Sabres-Penguins January 1, 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium

ESPN and WGR550 are reporting that the Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins will play an outdoor game in Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL Buffalo Bills. There has been no official announcement yet from the league but the teams are scheduled for a 1:00 P.M. game on that day. It is being reported that the league has held off the announcement pending the working out of details between the league, Sabres and Bills. According to the Bill's current lease, they are entitled to all revenues generated by the stadium. It is believed negotiations are underway and close to being completed to allow the Sabres and Bills to split revenues on the venture.

I will report any more information on this event as they become available. It sounds like a fine time for the first ever Bleu, Blanc et Rouge blogger convention though!

The REAL Crosby...

I couldn't resist, Martin Biron says it best, Sidney Crosby is a LIAR and a WHINER.



You rock Marty, man, Sabres fans must really miss you!

--BBR

Crosby signs 5-year contract extension

UPDATED 10:49 AM:
This is now official, as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

--

The Penguins have signed center Sidney Crosby to a five-year contract extension. The deal is worth $43 million, an annual salary-cap hit of $8.7 million.

It will take effect in the 2008-09 season.

"Sidney has proven himself to be a dynamic player and team leader at a very young age, and it is exciting news for our franchise and our fans to have him under contract for the next six seasons, through 2013," said Fred Shero, the Penguins executive vice president and general manager.

"When you've got a guy who leads the league in scoring and wins the MVP award at the age of 19, you know have someone very special. But Sid also is a tremendous asset for this organization as a leader in the dressing room, and as the face of our franchise in the community. And the fact that he wants to be here long-term is a great statement about the city of Pittsburgh and our organization," Shero said.

---

According to the ever-famous anonymous hockey blogger, Eklund, over at HockeyBuzz.com, the Pittsburgh Penguins have agreed to a 5-year contract extension with young phenomenon Sidney Crosby estimated to be worth in the neighbourhood of $45 million, or, $9 million per season.

"Sid The Kid" became the youngest player ever to win a scoring title last year by scoring 36 goals and adding 84 assists to capture the Art Ross, the Hart, the Pearson and on top of it all, being part of the Eastern Conference's First All-Star team.

CROSBY FIVE YEAR EXTENSION AGREED TO
I just spoke to Brian Metzer who will be posting shortly, but he is hearing that the the deal is somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 years, 45 million.

Brian will be posting a blog shortly in "Blogging the NHL."

A source confirmed to me that the Penguins have agreed to a five year extension in the neighborhood of 9 per season, and since Sid is still under contract for the upcoming season that means 6 more years of Sid in steeltown.

Great work as always by Brian.

There's absolutely no way Crosby would have made anything less than that ghastly big amount the Penguins just handed him, if anything, he made less than what some teams would be willing to give him should he have hit the open market someday.
I know this IS Crosby we're talking about, the next "Great One" crap and all, but seriously, how much longer is this "new NHL" going to go on if top-talent players keep commanding this kind of amount?

And what about next year? Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau will both likely break the bank should they hit unrestricted free-agency, and where does that leave the rest of those second-tier quality players?

It leaves them salivating with the idea of applying a hefty price tag to any team that wants to pick him up, with the top talent gone, basically raising the market price to a whole new level the NHL SHOULD NOT be going into.

Let's imagine this is a decent forward with many available options and teams seeking him speaking:

"Hey, Heatley just signed a 7-year/$60 million deal! That makes other teams who lost out on him come to me!
Hehe, with that kind of attention shift, I can really ask for more money now that they'd be willing to bring someone in like me since they totally failed to get Heatley!
KACHING!
I'll be seeing green for the rest of my life, and who cares where I end up now as long as they give me the $$$$$$"

I wonder why we had this lockout in the first place and why fans like you and I spent an entire year lamenting the loss of hockey only to be treacherously close to falling back into that hole we all thought the NHL climbed out of two years ago.

And I shiver to think that so many players have "Decent forward"'s mentality as mentioned in my make-believe quote above.

$$$$$$

--BBR

Crosby to be named Captain

I will have more information about this when it actually happens but for now it looks like he will be named Captain today. You can read the article here.

UPDATE I was reading at Mirtle's blog...and he was saying that the reason they are doing it now is so that Crosby can break another record by becoming the youngest Captain ever in the NHL. I think it's a little ridiuclous to be perfectly honest. I believe Crosby is a great player...he has a TON of skills BUT when it comes to his leadership...I have doubts. Maybe, if I wouldn't have seen him cry, and whine to the refs after every bad call...I would change my mind. The fact of the matter is this is a mans game and Crosby is still...a boy...disagree with me if you want...but it's the truth.

Article Here

Balsille switches over to Preds...to move them?

After failing to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins from Mario Lemieux earlier in the NHL season, Blackberry mogul Jim Balsille has reportedly put an agreement in place to buy Music City's Predators.

Balsille went after Pittsburgh and a deal like this was almost done, until Balsille backed away the last minute, he eventually came crawling back but Mario coldly said "no", and his franchise then faced relocation.

Luckily for the Pens, the city was able to make a deal in time with Lemieux and co. for a new building, that would move them out of the oldie that is Mellon Arena.

Balsille, according to a Nashville news publication, has indeed bought the Predators, and he very well may have bought a failing franchise.

The Preds have had a tough time attracting fans consistently, and many have toyed with the idea of relocation; their fan problem is also mainly due to the fact that Gaylord Entertainment Centre, isn't exactly your natural hockey arena, and has a surplus of seats for other events like soccer, arena hockey, lacrosse.

Balsille pulled a whopping $220 million out of his pocket to buy his first NHL franchise.

There is a way out, however.
Because average game attendance for the season recently ended was below 14,000, the team has 60 days from its final hockey game to exercise an exit clause.
That move, which would have to happen by mid-June, would trigger a one-year cure period in which the city must bring ticket sales up to 14,000 per game. Otherwise, after the year, the team could leave.

That is very, very interesting.

And what make this even all more intriguing, is the fact Balsille is rumoured to be buying land and it speculated he will build an arena for his Predators there.

Where? In...Cambridge?

One of the guys from the sports desk who is from the area says where the land was purchased is "a stones throw from the 401 ... probably about 1 hour and 10 minutes from downtown Toronto." -Mirtle
--BBR

Unleashing the fury...a look at Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh

The Senators celebrate after a well deserved victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Take 2 from this feature.

-YES! The Senators finally won and beat PIT yesterday, I was acutally kinda proud to see Ottawa knock of them Pens, I had enough of this crap of Crosby and Malkin and Fleury and how they're all Gods...guess what? THEY'RE NOT!
But really, the Sens were the better team and the final of last night's game proves it.
-And lookie here, the Flames tie up the series, I wonder if they can finally win in Detroit tomorrow night...
-Bye-bye Wild! You cost me a chance to take a lead in the online hockey bloggers' playoff pool.

