Hockey

[smc]

Originally Posted by shadows

I guess it's good if they mean it that way. There are a few that definitely are not treating it nicely, as in the same sentence they want Boston to punt him and keep Rask in net. A few bad apples spoils the bunch, I guess.

I can find any fault to his playing style, especially since his last name is the same as my first name!

It's true that some do use it the way you say, and want Rask in net. But I was referring to its origins ... and as someone once wrote in The Boston Globe, Thomas ought to be imprisoned for "larceny" with the number of goals he's stolen from other teams.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by dauls

Red Sox fan smc caught on camera.

If you go to every game dressed like this, no wonder no one wants to watch a game with you.

LO-freaking-L!

And you were worried about me banning you?

[shadows]

Originally Posted by smc

It's true that some do use it the way you say, and want Rask in net. But I was referring to its origins ... and as someone once wrote in The Boston Globe, Thomas ought to be imprisoned for "larceny" with the number of goals he's stolen from other teams.

Cool. I like it when players are given neat nicknames.

Like when Khabibulin's nickname was the Bulin Wall.

[shadows]

What a heart-breaker of a game. The US won 6-5 in overtime. While the US did indeed play an excellent game, Canada played a stupid, undisciplined game at times and it cost them. They had to play from behind yet again, and the US was too good of a team for that to work twice in a row.

Kudos to both teams for playing well, but Canada needs to play smarter hockey if they want to beat a good team like the US.

*sigh*

I hope Canada fares better in the Olympics.

[transjen]

Originally Posted by shadows

You, me, and Jennifer would probably end up kicked out of the stadium for "causing a ruckus".

I take it you never been to a PHILLIES,FLYERS or EAGLES game
Jerseygirl Jen

[transjen]

Originally Posted by dauls

In the first advert "Bo Jackson Nike", Bo drives the Racing Car, Sonny Bono does his cameo and Bo wears at least 25 different outfits. Lasts about 60 seconds.

The "Bo, you don't know Diddley!" advert has Michael Jordan, John McEnroe, Wayne Gretzky's "No", Bo Diddley etc. (30 seconds)

The first one is my fav and the one i rember the most


Jerseygirl Jen

[shadows]

Originally Posted by transjen

I take it you never been to a PHILLIES,FLYERS or EAGLES game
Jerseygirl Jen

No, I haven't. I take it ruckuses are an everyday occurence?

[transjen]

Oh yeah, if the fans fell a player is not giving his all the boo birds flock in and let him have it
Acouple years ago the Phillies had a real bum as closer Josa Mesa and i bbod him like crazy rhis bozo would enter a game up 2 in the nineth and the final the Phillies lost by one as he walked three batters and gave up singles doubles homers he just blow game after game i couldn't stand the bum and i was not the only one at Vet stadium that couldn't stand him
Jerseygirl Jen

[dauls]

Originally Posted by transjen

Oh yeah, if the fans fell a player is not giving his all the boo birds flock in and let him have it
Acouple years ago the Phillies had a real bum as closer Josa Mesa and i bbod him like crazy rhis bozo would enter a game up 2 in the nineth and the final the Phillies lost by one as he walked three batters and gave up singles doubles homers he just blow game after game i couldn't stand the bum and i was not the only one at Vet stadium that couldn't stand him
Jerseygirl Jen

The Vet, that's where I saw my Phillies games in the early 90s. If I remember correctly I usually sat behind the left foul line on the lowest level, but back a bit underneath the second tier.

Before that my experience of sports stadia was the crumbling piles of sht we called football (soccer) grounds in England. When I first went to the old Wembley in 1982 I was so excited to be going to our National Stadium... what a fing dump. It was such a disappointment for this young sports fan. So to me The Vet looked fine.

Back in England watching baseball on TV the pundits always said they thought The Vet was one of the worst baseball grounds.

It was a shock because it was so much better than the English football grounds I'd visited in the 80s and very early 90s. But from 1992 Sky TV (Rupert Murdoch) started throwing money at English football and the standard of the top club's grounds has improved.

Before The Vet the only baseball game I saw was in 1990 sat up in the clouds at the late Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Pirates beat Expos 6-1, no idea which significant players were playing that day.

Now both of the baseball grounds I've been to have been demolished. So next time I visit North America to watch some baseball, which stadium deserves its death sentence?

[shadows]

Originally Posted by transjen

Oh yeah, if the fans fell a player is not giving his all the boo birds flock in and let him have it
Acouple years ago the Phillies had a real bum as closer Josa Mesa and i bbod him like crazy rhis bozo would enter a game up 2 in the nineth and the final the Phillies lost by one as he walked three batters and gave up singles doubles homers he just blow game after game i couldn't stand the bum and i was not the only one at Vet stadium that couldn't stand him
Jerseygirl Jen

I can just imagine how lustily you booed Brad Lidge this past season. I am surprised he made it through the season in one piece!

