The Human Hockey Puck

Ever wonder what it would be like to be a hockey puck?

Yeah, me neither. But I have been drunk and thought ‘I wish I had a giant slingshot to shoot me across the ice.’

It’s the next best thing and this hockey puck POV shows what it’s like to shoot across the ice as well as make a goal. It’s the closest I’d ever get to scoring a goal in the big leagues…

Human Hockey Puck GoPro from griffinshockey on Vimeo.

Hurricanes, Capitals Fire Coaches

The Washington Capitals, who started off the season hot and then cooled rather quickly, have officially let coach Bruce Boudreau go and replaced him with former player Dale Hunter.

Boudreau was fired Monday despite being a coach who won 200 games faster than any coach in modern NHL history. His lack of wins in the playoffs despite lots of talent like two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin helped make his departure happen.

Boudreau was replaced by former Capitals captain Dale Hunter, who I will always remember as a badass in the NHL.  His career 3500+ PIMs are going to bring some toughness to this team and I feel sorry for any player who decides to mouth off to Hunter.

Hunter has never before coached in the NHL and will make his debut  Tuesday night when Washington hosts the St. Louis Blues.

“This was simply a case of the players were no longer responding to Bruce. When you see that, as much as you don’t want to make a change, you have to make a change,” general manager George McPhee said.

“Bruce came in here and emptied the tank. He gave it everything he could and did a really good job, but the tank was empty,” McPhee added. “When that happens, you get a new coach, where the tank is full and see if it makes a difference.”

Hired four years ago on Thanksgiving Day, Boudreau went 201-88-40 in the regular season but 17-20 in the playoffs—exiting in the first or second round each time. This season he tried a new approach, emphasizing accountability and the willingness to bench his star players—team captain Ovechkin included—as punishment for subpar performances.

The Capitals started 7-0—a franchise record for consecutive wins to begin a season—but have since slumped badly. They have dropped six of their past eight games, including a 5-1 loss Saturday night to a Buffalo Sabres team missing nine regular players.

Ovechkin has only one goal in the last eight games. [Via Yahoo! Sports]

Another team ushered in a coaching change as the Carolina Hurricanes fired coach Paul Maurice again and replaced him with former All-Star Kirk Muller. See a trend here. Muller was a tough center who had a great run with the Devils in the late 80s and wasn’t afraid to throw a few punches.

He doesn’t have as near as many PIMs as Hunter but his career 959 points in the NHL will help inspire a Carolina squad that one of the worst power-play units in the NHL (12.2 % effective) as well as beefing up a defense that ranks 28th in the league in goals allowed, giving up an average of 3.24 goals.

Review Calls Back Zach Parise Goal with .1 Seconds Left

New Jersey Devils Zack Parise tried his best to channel Brett Hall for the game-winning goal but video replay made the right call this time.

In the trailing seconds of the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils game Saturday night, Zach Parise nearly tied it with two seconds left. His apparent goal was disallowed after a video review which saw that Parise kicked the puck into net, a violation, rather than hit it in with his stick or accidentally off his skate.

The kicking motion was noticed early on but the video review was shipped to the headquarters in Toronto for a quick look and the officials overruled the goal to the dismay of the Devils fans.

Letang Shatters Price’s Goalie Stick

Kris Letang is having a great year with 18 assists already and even though he was beat up in Saturday’s match against the Canadiens, he returned from being bloodied by a hit late in regulation to score 2:09 into overtime, giving the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

But with Montreal up 2-1 at the early part of the 2nd period, Kris Letang fires a blistering wrist shot that shatters the top of Carey Price’s goal stick. Not a goal but a sweet highlight video. There should be a stat for this.

Goalie Fight in Russian KHL League

The Russian KHL League is kinda the Wild West of hockey as rules are set aside and mayhem rules. One team in particular, Chekhov Vityaz, likes to make headlines for its fights more than its play.

Chekhov Vityaz was in the news recently as their coach Andrei Nazarov went after some fans in the stands. Now their goalies are fighting and I love a goalie fight. It’s one of the best parts of the game!

Two goaltenders, Traktor’s Michael Garnett and Vityaz’s Matt Dalton, get into one of the many brawls in their recent game. In fact if they had not fought it would have been odd since it seemed this game was more about the fists than the puck.

Puck Doctors NHL Power Rankings Week 8

The latest NHL Power Rankings are here after we took a week off last week. In that time the NHL Power Rankings have shifted quite dramatically. It’s amazing what just a few weeks make. How’d they rank? Check out the Week 6 NHL Power Rankings below.