Ottawa Senators

The Hero: Daniel Alfredsson
Once again, the hero for the higher ranked team is the captain. (Drury for Buffalo)
Daniel Alfredsson has just been stupendous this series!
He's scored 3 times and added 3 assists to lead his team in production and in the dressing room.
After subpar playoff performances in the recent years, Alfredsson stepped his game up a notch (as did the Senators) and was just, I don't know, he was the HERO and that's it.
And playing alongside Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza isn't hurting him either.


The Zero: none
It's hard to say anyone was a zero for Ottawa, the entire team played great, although, Chris Phillips was just average.

The Unsung Saviour: Chris Kelly
Inconsistent play from Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza have finally pulled Kelly out of the pair's shadow.
Kelly is +5 this series, leading his team and is second on his team in scoring with 4 points and tied with the captain for 3 goals.
He has been absolutely flawless on defence and his shooting percentage is a nice 42.9%.
Not bad for a guy whO's getting less ice time than Heatley and Spezza (both are a minus)

The Sniper: Mike Comrie
Laugh about this too, but Comrie's had a terrific run so far.
Sure he has as many goals as Heatley and Spezza (whom I'm purposely ignoring), but he also has that extra spark to his game than both Spezza and Heatley have yet to show me this series.
I like Comrie, and I think he was a great acquisition by John Muckler.

The X-Factor: Jason Spezza
Alfredsson can't carry the team on his own forever, Spezza needs to step his play up to support both him and Heatley, not saying Alfredsson can't do it, but it would be nice if Spezza would show up more in these playoffs, like in the season, and help wake up Heatley while he's at it.
You could say he was the jack-of-all-trades in the regular season, he has not yet been in the playoffs, and for the Senators to go far, he needs to be that.
HONORABLE MENTION: Ray Emery

The Comebacker: Joe Corvo
Debate my decision if you like, but you'll lose, as Corvo's looking like a new man in the playoffs.
After a surprisingly great start to the seaon, Corvo faded away and only shades of his offensive prowess appeared from time to time.
This is the Joe Corvo we've been waiting for.
He shoots the puck a lot, he's a great skater and he's the guy you want on the powerplay, not Wade Redden.
He has 4 assists and nearly put up a couple of goals.

The Minute Men: Anton Volchenkov, Chris Phillips and Wade Redden
All of the above aberage nearly 22 minutes per game, and they are all sound and solid in their own end.
Volchenkov blocks the shots and puts on the body.
Phillips looks like a Norris candidate.
Wade Redden? Well, ahem, he could do better.

Jordan Staal, the only true bright light for the Penguins this series.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Hero: Jordan Staal
It would've been Crosby here, but he scored 3 useless goals, so he's not really a hero.
Staal had a terrific series, he scored 3 times, and all his goals MEANT something, he continued his regular ways, accomplishing a mere 0 assists, just like during the regular season.
He was phenomenal on the penalty kill, generating many chances a man short.
Hats up to this Staal!


The Zero: Ryan Malone
It's funny that Malone didn't even get a point this series and seemed invisible on the ice.
He was terrible defensively, gave the puck away a few times and his -4 rating proves it.
Zero, zero, zero, check out his playoff stats.
Boy, he's a REAL zero.
MENTION: Evgeni Malkin (despite 4 assists, he played some horrible uninspired hockey)

The Unsung Saviour: none
There was no real saviour for any of the Pens' games this series.

The Sniper: Gary Roberts
2 goals on 4 shots tells you why he's been chosen as "The Sniper."
Not even Crosby can beat that.

The X-Factor: Sidney Crosby
Wasn't it obvious?
Of course, Crosby was the Penguins only hope to beat the Sens.
Forget about Staal, Malkin and Whitney, he's the X-Factor, the leading scorer, he's the one that needed to carry them.
He's only 19, I don't know if anyone expected him to do it really.

The Comebacker: none
Try, just try to find someone for this category.

The Minute Man: Sergei Gonchar
Leading the team with nearly 27 minutes per game, Gonchar's ice-time is well deserved.
The hard-shooting defenceman may take the occasional hooking penalty, but he's dependable and serviceable on the offence, and certainly on the powerplay.
The runner-up is the young Ryan Whitney, with about 23 minutes per game.

Goalies Johan and Johan stand tall...

Johan Hedberg, Thrashers.
Johan Holmqvist, Lightning.

in case you hadn't guessed that by now...

Rangers/Thrashers
Johan Hedberg actually played very well for Atlanta, he made 37 saves, and despite the 2-1 loss, he was not to blame.

The first goal was an unlucky bounce after an Avert dump-in along left-wing boards, he went out to play the puck but it ended up taking a funny bounce and going in to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
Ilya Kovalchuk scored a great goal early in the 3rd period, he snapped the puck past a screened Lundqvist top-shelf.

It was all for none as Sean Avery buried his second of the game with 4 minutes remaining on a lunging Hedberg in the slot to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead heading back to MSG.

Lightning/Devils
After a paltry performance in Game 1, Johan Holmqvist stepped his game up, and led the Lightning to a surprising 3-2 victory over Brodeur's Devils.

What surprised me more, is that Johan was able to outplay the Devils' netminder, after a really crappy show in Game 1.

The big guys, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis carried Tampa to victory with a little help from Filip Kuba, who scored a short-handed marker in the first and Martin Brodeur, who clearly wasn't on his game especially after allowing St. Louis' goal from a seemingly impossible angle.

"I was just trying to put it on net and get some air underneath it," St. Louis said. "I don't know where it went but it found its way in."

Brodeur's reply.

"I was there, it just went through me," Brodeur said. "I would love to have it back, but it doesn't work like that in hockey. He had nothing to lose and he hammered it as hard as he could and it went through me."

Zach Parise continued his fine play and scored for the Devils, on the powerplay late in the first, and Jamie Langenbrunner had the other New Jersey goal.

Pens/Sens
Very good game by both teams, especially Ottawa for the most part.
Pittsburgh really woke up in the third period.

The Sens kept their play cool and organised all game long, you can tell there was nothing to complain except the powerplay if Bryan Murray wasn't over his head after the game.
But, the powerplay is not very cool at all. (1 for 9 in this game)

"They got a goal on their first shot and our power play wasn't very good - understatement - but I thought that we really didn't give up any chances for two periods," Senators coach Bryan Murray said. "We couldn't score enough to do any damage and at least get the game in a position where you could just play a checking game. And then they played a great third period."

Sidney Crosby scored on a mirror-play of Alfredsson's setup by Spezza and Heatley ON THE POWERPLAY in the second, that proved to be the game-winner.

Crosby scored just two minutes after another youngstar, Jordan Staal sniped it passed Ray Emery to tie the game at 3.