[shadows]

Originally Posted by dauls

Now both of the baseball grounds I've been to have been demolished. So next time I visit North America to watch some baseball, which stadium deserves its death sentence?

The new Yankee stadium. The owner is a multi-billionaire yet he had the gall to ask the city of New York to use taxpayer's money to offset some of the costs. If you want a stadium that costs more than a billion dollars to build, then pay for it yourself. I can't stand Steinbrenner. He is one of the main reasons there is NO parity in MLB right now. There is no need for a team to cost more than a 1/4 billion dollars a season(in salary alone!). Honestly, baseball needs a salary cap and I am not just saying this because I am a fan of a team that is always on the outside looking in.

I have a feeling that if baseball continues like it is(the luxury tax is a f'ing joke) then there will be several teams that will probably fold up or relocate.

[smc]

It must be said: until you've attended a game at Fenway Park, you haven't really experienced a live baseball game (unless you're old enough to remember all the other really old ballparks that are long since gone).

Originally Posted by dauls

Before that my experience of sports stadia was the crumbling piles of sht we called football (soccer) grounds in England. When I first went to the old Wembley in 1982 I was so excited to be going to our National Stadium... what a fing dump. It was such a disappointment for this young sports fan.

I went to the old Wembley three times - two football matches and a gig - and it really was a disgrace. Although I'm not exactly ecstatic about Sky and some of what's happened to the game in the last twenty years or so, I have to admit the improvements in grounds, even in the lower leagues, is to be applauded.

[transjen]

Originally Posted by dauls

The Vet, that's where I saw my Phillies games in the early 90s. If I remember correctly I usually sat behind the left foul line on the lowest level, but back a bit underneath the second tier.

Talk about a small world, I was proably 1 deck up in the same area or close to it, I went to the Vet from the mid 80s till it was done away with two seasons ago i liked the Vet by the new park is way better,Ashame you missed seeing Phillie greats like Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt the all time greatest Phillie and greatest 3rd baseman ever
Jerseygirl Jen

[transjen]

Originally Posted by shadows

I can just imagine how lustily you booed Brad Lidge this past season. I am surprised he made it through the season in one piece!

You didn't like my Can Lidge and bring back Wagner


Jerseygirl Jen

[shadows]

Congratulations Jennifer. One team showed up tonight, and it certainly was not the Leafs. The Flyers looked hungry tonight.

I think I'll grab a bottle of hooch and drown my sorrows. By hooch, I mean egg nog.

[transjen]

Well so far my rebirthday is turning out good as the Flyers finaly won a game this year
But here's a hug
Jerseygirl Jen

[dauls]

Originally Posted by shadows

Congratulations Jennifer. One team showed up tonight, and it certainly was not the Leafs. The Flyers looked hungry tonight.

I think I'll grab a bottle of hooch and drown my sorrows. By hooch, I mean egg nog.

Originally Posted by transjen

Well so far my rebirthday is turning out good as the Flyers finaly won a game this year
But here's a hug
Jerseygirl Jen

6-2, that must've hurt shadows, you were very gracious in defeat. But egg nog!?

Jen, the Flyers had a great night, even ESPN-UK chose to show the 'big forum game' last night. Next up the Penguins and ESPN-UK is also showing that tonight. I'm off work today and tomorrow so I'll catch both games live.

[ila]

Originally Posted by transjen

Well so far my rebirthday is turning out good as the Flyers finaly won a game this year
But here's a hug
Jerseygirl Jen

Oh my, has it been one year already? Happy rebirthday day, Jen. I'm so very happy for you that you did what you have always wanted.

[transjen]

Originally Posted by ila

Oh my, has it been one year already? Happy rebirthday day, Jen. I'm so very happy for you that you did what you have always wanted.

It sure has, And thanks
Jerseygirl Jen

[smc]

Watching the Bruins game. There is a feature called Mini 1-on-1 that features boys under 10 attempting shots on goal. A kid for Lexington-Bedford (a Massachusetts team) just made 3 incredibly impressive goals in 3 attempts, elevating the puck on one that went over the goalie's head, and seeming to aim deliberately at the goalie's skate on another to get him to kick it into the net. Wow! Remember the name Robbie Morris in about 8 or 9 years; he'll be in the NHL (I didn't see whether he could throw a good punch, Jen, so I'm not sure the Flyers will be interested )

[smc]

How depressing! The Bruins go out ahead 2-0 in the first period and cough up a 5-2 loss! WTF?

[shadows]

Originally Posted by transjen

Well so far my rebirthday is turning out good as the Flyers finaly won a game this year
But here's a hug
Jerseygirl Jen

Happy rebirthday, Jennifer!

