The "New NHL" uniform and logo concept...

The NHL is rapidly changing, and RBK Hockey is leading the way in the appearance department.

After shockingly overtaking hockey God manufacturers, CCM and Koho 3 years ago and revolutionizing the way hockey equipment looks and feels, they're at it again.

But this time, it's in a delicate category named "jersey", and if their presentation at the ASG is any indication, then the hockey world will be the first professional sports league to don such an advanced piece of fabric technology.

But just how revolutionnary will the new NHL jersey be?

If you missed their little promo at the ASG, here is RBK's concept of that advanced piece of fabric technology.

The Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals are the first to reveal their "new" jerseys for the upcoming season.

Techincally, the Bruins have a new logo, and their jersey will essentially be the same in terms of colours and design.

The Capitals, however, have gotten out of that dark and ugly jersey they have worn for so many years.

Oh and it was dark...play-by-play men and commentators have trouble reading the player's name and number behind the jersey.

Presenting your 2007-2008 Washington Capitals jersey
(If you have Adobe Flash Player installed, go to Washington's website and check out "the way it should be" for yourself)

From left to right: Ben Clymer, Brian Pothier, Chris Clark and Jeff Schultz.

And I guess we can read the numbers now too:

An excerpt of the "Bruins new jersey" article per the Boston Globe.com

Today, the Boston Bruins will unveil the new Reebok uniform, the first NHL team to show off the sleek look with tighter-fitting jerseys and advanced moisture technology. The Bruins also are one of six teams that are using the introduction of the uniform to change their logo and striping, bringing back a vintage look reminiscent of the Bobby Orr era and showing that the redesign is about profit as well as performance.

Alright, I'll get to the point already, here's what the Bruins' 2007-2008 logos will look like, and if you're curious, here's how the B's logo has evolved over the years (for some reason, the link to bruins.com doesn't work anymore)

There isn't much of a difference at all.

The "B" on the primary logo is a bit wider and more rectangular, while the "BOSTON" on the vintage crest is bolder and black rather than .

Anyway, to sign off, I love these new concept designs, and I can't wait to see them in action next October!

--BBR

Hawks win first overall choice in upcoming draft...

The Chicago Blackhawks have won the first overall pick according to multiple sources.

Poor Flyers, they have a horrific year and still can't win the first one.

The bottom five had already been determined in a pre-lotto:
1. Philadelphia
2. Phoenix
3. LA Kings
4. Washington
5. Chicago

And the Hawks win...the Flyers will likely pick second.

Here's the most updated rankings from ISS:

1. Jakub Voracek, RW
2. Patrick Kane, RW
3. Alexei Cherepanov, RW
4. Kyle Turris, C
5. James Van Riemsdyk, LW
6. Karl Alzner, D
7. Sam Gagner, C
8. Maxim Mayorov, LW
9. Keaton Ellerby, D
10. Logan Couture, C
11. Angelo Esposito, C
12. Colton Gillies, C
13. Nick Petrecki, D
14. Joakim Andersson, C
15. Alex Plante, D

Hope this pick will compensate for all the "missed chances" that the Hawks had of getting Ovechkin and Malkin.

I can see Patrick Kane going to the Hawks...

Wouldn't it be nice if the Caps got Cherepanov to compliment Ovechkin and Backstrom?

Wow.

Do you like horror movies?

You do? Ah, well, here's how it starts:

Here, we examine the worst +/- players in the 28-39-14 Washington Capitals team, in 14th place with 70 points:

And here, we can observe the same stat for the 42-33-6 Montreal Canadiens, in 8th place with 92 points (22 more than the latter)



See anything weird there? Oh, it's no big deal, the Canadiens only have 3 players in the minus twenties whereas the Washington Capitals HAVE NONE!
I can't believe it, really. Even if the Caps have Ovechkin, who is a thousand times better than Koivu and Ryder put together, their team +/- rating is -135, the Habs sit 26 back with...wait for it, -161!
Koivu is -22, Ovechkin is -19.

And worst of all, which makes this stat even more scary, is that the Capitals and Canadiens both have scored the exact same numbers of goals heading into Saturday night, with 234 a piece and the Canadiens, who sit in playoff contention, have allowed about 30 goals less than the Capitals.

