I wasn’t able to use that headline, and where I am right now, it’s April 2nd, which means that April Fool’s Day has passed. That’s for real.
Let’s go, Avalanche (clap-clap, clap-clap-clap)
Oh, and Forsberg got his first goal of the season. The team is now 7-1-0 with Forsberg in the game. The Avs will now be paying for any surgery he needs. Ever.
Busy week for me, as we move into Hot-lanta, but I hope to get a little blogging done.
Go Avs.
The bad part about having a night job is that I don’t usually get to watch hockey when I am working. Lately, that hasn’t been the case, and I have been able to watch game after game. So I thought I would throw out a few notes from what I saw:
Avs squeak it out: I had to leave after the second period, but what I saw of the game had me excited and scared all at once. The stick handling of Andrew Brunette in a tight space was incredible, but the goals that Jose Theodore gave up to tie the game at two – after the Avs lead 2-0 – had me more than a little concerned. I didn’t get to see the goal that tied the game, but I know in my heart that Peter McNab used the line, “Who else but Joe Sakic?” And he would be right. The shootout had me concerned, since the Oilers have made the circus stunt their bitch this season, but Roloson was like a ghost. Nowhere to be found. Avs pull out two points, give up one that may not touch them in the end, and are tied with Dallas and Calgary. Which leads us to…
Bobby Lou pulled… again: Roberto Luongo is starting to get used to that baseball cap. After flying all over hell, creation, and Florida, Luongo made it to Minnesota in time to see 33:28 of action, enough to let every goal of the game in. At this point, the Canucks can’t buy a win, and the question as to where Lou’s head is at has to be asked. If it’s where it should be, B.L. should have taken the night off, put the faith of the franchise in Sanford, and stayed behind in Florida with the newborn. It would be understandable, and while the defense obviously supported Sanford after the change, you have to let your backup, even in the final push, take over and guide the game. Maybe it was time for a change in goal before the Canucks even got there. I would like to thank them for not making that change.
How many PIM can you have in a game… legally?: The Thrashers spent the game in the box. At one point, they had five players in the box, four sitting and one standing. Mostly, it was because the refs were calling anything that moved – I think a guy in the 12th row got two minutes for slashing – but also because coach/GM/all-around-calm-and-nice-guy Don Waddell told the refs in terms that everyone watching the broadcast could easily understand, what he though of their calls. While he may have been right at the time, a little bowl of STFU cheerios may have been a better breakfast. If you don’t like the calls these refs are making, wait two day until the next game, when you won’t like the calls the new refs make. And sit down. You look like a tool on television. I work with tools. Nuff said.
2:15 for tripping to Adam Foote: How long was Foote in the box for? The penalty box attendant didn’t seem to let him out when his penalty was over, but I didn’t have the sound on, so I couldn’t tell what was happening. Anyone? I will say this. The guy who mans the penalty box used to be my neighbor last year, and this guy was not he. In other words, this was a sub. The off ice officials for the Avs games drink at a bar I go to in Denver, and if I were home, I would ask them about this. Next time.
Wings get points and I don’t care: I have better things to do than worry about them. They are in, the Avs are not done yet. I will worry about them in the playoffs. For now, whoopee.
NCAA Hockey: I hate March Madness, because it takes away from some really important hockey. This year, I have a bit of an opportunity to watch some college hockey, and I’m really enjoying what I’m seeing. It’s a bit unrefined, and a little too much B.S. involved, but it’s still a lot of fun. Tomorrow, DU plays for their lives. Should be good.
Colorado Eagles win first game of playoffs: Another Colorado hockey team did well tonight, as the Colorado Eagles beat the Youngstown Steelhounds 6-4. These are the quarterfinals of the run to the Presidents Cup in the Central Hockey League, and a game one victory, when there is heavy travel soon to be had is important. Especially when the series split, with Colorado having home ice advantage, is 2-3-2. You can win one and still lose the series away. go figure.
That’s enough for tonight. My stay in Toledo comes to an end in a few days, and I will be drinking with Greg from the Post Pessimist Society. That is going to end in a hangover of epic proportions. Stay tuned for my pain.
Tape Central is up and running in full swing tonight. How am I keeping an eye on the games?
No-touch icing has been on the minds of the hockey pundits lately, and for good reason. After Kurtis Foster broke his leg slamming into the boards after a race for the puck, the issue was brought into focus again, and the call went out for change. The debate has simmered down a little, but there is still a little discussion to be had. And frankly, it isn’t a bad discussion to be had.
No-touch icing is already in use in the minor leagues (CHL and ECHL, for instance), and in USA Hockey, so it isn’t unusual. Much like the visor issue, the NHL is behind the curve again. The problem isn’t that it hasn’t been tried, the issue seems to be about excitement. The fans like the race to the puck. And broken legs and concussions be damned, there is going to be that race.