And thank you for the hug.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by smc

How depressing! The Bruins go out ahead 2-0 in the first period and cough up a 5-2 loss! WTF?

It happens to all of the teams from time to time. You shouldn't feel too bad though, as Chicago is a very good team right now. I think they are better than the San Jose Sharks to be honest.

[shadows]

Here are the scores from Jan 5th's games:

1. Toronto beat Florida 3-2. This was a game that Toronto needed to win, especially since they have not played well against the Panthers in recent years.

2. New Jersey beat Dallas 4-0. Another game, another shutout in Brodeur's belt. He is making it tougher and tougher for anyone to ever beat his record.

3. Washington beat Montreal 4-2. You can't really blame Price for this one, as Washington outshot Montreal 43-26. Only having 3 shots in the first period didn't help either.

4. Boston beat Ottawa 4-1. Boston scored 4 times in the first period and never looked back.

5. Pittsburgh beat Atlanta 5-2. A turning point for the Penguins after their poor play of late?(see Jan 7 report for answer)

6. Calgary beat Nashville 3-1.

7. Chicago beat Minnesota 4-1. The wins just keep piling up for the Blackhawks.

8. Phoenix beat Edmonton 5-4 in overtime. Phoenix almost blew this game against a desperate Oiler team.

9. Vancouver crushed Columbus 7-3. The Canucks are playing some decent hockey right now.

10. Anaheim beat Detroit 4-1. First win for Anaheim against a good team in quite some time.

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Here are the scores for Jan 6th's games:

1. Buffalo beat Tampa Bay 5-3. Buffalo had a 3-0 lead at one point, and they almost threw it away.

2. The Rangers beat Dallas 5-2. The Rangers scoring more than 2 or 3 goals a game is a rarity.

3. Philadelphia beat Toronto 6-2. Toronto played the night before...too bad! A lot of teams do that, and that is NO excuse. Suck it up buttercups and start playing like you actually give a shit! Philly played an excellent game and it looks like their dormant offense has woken up(see their Jan 7th score for another example).

4. Minnesota beat Calgary 4-1. I really want to care about this score...but I don't.

5. The Islanders beat Colorado 3-2. First good game for the Islanders in a while.

6. San Jose beat St. Louis 2-1 in overtime. Honestly, I expected San Jose to crush the Blues 7-0, but they tried their best. Letting the Sharks get 44 shots on net isn't the best game plan, however.

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Here are the scores from Jan 7th's games:

1. Chicago beat Boston 5-2. Boston had a 2-0 lead but could not hold it against a Chicago team that is firing on all cylinders right now. To add to the woes of Boston, it looks like Savard was hurt after only playing 28 seconds of his first shift. It happened during a collision with Jonathan Toews and it looks like it was his left leg. Not good news for the Bruins if the injury is serious. On a positive note, Milan Lucic is back for the Bruins. Hopefully he will not get injured again this season. He has had bad luck with regard to the injury bug this season.

2. Washington beat Ottawa 5-2. After being held pointless for two straight games, Ovechkin got a goal and two assists.

3. Atlanta beat the Rangers 2-1 in the shootout. The Rangers went yet another game without scoring more than 2 goals. Their offense is pretty weak.

4. Montreal beat Florida 2-0. Halak just keeps upping his trade value with almost every game(he had a bad game last week). Congrats Ila!

5. Philadelphia beat Pittsburgh 7-4. A measure of revenge for the Flyers who lost to Ottawa 7-4 a few games ago(Revenge because the Flyers wanted to be on the winning side of a 7-4 game, not due to their particular competition this evening). Congrats Jennifer!

6. Nashville beat Carolina 4-2. Eric Staal did not play in this game due to the death of his sister-in-law.

7. Columbus beat Edmonton 4-2. Well, between two horrible teams I guess someone had to win.

8. Vancouver beat Phoenix 4-0. Vancouver is playing very well right now, and Luongo seems to be picking up his play(probably due to the upcoming Olympics).

9. Anaheim beat St. Louis 4-2. Their second victory in a row!

10. Detroit beat LA 2-1. The only reason Detroit won this game was due to their goaltender. LA had over 50 shots on net and Howard turned away all but one.

[shadows]

I should mention that Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks scored his second hat-trick in a row!

[Captn Sacto]

Originally Posted by shadows

It happens to all of the teams from time to time. You shouldn't feel too bad though, as Chicago is a very good team right now. I think they are better than the San Jose Sharks to be honest.

The ESPN power rankings let you input your own rankings and I put the Blackhawks ahead of the Sharks.

However, it is only January and Chicago is unproven in the playoffs. In many ways, they remind me of the Sharks last year. They were by the far the best team through about the end of January, but then started having a lot of injuries. Even though they got nearly everybody back by the time playoffs started, they were never in sync like before.

