Oilers claim 2-1 victory over Canucks in Edmonton

Tonight's match-up felt like Vancouver's games against Chicago last year, in which the sum of each period all came down to the performances of two of the best goalies in the league.

Goalkeeping for Chicago was aptly handled by Khabibulin and for Vancouver, Luongo. The playoff series between the teams eventually lead to a respectable game six victory for Chicago. Well, Khabibulin has moved on, since joining the Edmonton Oilers, which leads up to tonight's game.

With the score at 2-1, the Oilers have the advantage and the clock is ticking down. We're left with Wellwood scrambling up the ice in the last few seconds and finally positioning himself in front of Khabibulin with 0.5 left on the play clock. Unlikely as it may be, Wellwood made his shot. The goal music was flicked on and all seemed well. Bernier and his teammates began to celebrate until one of the refs stepped in. Turns out that the goal was late and the game was over. Canucks captain Luongo stood at the entry to the locker room impatiently, awaiting the video review of the play. He knew it was over. Everyone knew it was over.

The Canucks have effectively extended their losing streak in road games to 4 consecutive loses. Their effort had no heart in it, losing out on any momentum gained from Rypien settling the score with Stortini or "Bolduc's goal" from early in the first.

Where the trouble started is difficult to pinpoint. It could have been with that opening goal of Bernier's which was recorded incorrectly, as Bolduc's, or any of the other examples of inattentive officiating from the refs and linesman. There were times where it became problematic and even a little worrisome.

It's difficult to blame them, when the rules were often overlooked on both sides. Calls that probably would've helped were late in the third. There was slashing and a free penalty shot that didn't come through. Not sure how the refs can do their job with their eyes shut. Apparently, Zack Stortini of the Oilers, takes on a similar strategy while fighting.

It wasn't all bad for an injury-ridden Vancouver team. One major plus was the conclusion of the Stortini vs. Rypien confrontation, which evolved from a broken up fight last April into a fully realized bout tonight. Rypien can throw a left with the best of them, and his positioning in the fight gave him the clear cut advantage tonight.



While the fight was one of the few highlights to arise from either side, but it just isn't enough. The Canucks need to start racking up some points on the road. It's still fairly early in, so there's no reason to have a poor outlook for the remainder of the year just yet. Their next game is going to be in Chicago - always a challenge for any hockey club - but if they're able to secure a win there, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't be able to elsewhere, also?

Besides, we have until October 24th before the Toronto match brings the Canucks back to GM Place. If they lose to a Maple Leafs team whom hasn't won a preceding game all year (they're 0-6-1, at the moment), then it's probably safe to become despondent and look for a new sport to follow.

Khabibulin, on the Oilers' performance tonight:

"I know I'm not going to play good every game. Sometimes it might be a 6-5 game. It works both ways but it doesn't matter at the end..."

The main concerns revolve around the absence of Demitra, Daniel Sedin, and Sami Salo. Where the Oilers found themselves most successful however, was in their zone, with Khabibulin deflecting several extremely close shots whether it be by luck or by skill, out-performing Luongo from the opposing end of the ice. Samuelsson nearly came through twice, but again, Khabibulin was exceptional tonight, turning down 39 of the 40 SOG.

In short, the game was pretty ugly for both teams, neither playing to their full potential.

Minnesota Wild @ Vancouver Canucks Recap

Minnesota Wild (1) @ Vancouver Canucks (2)

Fresh off a disappointing 1-7 loss in Calgary, the Canucks return to an oddly quiet GM Place, improving to a 3-4 win-loss record in last night’s victory over the Minnesota Wild. To be honest, the style of play was a little sloppy on both sides. With Minnesota’s new coach Todd Richards continuing on his ambitious push to play more up-tempo style of hockey, we find the team unable to fit into their roles, and thus losing out on the few opportunities they were able to create (and they were few). This brings the down-trodden team to their sixth straight loss and a record of 6-1 thus far, making it the worst opening to any season in franchise history. They remain last in the division. Having Niklas Backstrom in the crease is great for the Wild, but that doesn’t quite solve their issues up ice, where they struggled to put anything on the scoreboard.

