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Greg Wyshynski | December 21, 2009

As of earlier this month, the NHL was on a record pace for games ending in a shootout, potentially breaking 200 for the 2009-10 season. As Gus Katsaros pointed out on Fadoo, the compressed schedule for the Olympics could be a factor; but whatever it is, the increase in shootouts has led to an alarming decrease in quality offensive hockey late in games, according to the numbers.

Stats wiz Gabriel Desjardins of Behind The Net had a piece for the Wall Street Journal that showed a startling drop in scoring for the last three minutes of regulation and all of the 5-minute OT:

Initially, NHL teams didn’t take advantage of this extra point: in 2005-06, the first year of the shootout, the percentage of tie games after overtime hit a 12-year low. But 40% of the way through this season, the rate is at an all-time high, along with the percentage of games going into overtime.

This year, teams have stopped taking chances late in tie games so they can guarantee themselves the point in extra time. Even though league-wide scoring is essentially unchanged relative to the previous four seasons, the scoring rate has dropped 17% in overtime and-indicative of team strategies-44% in the last three minutes of regulation in tied games.

If that isn’t an indictment of the NHL’s current points and overtime formats, we’re not sure what is.

According to Desjardins, 27.9 percent of games are going to overtime this season, way up from 22.9 percent last season. Scoring in the last three minutes of regulation stands at 2.05 goals per 60 minutes, down big from 3.43 last season. Overtime scoring is also down well over a goal per 60 minutes, with an average of 5.44 this season to 6.59 in 2008-09.

And you thought "playing for the tie" ended when the shootout was adopted …

If you read this blog, you know our feelings on both the shootout (yuck) and the current points format (double yuck). The stats are fodder for the critics, even if taken in context they’re a bit of anomaly historically.

Everyone and their mother has a way to "fix" these systems, but lately the focus has been on motivation. Gus Katsaros on Fadoo explains in a number-crunching piece on tie games:

Aside from minor differences, the point system doesn’t really matter. It’s not about points and systems.

It’s about motivation.

Detroit Red Wings general manager, Ken Holland, proposed a change to the end-of-season tie-breaking measure from wins to regulation wins. It targeted motivation to win, not point systems.

Motivation is something Desjardins mentioned in passing on the WSJ site, because the gamble on the shootout is a safer bet than a gamble at the end of regulation or during overtime:

Teams seem to have figured out that dragging 10 games to the shootout is as good as winning five more games in regulation and can vault a team into the playoffs. Therefore, the weaker team on any given night has an incentive to first get the game to overtime, where it is guaranteed at least a point.

With the begrudging realization that the skills competition isn’t going anywhere soon, the only way to reverse these unfortunate trends is by placing more value on regulation hockey and OT. We’ve often talked about the "three-point win" for a team ahead after 60 minutes; perhaps that needs to be extended to the 4-on-4 OT as well?

It’ll be interesting to see where the trends go after the Olympic year. If we’re still talking about downgraded offensive numbers for Minutes 57-60 and the overtime next season, then the NHL needs to seriously look at revising its standings format.

One more bit of ties vs. shootouts reading. MacLean’s had a piece back in April that dealt with the psychological benefits of tie games, and it’s worth a read; as Professor Daniel Weinstock and essayist Adam Gopnik have argued that forcing winners and losers is a bad life lesson:

If you agree with the Weinstock-Gopnik thesis, as I do, it raises two concerns about the demise of the tie game in hockey. First, there is the problem of the reduced moral ontology of the sport itself. When there is always a winner, we lose the possibility of a "moral victory", where a team that should have lost rises above its natural talent, and ekes out a tie. As anyone who has every played soccer or hockey knows, the idea of a tie that is as good as a win, or even a tie that feels as good as a loss, is an essential part of the sport’s character-building dynamic.

A second, more speculative question: If these musings are accurate, what does it say about the moral standing of the playoffs, where every game has to have a winner, right up until the last game of the last series, where there remains a single team standing, the sole victor?

Who knew kissing your sister could be so academic?

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Tags: Adam, Adam Gopnik, Daniel Weinstock, Detroit Red Wings, Gabriel Desjardins, general manager, Gus Katsaros, hockey, Ken Holland, nhl, professor, soccer, the Olympic, the Olympics, the Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal

Ryan Lambert | December 21, 2009

 

Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend’s events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.

Oh boy, Christmas has come early for me again this year.

On Saturday night, Johnny Boychuk(notes) knocked the ever-living crap out of Matt Stajan(notes), on his 26th birthday no less and soooooo: It’s another hit legality debate! Yayyyyyy!

Stajan was obviously cut open, but he was stitched up and returned to the game within a few minutes. No harm, no foul … except on Alexei Ponikarovsky(notes), who picked up a penalty for roughing on the ensuing dust-up.

Obviously this play was like the Batsignal for all the clowns who (a) don’t understand hockey and (b) want this to become a gallant and honorable sport in which no one is ever put in a position where they could be injured.

So here comes the hilarious part, in which, thanks to of the amount of coverage this "headshots" debate has gotten this year, those that would have these hits outlawed and the offending players pilloried have now taken a new approach: Act like you don’t know what you think.

(Coming Up: Detroit’s done with the Hossa stuff; Tomas Fleischmann(notes) is as good as Alex Semin, while Ryan Kesler(notes) is no Geno Malkin; the Habs meet the Basterds; the Wild go shopping; and Alex Ovechkin(notes) adds another beauty to the highlight reel.)

"Is This the Type of Hit the NHL Should Be Eliminating?" screams the headline on Adam Gretz’s FanHouse post from Sunday morning. "Boychuk check on Stajan expected to be reviewed," says Mike Zeiserberg’s article for Sun Media.

The problem is, of course, that the League is unlikely to review the hit since no one was hurt, no penalties were assessed and there’s absolutely nothing to review. Both of these articles — which go so far out of their way to say that they of course do not advocate that hitting be taken out of the game so as to convince you that the idiotic things they say next aren’t that idiotic — would have you believe differently.

Zeiserberg’s article ever so generously concedes that Stajan had his head down and the hit wasn’t late. "After that, well, the jury is out."

Out on what, exactly? Boychuk’s elbow was down and only hit Stajan’s head because Stajan’s head, again, was down at elbow level. So what’s the problem? Was Boychuk supposed to let Stajan fly past him to create a 2-on-none situation for Tuukka Rask(notes)?

Well, Wilson and Stajan thought Boychuk might have left his feet (they’re wrong, of course), so there’s all the evidence you need that the League should investigate Boychuk for his obviously premeditated attack on poor, defenseless little Matty Stajan, who probably saw the hit coming but took it anyway to spring Phil Kessel(notes) in alone on Rask. Any contact Boychuk made with Stajan’s head is entirely Stajan’s fault.

The best part, though, is that because Gretz needed to reinforce an asinine point, he did what everyone who has an indefensible stance eventually does: Resort to alarmism and the use of worst-case scenarios to illustrate his weak point. To wit: "…And this past week’s bombshell that former player Reggie Fleming had suffered significant brain damage at the time of his death … is only going to keep that debate going full steam ahead."

See guys, we can’t let these hits be legal because Matt Stajan is going to DIE some day!

Kudos. That’s audacity.

But Gretz asks, "At the risk being called a ‘granola cruncher’ by Mike Milbury for ‘wussifying the game,’ is this the type of hit the NHL should be working to avoid?"

Yes, of course it is Adam. Clean, open-ice hits need to result in penalties, suspensions and hearings before an international tribunal. That makes sense.

Claude Julien had the best take on the matter in his postgame presser:

"We are going to have to be careful about making accusations to guys who make open ice hits. We are going to have to be careful how we look at those. If every open ice hit is going to (ignite controversy), we might as well play no contact hockey."

