An All-Star Sonnet for Ovechkin

(Sing to the tune of "Mandy")


Oh Ovie, you skipped the All-Star Game on purpose
Because you needed the rest, oh Ovie!


Oh Ovie, we missed all your All-Star game antics,
But you're suspended for three, oh Ovie!

Goaltending Controversy? Where?!

What would the National Hockey League be like if there were no controversial season-hinging decisions made about the most critical of all position on the professional hockey rink? No, not if I should get the hot chocolate or the hamburger, but who is the starting goaltender and who sits on the bench?

Like a return to writing about hockey, Jonas Gustavsson's return may plant the seeds to controversy down the road.

The controversy I refer to is not the garden variety store version being played out in Vancouver with Olympic hero Roberto Luongo and fan favourite Cory Schneider, who is in his contract year with the Canucks organization and looking to make a statement with exemplary away performances against the San Jose Sharks (W 3-2) and Cup champion Boston Bruins (W 4-3). No, the unknown controversy bug rears its head in Toronto of all places! o_O

While they languish in ninth place in the playoff hunt and are without the oft-injured James Reimer, the Maple Leafs turn to former Swedish sensation Jonas Gustavsson, in part because there is no one else on the bench to block shots and make glove saves. Well, there is Ben Scrivens of the Marlies, but he is not ready yet o_O Under a steady barrage of 30+ shots per game from top NHL opponents, Jonas Gustavsson surprised many keeping the Maple Leafs in the playoff hunt. Nevertheless, Leafs general manager Brian Burke insists the team can do much better, their goals remain high, and the playoff campaign will be long and not just "one and done". Aside from losing spells, as is common with the post-lockout era Maple Leafs, Jonas Gustavsson had to play to get back on the team. The bus rides and motel stays with the Maple Leafs' AHL farm team, the Toronto Marlies, helped and not hindered Gustavsson's resolve to improve and perform, albeit with a one game over 500 record in twenty four games so far this season.

Leafs coach Ron Wilson wants to play the "hot hand", but do you wait until the hand falls off before making a change? How does one stop being "hot": Do they need to lose one game, three in succession, or make it so the Maple Leafs are once again mathematically out of the running for the playoffs? I'm not the head coach, but I trust Wilson will see the signs of wear and tear early before the spring and the next tee off time.


NHL TONIGHT?

NHL Tonight = NHL on the FLY = Basically the same hockey reports a la TSN style. I expected highlight packages, in-depth interviews, and debate as commonly found on the NFL Network, but I was sadly mistaken :( Perhaps that's why I'm more into football than ever before, and I don't write about the National Football League!

Against The Odds

Similar to the old Calgary Flames of 2004, this blog beat the odds in climbing over the 1000 view plateau ^_^ It was a long climb to the top o_O with lots of blogs written about the good old Canadian game played with American money, in a league with a majority of American teams, in stadiums where the outdoor temperature is seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit on average more or less, but I digress...

Unfortunately, there were casualties along the way. The "Saturday Shoot-around" idea, which wasn't really a thing to begin with, is one of those casualties. The weekly weekend comedy spin on the NHL wasn't as receptive as I believed, and with the increase of workload from other projects I am taking on at the moment to maintain Saturday Shoot-around would take more time than I have.

Hockey, however, is still as popular as it ever was, so for a weekly spin on the ballet on ice, which frequently turns into a boxing match and then spirals out of control into a hockey game, come to "Behind Blue Lines" ^_^ (Spiralling out of control? o_O)

Spontaneous Statutory Holiday & Winter Classic Pregame

As it turns out, I have January 2nd off because New Years' Day fell on a Sunday this year o_O Happy New Year! It's good to return to a regular schedule after all that gift wrapping, gift unwrapping, sickness being, early weight loss program planning for baseball, et cetera.

The Winter Classic between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers begins in a few minutes. I say that sparingly, of course, since the league pushed the time of the January 2nd outdoor game to 3pm. Uncharacteristically, the weather in Philadelphia, or at least at Citizen Bank Park, which is the site of the game, is warmer than usual, so the league moved the start time back from 1pm.

I noticed the Rangers wearing fake retro jerseys for the game (?). I say fake retro because I don't remember the Rangers logo being so...BIG? The first logo common to Rangers fans and haters alike, but someone with Photoshop pulled the bottom of the logo to give the logo a pronounced curve.

I am a little disappointed with the Rangers as they waived the albeit controversial Steve Avery a week before the big game. I wrote about Steve Avery in his return to the New York Rangers' team roster last November, and hoped he could turn his game around and become the big time player the Detroit Red Wings expected him when they drafted Avery in 2001. To my knowledge, no one picked up his contract yet from off the waiver wire. The New York Rangers are the best team in the Eastern Conference right now, and there is enough depth in the lineup for coach John Tortorella and general manager Glen Sather to make this change.

I hope this does not dampen Steve Avery's spirit, and he continues to improve on and off the ice.

As for the Philadelphia Flyers, this game more than breaks the franchise record for attendance for a home game. The expectation is that the Philadelphia Flyers will win, but history is against the home team in the annual New Years' game. The road team won the contest three of the last four Classic games, as the players on the home team have the proverbial "gun to their heads". Expect the conference-leading Rangers to take chances and stay loose, but if the game is close in the later stages look for Van Riemsdyk and the Flyers to pull ahead. Otherwise, the league will push for the teams to take the game to a SHOOTOUT o_O