The thing that worries me the most about Chicago is their goaltending. They lead the league in shots on goal and are second in fewest shots allowed, yet Huet is only 24th in save percentage. Once the playoffs begin, teams tighten up their defense and there won't be this large gap between shots for and against.

Last year, SJ outshot the Ducks in all but one playoff game. Goaltending was the difference. I can remember a number of games last year where they had 40 or more shots on goal yet still lost. I can only remember one game where they were badly outshot yet won. Chicago has been the same way this year. In the last couple of weeks they should have beaten both the sharks and stars, except the goaltending was substandard.

I think there are 8 to 10 teams that have a chance to win the Cup this year. Who will peak at the right time is yet to be determined.

Good luck to all your teams

[dauls]

Here's another difference between sport in North America and in England.

The Devils are 0-3 behind to Tampa Bay and with 9min 12sec of the second period left the arena lighting fails and eventually, when the problem can't be fixed, the game is postponed. The game will resume at a later date.

Earlier this season in an English football match Barnsley were leading 4-1 away at Plymouth after 58 minutes. It had been raining heavily before the game and during the first half, surface water was collecting on the pitch and the referee felt the water was stopping the movement of the ball.
The game was abandoned by the referee due to a waterlogged pitch. Barnsley's 4-1 lead counts for nothing. They will have to restart at 0-0 and play the full 90 minutes at a later date.

[dauls]

ila, sorry about the Devils OT win last night, a timely broken stick for Zach Parise helped lead to the goal. Plus Brodeur always appears give a little extra playing Montreal, his record is 37-15-5 against his hometown.

Saving 29 of 30 shots against the Habs, compared to only 4 of 7 the night before in the half game played against Tampa. I wonder if the Devils can get anything out of that game when it resumes on Sunday?

[purplehead]

Originally Posted by transjen

When are the Dallas Cowboy's not the top sports story in the southwest?


Jerseygirl Jen

The Cowboys will be front and center for at least another week after beating the Eagles last night 34-14.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by purplehead

The Cowboys will be front and center for at least another week after beating the Eagles last night 34-14.

And they are looking like the Cowboys of old, not the past few years. Could be bad news for the rest of the teams in the playoffs.

[shadows]

Here are the scores from Jan 8th's games:

1. Carolina beat Colorado 2-1. I'll bet this came as a surprise to almost everyone!

2. Buffalo beat Toronto 3-2. *sigh* Miller always has Toronto's number, and he stopped 48 shots. I hope we(Team Canada) get a little revenge against him in the Olympics(he is on Team USA)!

3. Dallas beat the Islanders 4-3. Dallas ruined the season debut of Rick Dipietro, but I am sure that purplehead isn't too upset about that.

4. Columbus beat Calgary 3-2. Sutter, Calgary's head coach, was NOT happy after the game. Needless to say they probably got their heads ripped off.

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Here are the scores from Jan 9th's games:

1. The Rangers beat Boston 3-1. Smc probably was quite annoyed at this one. I am not certain of the exact time, but I think that Savard is supposed to miss 3-4 with his injury. It could be longer, but I cannot be sure.

2. Colorado beat Buffalo 4-3 in the shootout. Colorado almost blew it, but they got the win by the skin of their teeth.

3. Pittsburgh beat Toronto 4-1. Toronto gets a penalty shot, and then gets it taken away because Pittsburgh scored earlier and they did not notice it. Toronto still got a powerplay out of it, but did diddly on it. A weird play to be sure. So much for any momentum that Toronto had when they had that points-streak going on. They are back to stinking up the joint.

4. New Jersey beat Montreal 2-1 in overtime. Close game which could have gone either way.

5. Florida beat Ottawa 3-0. Ottawa is missing their entire 1st line due to injuries so expect more games like this down the road.

6. Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay 4-1. I imagine Jennifer was doing quite the happy dance with this victory!

7. Washington smoked Atlanta like a piece of salmon, 8-1! Ouch! That one's gotta hurt!

8. Anaheim beat Nashville 3-2.

9. Minnesota beat Chicago 6-5 in the shootout. After Minnesota tied it up 5-5, I KNEW that Chicago would lose. Chicago blew a 5-1 lead in this one. Yuck!

10. Speaking of yuck, the Islanders beat Phoenix 5-4 in the shootout. Shootouts leave a bad taste in my mouth.

11. Calgary beat Vancouver 3-2 in the shootout. Three shootouts in a row for this report! Disgusting! Vancouver was lucky to get a point in this game, as they played an underwhelming game.

12. St. Louis beat LA 4-3. Another surprising score!

13. Detroit beat San Jose 4-1. Both San Jose and Chicago did not play to their potential tonight, but to be fair San Jose played far better than Chicago did tonight.

