Why this Bruins fan is confident about the series with the 'Canes

About a week ago, I had a really bizarre dream. In it, I was walking through Walmart, wearing my typical Bruins game day attire (gray Bruins t-shirt and black Bruins hat). As I passed through the aisles, random people would say things like "Nice hat" or "Go B's" (both of which are fairly common in New England these days). I continued my shopping, and as I walked past each aisle, I kept seeing an old man, and had a feeling that I knew him, or thought I recognized him. Each time I tried to get a good look at him, he turned the corner and went to the next aisle. Passing it off as nothing, I finished my shopping trip and was about to leave. Walking towards the exit, I saw the old man again. He stopped at the door, turned and looked right at me.

I recognized him instantly- Leo, my grandfather. He stood there, looking healthy and strong. He looked at my shirt and hat, nodded, and walked out the door without saying a word. I woke up in a cold sweat.

Leo has been dead some 17 years now. He was ill for the last 3 or 4 years of his life. I have almost no memory of him ever looking as healthy as he did in my dream.

My grandfather was a HUGE Bruins fan. He was a season ticket holder in the 60's and 70's. He used to drive down to Hershey, PA to watch the Bruins AHL team (back when the Hershey Bears were the Baby B's). Many of the players knew him on a first name basis. He dragged my grandmother to a game against the Rangers in New York on their honeymoon. He cultivated my father's love of hockey, and my father passed that on to me.

Laying in bed, a bit freaked out, a little choked up, it dawned on me wht the dream meant. Leo approved of this year's Bruins team. Already pretty confident, that dream cemented my belief that the Bruins are going to win the cup this year.

Down three games to two, heading in to game 6 tonight, I am still confident the B's will win the series.

I hope you are watching tonight, Leo.

Let the trading begin!

A week removed from the all star game, and the real fun begins. The trade rumors are swirling, from the mundane (the recently completed trade of Milan Jurcina from Boston to Washington), to the spectacular (Peter Forseberg to SJ, ATL, MTL, ANA, etc), to the vague (Khabibulin to ANYWHERE). Honestly, what has me most excited so far is Jurcina to Washington. Not a glamorous deal, but it means the trading is beginning. It shows Boston is selling, and Washington is buying. It means more trades are coming (hopefully). There's more fodder for me to talk about, and get excited about. I hope to see more like it. I'd love to see Boston continue the selling- Brad Stuart isn't going to re-sign here, so get what you can for him.
I'd love to see Pittsburgh make a move or two to solidify their playoff run. Forsberg to ATL- I'm fascinated by the idea. On a line with Kovalchuk, on the PP with Hossa, so many possibilities. Where does Khabbibulin end up? Can anyone take on his salary?
Even names like Sundin are being thrown around. If the Leafs throw up the white flag, Mats could be playing south of the border, fast. There's plenty of veteran help to be had in Tkachuk and Guerin from the Blues, Aucoin of the Blackhawks, and maybe even Derian Hatcher.
I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks.

Oh, well

So, I was correct in my concerns about Vs. coverage of the Skills Competition, and the Youngstars game. The camerawork made my dizzy half the time, and the announcers had no idea what was going on. Mike Emerick merely cemented his place in my mind as one of the most annoying and overrated announcers of all time. The idea of having Mark Messier in the both was great- except all it did was distract Emerick and Bill Clement. Neither of them did any real announcing or commentating, they both just bumbled around Messier. Eddie Olcyk was the best part of the four of them, though he was still not much better.
No one knew when there was a goal in the youngstars game, which made it difficult to follow since the goals kept coming at a furious pace (though Lehtonen made a few spectacular saves, and didn't seem very interested in much of the game).
Worst of all was the last shootout portion of the night where Crosby and Selanne went head to head for 3 shots, and the announcers couldn't figure out that it was one of the events.
Hopefully tonight's game will be an improvement... I can't imagine it being much worse.
Although there were some technical difficulties, I was impressed with what Dallas did for the All Star celebration. They really seemed to go all out, with a red carpet for the players, and an exciting atmosphere for the fans. The transition between events went smoothly and seamlessly (except for the fastest skater competition, due to the aforementioned technical difficulties). Maybe hosting an event like this will breathe life back into what was once a rabid fan base in Dallas.

