh, did you think becoming the all-time shutout leader in the NHL was going to keep Martin Brodeur(notes) safe from cheap fat jokes? Trevor E. believes otherwise with this Dough Boy version of the New Jersey Devils goalie.

We were wondering when the Zdeno Chara(notes)/ESPN Body Issue meme would creep into this contest. Not only do we get a 9-foot-tall nude Boston Bruins defenseman, we get him a glorious piece of original art. We may actual frame this and hang it in the Puck Daddy offices, next to our photo of George Costanza posing on a couch.

Kudos to Kellan M. for what should be a finalist.

Mazarin has assaulted our inbox (gross!) with several worthy images, and we’ll get more in the next gallery. This one, celebrating what we named the worst jersey of the decade by the Canadiens, was pretty ingenious.

We love a solid callback, and what Darren M.’s effort lacks in artistry it makes up for in ridicule, as the Vancouver Province’s inexcusable hubris in planning a parade route last spring gets the spotlight. 

Once again, we can’t help but be impressed by The Pensblog army stepping up with efforts like this, the Stanley Cup Death Mobile. NIEDERMAYER?! DEAD!

Nicely done, mysteriously named ‘B’.

Dominika H. explains:

What many people don’t realize however, is that Alvin and the Chipmunks is actually based on the life and times of Brian Gionta(notes). So, in honor of the new Chipmunks movie –and all the royalties Gionta will undoubtedly be making from it — I created a parade balloon!

So who is Simon and who is Theodore out of Mike Cammalleri and Scott Gomez(notes)?

Brent L. finally gives this parade some musical entertainment, as this Chris Pronger(notes) float is accompanied by (what else?) "STOMP."

Our old buddy Sobchak presents the "Intent To Blow" float, along with along with other things that had intent to … well, you know … this season. This is what happens when you meet a stranger in the alps.

Now that we ended the previous entry with an obscure Lebowski reference, let’s keep things obscure with this float from RockTheRed.net. They explain:

Here is RockTheRed.net’s submission for a Winter Classic float. After many, many discussions with Mr. Smithwick’s we decided to gather the greatest monikers in hockey history, fitting enough to make even the most modest parade attendee blush! The float is a no-brow collection including: (From left to right) Maxim Fokin, Pokey Reddick, Guido Titzhoff, Alexander Semin(notes), Grant Clitsome(notes), Robin BigSnake, Ron Tugnutt, Cory Pecker(notes), Karl Dykhaus, Luca Cunti, and Ed Dyck. Steve Cockburn and Jonny SanViagra were also sent invitations, but were unable to attend at this time.

Uh, wow.

Allison presents a beautiful, swan-like tribute to the Chicago Blackhawks’ salary situation. Please note the juxtaposition of the hard cap and the flexible ballerinas.

The Minnesota Wild requested that the parade be postponed after their float caught fire, but were denied. Such is life. Stefan rips one from the headlines.

And finally …

Aaron D. presents the Claude Lemieux(notes) turtle balloon that, you’ll agree, is simple outstanding. From Aaron:

Still not sure how I feel about photoshopping a Stanley Cup out of a man’s hands, but I think it was worth it for the joke.

Indeed it was, sir. Indeed it was.

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Greg Wyshynski | December 22, 2009

The Hobey Baker Award is given annually to the top male NCAA hockey player. Its namesake, Hobey Baker, was a star athlete between 1911-1914 before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, where he was a pilot during World War I. Tragically, he died in a postwar plane crash in Toul, France in 1918, at age 26.

Funny stuff, right? At least it was to Pittsburgh Penguins announcer Paul Steigerwald of Fox Sports Pittsburgh, who cracked one of the most awkward on-air jokes in recent memory last night during their game against the New Jersey Devils.

For the video-less, a quick transcript:

Bob Errey: "The Hobey Baker winner went down, real hard. Our Subway sandwich of the game."

Paul Steigerwald: "Not as hard as Hobey Baker went down, though. He went down in a plane crash."

Then there’s some muttering and giggling; with Steigerwald apparently realizing that he wasn’t at the Friar’s Club, saying he wasn’t trying to make light of "how he left us," while asking Errey not to "start" as the laughing begins.