It’s not that easy to improve the Wild’s offensive situation, when some of their forwards have been benched. Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has already confirmed Cal Clutterbuck and Pierre-Marc Bouchard as being out indefinitely. Then there’s Petr Sykora - and as of last night, Martin Havlat, with their day-to-day injuries. who skated during yesterday’s warm-ups but didn’t return to the ice for the night due to what look to be short-term injuries.

What transpired at GM Place was hardly the fault of a benched offensive line. Instead, our focus should be placed on the improvement of the Wild’s often faulty defense. Even when they’re unable to make good on any shots on goal, there are typically the opportunities. However, Saturday’s defense saw Brent Burns, the worst player in the NHL in terms of +/- ratings come out and deliver an early, unnecessary penalty, and then adding insult to injury, by away the puck on the Wild blue line. All without expending much energy. Prior to Saturday, he took the honor of having the worst +/- rating in the league, at a -10. He’s now a -9, but is still playing very uninspired, lazy hockey.

The Canucks aren’t having the best of times this season, either. Having numerous chances in the first, whereas the Wild were only given 1, it took the Canucks until a couple minutes into the second for Kesler to find the net behind Backstrom, whom had dropped his stick to his right only moments before. It was a confident glove-side shot which made way to Samuelson‘s go-ahead goal in the third.

If there were anything the Canucks could do differently, it’s to hold the defensive zone more securely and to not allow so many opportunities around the neutral zone. Had they been less passive - in their zone especially - the score would probably be a lot higher right now. I have no complaints about Robert Luongo’s goaltending. He was on top of his game, last night.

Clip via CanucksHD.

Red Wings vs. Penguins Series

The series is on its way back to the steel city once again, and thus far there has not been a single victory for an away team in any of the five games. This match-up is the first Stanley Cup Finals Rematch in 25 years. Half a century ago, Edmonton took that series without looking back, after losing the prior year. It seems unlikely that the Penguins will catch the fate of the Oilers, but several aspects of Pittsburgh's game remain largely uncharted. Even with their consecutive trips to the 'big one', the Pens are a young team, with a young netminder.

Odds may be stacked against the Igloo-dwellers, but there's still a glimmer of hope in one Marc-Andre Fleury, who was playing exceptionally well up until about the second period of game five.

As one of the league's younger talents (goalies almost never make it to the cup in their rookie years, letalone two years in a row), the Flower needs to pick up where he left off Thursday night. It's certainly not an easy task, in Joe Louis Arena, defending your zone against the infamous Red Wings starting lines. They've got a thing for mucking up the plays in their zone, and leaving the dirty work for an unheralded name who's about to sell a lot of jerseys. That's just Detroit's way, and getting frustrated about their style of hockey (a throwback to the clutch-and-grab play of the Devils, from the mid-90's) isn't going to do any good.

It's just unfortunate that the sport has become dominated in the same way the Yankees are year-in-year-out the most prominent threat in the American Division, in the MLB. It's frustrating that the jump-start Chicago team couldn't bring themselves to a Western Conference victory.

Now its up to Crosby and his cast of off-and-on performers to rally and bring the cup back home over the next couple of games. No matter how cool it is to see Mario's appearances at so many of the games, I'm sure Pens fans are getting tired of seeing his dissapointed reactions and knowing look that only comes when you've played the game for so long. I don't mean to say that I'm not a fan of #66, but I just don't want to see the hockey bug bite him again in Detroit, Wednesday night, as he reveals a return from his latest retirement in an effort to reinvigorate the tired team he's holding part-ownership of at this point.

Bettman & Company at the NHL have claimed that the Penguins are the most marketable team in hockey. For the sake of the sport, lets hope Detroit's boring albeit infectious brand of puck control doesn't ruin a good thing.

If the Penguins can pull it off two games in a row, Crosby, Malkin, and Fluery will have shown that the sport is relishing in its inherent youth and that its biggest stars are delivering when it counts.

So long as the Flower Marc-Andre Fleury doesn't wilter like he did on Saturday I still think they've got a pretty good shot of making their Cup dreams a reality.

Pro Sport Hockey (SNES Review)

My Pro Sport Hockey Review, on Thunderbolt

Predictions vs. Results

Following game 5 of each series, I made some predictions for the remainder of round 2. I said I'd do an update and would match my predictions with the results. Here you go...

