Happy Birthday Mr. Hockey

Happy 80th Birthday, Gordie Howe :)

Pens fan Susie to provide playoff predictions

One week.

That is all that is left to the season before the playoffs.

Pretty soon I'll have to dig up my pre-season predictions and see how horribly off-base I was in September. I shudder when I think of it.

In the meantime, Pens fan Susie has agreed to provide her predictions for the playoffs. She believes that she can do better than TSN's Maggie. After all, who really thinks that a monkey can accurately predict the outcome of one playoff series, nevermind 15 matchups. Everyone knows that a dog can (and will) do better.

So, once the playoffs begin, I will offer my prediction, Susie's prediction, and Maggie's prediction (if she dares to return to the TSN panel). Maybe I'll also put what the so-called 'experts' think too. Something tells me that the Maritimers will win.

Go Pens!

(Susie says that you'll clinch the division...)

A few more 'whatever' games for the Leafs before golf season

The Toronto Maple Leafs were officially eliminated from playoff contention earlier this week, and fans at tonight's Montreal/Toronto game were seen wearing bags on their heads.

Here's a stat that rubs salt into Leafers' wounds: this is the first time in 80 years that Toronto has failed to qualify for the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

It should be interesting to see how the home crowd reacts to the Leafs.

It should also be interesting to see whether this will be Mats Sundin's last Hockey Night in Canada at the ACC.

Richard Peddie, the CEO or whatever of the Leafs, talked to Elliotte Friedman for his Inside Hockey segment on HNIC and seemed thoroughly pissed off with how things are going. He even acknowledged that this team is so far from even thinking of the Stanley Cup because they don't have any stars in their system to feel good about.

Ouch.

I wonder how this frame of mind will influence what happens this summer. The Leafs are still in the market for a GM, and I wouldn't be surprised if they blow up the team this summer, à la Philadelphia '07.

One bright spot in the Leafs' future (well, as bright as it can get for the Leafs) is Toskala, who is making his 30th consecutive start tonight. I guess that means Raycroft is a bit expendable.

As for Mark Bell, the other half of the deal that brought Toskala to Toronto, I feel bad for the guy. He's facing a crappy off-season in jail - which he deserves - and he has played the season as well as anyone could have hoped. He broke his orbital bone in a fight with Ryan Malone just after New Year's and was out a few months. He's now back and wearing a mask, and tonight he got a puck in the neck just after the opening faceoff, thanks to a pass from McCabe. He's back on the ice, but what rotten luck.

It's hard to truly feel hate or even dislike for the Leafs this season - not that I typically do, anyways. I'm a Montreal fan that makes fun of the Leafs in a joking way, like one would joke around with a sibling, but things have been so sad for the Leafs this year. I truly hope things are better in the fall.

Several months ago, Bob McCown said that the Raptors will win an NBA championship than the Leafs will win the Stanley Cup. I think you could add the Jays to that, too, and I don't think that's a good thing.

One of the reasons why people hate Toronto is because they have the attitude that they are the centre of the hockey world. CBC's HNIC always shows a Leafs game on Saturday night. TSN also contributes much air time to what's going on in Toronto. Well, what do you expect when Canada's most popular hockey team is the Maple Leafs? They are considered to be 'Canada's Team', and now they are faltering.

The Leafs have the opportunity to make so much money, and they are screwing it up. They have, arguably, the largest fanbase in the entire NHL, yet they are alienating that fanbase. It is nearly impossible to get a ticket to see the Leafs live at the ACC, and those tickets cost an arm and a leg and a kidney. Add to that a team that underperforms year after year after year, and you have a lot of fans choosing to spend their hard-earned money on things that are not Leafs merchandise. All of this means less money for the NHL.

If the Leafs make the playoffs and actually have a shot at the Cup, the NHL can only benefit. Imagine the revenue from ticket sales and merchandise - it would beat the revenue pulled in by any of the teams that have won the Cup in the last decade.

Like them or hate them, the NHL needs the Toronto Maple Leafs to succeed.

And the hammer comes down

Gilles Courteau, the commissioner of the QMJHL, announced his decision today regarding the brawl between the Quebec Remparts and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Six players and two coaches will sit out between one and seven games.

In a statement, Courteau said, "The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League finds the events which took place over the course of last week-end's games deplorable and unacceptable. We are deeply troubled by the incidents. In closing, I'd like to warn organizations that these types of incidents will not be tolerated and that should any more occur, steep fines will be handed out."

Here's how it all breaks down:

PLAYERS
Jonathan Roy (QUE) - 7 games, $500 fine
Sebastien Rioux (CHI) - 6 games
Maxime Lacroix (QUE) - 3 games
Marc-Olivier Vallerand (QUE) - 2 games
Charles-Antoine Messier (CHI) - 2 games
Antoine Roussel (CHI) - 1 game

COACHES
Patrick Roy (QUE) - 5 games
Richard Martel (CHI) - 2 games - automatic suspension because one of his players left the penalty box to engage in a fight.

Each team was also fined $4000.