There's a problem here, and I just can't see how this can be.
I know the Habs' penalty kill dropped off badly from 1st to the mid-teens recently, but the Capitals have been consistently mediocre all year long.

If anyone can tell me, I'd gladly appreciate it.


In other relative Habs news...

-Cristobal Huet will tend goal for the Canadiens tonight. It will be the French goaltender's first start since he injured his hamstring against the New Jersey Devils about 2 months ago. Huet appeared for the 3rd period of Thursday's 3-1 Habs' loss to the New York Rangers, when he replaced Jaroslav Halak, who allowed 3 goals on 25 shots.

This is a reasonable move, Carbonneau probably panicked at Halak's shaky play and didn't want it to transition to this game, he knows they can't afford to risk anything with the playoffs on the line, and the logical choice was to go with Cristobal Huet, who hopefully, once again will save the team as he did last season.

See Matthew's post above for more information heading into tonight's Habs-Leafs tilt.

Ovechkin, meet your new linemate: Nicklas Bäckström

No, not the guy who's taken over as the number one guy in the Wild's net...it's Nicklas Bäckström, the first 4th overall pick taken in the new NHL era by the Washington Capitals.

"Washington selects...Nicklas Bäckström"

Those were the words Caps owner Ted Leonsis's good boy and ever-famous, Alexander Ovechkin said with a big grin accross his face as he was anointed to announce the Capitals 4th overall pick, just a year after they gained him 1st overall.

And now, he's coming to the NHL according to multiple Swedish publications.

First of all, to end all speculation, Bäckström is Swedish and the other Backstrom is Finnish, bitter hockey rivals. (you've never seen Saku Koivu and Mats Sundin gets some words in, huh?)
And to avoid confusion in this post: Nicklas Bäckström is the Swedish forward and Niklas Backstrom is the Finn netminder.

Now...Bäckström proudly walked up to that podium, shook big boss Ted Leonsis's hand, boss George McPhee's hand and their boss Alexander Ovechkin's hand.

His draft position, 4th, is also his position in the top chosen Swedish players in an NHL Entry Draft.
He sits in 4th place behind Mats Sundin (1), Daniel (2) and Henrik Sedin (3), who were taken 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall respectively.

Bäckström nearly made it to the NHL this season, the Washington Capitals offered him a contract in the summer of 2006 and he officially turned it down in July to remain in another elite Swedish league, Elitserin, with Brynäs IF.

His statistics haven't been amazing with Brynäs IF, and despite being named Rookie of the Year in 2006 and Junior Hockey Player of 2006, he only put up 40 points in 45 games, 12 of those being goals, in his current season.
Those are respectable numbers, but not the kind the Capitals would like to see transition over to North America...

It’s always difficult to take European scoring stats and compare them with what would happen in North America, he has always excelled in international play anyway...19 points in 24 games.

Nevertheless, scouts rave about Bäckström's talent:

An extremely talented two-way center born 1987. Bäckström stands out with his tremendous hockey sense and soft hands. His technical skills are very good and one of his trademarks is the way he moves the puck into the offensive zone. He stickhandles really well through traffic. Offensively his passing skills are superb. His flip passes are perhaps a bit risky, His shot is decent, although it can and should be improved, and although he is still more of a playmaker than a scorer, he has a pretty good scoring touch.

Defensively Bäckström takes care of his responsibilities and is a rather good penalty killer. He could use some work on his conditioning and skating. Not slow by any means, but there is some room for improvement. Bäckström is not an overly physical player, but he is pretty strong and tough to knock the puck off. Has the tools to become a high-quality NHLer in the future.

"More of a playmaker than a scorer" is probably why George McPhee is hot about this kid, he's going to set up Ovechkin for, who knows how long?
5 years, 10 years , 15 years?

Dainius Zubrus was decent this year in giving Ovechkin his chances, but Nicklas Bäckström is prepped to be even better.

Wanna meet him?

YouTube has a nice intro video on him.



With the Capitals in need of some sort of lofty miracle, Nicklas Bäckström is most likely the next stone to help turn around a miserable Washington Capitals hockey team.

Crucial Week for Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens play three games against two teams below them in the standings. This kind of situation portrays the illusion that winning is going to be easy, but as most realize, the opposite proves true more times as not.

