Strange, but it feels to me like that's what this blog is doing: languishing. ^^;; It's not that I've lost interest in hockey or anything, but I haven't watched a full game in a while, so I don't feel able to talk about them as mcuh.
Although, actually, Saturday's Toronto @ Edmonton (and yes, it is Edmonton this time =P) was very sad for me. Not only did Toronto lose in OT to Edmonton, but I also lost a possible win for my hockey pool!! I was SO sad! I mean, what are you supposed to do when you've got both Belfour (my very last day with him) and Salo on your team? Naturally you pick the goalie on the team you want to win, right? Geh. Well, at least I won't have to make choices anymore. The goalies I've got now are Salo and Luongo, so I'd have to be crazy to pick Luongo over Salo. =Þ I'd probably only play Luongo against Atlanta or Calgary or something, provided that Edmonton isn't also playing that night.
Oh, and speaking of goalie choices, I was utterly shocked tonight to find that the Oilers played Salo against the Coyotes tonight. Is Markkanen injured or something? The Oilers have a game against Dallas tomorrow, I thought they'd want to save Salo for that game? Then again, I just checked the score, and Salo actually let in a goal. D'oh. One out of only five shots too. Ouch.
Thank goodness my points production now has some possibility for life now that I've got Forsberg and Nolan (and lost Bonk), so I don't have to rely on my goaltending stats so much now! Forsberg scored a hat trick last night!! Yay Avs!
In other news, I picked up yet another hockey book today, "Centre Ice"! ^_^ It was a steal too--$7.99 plus 30% off, so total with tax was only $5.98!! I think it'll be interesting, it's about the Smythe family, the Maple Leaf Gardens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Of course I haven't a clue when I'll get the chance to read it. I still haven't even finished the Ron Ellis book, "Over the Boards"!
Talking about the Leafs (Ellis was a former Leaf), does anyone know if the Toronto Maple Leafs Superskills Competition would be worthwhile to watch? It's on Sunday, February 9, 2003 at 11:45am, for $15. I'd kind of like to check it out, but only if I can find someone else to go with me! Mostly I want to see Kaberle, Mogilny and Sundin closer up than I will be on the 18th, when I see the Carolina game. I'm sad though, because unless Weekes gets injured, I doubt that I'll get to see Irbe in action! =( Why is he having so many problems this year? It must be the new pads. =Þ Actually, I haven't even confirmed who I'm going with to that either! ^^;; I feel so unloved. ^_~
Whelp, I think that's enough rambling for today! If anyone's interested in the TML Superskills Competition, let me know!
Well, hopefully this will help boost my points production, I'm giving up Belfour and Bonk for Forsberg and Nolan. Apparently Forsberg isn't playing tonight because he's got the flu, but the trade doesn't take effect until Sunday, so it's all good. I just hope this isn't an omen of things to come--Forsberg being unable to play, I mean.
So far I haven't had the best of luck with the Avs players I've traded for; Sakic is on IR now with a sprained ankle. ::sniff sniff:: My poor Sakic! I hope he gets better soon!
Anyway, I'm going to miss Belfour, because having him on my team made it that much sweeter when the Leafs won, but I think I've built up a decent cushion in my SV%, and Salo's a solid goaltender, so I think it's the right move. Plus I feel kind of glad that I got the trade when two other people were also trying to make a deal with the same guy. =P It would've been nice if I'd been able to get Sundin, but Forsberg was the one I wanted first, so I'm glad I got him at least.
In other hockey news, tonight is the first game of the World Juniors!! Go Canada! It'd be awesome if we could take a gold, but as long as we get medals I'll be happy. I taped the 2hr special preview (for the World Juniors) last night, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet.
Speaking of things I haven't had a chance to watch, I got a tape of the Colorado @ VANCOUVER (edited) game in which Sakic scored his 500th as a Christmas present =D but I still haven't sat down to watch it yet!! Must do that soon....This was a great Christmas for hockey. ^_~ But I'll save that post for a later time since this is getting pretty long.
My brother mentioned a couple of days ago that he wasn't entirely surprised when I starting going hockey mad because he knew I had liked it before. Well, that took me by surprise, and for the life of me I couldn't remember the hockey watching incident from a few years ago that he cited as evidence of my prior fondness for hockey.
But now that I've thought about it some more, I do sort of remember liking hockey way back in grade ten--not so much because I liked hockey, but because I liked what hockey represented as a Canadian sport. Yeah, for some reason I became really interested in Canadian history in grade ten, and I felt a strong desire to support Canadian media and whatnot, so I taped the first episode of Power Play, a Canadian television drama based on hockey. I think I even watched the show regularly for a while, but I had long fallen out of the habit of watching tv by then, so it was easy for me to eventually forget about the show. Hmm...I wonder if I still have that tape around somewhere? It'd be interesting to watch it now that I actually know something about hockey.
I'm thinking that I really got the better end of the deal in the trade I made with Ben. Sure Sakic injured his ankle and has been out a couple of games now, but two of the three players I traded to Ben are out injured. Modano's been moved to IR now, and Deadmarsh still hasn't recovered from his concussion or whatever. I feel kind of guilty for being so happy about the trade now. ^^;; At least Comrie's been giving Ben the PIM he wanted, or else I'd feel totally awful.
Anyway, I got another Kaberle card (which I bought off of eBay) today! ^_^ It's definitely the nicest looking one out of the three that I have now. Yay for Kaberle! I really hope he stays a Leaf for a good long time, if not for all of his career!
Oh boy is my back tired! I went to Square One to get not one but three books by Andrew Podnieks signed: "A Day in the Life of the Maple Leafs", "Hockey's Greatest Teams: Teams, Players and Plays that Changed the Game", and "Kings of the Ice: A History of World Hockey." Yeah, remember that one? I described it yesterday as being the same size as an unabridged dictionary, so you can imagine how painful it was to lug that thing around the mall for an hour! At least I had my heavy-duty MEC backpack, otherwise I would've been even more dead!
Anyway, Mr. Podnieks complimented my new scarf (Roots red and white striped one, Christmas gift from my suitemate), which was nice. ^_^ He has the same one. I always feel bad for authors when I see them doing book signings. It's not like they're super stars or athletes or anything, so they never have lines of people waiting to get their autographs. I bet it's pretty boring. If I ran a bookstore and I held a signing, I think I would assign a staff member to either sit or stand and at least keep the author company! Then again, I don't know if that would scare people off or something if they thought that maybe the author was occupied? ::shrug:: I dunno.
Oh my goodness...Yay!! I was just flipping through the "Kings" book, and right on page 1002 is Tomas Kaberle, listed as a star of the 21st century!! ^_^ Kekeke. Now I'm convinced that this guy really knows his stuff! =Þ
Some other random stuff: my mom got me three hockey calendars today, the Leafs and Olympic wall calendars, and a Game On off the wall calendar!! Ah, the hockey obsession grows. Can you believe it's been eight months and I love hockey even more than I did when I first got hooked? Amazing. Some might even say scary.
Last thing: if anyone's getting the Toronto Star would you mind saving me the sports section? I set my res subscription to vacation, so unless I get the paper from other sources, I'm going to have a three week gap (except for weekends) in my scrapbook. Not that it's a big deal, particularly, I mean, I've got tons of stuff for my scrapbook already, so three weeks isn't going to kill me.
Okay, this one is another one I'm seriously split over. I do need more points, and the fact that Havlat's a winger is also helpful since I've got a glut of centers, but I need to make up for some missed winger games. BUT Belfour's SV% is really amazing right now. He's maye not getting all the wins he should be since the Leafs seem to be having scoring problems, but he's a very solid goalie. Ultimately I do think Salo will be the better goalie, but right now his SV% is going down again, even though he's getting wins. Geh.
Plus I really enjoy having Belfour because it makes watching the Leafs win that much sweeter. It's also a source of consolation when they lose; I'm sad that they lost, but glad because his SV% is still good. But yeah, goalies only count towards two categories while other players count for all the rest, so......
Argh! Definitely gonna need help for this one! Suggestions, please and thank you!!
Woohoo! My collection just keeps growing! I picked up "Heart of the Game" and "Kings of the Ice" today. I've been eyeing "The Heart of the Game" for a while because I love John Newby's prints of kids learning to play hockey and stuff, and this book is basically a collection of a lot of his prints. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to have my favourite piece in it: "The Spoiler." ^^;; Ah well.
"Kings of the Ice" was a really great deal! It retails for $69.95, but I got it for only $29.99! The thing is huge though! It's almost an Oxford or Merriam-Webster unabridged dictionary! Really, though, I think it's going to be cool to read because it doesn't just talk about NHL hockey, it also has stuff about international hockey. ^_^
Geh!! I was supposed to finish reading my "Day in the Life of the Maple Leafs" book before I go to get it signed (tomorrow at Square One Coles ~7pm)! D'oh...guess I'd better get started.
I also got the Leafs 2002-2003 Yearbook! Yay. more pictures of Kaberle (and Mogilny and Sundin too)!
Oh, and I've been updating the main RHF site fairly frequently of late, so you might want to check it out! =Þ Yes, more shameless self-promotion!
Since I've got the computer right here in front of the tv, I'm going to be updating on the game while I watch. Hopefully something interesting will happen...
YAY!!! Sundin scored!! That was a really pretty shot too! ^_^ None of that defenseman kicking it into his own net or anything (I've seen a lot of that recently--think Rob Blake Fri. night).
Hmm...That was a bit weird. Why was the play called? I don't think Belfour was interfered with, so maybe he did something to someone else? Maybe he'll get me some PIM? That would be cool... Whoops, PIM doesn't count for goalies. Too bad. Yup, slashing. ::shakes head:: Belfour's pretty vicious, I've seen him take slashes at people before. It's because of that tendency that I doubt that I'll ever actually like Belfour, even though I admire him as a goalie.