Is it just me, or does the penalty for Jonathan Roy seem a little light? I realize that he was handed the toughest sentence of them all, but I was absolutely sickened by his behaviour. Maybe the Q was a little more lenient because J. Roy apologized for his hand gestures to the crowd and stated that he would never behave that way in the future - though he failed to say anything about the fight.

I just hope that Chicoutimi sweeps Quebec the rest of the way to rub it in. If the Remparts are able to hold on and play well until J. Roy returns, then how much of a lesson will this be? How much of a deterrent will the suspension be? I think of Pronger and his flying elbow antics last year and how the Ducks won those two games when he was out of the lineup. Lesson learned? Nope.

Patrick Roy: Still a "Saint"?

They called him "Saint Patrick."

He won the 1986 Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in his rookie year, and again in 1993. He won the Cup two more times with the Colorado Avalanche.

He was quite the character, and was a quotable player now and then, with Stanley Cup rings plugging his ears.

He even fought on occasion

Quirky? Yes. He never skated on the blue lines, he often talked to the goal posts, and he didn't talk to reporters before a game...but aren't all goalies a bit quirky?

However, one could also say that he has a certain lack of class. Trouble just keeps following him around.

After retiring from the NHL, Roy made the leap into coaching. The Remparts lost the QMJHL Championships to the Ted Nolan-coached Moncton Wildcats in 2006, but since Moncton was hosting the Memorial Cup that spring and already had a berth in the tournament, the Remparts were invited to participate. The rookie coach led his Remparts to the finals against the Cats, and won the Memorial Cup. That was a highlight in his career as a coach.

Unfortunately, he hasn't had many more shining moments since hanging up his goalie pads. In January 2007, there was an incident between Roy and the co-owner of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Pierre Cardinal. Roy apparently threw punches at Cardinal after a crowd of fans surrounded the Remparts' bus after a game between the teams. Cardinal filed a claim of assault with the police, but later withdrew his complaint. Roy claimed that the media displayed prejudice against him by saying that he didn't show remorse over the incident and even contemplated resigning as head coach and co-owner, though he eventually decided to remain with the club.

Just this past weekend, another incident happened between Quebec and Chicoutimi. It was Game 2 of the best-of-7 playoff series between the two teams, and the Sagueneens were up 7-1 at the end of the second period when Christophe Poirer of Quebec and Joel Champagne of Chicoutimi collided and a brawl ensued. Jonathan Roy, Patrick's son and Remparts goalie, challenged Chicoutimi goalie Bobby Nadeau to a fight. Roy Jr. bolted down the ice and jumped Nadeau, pounding him even though he had fallen to the ice.

As the younger Roy was being led off the ice, he decided to give a few one-finger salutes to the crowd, after which Chicoutimi d-man Sebastien Rioux jumped him.

Coach Roy said that he did not encourage his team to fight the Sagueneens, and that he "can't control the reactions of [his] players in the heat of action."

He also went on to say that he did not encourage his son to fight Nadeau, and that his son likely saw Nadeau at the blue line and saw it as an invitation to fight - even though the video clearly shows Nadeau in his crease when Roy charges over and attacks him.

His son also said that he was not instructed to fight the Chicoutimi goalie.

"Patrick looked at me and told me to calm down," Jonathan Roy said. "I said to myself, `He doesn't want me to go', but when the line judge released me, I said to myself . . . `I'm going."'



I'm not saying that Patrick Roy is completely responsible for the latest incident because the players themselves decided to release some of their anger and frustration on the Sagueneens. That being said, a coach must also accept a certain amount of responsibility for what his players do on the ice, and the actions of his son were completely unacceptable. A goalie-goalie fight is (somewhat) fine, but don't keep punching the guy after he has fallen to the ice. And don't flip off the crowd. Jonathan Roy's actions proved him to be an immature little show-off.

However, this is not the first time that Patrick Roy has been in the news in the past few years. Every few months or so, you hear about Roy and his altercations with various people in the Q. I sometimes wonder if the Quebec media will grab onto anything and everything that happens with Patrick Roy and blow it out of proportion, or if the truth is being reported. Either way, Patrick Roy is one big distraction for his team. If you thought that Ray Emery and his antics were distractions, imagine having your head coach/GM/owner, who just happens to be one of the best goalies in history, getting in fights (verbal and physical) on a regular basis.

The saying is, "Like father, like son." I suppose this is true when it comes to the Roy family, and I guess you could also say, "Like coach, like players."

At the end of the day, the Remparts' dressing room is home to an immature crew that doesn't know what it means to be a classy player that shows respect. Chicoutimi may have been beating them badly, and Quebec needed to demonstrate that they weren't going to roll over and die, but to do it like they did was entirely unacceptable.

The Amazing Playoff Race

With only two and a half weeks left in the season, and with teams playing divisional rivals, we should be treated to a series of good hockey games leading into the playoffs. Each game is a four-point game and teams are trying to pass each other in the standings.

Pittsburgh and New Jersey are trying to win the division...and the conference

Montreal wants to stay on top of Ottawa...and the conference

Ottawa wants home ice advantage

Washington and Buffalo are breathing down Philly's neck for the final playoff spot.