[smc]

Originally Posted by shadows

1. The Rangers beat Boston 3-1. Smc probably was quite annoyed at this one.

Thanks, Shadows, for giving me a laugh this morning. Of the many things I am at the Bruins right now, "annoyed" is fairly low on the list. It is a word that almost seems genteel in compairon to what I'm thinking.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by smc

Thanks, Shadows, for giving me a laugh this morning. Of the many things I am at the Bruins right now, "annoyed" is fairly low on the list. It is a word that almost seems genteel in compairon to what I'm thinking.

No problem.

To be fair, Boston has it's share of injuries right now. I think only Ottawa has more players out right now, but I am not certain about that.

[transjen]

Originally Posted by shadows

6. Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay 4-1. I imagine Jennifer was doing quite the happy dance with this victory!

Crank up Joan Jett as it's time for the happy dance happy happy joy joy
Jerseygirl Jen

[smc]

Originally Posted by transjen

Crank up Joan Jett as it's time for the happy dance happy happy joy joy
Jerseygirl Jen

Lucky you, Jen ... maybe my Bruins will win again one of these days. I hear they're interviewing kids on the street to skate for them, as regular players drop like flies to injuries.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by transjen

Crank up Joan Jett as it's time for the happy dance happy happy joy joy
Jerseygirl Jen

I think we're starting to wear a groove in the recored...wait a sec...

[shadows]

Here are the scores from Jan 10th's games:

1. Carolina beat Ottawa 4-1. Scary fact. This is one of the few(if not the first!) 2 game winning streaks for Carolina this season. I hope they don't make it a 3 game winning streak(they play the Leafs next)! Ottawa is in a load of trouble!

2. Columbus beat Dallas 2-0. Columbus won a game the same night as Carolina? Must be something in the water...

3. Anaheim beat Chicago 3-1. Second loss in a row for Chicago. First they blew a huge lead the previous night, and then the next night lose even though they outshot their opponent 43-12. The third goal for Anaheim was an empty netter.

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Here are the scores from Jan 11th's games:

1. Minnesota beat Pittsburgh 4-3. The Penguins can't seem to beat anyone recently except for the Leafs(darn it!). I wonder if Fleury is feeling pressure because he got named to the Olympic team? Crosby got 2 goals and an assist, and Malkin was a loafer in this one.

2. Colorado beat Calgary 3-2 in the shootout. Good. No soup for you, Calgary!

3. Nashville beat Vancouver 3-2. Burrows got another two goals tonight, and I was certain he was going to get another hat-trick. Alas, it was just not meant to be.

4. San Jose beat LA 2-1. Close game that could have gone either way.

[smc]

Late this afternoon I had the extreme pleasure of playing pick-up hockey down the street from my house. A small, outdoor rink was built as a community service project on 12/31, as part of the inauguration of our new mayor, and the fire department -- which apparently has some serious hockey enthusiasts -- has been coming by every other day to make sure the ice is perfect. So, I skated in a game of 4-on-4 with six teenagers from the neighborhood and one other "grownup" -- and had a blast. Fortunately, the kids patrolled the nets.

My legs are sore, but my mind is soring! (By the way, my team lost ... but who cares!)

[transjen]

Never learned how to ice skate, but when the local lake use to freeze solid my friends and i would go out on the ice and play a very shottie form of hockey and most of the time we used a tennis ball as a puck
Jerseygirl Jen

[shadows]

I used to play road hockey(or ice hockey on a frozen field, but with shoes rather than skates) with a group of friends when I was younger. I had a lot of fun! If the snow was piled around the play area, we would "check" each other off the "puck"(either a tennis ball or a hard plastic ball...the plastic one hurt a little when it hit you as we played without any protective equipment.). Loads of fun! The worst injuries we ever got were the odd bruise, and nothing was ever broken(except our rhythm when someone yelled "car!" and we had to move the nets).

That is one aspect of winter-time that I miss. The cold didn't bother me then like it does now.

[shadows]

Here is an interesting story that comes from the Vancouver/Nashville game last night. It has the potential to have huge ramifications down the line! It is from tsn.ca.

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Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows did not hold back about what he felt were unjust penalty calls, ripping into NHL referee Stephane Auger after Vancouver's 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Monday night.

The NHL is looking into the matter and sources tell TSN that while Colin Campbell will be handling the investigation, commissioner Gary Bettman will be heavily involved in the process.

The Canucks forward could face discipline for making such strong allegations publicly.

Burrows, who was called for diving in the second period and interference in the third, also received a 10-minute misconduct with seconds left in the game, and he was not shy his post-game interview.

"It was personal. It started in warmup, before the anthem," Burrows said of Auger's penalty calling. "(Auger) came over to me and he said I made him look bad in Nashville on the (Jerred) Smithson hit and he said he was going to get me back tonight."

