A can full of iced worms

By Scott Antoszewski

The arbitrator ruled in favor of the NHL this week and has voided the 17 year $102 million contract Kovalchuk signed with the New Jersey Devils. Kovalchuk is now a free agent again and can sign with any NHL team. The problem is not who wants him; it’s who can afford him.

He’s stated that he wants at least $10 million a season. The Thrashers offered him that last season and he flat turned them down. He’s not only looking for big bucks, but he wants them from a contender, which limits his options dramatically. The arbitrator ruling will prevent teams from offering a front loaded contract, so the question becomes who has the money to pay for a $10 million a year player who hasn’t led a team to victory or won anything of note himself. I believe that Ilya is in a real bind here. He’s going to have to lower his demands or face playing in the KHL next season, both of which may be a good thing for hockey fans.

The arbitrator’s decision has also opened up a whole new can of worms that the Players Association most likely never thought through. The collective bargaining agreement with the NHL has two clauses that state that the league can review any contract, even after it has been approved, and there is no time deadline for the review of any contract.

A player can be in year two or three of a ten year contract, and if the league chooses to review it and reject it, that player is going to be up the creek without a contract. I think the NHL has let these super long term deals go on for a few years to build up enough ammunition to enact these clauses and make the players pay. The NHL has apparently already started reviewing the contracts of Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo, Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa, and Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger. The league will use the Kovalchuk decision as its precedent because the arbitrator even went so far as to mention those three contracts by name in his decision on the Kovalchuk case.

Long story short, Kovalchuck is back on the market, and now any player who signed a mega deal in the past few years, has reason to sweat. Stay tuned, it looks like this is just getting good.

Hot Stove Hockey

By Scott Antoszewski

I thought I was going to have a hard time finding interesting things to write with the NHL in the off-season, and my general lack of interest in baseball so far this year. Boy was I wrong.

The news is simple and complex in so many ways. The Chicago Blackhawk’s signed free agent goaltender Marty Turco to a one year, $1.3 deal. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be newsworthy but the way the Hawks got there is newsworthy. I’ll start back in June, when the Hawks won the Stanley Cup. The team was overloaded with players in the final year of their contracts, which is how they managed to get so good and stay under the salary cap. Goaltender Antti Niemi was in his first full year with the Hawks, and earned the starting job earlier in the year. Niemi was making a modest $825,000 which isn’t all that bad for a young goalie. Niemi went on to backstop the Hawks to the Cup and went looking for a substantial raise.

The Hawks had already dumped the likes of Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Andrew Ladd to make salary room. Neimi and the Hawks went all the way to salary arbitration, and the arbitrator sided with Neimi. He was awarded a one year $2.75 contract. The Hawks had a couple of days to decide to accept the ruling or allow their rookie goaltender to become an unrestricted free agent. The Blackhawk’s made the decision to let Niemi walk, and signed Turco to the $1.3 million deal. That’s how the Hawks go from winning the Cup, to signing a goalie whose reputation is built on playoff futility. I’m sure occurrences like this are normal in the NBA and the NFL, but the salary cap is still new to the NHL, so teams are still learning to adapt to it. I’m sure there will be more instances like this one in the future, but this one sets the precedence. Neimi is rumored to land in Philadelphia or San Jose. Both cities are in dire need of goaltending.

The arbitrator in the NHL v. Kovalchuk case should rule early this week, so this may be quite a historic week in the league. Stay tuned!

Deal gets rejected

By Scott Antoszewski

The NHL announced early this morning that it had rejected the 17 year, $102 million deal that the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk had signed yesterday. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman advised Devils GM Lou Lamoriello early in the day yesterday that he may want to hold off on the press conference announcing the deal, but the Devils chose to go through with it.

The NHL rejected the deal because they felt that it was a direct circumvention of the salary cap, and a “retirement contract”, where neither party expected the contract to progress all the way to completion. It’s back to the drawing board for the Devils and Kovalchuk.

I’ve never seen this happen before, so I have no idea what the next steps are, but I’m sure it won’t be quick or easy. We’re going to be hearing about this for weeks. I thought I was going to struggle to find hockey news to write about this summer, boy was I wrong.