Chicago-Vancouver Series
Prediction: Vancouver wins game 6, Chicago takes series in game 7.
Results: Chicago takes series in game 6.

Anaheim-Detroit Series
Prediction: Detroit takes series in game 6.
Results: Anaheim wins game 6, Detroit takes series in game 7.

Pittsburgh-Washington Series
Prediction: Capitals take 6, and the Pens slaughter them in game 7.
Results: Capitals take 6, and the Pens slaughter them in game 7 (Final score was 6-2, Pens).

Boston-Carolina Series
Prediction: Boston wins game 6 and takes series in game 7.
Results: Boston wins game 6. Carolina takes series in game 7.

Series picks: 3 Correct. 1 Incorrect.
Game picks: 3 Correct. 5 Incorrect.

ROUND 3 PREDICTIONS
Pittsburgh over Carolina in 6
Detroit over Chicago in 5

Ducks vs. Red Wings, Game 7 Recap

Anaheim couldn't find the defense to keep the defending Stanley Cup champs from crashing the net. This is what has made the Red Wings so great. They know how to drive on the attack and with Cleary pressuring Jonas Hiller until he could slip the puck into the back of the net. It's not the best way to end a game, but Detroit will certainly take it. Even with Hiller going on record to say that there was goaltender inteferferance involved in the play, a close look at the replay doesn't give his claim any merit. Cleary's goal was clearly legitamate.

Jiri Hudler, Darren Helm, and Mikael Samuelson accounted for the preceding Detroit goals within the first two periods of play. Until just about 5 minutes into the second, the Ducks could not generate any solid offensive plays. Then Teemu Selanne found the puck right in front of the net and capitalized on the opportunity, leading it in just behind a preoccupied Chris Osgood. This was Teemu's 35th career playoff goal, reducing his team's goal deficit to a single point. Bobby Ryan was later able to tie the game 3-3 in the third, but as mentioned earlier, Cleary's goal with only a few minutes on the clock put this series to rest.

All-in-all, the Ducks proved to be a stronger team than some might've expected. While they weren't able to move the puck as well as the defending Stanley Cup champions in game 7, it was still a well-played series which pushed Detroit to game 7 for the first time in 7 years. Usually that means a team is beat early on, but for the Red Wings, it's the opposite, as they're typically the ones doing the beating. Whether or not they can apply this priciple to a diverse, talented Chicago team remains to be seen. This will be the first team the two Original Six teams have met in the Western Conference Finals since 1995, a series which the Red Wings clinched with four wins and a single loss.

Penguins vs. Capitals, Game 7 Recap

On Wednesday, the Penguins offensive line came to life in Washington, closing out what has arguably been one of the greatest playoff series in recent years. How important was game 7? In terms of ratings, it beat out both American Idol, as well as the season finale of Lost.

Sidney Crosby proved something in this series. He proved that he can fill the leadership position and that he's grown into a fairly complete skater, truly bringing out the best in those around him. Setting the tempo early, Crosby scored a close-quarters goal on Simeon Varlamov by kicking the puck off his skate and quickly wristing it in. The first goal was assisted by Sergei Gonchar and Evgani Malkin. Wednesday's game marked Gonchar's return to the ice, having sustained a knee-to-knee blow from Alexander Ovechkin earlier in the week. All in all, he played a very solid defensive game and accumulated 15 minutes of time in game 7. However, Alexander Ovechkin and Mike Green, of the Caps, were both said to have been playing through injuries. This may've had a slight effect on the outcome of the game, as the Capitals blueline was suffering throughout. There was also Ovechkin's intended check against Evgani Malkin, which the Pens forward evaded swiftly, causing Ovie to hit teammate Nicklas Backstrom up against the boards, instead. Find a clip of that messy attempt, if you want an idea of how the Capitals looked throughout game 7.

Aside from his assist to veteran Bill Guerin, Crosby also scored the last goal of the game on an impressive Power-Play breakaway after Ovechkin lost the puck. This concluded Mike Green's thirty-second third period shift, and he wouldn't return to the action for the remainder of the game. He is currently leading the NHL with 12 playoff goals. The climatic series matchup ended had Sidney Crosby with 13 points and Alexander Ovechkin with 14. Unfortunatly points aren't given out for inspiring your team and disproving a harshly critical Washington crowd. If these points could be doled out, Sid the Kid would've broken some records.