Whoa, what's going on with the penalty kill tonight? Belfour's taking a LOT of shots. Ah well, good for me! ^_^ As long as they don't go in, it can only help my SV%.
Aw, c'mon Kaberle!! I want him to SCORE!! Speaking of Kaberle, did I mention that I decided to buy one of the photos? I got it for only $6.99 (plus shipping and handling) too! ^_^ Oh, and even before I ordered the photo, I won some Kaberle cards! Kekeke... I love them!! ::huggles::
Woohoo!!! Was that Kaberle who assisted? Yes it was!! Awesome!! That was an awesome goal too--so smooth! Pass to Kaberle right off the draw and straight to Antropov! VERY pretty! I wonder if I should start taping games just so that I can keep footage of pretty or otherwise memorable goals? I mean, I could always tape the replays, but then goals that I like might not be considered worthy of a replay...
Whew! That was a nice stop by Belfour! BOOOO!!! That one went in. =( Aw! Kaberle couldn't stop Lindros from making the pass.
What on earth is Ron Maclean arguing about? I think the hit on Svehla doesn't deserve nearly as much publicity as it's getting. I mean, even Svehla says that it was a clean hit, and it sure looked that way to me too. Of course, what do I know...
Bah. All this fighting. You know how I feel about that. BORING. Ruins the whole game. ::sigh::
Yay Kaberle. ^_^ He came back to back check and possibly prevented a pass that could've led to a goal.
OHHH...Next Sat. at 5pm, a special on Yzerman!! Gotta tape that!! =Þ I'm going to have a huge collection of hockey tapes by the end of this year, I think!
Woohoo! Nice play by Sundin to get the puck to Renberg for a goal! Oh, and awesome!! Domi got a goal too! =Þ I still think its funny everytime I see Domi score!
HOORAY!! It's done, and Belfour has an awesome SV%! I love it when the opposing team takes a lot of shots but can't score. =3
I have decided that I should never play my goalies (in the hockey pool) against Colorado, because it's kind of a conflict of interest. I mean, I was watching the game, and I was hoping that Colorado would win, but at the same time, because I was playing Salo, I didn't want them to get too many goals--well, that or I wanted them to take lots of shots so that Salo could make enough saves to maintain a good SV%. Anyway, you can see how it makes things a bit weird in regards to cheering for a team.
Oh, and speaking of that game, Sakic injured his ankle!! WAH!! I hope it's not serious. ::sniff sniff:: My poor Sakic!
What a blessing it was that I happened to go to the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) on Wednesday, because otherwise I wouldn't have found out about the book signing, and I wouldn't have met Ron Ellis! We spoke for probably less than two minutes, but the meeting left me very glad that he was my first face-to-face encounter with a professional hockey player.
I had purchased the book and was ready and waiting a full hour before the signing was supposed to begin. For forty minutes I sat at a table in the BCE foodcourt, nursing a hash brown and ice tea while I read the book, "Over the Boards: the Ron Ellis Story." At twenty minutes to twelve I moved to the entrance of the HHOF and sat on the floor, still reading. Just before twelve a table and chairs were brought out, so I stood up, still holding the book, and waited a couple of feet away.
Ron Ellis came out while they were still setting the books and stuff up--I recognized him from the picture on the back of the book--but I didn't want to go over until they were totally set up, so I stayed where I was, just waiting. I looked around at the group of kids sitting and eating at the entrance to the hall, and when I turned around, there was Ron Ellis, coming towards me!
He asked me if I wanted to get my book signed, and I blushed and sheepishly nodded. I hadn't approached him because I didn't want to be in the way while they were setting up, but he had noticed me and made the effort to come to me! When he asked me who it was for, I again felt a bit sheepish as I replied that it was for me. Are you a Leafs fan? he asked. Well, yeah, I hesitated and, embarrassed, added and an Avs fan. Ah he said, a hockey fan then. Probably beet red by then, I merely nodded. He finished writing a short message, signed with a flourish, and I said my thanks and left, with a silly grin on my face.
On the subway, all the way back to res, and even up to now that grin remains on my face, along with a little happy glow in my heart. I feel blessed to have been able to meet a man who I will always think of as great--not because of his hockey abilities, or even because of his strength of character and determination in overcoming physical handicaps and depression, but because he cared enough to notice a young girl standing off to the side waiting, and because he's the type of person who can leave a feeling of warmth even in the briefest of meetings. Another thing I'm grateful for is the blog, where I can record my feelings and preserve them as a happy memory.
Sidenote: You know, I've acquired an awful lot of hockey books since last summer--so many that I've started reading about five of them and haven't finished any yet--but I suspect that I'm going to cherish this one the most, partly because of my encounter with the author, and partly because of what he wrote in my book:
To Melissa: Glad to hear you are a fan. What's this about the "Avs." - Ron Ellis
Sakic has become the 31st player in the NHL to get 500 goals, and the 13th to do so for one team! Yay Sakic!! ^_^ He certainly deserved the standing ovation! I'm glad he got it in his home province too. =D So happy, can't think of anything to say...I've been waiting for this all year!!
Subtitle: Why I should never go anywhere near the Hockey Hall of Fame, especially when I have no money!
I went to the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) today to pick up part of someone's Christmas present, and afterwards, on my way to Union Station, I saw an author doing a signing at the Coles bookstore. Guess what the book was called? "Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL conquered hockey" (emphases are mine). Well, you can guess what happened. Even though I would never consider buying a regular-priced book for $34.99, after at least ten to fifteen minutes of internal debate, I ended up buying the thing!! @_@ I'm hoping the book really is as interesting as it sounds.
Oh, and that's not all! While I was at the HHOF store, I saw a Sakic away jersey, size S!! I was SOOOO tempted to buy it, even though it was $170. Luckily I tried it on and realized that medium would be better. I mean, it fit fine over my sweatshirt, and today's shirt is about as thick as my winter garb (not including jacket) normally is, but there wasn't a lot of room to spare, so it wasn't all that comfortable.
The store also had these t-shirts with the Avalanche logo on the front, and Sakic written on the back! Again, I was able to overcome temptation only because of sizing issues. This time it was the opposite problem, though, the shirts were too big! They only had L and XL, so unless I decided to replace my Kenshin nightshirt by buying an XL, there wasn't much of a point in spending $28 on a t-shirt.
I did, however, end up buying a Mogilny 8x10. ^^;; Yeah, I know I shouldn't spend so much on photos, especially since I don't have any place to display them, but I just couldn't resist! At least I managed to talk myself down to only one photo, considering that they had nice Kaberle and Sundin photos as well!
And as if that wasn't bad enough, as I was paying I noticed a flyer advertising Ron Ellis' book signing, for his new book "Over the Boards." I've already made plans to go down there on Friday to buy the book and to get it signed. ^^;; Luckily this book isn't as expensive as the other one; it's only $23 this time.
Argh!! I have no self-control! But I'd rather spend a bit too much now, knowing that I will be able to pay for everything before my Visa bill is due, rather than forever regret missing the opportunity! Still, I must be a marketer's dream! Commercials, ads, special limited-time offers, I fall for everything!!
You're actually considering buying something like this when you have no money!! Actually, you're probably nuts to be thinking about it at all! (If you haven't clicked the link yet, here's a hint, it's Kaberle-related!)
Really, Lisa? There's a street in Burnaby named after Joe Sakic? That's so COOL!!! Now I definitely have to visit B.C.!! =3 Thanks for the info!!
Oh, and I want Sakic to score his 500th tomorrow too! The sooner, the better; but you're right, cykopaf, tomorrow would be perfect for Sakic since he'd be reaching such an important milestone in his home province. I'm just being selfish in wanting to be able to get it on tape!
Argh!! Why is TSN showing the 8pm Boston @ Ottawa game tomorrow and not the 10pm Colorado @ Vancouver game!! This could be the game when Sakic gets his 500th!!!! NOOOOOOOOO! I'm going to have to listen to it on the internet. =( I could always hope that he holds off on his 500th until Friday, when TSN is broadcasting the 9pm Colorado @ Edmonton game. If Sakic doesn't score on Wednesday, I'm going to ask my parents to tape the Friday game for me! I really want to get his 500th on tape, even if it isn't pretty!
Oh, in other news, when I came home (to Mississauga) on Saturday night, I found out that my TSN Team Canada Collector's Magazine had arrived, and, best of all, it had an article about Yzerman and Sakic, "mirror images." =Þ Guess that explains why they're my two favourite players. More specifically, it explains why Yzerman is still my second favourite player even though he hasn't been able to play so far this season, and I've been obsessing over Kaberle so much; you'd think Kaberle would've overtaken Yzerman as second favourite by now, wouldn't you?
Speaking of favourites, Mogilny's been moving pretty high up on my list too. Ever since my friend Alan told me to read the article on him in the Star, I've been noticing him more in games, and I'm pretty impressed. Even when he's not scoring, you can always hear his name in the commentary, so you know he's doing a lot of work out on the ice. Plus I watched the Hockey Central interview with Mogilny, so how could I not admire a guy who considers himself to be only a B+ player, and who says there are no downsides to playing hockey in Toronto (under the intense media scrutiny) because he gets paid to chase around a piece of black rubber on the ice, so how could there be a downside!
I'm liking Sundin a lot more too, especially after reading yesterday's article about how his speech to the team on defense might have been a turning point for the Leafs. As the season's gone on, I've been able to get a better idea of just how good a leader Sundin is.
Heh, all the media (newspaper and tv especially) that the Leafs get around here makes it more and more difficult to be a diehard Avs fan. I'd still say I'm more of an Avs than a Leaf fan, but the margin between the two has decreased a lot already this season. ::sigh:: I really wish I could watch more Avs games...