Let's hope Versus gets it right

Less than an hour away from the first Youngstars game and Skills Competition in 3 years, and I can't wait. This is such an exciting time for the fans, the players, and the league.
21 first time all stars are participating this year, out of 42 total. And then there is the Youngstars game, players who are all first timers as well. This is a great opportunity to show the charisma and character of hockey's brightest stars. I'm hoping the NHL worked with Versus to make sure the players get lots of face time.
I remember, back in the good old days, when ESPN used to care, the coverage was excellent. Lots of interviews, players miked, and a fun atmosphere. Hopefully this years event can bring back that level of fun.

Being from the Boston area, I am pre-disposed to being a Bruins fan. My family members are all Bruins fans (my dad grew up during the "Big Bad Bruins" era, and was even at the Garden for one of the Cup victories), my friends are all Bruins fans, and as much as I hate to admit it, deep down, I am a Bruins fan.
My formative hockey years were during the late '80's and early '90's, when the Bruins were one of the most entertaining, exciting and even dominant teams around. Looking back at those teams, it is hard to imagine how they didn't win a Stanley Cup. It's hard to imagine, that is, until you remember the plight of the Bruins: Ownership.
I was barely a teenager during that time period, just being introduced to the sport at the time. I knew most of the players on the team, and understood almost all of the rules. I was certainly no expert. But even at that stage in my hockey watching career, I could tell that they were always missing one piece. They were always one trade, one big name free agent signing away it seemed. And it was frustrating.
Finally, one year, Jacobs finally opened up his wallet (moths flew out, I'm sure) and spent big, on Kevin Stevens. Sure, he was a 50 goal scorer on a line with Lemieux and Jagr. He had to be good. But then again, so wasn't Sean Brown (and I know, you're scratching your head saying "who?"). It didn't work, for a multitude of reasons. And for years after, Jacobs used this as his reasoning for not making any other big splashes.
Now, years later, I actively root against the Bruins, even though at heart I am still a fan. They manage to continually botch chances at greatness (i.e. last year's Joe Thornton trade). As a fan of Phil Kessel, I was horrified when the Bruins drafted him- I didn't want to see him languish in Boston for years, wasting his vast potential.
Last night, watching the Bruins beat the Pens in overtime was bittersweet. I don't want to see Boston succeed, not until Jacobs is gone. But as a Bruins fan, born and raised, it was good to see them come back and win. And no matter what, you can't not root for Phil Kessel. The kid has been through enough already.

Good Luck Rory

Tomorrow morning, we find out the fate of Rory Fitzpatrick's all star hopes. It's been a good ride, thanks to some passionate fans, and the creator of http://www.voteforrory.com/, but going into the last week, he'd dropped to third in the voting.
For those not familiar with the story, Rory Fitzpatrick is a career minor league defenseman, who has played 238 career games over 8 seasons in the NHL. Some fans of Rory started a grassroots effort to get him voted into the Allstar game. He can make it, as long as he is voted in the top 2 defenseman in the western conference (voted as a starter by the fans). If he is not voted as a starter, the league will not invite him.
Honestly, I'm pretty excited about the idea of it. If he makes it, this would be a huge media blitz for the league. The more attention the game gets, the better chance of people tuning in and watching the rest of the all-stars. And I don't think someone can turn on a game with Crosby, Ovechkin, Thornton, and Brodeur, and not get intrigued, at the very least. That, combined with the new ad campaign focusing on how NHL players are real people (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZUTiEdhL30) should work to draw some casual fans.
I am really looking forward to the all star break. New rumors always pop up, the skills competition should be interesting, and the game itself should be great this year.

