Pop And Lock

SI.com runs a weekly feature titled Pop Culture Grid, where they ask athletes about all things pop culture. Trying to show that they're just like us and have a life and interests outside of sports. Which is news to me, because I thought that all athletes slept in bunk beds in lower areas of the arena and only came out for games and practices.

In their recent column, SI spoke to Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes, and Ryan Callahan of the New York Rangers, who took some time out of their busy schedules of sleeping in bunk beds at their respective arenas to answer some zany pop culture related questions.

_____ needs to stay away from the Botox.
Callahan: Heidi Montag from The Hills
Doan: Teammate Steve Reinprecht

Person I'd like to make a documentary about?
Doan: Gen. Patton. He's just an incredible guy that you don't know much about
Callahan: Rangers defenseman Paul Mara. He is a very angry man

I have a love/hate relationship with_____
Callahan: Golf. I like playing but not that good at it
Doan: Former teammate Tyson Nash. He's one of those guys you love to hate

Click here for the full list of answers. Yes folks, there's more! You're welcome.

Sidney Crosby Is Talented

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby gets a lot of flack from the mainstream media and bloggers a like.

Some accuse him of being a whiner, a cheap shot artist, and a bit over hyped. However there is no denying that The Kid's got the skills to pay the bills, and those skills were on display Wednesday night in a game against the New York Rangers.

With the Pens up 5-2 late in the third period, Crosby netted himself an impressive, amazing, stupendous (enough adjectives?) no look, top shelf, backhanded goal. This after having to skip out on the All-Star weekend festivities due to an injury.

Some were outraged that Crosby was "too injured" to take part in the All-Star weekend and thought that his injury wasn't serious enough and he could've played. And I now agree. Too hurt for the all-star weekend, but after seven days of rest and just three days after the ASG itself he's able to score a highlight reel goal of the year candidate? How dare he.

Maybe the NHL should've forced him to play on the weekend just to make it fair and level out the playing field for everyone else. Actually that's not a bad idea. If you'll excuse me, I have to go give Gary Bettman a call and mention that to him. I also want to talk to him about my glow in the dark/cosmic bowling like idea for hockey games. I think it will really catch on.

Notable Quotable of the Day

"I've always been a guy that's worn his heart on his sleeve and I'm not going to lie to you - it was hard to leave Toronto. My heart was in the right place when I played there but I'm here in Denver now so I really appreciate the group of guys here."

- Darcy Tucker's thoughts on his former team the Leafs, as he gets set to play against them for the first time as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.

This Day In Hockey History - January 29th Edition

January 29th...

1978 - Bobby Clarke became the first player in franchise history to score 250 goals as a member of the Flyers. The milestone came when Philadelphia tied 3-3 at Detroit.

1984 - Gil Perreault scored twice and added an assist (in his 1,000th career game) as the Sabres beat the Penguins 7-3 at the Aud, to give them a record of 11-0-2 in the previous 13 games. Perreault became the first to play 1,000 games with Buffalo.

1996 - The Senators beat the Blues 4-2 at the Palladium in Ottawa, to end their NHL record for consecutive winless games at home - 17 (0-15-2). It was also Jacques Martin's first victory with Ottawa.

1998 - Kings' Luc Robitaille picked up two assists to give him 1,000 career points, becoming the 6th left winger in the NHL to reach the milestone. It came in a 5-3 L.A. win over the visiting Calgary Flames.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 28/09
Rangers 2 @ Penguins 6
Sabres 2 @ Flames 5
Blackhawks 3 @ Ducks 2
Predators 5 @ Canucks 3

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 29/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
BRUINS over Devils - 7pm
HURRICANES over Lightning - 7pm
THRASHERS over Islanders - 7pm
Canadiens over PANTHERS - 7pm
RED WINGS over Stars - 730pm
Senators over BLUES - 830pm
AVALANCHE over Maple Leafs - 930pm
Blackhawks over KINGS - 1030pm
SHARKS over Coyotes - 1030pm

Ray's Russian Rage

Former Ottawa Senators goalie Ray Emery is playing in Russia this year to try and improve his image from a hot head goalie who's weak in net and really just likes to get in fights. Though it doesn't look like much has changed in his time overseas.

That's because a video has surfaced on YouTube which shows Emery getting into a fight with a team official beside the player's bench.

The unidentified man tries to put a baseball cap on Emery, then the two exchange words and Emery responds with a solid left hook to the guy's face. The man is chased down the hallway by Emery where more punches are thrown, until Rayzer is finally restrained.

When asked about the incident by Rogers Sportsnet, Emery's agent J.P. Barry said he hadn’t heard of any problems with Emery in Russia, adding that his client was happy playing there.

Look Ray, can we talk? I hate wearing extra clothes as much as the next guy (pants especially) but you can't go around punching people because of it. That's the sort of reason why nobody wants anything to do with you in the NHL. So just simmer down, and put on the hat. Okay? Good talk.

Take a look at the video down below. Does that look like a guy happy to be there to you? Or maybe he just has a really strong anti-hat policy. That could be it too.

Ovie Is Okie

It was a scary sight for Capitals fans as Alex Ovechkin was left lying on his back after taking a hard shoulder-first slide into the boards on Tuesday night.

The incident occurred late in the second frame when Ovechkin and Bruins d-man Zdeno Chara were chasing after a loose puck, when Ovie lost his balance while trying to get around Chara and then slid into the end boards.

Caps training staff immediately came to the aid of Ovechkin, but after a few seconds he got up and went to the locker room. He would miss the rest of the second period but did return for the third.

News comes today from the Washington Post that there's nothing to worry about and that Ovechkin is as healthy as an Ox. Healthier than an ox? No, that's just ridiculous.

"It was just a hockey moment -- it is OK," Ovechkin told the Post.

Bruce Boudreau, head coach of the Caps also tried to downplay the accident, saying to NHL.com, "As far as I know, he's OK. He's a pretty tough kid."

So to recap, Alex Ovechkin slams into the boards shoulder-first, an incident that would have separated the shoulders of most, but he doesn't have to leave the game, is not injured, and won't miss anytime at all. Has anybody checked to make sure that Ovechkin isn't actually some sort of Russian super robot? Because I'm beginning to have my doubts.

[Source]

Court Is In Session

Three stars from the Nashville Predators recently showed up to a Belmont University basketball game for what looked like a not at all thrilling half-time promotion.

The Preds players who took part were Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, and Jordin Tootoo, and it mainly involved them going out and awkwardly shooting some basketballs. Or b-balls as the kids call it.

When I first saw that this video existed I kind of cringed as hockey players aren't well known for their basketball skills. Nor are basketball players known for their hockey skills. Have you ever seen Lebron James on skates? No, I haven't either. Case in point.

But it really wasn't as bad as it could've been. In one sequence, Shea Weber even sinks some free throws and a couple of three pointers.

Wow, Barack Obama becomes president and all sorts of stereotypes and barriers are being broken. A black man can be president, and white guys can sort of, somewhat play basketball. I never thought I'd live to see this day. *wipes single tear from eye*

Notable Quotable of the Day

"He's a guy we want to build around and we feel that between Henrik and Pavel (Datsyuk), we have two of the best two-way forwards in the game. He's in his prime, he's won a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe Trophy. He plays at both ends of the rink and goes to all the hard areas. He can play left wing and score and play the middle and be just as effective. He gives us flexibility and is a leader, a guy who, when Nick Lidstrom retires, is certainly someone we'll have to consider as the next captain for the Red Wings."

- Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland praising the many talents of Henrik Zetterberg after signing him to a 12 year, $72 million contract extension on Wednesday.

This Day In Hockey History - January 28th Edition

January 28th...

1918 - Montreal's Joe Malone extended his goal scoring streak to 11 straight games (which began with the NHL's inaugural game six weeks earlier) when he scored his 25th of the season in a 5-1 Canadiens' loss at Toronto.

1937 - Montreal's Howie Morenz suffered a broken leg during a 6-5 win over Chicago. He died six weeks later from complications.

1987 - Washington's Mike Gartner scored his 300th career NHL goal in a 2-1 win at Detroit. Gartner became the first player to score 300 goals as a member of the Washington Capitals.

1990 - Mario Lemieux scored a third period goal to give him 100 points on the season for the 6th straight year, and tied the NHL's second longest consecutive game scoring streak at 39, in a 7-2 Penguins' loss at Buffalo.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 27/09
Hurricanes 2 @ Rangers 3
Capitals 2 @ Bruins 3 (OT)
Red Wings 2 @ Blue Jackets 3 (OT)
Canadiens 3 @ Lightning 5
Flyers 2 @ Panthers 3
Devils 4 @ Senators 1
Maple Leafs 1 @ Wild 6
Thrashers 0 @ Stars 2
Ducks 7 @ Coyotes 3
Sharks 3 @ Avalanche 0
Sabres 10 @ Oilers 2

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 28/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
Rangers over PENGUINS - 730pm
FLAMES over Sabres - 8pm
Blackhawks over DUCKS - 10pm
CANUCKS over Predators - 1030pm

The Ultimate Canadiens Team

Everybody is getting in on the Montreal Canadiens Centennial Celebration. On Friday the CBC will air a documentary on the all-time greatest Habs. The Hockey News and Sports Illustrated have both released special edition Canadiens retrospectives, and now you can through TSN into the fray as they have just released their "Ultimate Canadiens Team."