Jason Spezza scored for Ottawa, and so did Chris Kelly.

Ryan Whitney and Gary Roberts scored powerplay goals for Pittsburgh, respectively in the first and third period and Marc-Andre Fleury rebounded after a terrible playoff debut, and made 34 saves.

He also stoned Mike Fischer with a little over 10 second remaining to steal the win for his team.

Ray Emery was not-so-hot, and he needs to step up his play a notch.
He allowed 4 goals on 21 shots, hardly the .918 SPCT% he put up in the regular season.

Isles/Sabres
Wow, just a good all-around game, thanks for giving us a nice performance!

The Islanders were a completely different team in Game 2, they scored the first goal and even went ahead 2-0 before the Sabres crawled back to tie it.
They had 1 shot in the first period in Game 1, well, in Game 2 they had 12.

Trent Hunter and Bruno Gervais put the Isles up 2-0, and in response, defencemen Tony Lydman and Dmitri Kalinin (who played an awesome game) tied the game at 2.

Rick DiPietro was MARVELOUS in his first game back in nearly a month, and made so many spectacular saves to lead New York to an upset 3-2 win over Buffalo.
The game-winner came from Marc-Andre Begeron on the powerplay, with 10 minutes left to play.

The Sabres, played a good game, but not good enough in Lindy Ruff's eyes.

"We weren't moving our feet," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "Obviously, we want to clean up the first 10 minutes of the game (when the Islanders went up 2-0)."

"It was nice," DiPietro said of the win. "We did a lot of the things we talked about."

It looks like they actually listened to Ted Nolan for a change, anyhow, the series is tied at 1 heading in New York...

-Ottawa will be looking for revenge in PIT, as they face Crosby and the Penguins today at 6:00 PM...Read More

-Calgary tries to even things up today at 1:00 against Detroit while they get Robyn Regehr back while the Wings don't get Bertuzzi back... Read More

-Two "late" games includes Minnesota, at home, trying to come back from a 2-0 deficit to the Anaheim Ducks...Read More...and the 'Nucks trying to take the lead against the Stars in Dallas...Read More

Until later...

The playoffs have started...

Marty Turco works out at General Motors place right in front of the nicely-designed zamboni

STARS vs. CANUCKS
Game 1; VAN leads 1-0

1st
05:06
BIEKSA, K. : Hooking - 2 min
08:35
BIEKSA, K. : Hooking - 2 min
16:13
BIEKSA, K. : Interference - 2 min

3rd OT
03:16
BIEKSA, K. : Hi-sticking - 2 min

Now, count how many penalties our friend Kevin Bieksa took last night and you will know how many overtimes the Canucks and Stars played last night at General Motors Place in Game 1 of their series.

Yes, they played 4 overtimes, it was the 6th longest game in NHL history.

Marty Turco actually played a decent game, and made 51 saves in a losing 5-4 cause to the Northwest champions.
His counterpart, Roberto Luongo, made an astonishing and mind boggling 72 saves in his first ever career playoff game, a new record.

And the one to end it all, was Henrik Sedin, who at 18:16 of the fourth overtime, picked up a pass from (come on, guess)...Daniel Sedin and put the puck through the legs of a tired Marty Turco, to give the Canucks a one-game lead over the Dallas Stars.

Ladislav Nagy scored his first playoff goal in nearly a decade, his last one dating back to 1999 when he was still with the Blues.
I was too tired to watch this game last night, first I watch Ottawa cream Pittsburgh, then I watched the Sharks top the Preds, I think that was enough playoff hockey for me.
------
PENGUINS vs. SENATORS
Game 1; OTT leads 1-0

It was all Senators from the start.
As I tuned on to CBC to watch another Canadian team other than my Canadiens, I actually wanted the Sens to make (isn't it about time?) a serious run to win the Stanley Cup.

They sure looked like Cup contenders to me against the tough but inexperienced Pittsburgh Penguins in their first game last night, pounding them 6-3, although it was never close.

Jeremy Roenick, on TSN last night, put it best:
Sidney Crosby looks like a 19-year old out there.

That's all you need to know on how the Penguins played last night; most of their players had yet to skate on playoff ice let alone win a playoff game, their loss wasn't too unexpected.
Marc-Andre Fleury looked shaky in the first period, allowing two goals in the first eight minutes of the game, one that he should've stopped against defenceman Andrej Mezaros.

It didn't help the Scotiabankers were chanting his name "FLEUUUUURRRY!" continuously. (Habs fans may remember the last playoff series before the lockout, when the Habs came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Bruins and it was all because of literally speaking, the fans who didn't stop abusing poor Raycroft...RAYYYYYYCCRRROFT!" )

Fleury settled down after, but in the third period, the Sens already had a 6-1 lead and many grumbled at a call that disallowed Sidney Crosby's goal in the second period, that would've put the game in realistic reach for Therrien's Pens, but no, it was waved off and I agree, Crosby went to the crease, the rebound went off Ray Emery and right to Crosby's legs who slid the puck in the goal as he was skating towards him.

Maybe it was a bad call, but from the angle I saw it, I wouldn't have ruled it a goal either.
Jocelyn Thibault played the last 5 or so minutes of this contest and it's likely he will start Game 2 for the Pens.

The Pens had something like 6 straight powerplays in the last ten minutes of the game, had they converted on 2 or 3, they could've made a serious run to tie the game.

Sidney Crosby scored in vengeance but it was no use as the Pens fell to the Sens 6-3 at Scotia Bank Place last night.

Daniel Alfredsson played a wicked game, the guy had like 15 shots on goal last night (it's probably not that) and played like a real captain.

-------
SHARKS vs. PREDATORS
Game 1; SJS lead 1-0

Just a quick recap for you...Jonathan Cheechoo left the game and blew his right knee out, after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Scott Hartnell in the second period.

The Sharks still ended up winning despite blowing a 4-2 lead.

Patrick Rissmiller picked up a nice pass from Pat Marleau and snapped it by Tomas Vokoun to give the Sharks a 5-4 OT win, sorry 2OT win.

Our friend Craig Rivet scored on a 5-3 for the Sharks and even had an assist.
Mike Grier, Milan Michalek and Matt Carle scored the other goals for San Jose.

Rookie Alexander Radulov and JP Dumont scored twice for the Preds who drop game 1 to the Sharks.

-------


WILD vs. DUCKS
Game 1; ANA lead 1-0

Here we go, my Wild were in Anaheim to take on the Ducks.

The game wasn't particularly exciting, but nonetheless, the Ducks prevailed 2-1 over Minnesota.
With about 5 minutes to go in the hockey game, Dustin Penner swiped at a puck supposedly under Nicklas Backstrom in the crease and buried it behind a fallen Nicklas Backstrom with a Kim Johnsson on him.

