No Respect for Colby Armstrong

I wish the Maple Leafs Colby Armstrong had worn a tie during Monday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche so when he was complaining to the ref about not getting any respect in front of the Avs bench he could have grabbed that tie nervously like Rodney Dangerfield used to do.

One of my favorite videos of the year so far comes from most of the Avs bench pushing Colby around in front of their bench. Turns out Colby was being a pest (shocker, I know) and the Avs didn’t take kindly to Colby pushing around a few of their players.

That’s why the Avs took each took their turn giving Colby a shove. Hey, when the opportunity is there you have to take it.

Sweet Sweeping Pokecheck!

The young red-hot Avalanche visited the Maple Leafs in a battle of two of the best teams in the NHL right now.

Colorado’s Jean-Sebastien Giguere returned to Toronto and outdueled James Reimer, the rookie who took JSG’s job in the net for the Maple Leafs. The Avs won 3-2 in OT thanks to a goal by David Jones just 1:11 minutes into the overtime.

But the play of the night happened when Ryan O’Byrne, the Avs defenseman, pulled out a perfect sweeping pokecheck to stop a scoring chance by the Leafs Mikhail Grabovski en route to the net.

If you ever wanted to know how the perfect sweeping pokecheck would go down just check out O’Byrne here. All puck, ref!

It turns out to be contagious. With 7 minutes left in the third period watch as Giguere gets a save thanks to some fancy work and the help of his diving teammates. That’s some teamwork!

Hard Shot Pops Off Kings Goalie Quicks Helmet

Ouch! LA Kings goaltender John Quick has his mask popped off by a hard shot in the second period against Philadelphia. Quick was alright after taking a shot to the noddle but on the stat sheet, and this is important, it lists it as a save so that’s what counts.

Former Flyer Mike Richards led the Kings to an OT victory, 3-2, over Philly while Quick improved his record on the season to a sweet 2-0-1.

Ouch! Ducks Jason Blake Out 3 Months After Skate Cuts Arm

Ouch, ouch, ouch ouch ouch!

Anaheim Ducks left wing Jason Blake will be out for three months with tendon damage in his left forearm caused by a severe cut.

Blake was injured midway through the third period of Anaheim’s 1-0 victory over San Jose on Friday night. After Blake fell down while trying to play the puck out of a faceoff, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns’ skate accidentally cut him just above his left wrist.
[via Fox Sports]

It’s the second skate cut this season after the Canadiens Michael Cammalleri had his leg cut in the Winnipeg Jets home opener. It doesn’t look like Burns cut Blake on purpose but Blake is lucky the damage wasn’t worse than it is.  Watching the video it looks like Burns puts most of his weight down on the skate which is on Blake’s arm.

Umm…OK. The Greatest Jonathan Cheechoo Song in the History of Ever

Just 6 years ago Jonathan Cheechoo led the San Jose Sharks with 56 goals and won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for the league’s leading scorer.

Times have not been great for Cheechoo as he has struggled to remain in the NHL over the last few years. After stints with the Ottawa Senators and Dallas Stars Cheechoo now finds his home in the minors, playing for the Peoria Riverman in hopes of cracking the NHL lineup once again.

That’s alright with one Peoria fan. Now that Jonathan Cheechoo (the greatest hockey player in the history of ever, as he states) has been added to the Rivermen roster, he had to make sure Cheechoo and Peoria know that he’s a true fan.

The results are, well… somewhat awesome and odd at the same time.

Maxim Lapierre Is A Human Punching Bag

Maxim Lapierre, the guy you love to hate. Good news for anyone that’s not a Maxim Lapierre fan and that’s most everyone who is not a Canucks fan since that is the team he is on currently. The pesky Maxim got the stuffing knocked out of him last night in Detroit.

Justin Abdelkader from the Vancouver Canucks expresses his slight dismay at Maxim midway through the first period. I’m not sure if the fight took Maxim by surprise or if Abdelkader is just that badass of a dude because the fight is one sided.

Abdelkader pummels Maxim like a punching bag. I think something must be wrong with the audio, though. I can’t hear Maxim shouting ‘Not in the face! Not in the face!”

Arron Asham KOs Jay Beagle

Whenever the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins get together you can bet there will be some exciting fights. The two teams never hold back their emotions for each other and this week’s game was no exception.

The Pens Arron Asham and the Caps Jay Beagle went at it at mid-ice for an epic fight. It didn’t last long as Asham just KO’d Beagle and then Asham makes an unclassy finishing move.

The clash ends with Beagle bloodied all over the ice, yanking his own tooth out before heading to the showers. Just to rub it in, Asham taunted Beagle with CM Punk’s “Go To Sleep” motion after delivering the knockout punch. If you missed it, the video is a must-watch. [via BroBible]

Heck of a fight, though.

Pens Win Home Opener With Epic Save By Fleury

The Pittsburgh Penguins boosted their record to 3-0-1 with a win in their home opener against Florida. It marks the franchise’s best start since going unbeaten in its first 13 games in 1994-95.

Matt Cooke scored another goal to become the team’s leading scorer with 2 goals on the young season. That mark won’t stand for long but it’s good to see the goon do something other than hand out cheap shots.

The only thing more impressive than Cooke playing offensive hockey is this play by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury that happened in the 1st period. Fleury carried the team to a 4-2 win thanks to his 32 saves against the Panthers.

And none was sweeter than this beauty. It’s subtle but when you watch the replay you’ll see Fleury reach behind his head, while he’s one his back, to sweep the puck out of the net in time. His defenseman Lovejoy gives him a little help since, you know, it’s a team game after all.

Hit of the Week! Dion Phaneuf Open Ice Smackdown

The 2011-2012 NHL season opened up this week and we don’t just have a candidate for best check of the week, we have one for best of the year.

The Maple Leafs Dion Phaneuf brutally met Ottawa’s Stephane Da Costa with one of the best open ice hits I’ve seen in years. Looks for the most part like a legal hit although I expect the league to take a closer look.

Dion does get his shoulder up as Da Costa is caught not looking in the right spot. Not Dion’s fault. I still remember the old coach mantra “Keep your head on a swivel.”

Kids, this is why coaches say that phrase all the time.

Cammalleri Cuts Leg as NHL Welcomes Winnipeg Back

The NHL welcomed back the Winnipeg Jets with a loss in their hometown. The return of the Jets to the Canadian city was greeted with a rabid fanbase that rocked the small MTS Centre for their first game against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Habs Carey Price ruined the homecomings by stopping 30 shots as his team beat the Jets 5-1 Sunday.

It’s great to see hockey back in the Great White North section that lost it’s team to Phoenix over ten years ago. I hope it works out great for them.

Meanwhile, during the game Montreal Canadiens forward Michael Cammalleri left the game with a leg injury. It appeared that Cammalleri was cut by a skate on his leg. He rushed to the bench but there was an issue because the MTC Centre does not have access to the locker rooms directly behind the bench.

It’s just one of the few things that will have to be addressed over the first year there because you’ll notice in the video that the ref has to stop the game for the trainers to rush Michael across the ice to the end to get him to treatment. Not a good thing for someone bleeding and needing quick treatment.

It’s being reported that Cammalleri will be out 2 weeks with the injury. Video below, don’t worry it’s not graphic. You see him get injured but thankfully no blood gushing or nothing like that.

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