When you think of an all time, ultimate team, you immediately think of names like Lafleur, Richard, Roy, and Beliveau. But those guys have honoured so much and everybody will remember them anyhow. They don't all need TSN's respect too.

What TSN did was build an all-time lineup along the lines of a real team, featuring starting and backup goalies, three defence pairs, plus first and second scoring lines, a checking line and an energy line. On top of that, a couple of stipulations were put in place. No more than eight Hall of Famers (one goaltender, three defencemen and four forwards) could be on this team and players had to be in the natural position they actually played.

By this time tomorrow, everybody on the interwebs will be giving their two cents on this list. Even people who have no business doing so. People who have never watched a Habs game unless they happened to be playing against their favourite team. So I thought I'd beat them to the punch and give my expert and well respected around the hockey community opinion. Stop laughing. Plus I've happened to have been watching Montreal Canadiens games since my mom popped me out. I think there was even a Habs game in on the hospital room while she was giving birth.

So without further adieu, here is TSN's "Ultimate Canadiens Team." My analysis which is the real reason why you stopped by (let's be honest), is right underneath. Also, the years beside each player's name is not when they were born and died, but rather the years the played for the Canadiens. If it was the other way, then all these guys would be around 12 years old. Which would maybe make them even more legendary. Playing for the Habs at the tender age of 12? What an inspiration.

Goalies

Starter: Jacques Plante (1952-63)
Backup: Michel "Bunny" Larocque (1973-81)

Analysis: Oh hell no! They did not just choose Jacques Plante over Patrick Roy! I've had this argument with Habs fans all the time on who's the better goalie, and let's face it, they've both got some pretty great stats. But Roy played in a much harder time, revolutionized a whole new way of goaltending which is still used to this day, and has more career wins. Plante came up with the goalie mask. Conversation over. As for "Bunny" Larocque as the backup, sure why not. He backed up Ken Dryden over four straight Stanley Cups in the 70's. And with a nickname like "Bunny", how can you go wrong?

Defense

First Pair: Doug Harvey (1947-61) and Mike Komisarek (2002-Present)

Analysis: Doug Harvey's a no brainer, he was rock solid on defense. He even won seven consecutive Norris trophies! Definitely the best defenseman in Montreal Canadiens history. Though Patrice Brisebois is a close second. As for Komisarek, hopefully this will now put to rest the position that some have that Komi is the most overrated defenseman in history. Actually this will probably only add to their argument.

Second Pair: Larry Robinson (1972-89) and Serge Savard (1966-81)

Analysis: This tandem could easily be the first pair, they were that great. Strong defensively and both had a great knowledge of hockey which led to post playing careers. Savard was the long time GM of the Habs in the late 90's to the mid-2000's, and Robinson won a Stanley Cup as head coach of the New Jersey Devils in the 1999-00 season.

Third Pair: Ted Harris (1963-70) and Craig Ludwig (1982-90)

Analysis: TSN really should've had Guy Lapointe on this line. The only way I understand him not being named is due to their ridiculous rule about only allowing a certain number of Hall of Famers. Because you know, that's how real teams are. I can just imagine a GM meeting with the Owner when they're trying to decide who to sign or trade, and the Owner telling the general manager that they can't have too many Hall of Famers on the team. Oh wait, no I can't imagine that, because that would never happen.

Forwards

First Line: LW Dickie Moore (1951-63), C Jean Beliveau (1950-71), RW Maurice "Rocket" Richard (1942-60)

Analysis: No complaints here. You could even make the argument that this might be the ultimate first line in hockey history. And it would definitely be an argument, as somebody would surely bring up the names Gretzky or Lemieux.

Second Line: LW John Ferguson (1963-71), C Saku Koivu (1995-Present), RW Bobby Rousseau (1960-70)

Analysis: This should be a line of Yvan Cournoyer, Henri "The Pocket Rocket" Richard, and Guy Lafleur, no question. But the TSN HoF/Actual Lines rule strikes again! I will say that I'm happy to see Captain Koivu named to the team. Even if "The Pocket Rocket" technically is the better second line centre with 10 Stanley Cups compared to Koivu's no Stanley Cups. I've always thought that Koivu doesn't get enough credit, and history will look back on him as one of the all-time greatest Habs. And I'm sure he appreciates me saying so. I've even heard it helps him sleep better at night.

Checking Line: LW Bob Gainey (1973-89), C Guy Carbonneau (1980-94), RW Claude Provost (1955-70)

Analysis: I wonder if the current GM (Gainey) and coach (Carbonneau) made TSN name them to this line, or else they would cut off all access to the team. Probably not as they are definitely deserving of these spots anyhow. And when you throw in Provost, imagine what an amazing shutdown line this would be in today's game. This is the reason why I wish cloning and time machines were actually possible.

Energy Line: Andre Pronovost (1956-61), Brian Skrudland (1985-93), Jimmy Roberts (1963-67, 72-77)

Analysis: They really dug deep for this one didn't they? As fourth lines go, this is a pretty good fourth line. Still to this day, the Brian Skrudland cover of Les Canadiens magazine from 1989 remains one of my all-time favourites...

It honestly looks like a cheesy profile picture from a terrible dating site for golden retriever lovers. And look at those monsterous glasses! Though to be fair, everybody in the 80's was rocking the extra large frames.

So there you have it. That is TSN's "Ultimate Canadiens Team" and my thoughts on the matter. There are some glaring omissions from the great teams of the 70's as I've pointed out above, and the snubbing of Patrick Roy is unforgiveable. Quite frankly TSN, I don't know if you and I can be friends anymore after that. Oh, who am I kidding? I can't stay mad at you! Come here, and let's hug it out!


[Source]

Oh Captain, My Captain

Both the East and West have their captains for the All-Star game, as earlier Thursday the NHL announced the men who will lead their respective conferences.

For the West it will be Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks. This is Thornton's sixth consecutive all-star appearance, his first as captain. Though he has struggled at the ASG, going pointless in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007. He was finally able to get on the score sheet last year in Atlanta when he recorded an assist.

"I'm shocked and excited," said Thornton. "It's a big honor to be named captain of an All-Star Team. Unbelievable. There are so many good players on the team. They must have picked me because I'm getting old."

Thankfully Joe said what we were all thinking with that getting old comment. Speaking of getting old, Alex Kovalev will be the guy to wear the "C" for the Eastern Conference in front of the hometown Montreal fans. I'm a master of transitions aren't I.

This will mark Kovalev's third all-star appearance, and first as captain. Though Kovy has worn the "C" much of this season for the Montreal Canadiens while regular captain Saku Koivu has been out with a mysterious lower body injury.

Those the worst, when you're whole lower body is injured. Like how do you even get around. I guess that's what servants are for. And for feeding you grapes. They do that too. I need to get me one of those lower body injuries. Here I am moving around and feeding grapes to myself like a sucker.

[Source]

Breakaway Challenge Looks Challenging

At last year's All-Star game in Atlanta, the NHL introduced the Breakaway Challenge to to the Skills Competition. A chance for the league's most skilled players to show off their best moves and then have them voted on by a panel of d-list celebrities. It didn't go over so great.

This year the NHL has made some adjustments including giving the players a time limit, and instead of no-name actors and washed up former sports stars, fans will have the chance to vote for their favourite player. I think I speak for everyone when I say that I hope Montreal and Pittsburgh fans are well behaved that night, and no ballot stuffing occurs. But just to be safe, maybe the networks should tape delay the breakaway challenge and show it about an hour later in those two cities.

The participants in the Breakaway Challenge are:
Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
Alex Kovalev, Montreal Canadiens
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

Bragging rights are on the line and all 5 players are taking it seriously. According to the NHL anyhow who have just released a video of the players practicing their moves for the competition. Well I should say that Getzlaf, Ovechkin, and Kane appear to be taking it seriously and practicing as neither Crosby or Kovalev are anywhere to be seen in the video.

But who's to say, maybe they're practicing extra hard and don't want anybody to see it. Perhaps they've assembled a team of scientists and physics experts to help them develop the greatest move that's ever been seen which will completely blow our minds. Or perhaps they just know that Habs and Pens fans will vote like crazy for them anyhow, so really what's the point.

Here's the video of the three players practicing. Personally my favourite part of it has nothing to do with any of the moves, but rather when Ryan Getzlaf shows up some kid who's parents probably paid a buttload of money to get him on the ice to meet Getzlaf. That'll show you for having an advantage in life, you spoiled brat.

Notable Quotable of the Day

"Pucks were supposed to be bouncing in more than they were bouncing out and I don't know, I kind of found it the other way around. It all depends on the angle that you shoot it on. The posts and the crossbar all funnel in towards the net but you have to be kind of shooting straight on from the net in order for it to work."

- Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Mitchell on the NHL's failed attempt to increase scoring with a new slimmer, angled post design. Read more about the net experiment in Toronto here.

This Day In Hockey History - January 22nd Edition

January 22nd...

1938 - Boston Bruins recorded their biggest road win in team history (up to that time) a 9-1 victory over Toronto, at Maple Leaf Gardens.

1961 - Chicago's Glenn Hall became the third goaltender in franchise history to record 100 wins as a member of the Blackhawks. The milestone came in an 8-3 win over the visiting Boston Bruins. Stan Mikita led the scoring with four assists.

1986 - Penguins had their first win in Edmonton, when Mike Bullard scored his 5th career hat trick and Mario Lemieux added 4 assists in a 7-4 victory over the Oilers. The Pens snapped their 10 game winless streak (0-9-1) at Edmonton, since Feb. 1980.

2003 - Detroit's Brett Hull became just the second player in NHL history to score 20 goals in each of his first 16 NHL seasons, when he connected for the 699th of his career in the Red Wings 4-3 loss in overtime against the Oilers at Edmonton.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 21/09
Canadiens 2 @ Devils 5
Ducks 1 @ Islanders 2
Thrashers 3 @ Flyers 5
Bruins 4 @ Maple Leafs 3 (SO)
Sabres 3 @ Lightning 5
Stars 4 @ Panthers 1
Blues 2 @ Blackhawks 0
Kings 6 @ Avalanche 5
Blue Jackets 4 @ Flames 5 (SO)

There are no games scheduled for the next two days due to the All-Star break. Two days without hockey? How will I survive? Plenty of booze, that's how.

How About Hemsky

This may be a surprise to you, but Ales Hemsky is one of the hottest players in the NHL right now. Not many people seem to know about that. Why that is, it's anyone's guess. Probably because he plays in Edmonton. Wait, let me clarify. That's not a knock on the "City of Champions" at all. So please, I don't want to see my mailbox stuffed with hate mail from Edmontonians. Only phone numbers from foxy ladies.

What I mean by that, is the Oilers usually play pretty late at night. Most of their games start at 10pm, and by that time most are sleeping. Or in my case, romancing international super models. So sometimes it can be pretty hard to catch their games.

If you have been able to catch some Oilers coverage, then you don't need me to tell you how on fire Ales Hemsky has been as of late. The Czech has 10 points in his last 5 games, which included an amazing four point night on Tuesday against Columbus.

So consider this as your heads up. The next time an Oilers game is on, knock back a Beaver Buzz or two (my favourite Canadian energy drink) and stay up and watch how talented Hemsky is. And in my case, I'll try and move my romancing of international super models to the afternoon. "Sky rockets in flight, afternoon delight," as Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 News Team once sang. Afternoon delight indeed.

Here are Hemsky's two highlight reel goals from Wednesday night against the Blue Jackets...

Parlez-vous Francais?

The All-Star festivities in Montreal are fast approaching as everything is set to get underway this Saturday at the Bell Centre.

This year's ASG will mark the 13th time the game has been played in Montreal. All of the games have been previous played in the Montreal Forum, this is the first time it will be held at the Bell Centre. Ah your first time. You never forget your first time! Well that is unless you get blackout drunk and wake up in a drunken haze with your wallet missing and your arms tied to the bed. Not sure how you got there or why you're in the predicament that you are. Not that I'd know about that from experience... What. Why are you looking at me like that?

To get you excited for you All-Star weekend, the NHL has released an ad with some french sayings in it. Because the game is in Montreal, and they speak french there you see. You can't get anything past thse geniuses in the NHL marketing department.

Most of the french phrases are pretty straight forward and if you even remotely paid attention in elementary school french class or have watched a Gerard Depardieu movie, then you should know them all.

Notable Quotable of the Day

"It's almost a bad time for a break because we're playing as well as we have in a long time... We've really come a long way here."

- Phoenix Coyotes bench boss Wayne Gretzky on how hot the Coyotes have been going into the All-Star break. Phoenix now sits 5th overall in the Western Conference.

This Day In Hockey History - January 21st Edition

January 21st...

1930 - Boston became the first team in NHL history to score 100 goals in a season, in a 5-1 win over Chicago, at Boston Garden. Cooney Weiland scored the Bruins' 100th goal of the season in their 26th game of the year.

1989 - Wayne Gretzky had a goal and three assists in a 5-4 Kings loss to the Whalers, at Hartford and moved past Marcel Dionne as the NHL's #2 all time leading scorer, with 1,771 points (in 743 games). Dionne had 1,770 points in 1,343 games at the time.

2001 - Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Blackhawks 4-0 in the first-ever NHL game featuring two European trained coaches. Ivan Hlinka was behind the bench for the Penguins, and Alpo Suhonen was the man behind the bench for the Blackhawks.

2004 - Minnesota Wild set an NHL record for two fastest goals, when Jim Dowd and Richard Park scored goals just three seconds apart in the final 15 seconds of the game, in a 4-2 win over the visiting Blakckhawks. Park's goal was into an empty net.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 20/09
Ducks 2 @ Rangers 4
Canadiens 2 @ Thrashers 4
Capitals 2 @ Senators 3
Hurricanes 2 @ Penguins 1
Kings 5 @ Wild 2
Blue Jackets 3 @ Oilers 4
Red Wings 3 @ Coyotes 6
Canucks 1 @ Sharks 2 (OT)

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 21/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
Canadiens over DEVILS - 7pm
Ducks over ISLANDERS - 7pm
FLYERS over Thrashers - 7pm
Bruins over MAPLE LEAFS - 730pm
Sabres over LIGHTNING - 730pm
PANTHERS over Stars - 730pm
BLACKHAWKS over Blues - 830pm
Kings over AVALANCHE - 9pm
FLAMES over Blue Jackets - 10pm

Why So Serious?

With the Academy Awards coming up, there's alot of buzz surrounding the late Heath Ledger's portrayal as The Joker in The Dark Knight. Many believe that he should be nominated and win for Best Supporting Actor. And it looks like you can count Atlanta Thrashers goalie Kari Lehtonen amongst those who think Ledger should win the Oscar.

That's because in practice Lehtonen has been showing off a brand new mask with a picture of Ledger as The Joker on the side, as seen above.

This isn't the first time that Lehtonen has put something pop culture related/nerdy on his mask. Previous themes included Transformers, Final Fantasy X, and Kill Bill.

I'm sure this will definitely sway Academy voters to vote for Ledger. Here's how I imagine that discussion might go.

Voter #1: I'm really not too sure about voting for Heath Ledger as The Joker. I think there are some other pretty good performances that are deserving too.
Voter #2: Yeah but Kari Lehtonen of the Atlanta Thrashers thinks he should win.
Voter #1: Well then! Give that man the Oscar!
Voter #2: Give it to his family or whomever is accepting it for him you mean.
Voter #1: Oh yeah...
*Awkward, sad silence*

[Source]

Blackhawks and Headlocks

If you missed Monday Night Raw on Monday (what other night would it be on) then you missed a shout out to the Chicago Blackhawks by WWE diva Kelly Kelly.

Raw was being held at Allstate Arena in Chi-town, and Kelly Kelly had a match against Women's Champion Beth Phoenix. In the match Kelly donned a very small and very tight Blackhawks jersey with Jonathan Toews' name and number on the back. I didn't even know they made hockey jerseys that doubled as belly shirts. You learn something new everyday.

This isn't the first time Kelly Kelly has worn a hockey jersey to the ring. Back in November she sported a Tampa Bay Lightning sweater in a 16 Diva tag team match. All those divas in one ring at once...must focus... must stop day dreaming... and drooling.

I think it's safe to say that Kelly Kelly is now officially the best looking person to ever wear a Blackhawks jersey. Sorry Jeremy Roenick.

Anyhoo, here's video of last night's match because that picture doesn't do Kelly Kelly justice. Or do the skin tight Blackhawks jersey justice for that matter.

Notable Quotable of the Day

“I didn’t know if things would come back right away. I probably played a little more than I expected. I still think I have a lot of work to do. This is a game that has a lot of adrenaline. It is just one game. There is a long way for me to go and a lot of building for me yet.”

- Brendan Shanahan on how it felt to play in his first game since May 4th, 2008. Shanahan scored a power play goal in his return with the New Jersey Devils, leading them to a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators monday night.

This Day In Hockey History - January 20th Edition

January 20th...

1982 - Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky became the first player in NHL history to get 12 career hat tricks before age 21, when he scored 3 times (and added 2 assists) in an 8-6 win over the visiting St. Louis Blues. It was Gretzky's 6th hat trick of the season.

1989 - Mario Lemieux became the the Penguins all-time leading scorer when he scored his 637th NHL career point (with his 50th goal of the year) in just his 336th game (a 7-3 loss at Wpg). Lemieux replaced Rick Kehoe, who had 636 points in 722 NHL games.

2002 - Steve Yzerman became the 9th player in NHL history to score 1,000 career assists, and Mathieu Dandenault scored the winning goal 59 seconds into overtime as the Red Wings won 3-2 against the visiting Ottawa Senators.

