Open Ice Hitter is now on facebook as Open Ice Hitter - Pure Hockey Star Pheonix blog link : http://communities.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/blogs/openicehitter/ HITS OF THE DAY
March 8 - Sheldon Souray is one of the most physically gifted athletes in the NHL, a big and mobile skater, a tough hombre, and a feared shooter. Unfortunate for Souray, he is also one of the most injury prone players in the league, now hospitalized with an infection in his broken hand, the result of a great scrap with Jarome Iginla ..... - Dallas beat the Caps at home, that is no big deal. Washington is home to one of the hottest tickets you can get in hockey, a winning and exciting team, with one of the best players in the game on their team ..... but also Jose Theodore in net, and a still unproven Varlamov behind him .... Does anyone really think the Capitals can win the Stanley Cup with that goaltending ???? - The Kings continue to serve notice that they have arrived, one year ahead of schedule, as they hammer the once promising Columbus Blue Jackets 6-0 ....... keep in mind that the Kings have a ton of depth in defense prospects, and will eventually turn some of those into an even better forward corp. Do not blame Dean Lombardi for trading any of his young players for an over rated and past his prime Ray Whitney, especially if Whitney wanted a long contract extension ( basically asking for free money, as the Kings would have to continue to pay him even after he became useless, due to his age and where he fits in the CBA rules ... ) March 6 - Pleasantly surprised that the NHL came down with a suspension on Max Lapierre from the Habs after his cheap and dangerous cross check on San Jose player Scott Nichol .... Lapierre figured it was no big deal, and was laughing on the bench. That makes him, Lapierre, a piece of garbage. What I am wondering through all of this is why the name Brad Hornung never came up. Hornung was paralyzed in a similar incident more than 20 years ago in a WHL game, but instead of falling into the boards sideways as Nichol did, Hornung crashed into the boards headfirst, breaking his neck .... to read more on Hornung, check out the archived story from ESPN ....- http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?id=1889837 - Ovechkin and Crosby atop the stats board again, and likely both to be Hart Trophy nominees ... Crosby is on pace for 50 goals, and has changed his game a bit, becoming more of a sniper, similar to his junior and minor hockey days, making him a more dangerous player. Ovechkin is playing with a very good supporting cast in Washington, and has taken his physical game to a new level. Tough to pick between the two ... - Detroit is hanging around the 8th spot in the West, trying to weasel into the playoffs, which will be a stunner, considering the dropoff in team play and the awful goaltending they have.... - Tough luck for Carey Price, as he played a gem of a game in San Jose the other night, only to have the Sharks come from behind and win in the third period. The once highly touted Price can’t win for losing in Montreal, and though the Habs seem determined that he is their future in goal, the better goalie over the past 3 years has been Slovak Olympian Jaro Halak .... Mar 2 - Recently read an article ( newspaper, maybe THN ) that stated some surprise at the success Steve Downie is enjoying ..... makes one wonder how some shmoes get jobs in the media that actually pay. For the record, Downie was a first round draft pick, 2 time WJC Gold medal winner for Team Canada, and before the NHL and media vilified him for his devastating ( and late ) hit on Dean McCammond, a blue chip prospect. How does this get forgotten or overlooked? Is it not the job of hockey writers to verify or know what they are writing or who they are talking about? A bit more on Downie, he was an impact player for Team Canada, an extremely effective player, who was not only a very annoying agitator, but a skilful offensive force, great with the puck low and close to the boards ..... - Alexei Ponikorovsky to the Pens ..... this should be good. No pressure Alexei, but it is time to put up some big numbers, playing on a good team. Pittsburgh actually picked the ex Leaf up for journeyman d-man Martin Skoula ( a former bluechip prospect ) and a prospect. Not sure how Skoula fits with the Leafs, but it will likely only be for the rest of this year, and no more ... - So the Habs trade a player with size, youth, speed, and maybe even a bit of grit .... what is going on in Montreal? Are they trying to make the dumbest moves possible? Good bye Matt D’agostini ... - Time to start thinking of first round playoff matchups ... as it stands right now, the playoff matchups in the East would be awesome. Sid against Miller Part 3, The Habs and Devils, Bruins vs Capitals and Philly taking on Ottawa .... I would love to watch each and every game of those series’ .... Mar 1 - Still trying to get squared away with “the runt” being named Top Defenseman at the Olympics ... seriously, Brian “ the runt “ Rafalski, top d-man ? Did the media not see him getting pushed off the puck at all ? Sure, he scored twice against Marty Brodeur. Does that make his whole tournament a success ? What I do not understand is why a big team like Canada did not set out to physically punish “ the runt “, as their is no way he could handle guys like Richards, Morrow and Getzlaf finishing checks on him for even a couple of shifts ..... - I have liked Darryl Sutter’s approach in running the Calgary Flames up to the last month, when he unloaded Dion Phaneuf for Ian White and some spare parts .... now Sutter gives Matt Stajan a $3.5 million per year contract ... not a good move for a player who has only ahandful of appearances for the Flames, and will prove to be no more than a second line center ... - Get ready for the madness of the trade