As Adam Gretz points out, Baker was actually killed 91 years to the day of Steigerwald’s comment. Who says he doesn’t have comedic timing?

Now, we’re nearing a century removed from the incident, so it’s not exactly "too soon" for this punchline. We were ready to excuse it, actually … until reader John Mozena hit us on Twitter with the following: "Hobey was friends w/ my grandfather, flew in WW1 together. I’m not a PC/sensitive guy but I thought it was classless."

OK, fair enough. This is getting enough play to the point where an on-air apology during the next Pens’ broadcast is likely.

Stick-tap to the Pens Experience for the story.

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Tags: Adam Gretz, Announcer, athlete, Bob Errey, France, Friar's Club, John Mozena, male NCAA hockey player, NCAA, New Jersey Devils, Paul Steigerwald, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toul, Twitter, U.S. Air Force

Sean Leahy | December 22, 2009

(No, the first decade of the 21st century doesn’t technically end until 2011. Save your bellyaching. But we’ve had nine NHL seasons and one stolen from us since 1999-2000, and Yahoo! Sports has decided it’s time to rank the best and worst of the last "decade." Enjoy, and snark freely in the comments.)

Unless you’re new around here, you already know we’re not big fans of the shootout. (OK, I’m running thin about it and Wysh, well, let’s just use the word "dislike" when it comes to his opinion.) The one good thing about the shootout is that it got rid of the dreaded tie. Nothing’s worse than investing three hours of your life into a sporting event and leaving your couch or arena without a victor.

According to NHLShootouts.com, there have been 714 shootouts since the NHL decided to implement the game-decider the season after the lockout in 2005; that’s 13.1 percent of the 5,450 post-lockout games. While the shootout remains a debatable issue among hockey fans, we’ve seen the creativity of NHL players come out and unleash their top notch skill in a 1-on-1 battle.

With that, here are the top 10 NHL shootouts of the past decade ….

10. Alex Ovechkin(notes) brings some fun to All-Star Weekend (Jan. 24, 2009)

While other NHL’ers participating in the "trick shot" shootout attempted their best moves that they’d only dream of trying during practice, Ovechkin lightened the mood at Bell Centre before his final attempt (0:40 mark of the clip) by skating over to Evgeni Malkin(notes), who handed him a fishing hat which included a Canadian flag, along with sunglasses.

Before he attempted his last try, Malkin gave Ovechkin the complimentary Gatorade spritz. It wasn’t the prettiest of shootout attempts, but who can blame Ovechkin for trying to bring a little humor to All-Star Weekend?

9. Henrik Zetterberg(notes) channels his inner Forsberg  (Jan. 10, 2007)

As Doc Emrick referenced in the clip, Zetterberg pulls the Peter Forsberg(notes) move here, but unfortunately for Hank, Swedish government officials aren’t about to make it into a stamp.

8. Sam Gagner’s(notes) hands exhaust Giguere  (Oct. 28, 2007)

The running theme with most of these goals is how silly some of the goaltenders are made to look. Gagner made enough dekes in this move against the Anaheim Ducks that Jean-Sebastien Giguere(notes) gives up mid-save attempt, when he starts to move one way and the Edmonton Oilers forward is about to score in the opposite direction. What a deflating feeling.

7. Jussi Jokinen(notes) on his way to owning the shootout  (Jan. 14, 2006)

The king of the shootout (26-for-47 lifetime), Jokinen’s main move is what has given him much success, not his take on Forsberg’s above. Jokinen’s domination has relied on that one move and it’s amazing to think that NHL goaltenders haven’t smartened up and just decided to bum-rush him once he skated between the circles.

6. Jason Blake(notes) spins like Denis Savard (Dec. 16, 2008)

Blake’s spin move against an unsuspecting Scott Clemmensen(notes) started a bit of controversy about whether or not it’s a legal move in the shootout. Smaller players like Blake, Pierre-Marc Bouchard(notes) and Martin St. Louis(notes) have all used the spin-o-rama to success and despite it violating the letter of the law, they’re still legal today (and rightly so).

5. Rick Nash’s(notes) version of the "stanky leg" (Nov. 13, 2009)

Nash said afterwards that he accidentally lost his balance before putting the winner past J.S. Giguere. We don’t believe him and encourage other NHL’ers to throw goaltenders off their game by coming in on goal skate-first and then shooting. Giguere was likely wondering if he was about to become this decade’s Clint Malarchuk than worrying about stopping Nash’s shot.