2003 - Patrick Roy became the first goaltender in NHL history to play in 1,000 regular-season games as the Avalanche tied 1-1 with the visiting Dallas Stars.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 19/09
Blues 5 @ Bruins 4 (SO)
Capitals 2 @ Islanders 1 (OT)
Hurricanes 2 @ Maple Leafs 0
Stars 2 @ Lightning 4
Sabres 3 @ Panthers 2 (SO)
Wild 4 @ Blackhawks 1
Devils 3 @ Predators 1

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 20/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
Ducks over RANGERS - 7pm
Canadiens over Thrashers - 7pm
Capials over SENATORS - 730pm
PENGUINS over Hurricanes - 730pm
Kings over WILD - 8pm
Blue Jackets over OILERS - 9pm
Red Wings over COYOTES - 9pm
SHARKS over Canucks - 1030pm

Mad Max's Moves

Most people really hate the shootout. Like stepping in a puddle, getting stuck in an elevator, or having to sit through an episode of Two and a Half Men level of hate. But there's no denying that Maxim Lapierre's shootout goal to give the Montreal Canadiens a 5-4 win over the Senators on Saturday night was pretty interesting.

Lapierre started off slow, going at what could best be described as the pace of tortoise, but then became the haire and sped up and put it past Ottawa goalie Brian Elliott for the win.

I was watching this game live and I literally threw my drink at the tv when Laps started out slow like that. I even started to reach for my car keys to make the four hour drive to Ottawa and knock some sense into him. Lord know at that pace I would have gotten there well before he even reached the net.

Here's video of the innovative shootout goal.

And here's ESPN's recap of the goal. Check out what they call Lapierre. I didn't know he happened to change his last name. How did I miss that? I guess I'm just not as up on things as a major international sports network.

That's Terrible

Sunday afternoon after the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 3-0, Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was named the first star of the game. As he came on to the ice to receive the honour he was waving what is referred to as a "terrible towel." Which makes sense considering how terrible he and the Penguins have been this year, in danger of missing the playoffs.

What's that you say? The terrible towel is to support the Pittsburgh Steelers who made it to the Superbowl, and in no way a reference to how bad the Penguins have been. Are you sure? Well I'll have to take your word on it, but that certainly explains the Steelers helmet Fleury was sporting, I'll give you that.

You'll have to excuse me, I'm Canadian and don't know too much about the NFL. Now when it comes to the CFL where you have only three downs and two teams named the Roughriders, then I'm very knowledgeable. Well there you used to be two teams named the Roughriders anyhow. That's until they had a fight to the death to determine which team could keep the name. And I'm not even exaggerating by the phrase fight to the death. All players and personnel from the losing team have never been heard from since. What a dark day in Canadian football history...

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

The Power Play wishes you and yours a Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Notable Quotable of the Day

“It definitely was a special night. It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

- Colorado Avalanche forward Milan Hejduk on netting his 300th goal during a 6-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Sunday night. It also happened to be the same game that Hejduk's teammate Ryan Smyth got his 300th goal in too.

This Day In Hockey History - January 19th Edition

January 19th...

1898 - Brown defeated Harvard 6-0 in the first recorded U.S. collegiate hockey game.

1950 - Dick Irvin became the first man in NHL history to coach 1,000 NHL games, when his Montreal Canadiens lost to the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2.

1971 - Gordie Howe appeared in a record 14th consecutive All-Star game, and in his 22nd in 23 NHL seasons. The 14 straight games eclipsed the mark of 13 straight set by Maurice Richard. The West beat the East, 2-1 in Boston.

1991 - Vince Damphousse scored 4 goals in an 11-5 Campbell Conference win over the Wales at the NHL All Star Game in Chicago. Wayne Gretzky scored to become the all-time leader in All Star Game Goals (breaking Gordie Howe's record of 10 goals).

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 18/09
Rangers 0 @ Penguins 3
Flames 2 @ Avalanche 6
Blue Jackets 6 @ Canucks 5 (SO)
Coyotes 3 @ Oilers 6

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 19/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
BRUINS over Blues - 1pm
Capitals over ISLANDERS - 2pm
Hurricanes over MAPLE LEAFS - 730pm
Stars over LIGHTNING - 730pm
Sabres over PANTHERS - 730pm
BLACKHAWKS over Wild - 8pm
Devils over PREDATORS - 8pm

Returning Monday/Site News

Hey Power Players!

Just wanted to let you know that after a few days of not posting, The Power Play will return on Monday to give you your much needed fix of hockey coverage filled with inappropriate jokes.

And after celebrating my 1000th post this past week, there will be some big exciting changes happening to the site. Unfortunately Carrie Underwood being a guest blogger isn't one of them. Believe me, I tried.

So stay tuned for all that and enjoy the rest of your weekend! See you on Monday...

- Ken

Wyclef Jean In A Habs Jersey

This isn't especially news worthy, but I just always like seeing famous people who you don't think would care at all about hockey doing something hockey related. And this fits the bill perfectly.

I neither like Wyclef Jean or 60 Minutes, but apparently Sunday's edition of 60 Minutes had a feature on Wyclef Jean, and in one scene he was spotted rocking out in a Habs jersey. (As seen above.)

I tried to think of a clever headline for this post using one of Wyclef's songs and sneaking in the word Habs, but I'm really not that creative. The best I came up with was Habs Don't Lie, a take off on Hips Don't Lie. But that's actually a song by Shakira that Wyclef is only featured in. So that really put a damper on things. Except that I started to think about Shakira and then everything was all better again.

[Source]

Highlights-a-Plenty

The Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars put on quite a show Monday night, with the Stars surprisingly winning 5-4 in overtime. Ooooooooh-vahtime! Sorry, I just like saying it like that.

The game featured quite a few highlight reel saves and goals. Too many in fact for me to talk about them seperately. If I did pinpoint each and everyone of them, I'd be here all day. And I have a manicure/pedicure appointment to go to. It's ok to pamper yourself, it doesn't make you any less of a man. Right?...

Here are the highlights from the game...

Notable Quotable of the Day

"There is a price for everything, and if we have a chance at an impact player, we would evaluate the cost and see what happened."

- Habs general manager Bob Gainey discussing the Vincent Lecavalier to Montreal trade rumours.

This Day In Hockey History - January 13th Edition

January 13th...

1971 - In one of hockey's biggest trades, the Montreal Canadiens obtained Frank Mahovlich from Detroit, in exchange for Bill Collins, Guy Charron and Mickey Redmond.

1985 - Playing in his 436th career game, Wayne Gretzky scored his 400th career NHL goal and added two assists in a 5-4 Oilers' win over the Sabres at Buffalo. Gretzky became the 23rd player in the NHL to reach the 400 goal mark.

2003 - Jeff Friesen set a New Jersey Devils team record when he scored twice within a span of 26 seconds, during the second period of a 6-2 win against the visiting Florida Panthers.

2004 - Tom Fitzgerald and Gary Roberts became the first teammates in NHL history to play in their 1,000th NHL game in the same night as the Maple Leafs won 4-1 against the visiting Calgary Flames. Fitzgerald scored a goal in the game.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 12/09
Red Wings 4 @ Stars 5 (OT)
Lightning 3 @ Kings 1

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 13/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
Canadiens over BRUINS - 7pm
Rangers over ISLANDERS - 7pm
FLYERS over Penguins - 7pm
CAPITALS over Oilers - 7pm
Avalanche over BLUE JACKETS - 7pm
Predators over MAPLE LEAFS - 730pm
Hurricanes over SENATORS - 730pm
Coyotes over WILD - 8pm
FLAMES over Blues - 930pm
CANUCKS over Devils - 10pm
SHARKS over Lightning - 1030pm

The Power Play's 1,000th Post!

It is with great pride that I announce that this is The Power Play's 1,000th post!

It's hard to believe that I thought of enough things to write about 999 times to get to this point. Some of them probably could've gone without a write up, but it's the thought that counts.

After crunching the numbers, I figured out that I was able to reach 1,000 posts in 408 days. By comparison, it took Wayne Gretzky 424 games to score his first 1,000 points. Which really isn't a good comparison at all. They're two completely different things. I just wanted to figure out a way to say that I was better than Wayne Gretzky.

Thanks to each and every one of you Power Players who read this blog every single day! And even those of you who just randomly check in or happen to find this little gem through a google search while looking into other questionable subjects.

To celebrate the 1,000 mark, here's some linkage to a photo gallery of the stunning Carrie Underwood. Now they're even hockey related as she has recently been linked to Ottawa Senators forward Mike Fischer. Lucky bastard.

The first 1,000 were fun, and here's to another 1,000!

-Ken Beckett
Creator and Writer of The Power Play

Stamkos vs. Doughty - Round 1

Steven Stamkos or Drew Doughty. Who's better? It was a debate that raged on through much of the lead up to the 2008 entry draft. Some praised Stamkos' Yzerman-like skills. Meanwhile others thought Doughty was the type of puck moving d-man that could anchor a team.