Burrows was referring to an incident back in December when the Preds' Smithson hit Burrows and was given a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct. On Monday night, Burrows said Auger was getting back at him.

"When Smithson hit me from sideways and he (Auger) said, 'I saw the replay, you had your head up, you weren't really hurt and you made me look bad so I'm going to get you back tonight,' and he did, and he cost us two points.

"He did his job in the third, I think. He got me on a diving call I didn't think was diving. He got me on an interference call that I had no idea how he could call that. It changed the game. It sucks right now for teammates who are battling 60 minutes to win a hockey game because every two points are so huge, are so important. And because of a guy's ego, it just blows everything out of proportion and the refs - they're making bad calls and the fans are paying for it and we're paying for it."

Burrows, who also had two goals in the contest, continued to lay into Auger until the Canucks' PR staff intervened to stop him.

Burrows claimed that Auger's calls were pre-meditated.

"He comes into the game and he knows he's going to make a call against me to give Nashville an advantage and I don't think that's fair for my teammates and for the fans," said Burrows.

The 28-year-old said he exchanged more words with Auger as the game was winding down.

"After my second penalty, I skated by him and he said, 'If you say a word, I'm going to kick you out,' so I didn't say a word because I still thought we could come back and win the game. But with three seconds left and a faceoff outside the zone, I thought I could tell him what I thought about him.

"I think he should stay out for the rest of the year making calls like that that are making us look bad. Every two points are so important in this league. We just blew two points because of his officiating tonight."

Burrows asked if he was afraid of possible repercussions for his comments.

"Maybe, but at the same time, I don't think it's fair for the fans, I don't think it's fair for my teammates, and I don't think it's fair for everyone to deal with that. Let's say we miss the playoffs by one point at the end of the year; that might be the game that will cost us the playoffs so it's important."

Auger and Burrows have indeed crossed paths before. Auger kicked the Pincourt, Quebec native out of a game last season in Montreal.

As for Monday night's game, Roberto Luongo said the calls were simply unprecedented.

"I'm not the type of guy to make excuses - I mean, that's not who I am, but I've never seen anything like it in my whole career," Luongo said. "That was the first time I've seen calls like that, especially when the game is on the line."

Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault weighed in after the game with some candid thoughts.

"There's a history there. We're definitely going to look into that," said Vigneault. "If those (allegations) are true, then they need to be brought up and we'll see.

"Does he (Burrows) have a legitimate case and how many times has this happened with this individual?"

Former NHL official Bryan Lewis, who hired Stephane Auger, said on Tuesday it is unheard of for a referee to tell a player he will pay him back for a previous incident.

Appearing on TSN's Off The Record on Tuesday, Lewis said officials put too much time and energy into making it to the NHL to risk it all by exacting revenge on a player.

"I can' think of anybody that's worked long and hard to get into the National Hockey League, or pro hockey in general, putting themsleves at peril by not doing their job properly," said Lewis

[shadows]

The Leafs are really beginning to piss me off!

Oh wait...they already pissed me off with their play this year. Now I am really pissed off! They played Carolina, and got beat 4-2. Wilson needs to get fired, and fired soon! He cannot coach his way out of a paper bag. The way he called out players(particularly Kessel) last week cemented this for me. He...has...to...GO!

[shadows]

Again, from tsn.ca:

DREGER: REFEREE AUGER WON'T BE DISCIPLINED BY NHL

As far as the NHL is concerned, it's case closed.

Stephane Auger won't be fined or suspended by the National Hockey League for allegedly threatening Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows.

The evidence isn't there.

At worst, Terry Gregson, the NHL's director of officiating, will remind Auger that approaching a player before the game - as Auger clearly did on Monday night prior to the Canucks' match-up with the Nashville Predators - is never a good idea.

Canucks fans may be outraged by this information, combined with the fact the only form of discipline to emerge from this potentially scandalous game is a $2500 fine that Burrows received for publicly questioning the integrity of an NHL official.

Burrows was fined the maximum amount allowed under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement.

Understandably, the NHL has great respect for its on-ice officials and considers Auger one of its best, so without concrete proof that any threat was made, the league has no reason to pursue the matter any further.

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Now, I am not a huge Canuck's fan by any stretch, but I believe what Burrows said to be the truth. It is obvious to any real fans of NHL hockey that this sort of crap goes on with the reffing. Now, this is a first that a ref will go and tell the player that he is going to do it, but there is a first for everything, right?

This isn't the first time this ref has tried crap, as he was the one who claimed that Shane Doan hurled racial slurs his way(which was dropped as there was no proof). The NHL says there is no proof in this case either, yet the proof is in the pudding. The pudding being the fact that he skated beside Burrows despite the fact that he had NO reason to do so. Burrows is neither a Captain or an Alternate Captain of the Canucks, so Auger had no reason to do what he did. Plus, the penalties were beyond a joke to call. He also called back a goal that the Detroit Red Wings scored earlier in the season as he "had intent to blow the whistle" even though the puck was already in the freakin' net(and I am not a Red Wing's fan either, so I am not being biased).