"I watched the replay and I was sure it was under me and nobody saw the puck," Wild goalie Nicklas Backstrom said. "Of course, you're going to get the puck out from a goalie if you slash at it with your sticks.

"I don't know if he stopped the puck or whether he was right on top of it or if it was under the pad," Lemaire said. "He waited a bit and they whacked the puck right in."

Hmm, I learned this in pee wee, when the puck is under the goalie for 2 seconds, a whistle is supposed to be blown, I guess it wasn't this time Jacques.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere didn't play for the Ducks, Ilja Bryzgalov (their hero last year in the playoffs) started and made 24 saves.
Giguere's newlyborn son had a condition that could keep him blind in his right eye, however, fortunately, a specialist told the Ducks' goalie and his wife that he will have sight in that eye.

"We felt that the emotional roller coaster Giguere has been on, it was more beneficial to let him get his feet underneath him," said Randy Carlyle after being asked why Giguere didn't play.

Teemu Selanne and Pavol Demitra scored the other two goals of the game, a game that was relatively speedy and creative, but low-scoring.
I especially liked Demitra's goal, he took a slap shot 15 feet from Bryzgalov and the puck was just wired over the goalie's glove.
Hey, ya sure that wasn't Brian Rolston (remember his shootout slapper on Luongo?) ?
------
And there's your first playoff recap, I hope I'll be able to post after every game...

Tonight, the Sabres take on the Islanders, should be an interesting game; the Devils take on the Lightning, boy that'll be fun to watch; the Thrashers play their first ever post-season game against the Rangers and the Wings will host the Calgary Flames.

7 teams fighting for 3 spots...

The Hurricanes and Islanders have fallen (make that) 4 points out of the final spot...7 teams are fighting for a playoff spot.

With the Canadiens, Islanders, Maple Leafs, Rangers and Lightning in action tonight, the playoff barely got clearer and it looks like we're gonna see it all go down to the wire folks!
The Canes are failing and their schedule isn't very easy till the end of the season...the Islanders won't go anywhere without Rick DiPietro...

• The Canadiens held on to beat the East-leading Buffalo Sabres, 4-3.

Michael Ryder, Radek Bonk, Maxim Lapierre and Saku Koivu all scored for the Canadiens and Jaroslav Halak, winning his 6th of his last 7 starts, made 22 saves.
The Sabres got to the Habs first, Daniel Briere became the first player since Pat LaFontaine to surpass the 90-point mark for the Sabres, scoring 9:20 into the first frame.

Michael Ryder responded with a trickle through-the-legs goal on backup goalie Ty Conklin, who got the start over the tired Ryan Miller and did not impress me at all as he allowed 4 goals on 19 shots.

Dainius Zubrus, who indicated he might be interested in coming back to Montreal as a free-agent this summer provided the Sabres with their 3rd goal and that was where the line was drawn for Lindy Ruff's club.

The game was nearly penalty free, with both teams getting only 2 powerplay opportunities and both going 0-fer with the extra man tonight...4 of the Canadiens 5 goals were assisted by defenceman (the lone attacker to get a helper tonight was Alex Kovalev, who was blanked for the second straight game after scoring two 2-goal games in a row against the Rangers and Capitals) namely Janne Niinimaa, only his 3rd point of the season, Andrei Markov, Francis Bouillon, who shot the puck that was tipped in by Michael Ryder in the first period, and Mark Streit (well, he is a d-man playing forward...)

The Canadiens have won 5 of their last 6 games and things are looking mighty good after tonight's win over the Sabres, the chemistry is very good, the team is focused, they know what's at stake...Jaroslav Halak made a few very good saves, but...Cristobal Huet is coming back in a few days and is the dream over for the young Slovakian netminder?

He's played great and all, but his last 3 starts (he's allowed 11 goals) are a worrisome indication...and you know what else? Everyone's making a HUGE deal out of Halak winning 5 in a row and not how the Canadiens have won 5 in a row.
You know? Hockey c'est un team sport.

He had a 1.33 GAA last week and was named the NHL's third star, he deserved it, he played awesome...and I shudder to think how it'd ruin his confidence if he was sent down.

Or maybe I'm exaggerating at the 11 goal stat and just sore that Cristobal Huet still isn't cleared to play...I really don't know how Gainey will go along with this.
Aebischer you ask? Screw 'im...

• Wow! The Leafs beat the Penguins

It's desperation time for Paul Maurice's squad now, the Leafs know that margin for error in their upcoming stretch is little to none.
After a sad 3-2 overtime loss to the Atlanta Thrashers, Paul Maurice promised his team would be ready for tonight's game.

They sure were: my NHL.com scoreboard read 4-1 Leafs at some point in the second period, and I was like: "Wow!".
Another "wow" goes to Tomas Kaberle, who scored his team's 3rd goal in the second period and flashed "clutch" by potting the game-winner in extra innings just as Bob Cole exploded.

A "wow" to the Penguins also, who rallied from a 3 goal deficit to tie the game and send it to overtime. Sidney Crosby gets a goal to further add to his scoring lead over the Sharks' Joe Thornton...just as all was said and done and Harry Neale put away his broadcasting equipment, Ryan Whitney ties the game with 4 seconds to go!

I think that deserves a "wow" too.

Andrew Raycroft made 32 saves and Leafs TV made a horrible choice for the 3 stars, putting in Pavel Kubina as the 3rd (he had only one assist on the Kaberle goal in overtime), simply ignoring Kyle Wellwood's 3 helpers.

Jocelyn Thibault was pulled after allowing 4 goals on 20 shots and that likely spells the end of the veteran goalie's attempt to win over Michel Therrien's heart and be the Pens' number one guy come playoff time. Marc-Andre Fleury relieved the latter about half-way through the game and made 16 saves.

• 
  
  THANK YOU OTTAWA!

And I'm saying those words after the Scotia bankers beat the Habs last night...and they repaid me nicely, but not entirely, by knocking the Islanders even further on their rear end.
Victor Kozlov and the revived Marc-Andre Bergeron scored the only 2 goals for the Isle, who lost for the second time in as many nights and in that span being outscored 11-6.
Mike Dunham simply isn't getting it done for the Islanders, so Ted Nolan goes to minor-league goalie Wade Dubielewicz and the result was astonishing.

I don't think the likes of Tom Poti, Brendan Witt, Chris Campoli, Bruno Gervais, Sean Hill and Marc-Andre Bergeron were there tonight.

They allowed 46 shots on goal and Dubielewicz did the best he could, pushing away 42 of those shots and keeping his team in the game as long as he could...you don't win games by allowing the double of your shots on goal and scoring only twice.

Mike Comrie scored twice, Christoph Schubert, the defenceman/forward put in his 8th and Dany Heatley is 2 goals away from yet another 50-goal season after scoring late in the 3rd to put the game entirely out of reach.