I get the feeling some people would be cool with that.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: Jonas Hiller(notes) probably wishes the League would go back to making division opponents eight times a year since his numbers against Phoenix are, well, ridiculous. He’s 8-0-2 in his career against the Coyotes with a 1.67/.953 line in their last three games.

Atlanta Thrashers: Kari Lehtonen(notes) is actually skating again. This weekend was the first time he’d done so since having two back surgeries in the offseason.

Boston Bruins: Apart from the one big hit, Boston was just awful on Saturday in Toronto. Part of that was injuries (Andrew Ference(notes) played over 28 minutes!) but most of it was a regular garden-variety crap game.

Buffalo Sabres: Ryan Miller(notes) on Olympic expectations, Vezina nominations and generally being the best goalie on the planet right now: "C’mon," he said, last week, rolling his eyes. "It’s like, 25 games into the season."

Calgary Flames: Know who had a great game for the first time this month on Saturday? Jarome Iginla(notes). Know who didn’t have a great game? Everyone else.

Carolina Hurricanes: While Bryan Rodney getting re-assigned to Albany is pretty much only news by the strictest of definitions; that at least means it’s likely either Tim Gleason(notes) or Niclas Wallin(notes) are good to go against the Rangers tonight. It’s more likely to be Gleason, though, so that’s something.

Chicago Blackhawks: Patrick Kane(notes) was left to pick up equipment after practice on Saturday because he lost in the team’s practice shootout. If I were Danny Bylsma, I’d be drafting a lawsuit against the Blackhawks as we speak.

Colorado Avalanche: No one sentence I read this week has made me laugh more than Jibblescribbits saying, "The Avs recently took their yearly trip to the Children’s Hospital in order to torment some sick little kids."

Columbus Blue Jackets: The Blue Jackets’ new plan for who pulls goaltending duty on a given night? "You win and you’re in." No joke. So what happens if they keep losing? (By the way, good job Puck Rakers for dumping the "you have to register to read" policy from last week.)

Dallas Stars: Play of the game on Saturday wasn’t one of Karlis Skrastins’(notes) two goals, or some kind of big stop by Marty Turco(notes). It was, instead, a blocked shot by Brenden Morrow(notes) on the PK inside of a minute to go. What you choose to believe about a team whose best play was a blocked shot… On a lazy slashing penalty… That happened on the opposite end of the ice from its own goal… By your star player… While up a goal on Detroit… Inside of two minutes left… That’s up to you.

Detroit Red Wings: Sorry, everyone in Chicago, the Red Wings won’t indulge your "You guys hate Hossa, right?" questions.

Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers have, not surprisingly, been the Grinch to all Edmonton fans’ Christmas season. "Speaking of Deslauriers, he’s gone from sitting for months between starts last season to making 111 straight appearances with Nikolai Khabibulin(notes) waiting for Santa to deliver a new spine. Anybody have a plan?" Outstanding.

Florida Panthers: Well Detroit fans, looks like I almost owe you an apology: it’s actually Florida that has the worst fans in the league.

Los Angeles Kings: The Kings are about to sign Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds overage defenseman Jacob Muzzin, who had NHL scouts lined up around the block earlier this season. Great get for the Kings here.

Minnesota Wild: The best thing about all the Wild’s equipment burning up was that Nick Schultz(notes) went into a Play it Again Sports in Ottawa and bought a new set of shoulder pads. That rules.

Montreal Canadiens: Snow on the East Coast kept the Habs in Long Island a bit longer than they wanted. But they got to watch "Inglourious Basterds," which is my favorite movie of the year so far, so it wasn’t all bad.

Nashville Predators: After missing Saturday’s game against the Flames, Jason Arnott(notes) is still questionable for tomorrow’s game in Vancouver. If he doesn’t go then, he’s going to play on Boxing Day for sure.

New Jersey Devils: Rod Pelley(notes) scored Saturday. Kind of a big deal. It was his first NHL goal since Nov. 23, 2007. Another guy that scored in that game: Dean McAmmond(notes). Twice.

New York Islanders: Official attendance on the Island because of the snow: Just 6,000. And, as Chris Botta points out, more than half of them were supporting Les Habitants.

New York Rangers: Hey, Matt Gilroy(notes) got recalled in a hurry. I wonder who the slowest guy on the Hurricanes is, and if he’s going to blow Gilroy’s doors off en route to an overtime winner tonight. Oh, here’s some bad news: Wade Redden(notes) is probably going to play tonight. 

Ottawa Senators: Big 22-save performance by Brodeur in a 4-1 win by the.. Senators? Oh, Mike Brodeur(notes). Okay I get it now.

Philadelphia Flyers: "This is about making the playoffs. This is about the Philadelphia Flyers playing a brand of hockey that you can be proud of. And I don’t know how anyone could possibly be proud after the first, two periods. It’s completely unacceptable." Fun quiz: Which game is Peter Laviolette talking about?

Phoenix Coyotes: Watch out for Phoenix in the next few weeks. Three points out of a tie for first in the Pacific, which crazily puts it just seventh in the West, but has the benefit of playing six of its next seven games in Glendale. The Coyotes are 12-5-0 there this year.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Brooks Orpik(notes) is not cool with the NHL changing the names of its various trophies (nor should he be). Sid Crosby on the other hand? "I don’t think you can go wrong either way, to be honest with you. If they are to rename them, you’re talking about trophies being named after Mario and Gretzky. How can you argue with that? They are, arguably, the best players ever to play." Weak, Sid. Weak. He’d change his tune if his landlord wasn’t one of the guys that’d be on the new trophies.

San Jose Sharks: How many times has Jamie McGinn(notes) been recalled this season? A hundred? Isn’t THIS circumventing the salary cap (or at least operating in violation of its spirit) just as much as some stupidly long-term contract?

St. Louis Blues: Larry Pleau’s working the phones like an operator on the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, but the Blues are probably not going to make a trade any time soon.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Lukas Krajicek(notes) is done with the Lightning for sure. Says GM Brian Lawton: He "won’t be on re-entry (waivers) under any circumstances." Cold-blooded.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Jonas Gustavsson(notes) wasn’t tested much by a punchless Bruins side, but a first NHL shutout is a first NHL shutout, isn’t it? Good work by the kid.

Vancouver Canucks: Know who the Vancouver media loves is Ryan Kesler. You can tell because they write sentences like this in reference to Kesler potentially being one of the best second-line centers in the league: "After Friday’s game, Sidney Crosby(notes) and Evgeni Malkin(notes) — easily hockey’s best one-two punch at centre — had combined for 77 points. Henrik Sedin(notes) and Kesler had 75." Of course Malkin missed six games and Crosby one. And Ryan Kesler also is not anywhere in the same stratosphere as either Crosby or Malkin. That too.

Washington Capitals: Would you believe Tomas Fleischmann has as many goals as Alex Semin? Because it’s true. And, unlike Ryan "Malkin" Kesler, he’s actually played fewer games than Semin.

Play of the Weekend

This is why Alex Ovechkin is Alex Ovechkin.

Great use of speed and ability to recognize opportunities, and then he buries a rebound that’s still sizzling from some ridiculous angle on his off wing. This kid’s okay.

Gold Star Award

Andrei Markov(notes) played his first game since Oct. 1 on Saturday. And scored twice. That’s pretty awesome. So awesome, in fact, that I will ignore that the goals came against the Islanders.

Minus of the Weekend

Brent Sutter, what are you doin’ to me, dogsie?

The Flames have lost three of their last four and have just three wins in December. Teams they’ve beaten: San Jose, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Teams to which they’ve lost: Phoenix, L.A., Minnesota (in OT), Colorado, St. Louis, Nashville. Showing up to play well even against the crap teams? That’d be nice.