The NHL showed what a joke they are yet again. With not having equal punishments for stars and non-stars alike, and basically showing that the refs are untouchable(even the ones full of shit) shows how poorly this league is being run. Bettman needs to go, his lap-dog Campbell needs to go, and so does Daly.

Auger is going to screw over Burrows again, somehow, and if the Canucks end up missing out of the playoffs by 1 point I think that someone(and this is something I don't condone) will take retribution out on Auger(some fans take things a little too personally. For example, the father who killed the ref because he didn't like the way his son got a penalty. He killed him right on the ice, right in front of his son! Auger is a weasel, but I hope that no one takes it too far.)

[shadows]

Here are the scores from Jan 12th's games:

1. Carolina beat Toronto 4-2. As I mentioned earlier(a couple of posts ago), this team is beyond frustrating. I am getting sick of them being outplayed in almost every fashion. I don't think they are playoff worthy(not any more), but I also don't think they are a team that is in last place(which looks like it will happen!). WAKE UP TORONTO!!!

2. The Islanders beat Detroit 6-0. I was shocked at this one. Howard actually got pulled from this game, and it was his first poor outing in quite a while. Osgood was put in, and let in 3 goals in 11 shots. Osgood is junk, even my friends who are Detroit fans think that. Detroit was also badly outshot 31-16. Just an all-around bad game by Detroit. On a positive note, Zetterberg is back for Detroit.

3. New Jersey beat the Rangers 1-0 in the shootout. This was an amazing goaltending duel, and I bet it was a real treat for the fans. The Rangers outshot the Devils 51-46, so it wasn't a boring game regardless of the score sheet! Both goalies deserved to win, but only one of them could. Ironic that the only goal scored(as the Devils were 1-4 and the Rangers were 0-4 in the shootout) happened in the shootout. This game would be one that deserved to end in an tie! It will be interesting to read what dauls has to say about this game, and whether or not he agrees that it was a good game or not. Patrick Elias got the shootout goal. Another note worth mentioning is that out of 36 skaters, only 5 of them did not register a shot. The shots were flying in this one!

4. Philadelphia beat Dallas 6-3. Philadelphia put this one away in the second period when they scored 4 times. The Flyers are soaring right now, so it looks like any issues they had before are a thing of the past. Marty Turco(Dallas goalie) was pulled in this one, and this marks just one of the fairly large number of goalies pulled tonight. For the record, this is goalie pulling #2(with Howard being #1).

5. Atlanta beat Ottawa 6-1. If there is any team that is in worse trouble than the Leafs right now, it is Ottawa. They are getting poor goaltending and their offense has dried right up. In the past three games they have had 0-1-1 goals. You are not going to win many games that way, especially when your own goalie gives up 6 goals of his own. For the record, this is goalie pulling #3(Leclaire).

6. Tampa Bay beat Washington 7-4. This was a weird one. Lots of scoring, and BOTH starting goalies getting pulled(I told you it happened a lot tonight!). Tampa had a 4-1 goal advantage after 1 period, but Washington got close at 4-3. However, it was all Tampa after that and they never really looked back. Ovechkin had two assists, Green had two goals(his 11th and 12th...how the hell was he left off the Olympic team?!?), St. Louis had a goal and 2 assists, and Stamkos had 2 goals and 1 assist. Stamkos is looking like the player Tampa was hoping for when the chose him as #1 in last year's draft. Stamkos now has 25 goals and 22 assists. Not bad!
For the record, this is goalie pulling #4(Neuvirth) and #5(Smith).

7. St. Louis beat Columbus 4-1. Looks like Columbus is back to their losing ways, as they got beat yet again. St. Louis had a 3-0 advantage after the first period. From the looks of it, St. Louis would love to play Columbus every day(of course, who wouldn't the way Columbus is playing right now). For the record, this is goalie pulling #6(Garon).

8. Nashville beat Edmonton 5-3. Not much to say about this besides the fact that Edmonton losing is like a broken record(much like it is with Columbus and Toronto). Edmonton didn't really put any pressure on Nashville until the third period and by then it was too late(Nashville was ahead 4-0 at that point). I wonder who will get fired first? Wilson(Toronto), Hitchcock(Columbus), or Quinn(Edmonton). I wouldn't want to be in their shoes, that's all I know.
For the record, this is goalie pulling #7(Drouin-Deslauriers).

9. San Jose beat Phoenix 3-1. Even though Phoenix was ahead in shot total(33 to 32), they did not look like they were even close in this game. They did not get their goal until the third period was almost done, and all they did was break up Nabokov's shutout. Marleau had 2 goals and an assist, while Heatley had a goal and an assist).