Tonight for the first time in their young careers, they do battle against each other. The first chances for Kings and Bolts fans to see which team got the better prospect.

Much has been said about these two and different people have different opinions on who is the better player. But forget opinions, let's take a look at the stats. Because numbers don't lie. Well except for the number 30. That one lies all the time. Stupid number.

Games Played
Stamkos: 40
Doughty: 41
Advantage: Doughty

Goals
Stamkos: 4
Doughty: 3
Advantage: Stamkos

Assists
Stamkos: 10
Doughty: 9
Advantage: Stamkos

Plus/Minus
Stamkos: -11
Doughty: -4
Advantage: Doughty

So let me get out my calculator here. Uh-huh, hmmmm...carry the one. Dammit. Tied 2-2! This didn't solve anything.

Tiebreaker time!

Talked Smack About By Fired Head Coaches
Stamkos: 1
Doughty: 0
Advantage: Doughty

And we have a winner! As if it wasn't bad enough that Barry Melrose even criticized Stamkos in the first place, now it makes him lose a meaningless competition on the internet. I don't know how he'll ever survive. Oh, based on upon the fact that he'll sign a big NHL contract and makes lots of money and be hounded by throngs of puck bunnies you say? Yeah that'll do it.

Notable Quotable of the Day

"I guess every time we call somebody up we have to defend why it isn't Robbie. I think the bottom line is it's up to Robbie to be a decent player down there. We all know what he can do, he's got decent hands and he can work the power play OK, but he's slow and he's not a physical player, he's soft at this level. There are a lot of things he needs to address in his game to be the guy who gets called up. It's getting to the point where you have to be honest. He's not helping them (Springfield) particularly right now, and there's no reason to think he's going to come up here and help us given those circumstances."

- Edmonton Oilers bench boss Craig MacTavish with some real talk on why Robbie Schremp isn't good enough for the Oilers. Too bad Robbie didn't play with Kevin Lowe in the 80's like MacTavish did. That seems to be a guaranteed way to stay with the big club even with minimal talent.

This Day In Hockey History - January 12th Edition

January 12th...

1918 - Montreal's Joe Malone scored five times (to become the first 20 goal scorer in NHL history) as the Canadiens won 9-4 over Ottawa. Malone also extended his goal scoring streak (from the start of the NHL) to 7 straight games.

1987 - Charlie Simmer registered the 13,000th goal in Boston Bruins' history in a 4-1 win over New York Rangers. The milestone goal was scored over 62 years after Bruins' Fred Harris posted the clubs first goal on Dec. 1, 1924.

1990 - Penguins' Paul Coffey scored his 270th NHL goal, to tie Bobby Orr for second place all time in goals by defenseman. It came in 6-4 Penguins' win against the Capitals at Washington.

1994 - Wayne Gretzky scored to became the first 2,400 career point scorer in NHL history, then added another goal plus two assists, & Luc Robitaille scored two goals and two assists to lead the Kings to a 6-4 win over the Hartford Whalers at the Forum.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 11/09
Predators 1 @ Blackhawks 3
Blues 1 @ Oilers 2
Devils 3 @ Ducks 4

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 12/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
Red Wings over STARS - 8pm
KINGS over Lightning - 1030pm

Top 10 2009 World Junior Moments

It was a glorious year for Team Canada at the World Juniors. They went undefeated, won their fifth straight gold medal, and did it all in front of their hometown fans in Ottawa.

But guess what. Other countries besides Canada did some pretty impressive things at the tournament too. What were they? I don't know. I was too busy cheering for Team Canada to notice.

Thankfully TSN was paying attention and that's why they've put together the Top 10 moments from the 2009 World Juniors. Now that I've watched it, I would have to say the best thing the other countries brought us was Jaroslav Janus, the goalie for Slovakia. Hehe, what a funny last name.

Grabovski Goes Crazy

Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Mikhail Grabovski has been suspended three games by the NHL for abusing an official.

The incident stems from Thursday when the Leafs took on the Montreal Canadiens and lost 6-2. Sorry, just had to get in that score. One more time for good measure, the Habs beat the Leafs 6-2. That feels so fun to say.

Grabovski, a former member of the Canadiens, was getting attention from Habs fans and players all night long at the Bell Centre. Any time he touched the puck Habs fans started booing, and any time there was a whistle or a scrum against the boards Habs players made sure to get in an extra shot or rough up Grabovski a little more than usual.

It all came to ahead late in the third period when Grabovski seemingly had enough and decided he wanted to fight with fellow Belarussian Sergei Kostitsyn.

The refs weren't going to allow it and immediately got in between the two. This didn't sit well with Grabovski who after being knocked down on the ice by the linesman, got up and pushed the linesman and then kicked some snow at him. The horror!

Grabovski was immediately given a game misconduct and sent off the ice, much to the delight of the Bell Centre crowd who gave the former Habs prospect the send off they thought he deserved. Grabovski made some hand gestures to the fans, which included waving, peace signs, and what appeared to be the middle finger for just a few seconds.

Though I should say I have no prove he did give the one fingered salute as it was very brief. When I was watching the game live, I paused my dvr and rewinded and watched in slow motion, frame by frame over and over again. But I couldn't really tell.

Do I really care if he did it or not and am I offended by it if he did? No of course not. I just like to start controversies. Especially when they involve Leaf players. Speaking of, I might just happen to know of a juicy story involving Tomas Kaberle and a group of midgets. Or I believe they like to be referred to as "little people." Though Kaberle is a tall guy so maybe it was just normal sized people, but compared to him they look like "little people." Well that makes my story considerably less juicy doesn't it?

Here's full video of the Grabovski vs. Linesman vs. Kostitsyn incident...

Notable Quotable of the Day

''You try to trust your best guys. It's those guys that cost us the game.''

- Senators coach Craig Hartsburg blaming Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza for the Sens' 6-4 loss to the Bruins, after they made two bonehead plays/giveaways that led to goals.

This Day In Hockey History - January 9th Edition

January 9th...

1992 - The NHL found homes for their two newest teams, placing Tampa Bay in the Norris and Ottawa in the Adams Division.

1996 - Steve Thomas scored two goals and an assist, and veteran Scott Stevens became the 106th player to appear in 1,000 NHL games, when the Devils won, 4-2 over the visiting St. Louis Blues.

1998 - Dale Hunter had three assists to give him 1,000 career NHL points. The milestone came in a Capitals' 4-1 win over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. Hunter became the first NHL player to collect 1,000 points and 3,000 career penalty minutes.

2003 - Philadelphia's Jeremy Roenick became the 60th player in NHL history (and the 6th U.S. born player) to get 600 career assists, and Roman Cechmanek recorded his 15th career shutout in a 4-0 win over the Islanders at Long Island.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 8/09
Senators 4 @ Bruins 6
Thrashers 4 @ Devils 0
Wild 1 @ Flyers 3
Maple Leafs 2 @ Canadiens 6
Hurricanes 2 @ Panthers 4
Stars 1 @ Red Wings 6
Penguins 3 @ Predators 5
Blackhawks 1 @ Avalanche 2
Islanders 2 @ Flames 5
Lightning 2 @ Coyotes 3
Ducks 3 @ Kings 4

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 9/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
CAPITALS over Blue Jackets - 7pm
Rangers over SABRES - 730pm
Sharks over OILERS - 9pm
CANUCKS over Blues 10pm
DUCKS over Lightning - 10pm

Lights Out Lang

During Wednesday night's Canadiens vs. Rangers game, Habs veteran Robert Lang scored a beauty of a goal which might be a goal of the year candidate but I'm not entirely sure. It could be a candidate but there have been so many more spectcular goals which would easily beat it. So why just nominate it for the sake of being nominated. That's like when actors say it's just an honour to be nominated for an award. It's a complete lie.

More about the goal, Lang takes the puck in over the Blueshirts' blueline and then dekes the pants off Rangers d-man Marc Staal. [ed. note: His pants actually stayed on. It's just a saying.] Lang then puts the puck past Henrik Lundqvist top shelf - or 'Roof Daddy' as Pierre McGuire would say - for his second goal of the game. Lang would later go on to score on an empty net late in the third for his second career hat trick.

You know what's amazing about this goal? That Lang is 39 years old and is still able to pull off moves like this. When I'm 39, I bet I'm going to be so stiff and out of shape that getting out of a chair too fast will make me sore. Who am I kidding? I'm only 24 and I'm already kind of like that.

East All-Stars Announced

The rosters for the ASG in Montreal are all set with the NHL announcing the East All-Star reserves today. Finally we can stop talking about the controversies regarding who was voted in and who wasn't by the fans. And by fans I of course mean autoscripts and computers in Montreal and Pittsburgh.