Kovalchuk resigns with New Jersey

By Scott Antoszewski

The New Jersey Devils have landed the biggest fish in the free agent sea this summer: Ilya Kovalchuk. I haven’t been able to track down terms of the deal yet, but you can bet that it will be at least 10 years, and it will be for somewhere between 80 and 100 million. Just when everyone thought he was going to the L.A. Kings, he re-signs in New Jersey. Typical. I hope for the Devils sake that he produces more than he did in the few months that he was there last year.

UFC 116

By Scott Antoszewski

UFC 116 Lesnar vs. Carwin

“Can anyone stop Brock?”

Brock Lesnar completed one of the most difficult comebacks in recent memory on Saturday night as he took on Shane Carwin in Las Vegas at UFC 116. Lesnar, the reigning heavyweight champion, hadn’t fought in over a year and was hospitalized with a hole in his intestine that was leaking into his body. There were questions as to if Lesnar would survive, much less fight again.

Brock not only made a full recovery, but he got back to training and got back in the octagon on Saturday night. Lesnar’s opponent was interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin. Carwin was 12-0 and had NEVER been taken out of the first round. Lesnar damn near fell victim to Carwin early as his lack of experience almost cost him as Carwin rocked him and dove on him early in the fight.

Lesnar did just enough defending to keep the referee satisfied and eventually emerged from underneath a worn out Carwin. It was at that point that we all knew that Carwin was in trouble. It didn’t take long into the second round before Carwin was on the ground and Lesnar submitted him with an arm-bar. The heavyweight title had been successfully defended.

I’ve seen Brock Lesnar fight three times, and all three times he looked dominant. I honestly don’t know who in the UFC can beat him. He’s only going to get better as he gets more experienced. I’m looking forward to see where he goes from here.

The rest of the fight card was exceptional. It was the first time in a long time that I can remember all of the fights, including the free prelims, being entertaining. There were knockouts, submissions, and judges decisions. You can’t ask for more than that.

UFC 117 will be held on Aug. 7 from Oakland, California.

Note from Dan: I got to watch some of the fight and I thought for damn certain Carwin had the fight in hand when he was pounding Brock into the ground. However, that was clearly not the case.

P.S. Did you know Brock Lesnar tried out for the Minnesota Vikings but got cut?

NHL Free Agent Frenzy

By Scott Antoszewski

The NHL’s free agent signing period opened at noon on July 1. Free agency in the NHL is handled a bit differently than the other major sports.

Baseball and football players tend to take a slow, methodical approach to where they will sign and for how much. Hockey players on the other hand, sign very quickly starting almost exactly at noon.

I’m writing this at about noon on Friday July 2, we are less than 24 hours into the signing period, and as of now 39 players have signed new contracts, totaling over $270 Million in contract value. I won’t list them, since most of the players aren’t household names, in fact only one notable player is amongst the players who have signed. He is Sergei Gonchar who left Pittsburgh and signed with Ottawa. The terms are 3 years at $5.5 million per year.

Goalies have been the most active with at least five goaltenders changing teams, but the biggest fish left in the free agent pool is Ilya Kovalchuk. Rumors have him connected to the L.A. Kings, but there are also rumors that he will go home and play in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League. I’m interested to see what he chooses. The money he will get from a KHL contract will be much higher than here in North America, but he won’t be playing at the highest level. Does he want the money, or the Stanley Cup? It will be interesting to find out.

The other thing that is fun to keep track of during free agency is how many general managers sign players to deals that are way too big and make that player unmovable. It seems to happen to at least two or three teams every year. Once the player signings slow down, I’ll review the list and put a post together that deals with that issue. Free agency is the last big event of the hockey year, so I don’t expect there to be a lot of news until we get closer to training camp in September.

NHL Awards Recap

By Scott Antoszewski

The NHL’s post season awards were handed out on Wednesday night in Vegas, and no, I didn’t win MVP. Here’s who did win and a few comments:

Hart Memorial Trophy, MVP: Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks. This is being called a huge upset as he beat Ovechkin and Crosby. I think it’s good for the sport to have a different guy as MVP. He did lead the league in goal scoring which netted him the Art Ross Trophy as well.

