A Game Diary To Remember, NJ @ PIT 3/8/07
August 16, 2007 by Schnookie
This is a good day at stately IPB Manor: Paulie Martin re-signed (for three years) and we finally have a Game To Remember in which Sean Avery does not appear! Can it get better than this? Anyway, we actually don’t remember this game at all, so let’s sit back, relax, and enjoy a journey into FSN’s vaults.
FIRST PERIOD
Hm. Our intro includes Doc informing us the Devils were coming into this one on a three-game losing streak. We guess we have now entered that “sucktastic” stretch, which ran from March until… well, technically we guess we’re still in it.
19:31 As Doc sorts us through the lineup, he informs us Gio is out, and Whitey injured himself mysteriously during warmup. Oh, it’s that game? (Seriously, he seemed to do that every single night.) Thanks to Lou’s excellent salary cap comprehension, the Devils have only 16 skaters tonight.
17:22 PaulieMartinNation rejoices as he makes a fairly routine play at the boards. What can we say? We’re just happy about his signing.
16:55 Ah, the Pittsburgh fans were still in the throes of their “we’re so delusional about how good this team might be that we actually think we’re Cup contenders, yes, even with this defense and goaltending” phase. There is the slightest of “confrontations” between Rupp and Laraque after Fleury freezes a puck, and the entire arena leaps to its feet in full roar. Seriously, people. Calm down. We’re from the future, and trust us — Sid alone is not enough to overcome the D and the goaltending.
16:16 In a mano a mano contest between Pando and Sid, Pando wins. Decisively. Doc even coos, “Jay is so smooth.” PandoNation says, while rewatching Pando stripping the puck from a swirling-through-the-offensive-zone Sid, “Yes. Yes he is.”
14:42 Zach clearly still has the echoes in his head from the Jersey crowd from his NHL debut against these Penguins. You can almost see him mouthing along, “Parise’s better! Parise’s better!” as he leads the Poppers on a hard-working, spunky shift that even generates a point-blank shot missed by Langer.
14:27 After missing by a mile on his shot from the point, Raffie decides to show off exactly what $6 million can buy an NHL team on the open market for UFA d-men these days: not much. He loses the puck at the point and ends up taking a hooking penalty on Ryan Malone while still being muscled around.
13:12 The Penguins dart around the zone and Sid, on successive plays, zips gorgeous passes across the slot to wide-open wingers facing gaping nets. On the first such play, the Pen totally shanks the shot. On the second such play, Recchi shovels the puck into the one spot Marty can get a piece of it, but it skips across the crease onto Malkin’s stick, and Malkin manages not to shoot wide. We do not like that Malkin is becoming the new Gagne. We really don’t need to have more than one certified Marty-killer in our division.
11:17 Paulie holds the puck for several moments behind the net while the forwards change. The fans start a restive booing as Gomer slowly makes his way back for handoff, and we bristle. Don’t boo him! That’s Paulie Martin.
10:04 Malkin gets a full-speed point-blank crack at Marty, and Marty manages to hold fast. Doc remarks, “Boy, does he make it look easy!” Well, yes, it is easy when Paulie’s passing the puck blindly into the slot just as Malkin is skating there.
7:55 Rupp is absolutely flying in this game; he answers Sid’s one-on-five rush (that results in a twisting, backhand pass to… Raffie) with one of his own and actually gets a decent backhand shot that Fleury handles well. He was probably excited because he knew he was a few days from meeting us in Buffalo. (Paulie, meanwhile, is clearly nervous about his impending meeting with us.)
7:40 Chico is discussing how the Devils are struggling right now, and comments that, while the team has had its share of slumps this season, “this one feels a leeeeeetle different.” Yes, Chico, we felt that too. It was the way we could see the wheels falling completely off during this slump that differentiated it from the others. (He also tells us that Julien “knows what the team is up against”. Or not.)
5:59 Zach and the Poppers put on another fantastic, creative, jump-on-every-loose-puck shift that keeps Fleury on his toes, and then Sid, perhaps noticing Zach’s still chanting “Parise’s better” to himself, decides to come out of nowhere and match the Poppers’ display and then some. He leaves Doc breathless for the way he makes passes out of nothing, leaps into spaces defenders thought he could never get to, and gives third-liner, junkyard-dog hustle for pucks. He is skating our team into the ice, and we can’t help but wonder how people can actually watch the guy play and not walk away impressed.
5:35 Scuderi hooks Gomer. Silly Scuderi — he wasn’t going to do anything with that open ice! Doc lets us know the Devils are on an 0-for-7 PP run. That seems like a pretty short goalless streak, actually.
3:35 Make that 0-for-8.
2:16 Chico is hoping the Devils might be able to create a good bounce or two as they are struggling to find some semblance of being a playoff-caliber team; he floats the radical notion that Fleury has been known to give up a softish goal or two.
1:22 Malkin takes a hooking penalty about 55 miles away from the puck, and does a dazzlingly bad job of looking sheepish as he skates to the box.
0:57 Malone gets a great shorthanded chance, and as Langer tries to defense him out of the crease, he jostles Marty and knocks his mask off with his caboose. The mask flies off and lands well outside the crease; Doc chortles about goalies whose masks fly off at the slightest hint of trouble (no names are mentioned, but *cough*Roloson*cough*) and as the replay unspools, Pookie marvels, “Wow! It’s like his mask was spring-loaded!”
SECOND PERIOD
19:17 After the penalty expires Rupper gets two more great chances — he was clearly trying to soften us up before Buffalo.
18:55 Doc is blathering on about the endless, soul-sucking, boring saga of the Penguins arena deal. Pookie speaks for all of us when she rolls her eyes, “God. I am so glad that storyline is over.”
18:07 Can we make it 0-for-10? Ouellet takes the umpteenth hooking penalty of the night, and Chico remarks, on the listlessness of the Devils attack, that Julien was telling him that morning “he doesn’t recognize his team right now.” We decide that’s because in the Devils’ most recent attempt at coach killing they all switched sweaters at practices and wore those glasses with fake noses attached. (We also assume that’s how they drove Larry Robinson crazy in the previous season.)