Perfect HFBoards trade proposal of the week

There are a lot of ways you can win PHFBTPOTW (I gotta get a better acronym), and calling Lubomir Visnovsky(notes) a "world-class defender" sure is one of them. Well done to you, user "Smooth Skating!"

To EDM:

Andy Sutton(notes)

Brendan Witt(notes)

To NYI:

Shawn Horcoff(notes)

Lubomir Visnovsky

New york gets a world class defender in Visnovsky and a veteran center that can take take some of the pressure off the kids.

Signoff

Don’t call it that.

Ryan Lambert publishes hockey awesomeness pretty much every day over at The Two-Line Pass. Check it out, why don’t you? Or you can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter if you so desire.

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Tags: Adam, Adam Gretz, Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Andrei Markov, Andrew Ference, Atlanta, Atlanta Thrashers, back surgeries, Boston, Boston Bruins, Boxing Day, Brent Sutter, Brian Lawton, Brooks Orpik, Bryan Rodney, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago, Chicago Blackhawks, Children's Hospital, Chris Botta, Christmas, Claude Julien, Colorado, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Danny Bylsma, Dean McAmmond, Detroit, Detroit Red Wings, East Coast, Edmonton, Edmonton Oilers, Evgeni Malkin, Florida, Florida Panthers, Geno Malkin, goalie, head, Henrik Sedin, hockey, Inglourious Basterds, Jacob Muzzin, Jamie McGinn, Jarome Iginla, Jason Arnott, Johnny Boychuk, Jonas Gustavsson, Jonas Hiller, Kari Lehtonen, Karlis Skrastins, Larry Pleau, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Kings, Lukas Krajicek, Marie Greyhounds, Marty Turco, Matt Gilroy, Matt Stajan, Matty Stajan, media loves, Mike Brodeur, Mike Milbury, Mike Zeiserberg, Minnesota, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, nhl, Nick Schultz, Niclas Wallin, Nikolai Khabibulin, Olympic, Ottawa, Ottawa Senators, Patrick Kane, Peter Laviolette, Phil Kessel, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, player, Reggie Fleming, Rod Pelley, Ryan "Malkin" Kesler, Ryan Kesler, Ryan Lambert, Ryan Miller, San Jose, San Jose Sharks, Sid Crosby, Sidney Crosby, St. Louis, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, The Kings, Tim Gleason, Tomas Fleischmann, Toronto, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tuukka Rask, Twitter, Vancouver, Vancouver Canucks, Wade Redden, Washington Capitals, Wilson

Sean Leahy | December 15, 2009

Here are your Puck Headlines: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

-Don Cherry responds to Dr. Charles Tator’s criticism that he is a "negative influence" in the battle against head shots: “I don’t give a [expletive] about him, I don’t give a [expletive] about him.” [Globe & Mail with NSFW audio]

-William Houston reports that CBC head Scott Moore will take to the radio to calm things down and there’s a chance we’ll see a Cherry apology at some point. [Truth & Rumours]

-Tony wants to know if you think the NHL should retire Mario Lemieux’s No. 66 league-wide next to Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99. [The Confluence] 

-If the Montreal Canadiens had scored during the extra time they received during a clock malfunction at Bell Centre last night, it would have been a mess. Commence conspiracy theories! [Bangin' Panger]

-Ray Bourque talked about the upcoming Winter Classic at Fenway Park in anticipation of this Friday’s "First Skate" featuring Bruins legends. [NESN]

-It’s beginning to look a lot like a hockey rink … [NHL.com]

-Very powerful story of 15-year old midget player in Canada who was paralyzed after a hit last month and his emotional fight to walk again. [Montreal Gazette]

-What a tease. Tonight’s ceremony honoring Hall of Famer Brett Hull at Scottrade Center will be broadcast on Fox Sports Midwest, but the Blues-Flames game following it won’t be. [Blues]

-Boo VERSUS exclusivity! [Frozen Notes]

-Brian Burke tells Pierre LeBrun that the USA Olympic roster is down to "…six guys in play for the last three spots on the team." [ESPN]

-Jonathan Willis talks Team USA goaltending. [The Score]

-Elliotte Friedman talks expansion, referees and more in his latest "30 Thoughts". [CBC]

-When the New Jersey Devils break out their old red and green jerseys on March 17 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the mask Martin Brodeur(notes) will wear that night will be a replica of the one he wore in his first season in the NHL. [Fire & Ice]

-Carolina has announced that Aaron Ward(notes) has cleared waivers, but goaltender Michael Leighton(notes) has been claimed by Philadelphia. The Boston Bruins now have only a few days to acquire Ty Conklin(notes) thereby ensuring his appearance in the Winter Classic. Your move Chiarelli. [Hurricanes Twitter]

-10 annoying people to sit near at a hockey game. [View From My Seats]

-If you thought Rick DiPietro’s(notes) injury history was lengthy, he’s got nothing on Flyers defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen(notes) who’ll miss the next 3-4 weeks with a knee sprain. [Broadstreet Hockey]

-Jason Spezza(notes) is undergoing tests today to determine the significance of a knee injury he suffered last night against Toronto. [TSN]

-Senators head coach Cory Clouston said the injury could keep the centerman out up to two months. [Ottawa Citizen]

-Adam Proteau places the blame for the woes of the New York Rangers at Glen Sather. In other news, Derek Boogaard(notes) is a large individual. [THN]

-With the Capitals loaning Michael Nylander(notes) to Grand Rapids of the AHL and removing his $4.875 cap hit, here’s a Christmas carol in his honor. [Fight for Old DC]

-Talking with Carolina’s new NHLPA rep, Erik Cole(notes). [Canes Country]

-Looking at options for Edmonton if Nikolai Khabibulin’s(notes) injury is long-term. [Copper & Blue]

-Finally, if the Toronto Raptors are looking for a long-range threat, they ought to take a chance on Mike Komisarek(notes):

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Tags: Aaron Ward, Adam, Adam Proteau, Bell Centre, Boston Bruins, Brett Hull, Brian Burke, Canada, CBC head, Charles Tator, Christmas, Cory Clouston, Derek Boogaard, Don Cherry, Edmonton, Erik Cole, Fenway Park, Glen Sather, Grand Rapids, Hall of Famer, head coach, hockey, Jason Spezza, Jonathan Willis, mainstream hockey media, Mario Lemieux, Martin Brodeur, Michael Leighton, Michael Nylander, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Gazette, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, nhl, Nikolai Khabibulin, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Olympic, Ottawa, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia, Pierre LeBrun, Pittsburgh Penguins, player, Ray Bourque, Rick DiPietro, Scott Moore, Scottrade Center, Senators head coach, The Confluence, Toronto Raptors, Ty Conklin, United States, USD, Wayne Gretzky, William Houston

Greg Wyshynski | November 30, 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: Calgary Flames at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m. EST. The Flames have just one regulation loss in 13 road games this season, while the Predators are on an 8-1-0 roll at home. But the X-factor here could be Calgary’s peculiar dominance over the Predators at [Name Pending] Arena, winning three of the last four there and averaging five goals per victory. It’s Pekka Rinne(notes) vs. Miikka "Dribbles" Kiprusoff.

Preview: Buffalo Sabres at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. EST. Your Versus game of the night (don’t they know the Leafs play in Canada?). From Sabre Noise: "The magic number the Sabres have to continue thinking about tonight is 6.  Six times in a row they have been victorious in Toronto, Six times they have beaten the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Only six times the Leafs have won this year.  Sounds like it could be a six goal night from the way I am seeing it!"