To me, the problem isn’t that there is a race for the puck. The problem is that it ends at the boards. If the race for the puck ended in the middle of the ice, there would be no problem. At worst, you would see the occasional twisted ankle, but major injuries would be gone (until someone did something really stupid, which seems to happen every year). It seems so simple a concept that it is easily overlooked. The race isn’t the issue, it’s where it concludes.
I’ve been thinking about compromise lately. How to keep the race alive, but bring it’s conclusion away from the boards. I have an idea.
I don’t know how many of you follow outdoor lacrosse, aside from unfortunate news stories. In the game, since you are dealing with a hard rubber ball thrown around with sticks that have nets on the end, the ball goes out of bounds quite often. The determining factor as to who gets possession of the ball afterwards is who is closer to the ball when it goes out of bounds. Actually, the determining factor is who’s stick is closer. It’s a race for the ball that is fast, hard and physical.
Here is how the rule reads from the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse rule book, Rule 4, Section 6 – c – 3:
3. When a loose ball goes out of bounds as a result of a shot or deflected
shot at the goal, it shall be awarded to the team that had an inbounds
player’s body nearest to the ball when it became an out-of-bounds
ball, at the point where it was declared out of bounds.
The same could be implemented in hockey, or at least experimented with. When the puck crosses the line, the linesman, or ref, depending on who was in better position, either blows the play dead for icing if the player from the defending team is closer, or waives off icing if the offending team’s player is the closest, and play continues. Most of the “battle” would happen in open ice, taking a lot of the risk out of the race for the puck. The race itself would conclude away from the boards, and there wouldn’t be the danger of positioning for a puck touch rather than a hockey play. Players skate in to the end boards differently if there is a play to be made, rather than stretching to touch the puck for an icing call.
I realize that it could be a photo finish to tell which player is closer to the puck or line, and mistakes are going to be made. Hockey fans are not a tolerant bunch when it comes to making mistakes, especially by the officials, so this could add a little more unwelcome scrutiny to the refs. Mistakes on icing are rare, and usually only detectable by HD video super slo-mo replay. That is why there would have to be some experimentation and testing involved, before bringing it to the game. Who can make the call? Can a ref cover for a linesman that is caught out of position? If two players were equidistant to the line when the puck crossed, icing could be waived off, or not, depending on what the NHL wanted in the rule book. Would it be who was closer to the line, or closer to where the puck crossed the line? How do you determine when to blow off an icing call if the players are close to the goal line? All questions to be answered, but all addressable.
What do you think? Do we really need to change the system? Is another rule change going to bring something better to the game? Is no-touch the only alternative? What do you think of lacrosse icing? Comments are always open.
I can guess what XM radio is talking about today, and that’s how tight the standings are in the West today.
The Avs didn’t do themselves any favors by losing to the Wild last night, and the Canucks didn’t do anyone any favors by having a veritable scoring frenzy (3 goals for the Canucks are a lot theses days.). The problem the Avs have now is that every game they have left is against division rivals.
Which means that every point lost goes directly to someone you are battling for a playoff spot. An overtime win against a division rival is one point given away you could miss the playoffs by. Winning in regulation is the only way to go. And every game is going to be scrappy.
Avs better get some mojo, and fast.
JP at Japers Rink found this image, which puts Sidney Crosby squarely in the class of football hero when compared to Alex Ovechkin, size wise:
I mean, he’s huge, right? Aside from a poorly done photoshop job, anything else strike you as odd?
Like the fact that the Penguins played the Capitals in the Winter Classic and no one noticed? Even the CBC thought it was the Sabres, but no. Silly us. I mean, that is a Winter Classic jersey, right? They haven’t worn it since, right? Ah, NHL.com. How you amuse me.
Thanks to my job, I get to see hockey in all sorts of small barns and beautiful arenas. Six weeks spent in Pittsburgh allowed me to see a few Penguins games on my days off. Leaving Mellon Arena after the Pens – Flyers games, I was actually a little sad, since it was most likely my final time at the Igloo. Since the Pensblog did a nice job looking at the arenas around the league, past and present, I thought I would share some pictures of the worst, or most characteristic, arena in the NHL. It’s all about perspective.
Why do they call it the Igloo?
Couldn’t tell you, sorry.
Most people know that the dome is meant to open up, but these days that would take some doing. Look at the next picture, and you will see why.
Hanging from the ceiling are what they call points. Chain motors with steel cables attached, to hang all the trusses, speakers, lighting and everything you need to put on a rock show, or any other show, for that matter. Usually, these go up and come down for each show, at least in most arenas. But things are a little different here, and points are very hard to hang. So they just leave them up. In order for the dome to open, all of those points have to come down. And believe me, that is going to cost some money.
There are a ton of pictures in this post, and I’m not going make them all load up if you don’t want to see them. They are after the jump. Click that link, and enjoy.