17:51 Paulie and Zach try to show off how great they are in celebration of their recent contracts, with Paulie feeding Zach for a Sid-esque diagonally-across-the-slot pass, but Travis is bested by Fleury on his shot after receiving Zach’s pass. Travis doesn’t look very contrite, and if you look closely you can see Zach narrow his eyes and vow revenge for the assist lost.
16:31 Pookie starts a proclamation, “You know what I’d like to see Patty do?” She pauses for effect, and Schnookie responds, oozing sarcasm, “Where to begin?”
16:26 The streak is broken! The Devils score on the power play! Greene lofts a bubbly shot from the high point that gets through a brilliant screen from Rupper (seriously, Mike, it’s getting embarrassing. We noticed you. You can stop now) and past an oblivious Fleury. Well, Andy Greene’s first NHL goal certainly makes this a Game To Remember, especially considering how most Devils rookies score their first career goals in games the Devils lose by five or six.
15:14 We really, really love when Rasser is skating with Pando and Madden. On this shift he charges down the ice to beat two Penguins to a slow-moving puck in Fleury’s zone, muscles Orpik out of the way, then flings the puck back to a wide-open Pando. Despite being, surprisingly, a Fleury-killer (FSN tells us later he has 3 goals this season alone against him), Pando can’t score.
14:33 Gomer proves his worth by taking a moronic interference penalty by shoving a Pen into Fleury’s net. Thanks, Gomer.
12:33 Despite some fancy Pens passing, Marty and the PK units don’t break. Chico sniffs that Pittsburgh’s reliance on faked shots leading to cross-zone passes is going to bite them in the ass because eventually the opposing team is just not going to respect the original shot. That may very well be, but in this case, it very nearly paid off for the Pens.
7:34 We seem to have lost a few minutes of time. We went into commercial break on a wonky camera flip-out that makes our TV look like a kaleidescope of Travis, and come back to hear Chico talking about Christensen being hurt on a hit at the other end of the ice. It is strangely less jarring an edit than in previous games; perhaps FSN should consider kaleidescopic Travis wipes all the time?
5:06 With every close-up of the Devils, we notice they all look freshly-shorn. This was not the first game this season where we strongly suspected they get team haircuts. (Pookie suggests Lou shows up one day with a bowl and a pair of sheep-shears, and that the Kool Aid is distributed on haircut day just like those sheep innoculations.)
5:03 The Devils website, in their program guide to the “15 To Remember”, described this game as featuring “Brylin’s great goal”. Before this very moment, none of us remembered what in the hell they were talking about. But now? Wow. That really was a great goal. Gomer wins an offensive zone draw back to Oduya, Oduya cranks a low, hard shot from the point, Fleury fumbles the rebound forward to Sarge while coming way out to challenge, and Brylin kicks the puck to his stick, gets pushed over by the defender, then, flat on his stomach on the ice, sweeps the puck around Flower and in. 2-1 Devils.
4:30 Sid bulls out of the corner, through a handful of D, and powers a shot at Marty, then relentlessly digs in after any molecule of loose puck he can get his stick on. Marty, losing his balance, falls backward as he flips the puck just over Sid’s stick to safety. That, folks, was your 2006-2007 Hart Trophy finalists going toe-to-toe.
4:12 Ah, we were feeling it was time for an Oduya Special, and here it is: a delay of game penalty when he flips the puck over the glass without any forecheck bearing down on him. Nice!
2:32 Sid gets the puck deep in the corner, and as Paulie drifts toward him with a mind to shutting down his passing lanes Sid just dumps the puck off and skates away. He is clearly afraid of Paulie!
1:00 Doc delights himself (and his corny viewers, amongst whom we count ourselves) by saying, “John Barbaro, the PA announcer here,” just as Mr. Barbaro intones, “One minute to play in the period.” Boomer, from the depths of her chair, murmurs, “John Barbaro: America’s PA Announcer.” (And no, the Barbaro jokes never get tired at stately IPB Manor.)
THIRD PERIOD
18:38 We’re from the future. We know how this ends. And you know what? As much as we’re enjoying the tempo of this game, we are not enamored of this tendency of FSN’s to think we want to keep revisiting games in which the Devils coughed up third-period leads to give a point to a division rival and then “win” in a shootout. Not to give anything away.
16:46 Tonight’s trivia question is “Who scored 40 goals as a Penguins rookie along with Mario Lemieux during Mario’s rookie year?” The answer is Warren Young, of course. Doc marvels, “Remember what a name he made for himself that year?” and Chico answers, “Remember how he turned that into a huge contract with Detroit?” We can only hope in a few years we’ll be able come back to this diary and add, “And you know who else disappeared into oblivion after signing a huge contract with Detroit?” Oh, Raffie. We kid because we love. Or not.
16:05 Langer feeds Zach on a suddenly-developing two-on-one and Zach rips a perfect shot that Flower manages to get a cuff on. Doc marvels at how “someone as hot as Zach has been” manages not to score. Pookie: “Indeed.”
13:11 The Pens get possession in the offensive zone thanks to a bungling play behind the net between Marty and a handful of Devils D, but somewhere in the middle of this sequence, Recchi takes a slashing penalty.
12:28 Oh yeah, we remember this game now. It’s almost like a message from the Hockey Gods about what’s to come for our boys. Doc and Chico are discussing, while the Devils hand the puck to the Pens at the offensive blue line, how the Pens have 12 shorties and the Devils have given up 10 this year, and Pookie cracks, “Well, something’s gotta give.” The puck drifts into the near corner, Gonchar goes after and and just whips it on goal from behind the goal line. Marty, warming up for the post-season, lets it squirt between his pad and the post. Pookie, after a moment of disgusted silence: “Didn’t he do that in the playoffs? A lot? Against Tampa?” Schnookie: “Yes. And Ottawa.”
10:01 On a Brylin/Gomez/Elias “rush”, Gomer gets a little revenge for Patty’s Gomer-killing by skating straight into Patty from behind and taking his legs out from under him. As Patty crashes to the ice you can almost hear him saying, “It won’t work, Gomer — I am perfectly capable of humiliating myself, thank you very much.”