Plus, they play with six men on the ice, have six retired numbers (besides Gretzky) and currently don’t have a player who wears No. 6! This is like an awful Jim Carrey movie come to life! The one with the numbers, not "Yes Man."

Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers, 7 p.m. EST. There’s an assumption that the frustrated Rangers are out for blood in this game, after getting embarrassed by the Pens over the weekend and seeing Matt Cooke’(notes) earn a two-game suspension for taking liberties with Double-A. Don’t let us down, various goons and pests of Madison Square Garden.

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today’s games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page.

Evening Reading

• Puck Buddy Ruthe sent over this audio clip: "Zenon Konopka went on the Fisher and Boy morning radio show on 97X and had them crank call teammate Stephane Veilleux(notes). Listen to that here, and notice how quickly Veilleux tries to convince the crank callers not to report Konopka to the Lightning concerning the made-up incident about which they are talking." Quality stuff; gotta love when he puts over Zenon Konopka(notes) as being as big as "Marty and Vinny." [TampaBay.com .mp3]

• Minnesota Wild official Web site contributor Todd Smith presents reasons why Wild fans hate various NHL teams: "The Sedin twins are creepy and play the game like rod-hockey figures." [Wild]

• Hey, here’s a handy way for Patrice Bergeron(notes) not to keep getting injured: Don’t play him on the PK. [CSNNE]

• The Penguins’ Stanley Cup plaque was unveiled at NHL HQ. [NHL]

• Adam Gretz explores the Jacques Lemaire Effect, in which a bald, tanned gentlemen with an affinity for chewing gum comes to your team and makes their defense better. [FanHouse]

• George Parros(notes) starts a clothing line for charity. All this means for us is the potential for a Parros/Avery throwdown sometime during Fashion Week. Who takes it? Whose couture reigns supreme?! [ESPN]

• Jon Quick(notes) is playing well in his spiffy new pads. [Kings Insider]

• Good to see the NCAA is rife with awful whistle-related blown calls, too. [WCHB]

• Ten players who need to shoot the puck more. No. 10 is sort of a weird choice, though, considering he’ll be shot with more pain killers than shooting pucks this season. Ovechkin, sadly, didn’t make the list. [Die By The Blade]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: Lambert managed to cheese off a few people with What We Learned this morning (and we’ve corrected a goof about the Habs he made — thanks to those who alerted us to it). Specifically, his comments about Ken Holland "letting Marian Hossa walk away" didn’t sit well with Detroit Red Wings fans. Mandingo’s rant on the matter deserves another platform: 

There are so many things wrong with this, I wouldn’t even know where to begin correcting it.

Technically, the words form sentences – which in turn form a paragraph – but literallly nothing in this is factually correct, including the Wings’ position in the Western Conference standings.

It’s actually pretty impressive. It’s not easy to be this wrong. You really have to work at it. It takes a lot of determination and sheer will. So kudos on that, I guess.

Whoa.

Bold Prediction: Since the Thrashers’ goaltending is getting some national recognition today, Johan Hedberg(notes) will naturally be pulled against the Panthers’ onslaught.

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Tags: Adam, Adam Gretz, Avery, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary, Calgary Flames, Canada, Detroit Red Wings, Fisher, George Parros, Jim Carrey, Johan Hedberg, Jon Quick, Madison Square Garden, Marian Hossa, Minnesota Wild, mp3, Nashville Predators, NCAA, New York Rangers, nhl, NHL HQ, official Web site contributor Todd Smith presents, Pain, Patrice Bergeron, Pekka Rinne, Pittsburgh Penguins, player, Reading, Sabre, Stanley Cup, Stephane Veilleux, The Panthers, Todd Smith, Toronto, Toronto Maple Leafs

Greg Wyshynski | November 30, 2009

Here are your Puck Headlines: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby(notes), New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur(notes) and Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Niklas Hagman(notes) have been named the NHL ‘Three Stars’ for the week ending Nov. 29. [NHL]

• The John Stevens Watch is on for the Philadelphia Flyers, as GM Paul Holmgren isn’t pleased with the team’s start. We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: Michel Therrien/Dan Bylsma Part Deux. It’s just a matter of who "the Bylsma" will be for Philly. [Broad Street Bull and Broad Street Hockey]

• Cup or bust for Vancouver Canucks Coach Alain Vigneault? [Faceoff]

• Adam Proteau defends the shootout because he isn’t, ahem, very fond of the alternative: "Ties suck. They always have sucked and they always will suck. If thinking about their utter pointlessness as an entertainment option didn’t raise my blood pressure to dangerous levels, I’d conjure up many more ways to associate them with the word ‘’uck.’" Comedy aside, the key phrase: "entertainment option." Which is what the shootout is, of course: A sideshow rather than an equitable and effective way to determine the winner of a professional team game. Hence the outrage. [The Hockey News]

• Rich Peverley(notes): The man, the myth, the Internet meme. [Bird Watchers Anonymous]

• Find of the day by George Malik, who has a roughly translated article from a Swedish newspaper about Johan Franzen(notes), who overcome crippling stage fright to become an NHL standout: "I’ve always been shy and the first season here, I was almost afraid to score. Then I knew I would be interviewed afterward. It was almost as if I shot at the post instead, but only almost." Rare, candid stuff that you can’t typically find in North American coverage. [Snapshots]

• Ron Wilson on what he expects from Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek(notes) upon his return to the lineup: "Move the puck a bit faster than he was before and not get over-amped in some situations … be physical, but don’t go out of your way looking for it." So basically "don’t be Mike Komisarek" then? Got it. [CBC Sports]

• Brian Burke vs. the NHL when it comes to cap space as a commodity. [Hockey or Die]

• It’s Burke’s one-year anniversary as the grand poobah of the Leafs, and Down Goes Brown celebrates in style with a hilarious timeline: "Burke’s son Brendan announces that he is gay, with his father’s full support. Leaf fans are thrilled, recognizing this as the only chance they’ll ever have to see Brian Burke take part in a parade." [DGB]

• GM Jim Rutherford would like the Carolina Hurricanes to be younger and faster. Say, you know when it may have been a good time to address that philosophy? Hint: Not on Nov. 30. [Spector]

• Mirtle checks the standings from last year to this year, finding rather lofty points decreases for both the Detroit Red Wings (minus-20) and the Hurricanes (minus-50) based on projections. [From The Rink]

• The New Jersey Devils have managed to play well despite some significant injuries, as David Clarkson(notes) went down with a broken ankle over the weekend. Good news: Jay Pandolfo(notes) and Johnny Oduya(notes) are both inching back to the lineup. [Star Ledger]

• Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray on Dany Heatley(notes): "We’ve moved on, pretty much." In relationship code, he’s open to dating again but still occasionally clutches that giant stuffed panda Dany won at the carnival, to remember the good times. [Sun Media]

• Larry Brooks knows his way around a New York sports analogy, in a column asking for more out of New York Rangers Coach John Tortorella: "Tortorella’s decision to start Lundqvist in Tampa on Friday while saving Valiquette for the following night’s match in Pittsburgh was tantamount to Joe Girardi giving CC Sabathia the ball in Florida for an interleague game against the Marlins while saving Chad Gaudin for the following day’s opener of a series at Fenway." [NY Post]

• Reading why Marian Gaborik(notes) will win the Hart almost makes us want to pay for this article. Almost. [ESPN]

• Thanks to everyone who sent this in over the weekend. We hope the three or four people who made time for Thrashers/Flyers in the hopes of seeing Mike Knuble(notes) have penned strongly worded letters of complaint to management. [Yahoo! Fail!]