Sometimes the best trades are theones that don't happen

A lot of fuss was made at the beginning of the season about the goaltending situations in both Anaheim and San Jose. Both teams had 2 goalies they felt comfortable tabbing as the full time starter, both teams had one high priced goalie eating up a chunk of their salary cap, and both teams had many interested suitors. At one point in the early stages of the season, I had heard rumors of Boston, Toronto, Phoenix, and Tampa Bay as willing suitors, and other reports indicated "unnamed teams" could be in the mix as well.
Fast forward a few months.
None of these rumored blockbusters ever occurred. Tampa continues to struggle, and is still mentioned as a willing trade partner. Boston seems to have righted the ship with outstanding play from Tim Thomas, "the second coming of the technicolor five-hole", Phoenix has taken a patchwork approach with some young, untested goalies and Cujo sharing the load, and Toronto seems relatively pleased with the play of Andrew Raycroft, when healthy.
More important to note though, is the teams that "needed" to trade one of their goalies.
Anaheim has the best record in the league. Giguere has been outstanding, and in spot work, so has Bryzgalov. This depth in goal has been important for the Ducks, as both have been injured at one point in time. Now with Giguere injuring his leg last night, Bryzgalov may get his chance to shine, depending on the severity of the injury.
San Jose on the other hand, has taken an approach similar to the Minnesota Wild. Minnesota rolled with 2 goalies for a few years in Fernandez and Roloson, to much success. Now SJ is having Nabokov and Toskala split time, alternating starts every night.
Conventional wisdom says that this is bad for both goalies, they won't get enough work, and there will be some locker room distractions. Quite the contrary. Both goalies thrive off of their interesting relationship, SJ is having a stellar season, and Nabokov is second in the league in GAA and 4th in Save percentage.
It will be interesting to see how this does pan out however, in such a Cap Conscious league over the next few months, leading up to the trade deadline.

I love hockey night in Canada

Christmas came early for Mop last night. I had the pleasure of watching Hockey Night in Canada's double header, starting with Washington vs Toronto, and ending with Calgary at San Jose. I couldn't have asked for a better duo of games.
The Caps/Leafs game reminded me how much a crowd can affect the viewing of a game. The Leafs' home crowd was just so intense throughout the game, cheering at every important faceoff, every big hit, every save, etc. Not like the typical US crowd, where we only cheer when the jumbotron tells us.
The Caps jumped out to a 3-0 lead on some great work down low. It's been a huge part of their game this year, and why they are doing so much better than last year. They've been known for their hard work for the past 2 seasons, but now that hard work is being cashed in for goals in front. Even down 3-o, the Leafs' fans were still willing the team on. Sundin caught a break after a great individual effort ended up with him getting dumped in front, and was awarded a penalty shot. The Caps had dodged a lot of bullets to that point, so you knew he was going to score. Sure enough, top shelf. The stadium erupted,and 14 seconds later Sundin scored again.
As a Caps fan, part of me wanted the game to end right there. But the crowd was too exciting, and I found myself pulling for the leafs to tie it. I couldn't help it. The Caps held on and won, 3-2.
The leafs are in trouble. They couldn't win important draws, the coverage in front of the net was horrible (see for example the Zubrus goal). That's what happens when Peca gets hurt, and your big defenseman is Hal "Please don't hurt me" Gil. Really? 2 mil a year? Everyone in Boston cheered when the leafs overpaid for him.
Due to my ADD, I didn't watch the whole Flames Sharks game, but I did manage to see an amazing span of 5 minutes of consecutive end to end rushes, culminating in Calgary hitting the post, and the Sharks going down the other end and scoring a goal. It was one of those situations that you knew it was going to happen.
But it also highlighted a fact that I have been citing for years. Western Conference hockey is so much faster and more entertaining than eastern conference hockey. Wide open, end to end, over and over again. Intense, exciting hockey.
The sharks overpowered the flames, winning 4-1. They may not have the defensive stars that Anaheim does, but they are so amazingly deep on offense.
A lot has been made about the 2 goalie situation and that a trade should be made. Honestly, I think they should keep them as long as they can afford it. They aren't going to get fair value back in any trade, and all they need is a quality #1 defenseman to make them (in my mind) a serious contender for the cup. No one is going to give up that kind of D, and Minnesota ran with 2 goalies very successfully for a few years. The only trade that makes sense on paper would be Nabokov to Phoenix for Jovo, (which was originally reported in TSN) but that trade has been all but killed with Phoenix's acquisition of Sauve, and Gretzky's adamant refusal to trade any of his D.
I will be closely watching this situation the closer we get to the deadline. If you hear of any good rumors that I miss, please pass them along.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a hockey night.