deadline .... already the Oilers have moved Denis Grebishkov, to Nashville of all places .... What are the Flyers up to with their roster moves, and placing Ray Emery on long term injured status? Tom Vokoun would look good in Philly ... Brian Burke has one day left to continue the Maple Leaf makeover before summer .... Feb 28 - In a tense and heart-stopping final, Canada beat the USA for the Gold medal in Men’s Olympic hockey, the marquee event of all Olympic team sports ... After Team Canada pulled out to a 2-0 lead, the US scored a weak goal on Luongo, then stunned 35 million Canadians by scoring to tie the game with 25 seconds left, thanks to the goal scoring talent and instinct of Zach Parise. Sid Crosby made Gold for Canada with a quick 5 hole wrist shot that caught Ryan Miller in a brief moment of lapse, 7 and a half minutes into overtime, and history will now look favourably upon a Canadian Team that was under unimaginable pressure to show hockey superiority on home ice .... - Ryan Miller is a big winner, even though he sports silver, carrying a US team on his skinny little shoulders all the way to the Gold medal game. Miller has been the go to guy in Buffalo since the departure of Dom Hasek, but had never been nearly as dominant. This Olympic tourney may be Miller’s launchpad, as he was superb ... - Another player who was excellent was Pavol Demitra, the Slovak dynamo who has kind of faded out of the NHL picture over the past few years, due to poor team selection, line combinations and injury. When he is on his game, Demitra is a difference maker, as he showed in the Olympics .... it would be nice to see him succeed at the NHL level again ... Feb 27 - Almost beyond belief, the collapse of the Slovakian’s, as they allow Olli Jokinen to score twice and key Finland’s rally from a 3-1 deficit to claim bronze. The Slovakian’s looked to have the game in hand, leading 3-1 with 16 minutes left in the third period. The tiny country, a massive underdog coming into the tournament, were so close to picking up a medal, but completely fell apart, allowing the Finn’s, a team that played mostly uninspired hockey in their final 2 games, to fire 4 goals past Jaro Halak. Halak had been very impressive up to that point, but now the Habs face the prospect of playing 2 goalies with shattered confidence ... Feb 26 - USA demolish the Finns with a first period barrage of 6 goals. Good thing that Mikka Kiprusoff shot off his mouth about starting or he would not play..... wow, this team of basically kids are having a dream run just across the border ..... The signature of the US team is not only youth, but blazing speed, which will give them an advantage over Canada similar to what the US WJC team enjoyed. As for the Finns, the Cindarella run is over, and the team sent to Sochi, Russia for 2014 Olympics will undergo a facelift much the same as the US team experienced this year.... - The Canadians got by the Slovaks in a much different manner than the rabid home fans had wanted. In fact, the Red and White nearly emulated the choke job of curler Cheryl Bernard earlier in the evening, narrowly outlasting the Slovaks 3-2. Slovakia had Canada on the run for the last 10 minutes, with the tide turning after a signature Roberto Luongo gaffe, allowing a horrible goal. Luongo made clutch saves at the end of the game, but hardly inspires confidence..... This was the ultimate game of possum by Slovakia, who looked to be on the ropes after falling behind 3-0, but they stuck to the gameplan, and came very, very close to tipping Canada. - If Canada can take something from the late game collapse against the Slovaks, it will be a day to review what exactly came undone, and a chance to steel their nerves. The USA kid team have already over achieved, and will go all out for glory. Canada loses, they will wear a badge of shame, as anything other than Gold in hockey is a failure, as Canada had the largest and most talented pool of players to pick from, as well as a wild home ice advantage ... Feb 25 - Team Canada women claim a third straight Olympic Gold medal as Shannon Szabados shuts out the USA 2-0. The shots were 29-28 for Canada, with 18 year old Marie Philip Poulin scoring both goals for Canada in a role reminiscent of John Tavares in his first stint with the WJC Team Canada ...... - Some hilite reel goals from Finland as they top Tre Kronor for the bronze in womens hockey... in overtime - Colin Campbell has set a new mark for incompetence, suspending Cam Janssen for a hit that took place so long ago that footage had to be dug out of a museum... umm, good job their Colin, glad that you are right on top of things.... - Some old geezer, think the name is Rogue, shot off his yap about womens hockey and the need for parity.... guess the US and Canadians are not paying him off enough to keep his corrupt yap shut. What is up with the whole “ parity “ thing ? Do people not appreciate successful programs? If you are the best at something by a wide margin, so be it.... and if you want to start examining the Olympic events, well, it would not be hard to eliminate loads of events.... speedwalking?? Are you kidding me ? ...... Feb 23 - No gold for Sweden, as they fall to the Slovaks .... not even all of Hank Lundquist’s oversized equipment could cheat Tre Kronor into the medal round. Slovakia boast some awesome talent, Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik, Big Zed Chara and a reborn Pavol Demitra ... Sweden countered with the bobblehead twins and Dan Alfreddson. Flair definitely won out this time - The Russian bear got steam rolled big time against a Canadian team that finally showed up, hammering Russia 7-3. If not for a couple of posts hit by Canada and a few nice saves by the Russian netminding tandem, along with Roberto Luongo’s sub par play in goal for Canada, this game could have easily been 10 – 0 .... it was that one sided |