Goalies
Carey Price - Montreal Canadiens*
Tim Thomas - Boston Bruins
Henrik Lundqvist - New York Rangers

Defencemen
Andrei Markov - Montreal Canadiens*
Mike Komisarek - Montreal Canadiens*
Jay Bouwmeester - Florida Panthers
Zdeno Chara - Boston Bruins
Tomas Kaberle - Toronto Maple Leafs
Mark Streit - New York Islanders

Forwards
Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins*
Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh Penguins*
Alex Kovalev - Montreal Canadiens*
Jeff Carter - Philadelphia Flyers
Dany Heatley - Ottawa Senators
Ilya Kovalchuk - Atlanta Thrashers
Vincent Lecavelier - Tampa Bay Lightning
Alex Ovechkin - Washington Capitals
Zach Parise - New Jersey Devils
Marc Savard - Boston Bruins
Eric Staal - Carolina Hurricanes
Thomas Vanek - Buffalo Sabres

All-Star weekend is January 24-25th in Montreal so make sure you check that out. Or don't. These things are usually pretty terrible. What else should you do you ask? I don't know, go down to the park and harass the homeless people or young girls going for a run. That's of course not my idea of a good time... What? Why are you looking at me like that?

Notable Quotable of the Day

“It’s timing, where you come in and shoot, you jam yourself a little bit. And when you’re trying to make a pass it goes over a stick. It felt exactly like where you are at the start of a season, where you’re trying to get it back, but the only way to get it back is to play games.”

- Mats Sundin on how it felt to make his long awaited return to the ice in his debut with the Vancouver Canucks. In his first game in 9 months, Sundin had 15 minutes of ice time over 24 shifts, no goals, no assists, no shots on net, one hit and 9-for-18 on faceoffs.

This Day In Hockey History - January 8th Edition

January 8th...

1929 - Boston's Harry Oliver set an NHL record for fastest goal from the start of a game, when he scored ten seconds into a 5-2 win over Toronto. Oliver finished the game with three goals and an assist.

1944 - Ray Getliffe had a goal and three assists, and Murph Chamberlain picked up four assists as the Montreal Canadiens extended their team-record home winning streak to 13 straight games, with an 8-2 win over the New York Rangers.

1990 - Gary Leeman scored his third career hat trick to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to an 8-6 win over Washington. The win put the Leafs over the .500 mark (22-21-1) for the first time this late in a season since 1977-78.

1991 - Los Angeles defenseman Larry Robinson became the 13th player in NHL history to reach the 1,300 game milestone as the Kings beat the Hartford Whalers 4-3 in overtime at the Forum.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 7/09
Canadiens 6 @ Rangers 3
Canucks 4 @ Oilers 2

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 8/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
BRUINS over Senators - 7pm
DEVILS over Thrashers - 7pm
FLYERS over Wild - 7pm
CANADIENS over Maple Leafs - 730pm
Hurricanes over PANTHERS - 730pm
RED WINGS over Stars - 730pm
Penguins over PREDATORS - 8pm
Blackhawks over AVALANCHE - 9pm
FLAMES over Islanders - 9pm
COYOTES over Lightning - 9pm
Ducks over KINGS - 1030pm

West All-Stars Announced

Earlier Wednesday the NHL announced the roster for the Western All-Stars. We all remember the fiasco that came about from fan voting for the ASG, so it's nice to see the NHL getting something right and not putting in guys who don't deserve to be there. Like naming Roberto Luongo to the team even though he's hardly played. Or just adding well known guys who shouldn't be there like Keith Tkachuk and Mike Modano instead of lesser known, more deserving players like Duncan Keith or Ales Hemsky. That would just be ridiculous. Wait a minute...

Goalies
J.S. Giguere - Anaheim Ducks*
Niklas Backstrom - Minnesota Wild
Roberto Luongo - Vancouver Canucks

Defense
Brian Campbell - Chicago Blackhawks*
Scott Niedermayer - Anaheim Ducks*
Nicklas Lidstrom - Detroit Red Wings
Shea Weber - Nashville Predators
Sheldon Souray - Edmonton Oilers
Dan Boyle - San Jose Sharks

Forwards
Patrick Kane - Chicago Blackhawks*
Jonathan Toews - Chicago Blackhawks*
Ryan Getzlaf - Anaheim Ducks*
Jarome Iginla - Calgary Flames
Milan Hejduk - Colorado Avalanche
Rick Nash - Columbus Blue Jackets
Mike Modano - Dallas Stars
Pavel Datsyuk - Detroit Red Wings
Dustin Brown - Los Angeles Kings
Shane Doan - Phoenix Coyotes
Keith Tkachuk - St. Louis Blues
Joe Thornton - San Jose Sharks

*All-Star starters as voted in by the fans.

East All-Stars to be announced Thursday. For those, be sure to check in same Power Play time (any time you want), same Power Play channel (blog)!

Mmmmm Fingers

Just when you thought hockey couldn't get any violenter, (is that a word?) along comes Jarkko Ruutu of the Ottawa Senators.

Tuesday night during the Sens vs. Sabres game, Ruutu and Sabres tough guy Andrew Peters were roughing it up along the boards when Ruutu reached a whole new level of craziness.

As Andrew Peters was giving the Sens goon a face wash with his glove, Ruutu proceeded to bite down hard on Peters' glove. So hard that Peters could feel it through the glove and was in a considerable amount of pain.

After the game when asked about the biting incident, Peters seemed just as surprised as I would have been in the same situation. Except I would've used a lot more swear words.

"I've never experienced that before," said Peters, "I've been in a few altercations before, and I've never had anyone bite me before. I didn't even know that happened, for real."

This is a pretty bizarre situation, and here's the thing. I know times have been tough for the Ottawa Senators as of late, what with only winning two games in their last ten. But are they so bad that head coach Craig Hartsburg is with holding food from the team and Ruutu was just so hungry and couldn't take it anymore so all of a sudden Andrew Peters started to look especially delicious? Because if that's the case, then I think we have an even bigger issue on our hands. (Pun intended)

Check out the video of the incident and post game reactions from seemingly everybody. I'm even pretty sure I saw Barack Obama in there somewhere. Which is surprising because you'd think he has bigger things to deal with these days.

Obvious Disciplinary Update (3:27pm): Ruutu has been suspended for two games. I guess you could say the NHL has bit back! Oooooh, burn!

Notable Quotable of the Day

"The boos weren’t too bad out there. I got it much worse when I played here. It was fine.”

- Florida Panthers d-man Bryan McCabe on the reaction from Leaf fans upon returning to Toronto. McCabe spent seven seasons with the Leafs. Some good, some bad.

This Day In Hockey History - January 7th Edition

January 7th...

1928 - Montreal's Howie Morenz scored his third career hat trick to give him 100 goals in his NHL career. The milestone came in a 9-1 victory in Toronto, as the Canadiens became the first NHL team to allow two goals or less in 20 straight games.

1987 - Bernie Federko became the first 300 goal scorer in St. Louis Blues history. Number 300 came in a 6-3 win over the Hartford Whalers. Federko also had three assists in the game.

1999 - Kings Luc Robitaille scored twice to become the 27th player in NHL history to reach 500 goals as Los Angeles won 4-2 against the visiting Buffalo Sabres.

2000 - Joe Sakic became the Colorado franchise all-time leader in games, when he appeared in his 814th career game with the team, a 4-1 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens. Sakic replaced Michel Goulet, and picked up two assists in the game.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 6/09
Wild 1 @ Bruins 0
Senators 2 @ Sabres 4
Flyers 1 @ Capitals 2 (SO)
Devils 2 @ Hurricanes 3
Panthers 4 @ Maple Leafs 2
Thrashers 1 @ Penguins 3
Blue Jackets 0 @ Red Wings 3
Avalanche 2 @ Predators 1
Blackhawks 6 @ Coyotes 0
Kings 1 @ Ducks 3
Sharks 2 @ Flames 5

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 7/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
Canadiens over RANGERS - 730pm
Canucks over OILERS - 10pm

Team Canada: By The Numbers

Five is the number that's being talked about most in regards to Canada's gold medal win on Monday night. And no it doesn't refer to how many drunk chicks I hooked up with after the game. It's of course for the fifth straight gold medal the Canadian juniors have won. As far as the amount of drunk chicks I hooked up with goes, I actually lost count.

Other than five, let's take a look at what were some of the other numbers that had special meaning for Team Canada and the World Junior tournament.

9.3 million- The number of people who watched the gold medal game at some point in Canada.

30% - The percentage of the country that watched the game. By comparison, if 30% of Americans watched then roughly 90 million people would have tuned in. To give you an idea of how impressive that is, 94 million Americans watched last year's Superbowl.

453,282 - The total attendance for the tournament, a WJHC record.

20,380 - The size of the crowd at Scotiabank Place who took in the Gold Medal game in person, a single game record for the WJHC.

106 - The total number of saves made by Dustin Tokarski.

46 - Goals scored by Team Canada.

16 - Points scored by Cody Hodgson, the most in the tournament.

15 - The total number of gold medals won by Canada in the World Junior tournament's 36 year history.

12 - Goals scored against Team Canada.

10 - The number of Canadian players eligible to return to next year's team.

8 - Goals scored by John Tavares, tied for 1st in the tournament.

