10-10-1

That's our road record now. The Thrashers are now 1 game above .500, 0-5-1 in their last six, and are floundering pretty badly. I don't really know if it's the Kovy talks, or they're just tired from their absurd pace beginning at the end of last season, or what, but this team's been deflated.

One interesting set of stats from this season thus far:
Ondrej Pavelec: SV%: .9.03; GAA: 3.52
Johan Hedberg: SV%:.921; GAA: 2.43

It kills me to say this, especially after the outstanding start that Pavs had, he didn't prove me wrong after all. He really *isn't* ready for the big time, he really *does* need that extra year of AHL seasoning, and yet again our season's hopes ride on our oft-injured starter and our outstanding backup. Right now, that back up has played himself into the #1 position in many people's eyes.

Johan Hedberg, solidifying himself as our starter du jour - one would think.

This month's been horrible for the Thrashers, and I'm fairly sure that the Kovalchuk contract kerfluffle has been a huge part of it. Honestly, though, goaltending's been a bigger one - as long as Anderson insists on starting Pavelec in situations where he shouldn't start - like against Boston EVER - it's going to continue to be an issue. Stop giving him chances to regain his oomph. He'll get it when he gets it, but it doesn't need to come at the risk of losing games. Hedberg's hot, he's level headed, and he can play. Let him do it. He gives us a chance to win moreso than Pavs does right now, regardless of how terribly we're playing. Make Hedberg the 1A, please.

Blues are in playoff contention!

Not in real life. Sorry.

No, in the Cycle Like the Sedins fake league, compiled of our re-drafted teams. 3rd overall in the Central, 8th in the West, and 15th in the league with a whopping 14 points so far and a 6-4-2 record.

Quite possibly the funniest part is the fake power play, which is humming along at 26.2 success clip.

No, wait, the funniest part is Nashville's PK, which has a 67.9% success rate. Super!

Total Thrashers in the Olympics now up to 5.

Special congrats go to Ondrej Pavelec and Pavel Kubina, who were chosen to represent the Czech team. They're joining Kovy and Max, as well as Toby Enstrom. Christoph Schubert was named as a reserve to the German team, which confuses me seeing as how there can't possibly be defensemen better than him in Germany.

The rosters as they're announced are posted up over at the IIHF site. Team Canada's going up in T-minus 33 minutes. Brace yourselves.

Been kinda quiet over the hollidays.

I've been letting my brain veg out the past week and a half, to be sure. Yes, I've been watching and no, I haven't found anything from my two teams' performances worth writing about. It's the holidays. I don't need to be more depressed than I already am.

But this doesn't depress me. This just pisses me off.

According to Andy Strickland over at Hockeybuzz.com (I know, I know), Erik Johnson's a healthy scratch for the Blues tonight. Ok, yeah, he hasn't been playing as well as he usually does, but neither has the whole team. Murray chooses to single out the youngest defenseman as an "example?" And just when I had faith in the fact that he was going to apply the same standards to the vets by sitting Sydor's slow self the past few games... *sigh*

Yep. Home game. Nashville. This won't end well.

Because I don't want to re-write what I've already written...

... here's a link to my Hockey Writers story on the trip through Western Canada. Let's see if we can make it 4 in a row tonight. If the Blues win and the Wings lose, we're in 3rd in the Central. Come on, guys - be consistent! Please?

Merry merry!

What? It's Christmas. You know you like Schwetty Balls.

Yeah, the Thrashers haven't exactly been playing all kinds of awesome, but we fans and a couple of players got an early gift this season - Ilya Kovalchuk and Maxim Afinigenov have been named to the Russian Olympic team this year. I don't like cheering against team USA, but, um... yeah. Russia's probably gonna win (defense aside)... I'm sensing investing in a Team Russia Kovy jersey here. I don't care if he gets re-signed, traded, or runs away to Siberia, I like the guy, and that jersey's cool. It's that or a David Backes Team USA jersey... or am I getting ahead of myself?