Ted Lindsay Award: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals. This is the “players” MVP, as this award is voted on by the players.

Norris Trophy: Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks. The Norris is awarded for the best defenseman. Keith’s win signals a “changing of the guard” from the veteran defensemen like Nicklas Lidstrom.

Calder Trophy, Rookie of the Year: Tyler Myers, Buffalo Sabres. This was a mild upset, considering he beat out Matt Duschene, but certainly not a surprise.

Vezna Trophy, Top Goalie: Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres. I think we all know why he won this. He’s awesome.

Jack Adams Award, Top Coach: Dave Tippett, Phoenix Coyotes. Phoenix came within one win of getting to round two of the playoffs. Considering where they came from. Enough said.

From the Penthouse to the Outhouse

By Scott Antoszewski

There isn’t usually a lot of notable trade action in the NHL offseason, but the deal that went down yesterday between the Blackhawks and the Thrashers was a big one. The Blackhawks have sent Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Brent Sopel to the Atlanta Thrashers for veteran Marty Reasoner, a minor leaguer, a first round and second round draft pick in Friday’s draft.

Byfuglien, Eager, and Sopel were all critical players in Chicago’s Cup run, and now they are gone. I can’t imagine how these guys must be feeling. Heck, they haven’t even gotten their day with the Cup yet. They are going from a potential dynasty, to a team that may not even make it through next season in Atlanta. It’s strictly a result of the salary cap, and I’m sure the Hawks would have rather kept them, but big contracts for Toews, Kane, and Hossa have them up against the cap. Personally I feel bad for these guys, but they are professional athletes and I’m sure the big checks they will be getting from the Thrashers will help them get over the disappointment of the trade.

In other trade news, the Montreal Canadiens have sent goaltender Jaroslav Halak (no that isn’t a typo) to St. Louis for two players, both are young and neither are stars. Halak is up for a new contract and the Canadiens decided to go with Carey Price as their every day goalie instead of Halak, who carried the team to the third round of the playoffs. The Canadiens have always loved Price, but I have to say I’m not sure I agree with the decision that was made. Halak regularly outplayed Price during their time together in Montreal, but apparently the Montreal brass aren’t ready to give up on Price just yet.

The NHL Entry Draft is tomorrow (Friday) night from Staples Center in Los Angeles. Edmonton picks first followed by the Boston Bruins. Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin are projected to be the first two picks, and will probably be the only two players from this years’ draft that go straight to the NHL. I’m looking forward to see if there will be more “wheelin’ and dealin” at the draft. I’m off to New Jersey this weekend to try and get my hands on some game used Devils equipment. I’m looking forward to checking in with the Devils fan base.

Until next week…

Ultimate Fighting Championship 115

By Scott Antoszewski

Chuck Liddell vs Rich Franklin

“The Beginning and End of an Era"

Five months ago history was made at General Motors Place in Vancouver as Team Canada won the Olympic gold medal. Saturday night history may have been made again in the same building as just over 20,000 fans saw UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) hall of famer Chuck Liddell fight for what might be the final time. Liddell was knocked out by Rich Franklin with about 10 seconds left in the first round, a round that Liddell most likely would have won. Liddell, in typical form was throwing a huge right hand trying to knock Franklin out and left his head wide open. Franklin did not miss, as his response split Liddell’s lip open all the way to his chin and knocked him out cold. Liddell was responding to growing criticism that his “out of the octagon” lifestyle was keeping him from fighting effectively. He showed up in great shape and was well on his way to proving a lot of people wrong when disaster in the form of Rich Franklin’s fist struck. Liddell had even added leg kicks back into his arsenal, as Franklin found out the hard way. Liddell broke Franklins arm with a kick very early in the fight.

I think its wrong for so may people to speculate that Liddell is done, it’s his decision and he’ll do what’s best for him. I will say that as a novice fan of MMA (mixed martial arts), I wish I could have seen him fight more.