4. Ryan Getzlaf(notes) stops and starts (Oct. 22, 2006)

It must have been a helpless feeling for Mathieu Garon(notes) who was all set to deny Getzlaf a goal only to watch the Anaheim forward pull the puck back and roof the winner. Getzlaf is only 13-for-44 in shootout attempts, but this one was a beauty.

3. Pavel Datsyuk(notes) pulls the string on Vokoun (March 21, 2006)

When he’s not rocking out to his James Brown ringtone, Detroit Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk is busy using his hands to make wonderful hockey plays. Believe it or not, there was a second or two during Datsyuk’s attempt here that Nashville Predators goaltender Tomas Vokoun(notes) actually thought he had a chance to stop him.

2. Mike Ribeiro(notes) makes it count (April 9, 2009)

"The flavorless winner" has to be one of Dallas Stars announcer Daryl Reaugh’s great calls. Ribeiro’s known to be somewhat of a fancy boy in the shootout and like Reaugh said, if you’re going to do that kind of a move with an extra point on the line, you better make sure the puck goes in. Poor Petr Budaj is probably still looking for the puck almost nine months later.

1. Marek Malik(notes) goes to the trick bag (Nov. 26, 2005)

The utter disbelief in Mike Crispino of the MSG Network’s voice was the universal feeling for the entire Madison Square Garden crowd and, most likely, Olaf Kolzig(notes) as well.

It’s not often we see such moves from a 6-6, 240-pound defenseman, but his circus act ended a lengthy, 15-round shootout between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals and gave Blueshirt fans their only favorable memory of Malik.

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Tags: Alex Ovechkin, Anaheim, Anaheim Ducks, Announcer, Bell Centre, Clint Malarchuk, Dallas Stars, Daryl Reaugh, Denis Savard, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Evgeni Malkin, Henrik Zetterberg, hockey, Jason Blake, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Jussi, Jussi Jokinen, king, Madison Square Garden, Marek Malik, Martin St. Louis, Mathieu Garon, Mike Ribeiro, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, nhl, Olaf Kolzig, Pavel Datsyuk, Petr Budaj, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Rick Nash, Ryan Getzlaf, Sam Gagner, Scott Clemmensen, Swedish government, Tomas Vokoun, Washington Capitals, Yahoo!

Greg Wyshynski | December 22, 2009

There’s really only one term for the 2009-2010 campaigns for the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets as Christmas approaches: Catastrophic.

It’s not just that they’re losing — but, man-oh-Manischewitz, are they losing — it’s the manners in which they’re losing. They’re both in 14th place in their respective conferences and the traits that characterized their success last season, while promising greater achievements entering this season, are invisible.

It all speaks to fundamental cracks in the foundations built by general managers Paul Holmgren and Scott Howson, and legitimate concerns that the players and coaches can’t patch them.

With their hapless 5-2 loss at the Phoenix Coyotes last night, the Blue Jackets are now 1-7-3 in December and remain one point out of the conference cellar.

Again, it’s the way these teams are losing that’s so baffling. Ken Hitchcock’s team yielded 230 goals last season, ninth-best in the NHL and a number that probably would have been even lower if rookie of the year goalie Steve Mason(notes) had earned the starting job earlier. This season? They’ve given up 131 goals, tied for worst in the NHL with the Hurricanes, and Mason’s numbers (3.41 GAA, .890 save percentage) are downright embarrassing.

Which is why the Jackets have pulled his starting card, via Puck-Rakers:

In the middle of the Blue Jackets dressing room this morning, before the team took to the ice for practice. Hitchcock told the players that Steve Mason and Mathieu Garon(notes) are now seen as equals on the goaltending depth chart. Mason is no longer the No. 1. Garon is no longer the back-up. They will alternate based on who is winning and who is playing well.

Cue the Andrew Raycroft(notes) comparisons …

Light The Lamp is attempting to assess blame (some PG-13 language):

A lot of fingers have been pointed in Hitch’s direction but for the first time I’m starting to question Scott Howson’s "vision".  Not so much his moves but his non-moves.  Something has got to give here… this team is has lost any and all confidence it’s had.  If he’s stickin’ with Hitch then there absolutely MUST be a roster move to shake things up or this year is over for us.  Runs like the Blues had last year in the 2nd half are few and far between and cannot be counted on.