NHL Power Rankings

1 Last Week: – 8	Minnesota Wild (12-5-3) The most surprising team in the West now sits atop the Conference despite being a low scoring team. Thankfully, solid goaltending covers that up so it’s not an issue as evident in their 4 straight wins.
2 Last Week: – 3	Pittsburgh Penguins (12-6-3) Sidney is back and he made a huge impact with 2 goals, 2 assists on his return.  It’s a great time for Sid to come back as the Pens have held strong in his absence and they will only get stronger with him back in the lineup.
3 Last Week: – 4	Chicago Blackhawks (12-6-3) The Blackhawks have powered their way to 2nd place in the Western Conference thanks to being the second-highest scoring team overall, next to Philly. Unfortunately, they are allowing too many goals as well. Two loses in a row where they have been outscored 4-14. Ouch.
4 Last Week: – 5	San Jose Sharks (12-5-1) The Sharks have now won 5 of their last 6 thanks to stingy goaltending and a hot Patrick Marleau. Tough schedule ahead will test them.
5 Last Week: – 12	New York Rangers (10-4-3) Huge turnaround for the Rangers is complete after a slow start. Now the Rangers have won 7 of their last 8 and hold the lowest amount of goals against in the NHL.
6 Last Week: – 21	Boston Bruins (12-7-0) The Bruins are the hottest team in the league and have not lost in regulation since October. Yep. The once struggling team has not lost this month and has outscored their opponents a staggering 36 -14.
7 Last Week: – 7	Philadelphia Flyers (11-6-3) The Flyers are permanent second placers this season so far as they can’t seem to get into that 1st place spot but with the highest scoring team in the league it shouldn’t be a problem longer. They were on a hot streak and hadn’t lost in regulation in nine games, and had won three straight game before losing 2 to Winnipeg and Carolina.
8 Last Week: – 1	Washington Capitals (11-7-1) Geez…take a week off and all goes to pot in D.C. The Caps have hit a wall and their offense is working as hard as the Senate right now which is to say not much. Ovi is not a factor and the Caps lost 4 in a row and 6 of 7 before snatching a close win over Phoenix on Monday.
9 Last Week: – 19	Florida Panthers (11-6-3) Hot play by the Panthers and cool play by the Caps have put Florida on top of the division for the first time this year. Kris Versteeg is a monster with 11 goals and Jose Theodore is a stud in net.  Who saw that coming?
10 Last Week: – 14	Nashville Predators (10-5-4) The Preds are 6-1-3 in regulation in their last ten and haven’t lost since Nov. 8th.  Of course they did lose in OT to Columbus so there’s that to deal with.
11 Last Week: – 10	Buffalo Sabres (12-8-0) Tyler Myers still hasn’t produced and is out with an injury.  The Sabres lose one, win one, lose one… Not a good trend.
12 Last Week: – 2	Dallas Stars (12-8-0) Wow. The Stars, like the Caps have hit a wall and lost 5 in a row before pulling out a win Monday. The offense has frozen in Dallas. In those losses, they scored 4 goals and had 2 games with 0.
13 Last Week: – 11	Phoenix Coyotes (10-6-3) Woof! The Coyotes have lost 2 of their last 3 after a solid road trip. Despite that the Coyotes still are holding on, not great but not bad.
14 Last Week: – 9	Toronto Maple Leafs (11-8-2) The Leafs have slumped with one win in regulation in their last five games. Injuries and a slow offense have let the Leafs net get hammered by opposing teams.
15 Last Week: – 16	Ottawa Senators (10-9-2) The Sens are still up and down. They either win a lot or lose a lot but just can’t seem to shake that bad habit.
16 Last Week: – 15	Vancouver Canucks (10-9-1) The Canucks just can’t seem to shake off the mediocrity. Ryan Kesler continues to struggle and the Canucks can’t seem to find any consistency at all despite having one of the best power plays in the league.
17 Last Week:- 14	Tampa Bay Lightning (9-8-2) The Bolts have struggled of late, losing 3 of 4, as their offense has struggled to find the back of the net.
18 Last Week:- 24	St. Louis Blues (10-7-2) New coach Ken Hitchcock has stopped the bleeding in St. Louis.  The defense has showed up and only allowed 5 goals in 6 games with 2 shutouts.
19 Last Week:- 18	L.A. Kings (10-7-3) The Kings started out hot, cooled and now have leveled off. If goaltending can find its leg the Kings could rebound big as they have won 3 of their last 4.
20 Last Week: – 20	Detroit Red Wings (11-7-1) The Wings still haven’t recovered from their early slump and have struggled to find any kind of consistency in any form so far.
21 Last Week:- 6	Edmonton Oilers (10-8-2) Another team to hit the wall and come back to Earth, the Oilers have lost 5 of 6 with the losses a combined score of 10-21. The team has some young talent but is relying on goaltending. Unfortunately that’s where they are hurting the most right now.
22 Last Week: – 23	New Jersey Devils (10-8-1) Ilya Kovalchuk has struggled scoring goals and staying healthy.  He’s back now after a groin injury and has scored 2 goals in his 3 games back. Good sign for the Devils who need the offense desperately.
23 Last Week: – 22	Montreal Canadiens (9-9-3) The Canadiens just can’t find their winning ways. Erik Cole should be so much better and Scott Gomez is a huge bust. Sidney Crosby scored 2 goals the other night in his return. That’s 2 more than Gomez has scored all year.
24 Last Week: – 27	Winnipeg Jets (8-9-3) The Jets are riding high after a slow start and are finally near .500. Now they have 3 wins a row with victories over studs Philly and Washington. Very impressive.
25 Last Week: – 25	Calgary Flames (8-10-1) Will Jarome Iginla end his career in Calgary or will they ship him to a winning team before he retires soon? With his horrible +/- rating right now a rival GM could probably steal him away.
26 Last Week:- 26	Carolina Hurricanes (8-11-3) Tough year for the Canes. Cam Ward and Eric Staal have not produced which helps keep this team in the cellar.
27 Last Week: – 17	Colorado Avalanche (9-11-1) The wheels have completely come off in Denver as the Avs have lost 8 of their last 10. They have struggled to find consistency in goal as well as finding the back of their opposing teams goals.
28 Last Week:- 30	Columbus Blue Jackets (5-13-2) Two wins in a row! Miracles can happen.
29 Last Week:- 28	Anaheim Ducks (6-10-4) Still in a funk, the Ducks are lost. Bad offense. You can’t score if you don’t shoot the puck!
30 Last Week:- 29	New York Islanders (5-10-3) The Islanders continue to prove they are one of the worst organizations in modern sports and look to stay that way for awhile. Not much positive going on here.

