There were a couple trades and deals that I expected to happen.  I expected to see the Calgary Flames sign a deal with Jay Bouwmeester (they did).  I wanted the Sedin twins to get a decent deal, preferably with the Vancouver Canucks (they did).  I was hoping a deal would put an end to the Dany Heatley drama (it didn’t).

There were, however, a good number of free agent signings yesterday.  Check out the list below (I sorted it alphabetically by team) and let me know what you think of these deals.  Montreal had the most acquisitions and while they look …read more

In probably the most intense matchup of the night, the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Calgary Flames and it was an ugly game.  I think that both teams ended up acting in a way that was shameful considering the privilege associated with making the playoffs.  I was very disappointed.  The Flames were playing better than they have in a while and the Blackhawks began to get physical.  The Flames not only took the bait, they took it up to the next level and the rest of the game was as much about fighting as it was about playing.

Mike Cammalleri (CGY) sucker …read more

The New Jersey Devils won the first game in the series against the Carolina Hurricanes.  Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise led the 4-1 victory for the Devils, posting a goal and an assist each with Mike Mottau and Patrick Elias rounding out the scoring.  Ray Whitney scored the lone goal for the Canes.
I am not surprised.  This is one of those series that I think will continue to be unbalanced until it is over.  The Hurricanes have made the playoffs but I’m not sure they have their game at a level that will allow them to advance to the next …read more

It was an amazing night for the Columbus Blue Jackets who made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in franchise history after a 4-3 SO win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

It has been almost nine years since the Blue Jackets were added to the NHL and I’m sure this victory was sweet since they were the only active team to have never qualified for the postseason.  They only needed one point to secure the playoff spot.  “To get that one point was huge, to come back after being down 2-0,” Rick Nash said. “To get the win was even …read more

I’m sure none of us are surprised by the fact that Don Cherry ripped in to Alexander Ovechkin again during his “Coach’s Corner” segment of Hockey Night in Canada.  He criticized the Washington Capitals star for his on-ice antics after making history by scoring his 50th goal of the season (the first player to accomplish that feat three times).
The ever-observant former player/coach was quick to point out that Ovie’s teammate, Mike Green, skated away from him when he put his stick down on the ice and pretended to warm his hands over it.   Cherry then directed his comments straight at …read more

Last night, the Calgary Flames played the Detroit Red Wings and there were a number of reasons why I didn’t watch all of it.  The first problem is that the Flames have been sucking majorly on this road trip and the other is that I just hate Detroit.  My son kept checking the score and my non-hockey loving husband kept complaining that he didn’t want to watch the game and, for once, I agreed with him.  The last time we checked, there was about 8 minutes left in the game and the Wings were up 4-2. 
I slumped down onto …read more

I wanted to live blog tonight’s game but I had a cable fail which, unfortunately, prevented me from watching it live and then, when my DVR recorded a later game, the shootout was cut off because it went over the scheduled time.  Okay, I am finished venting…

Just like last year, the best in the East beat out the best in the West (much to my chagrin) with a final score of 12-11.  There are a lot of videos available on the NHL site but here is the scoring summary followed by the video of the shootout.
ASW: Tkachuk, K. …read more

Here are the highlights from last night’s NHL hockey games.  My favorite plays are the goal by Dean McAmmond (Ottawa Senators) on Kari Lehtonen (Atlanta Thrashers) and the one by Miroslav Satan (Pittsburgh Penguins) on Jose Theodore (Washington Capitals).

I was on the edge of my seat during the thrilling semifinal game between Canada and Russia at the 2009 World Junior Championship. 
It was really a game of cat and mouse with both teams edging each other out.  I thought it was all over when Russia took the lead in the final minutes of the game but with just 5 seconds left in the third period, Canada scored and forced the game into overtime. 
The OT was really intense with the Canadians putting a lot of pressure on the Russian goaltender and, in the end, neither team scored.
In …read more

The 2009 NHL Winter Classic went off without a hitch today and the rink looked amazing!  The Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field 6-4 today.

I had a lot of fun watching it but I had to keep reminding myself that this was an outdoor game because the rink and visual clarity (over last year’s snow-fest) was just perfect.  Watch the highlights:

Here’s the scoring summary:
DET: Samuelsson, M. (PPG, 09:50 in 1st), Hudler, J. (01:14 in 2nd), Hudler, J. (12:43 in 2nd), Datsyuk, P. (17:17 in 2nd), Rafalski, B. (PPG, 03:07 in 3rd), Lebda, B. (03:24 in …read more