• An interesting look at the NHL as the crossroads of offensive stardom and physical play. [Hockey Insight]

• A look at Douglas Murray(notes), "the most physical defenseman San Jose has had since Bryan Marchment." Only less harpoon-y. [Fear The Fin]

• Interesting look at the New York Islanders‘ rebuild, and how to continue it or speed it up. [Lighthouse Hockey]

• In praise of Ryan Miller(notes), who will be playing in front of his US Olympic brain trust against the Leafs tonight. [Die By The Blade]

• The reason Colin Campbell can never get involved in suspensions during Panthers games Gregory Campbell(notes) is expected back for the Florida Panthers. [Sun Sentinel]

• Max Talbot(notes) blogs about his acting prowess, and drops the news that he filmed a new commercial with Steelers WR Hines Ward. "But I warn you right now not to expect a work of art." That’s for the heads-up, Ms. Streep. [Pensburgh]

• Alex Goligoski(notes) out, Jay McKee(notes) in for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Rangers this evening. [Post-Gazette]

• Finally, this is a few days moldy, but here’s a sneak at the Chicago Blackhawks‘ new third jerseys, which once again beg the question: Why does the team with one of the best sweaters in pro sports need a third jersey? Ever?

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Ryan Lambert | November 13, 2009

Hockey 101 is a weekly feature on U.S. Division I college hockey. Stick around and you just might learn a thing or two.

College hockey is full of traditions that NHL hockey, by virtue of the business of the game, simply cannot carry on. It’s difficult to keep up traditions when only a small percentage of a building has fans that attend every game.

But college hockey doesn’t have that problem. There are always going to be a large number of season ticket holders and, since most schools grant students free admission, there are traditions that will always be upheld. Half the fun of going to college hockey games, for students at least (and apart from the surreptitious drinking, obviously), is following these traditions.

Because there are so many schools with such varied histories, not everyone does things the same way. Some go a little heavier on the vulgarity (which isn’t my cup of tea), some are more clever, some are more organized, some less so.

Here are five awesome college hockey traditions …

1. The "Sieve!" chant.

Goalies don’t like to give up goals as a general rule. They also don’t like it when, immediately after doing so, a couple thousand people point at them and remind them that they, in fact, did give up a goal.

A sieve, for those of you that don’t know, is a pan with a screen on the bottom that separates large objects from sand or other finer material. To call a goalie a sieve is to imply that he, too, is full of holes. Here’s the cheer in action at Wisconsin.

Some schools also like to punctuate it with "It’s all your fault." But the best version is clearly at Michigan’s Yost Ice Arena, where students will chant, ""Hey, (goalie’s name)! You’re not a goalie, you’re a sieve! You’re not a sieve, you’re a funnel! You’re not a funnel, you’re a vacuum! You’re not a vacuum, you’re a Black Hole! You’re not a Black Hole, you just suck! You just suck! You just suck! You just suck!"

If that happened in the NHL, Chris Osgood(notes) might actually cry.

2. Throwing a fish on the ice.

Okay, so this is only done at one school all the time, and, to my knowledge, just two total, but it’s definitely cooler than throwing an octopus on the ice. Why? Because these fish are huge.

And, unlike Detroit’s octopus tradition, which had some amount of symbolism to it, a fish was chosen to be thrown on the ice at the Cornell/Harvard game in the early 1970s because, well, it was gross. This was done in retaliation for Harvard fans throwing a frozen chicken on the ice after a Harvard goal the year prior.

UNH is the only one that throws a fish at every home game immediately after the Wildcats score their first goal. A fraternity picks up the giant fish (donated by a local shop) early on gameday and let it sit out, without ice or anything, until game time. It can get pretty ripe if it takes UNH awhile to score.

3. Organized insults.

This part sort of folds into the sieve section, but the lengths to which one team’s supporters will go to insult another are outstanding.

Boston University’s student section will, when UNH or Maine come to town, chant, "The wheels on your house go ’round and ’round, ’round and ’round, ’round and ’round. The wheels on your house go ’round and ’round cuz you’re white trash."

Back in the old days, many schools had press boxes with really loud phones, which would ring occasionally when another place wanted a score update. That would prompt many student sections to pick someone (a ref, an opposing player, etc.) and say, "Hey (person), your mom’s calling. She says you suck."

Some player-specific ones are great, too. Back when Johnny Pohl(notes) played for Minnesota… well, let’s just say the word "smoker" was occasionally thrown around at other WCHA rinks.

Pretty much the be-all, end-all of organized near-hooliganism is Cornell’s Lynah Rink, where the "Faithful" have gotten their insults so fine-tuned that they actually have a website (some language borderline NSFW) to help initiate new fans.

4. Regular-season tournaments.

What better way to distract yourself from what would otherwise be a dull out-of-conference game than by adding the drama of a trophy presentation to the end? Imagine how much more you’d enjoy that Wild/Lightning game if it ended with someone getting a nice, shiny piece of hardware out of it.

Plus, those tournaments, like October’s IceBreaker and December’s Denver Cup are always fun tourneys to which to look forward because they typically feature an excellent team or two and signify something. The IceBreaker means college hockey season is finally here again, and the Denver Cup (along with about 28 other holiday tournaments) mean that the three-week winter break is over and the second half of the season is underway.

And then there’s the Beanpot, an awful tournament I hate, every February. It means that the season is entering the home stretch and we have to watch three boring hockey games before BC and BU play in the final. Every. Single. Year.

5. Bands.

Pep bands are always going to be a part of college sports culture, but when have you ever been to a hockey game and had an entire side of the rink start doing the freaking Time Warp besides Wisconsin? Where else besides North Dakota are you going to have to watch out for a marching band during intermission? Where else besides BU is a school band going to so blatantly promote alcohol use by minors?

Pop quiz

In which I ask a blogger for a noteworthy team five questions. This week’s guest is Denver Pioneer blogger DG Goddard from Let’s Go DU.

Denver obviously has a lot of NHL draft picks, but who is the best undrafted player on the team and why? 

So far this season it’s been Junior Kyle Ostrow by a wide margin.  He has 4 goals and one assist in eight games.  He has great hands, skills and quickness.  At 5′ 8" and 185 lbs. he’s similar in stature to Martin St. Louis(notes). 

Which was more of a fluke, struggling against Vermont (going 1-1 and allowing 10 goals) or two shutouts in a row at Minnesota?

Considering the preseason hype, the Vermont loss was a wakeup call.  DU was hit by the flu bug and really struggled in the second games against both Vermont & Ohio State.  Denver has had really good success against both Minnesota and Wisconsin in recent seasons.  Both teams really seem to struggle against DU’s team speed, especially on the Olympic sheets in Minneapolis and Madison. 

How badly could the loss of Marc Cheverie have hurt the Pios? 

(Author’s note: Cheverie could be back next week against North Dakota.)

It’s a pretty devastating injury to be cut by a skate and requiring 25+ stitches.  Chevy has huge upside potential including a real shot at becoming an NHL goaltender.  At 6-3 and 180 lbs. he’s a very intimidating presence in the nets.  His rebound control is excellent and he is really an intelligent player.  An injury like this gives backup goaltender Adam Murray a real shot to develop ahead of schedule.  So Chevy’s short term loss is Murray’s opportunity.

What does Joe Colborne bring to a team that casual observers might not notice? 

Like all great players, Colborne has two gears.  When DU is behind or there is a minute left in the game, Colborne really asserts himself.  He did it repeatedly last year and he’s shown the trait early this season. 

Coming into the season, were your expectations for the team the same as the national media’s and have those expectations changed at all given the result of the first eight games?