Minnesota is hanging onto the division lead...barely...and Vancouver/Calgary/Colorado are also in the top 8.

Edmonton is currently on the outside looking in, but their current 8-2 record has them dreaming of the possibilities. Maybe a repeat of 2006 is in store?

San Jose became the second team to clinch a playoff spot, thanks to their great 11-game winning streak, but Dallas wants to reclaim top spot in the Pacific.

What about those Ducks? I hope they crash and burn and find themselves on the golf course in April.

Detroit clinched the division about 20 years ago and are currently the only Central team in the top 8, but Nashville is trying to save their season. They are 9th and sit 4 points behind Colorado for the final spot, but have Edmonton and Phoenix breathing down their necks.

My, it's going to be a great couple of weeks as we see how the final standings shape up and how dead wrong I was in my pre-season predictions.

Good times.

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Long weekends rock. Yep. Four days of doing n-o-t-h-i-n-g productive.

Happy Easter. I'm off to Monkey-town.

McLovin

Stoosh said over at Pensblog that he believes that Malone is McLovin.

I think he may be right - look what I found...

The Penguins are Popular

Can't be upset at the Penguins for beating the Cryers 7-1. I always like seeing games like that - except for when Richards tried to decapitate Malkin.

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Last Friday on campus we had our annual "Wish Day" where we had a 16-hour ball hockey tournament in the parking lot, a silent auction, entertainment, and all that jazz, all in support of the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada.

I took some pretty sweet pics of local kids playing hockey outside my window - they were on March Break, so they played all...day...long. I watched the two goalies for a few minutes; one was a kid who just had a normal hockey stick, whereas the other one was obviously a competitive goalie because he had ALL the gear and he was diving after those balls like it was the Stanley Cup Finals.

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Okay, so we've had this little promotion thing with the cafeteria for the past few weeks. If you buy a Kraft product, you get a scratch card, and if you scratch two Kraft logos, then you win an NHL pennant. It's all in promotion of Kraft Hockeyville.

Me, being the hockey fan that I am, have been getting up early and going down to the cafeteria to get toast with peanut butter (because the only Kraft products we have are PB and Cheez Whiz, and I am NOT eating plastic 'cheese'). I'll even get toast with PB for dinner. Each time I ask for a card, and each time it mocks me by not showing two logos.

Today, I was down at the other cafeteria and got a scratch card. Oooooo look at that...TWO LOGOS!! I was so excited, I could've cried. The lady at the cash asked me what my favourite team was, and I proudly declared, "The Pittsburgh Penguins!!"

The girl next to me - "Sidney Crosby, eh?"

Me - "Yep." (but hoping that these strangers don't think I'm a puckbunny.)

Cafeteria lady - "Sorry, I don't think we have any left. (looks in the stack) Nope, no Penguins pennants left."

Me - "Any Montreal?"

Cafeteria lady - "Now, I do know that we don't have any Montreal left."

The guy behind me - "I bet there are tons of Torontos left!!!!" (hahaha)

Cafeteria lady - "No Toronto."

So here's what I ended up getting....

I guess that's what happens when you live in a city that is Montreal and Toronto crazy, but is also the hometown to the best player in the world - and current captain of the Penguins.

First, I lost out on a Mooseheads hat signed by all of the players (I made a bid on it during the silent auction on Friday, but some staff guy outbid me. Stupid him), and now I lose out on a Penguins pennant. Sigh.

Let the jobbing begin..

Three More Weeks...

Do it.

Leafs are d-o-n-e

You know it's bad when you're watching the Leafs-Sabres game and CBC breaks away to catch Markus Naslund's penalty shot in the Canucks-Stars game, and then CBC decides to not go back to the Leafs game.

Yep, that's the sign that the season is done in Toronto. Just givin' up on their team.

There were 3 games on HNIC tonight, and we in the Maritimes actually didn't get to see the entire Leafs-Sabres game! Imagine that...we saw the Habs shutout the Islanders 3-0. Those goalie kids are crazy in Montreal. Add up their ages and they are still younger than Hasek. haha

After the celebration in Montreal, CBC cut to the Leafs, who were desperate for a win to stay in the hunt. They were down 5-2 with more than 3 minutes left and Toskala on the bench for the extra attacker. Then Tallinder had to take the 180-foot shot and get the empty netter, his first goal in 82 games. The silence from the crowd was deafening. It was shortly thereafter that CBC went down to Dallas to see the Canucks hang on for a 4-3 victory.

That Willie Mitchell...what a warrior. He took a puck to the mouth in the third period, stayed on the ice, blocked a shot with his ankle, and when he went to the bench, his jersey was covered in blood. He stayed on the bench, got the trainers to stop most of the bleeding, and went back out to play. You could see the blood in his nose and mouth, but he played his heart out and helped his team earn the win. He may not be offensively gifted, but it's guys like that who will win you a Cup.

Tomorrow is Pens-Flyers on NBC. Big game if we hope to stay close to New Jersey for the division/conference lead.