Matt Duchene Epic Through the Legs Goal

Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche did everything he could to help his team Tuesday night but it wasn’t enough. The Penguins, fueled by James Neal goal and 2 assists, scored 4 times in the third period to trump the Avs 6-3.

But we won’t remember that in the future. We will remember deep in the first period as Duchene continues his hot streak with this goal. He pulls the puck through his legs and puts it into the open net vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins. Very sweet.

Tim Thomas Tries to Break Kaletas Stick

The gem popped up from the weekend during the Bruins – Sabers game on November 12th. It was the same game in which Lucic slammed into Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.

After crashing the net, the Sabres Kaleta gets his stick stuck between Bruins goalie Tim Thomas and the net…..then Timmy attempts to snap it.

Great shot of a guilty act.

Leafs Scored On Their Own Net To Keep Fans Grounded

I’m sure die-hard Maple Leafs fans will not be surprised to hear this story. The Leafs have worked hard to start out the year hot and prove those decades of playoff disasters are over with.

And for those of you that are not die-hard Leafs fans just know they’re like the Chicago Cubs of hockey so that’s why when they score on their own net you could hear the collective slapping of foreheads from Toronto across the all of North America.

So to keep Leafs fans grounded the Leafs pulled out some old fashioned errors in their 5-2 loss to Ottawa. During the final minutes Toronto pulls their goalie for the advantage. And score. Just turns out to be on the wrong net!

Clarke MacArthur’s pass back to the point finds nothing but his own empty cage.

Slammed! Lucic Lays Out Goalie Ryan Miller

The Boston Bruins took awhile to come out of hibernation but they are now fully awake. The Bruins have cruised to 5 straight wins with their 6-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Young stud Tyler Seguin is living up to the hype as he scored two goals and had an assist. But the play of the night didn’t come from Tyler. It came from Milan Lucic.

In a clip that is bound to be replayed multiple times for years, Milan roared down the ice on a breakaway. Turns out the puck got away from him and Sabres goalie Ryan Miller thought that he could get it before Lucic.

With Miller flying out of the net to push the puck away, Lucic didn’t slow down. In fact, he slammed into Miller. Ouch!

After the game, in which Miller sat out the third period with a soar neck from the collision, Miller had some choice words for Lucic. Miller had an expletive-laden rant about Lucic. Here’s a quick clip in which Miller calls Lucic gutless for the cheap hit. The curses have been bleeped but here’s the transcript.

I’m not going to go into that. I just stuck around because I just wanted to say what a piece of [expletive] I think Lucic is,” Miller said. “Fifty pounds on me and he runs me like that? It’s unbelievable. Everyone in this city sees him as a big, tough, solid player. I respected him for how hard he played. That was gutless. Gutless piece of [expletive].”

Nothing like a great division rivalry to get the blood boiling!

Lucic responded as expected. He claimed it wasn’t a cheap hit.

“He came out of his net. I was going full speed,” he told NHL.com. “There’s not much I can do. So that’s basically it.”

Flyers Hate Neutral Zone Defense

The Philadelphia Flyers were none too pleased about Tampa Bay playing the neutral zone defense or trap defense. It’s a boring game for a fan to watch because, as anyone who watched a Devils game in the early 2000′s can tell you, not much happens outside the bluelines.

Essentially, 1 guy hovers around the blue line with 3 defenders lined up in the neutral zone to force the turnover.

Not wanting to play that game, the Flyers took a few minutes out to make a point. Stuck in their defensive end, the Flyers did nothing. Just sat there. The Bolts didn’t attack and just stayed where they were which created a stalemate. There is no such thing as a shot clock in basketball so it’s not against the rules.

A couple of times in the opening minutes of the game the Flyers held the puck in an attempt to force the Lightning to abandon their 1-3-1 defense. Eventually, the officials stopped the game to have a faceoff.

Fun stuff.

In the end it didn’t matter as Tampa won 2-1.

Puck Doctors NHL Power Rankings Week 6

The latest NHL Power Rankings are shaken up a bit thanks to the stellar play out of the Rangers and Sharks.  Both teams are ripping up the league right now which shifted the Top 10 around and sent a few clubs packing.  How’d they rank? Check out the Week 6 NHL Power Rankings below.