Hey! That gives me an idea...but no, March 24, 2003 is a Monday. Too bad. =( If the Avs were going to Buffalo on a weekend, I was thinking maybe I could still get tickets and go, considering how poorly ticket sales are going for the Sabres this year. Ah well, maybe next year.
How could I almost forget?!? Sakic is now ONE GOAL away from his CAREER 500th!!! ^_^ HOORAY!! Oh, and the Colorado Avalanche website has a feature article on him! I'm such a nerd, I took screenshots of the article so I could keep a copy of it forever!
Whoa, I've got a lot of stuff to talk about tonight, so I'll do my best to be concise. Tonight's game would've been great to watch if it hadn't been for all the fights. Maybe I'm showing my gender here, but I find that fights take away from the game, not add to it. I don't understand why "guaranteed fight nights" would even be considered a way to promote hockey. Anyway, I loved all the pressure, speed and grit in tonight's game and I would've liked to have seen more of that rather than all those fights.
Well, at least I got some work on my hockey scrapbook done, albeit not much. I haven't been able to keep up with it regularly, so now I've got a stack of newspapers--mostly the Toronto Star, with some Toronto Sun and Metros thrown in--that comes about halfway up my calf. @_@ Tonight I managed to do do one week (Oct. 5-13) and five pages. I think that getting up to date with this thing is yet another goal I'm going to set for this Christmas break. Once I manage to catch up, I'm going to have make sure I keep up with it at least on a weekly basis, otherwise I'm going to be swamped again come summer--when I won't really have time to work on it.
Now the temptation part. After two months of abstinence, since November I've become reaquainted with eBay, and that's not a good thing. My income is practically non-existent, and Christmas is almost here, but I've got opportunities to buy two autographed Kaberle photos, and I'm extremely tempted. Kaberle photos are even more tempting than Sakic photos because he's not nearly as popular, so I can buy them for a lot less--but it doesn't really matter how much you save when you're spending more than you have. ^^;; Deep down I know that I shouldn't buy either photo, but I'm really wrestling with myself right now. I've always considered myself to be a spendthrift, but I've also always believed that I have enough common sense to not spend beyond my means. Now I'm not so sure. It's hard to pray about something when you're pretty sure you're not going to want to hear God's answer, but I guess that's what I'm going to do tonight.
Oh, and speaking of Kaberle, there was an interview/segment/thing on him aired tonight on Sportsnet, and I got my bro to tape it at home!! ^_^ Yay! I want to tape the thing tomorrow on Mogilny too!
Did anyone check out my webpage when I first posted the link? Well, I admit that it wasn't particularly well-developed at that time, but I've almost completely finished it now, so PLEASE go visit it! Please? I honestly think it's the best thing I've designed yet, so I actually want people to see it! Oh, and I also need to know whether or not it works properly for people who aren't using IE 6.0 with an 800x600 resolution, since it uses iframes and absolute positioning and stuff. ^^;; Anyway, when you do visit (c'mon, you know you want to!) try clicking the "home" button and see if you notice anything! ^_~
Who on earth would bid one hundred something dollars US for standing room only tickets?!? Even if they are for the Colorado @ Toronto game?!? Absolutely nuts! Unless, of course, the person is planning on being a non-paying bidder, or it's a friend of the person selling the tickets, trying to jack up the price. -_-;; I really wouldn't be able to understand it otherwise; for that kind of money you might as well buy from a scalper, at least you'd probably get a seat that way! ::rolls eyes:: There's obsessed or passionate, and then there's stupid about hockey.
::hits self with a fish:: Call me dumb, but I've been talking about buying an NHL rulebook all this time when the rules are available online at NHL.com. D'uh! =Þ
Since someone asked, here's what the official rule is on icing:
Rule 65 Icing the Puck
(a) For the purpose of this Rule, the center red line will divide the ice into halves. Should any player of a Team, equal or superior in numerical strength to the opposing Team, shoot, bat or deflect the puck from his own half of the ice beyond the goal line of the opposing Team, play shall be stopped and the puck faced-off at the end face-off spot of the offending Team, unless on the play, the puck shall have entered the net of the opposing Team, in which case the goal shall be allowed.
For the purpose of this Rule, the point of last contact with the puck by the Team in possession shall be used to determine whether icing has occurred or not.
(NOTE 1) If during the period of a delayed whistle due to a foul by a player of the side NOT in possession, the side in possession "ices" the puck, then the face-off following the stoppage of play shall take place in the neutral zone near the defending blue line of the Team icing the puck.
(NOTE 2) When a Team is "short-handed" as the result of a penalty and the penalty is about to expire, the decision as to whether there has been an "icing" shall be determined at the instant the penalty expires. The action of the penalized player remaining in the penalty box will not alter the ruling.
(NOTE 3) For the purpose of interpretation of the Rule, "icing the puck" is completed the instant the puck is touched first by a defending player (other than the goalkeeper) after it has crossed the goal line and if in the action of so touching the puck, it is knocked or deflected into the net, it is NO goal.
(NOTE 4) When the puck is shot and rebounds from the body or stick of an opponent in his own half of the ice so as to cross the goal line of the player shooting, it shall not be considered as "icing."
(NOTE 5) Notwithstanding the provisions of the section concerning "batting" the puck in respect to the "icing the puck" rule, the provisions of the final paragraph of Rule 59(e) apply and NO goal can be scored by batting the puck with the hand into the opponent's goal whether intended or not.
(NOTE 6) If while the Linesman has signalled a slow whistle for a clean interception under Rule 77(c), the player intercepting shoots or bats the puck beyond the opponent's goal line in such a manner as to constitute "icing the puck," the Linesman's "slow whistle" shall be considered exhausted the instant the puck crosses the blue line and "icing" shall be called in the usual manner.
(b) If a player of the side shooting the puck down the ice who is on-side and eligible to play the puck does so before it is touched by an opposing player, the play shall continue and it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule.
(c) If the puck was so shot by a player of a side below the numerical strength of the opposing Team, play shall continue and the icing violation shall not be called.
(NOTE) If the Team returns to full strength following a shot by one of its players, play shall continue and the face-off shall not take place.
WASH-OUT
(d) If, however, the puck shall go beyond the goal line in the opposite half of the ice directly from either of the players while facing-off, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule.
(e) If, in the opinion of the Linesman, any player of the opposing Team is able to play the puck before it passes his goal line, but has not done so, play shall continue and the icing violation shall not be called. If, in the opinion of the Referee, the defending side intentionally abstains from playing the puck promptly when they are in a position to do so, he shall stop the play and order the resulting face-off on the adjacent corner face-off spot nearest the goal of the Team at fault.
*NEW*
If, in the opinion of the Linesman, the goaltender leaves the crease on a potential icing and feigns playing the puck at any time, the potential icing shall not be called and play shall continue.
(NOTE) The purpose of this section is to enforce continuous action and both Referee and Linesmen should interpret and apply the Rule to produce this result.
(f) If the puck touches any part of a player of the opposing side, including his skates or his stick, or if it touches any part of the opposing Team's goalkeeper, including his skates or his stick, at any time before or after crossing the goal line, it shall not be considered icing.
(NOTE) If a goalkeeper takes any action to dislodge the puck from the back of the net, icing shall be washed out.
(g) If a goalkeeper has been removed from the playing surface for an extra player (Teams at equal or superior in numerical strength), the icing rule shall be in effect if the puck passes through or touches any part of the goal crease before it crosses the goal line.
(h) If the Linesman shall have erred in calling an "icing the puck" infraction (regardless of whether either Team is short-handed), the puck shall be faced-off on the center ice face-off spot.
Basically, if you send the puck from behind your blue line past the goal line (where the goalie is?) of your opponent's zone, if an opposing player touches the puck first, it's icing. Of course, if someone on your team manages to touch it first then it won't be icing, which is why people rush to get the puck. If a ref thinks that someone from the opposing team could have played the puck, then icing will be waived. It also gets waived if the goalie plays the puck, or it hits someone on the opposing team on it's way down the ice. I think that's basically it. ::shrug:: You know it when you see it: usually the puck will go sailing down from one end of the rink to the other and then players will rush back to touch the puck.
Argh? Was that a goal? It had better not be a goal! Buffalo has taken so few shots that it's going to be quite sad for my SV% if it was a goal! ^^;;
I don't think it was a goal!!! Kaberle is a GENIUS!!!! He got the puck that deflected off the crossbar onto Belfour's pad safely off of Belfour's leg!! ^_^ Is it any wonder that I love this guy? He's my FAVOURITE Leaf for sure, and definitely edging himself way up there on my all-time favourite list! He's probably third now, after Sakic and Yzerman. =D Kaberle, daisuki daisuki!
(Now if only he'd SHOOT! =Þ)
Edit: Hours later, after the Colorado @ Edmonton game, I've set up my Rambling Hockey Fangirl (RHF) main page. ^_^ Check it out! So far I've got some of my personal photo collection up, as well as my Sakic wallpapers!
I learned something new in the first period of today's game about when teams take out their goalies. Until today I've only ever seen goalies come out in the last minute of play, to try to tie a game, but today Belfour went out when a delayed penalty was called and the Leafs were on the rush into the Sabres' zone. I would never have thought of that, but I guess it makes sense since as soon as a Buffalo player touched the puck a penalty would be called, so it's not like Toronto had to worry about being scored on. ^_^
It's kind of sad how happy learning something so basic can make me, but ah well, I happily admit that I don't know much about hockey, although I'm learning more all the time.
Something else interesting today was Cherry's comments about the CHA hockey parent adds. Usually when Cherry talks about anything other than the game itself I can safely presume that he's going to say something not worth listening to, but this time he had a point. I still think the ads are a good idea to raise parent awareness, but it's also true that the ads paint a picture of all hockey parents as overpressuring and overbearing. So yeah, I can see why he'd be upset about the ads giving hockey parents a bad image.