8:22 The Poppers manage to connect the world’s only broken tic-tac-toe passing play, as each one connects a pass with a bouncing, mis-hit puck, and Travis ends up awkwardly shoveling it in past a falling Flower. He then proceeds to hop around in the kind of relieved celebration that can only come from a man who knows he just notched an assist for Zach, thereby getting one of the counts against him in Zach’s Revenge Justification Ledger struck from the record.
2:38 Okay, we would really, really like to be disgusted with this. We would like to be nauseated by the way, after Doc and Chico spent the last 5 minutes of play talking about how the Devils were righting the ship and “finding themselves” again after a 3-game losing streak, they gave up the tying goal with just over two and a half minutes left. But the goal was scored on the kind of Gomez giveaway that we haven’t seen since Game 4 of the ECF in 2000. He just backhands the puck to Malkin, who says, “Thanks mightily, asshole” and dishes to Ouellet in the high slot, who cranks a great shot past a helpless Marty. And frankly, we really, really enjoy Gomer failing. Chico wails, “Oh you’ve really got to feel for Marty Brodeur and Scotty Gomez…” to which Pookie snarls, “Yes, and no.” (Doc calls the scoring on the goal, “The only assist goes to Malkin,” and Chico chirps, “And to Gomez.” Pause. “Sorry, I don’t want to have to say that…” Hee! We guess Chico wasn’t sorry to see him go either.)
0:55 Madness is breaking out on the ice; everyone is scrambling all over the place, boarding each other, throwing elbows, falling to the ice, getting up screaming at the refs, just completely losing control. Pookie remarks: “This is one of those shifts where you just have to wonder how anyone can not like this sport.”
0:08 Even as the Devils (led by Paulie, natch; he really is the best Devil at standing behind his own net and holding on to the puck) try to calm things down and just hang on for OT, Colby Armstrong does what he does best: make us wonder why we like him. He throws a cheap-shot elbow into Lukowich’s face that goes uncalled (and ultimately unsuspended); even Chico, who apologizes for everyone, can’t come up with a nice way to explain this one off, other than to suggest that CheeseTed needs to “take those hits cleanly.” Um, yeah. Come on, CheeseTed — we really don’t enjoy having to feel bad about liking you.
OVERTIME
4:12 Raffie tries really hard to make this game a one-two punch of “why we aren’t going to miss our UFAs”, but his attempted backhand turnover to a Pen deep in the defensive zone is not capitalized on.
2:49 Perhaps feeling like they let a lot of shit go that they shouldn’t have in the final two minutes of regulation, the officials call a blatant even-up set of penalties, Malone for a corkscrew tripping from behind, and Oduya for a flailing, operatic dive.
1:04 No Penguin-killer is Madden. He cuts off a Sid pass deep in the defensive zone, and just chugs up the ice in what very slowly turns into a clean breakaway… and as he gets in close on Flower, the puck rolls harmlessly off his stick. The shrieks of laughter emanating from stately IPB Manor’s living room can be heard as far as 200 miles away.
SHOOT-OUT
– Christensen shoots first. We do not understand teams who opt to go first in shootouts. He goes glove but Marty is underwhelmed and bats it away easily.
– Buckling under the weight of his own “Parise’s better” chants, Zach makes about 7,000 dekes but Flower stops him with his toe on a great split-save. Doc and Chico both spazz over how great that shot and save were, and Chico shouts, “I thought Zach had him!” Zach probably did, too, Chico, so don’t worry — Flower’s name is on the list now.
– Malkin makes a staggeringly weak attempt at Marty, just pushing the puck at a five-hole Marty never flashed at him. That was Jagr-esque, how petulantly Malkin was making it clear that he is neither good at shootouts, nor enjoys participating in them.
– Langer, Mr. Automatic in shootouts, demonstrates the limits of the term “automatic”. Flower beats him with his glove, and Chico says, “Hubba hubba.”
– Sid stickhandles as quickly as he can, back and forth in little zippy moves, then whips the puck low to Marty’s glove. Marty is impenetrable.
– Patty, as putrid at shootouts as Jagr, steps in for the win… and are you kidding us? He goes a mile wide, meanders in at Flower, then calmly slips the puck in five-hole. According to Doc, that was his first game-winning goal of the year. Yes, Gentle Reader, that’s our captain.
PauliePauliePauliePauliePauliePauliePauliePauliePauliePauliePaulie!!!!
In no particular order:
1) I don’t know how I forgot this game!
2) I loved how uber-excited (and what looked to be more excited) Parise was for Zajac’s goal.
3) I laughed every time the SFW and Raffy made stupid mistakes. To Detriot and NY, you paid how much for these players? Well, I hope you enjoy all that they’re worth.
4) Did you notice that pout Sid made after Marty robbed him of his SO goal? It was hilarious.
5) Even though Armstrong was an ass for that blatant elbowing (how was that not called?), I couldn’t help but laugh at Luko. During the original game, I was very concerned. I just thought the situation of the trainer coming to talk to him was funny. He had to bend over and whisper in ear. It was like a little kid that got hurt.
Trainer: “Where does it hurt Brad”
Luko: *whimpers/whines/cries*
Trainer: “If you don’t tell me, then I can’t help you get better”
Luko: *inaudible mumurs*
Trainer: “Did you hurt your back?”
Luko: *grumbles and whimpers* “Nuh-uh”
Trainer: “Did he hurt your face?”
Luko: *sniffling* “Mmmmhmmm*
Trainer: “It’s okay, look you’re already better! Let’s go get you a lollipop to make it all better.”
I think that’s all I have to say. Well, until I remember other things I wanted to point out/respond to.
According to Eklund, the Martin signing is the precursor of a huge trade. Maybe you’re getting Gomez back!
I was pondering the idea of Brian Campbell as a Norris Trophy and had convinced myself into thinking it wasn’t totally outside the realm of possibility - he did finish 10th in the voting last season and if he can put together a whole season like his first half last season he’ll have a very, very good year on his hands… And then I saw that Frei also has Ray Emery as a Vezina nominee. Really? Her?
Brodeur, Kiprusoff, Lundqvist, Emery, and Luongo. One of these things is not like the other things, one of these things just doesn’t belong…
Okay, I haven’t finished reading (and I currently battling insomnia so rest assured, it will be finished shortly), but I had to comment on this:
we can’t help but wonder how people can actually watch the guy play and not walk away impressed.