Like a previous poster named Wally alluded too in another post… the Jackets are 8 mil under the cap and have no one to blame but themselves if a move can’t be made… if ownership doesn’t want to ante up and spend more now to try to save the season then I don’t want to hear any complaining from that direction when season ticket holders jump off this Titanic at season’s end.

That’s a real concern for the Jackets: attendance. Winning was vital to the team ticking upward in attendance last season in a crap economy. Losing can have the opposite effect, and quickly.

The Flyers don’t have to worry about attendance. Just everything else.

(Kudos to columnist Sam Carchidi for coining "Legion of Gloom," by the way.)

With their heartless 4-1 defeat on home ice to the Florida Panthers last night, the Flyers are now 2-8-1 in December; and the only thing keeping them from hitting 15th place in the East are the Carolina Hurricanes, who own the basement like a blogger that just cracked open the new "Call of Duty" game and a 12-pack of Mountain Dew.

Last season, the Flyers scored 264 goals, tied for fourth-best in the NHL. This season, they’ve scored 95 goals, 22nd in the NHL. They’re on pace for about 218 goals on the season, which is putrid for this lineup.

It’s not just guys like Jeff Carter(notes), whose 12 goals in 35 games are way off his 46-goal pace from last season and likely have him off the Team Canada roster. It’s bigger, overall problems for the team, as Matt Reitz wrote on View From My Seats:

We have to dig a little deeper to find the Flyers problems. Are they just losing the close games? Their 5-5 record in one-goal games says NO. Are they a victim of the "loser point" in shootouts? Their 2-1 record says NO to that as well.

To find the problems with the Flyers, we have to compare this year’s version to last year’s. Even with the addition of Chris Pronger(notes), Philadelphia is 26th in the league in penalty kill (77.5%). But that’s not the only time the opposition can score. After giving up only one shorthanded goal all of last season, the Flyers have already surrendered 6 shorties this season.

The shorthanded goals give us a glimpse into the major problem for the Flyers this season. When the opposition scores a shorthanded goal, it takes momentum away more than anything else in hockey. Emotion might be the biggest problem for the Broad Street Bullies this season.

Is it emotion? Holmgren was asked about the problems for the Flyers, via CSN Philly: 

"I look at our team and we’re having a hard time scoring goals right now," Holmgren replied. "I look at our roster and wonder, ‘why?’ Guys are fighting right now. Even our good players, who were fighting things tonight, guys that can make plays and score goals, were throwing the puck away a lot of times with five foot passes right there and we’re not making it. … When it gets like that, it’s difficult. You got to take a step back and look at things and then go back to work."

His faith in the roster is unwavering, but you have to figure moves will be made, because the coach isn’t going anywhere.

Of the two teams, we still believe the Flyers are the better bet to play out of this. Not only because Holmgren will be more aggressive than Howson, but because they’ll eventually get Emery back, they’re a better team overall than Columbus and the Eastern Conference is more manageable than the West. That isn’t to say the Jackets can’t make the playoffs, just six points out of the eight seed. But they might need Phoenix or Nashville to come back down to Earth to do so.

As for Philly, this passage from Flyers Goal Scored By … sums it up:

The Flyers need to prove something to even their most diehard fans. The ones that actually do bleed orange because of serious iron deficiencies in their blood. They get a small window during the day to speak with their actions and they’ve been consistently blowing it and then we get another 48 hours of "we gotta work harder" quotes. We’re hanging on hoping for something no matter how bad it gets but just stop already.

You didn’t always lose, you won’t always lose again. Start winning now.

Time’s a’wasting.

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Tags: Carolina Hurricanes, Chris Pronger, Christmas, coach, Columbus, Columbus Blue Jackets, columnist, Florida Panthers, hockey, Hurricanes, Jeff Carter, Ken Hitchcock, Legion of Gloom, Mathieu Garon, Matt Reitz, Nashville, nhl, Paul Holmgren, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix, Phoenix Coyotes, Sam Carchidi, Scott Howson, Steve Mason, year goalie

Wendy Cooper | December 22, 2009

Check out the list here.