YEAH!!!! Mogilny scores!!! (It's great sitting in front of the computer and watching the game at the same time. ^_^)
Whelp, I finally accepted a trade offer! I'm not totally sure what my logic was on it, except that I think Gagne will (eventually) be better than Deadmarsh, and I wanted Sakic. =Þ I'm taking a bit of a hit in PIM by losing Comrie, but strangely enough, Sakic's got about 7 times as many PIM as Modano, so...Here are the final details, if you're interested:
Carter, Anson
Gagne, Simon
Peca, Michael
Sakic, Joe
for
Deadmarsh, Adam
Comrie, Mike
Modano, Mike
Hope we'll both be happy with the trade once it goes through!
With all of the media coverage that overbearing hockey parents have been getting recently, I think it's a pretty clear indication that things need to change. I think this ad campaign looks pretty good. Don't know how effective it'll be, but it looks pretty good. You can watch the ads online or download them here. Oh, and you should read today's Star article about the campaign; it's crazy the way some of these hockey parents talk! @_@
Wow, you can get a Leafs credit card, who knew? The sad thing is that I'm actually seriously considering applying for one! ::rolls eyes at self:: I already have two credit cards, and goodness knows I use one of them way too much as it already, but still, it's a Leafs credit card, how could I not! Maybe I should talk to my parents first though... =Þ
Oh, and I'm really considering the Sakic deal, so any input would be greatly appreciated! ^_^
Anytime I get an offer with Sakic in it, I consider it very seriously, so here it is! (Thanks for the suggestions, btw!)
Carter, Anson
Gagne, Simon
Peca, Michael
Sakic, Joe
for
Bonk, Radek
Comrie, Mike
Modano, Mike
The message also said that Deadmarsh instead of Bonk would be fine, which is tempting considering that Deadmarsh is now on IR and goodness knows I've been plagued by injured players, so I wouldn't mind getting rid of one.
Hmm... I guess I should break it down. Comrie and Carter are about the same, except that Comrie gets more PIM, but I think recently Carter has been scoring more/getting more points, so that's probably fine. Gagne doesn't seem like too bad of a player, but I don't think he's as good as either Bonk or a healthy Deadmarsh, especially in terms of PPP, where the two of them seem to be fairly consistent producers. Of course, the key word in regards to Deadmarsh is healthy. I don't know if I can afford to wait for him to fully recover from his concussion. Finally, I've already been told that I shouldn't do Sakic for Modano straight up, so I'm guessing that Peca is supposed to be sweetening that one? He hasn't been playing well so far, but looking over his stats from the past couple of years it seems like he should be pretty good once he gets back into things.
So it seems like the sticking point for me is the third player. I think it might not be too bad to trade Modano and Comrie for Sakic, Carter and Peca/Gagne, but would it really actually help me?
Wow, the final period of the Washington @ Toronto game totally kept me on the edge of my seat!! So much action and movement! Thank goodness Toronto won! Too bad Belfour let in four goals though. =( Now my SV% is gonna go down, especially since the Caps only had like 26 shots! Kaberle, of course, was great to watch. ^_^
Oh, and on another topic entirely, did I mention that I'm such a hockey nerd now that I've set my homepage to the hockey pool page? =Þ What a geek!
Haven't felt like posting one of these in a while, but I'd actually like to think about this one, so...
Drury, Chris
LeClair, John
Roenick, Jeremy
for
Modano, Mike
The message from the person offering the trade was this: "you need some depth, drop your dead weight players and gimme a superstar, i have none!"
I'm more inclined to think seriously about this offer because 1) the person obviously made an effort to address my needs as well as his own, 2) he included a message in the trade offer.
Too bad I'm quite inert when it comes to trading. =Þ I don't like to move once I've settled in, so it'd take a bit of "force" to get me out of the status quo.
Oh yeah, and since I've posted one, I might as well post the other trade offer I've still got pending:
Carter, Anson
Recchi, Mark
for
Comrie, Mike
Deadmarsh, Adam
The problem with this one is that I'm being asked to give up PIM, which I'm already lacking. It also doesn't help that I don't really know Carter of Recchi (whereas I do know Drury, Leclair and Roenick).
Anyway, comment, comment, comment, please! Use my new commenting system at the bottom of the post. See? Next to the date, time, and link?
Well, the guy finally emailed me today--after my third email. =P Anyway, I hope he's faster about sending things than he is at replying to emails. -_-;; I want my Kaberle photo! The Sakic and Roy (unsigned) photos that I won not too long ago came in today too! ^_^
oh, and Toronto lost to Ottawa yesterday. =( Boy did my roommate ever gloat--again. =Þ She teased me when the Avs lost to the Sens too. Ah well, Belfour's SV% was good, so I still went up in that category. A win would've been nice, but you can't have everything. I wonder if I should play Salo when the Oilers are up against Columbus? I mean, I actually do have something to lose now by trying to catch a goalie on a good day, not like before when I had the second lowest SV% so it didn't matter if it went down... Hmm.... Columbus hasn't been doing too bad, if I recall correctly. Then again, I might be mixing them up with another one of the newer teams. Decisions decisions...
BOOO!!! I won a signed Kaberle 8x10 photo from eBay on Saturday, but the stupid seller still hasn't contacted me, so I haven't been able to pay for it!! I've sent the guy two messages requesting the total, and he still hasn't replied! I'm getting pretty frustrated since sellers are supposed to get in touch with buyers within three days, so today is his last day and so far, nothing! I think I'm going to try sending the guy a message directly from my email account this time, rather than going through eBay. =/ Man, I was so excited to win the picture too, and now this! I don't want to have to leave my first negative feedback ever, but what choice do I have if he doesn't get in touch with me? I mean, eBay says that you're supposed to try to work things out with a seller before leaving negative feedback, but if I can't reach the seller at all, what can I do? Geh. I just hope it's not something really strange going on with my email and that he's not thinking that I'm an uncommunicative buyer! ^^;; As much as I don't want to give negative feedback, I also don't want to get any! ::sigh:: I guess I'll be patient and give it some more time. Maybe he's just having problems with his internet server or something; I guess I should give him the benefit of the doubt.
I read this in one of those game-recap-type articles on tsn.ca, and boy, did it make me glad that I never said or thought that Belfour was a bad decision on the Leaf's part (I know, I checked through my blog(s) archives). ^_^ If I recall correctly, I thought that it'd be good to have Belfour as a goaltender, I just thought it was unfortunate that Joseph left in the first place. Anyway, here's the relevant portion of the article:
"Flyers centre Jeremy Roenick said he never doubted Belfour would help the Leafs when they signed the free agent last July after Joseph jumped ship.
``I watch from the outside and it's funny how there's so many bandwagon fans out there,'' said Roenick. ``At the beginning of the year, everyone's all over Eddy saying it was the worst thing (the Leafs) could do getting Ed Belfour in here.
``Those people don't know what the hell they're talking about. Those people don't know hockey. All those people should just shut up."
Belfour got his second shut-out in a row tonight!! Woohoo!! I still don't like the way he takes shots at opposing players who get too close (in)to the crease, but he's looking like a heck of a good goalie right now. ^_^
Kaberle got two or three assists tonight too!! =D Oh oh oh, AND I won an autographed photo (of Kaberle) on eBay tonight, right after the game too! =Þ It's my very first Leaf signed photo!!
Tucker got 3 points tonight too, which is a bit vexing because I was debating between him and Conroy to fill in while my numerous injured and other non-playing players (like Shanahan, awaiting the birth of his twins--at least he's got his priorities straight) recover, and I eventually went with Conroy. He's not doing much, but my original logic still holds; I didn't want to pick Tucker because I might get attached to him, and then I would have a hard time deciding who to drop when Yzerman comes back. At the rate he's going, I don't think I'm going to get attached to Conroy. =Þ
Heeheehee, back to Belfour, I wonder if the person who gave him up is regretting that decision now? ^_~
Oh, and Sakic scored in the first period (none in the second) again! Getting closer!
I can't believe I actually read this sentence on a professional website. It's so bad that I noticed it even though I'm punchy from pulling an all-nighter to finish my Japanese history essay! Anyway, here it is: "Horcoff was pleased that himself and Marchant were able to chip in offensively and help take some off of the onus off the Oilers top line of Ryan Smyth, Anson Carter, and Mike Comrie."
I was just reading about the Ottawa-Carolina game at tsn.ca and I found this amazingly ambiguous sentence: "Bonk's goal came less than two minutes after Brind'Amour scored his team-leading ninth, banging the puck off defenceman Magnus Arvedson and past a stunned Lalime." I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd think that Bonk scored on Lalime! Well, that explanation would certainly account for Lalime's stunned state! Don't mind me, I'm still a bit giddy from the Leafs game. And of course the types of things that amuse me when I'm giddy are sentence ambiguities--what a nerd! =Þ
YAY BELFOUR!!! Woo hoo! I came back from class just in time to watch the third period, and man, it was SO worth it! This is probably the best I've ever seen the Leafs play, including the conference finals last year! A decisive 2-0 victory--the 2 goal lead coming fairly early in the third period and they didn't blow it!
Oh, AND AND AND, Kaberle got a powerplay point (an assist!). ^_^ I LOVE Kaberle! Seriously, I've decided now that if I get a Leafs jersey, I'd want a Kaberle one, "A" and everything!! So happy! I mean, even if I wasn't in a hockey pool, the fact that they played SO well tonight would have made me ecstatic anyway, but the fact that it means good things for my hockey pool makes it even sweeter!
Yes!! There's almost nothing I enjoy more than watching a solid game of hockey, and that's what it was tonight. The Leafs didn't shut down or turn off or give up or anything, they were just energy and go-for-it all the way through! I can't possibly explain how awesome it was to watch. If you missed out tonight, boy did you miss out! Of course, I only saw the third period, which tends to be more energetic, but there've been so many times that the Leafs just can't seem to pull it together, even in the third...Whatever, that was the past, and for now I'm just going to exhult in the beauty of tonight's game!