Earlier in the same evening, the same group of fight crazed Canucks may have seen the birth of a new star in MMA. Rory MacDonald took on Carlos Condit in the second fight on the pay per view card. Condit is an experienced MMA fighter, a legitimate bad ass, with a 24-5 record. MacDonald is a 20 year old kid was fighting on his first pay per view card in front of his home crowd, a nearby city in British Columbia. Condit won the fight, on a technical knockout with seven seconds left in the third round, but that was hardly the story of the fight.

It was the opinion of most of us who gathered to watch the fight, that MacDonald won both of the first two rounds before running out of gas and succumbing to Condit. The energy from the crowd was like nothing I had ever seen on UFC pay per view. Multiple times during the fight the partisan Canadian crowd chanted “Rory, Rory!” urging their countryman on.

MacDonald served notice that he will be a force to be reckoned with in his division. He even got kudos from UFC President Dana White on his twitter feed during the fight. Condit fought a great fight, and took all the punishment MacDonald could dole out. He took advantage of a worn out MacDonald in the third round and thoroughly dominated the round. Most of us expected Condit to win, but we were cheering on MacDonald to get the upset. This fight was the fight of the night in my opinion.

Next up is UFC 116 on July 3. The main event is the return of heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. He will take on interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin. Lesnar is returning from a serious illness and hasn’t fought in over a year. He has dominated the heavyweight division thus far, so it will be interesting to see how Carwin fares. UFC will be held at the Garden Arena at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Blackhawks are Stanley Cup Champs

By Scott Antoszewski

Blackhawks 4 Flyers 3 OT

Blackhawks win series 4-2

The Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years. Game six was a back and forth, tightly contested affair, much like the previous five games. The Flyers played with much grit and determination again, and even managed to force overtime with a goal late in the third period. The Blackhawks were just the better team, and they proved it in overtime.

Goalie Antti Niemi stood on his head for the last ten minutes of regulation. One save in particular was especially impressive on Mike Richards from point-blank range. The overtime game winner was scored by Patrick Kane a little more than five minutes into the overtime period. Kane put a sweet head fake on Philly defensemen Kimo Timmonen and drove to the net, a lot like another Chicago legend drove to the basket in the early 90’s. The shot slipped under Leighton’s stick and pads and stuck under the pad that goes around the inside of the net. Kane knew the puck was in immediately, as did Patrick Sharp. Everyone else, including the game’s broadcasters and other players had no idea the Cup had just been won. Kane streaked down the ice shedding his gloves and stick as he did. It took about a minute for the goal to become “official”, but once the players saw the puck in the goal, the party was on.

It was a surreal ending. I was watching on TV and I remember looking up as I heard Mike “Doc” Emerik start to say the word “score”, but he too lost the puck and continued the call for a couple of extra seconds. There was no controversy after seeing the overhead replay. It was clearly a good goal.

I talked to a teammate of mine last night, and found out the feeling of confusion that was in the Wachovia Center last night was mainly due to the fact that the Flyers never showed a single replay of the game winning goal. No goal light came on, nothing. He said he saw Kane shoot the puck and then gear was everywhere. Folks in the rink were very confused. Overall though, the Philly faithful were respectful and well behaved during the post-game ceremonies. I saw some towels get thrown on the ice, but not a lot. They booed Gary Bettman, the NHL Commissioner, but everyone boos the commissioner. It’s like booing a politician. Jonathan Tows won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the MVP of the playoffs. Patrick Kane had better numbers but Toews is the captain of the Hawks, so he’s going to get more votes.

The Flyers have nothing to be ashamed of. I know it’s very easy for me to sit here and type that, but think about it. They were one shootout goal away from not even making the playoffs, next they were down three games to none to the Bruins, only to get down three to nothing in game seven of that series. The Flyers never quit, and proved that “History will be made” was the correct slogan for this year’s playoffs. Their run was magical and most of their fans know it.

Overall, the series was a lot of fun to watch. It wasn’t an epic, nor will it be compared to the best series of all time, but I believe it brought more new people to the game. I was also pleasantly surprised to see the game on NBC. Weeknight games had been traditionally carried by Versus as NBC didn’t want to take the ratings hit. It got good overnight ratings too, especially the overtime.