Sidney Crosby, Welcome Back

Sid the Kid is back. The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that their All-Star center will be returning to the lineup this week after a long hiatus. Sidney Crosby had been out with concussion symptoms from a couple of head hits last year after the All-Star break.

After almost a year out of commission, Sid had been taking the required time to get healthy and began practicing with the team earlier in the season. Now Pens fans are rejoicing at the news of his return.

The Penguins have done well in his absence this year. Evgeni Malkin also returned this season from a knee injury and despite missing a few games with soreness, Malkin has helped score lots of points along with James Neal and Kris Letang.

Marc-Andre Fleury has been great in goal as well, keeping the Pens in 2nd place in their division with an 11-6-3 record. But now the return of one of the most prolific scoring players in the league might be great timing as we near the end of the year and the All-Star break, a great time to catch on fire and storm into the playoffs.

Our pals at Benstonium, Pittsburgh’s biggest sports fans, have created a special ‘Welcome Back’ video in honor of the return of Sidney Crosby.

Ouch! TJ Galiardi Checks Mark Fistric Into Penalty Box

Hockey players are tough, that’s for sure. Mark Fistric of the Dallas Stars is proof of that.

Fistric is along the boards when Colorado’s T.J. Galiardi delivers a sweet check. Turns out to be a scary moment when the the check pushes Fistric into the penalty box doors, which open.

Despite the “ouch” factor of the hit, Fistric didn’t miss a shift from the hit but I can bet he will be feeling it the next day.

5′ 11″ Cam Janssen Levels 6′ 9″ Chara

Cam Janssen, the 5′ 11″ right wing of the New Jersey Devils, made every Canadiens fan happy this week as the pint-size forward leveled the huge wall known as Zdeno Chara.

It wasn’t too long ago that Chara, the 6′ 9″ defenseman of the Bruins, pummeled Montreal’s Max Pacioretty with this cheap hit.

In the Devils/Bruins game this week, Janssen delivered a monster hit on Chara. It’s rare that someone can take on the human wall that is Chara but thinking that it would be Janssen who could take him down.  Janssen sees Chara on the boards and climbs the ladder to lay out the big guy.  Huge hit and much respect for Janssen.

Crazy Skills From Malkin

Evgeni Malkin’s stick-handling skills have always been top notch. For a guy his size he can sure move around. And I’m sure Penguins fans are happy to see that his knee is holding up despite some recent concerns.

During the Tuesday game against the Avalanche in which Matt Duchene pulled out this move, the Pens unloaded 4 goals in the 3rd period to win 6-3 and Malkin dished in this beauty on Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov.

James Neel steals the puck from Avs defender Kyle Quincey, who loses control behind his own net after getting pestered by Malking. Neel puts on some moves of his own and drops a sweet assist on Malkin who turns on the skills and gets Varlamov stuck with concrete feet.

Next Page »