As much as this series had been the battle of the NHL's three biggest stars (Malkin, Crosby, and Ovechkin) it also came down to hard-fought goaltending. Marc-Andre Fleury's early-game shutdown on Ovechkin's breakaway shot capped off what would've been a momentus goal for the Caps. "That kind of great stop, especially on the road, it calms you down," said Sidney Crosby, truly emphasizing the reasoning behind branding him as the team's captain. Rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov had somewhat of an off-day, being replaced after the Capitals were scoreless and down by four. Even with a less than stellar showing in Wednesday's game, earlier success in the series should be attributed to his net minding. At times it seemed like the Penguins just could'nt get past him. And until game three, he seemed to be beating Malkin on every opportunity. Thankfully for the Penguins, Malkin recognized his faults and stepped things up from game 3 on. Oh, and the Pens learned that Varlamov couldn't stop high shots. That knowledge helped.

If the Hurricanes can manage a game 7 victory against the B's, it will give Penguins home ice advantage for the first game of round 3. But if there's anything the Pens-Caps series has proven, it's that they don't need it.


Here was my prediction for the remainder of the series, following game 5:
"Pittsburgh-Washington: Capitals take six, and the Pens slaughter them in game seven. I can't see the Penguins winning a fourth game in a row. I think the series has to go to seven."
Right on both counts. And yes, I'm just ignoring the fact that I was wrong on the others. It's better that way.

Come back soon for continued Stanley Cup Playoff coverage.

Walker vs. Ward

Video Currently Unavailable
Scott Walker, of the Hurricanes hits Aaron Ward while Ward's still got his gloves on. Walker gets a fine of a few thousand dollars but is not suspended. It should be noted that Ward has not fought a single person this year. Going after a guy you doubt will throw back is a pretty classless move.

Stanley Cup Quiz

Take the quiz here.

Stanley Cup Playoffs 2009 - Current Standings

2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Standings, AS OF: 5/10/2009

Western Conference
Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks (Series: 3-2, Chicago leads)
Anaheim Ducks vs. Detroit Red Wings (Series: 3-2, Detroit leads)

Eastern Conference
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals (Series: 3-2, Pittsburgh leads)
Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes (Series: 3-2, Carolina leads)

This is odd. In the next couple days, we're going to be at the turning point for the playoffs and currently, every series is 3-2. Best of seven means each team losing their series is in danger of being knocked out in the next game. This is truly an exciting time for hockey fans, with the Ovechkin-Crosby match-up truly living up to its full potential, with Detroit doing the same thing they do every year, with Boston in contention for the cup, with two almost evenly matched teams in Chicago and Vancouver providing a series choke-full of awesome highlights.

I'd some loose predictions for the remainder of each series, based solely on personal preference and opinion. This is just for fun. I'll compare my predictions with the actual results at the end of round two.

Vancouver-Chicago: Vancouver wins game six, extending the series to game seven, in which Chicago shuts Vancouver out and clutches the series win.

Anaheim-Detroit: Detroit wins game six, closing the series.

Pittsburgh-Washington: Capitals take six, and the Pens slaughter them in game seven. I can't see the Penguins winning a fourth game in a row. I think the series has to go to seven.

Boston-Carolina: Boston wins game 6 & 7. Don't care for either team in particular. I just care for Carolina less. Plus, Boston hasn't won the Cup since the early seventies. And they're "playing like they want it," apparently.

Bruins vs. Hurricanes, Game 5 Recap

Boston applied a liberal thrashing to the Canes, with Tim Thomas pulling out all the stops (well, all 19 of them to be exact) for the B's. Anyone who watched game four of the series would be confused if you were to run a tape on game five. Who are these guys in the sleek black uniform's and what have they done with the uneasy Bruins of Friday night's hockey game?



There were some key components at work here that were noticeably missing in the last game. Particularly #81 Right Wing Phil Kessel, who was accountable for netting two goals for the night, ending the game with six shots on goal. The fact that Kessel was more productive on the ice than all of Carolina's offensive line gives me pause, as I think of the Boston slogan for this year: "Play like you want it." It's only too bad that nobody gave Staal and company the very same advice.