Lastly, I have thoroughly enjoyed writing about hockey for this blog since I started a few months ago, and thank Dan for the opportunity. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I’m looking forward to writing about some other sports as the summer and fall go on, and then getting back in to Hockey in the fall. Congrats to the Blackhawks….but look out for the Caps in 2011!

Stanley Cup: game five recap

By Scott Antoszewski

Blackhawks 7 Flyers 4

Blackhawks lead series 3-2

The scoreboard at the “Madhouse on Madison” had a very simple image. There was a picture of the Stanley Cup and a number one. The Hawks torched both Philly goalies for seven more goals, and are now one win away from winning their first Stanley Cup in 49 years.

There were many strong similarities to the first game of the series, as the teams combined for 11 goals, and Flyers goalie Michael Leighton got pulled. Chicago jumped all over the Flyers in the first period, scoring three goals and taking that 3-0 lead to the first intermission. The Flyers showed the resilience that is their trademark in this years playoffs, getting the deficit down to two goals twice, but they just couldn’t overcome the Hawks fast start. Neither Leighton nor Boucher were overly spectacular for the Flyers. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville moved Patrick Kane to the second line in an effort to spread out the scoring threat. Chris Pronger had been on the ice every time the Toews, Kane and Byfuglien(pronounced buff-len) line was on the ice in the first four games. The move allowed Kane to get more time and space with the puck and he responded with a huge game.

Byfuglien had a much better night against Pronger in the trenches as well. The Blackhawks power play was two goals out of four chances on the evening, which was the first time special teams has made an impact in the series. The best analogy I can give you is the Blackhawks were like the bully, who have just enough strength to keep the Flyers at arms length. The Flyers certainly didn’t quit in this game, but they just couldn’t get close after Chicago went up 3-0. The game was very entertaining, which has been a nice trend throughout the series. All the matches have been fun to watch so far.

Now the series shifts back to Philly on Wednesday night. Will the home ice advantage hold true? Home ice had been almost a disadvantage so far in the playoffs, it’s nice to see that has turned around for the Finals. It will be interesting to see how both teams play with the Stanley Cup in the building. I can’t wait for this one!

Goal scorers in game five:

Chicago: Brent Seabrook(Power Play), Dave Bolland, and Kris Versteeg in the first. Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien(Power Play) in the second. Partick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien(Empty Net) in the third.

Philadelphia: Scotty Hartnell and Kimo Timmanen in the second. James Van Reimsdyk and Simon Gagne in the 3^rd.

Stanley Cup: game four recap

By Scott Antoszewski

Flyers 5 Blackhawks 3

Series Tied 2-2

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a series. The outcome of game four is exactly why I don’t pick games, especially in the playoffs. The Flyers showed grit and skill at the same time as they evened the Stanley Cup Finals at two games apiece.

The Blackhawks were never really in this game. The Flyers imposed their will from the opening face-off all the way to the final whistle. I find it amazing what a little “home cooking” can do for a team. Less than a week ago the Hawks were up 2-0 and a lot of folks (myself included) were thinking sweep. Now, the series heads back to the “Mad House on Madison” on Sunday evening for game five, with the Stanley Cup Final down to a best of three.

Toews and Kane are still struggling to get on the board for the Hawks, and Chicago really needs them to get going. Philly’s big guns woke up for games thee and four, the two Flyer wins. It will be interesting to see if the trends hold true and the Hawks win again at home. Looks like a long road to the Cup from here. Goal scorers in game four were as follows:

Flyers: Mike Richards, Matt Carle, Claude Giroux in the first. Ville Lieno and Jeff Carter in the third.

Blackhawks: Patrick Sharp in the first. Dave Bolland and Brian Campbell in the third.

Game five is Sunday night at 8 pm.

Stanley Cup: game three recap

By Scott Antoszewski

Flyers 4 Blackhawks 3 OT

Blackhawks lead series 2-1

Game three was probably the most exciting game of the Stanley Cup Finals yet. The Flyers played desperation hockey in front of the largest home crowd in Flyers history. The 20,000+ Orange clad fans were sent home happy after Claude Giroux(pronounced Jerr-oo) scored his first goal of the finals in game winning fashion. The Blackhawks held a 3-2 lead in the third period after Patrick Kane got his first goal of the Cup Finals on a sweet breakaway.