Merry Christmas, all! I'll be getting a few posts up today on Hendricks, THW, and CTC - it's a lazy day of sitting around anyway, so I might as well be useful.

And re-christining is done.

Obviously without the obligatory champagne thwapping over the hull (he doesn't like that - the alcohol has to go in, apparently - nyuk nyuk), the re-naming of Wazzupwitchu is done. Same URL, different name, thanks to Jim Neveau of The Hockey Writers and Paint it Blackhawks and Sha Sha Canuck of the Hockey Bay and the Benched Whale for suggesting and agreeing on the new name.

As promised, um... your prizes are... uh... links. And a follow friday to the 10 non porn-bots that I know follow me.

Takin' a break...

I'm currently on vacation in Florida, so unless Kovy signs or something, I probably won't be posting very much.

Remember, I need suggestions for a new blog name! Come on, people. I'm not creative. Step it up.

As the Kovalchuk Turns.

Ohh, so *that's* how you suckered them into that much money.

If you're a Thrashers fan, I'm fairly sure that you're tired of hearing about the rumors flying about regarding trade partners for Waddell if he has to move Kovalchuk. The two most recent ones, Los Angeles and Vancouver, are absolutely preposterous, and Waddell has come out and said so. The negotiations with Gay Grossman and Kovy have not broken down (Grossman will be here tomorrow), and both Waddell and Kovalchuk have said in interviews that Feburary's Olympic freeze is now the new deadline to get the length of the contract hammered out. Yes, that's a long way off, but no one has said that there's no way that we're going to re-sign him.

The Kings and Canucks have not had scouts at our games recently, and Vancouver'd have to lose a Sedin wonder-twin to have the cap space going forward to sign Kovalchuk. The Kings currently sit in a tie with the Sharks for the best record in the West - apparently team chemistry's ok. They don't really *need* Kovalchuk to push them over that edge, nor will they probably part with Frolik or Brown for him.

Another issue with Kovalchuk going west is the style of hockey that the Western Conference is known for - Kovy plays a style that thrives on wide openness, something that Western teams don't exactly play. He's also a defensive liability (watch his play over the past few weeks for proof), and two-way players like Nash, Hossa, and Iginla are the leaders in that conference. Kovalchuk'd turn into Brad Boyes in a heartbeat.

The Thrashers were 4th from last in the entire league last season, and now they're 5th in the East, firmly in playoff contention, haven't went through a slump of Rangers or Flyers proportions, and they're the best that they've ever played. Kovalchuk has proof that the team has improved. I'm supposing that he's just waiting for a sign that they're going to be that good for a while. The issue is, if we sign him to a huge deal, will we have the money to re-sign the parts that have made us so good this season, namely Kubina and Afinogenov? What of Little and Bogosian when it becomes time to renew?

I, as usual, don't envy Don Waddell one bit.

Extreme EJ Closeup!!

Hey, look! Soon this one finger's going to be worth more than you'll make in your lifetime! Pretty cool, huh?

Sorry - the photo on the Post Dispatch's article here scared me. God, zoom out.

Anyway, the Blues brass are in talks with Erik Johnson's agent for a contract extension. He's really this team's version of Al MacInnis, so why in the world wouldn't we want to ink him to a long-term deal?

That, and the kid deserves to be on a pairing with someone other than Darryl Sydor. Yeah, mentorship. Leadership. That was true in Atlanta for Mathieu Schneider and Zach Bogosian, too. Mats taught Bogosian a lot about the league, but Bogo played a hell of a lot better when Schneider got sent to the Habs. Just sayin'.

But all in all, even though we're lacking for firepower right now and not really doing as well as we should be, the future's bright. Right, Sporting News? Way to talk up Oshie and his potential. The kid's been getting a lot of that recently. Thankfully, it seems to not have impacted him too terribly much - he's staying pretty grounded.

Hull of a night.