During a power play in the first period, Mark Recchi dropped the puck in behind a distracted Ward to give his team the early advantage. Zdneo Chara had a terrific game tonight, assisting two of the four goals for the game. He also appeared to be injured, about 18 minutes into the second period of play, when he was slashed on the leg by the stick of an opposing player. He was able to skate off the ice without aid and came back strong in the third. There's no word on any injuries at the moment.

So maybe it isn't fair to be so harsh on the Canes. They are still leading the series with three wins, whereas Boston has only tallied two. This is the second time Carolina has faced a shutout in this year's playoffs.

When all was said and done, Cam Ward ended up with 36 saves, which makes it extremely difficult to attribute the loss to his lack of ability in terms of keeping the net. But as the image on the left clearly illustrates, he would've probably been successful, were he paying more attention to where he was positioning himself around the goal. Onlookers in white and red uniforms commented on him holding the pictured stance throughout the entirety of the game. Why the Carolina coaching staff neglected to address such a thing is any one's guess.

Tuesday night marks the series return to Carolina in what might be the deciding factor for the Hurricanes. If they can pull their act together and help Ward get back to the center of the net, they've got a golden opportunity to eliminate the Bruins and to reignite the rivalry of the Bruins-Whalers rivalry which has been laying dormant for so much years. But we have to remember that this is not the same team that the Whalers were. These are the Carolina Hurricanes we're talking about, a team which upheld zero wins in four games against the Bruins, in the regular season.

After the fifth game of each series, they are all currently tied 3-2. I'll be posting the current standings as well as my thoughts on them in an upcoming post.

XBLA Game Review: 3 on 3 NHL Arcade

3 on 3 NHL Arcade is a great idea. The latest EA hockey game, NHL 09, has shed some pounds over the winter with a diet that cuts out all of the realism and simulation that devoted fans have come to expect from the perennial franchise. Our overall roster weighs in at a slim 40 players and two teams. There’s no room for stats, or much in the way of personality, here. That’s not to say that 3 on 3 NHL Arcade forgets to include any new content.

It’s arguable that EA chose the best players from each team, but nonetheless, 40 high-profile NHL players are included. They are divided into three skill sets: fast, strong, and all-around. No player has a noticeable advantage over another, otherwise. Our menus are cut into easily navigated screens which cut to the chase. While there’s a noticeable absence of customizable features, it’s nice to play a more straightforward version of one of the greatest hockey games out there.
This is hockey without rules, played on a small rink. Gone are NHL rivalries. Fighting’s nowhere to be found. In cutting the ref out of the picture, face-offs are no longer part of the game. When someone scores, the puck’s dropped soon afterward just behind the net. The biggest flaw in this logic is that the team which just scored still has the puck in their offensive territory. Plus, they’ve got full reign over their players at the time, so they’ll be accompanying the other team behind the net, waiting for the puck. There‘s also an odd change in which the puck is thrown back in when shot outside of the rink, in a perfect horizontal line.

3 on 3 happens to carry the same controls as EA’s other hockey games. For those who’ve woefully ignored the latest trends in EA’s hockey games, they’ve gotten an effective system down which employs both thumbsticks. The left is assigned to lower-body movement (directional input, controlling the skates), and the right to the upper-body (checking, or taking a slap shot). It doesn’t quite feel like the translation made its way safely to the XBLA, sadly. Players only seem able to make half circles, before stuttering on the screen. Also, the checking feels different, as your player doesn’t respond to the right stick when an opponent’s right in front of them. Having played so many hours of 09, I’ll never be able to control one of their hockey games differently.
It’s unfortunate that all of NHL 09’s depth has been at once abandoned and that the league’s players must either be assigned to a red or blue team. I understand the idea of an all-star scenario pick-up game but what makes equal players all-stars when none of them have stats? Barring slight resemblances in the player models, if I turn off the indicator which tells me I’m playing as Crosby, I wouldn’t know who I’m playing as. It might have something to do with the distorted bobble headed look the players have taken to as though this were another installment of a Backyard. Although they both fit the same target demographic, 3 on 3 NHL Hockey does some things to differentiate itself from the like-minded Backyard Hockey.