Dean McCammond scored his 14th and Martin Gerber got the start in goal.

• The Flyers can't upset this time..

The Flyers closed some mouths a few days ago by beating Peter Laviolette's awe-strucken Hurricanes team 5-1.
Tonight was a different story, well, it was the same story entering the game: A nothing to lose team trying to ruin a team's chances of making a run at Lord Stanley's Cup.
Final score: 6-4, not bad, the Rangers didn't exactly coast through this one.

Jaromir Jagr, the shadow of last season's version of himself, scored twice for Big Apple, Martin Straka, Tomas Pock, Ryan Callahan and Peter Prucha scored the others.
Jagr also added an assit, as well as Martin Straka (he had 2).

Michael Nylander added 2 assists and Sean Avery stayed out of the penalty box.
For the Flyers now...the 23rd overall pick by the 'Yotes back in '02, Ben Eager, scored his 5th and 6th goals of the season and Braydon Coburn, the young defenceman acquired from Atlanta for Alexei Zhitnik, scored only his 3rd and Ryan Potulny potted his 6th of the season. Simon Gagne was also on the scoresheet with 2 assists...
Martin Biron was pulled from the Flyers' goal after giving in to 5 Rangers' goal on 22 shots, Antero Niittymaki made 11 saves out of a possible 12.

The Ligtning still alive...

After beating out on the Canes 4-2 last night, the Lightning had an easy opponent in the Washington Capitals and the score proved it once again: 5-2 Lightning.

The league-leader in goals, Vincent Lecavalier, scored his 51st of the season while quebecois Martin St. Louis added his 43rd.

Lecavalier also added his 54th and 55th assists as he continues his career season...
Jason Ward, Dan Boyle and Ryan Craig scored the other 3 Tampa goals...Cory Sarich got his 14th and 15th assists.

The Lightning still hold a 2-point lead over the 8th place Canadiens and a one point lead over the Rangers...

Yawn...good night!

Oh, and on a side note, the Panthers are still winning and they have not lost hope yet...but, with barely 5 games to go for the season and a 4 point deficit, barring any *ouches wood* Habs losing streak, the Cats are probably out.

Kronwall's injury is more serious than expected, he'll miss 6-8 weeks of action and that possibly means the entire playoffs. HUGE blow for this Wings team, Kronwall is a fine puck-moving defenceman but I think Andreas Lilja can compensate for this loss.
This is the third major injury of Kronwall's 3 season career (knee surgery, broken leg...)
And he didn't strain his hip, he BROKE his sacrum, which is a "large triangular bone at the base of the back" (Hat tip to Wikipedia).
Yow! That's gotta hurt.

And here's something for you to sleep...or wake up on:

Ahhh...Montréal and those damned Leafs...and Islanders, and Senators, and Rangers, ahh...

The Montreal Canadiens lost yesterday, I felt it in the air before the puck even dropped, it's inevitable, the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge colours just don't go well with the Scotiabank Place ice and with the evident home team, the Ottawa Senators.

Heading into last night's game, the Canadiens shakily held onto a spot in the Eastern Conference's top 8 teams, to be more precise, tied for 7th with the Tampa Bay Lightning who faced off against the Carolina Hurricanes, a team who's just come off a puzzling and embarrassing 5-1 loss to the lowly Philadelphia Flyers.
And yet, the Canadiens do not have a smooth surface to skate upon in the upcoming days, after a seemingly effortless 5-2 loss to the Scotiabank Place's team (come on, you know who...), a Tampa Bay 4-2 victory over the failing 'Canes and their inconsistent stoppers, who haven't stopped much lately, Le Canadien find themselves in a dogfight for the 8th and final playoff spot in the NHL's Eastern Conference and a difficult schedule to deal with.

Montreal's upcoming crucial games include stops in Madison Square Garden, a home decision in a few days against the eliminated Bruins, a final game showdown against versus the Leafs at the ACC that may decide who gets in and who doesn't and tonight at the Bell Centre, the Buffalo Sabres, who really want to play the Canadiens in the 1st round since they started Ty Conklin in goal... (!?)

On a good news side, the Islanders lost 6-4 to the Sabres Friday night, backup goalie Mike Dunham isn't getting the job done for the Islanders, who have lost Rick DiPietro indefinitely, as he allowed 5 straight goals in the first period alone.

The Leafs are playing the Penguins tonight on Hockey Night in Canada (what's new?), they sit one point behind the Canadiens...TONIGHT, I hope the Sens win against the Islanders, and hey, with the duo of Mike Dunham and Wade Dubielewicz, you can kiss Long Island's team out of a playoff spot; with any miracle, the Flyers will pull of another upset and beat the Rangers...

Updates to be posted later on tonight...it's 1-0 Buffalo now, 2-1 Rangers over the Flyers, 1-0 Penguins, and it's scoreless at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa with the Sens taking on the Islanders...

Thursday NHL Morning Roundup...

NHL Scores Wrapup for Wednesday March 21st, 2007
Washington 2 at Buffalo 5
Philadelphia 0 at NY Rangers 5
San Jose 4 at Chicago 1
Colorado 5 at Edmonton 1
Nashville 0 at Vancouver 2
Dallas 4 at Los Angeles 2

Eastern Conference Standings

-Wow, this looks like it'll go down to the wire! A week ago, I thought the Islanders were all but out, but lookie now, they're sitting in 11th place! Ryan Smyth isn't the force he was in Edmonton and Alexei Yashin's now the line 4 centre...Ted Nolan better get his team's act together, this is not time for a team to go into a slump.

-There are some easy matchups for some East teams tonight...the Habs are in Boston to play the sulking Bruins, the 'Canes are playing the Caps, who lost to the Sabres on TSN yesterday and the Sens are facing the Panthers, although Jacques Martin's squad just refuses to lose!

-Some not in favour are the Isles-Penguins matchup, hopefully the Pens will beat them so the Habs can move up...the Penguins are really a true comeback story, I could only laugh when I heard their name be mentioned a few months ago, but not anymore, they are now legitimate contenders, and in the same position my Habs were 2 and a half months ago...the Thrashers are on the verge of clinching their first ever playoff berth and they have a tough task in front of them as they face the always tough Sharks...

-The Leafs are idle tonight and they still have a game in hand over the Habs, but all I can say is "good luck" as they face the East-leading Sabres tomorrow...

-The Avalanche are red-hot right now, but that doesn't come into account for this game as they still beat the now turned pityful Oilers 5-1...the Oilers have dropped 12 in a row and it looks like Ryan Smyth really had a huge impact on this club, more than I thought...Edmonton sets a franchise record for consecutive losses, beating out the 1993 Oilers who lost 11 in a row...the Avs still sit 4 points behind the Flames, who beat the always powerful Red Wings 2-1 a few days ago...