I know how. It’s called selective amnesia. I do it all the time - I watch him do something amazing, acknowledge that it is in fact amazing…then beat myself about the head with a hammer until I forget. Works like a charm. ;)
Doc lets us know the Devils are on an 0-for-7 PP run. That seems like a pretty short goalless streak, actually.
Yeah, I think when the Sabres were on an 0-for-7 streak last season I was usually thinking, oh good, only 10-15 goalless powerplays left to go before they score one.
And then I saw that Frei also has Ray Emery as a Vezina nominee. Really? Her?
Initially he also listed Rafalski as a possible Eastern Conference nominee for the Devils. He’s since changed it. Oops.
Oh, and because I’ve just gotten a chance to read the other thread through: Andrew, Patty, Earl, and all the rest of you…too funny. All those lines are fantastic! Totally made my morning.
Genna, that exchange between Lukowich and the trainer was perfect. I mean, I realize in hindsight that he was concussed on the play (or allegedly concussed, or at least he spent the night in the hospital, for whatever that’s worth), but at the time, there was just something about the way he was kind of wrigging, and then looking up to see if anyone was calling anything, seeing they weren’t, putting his head back down again and wriggling harder… It was like when a little kid just keeps trying to cry long after they’ve stopped actually crying in the hopes of garnering the kind of attention and sympathy they thought they deserved.
And I know exactly how I forgot this game the first time around: at the time, I thought that giveaway on the game-tying goal was so repulsive I just didn’t want to remember it. Now, of course, it’s Exhibit A in my “Why I Couldn’t Be Happier To Be Rid Of That Guy” Hall of Fame.
I know how. It’s called selective amnesia. I do it all the time - I watch him do something amazing, acknowledge that it is in fact amazing…then beat myself about the head with a hammer until I forget. Works like a charm. ;)
CC, I was already putting into place a secret plan I called “Project Love-A-Caboose” that was going to involve getting you to love the Sid before the end of next season. My theory was that you were robbing yourself of enjoying some great hockey. Now I’m altering said plan to “Project Keep-CC-From-Concussing-Herself”. My first step is going to be replacing all of your hammers with fluffy pillows. You don’t do a lot of carpentry, do you?
I know how. It’s called selective amnesia. I do it all the time - I watch him do something amazing, acknowledge that it is in fact amazing…then beat myself about the head with a hammer until I forget. Works like a charm. ;)
I’m so baffled by the apparently universal hatred Cap fans seem to have for Crosby. Did he do something awful in a game against you guys that I just don’t know about or something?
I’m so baffled by the apparently universal hatred Cap fans seem to have for Crosby. Did he do something awful in a game against you guys that I just don’t know about or something?
I’m under the impression it’s born of two things:
1. The Penguins were already rivals for the Capitals.
2. Crosby gets more media attention than Ovie.
Now, as someone who routinely holds grudges against teams and players for equally or even more outrageous things, I should be more sympathetic to CC and her Caps brethren. But… Comparing Sid and Ovie is like, well, comparing apples to oranges! The teams are totally, totally different; the Pens have a lot of reasons why the media builds them up and puts them on national TV beyond just Sid. Anyway, Ovie got Sid’s Calder, so I think that balances out a lot of injustice!
Oh, I remember that shootout, especially. Terrible, just awful, no one even really -tried-. Ugh.
Just speaking for most Pens fans here, but we LIVE on denial and the thought that no matter how bad our team is, it’s one step closer to the Cup. :) We like to be positive, because really, sometimes that’s all you got, lol.
P.S. I think it’s in the gene code of all Caps fans to despise anything Pittsburgh (just ask CapsChick), sort of like Pens fans shuddering and crossing themselves at the mention of the Flyers.
Terrible, just awful, no one even really -tried-. Ugh.
Yeah, it really was one of the most listless shootouts I think I’ve ever seen. Poor Flower was trying so hard, and then the shooters were all like, “Oh, I’m sorry, did you care about this? Because we don’t.” I mean, if you’re losing a shootout on a Patrick Elias goal, you’re clearly not trying hard enough.
According to Doc, that was his first game-winning goal of the year. Yes, Gentle Reader, that’s our captain.
A box of chocolates and cookies to IPB Manor. :(
Anyway, Ovie got Sid’s Calder, so I think that balances out a lot of injustice!
I stand by the fact that since OV had the better rookie year, the Calder’s rightfully OV’s. Plus that year Sid already had better ‘mates (although I can’t really fathom why their team still didn’t do better.)
Yes, I’m on CC’s side with the hammer-induced concussions. :D
Just speaking for most Pens fans here, but we LIVE on denial and the thought that no matter how bad our team is, it’s one step closer to the Cup. :)
The Leafs are going to win the Cup this season :P.
I hear you.
I stand by the fact that since OV had the better rookie year, the Calder’s rightfully OV’s.
Oh, there’s no question that Ovie deserved the Calder! We like to say that he won “Sid’s Calder”, though, with no small sarcasm — just because it was basically, from the start, Sid’s trophy to lose. (Which he did.)
Sorry, I forget sarcasm doesn’t convey electronically! I just think it’s so funny that Caps fans say Ovie gets no love from the league and the media, and yet he won Rookie of the Year. Obviously, someone was paying attention to him. Of course, I often say the media and the league ingores the Devils at best, and for a while there, our boys were Calder finalists right and left, so I suppose I should cut CC some slack, eh?
The Leafs are going to win the Cup this season :P.
Oh, Vinny.
just because it was basically, from the start, Sid’s trophy to lose. (Which he did.)
I don’t know…I’d be more inclined to say that Ovie won it than that Sid lost it, given that Sid had an absolutely great year for any player, much more so an 18-year-old rookie.
It was definitely a deserved Calder Trophy win. At the same time though, I would say that just as Ovie clearly had the better rookie season, Sid is now clearly the better player. I don’t think all those, “they’ll be competing throughout their careers,” predictions that hockey scribes were making are going to come true, because I don’t think it’s going to be much of a competition.
I don’t think all those, “they’ll be competing throughout their careers,” predictions that hockey scribes were making are going to come true, because I don’t think it’s going to be much of a competition
I dunno.. It’s obvious Sid has had the better teammates… I’m not disinclined to the notion that Sid is better (and he is as clearly the better playmaker as OV is clearly the better sniper) but I’ll be more likely to believe he’s the better overall player once this season starts and the Caps are looking much better as a team.