NHL Power Rankings

1 Last Week: – 1	Washington Capitals (9-4-0) The highest scoring offense in the league keeps the Caps on top but the defense needs to tighten up a notch.  Joel Ward is proving to be a solid off-season pick up.
2 Last Week: – 3	Dallas Stars (10-3-0) Wow. The Stars are one of the best teams in the league without Brad Richards. Who knew?
3 Last Week: – 2	Pittsburgh Penguins (8-3-0) No Sidney, no problem.  He’s hinting at returning very soon but thankfully three out of four on a west coast trip shows the team is OK until he returns.
4 Last Week: – 4	Chicago Blackhawks (8-4-3) Special teams are hurting the team as they rank low but their offense, which ranks high, keeps them afloat.
5 Last Week: – 10	San Jose Sharks (8-4-1) The turnaround on the slow start is complete as the Sharks have stormed back to second place in the division and only 4 points out of the Stars 1st place. Joe Pavelski’s nine goals help.
6 Last Week: – 5	Edmonton Oilers (9-3-2) The surprising Oilers are still rolling. They take one loss in their last five to Phoenix allowed the most goals in weeks but they rebounded with another win.
7 Last Week: – 9	Philadelphia Flyers (8-4-2) The Flyers beat the stuffing out of Columbus 9-2 to remain the highest scoring team in the league. Could Claude Giroux win the scoring title this year?
8 Last Week: – 13	Minnesota Wild (8-3-3) The surprising Wild are leaning on goalie Josh Harding, who is back this year from a knee injury. He went 3-0-0 this week with a 0.99 GAA and leads all goaltenders in save percentage (.965) and ranks second in goals-against average (1.18).
9 Last Week: – 7	Toronto Maple Leafs (9-5-1) Still holding the top spot in the division, the Leafs have lost 2 in a row and 3 of their last five. Giving up a hat trick to Tyler Seguin is painful to watch for a Leaf fan. G James Reimer is fighting in a head injury which might knock them down over the next few weeks.
10 Last Week: – 12	Buffalo Sabres (9-5-0) Still riding Toronto’s coattails, the Sabres are winners of 3 straight. Jhonas Enroth played well in goal and will compete with Ryan Miller for starting time.
11 Last Week: – 19	Phoenix Coyotes (7-4-2) Woof! The Coyotes are surprising and competitive and getting more out of their players than they possibly should. Hat tip to Dave Tippett for getting the team performing under tough circumstances.
12 Last Week: – 26	New York Rangers (8-3-3) Huge turnaround for the Rangers who have fired off five straight wins. Fantastic goaltending coupled with an offensive surge have fueled the Rangers up to 2nd place. In the last five games, they have outscored opponents 18-8, which all started after a game with San Jose in which Joe Thornton called the Rangers “soft.”
13 Last Week: – 14	Nashville Predators (7-4-2) The Preds had won four of five before L.A. grabbed a victory in their last game.  Despite that loss, this team has and always will go with the fortunes of goalie Pekka Rinne who just signed a new contract.  Smart move.
14 Last Week: – 20	Tampa Bay Lightning (7-5-2) The Bolts have won 3 of their last 4 to shake a slump thanks to Steven Stamkos waking up on offense with 8 points in his last 5 games.
15 Last Week: – 18	Vancouver Canucks (7-7-1) The Canucks just can’t seem to shake off the mediocrity. Special teams are starting to get better which may help this team get out of two wins, two losses pattern.
16 Last Week: – 11	Ottawa Senators (7-7-1) The Sens cooled down fast and have lost 3 straight. Good news is they were all close games but right now we’re wondering what team, the good or bad, will finish off the season.
17 Last Week:- 6	Colorado Avalanche (7-7-1) Losers of 4 straight, the Avs have collapsed from one of the best, surprise teams of the year to 4th in their division.  Bad special teams at the moment but the odd fact that Matt Duchene finally wakes up and gets hot and the team goes south is odd.
18 Last Week:- 8	L.A. Kings (7-3-3) The Kings have cooled and dropped big in the rankings but finally broke their 4 game losing streak with a win over Nashville.  Offense is sketchy at the moment but picked a good time to win and wake up.
19 Last Week:- 15	Florida Panthers (7-4-3) It’s hard to pin down the Panthers.  Not impressive offense but good goaltending.  Team lost 3 OT’s in a row before snapping off an impressive 5-1 win over Toronto to prove they can compete.
20 Last Week: – 21	Detroit Red Wings (7-5-1) The Wings dropped 6 straight losses but have bounced back with 2 wins to stop the bleeding. The losing streak hurt, though, as the Wings have dropped to 3rd place in the division.
21 Last Week:- 28	Boston Bruins (6-7-0) The Bruins Tyler Seguin woke up and ripped off a hat trick against rival and former draft team Toronto.  The Bruins have now won three in a row with an offensive output that has outscored opponents an impressive 18-5.
22 Last Week: – 23	Montreal Canadiens (5-5-2) The Canadiens have rebounded a bit from their horrible start but are still streaky.  Lost 6, won 4 and now lost 2 straight.  The ups and down are still continuing as the Habs need Carey Price in top form to have a chance.
23 Last Week: – 22	New Jersey Devils (7-5-1) Ilya Kovalchuk is out injured and the Devils are struggling.  After a losing streak they have bounced back with 3 straight wins.
24 Last Week: – 24	St. Louis Blues (7-7-0) The Blues slow start took care of coach Davis Payne’s job and now Ken Hitchcock is at the helm.  First game, a win over Chicago 3-0 so that’s a great start.
25 Last Week: – 25	Calgary Flames (6-7-1) The Flames have struggled but relied on solid work from G Miikka Kiprusoff to stay afloat.  Offense is showing sparks but needs consistency to get this team over the .500 hump.
26 Last Week:- 17	Carolina Hurricanes (5-7-3) One win in five games hurts as the offense struggles without Eric Staal producing.
27 Last Week: – 27	Winnipeg Jets (5-7-3) The Jets have two blueliners out with injury which help contribute to them being ranked 25th in goals against. Only 2 teams have allowed more goals in than the Jets this season.
28 Last Week:- 16	Anaheim Ducks (5-6-3) No wins since last week help put the Ducks in the cellar with a big drop in the rankings.  Where’s the high-flying offense?  This team is too talented to be this bad.
29 Last Week:- 29	New York Islanders (4-6-2) The six game losing streak came to an end promptly followed by an embarrassing 2-6 loss.  Lack of offense and mediocre special teams have kept this team in the cellar.
30 Last Week:- 30	Columbus Blue Jackets (2-11-1) Another poor week from the Jackets as they struggle with horrible goal tending, horrible special teams and a horrible offense.  They’ve earned their record and have been outscored 7-22 in their last 4 losses.   It will only get worse before it gets better in Columbus.  Wonder when the housecleaning starts?