-Denis Savard is a good coach, but he can't stop the Blackhawks from floundering...this teams needs a major shake-up and a wake up call: "Hello! You are an NHL TEAM! Get into the playoffs already!

Three teams fail to gain ground in East playoff run...

Montreal Gazette sport section front page headline (March 17th, 2006)

GOOD MORNING AMERICA!

Here's how your Eastern Conference playoff teams shored up last night -which was very cold and snowy one up here in Montreal...-

Got home late last night so I missed out on the important mix of games on yesterday, namely my Canadiens who were in Steeltown taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Turns out I didn't miss much as all three teams lost.

The Canadiens got shoddy goaltending from David Aebischer (yes, once again) in a 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Montreal CJAD 800's Murray Wilson said that: "This kind of goaltending will not get the Canadiens into the playoffs."
He was right indeed as by watching the highlights of the game, I cringed at each and every goal Aebischer allowed, it's like he's fighting the puck out there and that shows on the scoresheet with is 5 goals allowed on 30 shots.
And boy it was late, I thought I was watching Jose Theodore let in those goals...
The Habs got 3 powerplay goals from Chris Higgins and Sheldon Souray in the second and the lone Habs' third period goal from Andrei Markov in a losing cause.
Sidney Crosby and Erik Christensen each had a pair of goals while Gary Roberts and Michel Ouellet scored the other two.

Canadiens' head coach Guy Carbonneau has not yet announced who the starting goaltender will be. It's very likely the young Michael Leighton, plucked off waivers by Bob Gainey at the trade deadline will get the call. Either that, or look for Jaroslav Halak to get the nod.

How it affects the teams: Montreal remains in 11th with 76 points, 2 points out of the 8th spot; the Penguins close in on the Devils with 90 points and are firmly in 4th place and 4 points out of the division lead.
I also missed out on the Rangers-Thrashers game and I only laughed as the Leafs lost to the Capitals.

Damn! The Rangers were the only ones who got a point in a 2-1 overtime loss to the rejuvnated Atlanta Thrashers.

It wasn't a particularly exciting game besides the Colton Orr and Eric Boulton fight...Johan Hedberg did spare Kari Lehtonen as he started in goal...
The Rangers got their lone goal from Sean Avery in the last minute of play of the first period. Marian put one up in the second period to tie the game at one the rest of the way.

In overtime, the Thrashers made way for a powerplay and converted as defenceman Alexei Zhitnik put the Rangers away with his 8th goal of the season and the Thrashers in the "W" column once again. It seems this team will finally earn its first playoff berth (finally is right!).

Oh and a minor note: Yahoo Sports! claims Alexei Zhitnik to be a right-winger on the caption of the picture I used above.

How it affects the teams: The Thrashers are in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference with a 4-point cushion over the second place Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division.

The Rangers get a point and advance to the 9th spot in the Eastern Conference tied with the Leafs, 1 point back of the 8th place Hurricanes and only one point ahead of the 11th place Montreal Canadiens.

Ahhh yes! The Capitals finished off the Leafs 5-1 to end a nine-game slide.
Alexander Semin had 1 goal and 2 assists, Alexandre Giroux scored his first NHL goal and goalie Olie Kolzig showed he's the no. 1 man (as he was injured for a bit of time) and finished with 34 saves. Giroux actually arrived at the Verizon Centre just 90 minutes before the game as he was called up earlier yesterday. Giroux's goal was due to a "swing-and-a miss" by Leafs 'tender Andrew Raycroft behind the Toronto goal in the first period.

The flimsy Nik Antropov scored Toronto's only goal as they fail to gain any ground in the Eastern Conference standings. Andrew Raycroft is also a few wins shy of setting a franchise record for most wins by a goaltender in a season for Toronto, Raycroft has been used exclusevily during the second swing of the season and backup J.S. Aubin has played sparingly.

How it affects the teams: The Leafs failed to capitalize on the Canadiens and Rangers both losing and they remain tied with the Rangers in the 8th spot with 77 points, 1 point out of the 8th place Hurricanes. With a win, the Leafs could have taken sole posession of the final playoff spot but they did not. The Capitals are just happy to end a nine-game slide and it couldn't have come at a better time for Habs and Rangers fans.

Jocelyn Thibault looks to revive dead career...

A few weeks ago, while the Penguins were riding high on a somewhat unbeatable streak and rose from "scrub" to "contender", goaltender Jocelyn Thibault publicly admited he would like more playing time behind former first overall pick, Marc-Andre Fleury.

After a terrific month of January in which Fleury showed why he was a first overall pick, he went 7-1 with a 2.05 GAA and a .932 SPCT% to go along with 2 shutouts in that span, Fleury's play has gone from outstanding to mediocre.

Despite posting a 7-2 win-loss record in the month of February, Fleury's save percentage was a paltry .888 and his GAA floated around 3.22 during that month and he only managed to win games due to the emergence of Pittsburgh's offence, centered mainly around Sidney Crosby.

Most fans brushed this month off, claiming fatigue to be a factor as Fleury played in 10 games while Thibault only 3. His bad streak has not left him yet and he is still posting mediocre numbers in this month of March with nearly the same as the previous month with a 3.17 GAA and a .889 SPCT%, a miniscule improvement.

Despite his wins, head coach Michel Therrien did not leave these struggles go unnoticed by reacting with Jocelyn Thibault getting the nod against two powerhouses: the Ottawa Senators last week and the New Jersey Devils yesterday.
He has not dissapointed and that can be proven by looking at the final score of yesterday's Devils-Penguins game: 3-0 Pittsburgh...his first shutout of the season.

Although this is kind of premature: Thibault's numbers for the current month of play are impressive, maybe surprising considering he's fallen to a no. 2 goalie status.

3 GP, 2 W, 1 L , 1.46 GAA, .932 SCPT%, 1 SO
Before All-Star: 1-5, 3.42 GAA, .895 SPCT%
After All-Star: 5-2, 1.94 GAA, .929 SPCT%

This is Thibault's chance...with Fleury floundering he brings a lot to the table that the young netminder doesn't: experience.

He better not screw this up...

2 Games, 2 Nights - 4 Points

Hello loyal BBR readers! This is my first post here as a contributor to the site, so I'd like to thank Mr. Blue, Blanc et Rouge himself for the invite.

I'm all about the Habs, so you can expect most of my entries to be Montreal Canadiens related.

Any who, let's get to this.
-----------------------------------
The Habs have a big weekend ahead of them with two games in two nights against the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Friday and the Leafs in Montreal on St. Patty’s day. Needless to say, the Habs have to pick up at least 3 of 4 points before Sunday's parade.

Furthermore, Montreal cannot afford to lose to the Leafs, let alone give them a point in overtime or shootout. In order to keep their playoff hopes alive, Les Habitants will certainly need to pick up at least a point versus Sid the Kid and beat Toronto in regulation.