I don’t think all those, “they’ll be competing throughout their careers,” predictions that hockey scribes were making are going to come true, because I don’t think it’s going to be much of a competition.
They’re also totally different players. How do you compare a single-minded goal-scorer (even the most elite one) to the top playmaker in the league? They just do completely different things for their teams, and while both are immeasurably valuable to their teams and are clearly the keys to their teams’ hopes for success, Sid is just a more multi-faceted player. It seems really odd to think they even could be “competing throughout their careers” because one’s a sniper and the other’s a set-up man.
(And yes, of course Ovie legitimately won the Calder. I seem to be doing a terrible job of verbalizing my opinion about this morning! :P It’s just that, along with Ovie really legitimately deserving the trophy, there was a certain delightful Sid backlash, that his whining and immaturity helped cost him Calder votes. And considering how he came into the league as the annointed one, it really was his trophy to lose…)
Well, that’s yet another thing we can blame the lockout on :P had that not erased a year they both could have gotten one.
It’s obvious Sid has had the better teammates
The fact that Sid has better teammates is why he’s made the playoffs and Ovie hasn’t. I think it’s fair to say though, that better teammates or no, Sid is a better all-around player than Ovie. This is not to say I wouldn’t pick Ovie for my team in a heartbeat, but I just think Sid brings more to the table.
had that not erased a year they both could have gotten one.
And then there’d be nothing to placate the Caps fans! :P
Sid is just a more multi-faceted player.
Right, which I think is the key here. I’m not saying that Ovie’s not a great player. I’m just saying that quality of teammates or no, if I had to choose between great players, I’d want the one with the broader skillset.
Tocchet sentenced:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=216324&hubname=nhl
Sid is just a more multi-faceted player.
I think that plays more into MVP voting than it would have for the Calder. After all, that’s just based on who had the better rookie season.
I dunno.. I’m not against saying that Sid’s more multi-faceted, he might very well be. But OV’s had to do a lot more on his own than Sid’s had to… imagine knowing you could make really great plays…but nobody can really capitalize on them, so why make them?
and yes I completely admit I’m probably biased by the overhypedness (is that a word?) the Canadian media has done to Sid.
I can’t wait for Tavares… he seems like he’s going to be the hybrid of OV and Sid.
I can’t wait for the season to start :D
Tocchet should go to work for a casino :x.. “promoting gambling”. But ouch. nice sentence.
I just think it’s so funny that Caps fans say Ovie gets no love from the league and the media, and yet he won Rookie of the Year.
Seriously. I have to laugh at the notion that Caps fans feel “slighted”–heck, try living on the west coast once in a while. Even CapsChick’s last post (which was really good) about TV schedules was laughable. Sure, Pittsburgh gets more national TV coverage than the Caps, but they’re still well above any team in the Pacific.
It’s like two middle-class yuppies arguing who’s life is tougher, while we watch from our cardboard box.
I think for a Pacific player to win the Calder (not that the last two weren’t justly deserved), they’d probably have to outscore all rookies in the east by some 30 points.
But OV’s had to do a lot more on his own than Sid’s had to… imagine knowing you could make really great plays…but nobody can really capitalize on them, so why make them?
The thing is that Ovie is a sniper, so the great plays he makes are all meant to culminate in goals. His problem, from a “lousy teammate” perspective, is that he hasn’t got anyone with talent feeding him the puck. As a set-up man, Sid’s actually more handcuffed by the quality of his teammates (and, conversely, has more ability to raise the quality of his teammates’ play just through his own), because all the great passes in the world can’t count for much if the guy on the other end isn’t finishing.
I think for a Pacific player to win the Calder (not that the last two weren’t justly deserved), they’d probably have to outscore all rookies in the east by some 30 points.
Just the way a Pacific player could never win a Hart trophy going up against a Ranger. :P
Anzzzeeeeee!!!!
Sorry, I think I need some more coffee.
Sure, Pittsburgh gets more national TV coverage than the Caps, but they’re still well above any team in the Pacific.
Here’s my problem with the tv coverage complaint. Which, incidentally, it the bias complaint that annoys me the most.
The networks are financially motivated (obviously) so they choose which teams to cover based on what? Oh, yes, ratings. So the teams that get better ratings get better national coverage. It’s why Buffalo gets as many national games as they do despite being a tiny market compared to most of the other well-covered teams. Because that tiny market delivers high ratings. And what team delivers the second highest ratings in the US (I’m talking rating points here, for the record)? Pittsburgh. It’s simple and logical.
Just the way a Pacific player could never win a Hart trophy going up against a Ranger. :P
Well, (a) he did play a third of the season in the east, and (b) turned a .417 team pre-Thornton to a .681 team post-Thornton. It’s a noticeable enough turn-around that it even caught some east coast writers’ eyes.
Because that tiny market delivers high ratings.
I know Meg! I hate it when people get all high and mighty bitching about the Sabres getting too much national television coverage! If you (not you Earl, some other “you”) don’t like it, you better sit down (with your family and friends and pretty much every single person you know) and watch some hockey on television, because that’s what we do! Buffalo may not do many things right, but dammit, we ROCK at watching hockey.
“I think for a Pacific player to win the Calder (not that the last two weren’t justly deserved), they’d probably have to outscore all rookies in the east by some 30 points.”
Or they could just be a goalie (Nabokov), or maybe a defenseman (Jackman).
“I hate it when people get all high and mighty bitching about the Sabres getting too much national television coverage!”
I for one, prefer less national coverage. Only because the broadcasts are a joke. I would rather watch a game called by R.J. or Randy Hahn (Sharks) hands down, any time over Joe Beninati or Doc (Sorry IPB, but you said it yourselves, his NBC/VS. persona is a tool).
The other thing that gets me about the complaints about the East/West tv coverage is that Detroit (who, last I checked, plays in the West) gets as many games as any other team. Sure, they play at an East-Coast start time, but their opponents are, more often than not, Western Conference teams.