I’d be lying if I told you that thoughts of a Blackhawks sweep didn’t enter my mind when the Hawks got the lead. Honestly, I’m excited to see that we will have what looks like a competitive series. Both goalies played well in Game 3. The Flyers just played more desperate hockey and fixed a lot of the mistakes that cost them in the first two games. I love overtime in the playoffs. We’ve only had one epic three overtime game so far this year. I was hoping this one would keep me well up into the night, but no such luck.

The series isn’t over yet! Game four should be very interesting. The Flyers now know they can beat Chicago, and will be playing at home again. The Hawks on the other hand will be looking to start another road winning streak. My instinct tells me that if the Flyers can win game four, then the series will probably go all seven games. A Blackhawks win in game four will most likely lead to the Hawks claiming the Cup after game five. I don’t usually make predictions, but since this one is in writing, I’m curious to see how it turns out.

Game three goal scorers are as follows: Flyers: Daniel Briere in the first on a power play, Scotty Hartnell in the second on the power play,Ville Leino in the third even strength, and Claude Giroux in overtime at even strength. Hawks: Duncan Keith in the second at even strength, Brent Sopel in the second at even strength, and Patrick Kane in the third on the even strength breakaway.

Game four is Friday night in Philadelphia at 8 pm.

Stanley Cup: game two recap

By Scott Antoszewski

Game two was the exact opposite of game one. A tight checking, defensive battle that put stellar goaltending on display. The Blackhawks scored two goals somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 seconds apart in the second period, and that’s all they would need. Philly goalie Michael Leighton rebounded nicely from a tough game one, but still took the loss. The legend that is Antti Neimi continues to grow as the rookie is now only two wins away from a Stanley Cup Championship. The Flyers activated Dan Carcillo for game two for some reason. He had little to no impact on the game. His accidental hit on teammate Mike Richards, will stick in most people’s memory; I would be surprised if he plays again in the series. The Hawks are still waiting for a breakout game from Patrick Kane. He played well, just hasn’t been the offensive force that he was all year long. The Hawks’ goals were scored by Marian Hossa and Ben Eager. The Flyers’ lone goal came courtesy of Simon Gagne.

I watched game two with a friend of mine who does not follow hockey. I very much enjoyed getting his perspective on the game. Avid hockey fans can enjoy a tight checking defensive battle; much like a die hard baseball fan can enjoy a 1-0 pitchers duel. I tried to explain to him that games like this are not what the league is looking for from the finals. The NHL wants a more wide open, run and gun, 6-5 final.(See my post about game one) The league believes that more scoring will entice the “casual fan” to pay more attention to the game, hence the changes to the red line rule, the goalie equipment sizes, the trapezoid, etc. Overall, it was a fun game to watch, both teams have proven they can play wide open and tight defensive hockey. Game three is Wednesday night in Philadelphia. Enjoy!

Stanley Cup: game one recap

By Scott Antoszewski

I remember thinking as I watched the Olympic hockey tournament back in February, “This is great hockey, I hope the NHL can live up to this level of hockey when it starts again.” Honestly, the last couple months of the season were entertaining, but not nearly as entertaining as the Olympic tournament… until Friday night.

Game One between the Flyers and the Blackhawks was the most entertaining game of the season in my opinion. The NHL needs more games like that to draw in new fans. The game was high paced, end to end, and full of excitement, especially offensive excitement, which is exactly what the league wants. The skill players got to show their stuff, we got to see Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Patrick Sharp lighting up both of the Flyers goaltenders. The Flyers responded with Daniel Briere, Simon Gagne and even Aaron Asham putting pucks past a rookie goalie, but came up just one goal short.

The old Chicago Stadium was nicknamed ‘The Madhouse on Madison’ and I noticed they put a sign up facing of the upper deck that read exactly that. The environment in that building was amazing, and I can only imagine how loud it must have been. The hockey fan in me was dying to be there, even though the ‘Hawks aren’t my team. The ‘Hawks sent almost 22,000 fans home happy. Personally, I can’t wait to see if game two is more of the same.