The league's leader in points, Sidney Crosby, with 104 in 67 games, has a chance to add to his point totals against the Habs Friday night. The 19-year-old from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia has six assists in three games against Montreal this season, and 12 points in seven games since he began his NHL career last season.

Now, everyone remembers what Crosby did to Montreal, erm, Jose Theodore the first time he played against them, right? Let me remind you: The game was tied after five minutes of 5-on-5 overtime and Crosby had the opportunity to win the game on his shot in the shootout on home ice. If you still don't remember the fantastic move he put on Jose, here's the clip thanks the YouTube. I can watch it with ease by reminding myself that right now, Theo is warming the bench in Colorado.


Some bad news for the Habs heading into the game against Pittsburgh, though, is that they will be without the services of their biggest center, Radek Bonk. Bonk has been instrumental in shutting down the leagues best players for Montreal this season, but didn't make the trip to Pittsburgh thanks to the flu. Without their defensive center in the lineup, Carbonneau will certainly have his hands full trying to find combinations to contain Crosby and friends.

Moving on to Toronto now, the Habs will hope to have Bonk back in the lineup in order to help shut down Mats Sundin. Sundin has been on a tear and is a large reason why the Leafs are getting a sniff at a playoff spot right now. One thing is for sure, the team will need a great effort from Koivu if they're going to win.

It is uncertain, too, whether or not Alex Kovalev will be good to go on Saturday after being diagnosed with Vertigo. The talented winger has trouble keeping balance when he turns his head and it's nearly impossible to predict when, or if, the problem will go away.

The next two games are extremely crucial; losing both would all but crush the Habs' chances of making the post-season dance.

Currently sitting at 11th place in the Eastern Conference, the Canadiens sit two points back from both the New York Islanders (7th) and the Carolina Hurricanes (8th). The problem for Montreal lays in their games played. Montreal has played more games than all the teams they're currently fighting for a playoff spot with, minus the Hurricanes.

Still, Montreal has a chance at controlling their own destiny if you consider that they play two games against both the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers. Win those games and not only does Montreal pick up 8 points, but that's 4 points both the Leafs and Rangers won't have (if they lose in regulation). I know, it's all much easier said than done, but Montreal has proved that when they play their best, they can skate with anyone in the league and win.

Another interesting little tid-bit is that Montreal will renew their rivalry with the Boston Bruins. Of their 11 remaining games, the Habs face the Bruins three times. While the Canadiens will see the games as a chance to gain ground on the final playoff spots, the Bruins will see them as a chance to bring themselves closer to the pack. Boston is seven points back from eighth place, but they hold two games in hand on both the Hurricanes and the Habs.

Until next time, take it easy & Go Habs Go!

Penguins to remain in Pittsburgh?

The Pittsburgh Penguins have reached a deal with city, county and state
officials on financing for a new arena, a television station reported Monday
night.

KDKA-TV, citing unidentified sources, said the deal is "done" and will be
announced before Tuesday's game against the Buffalo Sabres at Mellon
Arena.

-Associated Press

This is a surpise indeed, when all was lost and it seemed as if the Penguins would be spending their last days in Pittsburgh this season.

But no, Mario Lemieux does it...again?
Don't forget that this was the same type of article we got a few months ago when Jim Balisille was all but set to buy the Penguins. And that did not happen.

I think until the Penguins' organization calls a press conference and announces this, you should take this lightly, not saying you shouldn't believe it, but do not take this to heart...yet.

But this doens't seem like the kind of affair like what happened to the Balsille vs. Mario saga way back.

It'll be nice to see the Penguins out of the Mellon, after all, they'll be stuck there for two more seasons.

As much as I hate to say this, Mario Lemieux is to blame for Penguins' relocation.

The Penguins have declared an impasse in negotiations with government officials over construction of a new arena and will aggressively explore relocating the team to a new city.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Aww man, this is sad indeed, it will be very tough for you Penguins fans. Pittsburgh has great fans, great players and a great legacy. Leaving that to go to some hole like Kansas City or Oklahoma.

What the hell has happened to hockey?

You're telling me the great Mario Lemieux, who now is the majority owner of his life-long team, can't even put together a deal to save his sacred franchise?
Yeah, right...

If the Penguins do indeed lose their franchise to another city (god, please not Kansas City...), the first to whom I will point my finger is Mario Lemieux.
I respect all that he's done, hockey-wise and business-wise, but I think he made a HUGE mistake, not selling the club to Blackberry mogul Jim Balsille a few months ago.

I understand Lemieux was offended of the way Balsille acted during the critical part of the negotiations, but the point is...it doesn't matter, if you're kind of situation, that you sell the club to a complete jerk, as long as he keeps the club in Pittsburgh and builds you a new arena while rewarding you with a couple hundred million on top of it.

I also understand why Lemieux didn't make this choice above...he loves the franchise, he wants someone to keep it intact, to take care of it, a good owner.
He probably didn't see that in Jim Balsille, but at the expense of losing a team and dragging fans into a bottomless pit of sorrow, he should have sold the team to Balsille, he should have...

And now, we are witnessing the last months of the franchise known as the Pittsburgh Penguins...soon to be (uhh) Kansas City Penguins or even worse...Oklahoma Penguins.
For the sake of the NHL's reputation, at least bring 'em back to Winnipeg...

Pittsburgh fans, take it from me, I know what it feels like to lose a team you care about.

I lost that when baseball commissioner Bud Selig, forever Expos foe and ex-owner Jeffrey Loria and John Henry dumped my Montreal Expos in a grave and buried them alive.
They decided baseball wasn't important in Montreal anymore, and you know what, we lost our team because there was no new stadium built, kind of like the current Mellon Arena situation, except worse...in Stade Olympique de Montreal, blech.

All this came at the expense of money,and have you realized sports and teams are always about money these days? God, I miss the old days, it must've been great to play for peanuts but play for love of the game.

Here's a thought...maybe money should replace God, since that's what's more important to people these days than actual human values.

These people have no human values.

Pens fans, I really wish you luck, and hope that you don't lose your team, a part of yourself, like I did.

If I lost the Canadiens, that's a different story...I don't really know what I'd do...

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

The Battle of the East tightens

The Leafs edged out the Devils 4-3 in a shootout and got goals from Carlo Colaiccovo, Matt Stajan and Nik Antropov. It was Andrew Raycroft's 26th start in a row.
Martin Brodeur is one win shy of the 40-win plateau for the season...Tomas Kaberle suffered a serious head/neck injury and was taken off in a stretcher.
The Leafs now sit 4 points behind the 8th spot in 10th place with 2 games in hand over the Canadiens and Hurricanes.
Despite earning a point, the Devils still sit 4 points back from the East leading Buffalo Sabres

The Penguins drop a contest to the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2. Sidney Crosby got his 200th career point with Pittsburgh's first goal and Ryan Malone the other while Carolina got some goals from Scottie Walker, twice, and Frantisek Kaberle.
The Hurricanes now move up to the 8th spot in the East with a one point lead over the 9th place Canadiens.
Pittsburgh remains in the 5th spot, 3 points behind Ottawa for 4th and 5 points ahead from falling out the playoff picture.