And seriously, how does it not behoove the NHL to be pinning its hopes and dreams on a team of prodigiously-talented, young superstars who play an uptempo, highly-marketable style of game and made the playoffs last year? I mean, the Penguins are fun to watch, have a lineup studded with big names and come from a non-mockable geographical region (so there’s no recourse for the non-hockey sports media to be justifying not wanting to care because “it’s not a real hockey market” as they grasp at straws in their “I refuse!” assishness). Yes, serious NHL fans get annoyed at the overexposure, but the fact is, the Penguins are highly appealing to the casual fan, because they combine being an actual decent team with having a must-watch, once-in-a-generation type of player. If I was running the league or one of its broadcasters, I’d be loading my lineup with Pens games too.
I for one, prefer less national coverage. Only because the broadcasts are a joke.
I can’t tell you how relieved I was to realize the Devils only have TWO possible NBC games, and something like three on VS. Having to watch the Devils on the national feed is just so depressing; it’s not like an actual Devils game at all.
Pens vs. Sabres. All the time!
Oh, don’t get me wrong–I don’t mind it terribly. I’ll watch the Ducks on any channel, and I think I’ve made my feelings on awards biased fairly well known (heh, suckers, win your trophies–it’ll cost you later). But it is still silly to watch this anti-Pens outcry from eastern opponents–”aw, they love PIT more than us.”
As for the ratings argument, whatever. Nobody’s really getting any eyebrow-raising ratings, and that I think is more the league’s fault than anything.
The other thing that gets me about the complaints about the East/West tv coverage is that Detroit (who, last I checked, plays in the West) gets as many games as any other team.
Oh, never mind. Obviously everything is balanced then, I’m sure. The west’s one TV powerhouse should be enough to counter the four or five out east.
By the way, I love the “We’re from the future” joke in this post.
By the way, I love the “We’re from the future” joke in this post.
This came out of watching Sabres games on TiVo delay after we’d seen the out-of-town scoreboard during the live Devils game. If Schnookie knew the Sabres won, when Crunchy let in goals she’d say, “Don’t worry Crunchy, I’m from the future! You’ll be fine!” It always, always cracks me up.
“The west’s one TV powerhouse should be enough to counter the four or five out east.”
Not to side with the East Coasters or anything, Earl….But I remember a time, not long ago, that one could not turn on a national broadcast without seeing the Avalanche or the Stars.
What I’m saying is that NBC/ABC/whomever will broadcast the teams that they deem to be “hot”. Right now, that mean the Pens and the Sabres. It goes in waves.
Awards voting is an entirely different issue. Perhaps for another time.
The west’s one TV powerhouse should be enough to counter the four or five out east.
Sorry, did I not mention Colorado?
Three more to go, Schnookie!
As for the ratings argument, whatever. Nobody’s really getting any eyebrow-raising ratings, and that I think is more the league’s fault than anything.
Eyebrow-raising or not, it makes a difference. Buffalo didn’t have many games at all the first year after the lockout. Vs. realizes the area gives them good ratings (it’s not unusual for hockey games to win their time slot, beating out stuff like American Idol, toward the end of the season) and next year, voila…a whole passel more games on Nat’l coverage.
But I remember a time, not long ago, that one could not turn on a national broadcast without seeing the Avalanche or the Stars.
EXACTLY! This is cyclical. Five years ago it was all the “Big Three” in the West, and now it just happens to have shifted back to the East. This, too, shall pass.
This, too, shall pass.
……not if Sid has anything to say about it!
Good morning IPB.
I’m drinking a can of strawberry spritzer in one of those hockey jersey can holder thingies so I feel ready for a day of IPB ;)
Hi icing!
Five years ago it was all the “Big Three” in the West, and now it just happens to have shifted back to the East.
Well, the “Big Three” did at the time have right to six of seven straight cup championships. I don’t see it as a bias so much as an understanding of the balance of power back then.
“I’m drinking a can of strawberry spritzer in one of those hockey jersey can holder thingies so I feel ready for a day of IPB”
Nice work Icing….but which jersey is it?
It doesn’t have a shark on it, but something kind of close.
……not if Sid has anything to say about it!
Hee!
Seriously, though, if the Kings are as up-and-coming as some think they are, the league will be losing its mind to get them on TV.
And for anyone who wants to think there’s a constant East-Coast bias, just look at the television schedules for the NBA these days. The East is unwatchably bad, so all their national coverage is of the Lakers, Suns and Spurs, because that’s what the audience wants to see.
Well, the “Big Three” did at the time have right to six of seven straight cup championships. I don’t see it as a bias so much as an understanding of the balance of power back then.
And that’s why, after winning 3 Cups in 9 years the balance of power dictated the Devils were on National TV all the time! Wait, what?
Seriously, though, if the Kings are as up-and-coming as some think they are, the league will be losing its mind to get them on TV.
And that’ll be a good thing (even if I won’t watch because that’s past my bedtime). :)
Are we still arguing about television, because I’m sorry, I am SURE this is all based on straight up ratings. Inarguable television statbits. Television people don’t eff around with NHL bias! They probably hate all hockey equally. The simply choose the market where they think they will make the most money. Period.
And that’s why, after winning 3 Cups in 9 years the balance of power dictated the Devils were on National TV all the time! Wait, what?
I believe this is where someone mentions that showing the Devils would not have been a good advertisement for the league thus keeping the poor ignored Western Conference argument alive.
I believe this is where someone mentions that showing the Devils would not have been a good advertisement for the league
Right, because in 2001 no one wanted to see the highest scoring team on TV!
No, Katebits, you are right. It’s for sure audience-driven. Still, you got 9 western teams that will be on VS 2 times or less, compared to 3 eastern teams. I just laugh at the complaints of “slighted” eastern teams. Must be rough.
Inarguable television statbits. Television people don’t eff around with NHL bias!
Amen! And the hockey media people don’t have a bias, as has been proved by the awards given based on their votes. This is a non-issue.
“The Western Conference– sorry about our inferiority complex”
Inarguable television statbits. Television people don’t eff around with NHL bias!
That’s exactly what it is. As much as I gripe that HNIC only seems to play Leafs games, you can’t argue with the fact that 4 million people live in the GTA and there’s clearly a market for it. It would make more sense for me to up to move to Ottawa if I wanted to watch a Senators game than to demand the CBC change their scheduling and inevitably fold because HNIC is the only program keeping them afloat.