History will be made

By Scott Antoszewski

That is the slogan the NHL is using for this year’s playoffs. I though it was an interesting slogan, if not a tad unoriginal because history is made in the playoffs every year. The magnitude tends to vary from year to year, but you can safely say that something historic happens during the playoffs each year. I’m sure the marketing folks couldn’t be happier with the events of this years playoffs, especially in the Eastern Conference.

The Philadelphia Flyers made the greatest comeback in team history to beat the Bruins in game seven on Friday night. I was at the Greene Turtle in Columbia watching that game with players from my beer league team, two of which are huge Flyers fans. I found it interesting, that even when the B’s were up 3-0, (that’s right, Philadelphia came back from down 3-0 in game 7) the Flyer fans, like the team, weren’t panicking, and their confidence was rewarded. The comeback wasn’t stirring, or dramatic, the Flyers just kept pushing and getting the dirty goals they needed to get even. Simon Gagne capped the comeback with one of the prettiest goals you will ever see, and the bar erupted in cheers. It was a seriously fun evening.

I find it even more entertaining that the Flyers now get to take on the eighth seeded Canadians. Never in the history of the current eight team per conference playoff format, have the seven and eight seeds ever met.

The Habs are another team that people are referring to as a “team of destiny” after eliminating Washington and Pittsburgh. Hopefully the remaining games of this series will be more entertaining that the Flyers 6-0 thumping of the Canadiens last night. Montreal had to see this coming as the Flyers were on a serious roll, and Halak was well overdue to lay an egg. Game two will tell a lot about how that series goes.

Lastly, don’t overlook the Sharks. San Jose is also looking to get into uncharted territory by getting to the Cup finals. The Blackhawks will make it very difficult, which will make for a fun series. The ‘Hawks took Game one in San Jose 2-1 yesterday afternoon.

Keep watching, who knows how much more “History Will Be Made”.

Biting their tongue, on to round two

By Scott Antoszewski

The Canadiens improbable comeback against the Capitals capped off a first round for the ages in the NHL playoffs last night. The final toll looks like this:

In the east, Montreal, an eight seed, took out Washington, the number one overall seed. The Flyers are a seven seed and they took out the Devils, who were a two. The sixth seeded Bruins eliminated the third seeded Sabres, and the Penguins were the only higher seed that moved on in the East, taking down Ottawa in the four vs. five matchup.

Out west things were a little less unpredictable. The Sharks beat the Avalanche in the one vs. eight matchup. The Blackhawks beat the Predators in the two versus seven, and the Canucks beat the Kings in the three versus six. The only upset was the Red Wings beating the Coyotes in the four against five series. A lot of people don’t really consider that an upset considering the hot streak the Red Wings were on going into the playoffs.

The first round was incredibly competitive and exciting. There were no series sweeps, in fact each series went a minimum of six games. I see that as good for the league, good for the fans and especially good for the sport. Sports leagues generally seem to be aiming for the type of parity you see in the most recent seasons of NFL football, and it looks like NHL hockey is certainly moving in that direction. I find that exciting as a highly involved fan of the sport.

The second round starts tonight in San Jose, the matchups are as follows:

San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings: Can the Sharks shake off the ghosts of playoffs past and get to the conference finals? This year is probably their best chance in the last three.

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vancouver Canucks: The Hawks knocked out Luongo and the Canucks in the second round last year. Vancouver has stated that they are looking for revenge. This has the potential to be a very nasty series.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: If the Canadiens can get through the Caps in round one and the Pens in round two, there may not be any couches left unburned in Montreal. It’s another tall task though as Crosby and the Pens are stacked for another cup run this year.

Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers: What a great rivalry series this is. The Bruins have a chance to redeem themselves from a short playoff run last year, and the Flyers are playing with house money. It will be interesting to see if Brian Boucher can carry the banged up Flyers through another round.

There are still enough teams in play that there should be a game on television each night of the week. Most of the weeknight games can be found on Versus, which is also back to being available to DirecTV subscribers. So make some time to watch a game or two, you never know, you might see something historic!