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Greg Wyshynski | December 22, 2009

No. 1 Star: Martin Brodeur(notes), New Jersey Devils

Brodeur set a new NHL record for career shutouts with 104, making 35 saves to blank the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-0. We covered the specifics of the record on Monday night; here’s Brodeur on his shutout chase: "Usually, in the middle of the pack of my shutouts, I didn’t really care about it too much … I just played the game and tried to win the game. But, definitely when there’s a lot at stake like that and you’re going to come close to a record or surpassing a record, it definitely becomes a little more nerve-racking. I don’t get nervous, but today I was a little nervous."

No. 2 Star: Marc-Andre Bergeron(notes), Montreal Canadiens

it’s hard not to give the nod here to Jaroslav Halak(notes) for his incredible 47-save performance on 50 shots, a franchise-record for the Thrash. But the nod goes to Marc-Andre Bergeron, the Montreal defenseman who tied the Atlanta Thrashers late in the third and then won the game in overtime on a play that saw him suffer an injury by plowing into the goal post. Canadiens win, 4-3.

No. 3 Star: Scottie Upshall(notes), Phoenix Coyotes

Big night for the Coyotes forward, as he had a point on Phoenix’s first three goals (1 goal, 2 assists) and then capped the scoring for his team in the third with a power-play goal. Phoenix defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-2, as Upshall has 12 goals on the season and five in December alone.

Honorable mention: Handy tip for the Toronto Maple Leafs, going forward — try not to leave Derek Roy(notes) wide open in front of Jonas Gustavsson(notes) (27 saves) in overtime. Roy had the game-winner and Ryan Miller(notes) had 34 saves in the Buffalo Sabres‘ 3-2 win over the Leafs. … Steven Stamkos(notes) scored his 21st while Ryan Malone(notes) had two power-play goals in the third period to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning over the New York Islanders, 4-2. Mike Smith(notes) had 36 saves; Dwayne Roloson(notes) had 24 but two absolute beauties. …  Goals by Stephen Weiss(notes), Michael Frolik(notes) and Nathan Horton(notes) (2 goals) avenged fallen teammate David Booth(notes) by defeating Mike Richards(notes) and the spiraling Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1. … Marian Gaborik(notes) scored his 25th goal and added an assist as the New York Rangers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-1. … Tim Thomas(notes) made 29 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and 10th straight win against the Ottawa Senators, 2-0. … Matt Hendricks’s(notes) shorthanded goal ended up being the game-winner, as the Colorado Avalanche and Craig Anderson(notes) (28 saves) survived a Minnesota Wild rally in the third for a 4-3 win. … Patrick Marleau(notes) scored two goals and Evgeni Nabokov(notes) made 36 saves in the San Jose Sharks‘ 4-2 win at the Dallas Stars. … Jordan Staal(notes) took a puck to the face, was bloodied but returned for the Penguins. … Alex Steen had a four-point night (1 goal, 3 assists) and Andy McDonald(notes) had two goals as the St. Louis Blues routed the Edmonton Oilers, 7-2. Yikes. Also, the Blues’ power play (4-for-5) is no longer set to "suck."

Did you know?: Ric Flair sounded the siren in Carolina before the Rangers game. Woooo!

Dishonorable mention: Perhaps you don’t fault rookie goalie Devan Dubnyk(notes) (19 saves) for the blowout loss to the Blues; Oilers Coach Pat Quinn sure doesn’t: "He was kind of left out to hang by his teammates. We’ve been doing that all season." … Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) was pulled after giving up four goals on 16 shots. … The Flyers called a players-only meeting after their loss to the Panthers. A 2-8-1 record in December will do that. … Brian Boucher(notes) injured his finger and was replaced by Michael Leighton(notes) (15 saves). … Finally, this fight from the Blue Jackets/Coyotes game was all sorts of wrong: Jared Boll(notes) going after Radim Vrbata(notes) of all people after a goal, Martin Hanzal(notes) trying to answer the bell, and then Boll splitting him open with a few shots.

