2007 has been rough on DiPietro

I think Rick DiPietro would rather forget some of the things that happened this year. First, he suffers two concussions only 12 days apart - that was back in March. Then, he had surgery on his hip in the off-season. Now, an eye injury.

In the second period of last night's game against the Penguins, Martinek's stick lifted Crosby's stick and the blade just happened to go in the cage of DiPietro's mask and cut his eye. What rotten luck.

DiPietro left the ice and came back a few minutes later to show the refs that he was cut, so the refs reversed their 2 minute goaltender interference penalty on Crosby and gave him a high-sticking double minor. It was odd how it all played out...well, the whole game seemed a bit odd, but that's another story.

I guess DiPietro's injury isn't that bad. Probably just a scratch. Anyways, he's listed as day to day, so he should be back before you know it, helping the Isles not suck this year.

As for the Pens, another hard loss. What gives with all these blown leads? The whole team seems confused...and frustrated...and things are almost erratic. It's like watching a team that has no identity. You know, the whole "fire Therrien" bandwagon is firing up and I'm considering jumping on. I'll see how this week's games go before I really make up my mind.

It could be a long November.

Patrice Bergeron hurt

Boston Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron was hurt in this afternoon's game in Boston. He was hit from behind by defenceman Randy Jones of - guess which team? - the Philadelphia Flyers and went face-first into the glass.

He fell to the ice and showed little movement. Medics cut away his jersey and shoulder pads, put him in a neck brace, strapped him to a stretcher and took him to hospital as his parents watched.

Jones will certainly be suspended for his actions. He used his forearm to drive Bergeron's head into the glass - how can he not be suspended?

What will be interesting to see is how Coley deals with the Flyers. This is the third time that such an incident has happened - this season! Now, I have to have faith that GM Paul Holmgren and Coach John Stevens do not want this thing to happen, but enough is enough already. There is something going on in the Flyers' organization and it needs to be stopped. They are having a great season, but this mess is just taking away from all of that success.

Perhaps it's time for the organization to be slapped with a hefty fine for apparently not keeping their players in line.
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Update: Coley and the NHL big-wigs have suspended Randy Jones for 2 games. Wow. Harsh...and in other news, Bergeron might be out a month or longer.

The Bad Boys of Philly, Part 2

You would think that players would have learned from Steve Downie's hit on McAmmond a few weeks back. Okay, so maybe not everyone will learn from that hit, but you would expect that the Flyers would be a little extra cautious in the 'dirty hits' department.

I guess that's asking too much of Philly.

Two nights ago, Jesse Boulerice of the Flyers crosschecked Ryan Kesler of the Canucks in the face, breaking his stick in the process. Here's some lovely video of the incident, courtesy of YouTube, the bestest site in the world.



What's going on in Philly? Why are their players running around and taking people's heads off? Are they on some kind of mind-altering drugs?

Right now, all eyes are on Philly, and it's not the kind of attention they want. The Flyers' organization definitely needs to do something about this team or the NHL bosses will hand Head Coach John Stevens a nice hefty fine. Guys need to know that they can't crosscheck someone in the face. Or skate half the length of the rink, launch yourself into the air and smash your shoulder into someone's head. It's just common sense - which some people apparently lack - and the Flyers' organization hasn't done much to make sure their players know the rules.

In order to drill some common sense back into Boulerice's head, NHL Disciplinarian Colin Campbell has hit him with a 25-game suspension - which ties him with Chris Simon for the longest suspension in NHL history. Not exactly the kind of thing you want to be known for...

We'll see if this suspension 'rehabilitates' Boulerice, but somehow I doubt it. He was handed a 1-year suspension from the OHL in the late 90's for swinging his stick like a bat at Andrew Long's head. Long ended up in the hospital, fighting for his life, and Boulerice was charged with aggravated assault.

It's sad to see this total lack of respect for others in hockey. Maybe 25 games is not enough. Maybe players have gotten used to this type of suspension and don't think it's that bad. Maybe Campbell needs to start putting his foot down and handing out season-long suspensions.

Maybe then guys would think twice before assaulting another player on the ice.

Pens win home opener Saturday night, sweeeet

I didn't actually watch the game (yes, I know, it's sad). I did, however, catch the Leafs/Habs game on CBC. It's so nice to see HNIC back on the air for season 55. It brought a smile to my face. I missed it.

As I watched the NHL's biggest rivals battle it out for the first time this season (and my, it was certainly a hard-fought game), we - the millions of viewers in TV-land - got a little snippet of info from Ron McLean - Sidney Crosby blocked a shot with his right foot and left the ice in pain. My first thought? "Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh. Not again." I remember that shot that broke his left foot, and I sure hoped that he didn't break his right foot in the second game of the season. The Pens could survive without, say, Rex in the lineup, but without Sid? Things would be a little harder...

Seems as though the X-rays on the Pens' captain's foot were negative. Certainly something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend.

Free-agent signing Petr Sykora (aka Syko) seems to be kickin' some ass. Again, I didn't see him play these last 2 games, but I've been hearing good things about the new guy up front. If he keeps this up, I'm gonna look like a frickin' genius for picking him up in the fantasy draft. All those suckers thought I was crazy for snatching Syko up for my roster, but who's laughing now? Well, except for the guy who got Paul Stastny...

On a serious note, I was absolutely stunned when I heard that new Leafer Jason Blake is battling a rare form of leukemia. From what I gather from this TSN article, it seems as though Blake is taking a chemo-like pill to fight the leukemia and he will continue to play for the Leafs this season. I think I speak for everyone when I say that I hope Blake beats this thing for good. We may not like all of the teams out there, or all of the players for that matter, but nobody likes to see this. Good luck buddy.

Shea Weber, one of the only good things still left in Nashville, is out 3-6 weeks after dislocating his knee in Thursday's game against Colorado. A few dozen memories of mine say ouch - to say the least... Nothin' like a knee cap stuck on the side of your leg to make you crash to the ground (or ice) and cry like a baby.

Downie's warming the bench...at least for October.

The Steve Downie saga continues.

The NHL hit Downie with a 20 game suspension last week. Then Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said that the team would deal with the suspension in chunks, by sending Downie down to the AHL to play, and then calling him up to the big team when the Phantoms weren't playing. This way Downie could serve his suspension while still playing hockey.

Creative? Yes.

Screwed up? Absolutely.

The AHL responded by issuing Downie with a 1 month suspension, making him eligible to play in early November. How do the Flyers respond? By calling him up to the roster, of course. If Downie can't play in the AHL, then he might as well start serving his NHL suspension.

You have to give credit to the AHL for actually doing something, and not completely welcoming Downie with open arms. I'll take this over nothing. However, I would rather see the AHL saying to Downie, "If you aren't eligible to play in the NHL due to suspension, then you won't be suiting up for our teams." As it stands, Downie can start playing hockey again before his 20-game suspension is over.

The NHL's attitude in the last week has been, "Oh, we're definitely doing something about shots to the head. We can't have this happening in our game because guys are getting hurt." Right...I'll believe it once they prove it.

Downie means nothing to the NHL.

Let's see what happens when Chris Pronger does the same thing. Will the NHL lay down the law, or will they buy the, "Oh, but I'm so tall and he's so short so he just ran into my arm," excuse?