Little late in getting this up - you know, life and stuff got in the way - but Brett Hull Night number 2 was actually a success - we managed to win. On top of that, the crowd by the end of the game was really into it; for once, they sounded like a sold out crowd. And, of course, amazingly enough, the more that the crowd got into it, the more the team got into it, and they better they played. There's a reason we only have 3 road losses versus 10 home losses - crowd noise and atmosphere help. The crowds in St. Louis have been fairly mute. Yes, a good part of that has to do with the fact that the team hasn't been giving them a lot to cheer about at home, but not even an "awwwwww!" when a puck barely misses the net? No "ooooooo!" on a big hit? Dion Phaneuf was knocking guys around like pinballs all night, and nothing from the crowd - unfortunately not much came from the team, either, as I was hoping for someone to lay Phaneuf out.

The crowd reaction before the game was more exciting than after. Hull's dream team were all front and center, capped off by the return of Mr. 18 Game Blue himself, Wayne Gretzky - I loved Garth Butcher's introduction of 99 as someone who wanted to retire in St. Louis. Thank you for reminding us about Mike Keenan and his asinine judgment of not giving Gretzky a significant extension because of performance in one round of the playoffs. Because, you know, Wayne isn't the greatest player of ALL TIME or anything. And a team with Hull and Gretzky on it for a few years wouldn't be absolutely amazing. Thanks, Mike, from saving us from that hell.

Actually, the whole night was a reminder of what could have been - Shanny, Cujo... very nearly every Blue on Hull's team was someone who was either directly or indirectly screwed over by Keenan, least of all Hull himself. A fan belted out "I hate Mike Keenan!!" - or at least that's what it sounded like - in the middle of the ceremony, causing almost every one on the ice to crack up, and made John Davidson put his hand over his mouth rather quickly.

Hull's speech was touching - I can't help but wonder what the brass in Dallas thinks of him constantly saying how important St. Louis is to him - and the recollections of the players were rather hysterical, even though they never could think of a family friendly story for the jumbotron. But perhaps best of all is what Hull mentioned after the ceremony and game were over:

"I saw T.J. Oshie today and he just reminds me of me when I was a kid," he said. "It just brought back a flood of memories when I got traded here ... walking into the old arena and going, 'I'm going to show these guys what I got.'

"You're going to have some of those young kids playing for the Blues now, they're going to be Hall of Famers. Their jerseys are going to be in the rafters, and hopefully I can come back and be a part of their ceremony."

Hull doesn't need a statue or a job to be part of the Blues family - it appears we're stuck with him, and the rest of our alumni from the team, for a very long time.

Contest alert!!

My website name's Wazzupwitchu after a horrible Eddie Murphy song - you know the one, the video with him and Arsenio Hall just running around saying "Wazzupwitchu!" as flowers fall from a bright blue sky background... holy God, how do I remember that crap? I gave it that name way back in 2004 when it was my general interest blog, which oddly enough, I lost interest in.

I didn't want to leave a perfectly good Blogger account lying about, so I switched it to what's here today - all Blues and Thrashers stuff. Which might be, quite possibly, the oddest combo since Vancity Canuck and her random mix of Bolts and 'Nucks. It's a fun site, I suppose, but I'm getting tired of explaining the cracked out name to people. That, and I blog on a few sites, and if I'm going to put a link to my site on a bio page, I'd like for it to have a modicum of professionalism. Or something.

That being said, I'd like a new name, but am craptastic at thinking of them. Suggestions in the comments, please, but try to make them not specific to one team or the other. The winner of the contest gets a link to your blog (if not already linked). If linked already, um... you'll get the pride of renaming one of the least important hockey blogs on the 'net.

If that's not an incentive, I really don't know what is.

Frendly Reminder...

The Blues game is not being televised thanks to Versus' exclusive Tuesday night rights. FSMW will be broadcasting/web streaming the Brett Hull ceremony at 7:00, though, and the game will be on Center Ice and Game Center thanks to it being on the Flames PPV broadcast.

Kovalchuk and Waddell on the Hot Seats?