In other news, Brind'Amour also scored for Carolina against Ottawa, and Bonk (who I luckily did leave on my line-up even though I wasn't sure if he was recovered) also scored for the Sens against the 'Canes! ^_^ Whoopie! Even if I'm still in 11th place tomorrow, I don't care because it was such a great night tonight!
One last thing, it was awesome the way the fans at the ACC were cheering for Belfour. I think the first time they did it was during the game against Detroit (I could be wrong), but it still makes me feel good to hear the crowd giving him their support and encouragement. I mean, if there's one thing I believe in, it's supporting your team.
Maybe that's why I'm not so great in hockey pools; I get attached to my players even if they're bums and don't produce much for me (think Kapanen). Sure I complain about them and bench them, but I still feel reluctant to trade them because of my attachment to them. I can't imagine what I'm going to do once Yzerman is playing again. Hopefully I won't have gotten attached to Conroy by then, so I'll be able to dump him. ^^;; Even though my team clearly isn't the best (I'm second last!), it's still my team, and I like them! I also don't know what I'm going to do if there's a pool next year, because then I'll have to make a new team, but I think I'd want my current team still. ^^;; It's ridiculously sappy, I know, but that's the way I am. Ah well, at least the more different people I get on "my team" throughout the years, the more players I'll get to know and appreciate.
Speaking of appreciating players, I've been reading some Star sports articles, and as a result I've developed a lot of respect for Mogilny and Joe Thornton. On Saturday there was this interview with/article on Mogilny (which a friend highly encouraged me to read) and I totally appreciated his overall attitude as well as his skill with wordplay. He can't beat Kaberle right now, but I think if I watched more for him, I'd be very impressed with him. Then there was the Thornton article today, and I liked that fact that he's so low-key and unconcerned with celebrity. Plus there was this description of him, which made me smile: "Thornton remains a big happy Canadian kid who still can't believe someone is willing to pay him millions of dollars to play hockey." No matter how much we talk about the gross salaries of the players, I still feel like the game hasn't lost it's innocence. It may be naive of me, but I'd say that most of the players are still thrilled to be able to make a living from the game that they love, and because I think it's still more about the game than the money, I can't and won't begrudge them their millions. A salary cap would still be a wise decision, in my opinion, though.
Phew, well that was a lot of energy that I just released. =Þ I'd better stop writing and get to sleep soon so that I can really put my nose to the grindstone tomorrow and accomplish a significant amount on my Japanese history essay--eight to ten pages, due Friday, and I'm not even done my research yet! @_@
Boo, my team seems to be quite injury prone! Bonk's still having trouble with that chest injury (or at least that's what I think's wrong with him), Deadmarsh has an injured wrist [edit: 18/11/02: apparently Deadmarsh also had a concussion @_@], and who knows what's wrong with Kapanen! Plus I've got Yzerman, but of course I knew he wouldn't be playing for a while, so it's not the same case as with the other guys. I wonder if I would still be so low on the standings if I didn't have the second lowest number of games played?
Anyway, Sakic's only got five more goals to go! Too bad I'm so busy that even if there were Colorado games being broadcast, I wouldn't be able to watch them! ::sniff:: I want to see his 500th career goal!
Wow, today seems to be my crazy posting day. Anyway, I was checking out prices for jerseys online and boy are they ever scary! Buying an authentic Avs away jersey from the Hockey Hall of Fame store would be $249.95, and the lettering option would add $49.95 for a sub-total of $299.90. At least with the HHOF I get a 15% discount, so the discounted subtotal would be $254.92. With tax, the grand total would be $293.15! @_@ That's a crazy amount of money to spend on a piece of clothing! That would be like my entire new wardrobe for a year, maybe even two! But I still want one. ::sigh:: Maybe this summer I'll actually clamp down on the rest of my spending and save enough to get it. Actually, it's not so much the saving that's a problem--I've actually got almost that amount in my "savings" account--it's the guilt of spending so much on an article of clothing! Yes, I am repeating myself, but hopefully that will just show you how difficult it is for me to wrap my mind around the concept.
It might be a better idea to get a Nordiques jersey first. I wouldn't feel compelled to customize it, so that'd knock off $50, and they're cheaper anyway, $119.95 (with discount, including tax, $117.25). So that'd be more like the cost of all of my formal wear (dress, shoes, jewelry, etc.), and hopefully I'd get to wear the jersey more often than I've worn my formal dress. Too bad I don't like the shade of blue for the Nordiques jersey as much as I like the colours of the Avs away jersey.
Then there's the fact that it'd be more practical, if not as emotionally satisfying, to get a Leafs jersey. I mean, assuming the netting isn't that bad, I'll probably be watching more games in the future (just the Feb. 18th Carolina game this year) so I'd have more chances to wear a Leafs jersey than an Avs one. Also I could walk around downtown in a Leafs jersey no problem, but I'd feel mighty strange wearing an Avs jersey. Even though I love the Avs, I still have some national-regional pride. And I probably wouldn't bother to customize a Leafs jersey either--my favourite player is Kaberle, and people have suggested that it'd be a waste of money to get his name--although I might still want the authentic.
GAH! This entire line of thinking is pretty useless though, I mean, I doubt my parents would be particularly happy about me buying one jersey, let alone three! Maybe this'll just be one of those things that'll have to wait until I'm on my own--like all that beautiful framed hockey art.
Oh, and tomorrow I'll be working with my mom, so if I finish early enough, I'm going to drop by the HHOF store after work, just to drool over stuff that I want but can't afford! =Þ
The Hockey News has got a lot of amusing quotes, so I thought I'd share some. They're not really "lol" quotes, but they did at least elicit a wry smile from me, in appreciation. ^_^
Nov. 22, '02 Vol. 56, No. 12, p.3:
" 'Ah Doug, I'm having a beer with a big piece of bread.' Stars right winger Bill Guerin, in a telephone call intended to tease Doug Weight over his strict off-season diet."
Actually I thought this kind of "cute," that they'd tease each other that way.
Oct. 26, '02 Vol. 56, No. 8, p.11:
"Brendan Shanahan's initials come with the package. The trouble is figuring out when he's using them and when he's telling the truth. . . .
THNCan you describe yourself in five words or less? Shanahan I should hope not. And that was four words, by the way.
. . .
THNFirst job? Shanahan It was when I was 15 and I unloaded trucks at a storage unit company.
THNDid you ever think at 15 you were going to be playing in the NHL? Shanahan I thought I was going to be unloading trucks for a living, carrying frozen carcasses of beef and lamb into a freezer for th rest of my life.
THNSomething at 17 you wish you still believed? Shanahan At 17 I found out the truth about Santa Claus--that was a bummer.
. . .
THNBest rookie initiation? Shanahan It had to be when I was in St. Louis. Jim Montgomery had a hairy chest and we shaved his chest to form the letter 'A'. He was pissed because he was hoping for a 'C'.
. . .
THNAny significance to your sweater number (No. 14)? Shanahan It separates me from the other players on my team.
THNOne guy you hate to play against but would love as a teammate? Shanahan There are a lot of guys I feel that way about, but I wouldn't want to pay them that compliment while I'm still playing.
THNWorst injury you've suffered? Shanahan I took a puck in the face.
THNWhat was going through your mind at that point? Shanahan Vulcanized rubber! I did have a feeling that solid foods were not going to be part of my diet for a while."
The entire interview gave me a lot of respect for Shanahan's quick mind and sharp wit. He's probably the type of person around whom you wouldn't want to say anything stupid, though, because you know he'd make some smart remark about it.
I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like The Star has got some sort of fixation on the backsides of Leafs' players. First there was that entire article by Rosie DiManno about McCabe's rump, and then yesterday I read this in an article by Paul Hunter (so you know it's not just one writer): "Often, like last night, Renberg could be seen protecting the puck, his back to the play pushing opponents away with his sizeable butt, waiting for a teammate to get open." The emphases are mine, of course, but am I the only one who finds it strange that a reporter should feel compelled to point out Renberg's use of his behind? ::shrug:: Maybe I've just become overly sensitive to the subject since reading Ms. DiManno's article. If nothing else, I guess it's a compliment to her writing skills that I would remember it for so long. =Þ
Okay, I knew there must have been a good reason why I didn't want to post the trade proposals that I received in the hockey pool message list, but unfortunately I didn't figure out that reason until after I decided to try posting the offers! The whole point in posting was to get opinions to help me make decisions on whether to accept, reject, or counteroffer. Well, I got a lot of suggestions and opinions, but I'm still undecided on half of the original offers, AND I ended up getting more offers, all of which involved more than four players! @_@ I think I've learned that proposals dealing with more than four players give me headaches on sight.
The worst thing was though, I felt so bombarded by offers and advice that I hastily and not too nicely rejected the first new offer that I received (after posting the list of offers)! ^^;; I was lucky that the person didn't choose to receive emails, so he didn't actually ever read my message, but I only remembered that this morning, so I had all night to feel guilty. ::sigh:: Not to mention, the deal was pretty reasonable, so it definitely deserved a lot more consideration than I actually gave it, and which I would have given it if the proposal hadn't been the proverbial straw (both the last straw and straw that broke the camel's back).
Anyway, the end result of all this chaos? I started with five proposals, rejected three, received two more, and am now at four offers. Net change: -1 Definitely not worth the hassle. Especially since most of the proposals that I rejected were small, but the new ones that I got were big--seven and nine players!! -_-;;
So from now on, I'll stick to my old method and only ask for help from the two people whose advice I trust the most. Posting the proposals for all the pool to see is like declaring open season on myself. @_@
Yoicks! I opened my email to find seven new messages, five of which were trade offers! @_@ Now in my mind I know that they're good things, because my team certainly needs help, and I'm not likely to offer trades myself, but man, does it ever make life difficult for me! It's not supposed to be a big deal, but I take trade offers very seriously, and spend far more time than is necessary thinking them over before making a decision.