5 - The number of seconds away Canada was from losing their semi-final game against Russia and playing Slovakia for the bronze medal.

2 - The number of times Canada has won five World Junior gold medals in a row. (1993 -1997)

Skills To Pay The Bills

The NHL has just released details for the decreasingly exciting ASG Skills Competition which will invade your televisions on Saturday January 24th. Seriously, remember how exciting these things used to be back in the day. What happened? Are players less skilled or is it just that I'm older and jaded by the hockey world. It's probably them.

To open the evening, four of the league's speedsters will take the Bell Centre ice in an attempt to beat Mike Gartner's 13-year-old record for the fastest (13.386 seconds) circuit of an NHL rink in the NHL Fastest Skater competition.

Once that thrill fest is over that's when the players get to show off their real skills with the Scotiabank NHL Fan Fav Breakaway Challenge. With full access to the entire offensive zone, each shooter gets one minute to complete as many attempts as possible at a routine that ends with a shot on goal. Once all six skaters have performed, fans will vote by text message to determine the winner.

Wasn't that judged by a "celebrity judging panel" last year that included former Atlanta Thrashers captain Scott Mellanby, former Atlanta Hawks basketball star Dominique Wilkins, Taylor Kitsch from Friday Night Lights, and broadcaster Bill Clement. Were those guys busy? Or could they seriously not do any better? Here's my idea of how that meeting went...

NHL exec #1: Okay, it looks like Carrot Top is busy that night and won't be able to judge.
NHL exec #2: Well who else did you ask?
NHL exec #1: Gilbert Gottfried, Ben Stein, Gerard Depardieu, and Tom Arnold....They all said no.
NHL exec #2: Alright...well let's just have the fans vote.
NHL exec #1: Brilliant!

Once fans are done having their minds blown from the Breakaway Challenge, the top young players in the game will take center stage in the sixth NHL YoungStars Game. They must've put this here to give fans a chance to text in and vote for that Breakaway thing.

Following that up is the league's sharpshooters shooting at foam targets in the McDonald's NHL Accuracy Shooting. Then you'll have the guys with the big shot blast away in the Hardest Shot Competition in an attempt to break the record set by Al Iafrate with a 105.2-mph slap shot at the 1993 NHL All-Star Weekend in Montreal.

Then the night mercifully comes to an end with an elimination type shootout. All 36 skaters and six goalies will play in the elimination shootout. The six All-Star goalies will conduct a random draw to select the six shooters each will face in the first round. Only the shooters who score will advance. The competition will continue until a round is completed.

So based upon my calculations, with all the events and all 36 players taking part in a shootout, this event should take approximately 5 hours to complete. Five hours you could spend doing much more rewarding things with your Saturday night. Like washing your dog, knitting a sweater, or writing a long lost friend. What did you have in mind, you dirtbags?


[Source]

Five Alive!

As you may know by now, Canada's drive for five is complete with a 5-1 victory over Sweden on Monday night. The win gives the Canadian juniors it's fifth straight gold medal, which ties the country's record of five consecutive titles in this tournament set between 1993 and 1997. Canada's 15th gold at the world juniors also tied Russia/Soviet Union for the all-time lead. Take that you former Commies!

There was immense pressure on this team to win a fifth gold medal and do it on home ice. But the majority of Canadian players were making their first and only appearance in the world juniors and they just wanted their gold medal.

"Coach always stressed this was our story," said John Tavares who was tied for the tournament lead wiith eight goals. "It's obviously special to be a part of the fifth, but it was never about tying the record. It was just getting a gold for everyone and winning on home ice for all these Canadians."

Goaltending had been a question mark all through out the tournament but it was not at all an issue on Monday. As Dustin Tokarski of the Spokane Chiefs rose to the occassion, only allowing one goal on 40 shots, and backstopping Team Canada to the gold.

"Tokarski was very good tonight and I was happy to see that because there was some question in the other games," Head coach Pat Quinn said. "But tonight he was one of the keys ... because he made some key saves when he had to have them."

Each of the last three years, it looked like the run of gold could be over. There was a semifinal shootout win versus the U.S. in 2007, an overtime win against the Sweden last year and another narrow 6-5 shootout victory against Russia in this year's semifinal.

Canada was only five seconds away from playing for bronze versus Russia when Jordan Eberle tied the game.

"It's the heart and our passion for the game of hockey," said Tavares. "No matter is what is thrown at us, or what people say, or the adversity we face we learn how to deal with it and we become so close as a team. We really learn how to be strong as 22 guys playing as one."

Check out the video highlights below, complete with Swedish goalie Jacob Markstrom's soccer-like diving all over the ice, and singing of "O, Canada." As James Duthie said during the broadcast on TSN, "The original lyrics of 'O, Canada' never contained the word 'woooo!', but tonight it fits."

[Source]

Notable Quotable of the Day

"There's nothing like this. There's nothing like it at all. Listen to these fans. That's five, Canada."

- An excited John Tavares on the ice in Ottawa after just beating Sweden 5-1 to capture Canada's fifth straight World Junior gold medal.

This Day In Hockey History - January 6th Edition

January 6th...

1923 - Senators' center Frank Nighbor played in what was reported to be his sixth complete game (without any time on the bench) in a 2-1 win over the Toronto St. Patricks, in Ottawa. Nighbor scored six goals during the six game span.

1983 - Rookie Guy Carbonneau scored his first career hat trick as the Canadiens won 11-3 against the visiting L.A. Kings.

1994 - Curtis Joseph became the second goalie in franchise history to record 100 victories as a member of the St. Louis Blues. The milestone came in a 2-1 win over the Hartford Whalers, in a game played in Cleveland, Ohio.

2002 - Patrick Lalime became the first goaltender to win 100 games as a member of the Ottawa Senators, in a 5-2 win over the Rangers, in New York.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 5/09
Penguins 0 @ Rangers 4
Islanders 2 @ Oilers 3

2009 IIHF WJHC Scores - Jan. 5/09
Bronze Medal: Slovakia 2 @ Russia 5
Gold Medal: Sweden 1 @ Canada 5

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 6/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
BRUINS over Wild - 7pm
SABRES over Senators - 7pm
CAPITALS over Flyers - 7pm
Devils over HURRICANES - 7pm
Panthers over MAPLE LEAFS - 730pm
PENGUINS over Thrashers - 730pm
RED WINGS over Blue Jackets - 730pm
Avalanche over PREDATORS - 8pm
Blackhawks over COYOTES - 9pm
DUCKS over Kings - 10pm
Sharks over FLAMES - 10pm

Canada vs. Sweden: Tale of the Tape

The only thing that stands between Canada and it's fifth straight gold medal is the land of meatballs and Ikea... Sweden.

Can Canada beat the powerhouse Swedes, or will Sweden win it's first world junior gold medal since 1981? It's hard to say. Both teams are strong and have been dominating thus far in the tournament, with neither losing a game. Okay that's not completely true. Canada did beat Sweden 4-2 in an exhibition tune-up.

Exhibition games mean nothing though. What does mean something is what each country brings to the world stage. And that's how I will predict who will win. Other's may compare strategies and players and things that actually affect the game, but not me.

Let's find out who will win the gold medal with The Power Play's... 2009 World Junior Gold Medal Game Preview!

Canada vs. Sweden

Population:
Canada: 32 million
Sweden: 9 million

Winner: Canada

Famous Person:
Canada: Celine Dion
Sweden: Any Swedish model ever

Winner: Definitely Sweden

Biggest Musical Act:
Canada: Celine Dion
Sweden: Abba

Winner: Sweden. Celine Dion loses everytime.

Famous Food:
Canada: Back bacon
Sweden: Meatballs

Winner: Canada. Meatballs are good, but back bacon edges it out in the tastiness department.

Prime Minister:
Canada: Stephen Harper
Sweden: Fredrik Reinfeldt

Winner: Sweden. Stephen Harper's a douche.

Famous Actor:
Canada: Jim Carrey
Sweden: Ingrid Bergman

Winner: Canada. Jim Carrey sure can make some funny faces.

Most People in Hockey Hall of Fame:
Canada: 219
Sweden: 1 (Borje Salming)

Winner: Canada

There you have it. Based on my not at all scientific research, Canada wins 4-3. I did one of these last year and I had Canada winning 3-2. Sure enough they won 3-2. So if they actually beat Sweden 4-3 this time around, then I'm obliged to tell you that I get 10% of any money you win from betting on Canada winning 4-3. And I will collect...I break thumbs. Well, my goons break thumbs. The whole act of breaking thumbs makes me rather nauseous.

Fighting Like Girls

Over the weekend there were two pretty embarassing fights in the NHL. And my apolgoies in advance for comparing these fights to how girls fight in the headline. Because I bet most girls have been in better fights than these two.

First off we have Sidney Crosby, or as we shall start referring to him, "Sucker Punch Sidney." Sucker punching guys seems to be Crosby's thing as of late. First we had the crotch punching incident, and now this "fight" against Brett McLean of the Florida Panthers.

After the game, McLean's teammate Nick Boynton said what we're all thinking...