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Tags: Alex Steen, Andy McDonald, Atlanta Thrashers, Blues, Brian Boucher, Brodeur, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, coach, Colorado Avalanche, Craig Anderson, Dallas Stars, David Booth, Derek Roy, Devan Dubnyk, Dwayne Roloson, Edmonton Oilers, Evgeni Nabokov, Jared Boll, Jaroslav Halak, Jonas Gustavsson, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Marc-Andre Fleury, Marian Gaborik, Martin Hanzal, Matt Hendricks, Michael Frolik, Michael Leighton, Mike Richards, Mike Smith, Minnesota Wild, Montreal, Montreal Canadiens, Nathan Horton, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, nhl, Ottawa Senators, Pat Quinn, Patrick Marleau, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix, Pittsburgh Penguins, Radim Vrbata, rookie goalie, Ryan Malone, Ryan Miller, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Stephen Weiss, Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, The Panthers, Tim Thomas, Toronto Maple Leafs

Greg Wyshynski | December 22, 2009

Having witnessed dozens of Martin Brodeur’s(notes) NHL-record 104 career shutouts between the pipes for the New Jersey Devils, tonight’s history-making blanking of the Pittsburgh Penguins was a perfect representation.

The Devils played a devastatingly efficient road game in front of him, scoring four goals and making all the right little plays to disrupt their opponents’ attack. But just when you’re about to hand the credit to the Devils’ time-tested system, you see Brodeur with 35 saves on the night, having made more than a few difficult ones. You see a goalie who isn’t riding the coattails of his teammates but providing their backbone.

It’s the single most unappreciated aspect of the entire "Brodeur vs. the system" debate: That it takes an extraordinary talent to provide the foundation for that system to excel for, oh, 15 years. So while players and coaches and rules and eras have come and gone, Brodeur has been the constant in GM Lou Lamoriello’s franchise-defining philosophy of fundamental defensive play. If you think someone like Curtis Joseph(notes) could have backstopped 104 shutouts by simply being a Devils goalie, you’re either delusional or, more likely, a Rangers fan.

New Jersey’s 4-0 win over the Penguins was typically workmanlike, but every shutout has its defining moments. The ones for Shutout No. 104 came when Sidney Crosby(notes) rifled a shot off the right post with 1 minute, 42 seconds left in the third period; followed one minute later by Brodeur’s low glove save on Evgeni Malkin(notes), which he hoisted in the air with a flourish in a move his idol/contemporary Patrick Roy mastered.

Two of the best players in the world turned aside; one with a little luck, the other with faultless positioning. You need both to be a winning goalie, and Brodeur’s had them since 1994.

It was his 104th shutout, an NHL record. His 580th career win, an NHL record. His 1,032nd career game, an NHL record. Argue there are more talented goalies. Argue that his era defined him rather than Brodeur having defined an era. Argue that it’s all the trap or obstruction or Jacques Lemaire or Scotts Stevens and Niedermayer. What you can’t argue is Brodeur’s place in NHL history as goaltending royalty. Because this record cements it. The way generations heard Terry Sawchuk’s name, they’ll now hear Brodeur’s.

Coming up, some stunning numbers regarding Marty’s shutout record.

Great job by the NHL pulling together a stats pack about Brodeur’s legacy.

Here are Brodeur’s shutouts on a team-by-team basis; R.I.P. Winnipeg and the Whale:

So the San Jose Sharks, Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers escape his wrath, eh?

Here are Brodeur’s shutouts by the score:

That’s 21 shutouts by a score of 1-0 and 25 with the score 2-0. Most impressive.

Finally, Brodeur’s shutouts by month and by season:

So that’s 29 shutouts since the NHL changed its rules to make Brodeur less effective, including one year wiped out by injury.

Just another reason why his Hall of Fame plaque should be shaped like a trapezoid …

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Tags: Curtis Joseph, goalie, Hall of Fame, Jacques Lemaire, Lou Lamoriello, Martin Brodeur, New Jersey, New Jersey Devils, nhl, Patrick Roy, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby, Terry Sawchuk, winning goalie, Winnipeg

Greg Wyshynski | December 22, 2009

There’s a still image that stays with you during the various slo-mo replays of New York Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson’s(notes) two remarkable saves against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night: The 40-year-old netminder clutching the top of the cage with his glove hand to swing his body across the crease and rob Todd Fedoruk(notes) of a goal.