At first I thought that I wouldn't be able to ask advice from the people I normally get advice from because they both made me offers, and thus might not be too objective, but then I realized that all of the trades except two involved different players, so there wouldn't really be a conflict of interest. (Actually, I could change half of my team if I really wanted to!) Nonetheless, I'd still like to try to work this out on my own; it's just reassuring to know that I can ask for advice if I really need it.
Anyway, Fatboy gave me the great idea (thanks!) of totalling up all my gains and losses in each category--G, A, PIM, etc.--and this helped me to actually figure out what the consquences of each trade would be. So I circled my totals in black for a gain, and red for a loss (I didn't do anything if there was no change) and wrote the specific +/- in the same colour underneath the total. Then I highlighted the categories in which I need to improve. I think it's a pretty good system, if a tad time-consuming (since I wrote everything out by hand); I've already decided to reject one trade because I found that all of my highlighted totals were also circled in red--except for one category that had an increase of +1. Even though most of the minuses were small, one of them was -10, and not only that, but all of the categories that had black circles on had pluses of one or two. Thus I concluded that I'd lose big in a category where I'm already lacking, and gain very little in return. Of course this season's statistics alone aren't all I'm using to evaluate trade offers; I'm also using the Toronto Star Forecaster and the Hockey News to try to get a feel for the players whom I don't know--which is most of them.
Can you believe I've spent almost two hours going through all of this and I've only decided is to reject one trade? Not only that, but I'm supposed to be doing research for my Japanese history essay due next Friday! @_@ Guess this shows where my priorities are. Now, if it was for my Japanese language class, the pool would wait.
Salo finally posts a .913 SV% on a game, and guess what, I had Belfour (SV% .889) in goal! ARGH! Also, Bonk didn't even play, so I could have had Comrie in my lineup! ARGH!
On another note, I definitely need more assists. I'm third in goals right now, but I guess my people don't like to share or something because I'm fourth last in assists. ::sigh::
I think Comrie has scored at least five goals since I got him, but I haven't gotten any points from the goals because he's always been benched when he scored!! >( ARGH! I am suck! I totally cannot judge when to play a guy and when to bench him. Today I thought to myself, okay, I'll play Comrie since he's been doing a heck of a lot better than Kapanen. Fine, then I think about it some more, look at the stats of Carolina and Edmonton's respective opponents and decide that Kapanen's got a pretty good chance to score on Phoenix, whereas Minnesota hasn't let in a heck of a lot of goals. Also, the last time Edmonton played Minnesota they either only got one goal or none (I can't remember which). So I bench Comrie and play Kapanen.
WRONG choice! Comrie scores two goals, and Kapanen does zip, not even an assist (at least from what I've seen on the game log thus far)! ARGH! So that's it, Kapanen's benched; I've lost my faith in him completely. Of course, Murphy's Law being what it is, now that I'm positive that this is what I'm going to do, Comrie's going to enter a slump, and Kapanen will break out of his, and when I switch them again, the opposite will occur. Lack of skill + bad luck = me ::sigh::
Woohoo, Sakic scored his first at home goal tonight! Not only that, but he's remained true to his pattern by scoring in the third period. I think Sakic must be an excellent essayist, since he clearly recognizes the importance of starting and ending well! =Þ
I'm not eleventh in my pool, which is still good because I'm not last! Anyway, I was expecting it since I had such an abysmal Saturday night. I don't think any of my players scored goals, except, of course, the one I had benched. ::rolls eyes:: Yeah, that's just my skill in managing my team. You can bet that as soon as I decide to bench Kapanen and replace him with Comrie (which is what I was contemplating, but decided against for Saturday), Kapanen will start scoring a bunch of goals and Comrie will stop scoring. -_-;; I have no luck in this, which is ironic because I'm third in this Survivor pool which I joined on a whim; I don't care at all about Survivor, and I don't even watch it, but I pay attention to my hockey pool and look how much good that's done me!
On the subject of the hockey pool, I am now certain that I'm an awful person to trade with. I've received a bunch of offers, but I've only made a counteroffer for one, even though my low standing is certainly testimony to a need for change. Anyway, I think the big thing is that people keep offering me these big multiplayer deals, and that doesn't really work because I tend to get attached to my players, so the idea of "losing" so many of them doesn't appeal at all. I've been told that people just shoot off trade proposals without really thinking too much, and that if I'm even remotely interested I'm supposed to counteroffer, not take mild offense at the lopsidedness of the original deal, but I have a hard time working that way. The one offer I made was one that (the same) someone suggested that I make, but I was kind of uneasy about it because I knew that if I was on the receiving end of the trade, I wouldn't accept it. Actually, the offer was rejected, which is a fairly normal thing in pools I'm sure--I just have to think about how many trades I've rejected--but I still felt kind of bad for making an offer that probably didn't stand a chance of being accepted as it was. Gah. If being able to make deals is one of the criteria for moving beyond "chick" status, I think I'll remain "the chick" forever because I really don't like having to think about these things once I get used to my team.
Oh, and just for interests sake, here's the latest trade offer I've received, and which I am going to reject once I'm done here:
Drury, Chris
Fleury, Theo
Palffy, Zigmund
Samsonov, Sergei
Schneider, Mathieu
for
Lidstrom, Nicklas
Salo, Tommy
Shanahan, Brendan
Yzerman, Steve
Salo may suck, but that doesn't mean I want to give him up and depend solely on Belfour. Actually, the first thing I thought when I saw this offer was quality, not quantity. Egad, I wonder if I should be worried that I'm starting to think in clichés!
Wow, there was so much going on in tonight's game! I even had to get a piece of paper to jot things down so I wouldn't forget to mention them! Where to begin? Well, I must say I'm not terribly impressed by Trevor Kidd. It's probably unfair of me considering that the defense also wasn't very good (Kaberle and...McCabe(?) failed to clear the puck in the first powerplay that resulted in the Blues first goal), but I can't help but wonder if they would've done any better with Belfour in net.
That brings me to another point, why do Edmonton and Toronto choose to play and bench their number one goalies on the same nights? Friday I had to choose between Salo and Belfour (incidentally, as predicted, I made the wrong choice with Salo, and Belfour didn't even win), and then tonight I couldn't have made a choice if I wanted to because neither of them played! How am I going to get my full number of games if my goalies always play or don't play on the same night? Bah. Guess I'll just have to be patient and wait for Burke to recover. Maybe it's better this way, since it dissuades me from having too much faith/hope for Salo, who has been simply awful thus far. Belfour might not win very much, but at least his save % is still better than Salo's, and as far as I can recall, Belfour hasn't been replaced in the third.
But back to tonight's game! I've got to say, my highlights for tonight were McCabe's butt checks! =Þ I think that just goes to show the power of the written word, that whenever I see McCabe deliver a powerful check with his rear, I immediately recall that Star article that I read, by Rosie DiMannio. Both the check right after Mogilny's second period penalty ended, and the check around 1:42 to the end of the second period made me laugh outloud! I'm really quite grateful for instant replays, which allowed me to get clearer views of the bum checks. Of course the third one that I clearly saw wasn't too great, since it ended up as a penalty call, but then again Jackman of the Blues (it's confusing to have players with the same lastname on both teams) prevented that from being an advantage for the Blues by getting an unsportsmanlike penalty as well. If McCabe could only start hitting the net when he shoots, he'd even be able to contend with Kaberle as my favourite Leaf. ^_~
Speaking of Jackman, I was pretty proud of myself when I saw Ric Jackman on the ice and figured out who he was without being told. Okay, so it was deduction more than recognition, since it was a case of my not recognizing his number and therefore deducing that he must be Jackman (Holden (?) was the only other player whose number I wouldn't have recognized, but he gave an interview after the first period, so I learned his number), but nonetheless the fact that I didn't recognize his number shows that I'm getting familiar enough with the Leafs to be able to find things unfamiliar. =Þ Sorry about the horribly convoluted sentence. Anyway, that was just a random train of thought that occured during the game.
The penalty shot possibility was interesting, mostly because I don't even know what actions can result in penalty shots! So yes, it was quite educational, although I really wish I had an official rulebook so I could read up about the specifics when things like that happen. Hint, hint, Matthias? I don't even know if he reads this...
Oh, and I wonder if the shot that the Blues' defenseman took at his own net was counted as a shot? I've seen pucks deflect off defensemen, etc., but I don't think I've ever seen a case where it looked like the player was actively trying to score on his own net before! =Þ
Another little thing: I don't think I would ever take a baby or young child to a game. See, they showed a mother with her baby--still sucking on a pacifer--at the game tonight, and I don't think that being exposed to such loud noises for such an extended period of time could possibly be good for the kid.
Almost forgot! I didn't really enjoy the Coach's Corner tonight. Cherry's great to listen to when he's talking about the game of hockey, but once he starts getting into politics or other things... ::rolls eyes:: I mean, I can kind of see his point about why girls should stick with girls hockey, but he presented it in a way that would get almost any girl's hackles up, so most girls probably wouldn't get beyond his delivery to what he was actually trying to say. He made himself sound pretty sexist, even though his message was the exact opposite of that. I can see now why people wouldn't like Cherry, although I still think he's pretty cool, myself.
Last thing: I had a really hard time understanding the Satellite Hotstove. Most of that was due to the fact that I still don't know much about the workings of hockey leagues and stuff, but part of it was because of the way they kept interrupting and talking over each other. Yeesh, whatever happened to listening when other people are talking? This is not Japan, so it's not as if you're expected to interrupt out of politeness, to show that you're paying attention to the conversation!
So, all in all, tonight was a good night of hockey, even though the Leafs didn't lose respectably.