Power-ups have been included. Coming off a check, the impacted player falls to the ice. Perfectly normal until a glowing power-up orb slides from the downed body. With a 2x multiplier, a goal will count for two. With a smaller goalie, the affected team is more susceptible to being scored upon. This adds some kind of comical value on a package which otherwise feels unrewarding. It also makes for some frustrating gameplay, when your goalie’s a miniature, and Roenick’s monster sized and on a breakaway.
Most games end up being unrealistically high-scoring in a short time period, but it is probably safe to attribute this to the lack of rules which serve to balance a hockey game (no icing calls makes for a lot of back forth with very little stoppage in play). 3 on 3 NHL Arcade’s meant to be played with a couple of friends and that becomes pretty obvious when you try and work out any kind of puck movement with the CPU players. They do little to contribute to defense and are most useful for gathering scattered power-ups. This is also unfortunate because it ruins the chance to time your use of power-ups strategically, as the ones you force out of other players can be left on ice until they’ve been collected, thus allowing for a stacked offense to build itself on them and approach the opponent’s goal uncontested.

If there’s a good reason to buy 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, it’s the Xbox Live play. This doesn’t hold true entirely, due to the nature of the three-person team set-up. They persistently triple-team the puck carrier and after scoring, a couple players will disable the intended puck-receiver as the rubber drops from hockey heaven. More likely than not, the guy who knocked down will grab the puck and swing in for a wrap-around goal. As the doppelgängera crowd the zone, they’ll penetrate each player, one by one, collecting power-ups and ultimately leading to your demise. Your CPU teammates will never assist you in easing the pressure of a three-on-one attack, so I can only recommend Live play for people who have at least three controllers (only two Xboxs are allowed, per game).
Score: 6/10
Pros

• There aren't many Pros to choose from, but the herd's been narrowed down to most of the league's best players.

Cons

• It's difficult to play what effectively becomes a one-on-three game of hockey. Don't go it alone on Live.
• Aren't the rules there for a reason? Without them, hockey really doesn't make sense...

Players: 1-3
Online Enabled

Penguins vs. Capitals, Game 5 Recap

Tonight the Penguins accomplished a third straight victory in their series with a shocking overtime period goal by Evgeni Malkin, which was actually intended as a pass to Sidney Crosby. Tom Poti dove in on the puck, deflecting the rubber right past an unsuspecting Simeon Varlamov. Varlamov had been knocked over by a stumbling Crosby moments beforehand, as Sid the Kid ran into Capitals defenseman Brian Pothier. After the game, the Russian goaltender went on record in a translated interview, and said, "it's always hard when you play in overtime and you allow a silly goal like this."

Becoming the first away team to win in this series, this brings Pittsburgh to a 3-2 advantage over the Capitals, who have never recorded a 'W' against the Pens in any of the 8 Game 5 match-ups they've had in Playoffs past.

Due to a knee-to-knee injury by way of power-forward Ovechkin on Friday, Sergei Gonchar was scratched for this game, although reports from the coaching staff have revealed that the injury is minor and that Gonchar will likely return to the ice in short order. Until then, Alex Goligoski's been pulled from the team's AHL affiliate, the Scranton Penguins.

Ruslan Fedotenko continued on a bit of a hot streak, having provided one of Friday night's goals and lighting up the scoreboard in period two, with an added assist, to boot.

Prior to Game 5 a dark light had been cast upon one Evgeni Malkin, as some were disowning the leading goal-scorer for the regular season, claiming he hadn't quite been himself and that although he was doing a fine job of setting up some plays, his head just didn't seem to be in the game. Thankfully for Pittsburgh, he retook his place on the team with a third-period assist, as well as the deciding goal.

On nights like tonight, when the Capitals play such flat defense and the Penguins are actually engaged, it seems that Alexander Ovechkin must be the only thing this team has going for them. While this series has not been so entirely engaging that it might've captivated someone who isn't much for the puck, it has shown two anti-climatic game-changing deflections on the part of the Caps. What could they be thinking?

I'm anxiously awaiting Game 6, and look forward to sharing my thoughts about it and about all the other games I can manage to catch in the coming weeks. I hope that you've enjoyed my first blog. There are going to be many more to come, and I'm sure that the quality will improve as I grow more comfortable with discussing hockey in this format. This is all I've really ever wanted to do.