Well, ok, no, they were on HNIC's Hot Stove (hat tip to Hendrick's Hockey for the clip):




Honestly, I don't know how much stock I place in this discussion. I'm still wondering what teams can afford what Kovy needs (or deserves), and I don't think that Vancouver is one of them. It's still December. We have three and a half months before the trade deadline, and a little under a month until Casino Night. Waddell likes to make big announcements then, and I'm fairly sure that he can keep things under wraps until then.

And anyway, Vancouver's scouts haven't parked themselves in the pressbox at all recently. Nashville's has, but I'm really doubting it has a thing to do with Kovy.

Road Trippin' With Brett Hull

Note: This is also cross-posted at HendricksHockey.com.

The Ambassador of Fun apparently is trying to get together a group of Blues alumni from his time in St. Louis to go on vacation. Stop number one is Tuesday night in St. Louis for Hull's ceremony honoring his induction into the HHOF. Brendan Shanahan, Curtis Joseph, Jeff Brown, Garth Butcher, Steve Duchesne, Geoff Courtnall and Bob Bassen will be in attendance (sadly, no Craig Janney, and I can't imagine why).

Hull's disappointed in what could have been, but is proud of what was.

"It's hard just looking at the people we had over the years," Hull said. "If we had kept everyone together and grown the pieces around the main core, we could have had a chance. But hindsight is 20-20, so you don't know."

Imagine, if you will, that we had John Davidson as president in the 90s. We'd probably have a Cup or two to our name. None of the guys who were traded out seemed happy about it, either at the time or even today. The tenure of Mike Keenan, which CuJo rightfully states was because he wanted to "put his stamp on the team" - which was about winning right now, not winning in the future. Hysterically, most of the guys that were traded for undermined that goal.


Oh, and it's a Brett Hull night. Win this time, will you guys? Ask Mike Kitchen about what happens when you lose on a Brett Hull night.

Thank you for the birthday gift, Kovy.

The Thrashers took care of the Habs last night in overtime, 4-3 - which was played shorthanded by the Habs thanks to Glen Metropolit and a stupidly timed penalty. Montreal's powerplay was on a 637-for-637 kill streak or something absurd like that. Not anymore.

BTW, I do have to give kudos to Carey Price for a couple of amazing glove saves last night that totally robbed us of two goals. It wasn't enough, though.

The team looked a lot peppier and more aggressive than they have while they were on the road trip. Bogosian's fight against Lapierre was definitely about two weeks of frustration coming out, and he completely destroyed the diminutive forward. No one could be accused of loafing on the ice last night... perhaps it might have been the sizeable crowd last night and the fact that they were not all Habs fans. Kovy, in his post game interview, thanked the fans and mentioned how nice it was to win for a crowd like this.

Come on, people, take a hint.

I didn't watch the Blues game last night.

Thank God in heaven I had plans. That way, I can pretend it NEVER HAPPENED.

The guys at Game Time can't though. Please take time to read Gallagher's emo fueled rant regarding Andy Murray. I honestly couldn't say it better myself.

I... will... CRUSH YOU.

Well, probably not with my defense, but I challenge you to find a better goaltending rating than... 95.

Good luck, rest of the fake teams - here's hoping for a Cup!

I question some people's sanity.

Last night's Thrashers game was a prime example of what happens when a tremendous lack of effort causes a team to perform short of expectations. The top 2 defensive pairings and Hedberg again were fairly solid. Offensively and 3rd pairing, the defense was absent. Lines were switched... nothing really seemed to get the Thrashers' butts in gear, except for the last five minutes of the game where we suddenly realized that we had to score. Then, of course, we go great guns.

We were in the middle of putting pressure on Kipper and creating scoring chances when, with the net empty, Kovalchuk turns the puck over and causes the ENG. What does he do? Stand there and look pissed. This is pretty indicative of his problematic defense recently - it just hasn't be that good.

So, what do some Thrashers fans do in response? Call for him to be traded.