Everybody gets caught up in the hype.  Some might say that those closest to the team, the players, coaches and local media were the biggest offenders.  When an NCAA team has five players that could be starters in the AHL (Wiercioch, Colborne, Rakhshani, Ruegsegger & Cheverie) you have to be confident.  The early injuries have tempered expectations a little, but there are enough flashes of brilliance to remain optimistic.  DU’s power play and penalty kill look as good as ever, Cheverie looks even better than last year and the three Freshman defenseman (Donovan, Wrenn & Phillips) are as good a trio as you’ll find anywhere in college hockey.

Extra credit

The rumors of Jordan Schroeder leaving school for the Vancouver Canucks over winter break have been refuted by Schroeder himself. [This is the WCHA...]

Boston University is going to be without Nick Bonino, Alex Chiasson, Eric Gryba and David Warsofsky in this weekend’s series with upstart Merrimack College. [Warrior Rink Rat]

Red Berenson was a bit unhappy with Michigan’s pitiful performance against Miami. "I’m embarrassed," Berenson said. "We played like a bunch of spoiled brats, and we’ve gotta suck it up." Yikes. [AnnArbor.com]

St. Cloud State leading scorer Garrett Roe was be suspended for violating team rules and will sit out his team’s game with North Dakota on Friday night. [UND Hockey]

Minnesota Duluth’s student section got into a bit of trouble this week. [Duluth News Tribune]

You know things are bad in New Hampshire when they’re worried about playing UMass. [Seacoast Online]

Hey USCHO, isn’t it a little early to be figuring out who would go where if the NCAA tournament started today? [USCHO]

Ryan Lambert and writes about college hockey weekly here at Puck Daddy. You can e-mail him here or follow him on Twitter.

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Greg Wyshynski | November 12, 2009

Here are your Puck Headlines: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• Remember: Rumors Chat today at 1 p.m. Hee-ya!

• Forbes released its list of NHL franchise values with the usual shock and awe. The Toronto Maple Leafs ($470 million), New York Rangers ($416 mil.), Montreal Canadiens ($339 mil.) and Detroit Red Wings ($337 mil.) top the list; the Florida Panthers ($159 mil.), Nashville Predators ($156 mil.), New York Islanders ($149 mil.), Atlanta Thrashers ($143 mil.) and Phoenix Coyotes ($138 mil.) are the least valuable. [Y Sports and Forbes and CBC Sports]

• Just as interesting: Forbes’s percentage change from year-to-year for NHL franchise values. Of the 14 teams that lost value since the last list, 13 of them missed the playoffs and eight of them are worth less than $200 million. Oh, and the Islanders brought in $62 million in revenue last season, which is either an argument for a new arena or that the New York market is too oversaturated. [Forbes]

• Steve Ovadia’s take on the Forbes list: Contraction. [Puck Update]

• William Houston on the Mike Danton interview that’s the talk of the hockey world in Canada today. In the U.S.? We get a former beauty queen going nuts on Larry King. Life is unfair. [Truth & Rumours and more from the Toronto Star]

• Brian Burke promised "testosterone." The media wonders if the Leafs have gone soft. Is Toronto’s 2009-10 season DVD going to be sponsored by Levitra? [Sun Media]

• The plight of the California hockey fan. Not nearly as sad as the plight of the Wyoming surfer. [Fools and Sages, and worth your time]

• Ray Emery(notes) makes his triumphant return to Ottawa, and his former teammates have his back and blame "outside forces" for trying to run Ray out of town as a Sens goalie. [Sun Media]

• Hey, guess who doesn’t suck anymore? Cristobal Huet(notes). [Between The Circles]

• Nice job by Lindsay Kramer on an underreported story: Brad Lukowich(notes), property of the Vancouver Canucks, playing with the Dallas Stars‘ AHL affiliate. [NHL]

• Milan Lucic(notes) is back skating with the Boston Bruins for the first time since breaking his finger. Wait, why couldn’t he skate with a broken finger? Wuss. [Bruins Blog]

• Adam Proteau’s column on depression among hockey players is a reminder that these guys aren’t superhuman. [THN]

• More from Scott Niedermayer(notes) on his potential retirement after this season and potential return to the Devils this season. [Fire & Ice]

• Dreger: "Marty Turco, Tim Thomas(notes), Dominic Moore(notes) and Steve Montador(notes) appointed to study and rewrite PA constitution." Crayons optional. [TSN]

• It’s official: Peter Forsberg(notes) is Swedish for "Favre-like tease." [Courier Post]

• Reactions on Clarke MacArthur’s(notes) hit on Liam Reddox(notes) from FanHouse and Die By The Blade, which comes to the Buffalo Sabres player’s defense.

• Jim Kelley is pretty darn happy the NHL GMs have decided to take action against hits to the head: "Protecting people is something civilized people have tried to do dating back to a time before even the National Hockey League was born." [Sportsnet]

• Kudos to our buddy Hex for having the comedic courage to make this obvious and hilarious head shots joke. [Melt Your Face Off]

• The GMs heard about goalie equipment restrictions this week, too: "The ability to have unified measurements of various body parts for every goalie in the NHL is what finally moved the much-discussed plan of height-specific leg pads from the discussion stage to the action stage. In fact, the plan will be in place for the start of next season." [NHL]

• The Columbus Blue Jackets attempt to make sense of the worst home loss in franchise history to the Detroit Red Wings last night. Hitch on Steve Mason(notes): "He’s our guy and he’s going to have to bury this, and fight, with the rest of us." [Puck-rakers]

• Remembering John Tortorella’s Freddy Mercury ’stache. [YouTube, via Puck Buddy Eric]

• Maurice Richard and the Myth of 50 in 50. [On Goal Analysis]

• Finally, it would appear that Victoria’s Secret has nominated Patrick Sharp(notes) as "Sexiest Chicago Athlete" against Derrick Rose and Brian Urlacher. Kris Versteeg(notes) continues to be one of the best NHL players in video comedy, somehow turning a "How sexy is Patrick Sharp?" interview into a diss on Patrick Kane(notes). (Thanks to Kris V. for the tip. No, not Versteeg.)

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Greg Wyshynski | November 10, 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.)

These "end of decade" rankings aren’t all necessarily going to be confined to the National Hockey League. In some cases, other levels of competitive hockey are going to creep into the countdowns; and there’s simply no way to recall the most significant upsets of the last 10 years without discussing at least three that occurred outside of NHL rinks.

That isn’t to say that some miraculous (or heartbreaking, depending on which side of history your team was on) upsets didn’t also occur in the Stanley Cup playoffs, because they certainly did. In fact, Detroit Red Wings fans might want to skip this list, unless the championships have balanced out the embarrassing defeats at the hands of underdogs.

Here are the Top 10 biggest upsets in the last decade …

10. Calgary Flames (No. 6 seed) upset Detroit Red Wings (1), 2004 Western Conference semifinals

The Red Wings were a President’s Trophy-winning 109-point team that had overcome the pesky Nashville Predators in the first round. The Flames had outlasted the Vancouver Canucks in an exhausting seven-game upset. Detroit was, to put it mildly, a heavy favorite here.

That was before Miikka Kiprusoff(notes) outplayed Curtis Joseph(notes), the Flames won back-to-back 1-0 games and bookended their 4-2 Western Conference semifinal win with overtime victories — the second clinching the upset via a Martin Gelinas(notes) goal. From blogger Jamie Fitzpatrick:

An upset? To be sure. But the Flames had the NHL’s 3rd-best defensive team this season, and are now reaping the rewards. In terms of sticking to your game plan, Calgary is this year’s most consistent playoff team. Iginla and Kiprusoff get the headlines, but you could argue that this series was won by Calgary’s young defense, painstakingly assembled through years of drafting and trading.