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Hey, would you look at that…
Avs leap to seventh (OK, tied for 7th) in the standings. Still in the hunt. 15 games left, two against the Stars, one against the Ducks, one against the (hated) Devils, and a few more against the Canucks, who will be making life difficult for certain. Throw a few against the Wild in there, and this is going to be a tough race to top eight.
I must have been clairvoyant, when I bought my ticket to this game an hour before they announced that Peter Forsberg signed a one year contract with the Avalanche. And as luck would have it, this was the game he came back in. But you knew that, you are a hockey fan, and you could not avoid Foppa-fever (I said it first!) in the media. In his debut, Forsberg was quite the puck-handler, even if he was a little slower than he used to be. Then again, what did you expect? He also got three shots on goal, had three take-aways, and was quite creative with the puck. He skated with his old teammates, Sakic and Hejduk, all night, since they might know what to expect from him. And things clicked well. There was a creativity to the play that has been missing for a few seasons, and even when it didn’t work out, it was exciting to watch. He didn’t really know where to be on the power play, but that may not be a bad thing, since the power play has been crap for quite a while. One of the things I’m not sure you could see on TV, but could see from the cheap seats, was how much room the opposition would give him when he had the puck. He still has talent, and the Canucks knew it. And he got a little scrappy.
Pictures from the night. I told you I was in the cheap seats. Except they weren’t that cheap. I even asked at the box office if there were any sight obstructions. I didn’t really get an answer. I got my answer as soon as I sat down.
It got scrappy right off the bat. 5 for fighting each, even if it was only worth 3 and a half.
Hey, who’s that guy? The one on the right?
Theodore took a knee to the head in the second period, but stayed in net for the rest of the game. It was looking like a bad string of injuries for a moment there.
Here is the jumbotron message of the night.
All this because they couldn’t play Kansas.
Hey, the good guys won!!!!
It was an on the edge of your seat finish, but two points, even by the hair of the chin, even with a few posts coming to the rescue, are still two points for the Avs, and none for the Canucks. All in all, a good game.
One of the great things about being home right now is the healthy string of home games for the Avalanche. Since it’s nothing but good times and vacation for me (in my gig, you come home for vacation), I get to go to tonight’s tilt between the Avs and the Canucks. I have actually never seen the Canucks live, but they all look alike with white jerseys from the upper decks. Stack on that the Sedin twins, and I can’t tell any of them apart. They guy with the hair is the goalie, at least, according to the commercial.
I didn’t put up my photos from the game on Saturday, against the Kings, so I can put them up here.
First thing we did was sign the banner. Do you think they will rip it in two, and give half to each person?
Here’s my contribution.
Don’t judge my by my handwriting. I’m a sloppy eater, too. (Not true, mostly)
I tried to get a few good shots of the jumbotron intro, but they didn’t turn out. The loudest cheers, reserved normally for Joe Sakic, Lappy, and Stastny, were for Foote and Forsberg.
The party was rolling, even if it was a pretty dull period, and then…
Even after they dragged Smyth off, and the crowd clapped for him, there was a fear in the crowd. Everyone could tell that things were not going to be alright for Smyth, and the worst was feared.
Let’s talk about this.
Ian Laperriere goes after Jack Johnson for the hit on Smyth. Rob Blake gets in the middle and stops things before they start. Everyone gets two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. I don’t understand what was going through Lappy’s mind (I do, but come on), but Rob Blake wound up saving the Avs bacon in this one. Sure, I can see someone wanting to challenge Johnson, but the Avs at this point are already down by two forwards, then throw Lappy in the box for five minutes or more (add ten for sneezing), and the Avs are really hurting. Suddenly, you are in a situation where Scott Parker, who should be doing the dirty work in this situation, is taking a regular shift. The crowd started chanting “We want Parker” after this, and got their wish, for a shift or two, but with the lineup hurting this much, playing with a short bench, you can’t afford to lose someone like Lappy for a fighting major. Take a number, and get back to the issue later. Maybe when the game is thoroughly in hand. Since the Kings won’t be meeting the Avs again this season, I can see wanting the issue taken care of now, but this was the better outcome for now.
The good guys still prevailed, and the only real problem was that there was too much attention paid to checking Johnson that the Avs stopped playing hockey, and the second goal was given to them. Oh, and that the Pepsi Center doesn’t like to replay anything that happens against the Avs. As though the crowd can’t handle it. Even the people who sat next to me, season ticket holders who had been to a lot more games than I have this season mentioned it. I was hoping the policy might have changed, but the Avs keep giving the fans more reasons to watch at home on TV.
Tonight, the Avs take on the Evil Empire (I had to get that one in there), and with all due luck, Forsberg will be in the game, and strong on his feet. Maybe a few goals to get the crowd juiced up.
Go Avs!