Yay! I went shopping with my mother today and got more hockey books!! When I think about it, my passion for hockey books is kind of silly because I don't even have time right now to read all of them, and besides that, I've always had a hard time finishing non-fiction books. =Þ Ah well, When I've got a place of my own, I'm sure my collection of hockey books will look very impressive displayed on my bookshelf, and who knows, I might even have read them all by the time I get my own place!
Today I got three books, one at an amazingly good price, and the other two for fairly reasonable, but still pretty hefty sums. The one that I actually paid for was the cheap one, of course; hehehe, I mentioned that I went shopping with my mother for a reason! It sounds kind of interesting, but I really bought it because the price was too good to pass up, and because there's a picture of kids playing hockey in China (there's a big picture of Mao Zedong in the background)! How could I resist? The book is about the author, Dave Bidini's search to find places where "true hockey" still exists. Apparently he found himself watching Martha Stewart in the summer of 1998, instead of the Stanley Cup finals, and that was what set him off on his quest. -_-;; I don't see what's so bad about NHL hockey myself, but then again I've only really known NHL hockey (even in the Olympics, it was all about the NHLers), so I'm not really in a place to judge.
Anyway, the other two books, the ones my mom got me, are the ones I'm really excited about: Without Fear: Hockey's 50 Greatest Goaltenders, and A Day in the Life of the Maple Leafs! The former is perfect because I love goalies, and the latter because it's so pretty! Photos, lots and lots of photos! Not to mention, even though I consider myself an Avs fan, I've still got some national/regional pride, so I also love the Leafs. I'm going to get the Leafs' book signed on Dec. 17th when the author visits the Coles in Square One (from 6-9pm)! Funny isn't it, how the first "hockey" autograph that I'll actually collect myself will be from a hockey author? Gah, my goodness, look at the time!! Gotta watch HNIC!!!
Who is going to be a better goalie on Friday night? Salo or Belfour? Surely the Oilers are more likely to beat the Islanders than the Leafs the Stars? But Salo has been so bad that I don't know if I should take that chance. It's entirely possible that the Oilers will win only after Salo's been benched in the third period. -_-;; My goalies are the worst in the pool! I have the fewest wins, and the second lowest save percentage! The way to improve this is to take it one game at a time, not simply benching one or the other for overall performance. ::sigh:: I suspect that no matter whom I pick, my choice will inevitably be the wrong one, so maybe I should pick Salo so at least I can be glad that the Leafs won, even if I record another loss in my pool.
BOOOO!!! I don't often get to watch Colorado play, and when I do, they play the way they did tonight! ::sniff sniff:: My poor Avs! Even worse, my suitemate is an Ottawa fan, so she was rubbing it in. I'm so sad right now, I can't even blog my unhappiness away. Ah well, it could've been worse, it could've been 7-0, with Roy.
And I thought I was the only one; apparently, since the Sun started its NHL sticker promotion, circulation has increased, on average, by more than 13,620 extra papers per day! That's really crazy. Who would've thought that so many people would be suckers just like me? I suppose I could feel comforted, knowing that I'm not alone, but actually, it makes me kind of worried that so many crazy people are walking around in Toronto. =Þ Yes, I am being facetious.
Anyway, the Leafs finally won again last night (and there was much rejoicing) but I'm going to be prudent this time and reserve judgement until their record shows this to actually be an upward turning point. ::rolls eyes:: After all, one game does not a season make.
I admit it, I am just about the world's biggest sucker. =Þ See, last Sunday the Toronto Sun gave out free NHL sticker albums with the paper. Naturally I went out and got it, but of course, it was just a sticker album, without stickers to go along with it. See, the idea was/is that everyday for the following eighteen days, there would be a coupon in the Sun which would enable you to buy a sheet of stickers for $1.99. Yes, buy the stickers. And I, being the sucker that I am, have been faithfully buying the Sun (which I'm not even interested in reading--I'm a Star reader, thank you very much) everyday for the past week just so that I could buy the stickers.
Not only that, but since not every place that sells the Sun is selling the stickers, I have to make a special trip all the way down to the Seven-Eleven, which is entirely out of my way, every morning when I'm downtown to buy the paper and the stickers. When I'm home for the weekend, I have to work go even farther out of my way to get the paper and stickers! Only I would put so much effort into allowing a company to take my money. ^^;;
It's quite strange, but I actually do enjoy collecting these stickers. I mean, I was pretty happy when I got my Kaberle sticker on Saturday, and then today as well, when I saw that there were twelve stickers instead of the usual nine. Good grief, what am I even going to do with the thing when I'm done with my collecting?
If nothing else, I guess I'll be glad to have a reference so that I can put faces to names of Canadian NHL team players. For example, I now know what Mike Comrie and Tommy Salo look like, which is kind of nice since they're on my team in the hockey pool. Not that I'd ever recognize them if I saw them walking down the street (I'm really horrid with names and faces), but at least they're a bit more than names to me.
Speaking of the hockey pool, I've been holding pretty steady at ninth place so far--knock on wood. ^_^ Woohoo! I just hope I can stay there for the rest of my season!
Thanks for the tip, Alan! I stayed up until 1:30am to watch the highlights on TSN, and yes, Kapanen's goal was a result of ever so pretty passing! According to the guys who were hosting the show (Molson's That's Hockey 2), it was all possible because Hedican was able to stand up to his guy, because he trusted that someone, Battaglia, would back him up. The way they described it was: Hedican "stands up" to Blake, allowing Battaglia to get the puck, who then makes a very smooth pass to Brind'Amour. Now this is the cool part; Brind'Amour goes to the net, sees an Islander ahead of him, and decides to go behind/to the side of the net instead of the centre. The goalie (forgot his name and too lazy to look it up) overcommits and Brind'Amour pases the puck behind the goalie, through the crease, to Kapanen, who's right there and makes the easy shot.
I'm not redescribing it well at all, but suffice to say, it was well worth staying up for! As I said to my friend before, Brind'Amour's cool! I'll probably remember that nifty pass to Kapanen for a long while!
Now, I don't really know if I should be "feeling insulted" over this offer I received today, but the reason I gave for rejecting it was that I don't know the players that are being offered, so all I could go on was the stats, which weren't in my favour. Here's the trade offer, maybe you can tell me if I made the right decision (I think I did):
Numminen, Teppo (DTD)
Turgeon, Pierre
for
Bonk, Radek (DTD)
Lidstrom, Nicklas
Hehehe...This week I am definitely going to be sharing my "Hockey News" with some people--and not necessarily just ones who are interested in hockey either! See, there's an advertising feature (part 1 of 2) in this issue called the "2002 Christmas Gift Guide." A not-so-subtle hint, ne? =Þ
Aside from that though, this weeks THN was quite amusing. Here's a quote from the "Editor's Notebook" by Jason Kay (the emphases are mine):
So how do you like your new NHL so far?
Because the season is still in its infancy, it would be premature jock elation to proclaim the reforms a rousing success, but the early reviews have been mainly positive.
Maybe it's just me, but isn't that phrase "premature jock elation" clever and funny?
Anyway, Joe Sakic scored twice again tonight!! Getting closer! =D
Y'know, I'm starting to feel just a bit insulted by all these trades people are offering me. =Þ I mean, I know I declared myself "the chick" when I joined the pool, but still, do people really think I'm this stupid? Here are some of the trades that I have been offered:
1. (last Tuesday)
Alfredsson, Daniel
Carter, Anson
Chelios, Chris
Sakic, Joe
for
Comrie, Mike
Lidstrom, Nicklas
Modano, Mike
Shanahan, Brendan
2. (last Thursday)
Drury, Chris
Samsonov, Sergei
for
Shanahan, Brendan
3. (today)
Samsonov, Sergei
Weight, Doug
for
Shanahan, Brendan
4. (today)
Blake, Rob
Drury, Chris
Oates, Adam
Samsonov, Sergei
for
Modano, Mike
Shanahan, Brendan
Yzerman, Steve
Then again, maybe I should be flattered that people want my players? I mean, at least that means I must have some decent people on my team, right? Still, I've got to wonder if the people who offered me these trades would propose such deals to other guys in the pool. Or maybe it's not gender, but experience? They think that since this is my first pool I'll be easily swindled?
Sheesh, I wish they would give me some credit. Even if I didn't know that they were bad deals, I would know enough to ask for other people's advice first! Of course, that hasn't really been necessary (except when I wanted to get suggestions to make a counter-offer) since just looking at the numbers was enough for me to decide to reject the offers!
Hooray for Daylight Saving Time! I never actually get extra sleep, but it does allow me to stay up later on a Saturday night guilt free. =Þ I might've stayed up to watch the final two period of the Dallas @ Vancouver game anyway, but DST allowed me to do so without feeling bad about it!
It was well worth it, too, in my opinion. ^_^ I finally got to see Modano score a goal, as well as notch a nice assist, thus reassuring myself that I'm right to keep him in the face of all the trade offers I've been getting. (Actually, I haven't exactly been questioning my decision since the trades people are offereing aren't really beneficial to me anyway. I wonder if people always propose such non-useful trades when they're trying to get someone from a person, of if they just think I'm a sucker? Okay, I might not be able to absolutely positively recognize a swindle when I see one, but I wish people would give me enough credit to know enough to ask for other opinions before allowing myself to be suckered into a bad deal!! =Þ But I digress.) Also I got to see the scores (and scorers) of all the earlier games, which was fun, because I actually recognized the names!!
That means, of course, that some of "my" people actually scored!! Yay! I think tonight it was Brind'Amour (again!! and an assist too!), Lidstrom, and Comrie. I'm not mentioning Modano since I watched him score; I didn't just read about it in the game summaries or whatever they're called. Shanahan and Kaberle didn't do anything other than get penalties, but I guess I can't expect them to get points every game. And of course Kapanen did nothing. >P The bum. I don't know why he's being so useless so far this season.