[transjen]

Time to do a happy dance, But only a small one as Tampa also won
Jerseygirl Jen

[dauls]

Originally Posted by shadows

Again, from tsn.ca:

DREGER: REFEREE AUGER WON'T BE DISCIPLINED BY NHL

As far as the NHL is concerned, it's case closed.

If a referee really wanted to punish a player during a game and get away with it, don't tell the player before the game.

I saw this picture... is it Stephane Auger realising the mistake of speaking to Alexandre Burrows before Monday's game?

[dauls]

Originally Posted by shadows

Here are the scores from Jan 12th's games:

1. Carolina beat Toronto 4-2. As I mentioned earlier(a couple of posts ago), this team is beyond frustrating. I am getting sick of them being outplayed in almost every fashion. I don't think they are playoff worthy(not any more), but I also don't think they are a team that is in last place(which looks like it will happen!). WAKE UP TORONTO!!!

3. New Jersey beat the Rangers 1-0 in the shootout. This was an amazing goaltending duel, and I bet it was a real treat for the fans. The Rangers outshot the Devils 51-46, so it wasn't a boring game regardless of the score sheet! Both goalies deserved to win, but only one of them could. Ironic that the only goal scored(as the Devils were 1-4 and the Rangers were 0-4 in the shootout) happened in the shootout. This game would be one that deserved to end in an tie! It will be interesting to read what dauls has to say about this game, and whether or not he agrees that it was a good game or not. Patrick Elias got the shootout goal. Another note worth mentioning is that out of 36 skaters, only 5 of them did not register a shot. The shots were flying in this one!

shadows, losing to the Hurricanes has to be the most depressing thing the 2009/10 NHL can serve up.

I didn't get to see the Devils-Rangers game tonight, ESPN-UK showed an NCAA Basketball double-bill.

96 shots in a scorless game. Can't have been a boring game. When the goalies are on form what can you do?

And to think Brodeur conceded 3 out of 7 before the lights failed against Tampa on Friday. 51 saves and blocking 4 rounds in the shootout. What a way to earn shutout #107.

It had to be Patrik Elias scoring the only goal.

Henrik Lundqvist also bags a shutout and still loses, crazy.

It deserved to be a draw, at least the Rangers get a point for the SO loss, imagine if the NHL changed the rules and OT/SO losses got zero points.

What if it had been a post season game?
How many periods of OT would this one have lasted?

[shadows]

Originally Posted by dauls

If a referee really wanted to punish a player during a game and get away with it, don't tell the player before the game.

I saw this picture... is it Stephane Auger realising the mistake of speaking to Alexandre Burrows before Monday's game?

Yeah, but I get the feeling that Auger is full of himself, and he didn't figure that Burrows would actually say anything(for fear of getting a fine or suspension). Burrows getting a fine and NO suspension shows me that there is some belief in the NHL front office that Auger may have said those things.

He better not officiate another Canucks game ever, as ANY penalty he issues will be over-scrutinized by all.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by dauls

shadows, losing to the Hurricanes has to be the most depressing thing the 2009/10 NHL can serve up.

I didn't get to see the Devils-Rangers game tonight, ESPN-UK showed an NCAA Basketball double-bill.

96 shots in a scorless game. Can't have been a boring game. When the goalies are on form what can you do?

And to think Brodeur conceded 3 out of 7 before the lights failed against Tampa on Friday. 51 saves and blocking 4 rounds in the shootout. What a way to earn shutout #107.

It had to be Patrik Elias scoring the only goal.

Henrik Lundqvist also bags a shutout and still loses, crazy.

It deserved to be a draw, at least the Rangers get a point for the SO loss, imagine if the NHL changed the rules and OT/SO losses got zero points.

What if it had been a post season game?
How many periods of OT would this one have lasted?

I think, with the large amounts of shots-faced, that it probably would have ended during the first overtime(since they are actually full periods then). But you never know. Refs tend to "put their whistles in their pockets" from the third period on during the playoffs(unless it is something so obvious it HAS to get called), so who knows how long it would go? Goalies(at least the elite ones) seem to thrive when facing more shots(goalies tend to let in a soft goal when the majority of the action is in the other end) than when they face very few. It would be a good game to see, just to see how long it would go.

If Buttman ever said that overtime/shootouts meant nothing then there would be a lot of pissed off players. Going that long and you get nothing?

The game was the best scenario for me(for my pool). Lundqvist got 5 points for the shutout(he would have gotten 7 if he won as well), but the Rangers did not win(since the Rangers are at least close enough for the Leafs to catch if they ever decide to wake up).

The Leafs need a coaching change. Wilson is not the man for the job.