This was also the series where Steve Yzerman took a puck to the eye in Game 5, which you may recall as No. 9 on our Most Brutal Injuries of the Last Decade list. The Flames went on to lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup finals, in a series vaguely remembered for Ruslan Fedotenko’s(notes) heroics and the Vinny/Iggy fight.

9. Bemidji State upsets Notre Dame, 2009 NCAA men’s hockey tournament

In 2009, we finally were given the answer to an annual scholastic hockey mystery: The hell’s a Bemidji State anyway?

Turns out it’s a small liberal arts college in Minnesota that was ready to shock the NCAA.

The Beavers were technically a No. 4 seed in the Div. I tournament, but were actually the lowest seed in the 16-team field. Which made their emphatic 5-1 stunner against No. 2 Notre Dame all the more unbelievably — along with the facts that it was Bemidji State’s first D-I tournament win in school history and just the second tourney victory in CHA conference history.

Because of the university’s size and budget, the Wall Street Journal ranked the upset as the third most-shocking in recent NCAA sports history.

The Beavers would qualify for the Frozen Four, losing to Miami (Ohio) in the semifinals. But the win over the Irish sparked a Cinderella run that, for a moment, captivated the hockey world.

8. Montreal Canadiens (8) upset Boston Bruins (1), 2002 Eastern Conference quarterfinals

The emotions in this series were off the charts. Saku Koivu(notes) had returned from Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with a few games left in the regular season, helping the Habs to the eighth seed. Anthems where disrespected, to the point where Bill Guerin(notes) and Doug Gilmour had to cut promos urging fans not to boo. It was as vicious a rivalry series as you’d expect from these old adversaries, crystallized by this Kyle McLaren(notes) hit on Richard Zednik(notes) that earned him a two-game suspension:

In the end, the Canadiens (87 points) stunned the first-place Bruins (101 points) in six games, backstopped by superb goaltending by Jose Theodore(notes). They lost to eventual conference champ Carolina in Round 2.

7. Minnesota Wild (6) upsets Colorado Avalanche (3), 2003 Western Conference quarterfinals

Sometimes, pictures are worth 1,000 words. The one above is worth five: Wild stun Avalanche in seven.

It was Minnesota’s first playoff berth, and they were a defense-first team with Cliff Ronning as their third-leading scorer. Colorado? Uh, yeah, it had a little talent on the roster.

Things started out well for the Wild, with a 4-2 road win. Then came three straight Avalanche victories, and Coach Jacques Lemaire actually said his team had no shot to win the series after going down 3-1. But the Avs took their foot off of Minnesota’s neck in Game 5, and the Wild rallied with back-to-back overtime wins to take the series in seven – becoming, at the time, only the eighth team in NHL history to rally from a 3-1 hole with two road wins.

The Wild would eventually lose to the Ducks in the conference finals. Marian Gaborik(notes) would finish with 17 points in 18 playoff games.

6. Los Angeles Kings (7) upset Detroit Red Wings (2), 2001 Western Conference quarterfinals

The Wings were a 111-point team taking on a 92-point Kings squad, and the difference in the standings was evident in the first two Detroit victories in the series. But Los Angeles won Game 3 before the series was turned on its head in Game 4: The Kings rallied for three goals in the final 6:07 to send the game to overtime, where rookie Eric Belanger(notes) scored to knot it at two games apiece. LA would win four consecutive games to eliminate the Wings, including Adam Deadmarsh’s series-clinching tally in overtime of Game 6.

Here’s a look back at Game 6, and what playoff hockey sounds like in Hollywood (it’s been a while).

The Kings would push the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche to seven games in the following round.

5. Denmark upsets U.S., 2003 Ice Hockey World Championships

Trust us: If you lived in Denmark, you’d know this game like gospel.

The IIHF world championship tournament was held in Tampere, Finland in 2003. The U.S. had a roster of 12 NHL players, including Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller(notes). Denmark, meanwhile, was making its first appearance in the tournament’s elite pool since 1949; yes, their time between tournament appearances was the same duration as the Rangers’ Stanley Cups between 1940 and Mark Messier.

In the opening game for both nations, Denmark chased Miller and shocked the U.S. with a 5-2 victory, considered one of the biggest upsets in the tourney’s history. The loss sent the Americans to a 0-3 death spiral that had them last in their pool, and propelled Demark to another classic hockey moment: a 2-2 tie against eventual champ Canada.

4. San Jose Sharks (8) upset St. Louis Blues (1), 2000 Western Conference quarterfinals

Then-Blues Coach Joel Quenneville said it best: "I’ve never seen as many crazy goals as I have in this series … That’s not an excuse, it’s a fact."

We’ll, it’s sort of an excuse, too. The Blues were a 113-point juggernaut in the regular season, finishing first overall in the NHL; all it got them was the ignominious honor of being just the second President’s Trophy winner (at the time) to get bounced in the opening round.

They looked flat and played underwhelming hockey against a dangerous Sharks team, losing three games in a row for the first time all season in the middle of the series. The Blues attempted a comeback, pushed it to a Game 7, but were eliminated in a 3-1 San Jose victory. It was a game that featured this Owen Nolan(notes) goal/Roman Turek whiff that personified Coach Q’s weird-crap-o-meter reading on this series:

The difference between the teams was 27 points; yet doesn’t the Sharks’ upset in 1994 against the Red Wings (a difference of 18 points) still loom larger?

3. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (7) over Detroit Red Wings (2), 2003 Western Conference quarterfinals

Had this been an 8-vs.-1 series, it may have hopped into the No. 2 slot on the countdown. Instead, it was a 110-point division champion getting absolutely stunned in a sweep by the No. 7 seeded Mighty Ducks and their untested goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere(notes), who quickly became "tested" in stopping 165 of 171 shots he faced in the four games.

Giggy faced 64 of those shots in a classic triple-OT Game 1 that was ended with a Paul Kariya(notes) goal. The Ducks would win each game by a 1-goal margin, including Game 4’s overtime victory to eliminate the defending Stanley Cup champions and a squad that still had many of the names from its "team of the decade" run in 2002. Well, outside of Scotty Bowman and Dominik Hasek(notes), that is.

The Ducks would lose to the Devils in a seven-game Stanley Cup final that saw Giguere win Marty Brodeur’s Conn Smythe.

2. Edmonton Oilers (8) upset Detroit Red Wings (1), 2006 Western Conference quarterfinals

The Oilers snuck into the playoffs, for the first time since 2003, in the final week of the season, with 95 points. The Red Wings were the Red Wings: 124 points and the President’s Trophy in a dominating season.

It looked like business as usual for the Winged Wheel when they won Game 1 in double OT. But the Oilers and goalie Dwayne Roloson(notes) won Game 2, and Edmonton would win three one-goal games to stun the Wings and Manny Legace(notes) in six. Here’s how the clinching game went down in what was an unbelievably atmosphere in Alberta:

The Oil would advance all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes. These would be Steve Yzerman’s last games in the NHL. As Mike Babcock said: "I am shocked we’re in this situation."

It’s something this next juggernaut can relate to …

1. Belarus upsets Sweden, 2002 Winter Olympic quarterfinals in Salt Lake City

"For sure, it is a miracle for us … But sometimes a gun without bullets can shoot, and that was us. We’ve made our place in history."

That was Belarus goalie Andrei Mezin, and we’re still not entirely sure what that metaphor meant, although it’s vaguely sexual. Here’s what we did know: Belarus had been outscored 16-2 in its earlier two games. It was a 10 million-to-1 shot to win the gold. A guy named Andrei Mezin was their goalie. Ruslan Salei(notes) was their only NHL player.