“The Western Conference– sorry about our inferiority complex”
That’s a good one Sherry.
Yeah, when you guys are arguing, at 8:30 in the monring, over who is more deserving of NBC and Vs. broadcasts, you know we’re in for a long day at IPB.
Jeebus people, it’s less than a point share. It’s a pittance to NBC, why do you think they are going to broadcast the “weekly game” on Sundays this year? Because the uber-coveted ‘noon on Saturday’ slot was too valuable to give to the NHL? doubtful.
I think we are all arguing about nothing. I declare a peace-out. Everyone wins.
I think we are all arguing about nothing. I declare a peace-out. Everyone wins.
I agree. As a Devils fan, no one can argue media bias in any fashion that will get me to be sympathetic in any way, so peace-out, IPB!
“The Western Conference– sorry about our inferiority complex”
That was pretty good Sherry! See, you can get back at us mean West Coast people for the Sens cracks yesterday!
Icing, is it a Canucks coozie? Florida Marlins?
You got it Andrew, Canucks.
“You got it Andrew, Canucks.”
Woo Hoo! What did I win?
So I’m curious about an aspect of this t.v. coverage thing.
With your local team, how many games do you see on t.v.? I know Wirtz is a total mo-fo and Chicagoans probably see like 3 a year of their home games (maybe away too for all I know) but how many do people generally see?
See, you can get back at us mean West Coast people for the Sens cracks yesterday!
Heh, true! That wasn’t really my intention but since you mentioned it…:P
Well, maybe i do have an East Coast bias, but really for all the complaints about the Western Conference getting slighted, everybody still thinks the East Coast is a cake walk compared to the West. And really, the second largest media market (L.A.) is located there. You can’t really blame the networks for not having much of an interest in broadcasting a ratings pit.
And uh, that’s all I’ll say about that. Any requests today? :D I think this week’s my last show.
Woo Hoo! What did I win?
I believe Earl is sending you some Bailey’s :)
“I think this week’s my last show.”
Ever?
“With your local team, how many games do you see on t.v.?”
82 Sabres games and 82 Sharks games. Between FSN Bay Area and Center Ice, I got all the hockey I need!!
“82 Sabres games and 82 Sharks games.”
Um, except fot the radio only broadcasts. Which amounts to maybe 7 or 8 games a year, total.
Ever?
Ever on Friday afternoons. I’m taking next week off because I have to try to re-pass my driver’s exam (HAH) and then starting in September I have to host the football and basketball games.
With your local team, how many games do you see on t.v.?
I can’t think of a single Ducks game (regular season) last year that I couldn’t watch on TV, though I think two of the Ducks-Wild games I had to watch through Center Ice.
The Ducks won’t show anything pre-season or re-runs in the summer, though. No offseason frills, but you can see the whole season.
Kings I’m pretty sure were in the same boat, but I wasn’t as set on watching all 82 of those.
So I’m curious about an aspect of this t.v. coverage thing.
With your local team, how many games do you see on t.v.? I know Wirtz is a total mo-fo and Chicagoans probably see like 3 a year of their home games (maybe away too for all I know) but how many do people generally see?
Every Sabres game is broadcast, either on MSG, Vs., or NBC. And while I don’t get MSG, I would imagine that every Rangers game (technically my local team) is broadcast.
Right, because in 2001 no one wanted to see the highest scoring team on TV!
I wasn’t saying it was true, Pookie.
“With your local team, how many games do you see on t.v.?”
Thanks to Center Ice I see all 82 Devils games. I have no idea what cable market I’m in, though — I think without Center Ice I’d only see Flyers games, but I’m still close enough to North Jersey by DirecTV’s standards that I qualify as getting the FSN feed for all the Devils games (as opposed to when we lived in AZ and got whatever feed Center Ice was running, which, more often than not, was the other team’s. Can I tell you how much that sucked?).
Sherry, could you play Low’s “Words” for me? (I’m kind of glad we’re getting to the end of your shows, because I’m getting to the end of my Summer Fridays, and I was going to have to ditch you soon. Thanks for saving me having to painfully break the news that I wasn’t going to be able to listen to you anymore! :P)
Oh, pre-season Sabres games are radio only.
With your local team, how many games do you see on t.v.?
Well my local team is the Leafs, haha and if they’re not on TSN or Sportsnet you can catch them on LeafsTV. And of course HNIC will play almost all of their Saturday games.
A lot of the Canadian teams have pay-per-view games sometimes, don’t they? That strikes me as particularly obnoxious.
I got my “Sabres Insider” e-mail today and it’s got the top 20 finalists for the Emcee voting. Katebits, you’re right, Glenn is pretty damn funny…
http://sabres.nhl.com/news/emcee_einschlag.htm
A lot of the Canadian teams have pay-per-view games sometimes, don’t they? That strikes me as particularly obnoxious.
The Senators do that and it is in fact very obnoxious. The tales of how crappy the broadcasts are really amazing (i.e. a segment on Bryan Murray drinking pea soup!)
I still haven’t seen that thing! My damn mac will never play anything from the nhl websites. Does anyone know a way around this? Mac people?
Damn, if you’re going to have to pay, the broadcast ought to be really damn awesome.
If I remember correctly, all the NHL media runs on Windows Media Player so you’ll have to download the plug-in for that.
I still haven’t seen that thing! My damn mac will never play anything from the nhl websites. Does anyone know a way around this? Mac people?
I have no suggestions because, while I often have trouble, my Mac played this particular video just fine.
Sorry Katebits, no idea. But your friend is great!
I have flip4mac and that usually takes care of the Windows media player files. I can watch absolutely everything on the internet except NHL clips. It’s maddening.
Katebits, I’m on a PC and I actually have that same problem too. It keeps on telling me that I need to have Windows Media Player 9 except I have Windows Media Player 10 so it sohuld technically work. It drives me nuts. I figured it might have something to do with IE or Firefox, but nope.
If you guys wanted to know where the Toronto media’s prorities are, the front page of the Sun today features Mats Sundin’s new girlfriend. [eye roll]
I’m going way back here, and can’t even remember who posted the link, but those bags from Envirosax were awesome!