It would be an incredible save on its own; combined with his goal-line stick save on Steve Downie(notes) a split second earlier, it becomes one of the best goaltending moments of the year:

Kudos to the on-ice officials and Toronto’s video officials for getting the call correct.  

The second save is the more compelling highlight, but that stick save was of a Matrix/Neo quality of savvy confidence.

Roloson would make 24 saves in what turned out to be a 4-2 loss by the Islanders to the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning; none better than the two he made in the clip above. Miikka Kiprusoff(notes) has company in the "save of the year" competition.

Thanks to DayWalk3r for the usual outstanding YouTubage.

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Tags: Dwayne Roloson, goalie, Miikka Kiprusoff, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Todd Fedoruk, Toronto

Greg Wyshynski | December 21, 2009

Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

Preview: San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars, 8:30 p.m. EST. Look, we’re sure this game will be the bee’s knees and all, but we must use this space to talk about a must-see video sent over by Puck Buddy Ivan: The holiday greeting from Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment, featuring the San Jose Sharks’ Dany Heatley(notes), Rob Blake(notes) and Patrick Marleau(notes) conversing with "Slappy," whom you may remember from an earlier ad with Joe Thornton. (Alas, no fart jokes this time.) Comedy. Gold. Seriously, if Heatley’s "Slappy … he’s got it figured out" isn’t one of the funniest line readings in the history of holiday hockey commercials featuring ventriloquist dummies, we don’t know what is. Click the image for the video, or head over via this link.

Preview: Buffalo Sabres at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. EST. Story of the day in Toronto: Can the Leafs solve Ryan Miller(notes), who is 3-0-0 this season and has been the team’s personal tormentor for his career? Miller, by the way, told reporters in Toronto regarding his weight loss during the season: "That’s why I cut my hair – I looked like a heroin addict [at the end of the season]. I looked like I belonged in a grunge band like Alice in Chains." Yeah, but the guy from Alice in Chains … oh well, whatever, never mind.

Preview: New Jersey Devils at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m. EST. No Mark Eaton(notes) in this showdown for the Pens. Marty Brodeur is ready to face another potential Olympic teammate in Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) after crapping the bed against Roberto Luongo(notes) when the Canucks came to town.

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today’s games (like the ones in progress) on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page.

Evening Reading

• From the NHL: "Boston Bruins center Marc Savard(notes) and Philadelphia Flyers left wing Scott Hartnell(notes) are guests on the Wednesday, Dec. 23 edition of the Emmy Award-winning ‘The Price Is Right’ (11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET; 10 a.m.-11 a.m. PT) on the CBS Television Network." They’ll be presenting a Winter Classic-themed Showcase Showdown that includes "air travel and hotel accommodations, two tickets to the outdoor game" and other prizes that may or may not include Zdeno Chara(notes) personally lifting them to their seats on the Green Monster. [NHL]

• Check out what The Chief and the A2Y crowd are trying to do for a "Christmas miracle," one that’s now taken on even more charitable aspects. [A2Y]

• Mike Brophy places Sidney Crosby(notes) and Alex Ovechkin(notes) ahead of Marty Brodeur for players of the decade. Be there when Brophy celebrates the end of the next decade in 2014. [Sportsnet]

• Joe Sacco comes to the defense of David Koci(notes) after his career was disparaged by Washington Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau: "Bruce should just worry about his own players. That’s what I try to do – worry about my own guys. David goes out there and plays hard, and David’s never been suspended. For the role he plays, he’s a clean player and I don’t think he went in there intending to hurt anybody." [Denver Post]

• The Los Angeles Kings have been doing a whole lot of winning without Ryan Smyth(notes). Well, he’s back. You’re on notice, Western Conference. [LA Kings Insider]

• The beer in St. Louis is of an admittedly high quality, to the point where consumption of it is an actual pleasure to experience, no matter the quantity. In a related story, Jeff Gordon writes about the St. Louis Blues trading for Eric Staal(notes). [Dispatch]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: Ben D. is the voice of dissent on the blissful Carrie Underwood/Mike Fisher(notes) engagement story:

Nice to see Puck Daddy evolving (devolving?) into People magazine.

Carol Alt laughs at the idea of a hockey ’super-couple.’