Yeah, pick your jaws up now. Based on a couple of weeks of off play, probably due to the fact that his foot is, I don't know, still broken, they want the face of our franchise shipped out for young pieces, and they want the weight of the franchise to fall on Bogosian, Kane, and Little. A 19 year old, an 18 year old, and someone who has scored 3 goals all season. Perfect.

Is he not still wearing the boot on the broken foot? He came back from injury about three weeks sooner than he should have - does no one see the problem that this could cause?

He's not going to dog it if he wants to shop himself around, and he's not going to dog it if he's trying to get more money out of Atlanta. He's also not the only person on the team playing off of their game - Armstrong, Little and White have all been guilty of standing around and doing neither jack nor squat (though Little's woken up quite a bit more). The 3rd pairing on defense has been responsible for quite a few goals recently. We can't play a full 60 minutes - we do well to play a full 10. It's not just Kovy, it's the whole team. Once a mood or an atmosphere begins to take over the play on the ice, it impacts everyone. I'm convinced this is a combo of the team being in a slump and him not generally being 100%.

But to say that contract talks have broken down, he's not worth the money, inferior, and saying that it's someone else's team is a bit presumptuous based on about 5 games play out of 82 total. Everyone worshiped the ground he walked on when he came back and went on a tear, and now people want him banished to Narnia? Good lord, over-react much? Teams (and players) get into funks once in a while. Back away from the ledge and breathe. The Rangers have lost 5 out of their last 6. Saying to dump Kovy because of his poor play is like saying they need to dump Lundqvist because he hasn't been doing so well recently.

CONKBLOCKED.

3-0-1 against Detroit this season. 1-0 shutout. 42 saves. Sometimes, just sometimes, this team gives me hope.

Interesting note.

Copied and pasted from my new post over at Hendrick's Hockey because this chair is making my back cramp (and I want to watch MST3K before the Blues play Detroit), and in honor of Moose Hedberg starting tonight, a fun fact:

Speaking of Moose, a quick look at the league leaderboard for goalies puts him second in the league with a .933SV% - it's possible that he could be number one in the league if he turns in a good performance tonight and Miller doesn't. He's also 5th in GAA with a 2.16 - again, the league leader Miller has a 1.90. Hedberg has never lead the league in both categories at once this far into the season. He's having an outstanding year, getting lots of playing time, and is making the case for an extension on that contract. Honestly, if we dump Kari and MacIntyre isn't ready to come up next season, I would not pitch a fit if we re-sign the Moose.

Hoo! Best of luck tonight - I want to see your name at the top of one of those columns tomorrow, Moose.

Line-up changes for tonight's Thrashers game
Wednesday, 09 December 2009

© 2009 - HendricksHockey.com - Your source for NHL hockey news, rumors, trades, signings, merchandise, blogs, and online community.

Monday and hockey don't mix.

Honest to goodness, what was up with everyone last night? Almost shut out by Toskala, blanked by Budaj. Unpleasant. The Blues lost at home again... there's something about playing in front of the Scottrade crowd that just sucks the life out of the team. This isn't the same problem that the Thrashers have - we don't have as many people in the seats as we should here. We have a fanbase that's extremely loyal, but small (we're the ones who don't sit around and watch football, Antro - thanks for that last night, BTW), but come on - playing for 8000 people who love ya versus 20,000 people who do... or even 10,000 that do and 10,000 who got the tickets from their boss... the cellphone chatter in the ACC last night could have been louder than the stands during the last home game. The Thrashers (usually) play better on the road because they have people to play to, and they feed off that noise. The Blues also feed off of the opposition crowd. Both teams have outstanding road records (9-3-1 for the Thrash, 7-2-3 for the Blues), presumably because they like to make other fanbases wallow in the misery that their own have been subjected to in recent years.

But the Blues have fans in the stands. I don't get it... are these the bandwagon fans that hopped on during our playoff push? Bandwagon fans can suck the life out of an arena. They only cheer when a good, obvious play happens. Anyone make a smart defensive move? Silence. Trying to set up for a shot during the power play? They scream at you because you're cycling the puck. Guys that sit in the stands, call out individual players, and then sit silent when they do something productive - gosh, I'm describing the people who sit behind me at games again, aren't I?