Visor Helps Bruins Daniel Paille From Slapshot To Face

A bloody Daniel Paille was taken off the ice during the Bruins/Islanders game Monday night after taking a shot to the face from New York defenseman Steve Staios.

It was an accident as Staios let a shot fly that rose too high. Paille was there to block but at his angle the puck found him directly in his face. Luckily, Paille was wearing a visor.

The scene was nasty as blood on the ice and his helmet indicated a terrible hit but the fact that he was wearing a visor may have saved him a tremendous amount of damage.

Hopefully, Daniel will be alright but this is the third incident to happen like this in just a few weeks. Anaheim Ducks forward George Parros and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty know how Paille feels after they both took pucks to the face.

Parros sadly didn’t wear a visor and he was injured with a torn retina that surgery fixed but he will be out four weeks to recover.

Doughty did wear a visor and played the remainder of the game.

Head injuries are a big concern in the NHL as players in all sports are now feeling the effects of years of trauma but hockey players seem to be feeling a bit more. Enforcers namely have come under guard as several fighting players have passed away at young ages and the main thought is the mental abuse that comes from such physical play.

For now we can take an accident like Paille’s and put it with all the others to gauge how the NHL and Players Union will alter the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement as visors, among other safety issues, will be a hot topic.

Stiffler Hits the Ice in New GOON Movie Trailer

Seann William Scott (American Pie, Dukes of Hazzard) tries his hand at hockey in the latest movie based on the best sport on the planet.

Hockey movies do not come along too often and it’s kind of a shame that we just don’t get the Slap Shot type of movies these days. Goon looks like one of those movies that could be a great flick filled with sweet hockey jokes as long as Hollywood doesn’t mess it up too much.

Scott, or as I call him, Stiffler, plays a guy who gets into hockey because of his skills at fighting. Despite his lack of talent with the stick, this Goon can give and take a punch which helps him find a spot on a minor league team.

The storyline is ripe for parody as any hockey fan knows that this type of player is really out there. I guess calling it Goon is shorter than the Marty McSorley Story.

Goon premiered at a few film festivals already, including Toronto, and the reviews have been very favorable so far so here’s hoping we get something that can stand to fight the Hansen Brothers.

The sports comedy Goon stars Sean William Scott as Doug Glatt, a slacker from a rich family who discovers he has a knack for fighting hockey goons. Dragged to a game by his best friend, Doug punches out the visiting team’s toughest player when the angered player rushes into the stands. The team quickly gets Doug on the team and, even though he can’t skate, encourage him to beat up their opponents.

Meanwhile in Russia, Coach Attacks Fans With Hockey Stick

Every coaches dream turned into a nightmare for fans as a coach, fed up with a fan that threw an object at him, grabbed a hockey stick and went after the fans in the stands.

In America, the nosebleed section is at the top of the stands. In Russia, it apparently is right behind the home team’s bench.

Andrei Nazarov is the coach of Chekhov Vityaz, a team in the Russian hockey league (KHL). This team is known for having a lot of fights and even the players smile while getting punched.  After a game that saw 156 penalty minutes handed out a fan tossed something at the Vityaz bench.

Andrei, who played in the NHL and complied a nice career 1,409 penalty minutes, took to his instincts and immediately grabbed a hockey stick and started to swing into the crowd. Andrei didn’t make it over the glass but security did escort the bad guys out of the game.

Ref Gets Worst Of Hockey Brawl

A couple of fights broke out in the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks game on Thursday. The Canucks Maxim Lapierre (surprised he’s fighting) and Minnesota’s Cal Clutterbuck get into a tussle near the end of the 3rd period.

The TV crew is ready to cut to commercial but sensing a good fight they stick with the game. It ends up the ref took two pretty good shots trying to break up the fight.

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