Look, we’ll settle for nothing less than Soap Opera Digest.

Bold Prediction: Simon Gagne(notes) scores a goal for the Philadelphia Flyers for the first time since Oct. 24.

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Tags: air travel, Alex Ovechkin, Alice in Chains, Boston Bruins, Bruce Boudreau, Buffalo Sabres, Carol Alt, Carrie Underwood, CBS, Christmas, clean player, Dallas Stars, Dany Heatley, David Koci, Denver Post, Eric Staal, hockey, Jeff Gordon, Joe Sacco, Joe Thornton, Los Angeles Kings, Marc Savard, Marty Brodeur, Mike Brophy, Mike Fisher, nhl, Patrick Marleau, Philadelphia Flyers, Reading, Rob Blake, Ryan Miller, Ryan Smyth, San Jose Sharks, Scott Hartnell, Sidney Crosby, Simon Gagne, Soap Opera Digest, St. Louis, St. Louis Blues, the Emmy Award, The Price Is Right, Toronto, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, Washington Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau

Greg Wyshynski | December 21, 2009

From the Dept. of Self-Congratulatory Nonsense: For the second straight year, we’re honored to have a place on The Hockey News’s annual "100 People of Power and Influence" list.

In 2008, we were given the Mr. Irrelevant-esque No. 100, finishing behind such luminaries as a dude donating his brain to science and Maple Leafs free-agent coup Jeff Finger(notes). In 2009 … well, just look at’er: They gave us the Gretzky! Which, in Canadian media terms, is better than being No. 1 overall, right?

So No. 99, with a bullet.* At this rate, we should become the most powerful entity in hockey right around the time when the Fisher/Underwood baby’s grandchild is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame … which will have been relocated to a glass dome on the surface of Mars. Assuming, of course, that medical science can keep our brains alive in some sort of android body, preferably with kung-fu grip and lasers for eyes.

This blog doesn’t suck (or sucks less) thanks to the efforts of Sean Leahy, Dmitry Chesnokov, Ryan Lambert, Ross McKeon, Matt Romig, Scott Pianowski, Dobber on the fantasy column, Pagnotta and Spector on the chat and everyone else who has contributed, read, commented or communicated with us in the last year. Special thanks to Yahoo! Sports blog guru Mark Pesavento and Yahoo! Sports overlords Dave Morgan and Jamie Mottram for making this all happen.

Now, as has become tradition, we proceed to tear down and disparage the people ranked in front of us on the list …**

The field …

No. 98: Peter Moore, EA Sports Worldwide. First of all, your covers curse more than a voodoo priestess stuck in rush hour traffic. Pity poor Patty Kane! Second, your refusal to add "skinny, medium, fat, fat" as an option on NHL 10 and previous releases shows a complete lack of respect for old school gaming and the only combination of players than can win Poland the gold. Most of all, we can only assume your company’s success has contributed to the delinquency of a philandering golfer. For shame, sir!

No. 97: Larry Landon, PHPA director. A labor leader for minor league hockey players who is so effective that most of them earn at least three or four dollars an hour more than the drive-thru guy at Burger King (though significantly less than the one at Wendy’s; hey, when it’s real, you know that it’s real). Job consists mostly of keeping young prospects from openly weeping upon hearing they’re going to live in Wheeling, West Virginia for the foreseeable future. Is seemingly powerless to prevent his clients from being forced to wear this.

No. 96: Craig Simpson, HNIC analyst. Not for nothing, but are you [Gretzky] kidding us?

No. 95: Nick Kypreos, Sportsnet. OK, so he’s an insider that occasionally misses the mark and some people don’t dig him and he once appeared on "Arli$$". But honestly, we’re just bitter he was allowed to pose with a prop in his photograph, because we didn’t even know that was allowed. That’s it: Next year, we’re working an Imperial Walker from "Empire Strikes Back" and the Eric Staal(notes) porno bobblehead into the frame.

Ah, who are we kidding: Next year, we’re going from Gretzky’s number to Wellwood’s caloric intake …

* Condolences to John Bitove of XM Canada, who will have to explain to loved ones that he finished behind the mastermind of this nonsense.

** Obviously all in good fun. Thanks again the THN for their continued support of this silly blog and to all of those who made the cut for the list this year.

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