The Habs will play a home-and-home with the Boston Bruins starting Tuesday night at the Bell Centre and then Thursday night in Boston. The Canadiens then close out the week with a home game versus the Washington Capitals.

The Bruins hold a 3-2-0 edge over the Habs in five games this season, while Montreal has out-gunned the Caps on route to a 2-1-0 record. However, the Canadiens will need to do better than the combined 4-4-0 record against the two teams this week. In order to guarantee that they remain competitive for a playoff spot, the Habs will surely need to take at least five of six points this week.

While Washington is solely looking to pull off some upsets in attempt to hamper any opponents chances of a playoff spot, the Boston Bruins are still mathematically able to reach the post season and will surely see this week's two games against Montreal as a chance to bring themselves even.

One thing on the Bruins' side is that they have played fewer games than most of the teams they are trying to catch. If Boston were to win the two games they have in hand of the eighth place Carolina Hurricanes, they would only be three points back from the 'Canes with nine games remaining.

The Washington Capitals turned some heads Sunday afternoon when they smoked the playoff bound Tampa Bay Lightning 7-1. The Caps got a great showing from 23-year-old Alexander Semin and 22-year-old Tomas Fleischmann. Semin scored a natural hat-trick for his 35th, 36th, and 37th goals while Fleischmann picked up two goals and two assists. Meanwhile, goaltender Olaf Kolzig started his third straight after missing 13 games with a knee injury. The win was the 36-year-old's 21st of the season.

Boston, on the other hand, faced a similar fate to that of the Lightning when they dropped a 7-0 match to the Rangers in New York. It was a great watch for Rangers' fans, but Bruin's Coach Dave Lewis was absolutely applaud by what he witnessed. The fact that Boston is coming off such a lop-sided loss makes them a dangerous team to play right now since they'll surely be looking to redeem themselves against the Habs.

Montreal will have a familiar face back in the line-up this week. Center Radek Bonk makes his return after missing three games with the flu, the same bug that has been plaguing the Habs since Christmas. It is doubtful that Bonk will be 100 percent, but simply having his big-body presence back on the ice will surely be welcomed.

Rookie netminder is scheduled to make his ninth NHL start, and if Coach Guy Carbonneau's words are any indication, Halak will be the go-to goalie unless he fumbles the opportunity. David Aebischer will unhappily ride the pine for the time being as the Swiss goaltender hasn't played consistent hockey for most of the season.

If you're wondering when Cristobal Huet may make his return to the Habs' net, simply read Bleu, Blanc et Rouge's post below. Huet has been practicing with the team for about a week now and rumor has it that the France native could be back as early as next week.

They key for Montreal is to take it one game at a time. They should keep it in their minds that there are few games left to make up ground on the final playoff spots, but they have to respect each game as equally important as the next. The Habs can't afford to take a minute off or it could very well cost them important points.

Thus, The Canadiens need to approach each game, each period, and each minute as sudden death overtime. If they can do that, there will be no stopping them.

Enjoy the playoffs folks; they've been on for Montreal for quite some time now.

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.

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.

Islanders acquire lost cause Zednik from Caps

Richard Zednik is changing teams again. TSN is on top of it as usual.

After the Montreal Canadiens dealt him to the Capitals last offseason for a 3rd round pick he has been traded yet again, but this time to the New York Islanders in need of a seasoned veteran with a light offensive touch.

Before Kyle McClaren's controversial hit on Zednik a few years ago, he formed one of the dominant lines in the 2003-2004 NHL playoffs alongside Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev.
He still played well following the hit but you can see the change once the New NHL was born.

The new NHL has seen Zednik go from consistent threatening offensive contributor who would cut to the net all the time, to a player who worries when he's around the net and no longer plays with the same intensity around the net.

Don't get me wrong, Zednik is still a decent pickup by the Islanders, but if they expect to revive his pre-lockout seasons, they're dreaming.

And they did pay a somewhat expensive price for a guy who played mainly on the Caps' 4th line: a second round pick in the upcoming draft. Remember, the bar for trade prices was set by Don Waddell yesterday in his flurry of questionable moves in acquiring Keith Tkachuk and Alexei Zhitinik for the price of a chunk of the franchise's future.

In 32 games, Richard Zednik has 6 goals and 12 assists in a mostly injury plagued 2006-2007 season