Despite all of this, Belarus found a way to slow down the Swedes’ attack and play even with the international powerhouse until one of the single most stunning moments in recent Olympic history, courtesy of Vladimir Kopat and soon-to-be-hockey-punchline Tommy Salo:

Belarus won, 4-3, advancing to the semifinals where they lost to Canada, 7-1. In the immortal words of former Toronto Maple Leafs star Mats Sundin(notes): "I don’t understand how we could lose against this team."

–

Puck Daddy’s Best & Worst of the Decade lists will run on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday through the end of 2009. (Yes, that includes holidays; cynical appraisal never sleeps.)

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Greg Wyshynski | November 2, 2009

"Oh yeah, and go where, Jonathan? Where are we gonna go?"

"I’ll tell you where, Adam. Someplace warm. A place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I’m talking about a little place called Assssssspen."

Jonathan Toews(notes) and Adam Burish(notes) are both injured for the Chicago Blackhawks, which meant they could enjoy Halloween like average citizens do. No, not half-in-the-bag (we assume), but in costume: Toews as Lloyd and Burish as Harry from "Dumb & Dumber" (video from the Hawks here), in an image we tweeted over the weekend. The only think missing is a bulldog mated with a Shih-Tzu.

The blog No Qualified To Comment … er, commented:

Does a couple of idiots dressing up like a couple of idiots mean that there’s locker room chemistry?  I’m not sure, but at least they are having fun.

Oh, the fun didn’t end there. Coming up, more Blackhawks costume hilarity, plus fans in St. Louis, Washington, New Jersey and Pittsburgh get in on the Halloween spirit. Oh, along with Los Angeles Kings ice girls. You’ll want to see that.

And here … we … go.

From friend of Puck Daddy Sarah Spain and her still-new blog No Spain, No Gain comes this image of "Adam Burish as Dennis Rodman, Patrick Sharp(notes) as Coach Quenneville & Patrick Kane(notes) as Scottie Pippen." Thank god someone ID’d Sharp’s costume; we would have pegged it as an extra from the Beastie Boys’ "Sabotage" video.

Also from No Spain, No Gain, this is Mr. Toews once again as Canadian comic book icon Wolverine (classic outfit … nerd). Please note the irony that this character has incredible healing powers. Toews is posing with another mutant whose abilities seem limited to looking like the love child of Joe Dirt and Garth Algar. Party on indeed.

Halloween at The Rock in Jersey, with photos taken on Oct. 29. No one show this kid the standings.

The Devils have a huge Halloween gallery here, including lovely Jersey women and the prerequisite Sidney Crybaby costume. For shame!

This is Howler, the Phoenix Coyotes‘ mascot (and now Gary Bettman’s pool boy after today’s ruling), dressed up as a Hanson Brother for Howl-o-ween (see what we did there?). Why he’s wearing Eric LaSalle’s hair from "Coming To America" is anyone’s guess.

This photo was taken at the St. Louis Blues‘ game against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 31 and … well, it’s either the best baby with grandma costume or the worst Quatto costume we’ve ever seen.

Yikes … if only there was something to erase this from our minds …

This was not it. (Via the St. Louis Blues’ official Web site.)

OK, we do admit a begrudging respect for anyone who dresses up like beer pong and gets the right cheap brew as part of the costume. But if only there was something to erase this from our minds …

Ah, yes. Thank you, St. Louis Blues. Thank you, thank you and thank you. Especially if, as we imagine, they’re actually Cylons.

From Getty Images: "Pittsburgh Penguins fans pose for a photo on the concourse before the start of NHL play between the Minnesota Wild and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena on October 31, 2009." They gave no indication why they’re made up to look like basketballs.

From Capitals Outsider’s Halloween gallery  comes this Washington Capitals two-fer. Our motto in action: Dress for the beer you’re drinking.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles …

… Andrew Raycroft(notes) began inexplicably humming the tune to "Hit Me Baby One More Time."

And finally …

…. HELLLLLLO, NURSE! </Anamaniac’d>

More Halloween fun on the Faceoff.com site, with some great photos from the past. Thanks to many a’Twitter follower that helped with this gallery, including Frozen Notes, Puck Central, BlinkFink182 and Muffy Crane.

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Greg Wyshynski | October 27, 2009

 

Stunning Numbers is an occasional look at stats and figures from around the NHL.

Anze Kopitar(notes) and Marian Gaborik(notes) are leading the NHL in goals right now with 10 apiece. Just as important: Who isn’t in the mix for the League lead after being in the Top 10 last season …

3

The number of goal scorers from last season’s Top 10 who are currently in the Top 10 for this season: Alex Ovechkin(notes), Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) and Dany Heatley(notes). Among the M.I.A. snipers: Jeff Carter(notes) (4 goals in nine games), Rick Nash(notes) (6 goals in 10 games), the injured Marian Hossa(notes) and Thomas Vanek(notes), and Eric Staal(notes), who continues his early season struggle with 3 goals and 1 assist in 10 games.

Zero

The number of assists for Ryan Malone(notes) of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stunning in the sense that the guy has seven points on the season — all of them goals. Bugsy’s never exactly been Adam Oates in the helper department, but the ratio between goals and assists has been a tad closer than it is this season.

7

The number of goals for Lightning sophomore Steven Stamkos(notes), to tie Malone for the team lead. The linemates have propelled the Bolts’ offense while Vincent Lecavalier(notes) has started slowly and Alex Tanguay(notes) (0-2-2, minus-3) has become one of the most prominent busts early this season. For all the grief we’ve given Stamkos here, three cheers for him becoming the pro many felt he could become.

10,699

The average attendance for the Phoenix Coyotes (via ESPN’s imperfect count) in five home games, despite the 17,532 padded gate for the bargain basement home opener. Does that change with the ownership situation settling and the team playing well?

12,065

The average attendance for the New York Islanders in five home games, after finishing last in the NHL in reported average draws (13,773) last season. They averaged 13,349 in their first five home games last season. Lighthouse Effect > John Tavares(notes) Effect?

55

The number of times the Anaheim Ducks have been shorthanded in 10 games this season, third in the League behind the New York Rangers (59 in 12 games) and the Carolina Hurricanes (58 in 10 games). The difference between the three teams? The Rangers have drawn 51 power plays; the Hurricanes have drawn 45; but the Ducks have a paltry 34 man advantages, which is third fewest in the NHL. So the answer is no: The undisciplined and embarrassing display against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night wasn’t an aberration.

10

The number of penalties Mason Raymond(notes) of the Vancouver Canucks has drawn in 11 games, via Behind the Net. That leads the NHL, and is especially impressive when you consider he’s only taken one penalty in that span.

3.69

The goals-against average (with an .816 save percentage) for Ilya Bryzgalov(notes) of the Phoenix Coyotes in his three losses this season, compared with a 1.30 GAA and a .949 save percentage in his six victories. Talk about feast or famine.

15

The number of shootout attempts faced by Colorado Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson(notes) this season, allowing six shootout goals (.600 save percentage). He’s 1-2 in shootouts; all 15 attempts came in road games.

69.2

The winning percentage for Paul Gaustad(notes) of the Buffalo Sabres in 120 faceoffs, leading the NHL for players with 100 attempts or more. That includes 14 wins and 4 losses in shorthanded faceoff attempts.

2.9

The shooting percentage for Brent Burns(notes) of the Minnesota Wild, which is last in the NHL for players with at least one goal. He has one tally this season against 34 shots on goal. Leading the NHL? Michal Handzus(notes) of the Los Angeles Kings, with 5 goals on 14 shots for a 35.7 shooting percentage. Zeus!

1

The number of games this season in which the Chicago Blackhawks have been outshot. They lead the League in shots on goal (376), right ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins (373) and Alexander Ovechkin (3…just kidding).

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