Anywho, maybe that's it at Scottrade. Maybe Jackman's tired of taking the ire in Brewer's absence. Maybe the team just really wants some people in the stands to actually back off in sending out the bad vibes. Who knows, but homecomings for the Blues and Thrashers are oftentimes not happy.

I'm going to pretend that those two games did not happen tonight.

Before I go off to bed, and before I marinade on what I'm going to write for my first article over at Crash the Crease, I do need to share with you the latest installment of the "Odd Woman Rush" series over at Cycle Like the Sedins. Mostly because I'm in it this time, and also because I have fallen down on my job in really doing some PR for it, especially since I wrote a blog post regarding women in hockey broadcasting/blogging/writing/whatever and I figure that this kinda goes along with it.

And now off to go drown my sorrows in Sunny D and cholesterol meds, before I try to get to sleep. Damn nap... stupid Toskala and Budaj... wow. That was a sentence I never wanted to write.

Back into the lion's den.

Tonight marks the return of Nik Antropov and Pavel Kubina to Toronto. I'm not sure if you've noticed it or not. You know, because it hasn't been mentioned anywhere like TSN, the CBC, the Toronto Sun (who need to get who plays with Max and Antropov correct), or the Globe and Mail.

Oh, so it has been? Well.

I wonder what explains the morbid fascination with the return of these two former Leafs who were driven out of Toronto like the snakes from Ireland. Kubina was -15 last year on the Leafs, and has turned around to be a +16 is among the league leaders in +/- along with Antropov. Gosh - wait. I understand.

The frustration comes from watching two players who were loved and reviled re-start their careers in a city unworthy of having a hockey team, and really unworthy of having a *good* hockey team. Toronto's record or 8-13-7 is what Atlanta should have, right? The Thrashers' record of 15-8-3 is what the rough and tumble Leafs should have tumbled out of the gate with, eh?

Gosh, it must be rough for some when the season doesn't start the way that it should have. For others, well... it's not half bad. Actually, that came out a lot harsher than I wanted it to. I have a lot of buddies who are Leafs fans (the fine "gentlemen" over at Pension Plan Puppets come to mind) who are pretty cool, humble, self depreciating... as a Thrasher fan, well... we can probably relate more than we disagree. If you want some free entertainment, swing by their GDT tonight. They're good peeps.

Goalie matchup should be Toskala versus Pavelec. I'm awaiting the results... or if Toskala lets in 3 goals and "gets hurt" again. I didn't know that embarrassment could get you on the IR.


One other thing I almost forgot about - XLB'll be suited up tonight, presumably on purpose. He's been a scratch for a majority of his time in Toronto, and might be part of the reason that Toronto fans are a bit grumbly about the Kubina kerfluffle. Either he's going to get into it with Boults or Thor, or he'll be horribly out of position on a goal. I feel it.

Finally.

I've long opined about the need for an NHL app to rival MLB's excellent At Bat one. Well, they've taken the steps to match the basic version of that app with the unofficial NHLive app. It has schedules, standings, the league leader boards, and a few other things.

Here's hoping to the league finding a way to work with these guys. An official app could include addition of radio feeds for both teams much like the At Bat basic app includes; it'd be helpful to include these for easy car listening. Heck, a beefed up version with video and a link to a GameCenter Live subscription for viewing games on the go on the iPod Touch or iPhone would be banging as well.

Come on, NHL. You guys are ahead of the curve with just about everything technological. Get on the app bandwagon.

I'd do a Thrashers game recap...

... but there's no point. They were flat, they played no defense, and quite frankly, they sucked.

There.