Actually, speaking of Kapanen, I've got a little anecdote about him. The very first day of the season I really wanted to watch the Dallas @ Colorado game, but since my suitemate wanted to watch her programs, I went to my room to listen to the radio broadcast online. Anyway, I guess I was a bit too early for that game since when I clicked the link the first time, I got the broadcast of the Carolina game (I think they were playing either the Rangers or the Islanders). That was fine, so I turned it off (not wanting to waste my weekly transfer limit on that game) and waited a few more minutes. I clicked again, and I heard the name "Kapanen" and a bunch of names I didn't recognize so I closed it and tried again. This time I heard a commercial that mentioned New York, so I figured I was still getting the wrong broadcast and shut it off again. I tried a few more times, and I kept hearing either commercials or "Kapanen" and a bunch of unknown names, so I kept shutting it off and trying again--even trying the Dallas broadcast instead of the Colorado. Finally, after maybe fifteen to twenty minutes I clicked, listened, and heard names that I recognized! It was a while before I heard "Kapanen" again, and when I did, I finally realized that the Kapanen on the Hurricanes wasn't the only Kapanen in the league! So I really don't know how many times I actually got the Carolina broadcast by mistake, and how many times I actually had the right one but thought I was getting the wrong one! Thank goodness I haven't had to resort to webcasts since that game!
Woohoo Adam Deadmarsh!! Interestingly, Deadmarsh was the only player that I drafted whose name I didn't even recognize; I selected him solely on the advice of a friend. THANKS SAMOO!! ^_^ Guess this means I should try to watch some LA games this season and actually see him in action!
In terms of the pool, I'm still doing amazingly well (re: I'm not last!). =Þ I'm quite amazed at this, considering that my "legitimate first round picks," as another friend terms them, Shanahan and Modano don't seem to be exactly on fire; my best goal scorers so far have been Brind'Amour, Lidstrom, Kaberle, and now Deadmarsh. Then again, it's probably my inexperience underestimating Shanahan and Modano, because, despite their relative lack of goals, they've still gotten more points than the aforementioned goal scorers. I'm sure in the long run they'll be the most beneficial to me in the pool.
Of course Kaberle gets probably the most attention simply because of the tv coverage of Leaf games here; I actually get to watch his goals, so I give them more value than the ones I only read about. (Woah, that was a weird non-segue. ^^;; I thought it kind of connected, but it doesn't really.) Anyway, I'm glad I got to watch the full Leafs' game on Wednesday (even though they lost so resoundingly), because I'm not going to get much hockey htis weekend. =( I was out tonight, I've got a meeting tomorrow night, and Sunday has never been a hockey night for me anyway, so... ::sniffle:: If I had my way, I'd always be able to reserve Saturday nights for HNIC.
Man, that was absolutely horrible to watch!! >( Why are the Leafs being so sucky? Feh. It was so bad I don't even want to talk about it!
There were two rather funny moments in the game, though. The first was seeing McCabe do a hip check. If you'll remember, I was extremely amused at the article in the Star a while back talking about McCabe and his big behind. ^_~ The second was when Mogilny tried to put the net back in place. Actually, I didn't really see it, but it was pretty funny listening to the commentators laughing over it. Anyway, I've gotta find humour in the game tonight, because otherwise I might cry--they were that bad.
Really, I'm not the superstitious type, but even I'm beginning to wonder if maybe those guys on MOJO Radio shouldn't just shut up about these "guaranteed wins." As far as I know, so far they're 0-2 on their predictions, and both times the Leafs have lost horribly, 4-1 too! Argh.... I wish Colorado games got more coverage here, then at least I might have some hope of watching a good game!
I think the best goal I've seen so far this season was tonight. After class I turned on TSN to catch the third period of the Pittsburgh @ Montreal Game. Anyway, I think it went something like Zednik to Markov, to Koivu, and back to Markov to score!! Sorry, I can't really describe it well. What was cool about it, though, was that the passing was so smooth, and that they scored because they passed, not because they made a big crowd around the net or anything. Very stylish. ::nods::
Also, I think I might add Hedburg to my list of "admired" goalies. =Þ He was quite amusing tonight, like when he had to dive back into the net to just barely knock away a puck, because he had thought that the puck was going to go into the corner, but it actually got deflected. ^_^ Quite lucky, but also pretty impressive in the fast maneuvering. Plus I think it was neat that he got an assist on Kovalev's goal. I didn't really see it at the time, but it was simply cool to hear about nonetheless.
Heh, I've yet to be impressed by Theodore, though. Near the beginning of the third period he was looking rather shaky. I mean, maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I'm pretty sure he bobbled what should've been an easy save, and a defenseman had to go behind him to shoot the puck away--close call. Sure he got a grip during the period, but as a first impression, it wasn't the best.
Oh yeah, last thing: I can't believe my (bad) luck! I've played Sami Kapenen in my pool for all of his games until today, and in those five games he didn't get a single point--not even an assist! Feeling a bit frustrated, I decided to bench him (that'll show him, right?) and naturally, tonight of all nights, he goes and scores two goals!! Whatta bum!! ::shakes fist angrily:: Now I'm wondering if I should put him back on, but then I bet he won't do anything again until I decide to bench him! Argh...the problem with inconsistent players... BOO-URNS!
Wow, today's game was intense. I think I'll add that to the list of games that I would like to see next year: Colorado @ Toronto, and Montreal @ Toronto, or Toronto @ Montreal. It was really cool to be able to hear the fans at the Bell Centre cheering "go Leafs, go!" over the Habs' fans. =Þ
Anyway, Belfour did an awesome job in goal, but I can't say that I'm exactly impressed with him, not after he slashed Randy McKay (who has a rather strange voice, to digress). >( Yeah, I was pretty mad about that, I mean, at first when McKay went down, I thought it might've been accidental or something, y'know, Belfour just trying to keep the puck out, but no, that slash was really deliberate, and seemingly totally unprovoked. From my perspective it seemed like Belfour was simply getting upset at himself for letting in two goals, and he was taking his frustration out on McKay. Pure speculation on my part, of course, but a not unreasonable supposition, I would say.
But onto the good! KABERLE!!! Woohoo! Game-tying, shorthanded goal!! What a great guy! Maybe if I decide to get a Leafs jersey, I'd get him on it...I'm so thankful that I got him in my hockey pool, because I think I would've missed out on a lot if I hadn't had that incentive to pay attention to him this season. ::nods:: It's pretty early, but I think he's going to have an awesome season, and moreover, I am going to have a good time watching him! That particular play was quite funny, actually. I mean, that's really gotta burn for Zednik: not only does he get knocked down trying to check Sundin, but Sundin still manages to make a drop pass for Kaberle to get a goal! Heh, talk about irony! Ok, well not exactly, I mean, maybe Sundin would've made a pass to Kaberle anyway, but I'd think that being knocked off balance probably made his decision to pass right then a lot easier.
Oh, and that action around Belfour in the third (?) period was highly amusing too! I mean, the Leafs were all piled up on top of the poor guy (Belfour), and the Habs still couldn't even find the puck. Then on the next attempt, there were three or four Leafs just sprawled out on the ice around the crease! Very strange sight!
But that OT, boy, was that some great hockey! Lots of action back and forth, and some really great chances on both sides. ::shakes head:: That glove block by Hackett on Sundin was something else. At first I thought it was kind of fluky, but on second consideration, I think that just shows how good a goaltender he is.
Speaking of Hackett, watching his interview with Ron MacLean after the game has only increased my respect for the guy. I mean, he made it clear that there really wasn't a goaltending controversy, even though the media seems to be trying to create one. Anyway, I don't want to repeat myself too much, but I think it's awesome the way he can give Theodore so much credit and respect without downplaying his own abilities. And his honest pragmatism is refreshing too; he just calls it (the likelihood of him being traded) like he sees it, without mcuh emotion one way or another--very professional.
One last thing, before I forget (as I already did) I thought it was cool on Tuesday that they played music from the Lord of the Rings near the end of the third period--quite appropriately dramatic, I'd say. Anyway, in summary, that was a great game, and I'm glad I watched it!
(Eek, absolute LAST poin: Brind'Amour and Lidstrom scored tonight too! Woohoo! How come my "big" forwards aren't starting off as well as my defensemen and the supposedly "sucky"--to quote a friend ^_~ --forward, Brind'Amour? =Þ)
Well, reading the sports section this morning was a pleasure. There were three articles, all on the same page, in The Star today that just made me feel good reading them.
The first, "No controversy (yet) in Montreal" gave me a great admiration for Jeff Hackett. I mean, here's this guy whose health will finally allow him to play again at a No. 1 goalie calibre, but can't really, because, in the time it took him to recover, he's lost his position to a younger guy who everyone's making a big fuss over. It's really a case of rotten luck, and I don't think I could handle it nearly as well as he seems to be taking it in the article; he just accepts that that's the way things happened to play out, and isn't wasting any time worrying, or being bitter over what can't be changed. To me, that's pretty cool.
Now this one, "Puck from rookie's first NHL goal goes to dying pal" was nice in that "aww," sweet, warm-feelings-all-over kind of way. Can't say much more about it; if you read the article I'm sure you'd agree that it's a beautiful gesture of friendship.
Heh, and this last article, "Kaberle takes a shot, and it's paying off" appeals to me in a totally mercenary way. =Þ You've read about my happiness over Kaberle scoring here before, and this article is just more of the same for me. I hope I can continue to look forward to goals from Kaberle to increase my ranking in my hockey pool, especially since my forwards don't seem to be as productive as him at the moment. ^_~
(Edit: Oh yeah, what do you think of my Sakic countdown? Kekeke, I actually have a piece of paper that looks just about the same, so I can keep track of it all! Yay Sakic!)