The joys an despairs of DVR

'Tis the season. The season for holiday parties and missed hockey games. This past Monday was my team's holiday outing. Good times had by all, but it was also the night of the Penguins-Capitals game. Ovechkin vs. Crosby round 1, year 2. As a hockey fan in general, and a huge fan of both of these players, I was disappointed that I couldn't watch the game. But in this day and age of wonderful modern technology, I could DVR the game and watch it when I got home.
I came home about 3/4's the way through the game and my roommates and friends were watching it in the living room. So I walked past with my hands on my ears screaming "LA LA LA LA" until I made it to my bedroom. I locked myself upstairs until the game was over.
So I go downstairs and, like a little kid at Christmas, am overwhelmed with excitement. I start watching the game, joyfully fast forwarding through all of the commercials. Caps jump out to a 4-0 lead, the Pens miraculously come back (Crosby and Malkin could be like this generations Lemieux and Jagr... except Crosby and Malkin both have better work ethics).
Interesting thing I noted during the game- the US media seems to focus more on Ovechkin than Crosby. Obviously, he's a hero in Canada, but it seems that American sportswriters in general are turned off by Crosby;s perceived "whining", and enthralled with Ovechkin's passion for the game. Don't get me wrong, I personally prefer Ovechkin, but Crosby is a once in a lifetime talent, and a potentially hall of famer already. This kid needs to be watched as well.
So the game goes to OT, and eventually a shootout. I am giddily anticipating the first shooter and.... my DVR recording ends. The brawl in the middle of the game took so long to sort out that the recording, which was set for only 3 hours, ended right as the first shooter was lining up. I was ready to cry, scream and kick, but since it was midnight, I decided to just go to bed.
At least ESPN had some highlight from the shootout. However, you imply cannot get good enough coverage of hockey on an American network. Oh, TSN, how I need you.

Hello Hockey World

The best way to describe my feelings about hockey is "addiction". I can't get enough of it. Playing it, watching it, discussing it, reading about it or playing video games (NHL 2004 for PS2 was the pinnacle in my mind, with NHL96 for Sega Genesis a close second). However, the best way to describe my hockey abilities is "mediocre at best". I never really learned how to play ice hockey. I still have a rudimentary ability to ice skate. But I've found my own little niche in roller hockey.Let me start at the beginning. I was never athletic as a kid. I was afraid of the ball. I didn't play a single sport from the age of 4 until the age of 11, and it devastated my father. He played hockey, all of his cousins and uncles played hockey (some of them even playing for B.U.), yet here was his son, completely uninterested. My 2 years of little league baseball (from ages 11-12)must have been terribly painful for my family to watch.Nothing my father could do could get me interested in the sport. Thankfully, I idolized my next door neighbor who was two years older than me. During the playoffs of the 1988 season, when the Bruins were making a push to win their first cup since '72, I spent my nights at his house intently watching a sport I knew nothing about. After they lost to Edmonton, being new to the sport, and a fair weather fan, I through my allegiances behind the team with the coolest uniforms- the Calgary Flames. Sure enough, they won the '89 cup, and I found myself quickly addicted.My friend came across some old goalie pads, and forced me to play goalie while he rifled tennis balls at my head. I began making saves out of self preservation, but soon found out that I was starting to enjoy it.Shortly thereafter, my family moved from the Boston suburbs to southern NH. My mom and dad bought me my first set of street hokey goalie pads. I met a few other hockey junkies, started playing in a roller hockey league, and even went so far as co-hosting a cable access TV show called "Hockey Talk" through high school (I can't believe my girlfriend dated me then, and is still with me now). Since then, I've played in multiple men's roller hockey leagues, even captained a few of them in leagues in Hooksett and Bedford NH (both of which have closed).Now that I've entered the world of the grownups and have a job, I've been able to fund my addiction even more- a big TV and Center Ice Package. And now I watch enough hockey to think I know what I'm talking about. So please, tell me I'm wrong (or right).-Mop