The gentlemen behind me, however, who have been screaming in everyone's ears all season, have not helped the team, contrary to their popular belief. Listen, yelling at Kovy to "wake up" isn't going to make the pain in his foot go away and make him play D better. Screaming at Kozlov to play harder isn't going to make him stop and think "Gosh, those loud guys in section 108... I'm really letting them down... let me score a goal for them!" Calling Enstrom "Twerp" was cute the first dozen times you did it... in the first game. But yeah, we get it. He's little. He's been little for the past three freaking years. Way to catch on.

Yelling at the team to shoot when they're trying to set up a play, then bitching when their shot gets blocked... making smart ass comments about how much the team sucks, how they're playing like they did in 2007-2008... ignorant, unsupportive, fairweather... there are names for this. Yeah, we need butts in the seats in Philips. We don't need yours. Of course, I can't say anything to these jackasses since I'm a STH and so are they, but allow me to say it here in a rare burst of profanity (for this site): shut the fuck up. Please. Learn something about hockey before you start yelling random shit. Shut up and watch the damned game.

Taking a look...

At some ideas about the Blues' struggles over at The Hockey Writers. Do, feel free to peruse.

You won't hear me say this often...

... but I'm glad I didn't get a chance to watch the Blues game last night. Any game in which you allow RJ Umburger to score a hat trick can't be good, and any game where Barrett Jackman tries to kill someone (Rostislav Klesla), even if it is on accident, is probably one to avoid.

The upshot of this game, though, and the past few games, is that the scorers are waking up. Backes has points in 3 straight, Kariya scored in the game against Nashville and again last night, and hit the post on a break-away, and Oshie's starting to pick it up. Even Patrik Berglund seemed to have a little more pep, and was allowed ice time last night for the first time in 2 games. I'm not happy with the loss, and the 4-3 SO loss to Detroit, but we have been playing with considerably more focus.

Carlo "'Splodeybones" Colaiacovo sat out with a minor injury, so you would assume Pietrangelo would play. Right? Um, no. The Blues called up Jonas Junland for a game to play instead. The Blues' justification stands to reason:

Doug Armstrong, the Blues' director of pro personnel, said Junland was chosen because, like Colaiacovo, he's a lefthanded shot, and like Colaiacovo he plays the left point on the power play.

"The type of player that's leaving our lineup is the type of player we're replacing him with," Armstrong said. "This is not an indictment on Alex Pietrangelo. I think we're probably reading too much into Alex's situation."

Fair enough. The fact that Junland got re-sent down today probably speaks to Cola's return here in a few. But the vibe from the statements in that Post-Dispatch article don't sound positive. There's always the World Juniors, Alex.

Veeeery interesting.

But stooopid.



Keith Ballard is an angry man. Now, most of Florida's fans aren't too thrilled with him either. Total overreaction to a first period goal. Yeah, someone probably should have been on Kovy a little better, but don't break your stick in a temper tantrum (Hainsey's "Oh shit" moment after the 2nd Florida goal went in off of his stick was much more appropriate), and if you're going to swing, pay attention to make sure you don't almost kill your goaltender. Vokoun's fine; per Ben's post-game write up, he wound up going to a local hospital with a nasty ear laceration. It was scary at the game, though, because it took a while to figure out what happened, and because he looked like he was knocked into the next century. I'm with Moose on this one: "I feel so sad for both Vokoun and whoever happened to be the Florida guy who did it. You don't wish that upon your worst enemy. I hope Tomas can be okay."

The game itself was a blast, despite the God-awful attendance thanks to the rain and Monday Night Football - sad but true, I know. More last second heroics from Max Afinogenov sealed the deal with less than five seconds remaining. The fourth line produced with Boulton netting 2 assists, one of which was a very smooth pass to Thorburn for an easy tap-in on Clemmenson. One thing I had a little issue with - Hainsey probably doesn't need to be anywhere near Moose. Ever. He tipped in, or deflected in, 2 goals tonight, and was responsible for a couple Hedberg's start before last. He was the first guy over there after the game, presumably to apologize. Moose only failed to stop one non-deflected shot. He's been outstanding. We're lucky to have the two goalies that we do. And, shockingly enough, The Hockey News notices this - and agrees.