I bought a package of bags from Costco that are pretty cook. Two matching ok-patterned ones (huge!) and a third (also huge!) that’s a cooler bag and works awesome when you have a long drive or any other need to keep stuff cool because you’re not going straight home. I think the 3 of them were like $6 or something.
I also have bags from local grocery stores. The one store - they suck. The other, they are far better.
I can watch absolutely everything on the internet except NHL clips. It’s maddening.
Ugh! I feel your pain Katebits. That SO sucks.
Whew, I’m jumping in here and dragging you all back a bit to respond to a few things, sorry!
The hatred of Crosby here in DC is for the exact reasons everyone has mentioned - it doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s an amazing player, because I’ve grudgingly accepted that fact and I don’t even really hate Crosby. But I do. It’s hard to explain…and anyone who grew up in DC during the era when the Pens were bitch-slapping the Caps out of the playoffs year after year understands the deep-seeded hatred. That being said, the current Pens are a lot harder to hate, I’ll admit that. *hands in Caps fan club membership card and hides*
Earl, that TV coverage post actually came about because I realized complaining about the lack of Caps coverage was silly when some teams had it much worse - if anything our little team that could falls somewhere in the middle, ahead of our beloved Cup Champs! Crazy.
Okay, I now return you all to the present. ;)
You know you are about to read a good article when the very first sentence is:
If you’re the kind of person who hates the New Jersey Devils, don’t read this because it’s really going to depress you.
link
So Andrew - awhile ago I briefly wondered why your wife isn’t on IPB. Then I forgot all about it until the other day when it crossed my mind again. Then I dreamt about “your wife” but now I don’t remember what the dream was about. I vaguely recollect that she maybe had red hair. Yeah.
(If that doesn’t kill the thread, nothing will ;)
It’s like two middle-class yuppies arguing who’s life is tougher, while we watch from our cardboard box.
Amen, brother!
(That’s as far as I’ve gotten in the comments.)
andrew, I think Icing is hitting on you!
Earl, that TV coverage post actually came about because I realized complaining about the lack of Caps coverage was silly when some teams had it much worse.
No worries, CC! It was a great compilation of TV scheduling data–good work.
“awhile ago I briefly wondered why your wife isn’t on IPB.”
That’s a good question Icing. Your answer, in a nut shell, is because she actually works during the day. She’s an accountant at a CPA firm in town. They work the hell out of her. Outside of that, we’re never on the internet at home. I think my stop-in at IPB last night was maybe the second time I’ve been here past 5:00!
But not to worry, I’ve told her about this little phenomenon. She has laughed at all of our stupid jokes. (and it’s darkish-blonde hair!)
“andrew, I think Icing is hitting on you!”
It would never work, the Canucks coozie is inexcusable!
Thanks, Earl! Hey, you going to London to see your boys kick off the season in the only country that cares less about hockey than the States?
MrFrisby, thanks for that link! You must have enjoyed the slurpage there for your future mancrush (S,PW, perhaps?), Clarkson! (I feel bad for Andy Greene, still being included as a “prospect”. Poor kid. He managed to escape the defensive suck-fest that was the Devils postseason with a plus-six rating? And he’s still on the list of prospects???)
Hey, you going to London to see your boys kick off the season in the only country that cares less about hockey than the States?
Nah, but I will get out of bed to watch morning hockey (which I think is a great phenomenon–why not start your day off on a feel-good King-killing?)
Going way back again…not saying you’ll like it Katebits, definitely NOT saying that! (lol) but I had someone lend me a copy of Eat, Pray, Love and (b/c of who the person was) I was sure I wouldn’t like it and I tried to avoid it but then for some reason I started reading and..well…I liked it. But you won’t! So don’t read it! (How’d I do?)
Thanks for the link, Mr. Frisby! I feel like it’s been a wasteland for prospects the last few years, so it’s nice to know there’s something in Lowell again.
andrew, I think Icing is hitting on you!
I was worried people would think I was hitting on his wife ;)
It would never work, the Canucks coozie is inexcusable!
Good one!!!
I will get out of bed to watch morning hockey
There’s actually a guy in England who randomly became a Caps fan a few years back - he gets up at like 2 or 3 in the morning to watch games and comes over here once a year for one live game…not completely related but I thought it was interesting ;)
why not start your day off on a feel-good King-killing?
How many historical figures have said just that? ;)
Schnookie, I don’t think we have the album “Words” is on. Want to hear something else by Low?
Sherry, how about “In Metal”?
There’s actually a guy in England who randomly became a Caps fan a few years back - he gets up at like 2 or 3 in the morning to watch games and comes over here once a year for one live game…not completely related but I thought it was interesting ;)
When I rode the bus from NYC to every Devils game for 4 years, I got to know this group of older gentlemen who all worked for BBC Radio who called themselves “The British Hockey Nuts”. They’d come over once or twice a year to see as many games in the New York area that they could.
I’d like to point out that “The British Hockey Nuts” called Pookie a tart because she mentioned she thought Michael Owen was hot.
There’s actually a guy in England who randomly became a Caps fan a few years back.
Yeah, randomly last year there was a strange Ducks blog from Brazil. My Portuguese isn’t very strong (I think of it as slurry Spanish), but it certainly was an interesting attempt at reading.
I think they’ve sort of given up on that blog, but I was impressed. Who thinks about hockey in Brazil?
And Icing, one of these days I’ll do my best to drum up a picture of us for IPB, as long as you promise not to hit on my wife.
Okay, I’m outta here. Try not to have any fights break out while I’m in transit, because I don’t want to miss any fun. I’ll be back shortly, though, so just try to hold that animosity in for a few, okay everyone?
Schnookie uhh…we don’t have that one either (I have it at home. Our studio doesn’t have that album, bah!)
I’ll surprise you, how about that :P
Because you told us not to Schnookie, I have an overwheliming urge to bust out the animosity :)
MrF,
I’m surprised that prospect report even includes someone at goalie. What’s the point? I think If I were a goalie and the Devils drafted me, I would get to work finding a job skill. Maybe enroll in technical school or something.
This is going waaaay back but,
Hey, you going to London to see your boys kick off the season in the only country that cares less about hockey than the States?
I could think up a few countries that care less than the Brits.