"That was just embarrassing. I can understand a little bit what he was trying to do, but that's a not a very professional move. You ask a guy to fight. You don't jump a guy when his head is down taking a faceoff. That's pretty immature and childish. He's just, whatever. He's not happy with the way things are going and he was trying to get his team going. But there's no need for that.''

Now if you think that fight was pretty pathetic, hold on to your hats because here comes this gem from Alexander Semin of the Washington Capitals.

Some are comparing this fight to a bongo player banging away on the drums, while others think it's a lot like Ralphie fighting Scut Farkas from A Christmas Story. If you ask me, it looks like Semin applied the ol' coming at you like a spider monkey routine.

Notable Quotable of the Day

"Championships aren't easy. They never are. We are where we wanted to be and while you can't say it was dominant in any way, we have been terrific scoring and not so terrific on the other side."

- Team Canada head coach Pat Quinn admitting his team hasn't been perfect, but they've done what they've needed to do to get to the gold medal game.

This Day In Hockey History - January 5th Edition

January 5th...

1910 - Montreal Canadiens played their first game in team history. It took place before 5,000 fans at the Jubilee Rink on St. Catherine St. East in Montreal. They beat Cobalt 7-6 in overtime. The Canadiens belonged to the NHA and played 12 games.

1983 - Winnipeg Jets' Serge Savard played in his 1,000th NHL game in an 8-3 loss to the visiting Edmonton Oilers. Savard became the 45th player in the NHL to reach the 1,000 game plateau.

1999 - Pittsburgh's Tom Barrasso picked up two assists to become the highest scoring goaltender in NHL history. His 47th and 48th career assists moved him two ahead of Grant Fuhr. The milestone came in a 5-1 win over the Flames.

2004 - Steve Yzerman became Detroit's all-time leader in assists (breaking Gordie Howe's team record of 1,023) and Curtis Joseph recorded his 43rd career shutout in the Red Wings 6-0 win over the visiting Nashville Predators.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan. 4/09
Panthers 5 @ Canadiens 6 (SO)
Lightning 4 @ Thrashers 1
Senators 3 @ Devils 4 (OT)
Flames 2 @ Blackhawks 5
Wild 2 @ Avalanche 0
Coyotes 0 @ Ducks 2
Stars 3 @ Canucks 2 (SO)

2009 IIHF WJHC Scores - Jan. 4/09
Relegation: Germany 1 @ Finland 3
Relegation: Kazakhstan 1 @ Latvia 7
5th Place: USA 3 @ Czech Republic 2

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 5/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
RANGERS over Penguins - 7pm
OILERS over Islanders - 930pm

2009 IIHF WJHC Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 5/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
Bronze Medal: RUSSIA over Slovakia - 330pm
Gold Medal: CANADA over Sweden - 730pm

Slovakian Surprise

No, Slovakian Surprise isn't some sort of mystical delicious treat at an ethnic food establishment. It is instead a reference to what happened at the World Juniors on Friday as Slovakia upset the Americans 5-3, and will now move on to play Sweden in the semi's.

Slovak goalie Jaroslav Janus (ed. note: What an unfortunate last name) was on fire in between the pipes as he turned away 46 saves for the shocking win.

The United States outshot Slovakia 49-19 overall and Janus, the 19-year-old Erie Otters goalie who wasn't even selected in last June's NHL draft, made acrobatic saves to keep hold the lead against a relentless American attack. Me thinks that whole not being a prospect of an NHL club thing might be about to change.

Janus didn't do it all by himself as he got some big time support from his teammates. Slovakia scored three times on eight shots in the first period to put the Americans out of it early. Adam Bezak, Tomas Tatar and Jozef Molnar were the guys who scored on American goaltender Thomas McCollum of the OHL's Guelph Storm.

Richard Panik got one in the third and Tatar clinched the win with an empty-net goal with 2:14 left to play for Slovakia, which had not beaten the U.S. and A. in eight games at the tournament since 1998.

The winner of the Sweden vs. Slovakia semi will face the winner of the Canada vs. Czech Republic/Russia contest (game still going on as of post time) for the gold medal.

Meanwhile, American medal hopes have been flushed down the toilet as they will now play the loser of the Canadian quarterfinal in a battle for 5th place.

As a Canadian it's so hard for me to not want to rub this in and make jokes about how embarassing it is for the Americans to lose to Slovakia. Its just because I'm especially worried about karma coming back and hurting Team Canada. So for now I will privately look up Slovakia's national anthem and sing along. Oh yeah, I just remembered I don't speak Slovakian. Forget it then.

Winter Classic Montage

The 2009 Winter Classic was a memorable day at Wrigley, and YouTube sensation DayWalk3r has passed along this very well done montage all about the big day.

It's a great video but the editor really didn't follow a lot of the rules of what a montage should include. Like always fade out at the end of a montage. If you fade out it seem like more time has passed in a montage. Montage...

"Celebrities" Take In The Winter Classic

Sorry to beat some more coverage of the 2009 Winter Classic over your heads, but it's one of the only times that hockey gets any mainstream play so I figured I should cover it as best as possible. Or until I'm tired of writing about it.

Well it looks like old man winter wasn't the only big name in attendance at Sunday's Winter Classic. Get it? It was cold! Let's take a look at what other big stars (note the sarcasm) were in attendance.

John Hughes - Talking pictures director

Pat Sajak - Wheel of Fortune host/Heartthrob to old ladies everywhere


















Actor Thorsten Kaye. What he's acted in I don't know. From the looks of the picture, something about lumberjacks.
















Actress Joan Cusack and her family. What, John Cusack busy?
















CSI star William Peterson























Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan. The excitement in this photo is too much for me to handle. I think my computer screen might explode.
















I don't really care about these celebrities but it's nice to see Vince Vaughn was able to take a break from making crappy Christmas movies to attend. Hey remember when Vaughn used to be good? I miss that, probably so does his career.

Tokarski Saves

Team Canada beat the US 7-4 on New Year's Eve in one of the most exciting and memorable World Junior games I can ever remember seeing. Which isn't saying much because I have a terrible memory. That's what happens when your parents frequently drop you on your head when you're a baby.

The game had everything. Goals, hits, cheap shots by Team USA while Canada was celebrating in front of their bench, and also some big saves. The biggest save of all coming from Canadian netminder Dustin Tokarski late in the second period.

With American player Colin Wilson all alone in front and holding the puck for what seemed like forever, or 48 seconds at the very least, Tokarski played the waiting game to perfection and made one of the most brilliant saves of the year by absolutely stoning Wilson with the glove.

"The guy was left open in front," explained Tokarksi. "I went down and just played it like I should. He made a good move and I was just out of position. I dove at it, battled, and just made the save."

The save is pretty great but analyst Pierre McGuire's reaction is even better. Most people hate McGuire because of this type of over the top excitement. To be honest I like him because any commentator that screams at the top of his lungs and can make nasally play-by-play man Gord Miller shut up for a few seconds is fine with me.

Notable Quotable of the Day

“I count myself very lucky. There’s not a guy in this league who wouldn’t like to play in these games. I’ve had the opportunity to play in three of them.”

- Detroit Red Wings goalie Ty Conklin, after getting the win over the Blackhawks in the 2009 Winter Classic. He now sports a 2-1 record in outdoor games.

This Day In Hockey History - January 2nd Edition

January 2nd...

1986 - Mike Bossy became the 11th NHL player to score 500 goals (and first to score 500 with Isles). He scored 500 in fewer games (647) than anyone in history at that time. Gretzky later did it in only 575 games. Goal #500 came in a 7-5 win over Boston.

1990 - St. Louis Blues rookie goaltender Curtis Joseph made his NHL debut in a 6-4 loss to the visiting Edmonton Oilers.

1992 - In the largest trade in NHL history, Calgary sent Doug Gilmour, Ric Nattress, Jamie Macoun, Rick Wamsley, and Kent Manderville to Toronto, in exchange for Gary Leeman, Michel Petit, Craig Berube, Jeff Reese, and Alexander Godynyuk.

1997 - Mark Messier scored twice to move past Guy Lafleur into 11th place on the NHL All Time goal-scoring list (with 561 goals), and added an assist, as the Rangers won 4-3 over the Islanders, at MSG.

Scores & Schedule

NHL Scores - Jan 1./09
Red Wings 6 @ Blackhawks 4
Penguins 2 @ Bruins 4
Sabres 4 @ Maple Leafs 1
Lightning 4 @ Capitals 7
Canucks 2 @ Predators 1

NHL Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 2/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
Canadiens over DEVILS - 7pm
HURRICANES over Blues - 7pm
Canucks over THRASHERS - 730pm
Blue Jackets over AVALANCHE - 9pm
COYOTES over Islanders - 9pm
DUCKS over Flyers - 10pm

2009 IIHF WJHC Schedule and Predictions - Jan. 2/09
Home team in ALL CAPS
Quarterfinal 1: Usa over SLOVAKIA - 330pm
Germany over LATVIA - 630pm
Quarterfinal 2: Russia over CZECH REPUBLIC - 730pm