The Sens lose to the Thrashers 4-2; Dany Heatly provides the offence for Ottawa, potting his 39th and 40th goals.
Newly acquired Pascal Dupuis scored the insurance goal for Atlanta late in the third, whereas equaly newbie Eric Belanger scores twice to propel the Thrashers to a win over the Senators.
The win moves the Thrashers to only 2 points behind the Southeast leading Lightning, they are now in 6th place with a point deficit behind the Penguins.
Ottawa remains firmly in 4th place.

The Sabres win over the Canadiens, 8-5 in a whacky see-saw type game from both clubs.
Derek Roy had 1 goal and 3 assists, Jochen Hecht added 3 helpers, Tomas Vanek and Michael Ryan each scored twice while Teppo Numminen scored his second of the season and added 2 assists.

Tomas Plekanec continues to be hot, scoring twice and adding one assist while Radek Bonk, Micheal Ryder and Mark Streit provided the other Montreal goals.

With this loss, the Canadiens drop a point behind the Hurricanes for the 8th and final playoff spot and Buffalo adds to their thin lead over the New Jersey Devils.

Why Gary Roberts should have ended up in Toronto.

Bruce Garrioch from the Ottawa Sun, is reporting that John Muckler was upset at the Panthers in his attempts to acquire Gary Roberts, who was later dealt to Pittsburgh, "because nobody is sure if Florida coach and GM Jacques Martin and assistant GM Randy Sexton were bargaining in good faith."
John Ferguson Jr., also, was not happy for being left out in the cold for the Roberts sweepstakes by the Panthers management.
And to add controversy to this, Garrioch claims "there's a strong feeling" that Jacques Martin did not want to help out his former club, or his former rival club for that matter.

You know what, I agree.

It seems very odd that Gary Roberts, who raved about going to an Ontario-based team, ends up going to the Penguins because they offered "the best deal"!
Are you really kidding me Jacques Martin? Noah Welch was the best you can get for a highly-sought player?

On Monday, Darren Dreger told Gord Miller that the Leafs had offered up a 2nd and 4th round pick along with a prospect (which could have been Brendan Bell, and as the Leafs lost out on Roberts, he was later traded to the 'Yotes for Yanic Perreault.)
This seems more than fair for a declining 40-year old player with just 29 points this year.

Noah Welch, don't get me wrong, is a nice young defenceman; but offering up Brendan Bell along with two very decent picks seems a lot more fair. Admit it Jacques, you didn't want him going to Toronto.

And with the ridiculous asking price given to Ottawa (Antoine Vermette or Patrick Eaves and a 1st round pick), admit you didn't want him going to your old Senators either.
John Muckler had complained on Monday that the prices going out there we're "outrageous"and that he would not overpay to bring in a rental player.

Well, it sounds pretty outrageous to include the words : Vermette, and, 1st, for, Roberts, in the same sentence.
Muckler might have been talking about this outrageous asking price and referring to Gary Roberts as the rental player.

Furthermore, there is nothing to cover up, Jacques Martin is cheap for deliberately not cooperating with John Ferguson Jr. and John Muckler; the first by rejecting a perfectly expensive offer which sees the Leafs giving up some part of the future for a quick-fix, and the other by reportedly telling John Muckler something even more unbelievable: that he wanted Antoine Vermette or Patrick Eaves along with the Sens 1st rounder for Roberts.

And all Martin got was Noah Welch...

The facts are there under our noses; read 'em and believe 'em.

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

Roberts for Welch seems like a done deal

After many reports yesterday and an update from TSN's Bob McKenzie this morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins (according to Sportsnet) have acquired veteran forward Gary Roberts for young defenceman Noah Welch and that the deal is done.

Roberts has 13 goals and 16 assists this season for a total of 29 points and hosts a +5 rating.

Roberts' agent reports that his client has waived his no-trade clause and has accepted a trade to Florida after discussing it intently with his family yesterday.
The agent expects an annoucement later today...

This is a very good move on both teams, Gary Roberts has that offensive touch mixed in with a seasoned veteran mindset and on top of it, with a lot of playoff experience.

The Penguins haven't made the playoffs in a while and it'll be interesting to see in what way Roberts will contribute.

Heading the other way is young highly touted defenceman Noah Welch, who's been up-and-down this season between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

He has 1 goal and 1 assist and is +1 in 22 games with Pittsburgh this season.

After a great finish to last season (3 points in 5 games); the Penguins figured Welch would improve on that, however, he dissapointed with just 2 points.

The Panthers hope Welch can score like he has in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season with 6 goals and 15 assists for a total of 21 in 27 games and posts a cool +8.

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge

Canadiens cling on to beat Leafs and move up to 7th as the playoff race in the East tightens...

Yep, remember that article on Sheldon Souray and how tonight's game was of immense importance to the Canadiens and Leafs? Well, the CH prevails once more, hanging on for a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Canadiens hand the Leafs a devastating loss as they now lose more ground in the playoff hunt with the Habs and Thrasher both winning tonight.

Andrew Raycroft allowed 5 goals on 16 shots and was replaced mid-way through the 2nd period by J.S. Aubin. The 5 that Montreal put past Raycroft includes 3 power play goals, a blast from Sheldon Souray, a great shot by Michael Ryder in the high slot and a nifty little move by Saku Koivu all alone in front of Andrew Raycroft.

The Leafs would not give up however, putting 2 quickies and softies past David Aebischer in a situation in which Pierre McGuire described David Aebsicher's performance as "terrible".

With under 2 minutes remaining, Canadiens checking forward Garth Murray clearly high sticks Mats Sundin along the boards, however, the reffing crew completely blew the call and missed it entirely. Sundin, furious, spits blood on the ice and continues jawing away at the official and for good reason as the Leafs ended up losing and a blown call cost them a powerplay with enough time to mount a comeback.

Always exciting, though a fight would have been nice.

Some TSN tidbits, thanks to Spector:

- Penguins might make a pitch for Bill Guerin if they don't land Gary Roberts.
- Three or four Western teams may have interest in Phoenix's Owen Nolan. Yanic Perreault hopes to re-sign with the Coyotes. The Pens could still make a pitch for Georges Laraque.
- The NY Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings and possibly the NY Islanders may have interest in Florida's Todd Bertuzzi.
- The Washington Capitals could move Dainius Zubrus by tomorrow's deadline.

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.