Ducks Gamedays—A Poem for the Road Trip

Anaheim Ducks (2-5-0) at

• Ottawa Senators (2-3-1), tonight
• Montreal Canadiens (5-0-1), tomorrow
• Columbus Blue Jackets (3-3-0), Monday

That's right, a three-in-one special! Like Rudy, I'm also off tomorrow moning for a few-day trip -- I'll be up in Oakland for a cousin's wedding. So you kids play nice!

Anyways, in lieu of anything analytical, here's a nice Friday poem to get you through next Monday. Enjoy!

Ode to the Road Trip

O h for the glory of two playoffs ago,
T aking Lord Stanley away from Big O.
T rue, going in the Sens seemed like a beast,
A lfie, Spezz, Heater – they ripped through the east!
W hile both teams have since seen some talent get scattered,
A t least we can say that we won when it mattered.

M on dieu! Les Canadiens, a hearty “whassup?”
O ne hundred years old? I’d better speak up.
N ow I know that SoCal isn’t Original Six,
T hus you probably can’t stand us insufferable pricks,
R eally what scares me is the Habs’ power play,
E specially if the Ducks think penalties are OK,
A nd while fans will drink at the game and in bars,
L et’s not go crazy and start burning cop cars.

C an I keep up this rhyming for one more damn stanza?
O f course! Time for some Blue Jacket bonanza!
L ast NHL team to feel postseason pride,
U gh! They’re still a thorn in the Ducks’ side.
M aybe it’s travel or maybe it’s fate,
B ut the Jackets have sure been tougher of late.
U sually I end with some nonsense prediction
S o Pahlsson scores ‘em all; 3-0 perfection!

Go Ducks.

Will Teemu Selanne Go To Montreal?

No.

Ducks Gameday—Habs inspire an awfully lazy post

Montreal Canadiens (38-22-9, 2nd in east) at Anaheim Ducks (38-25-7, 4th in west)

I got nothing today. Well, nothing but this nonsense cartoon:

Because of schedule conflicts, I didn't watch the last two Ducks games, in which Anaheim managed to score exactly zero goals. Fret not, though, I'll be watching tonight. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm still on a six-game win streak!

No Corey Perry for the next six weeks, I'm told, but I want to see how Carlyle plays this for a game before I say too much on that.

Prediction: Ducks 4, Habs 2. Goals by Scott Niedermayer, Bobby Ryan, Sammy Pahlsson, and Chris Kunitz. For your Canadiens coverage, go visit 4 Habs Fans.

Go Ducks.

Kings Gameday: This Seems Familiar...

LA Kings (welp) vs. Montreal Canadiens (37-22-9, 2nd in East)

1:00 PST, FSN West



Tell me if you've heard this before:

-Goalie gets called up because of injury and incompetence among the top 2 Kings goaltenders

-Goalie plays well in a few games

-Goalie plays outstanding on a large stage and Kings fans fall in love

Who am I talking about? Erik Ersberg. And, Jonathan Bernier. Both are a little smaller than you'd like but both have great rebound control and very fluid motion. Bernier ended up proving he wasn't quite ready for the big show, while we'll have to wait and see what happens with Ersberg.

I'm not trying to be a downer; I'm actually in a great mood today because Corey Perry got hurt and I just heard Vin Scully say, "It's time for Dodgers baseball," for the first time this spring. I'm just saying, there's a reason Ersberg is just getting his shot in the NHL at the age of 26 (just turned today). I'd like to see him go on to become the next first great Kings goaltender, but I've seen too many come and go to get too excited right now.

***

Why do people hate Patrick O'Sullivan? I've noticed this for a while now, but the Senators game kind of brought it to a head. He got kneed, knocked down in front of the net, and then elbowed after he scored the game-clinching goal. I mean, he doesn't stick people as far as I can tell, and he never talks, so I don't get it. I have 2 theories:

1) His line. Opposing players can't hit Kopitar (because he's 6'4" and hitting him would start a war) or Brown (because he'd beat the hell out of them), so they go after O'Sullivan. The problem with this theory is that guys like to hit O'Sullivan even when he's not playing on the top line, so I don't think that's the only explanation.

2) His face. He always has that same look on his face. This one:



Look at that face. It's always the same. He scores, it's that face. He gets into a shoving match, it's that face. He's hanging out with supermodels...


...it's that face. The same slack jaw, those same cow eyes. I want to punch something just looking at it. I think guys see that face the entire game and it turns into maniacs. I fully expect to see Michael Komisarek try to fight Patty by the end of the game.

***

Speaking of Michael Komisarek, he's closing in on Dustin Brown's once substantial lead in hits. As of today, Brown is still leading with 274 hits, while Komisarek is in 2nd with 250. That is a story line to watch during the game, as they're likely to match up against one another.

Prediction: Kings win, 4-3. Goals by Frolov, Kopitar, Preissing and Calder. Brown levels Komisarek, who in turn levels Cammalleri. Tom Kostopolous tries to fight O'Sullivan but ends up looking ridiculous.

Sharks vs Montreal Canadiens photos - exhibit 1A why hockey is better when played in Northern California

The Sharks hammered the Montreal Canadiens on Monday 6-4, knocking off the top team in the Eastern Conference. I spoke with a handful of fans, members of the Montreal media, and even a few empolyees of the Sharks, and many believe that was not only the best Sharks game of the year, but possibly the best game played at HP Pavilion in several years.

If you have NHL Center Ice, or NHL Center Ice Online, take a look back in the archived games section and give it a look. The action starts early. A few notes and more photos from the game are up on Sharkspage here.

War Chris Pronger's Jai-Alai helmet.





[Update] Here is bonus video of Brian Campbell's first post-game press conference in San Jose, and a couple of comments by Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price. A transcript of Campbell's comments:

It is not something I am going out there and trying to do. It's a move that is successful in getting away from traffic. Either coming up the ice, it depends, it has to work right. Guys have to come at me right, and I have to have a little time. It's the first time I scored on it though. I will usually do it sometimes in my own end. Joe gae me a nice hard pass, so I had a little more time.

I love (playing at HP Pavilion). The crowd was loud. It was almost like a playoff atmosphere. I have been really, really surprised, in a good way. I am very happy with the situation right now.

The 5-on-3 really frustrated me that we did not get one there. We had a couple good chances, I had a couple good chances. We have to find a way to get those goals. All in all, I just have to go out and play my game... It's nice to win, and it's nice to score, but we have to keep rolling. We have some games in hand.

"Offseason" cartoons: The rest of the east

Well, I certainly have fallen behind on my offseason goal of cartooning new mascots for all the divisions, haven't I? Looking back, I haven't done one since August. Previous divisions include: Pacific, Northwest, Central, and the Atlantic.

Well, nothing like a hangover do-nothing Saturday to complete old tasks, eh?

First off, we have the Southeast Division:

We have the Tampa Bay Lightning Bolt, the Atlanta Thrash-Can, the Carolina Hurricane, the WASHINGTON CAPS, and the Florida Panthro.

And finally, the Northeast Division:
Here we see the Buffalo Sabre being confronted by the Boston Bruin, the Ottawa Senator Palpatine, the Toronto Maple Leaf, and of course the diminutive Le Hobbitant de Montréal.

Hope you enjoy 'em. Off to the couch for me!