A decision was made within the last hour by the National Hockey League, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Heinz Field, and National Broadcast Partners NBC, CBC and RDS to move the 2011 Winter Classic later in the evening due to weather conditions.
Rain is in the forecast and is expected to taper off in the evening hours in time for the 8:00 p.m. EST scheduled start time.
More information can be seen here.
Archive for December, 2010
With the year coming to a close, the members of Hockey World Blog decided to reflect on the exciting events of 2010. There have been many goals, saves, checks and fights that have occurred in rinks all over the world, but few moments stand out from the past year like those discussed below. Take a look at what each of us decided was our favorite moment relating to hockey over the course of the past year.
The 2010 NCAA National Championship game between Wisconsin and Boston College was one of our favorite moments of 2010.
Eddie- Hockey Gets Super Sized
I’ve enjoyed plenty of great things over the course of my hockey life. From watching the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup, Team USA winning two silver medals in my lifetime, and to winning various championships in my youth hockey days, a lot of good things have happened to me over the course of my short life. But 2010 was one that will be pretty hard to top as I’ve had the chance to watch four hockey games amongst the largest crowds ever to watch a game.
It began in February where I took a road trip to Madison, Wisconsin, for the Camp Randall Classic. While I am not a big fan of the University of Michigan, I wanted to see the maize and blue win simply because I was with a group of Michigan fans in a visiting teams stadium and didn’t want to feel the wrath of being in opponents apparel in another city. It was a great trip because I got to attend without much rooting interest and I was able to take in more of the experience in and around a good college town.
Fast forward two months to Ford Field where the Frozen Four was held. While a lot of hockey snobs bashed the event because of the massive size of Ford Field and the lack of attendance, I enjoyed the event. I had the opportunity to watch all four teams during the course of the NCAA tournament and had the chance to watch Wisconsin and Miami in person during the regular season. It was Boston College who came out winning the championship at the end. The only clunker of the Frozen Four was the lopsided scores of all four games.
And as recently as three weeks ago, I was at the biggest event of them all: The Big Chill. Another game that turned out to be a dud because of the 5-0 score. I don’t think we will ever see non-traditional hockey events again on the scale we saw in 2010 (I can’t forget about the Winter Classic at Fenway and the USA-Germany World Championship game either), which is why this was my favorite hockey moment in 2010.
Chris- Olympic Pride
While Team USA ultimately earned the silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver after falling to Canada in overtime, their incredible run to the gold medal game is by far my favorite moment of 2010 for several reasons. Before the Olympics started, most hockey fans would have given the medals, in no particular order, to Russia, Sweden and Canada. Team USA was hardly a blip on the radar, but they played an aggressive, tough style of hockey and never gave up fighting. How they played and fought during those games against teams that were arguably more skilled offensively really seemed to embody the American spirit, especially during harsh economic times when millions of people were having to enlist that fighting spirit themselves in order to keep a roof over their family and make sure they have enough to get them through the day.
I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to several of the games on the radio while I was at work. All of my coworkers know I’m a huge hockey fan, but what surprised me was how many of them because interested in the progress of Team USA. They constantly asked for updates on the score and who had the goals and generally how we were performing. People who generally don’t care about hockey were captivated by the fighting effort of Team USA. When USA ultimately fell to Canada in overtime of the gold medal game, you couldn’t help but be proud of USA’s accomplishments in Vancouver. As cliche as it is, those guys came into the Winter Olympics as the underdogs with less genuine skill and less All-Star talent on their roster than teams like Russia and Canada, but they rallied and worked hard the entire way. If that doesn’t embody the American spirit than I don’t know what does.
Matt- Lightning Strikes Tampa
It seems that every season now, people just assume its going to be a battle between Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby for the Hart Trophy, among other season ending awards. They’re both prolific scorers, and surely deserve to be considered every year. However, my favorite moment of 2010 has been the emergence of Steven Stamkos.
Last season, Stamkos scored 51 goals to tie for the league lead, and picked up 95 points, which lead all Tampa Bay players. This season, his red hot streak continues as he’s currently on pace for more than 60 goals. In his short time with the Lightning, he has quickly become the new and young face of the franchise. It’s easy to say that the Lightning wouldn’t be in the position they are today if it weren’t for Stamkos.
EB – 2009-2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Every playoffs has it’s ooh’s and aah’s, but this one was a goody.
Who ever would have predicted the Montreal Canadiens upsetting the Washington Capitals in the first round? The Caps were up 3 – 1 in the series, the series in their grasp, only to be outdone by an amazing back-against-the-wall comeback. I guess Alex Ovechkin’s chin music towards Canadiens’ goaltender Jaroslav Halak did not have the effect Ovie was looking for.
What about the Canadiens upsetting the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round? I don’t recall too many 8th seeds taking down the number 1 and 4 seed in the playoffs. The Canadiens as a whole were one big Cinderella Story indeed.
A semi-nail biter between the Phoenix Coyotes and the Detroit Red Wings. The teams faced one another in the first round going toe to toe. The game was eventually decided in game seven. One would expect it to be yet another close battle, however the Wings pulled it out with a 6 – 1 pounding in Phoenix.
Speaking of Cinderella stories, what about the Philadelphia Flyers? The team edged there way into the playoffs, took the New Jersey Devils in 5, the Boston Bruins in 7 and the Montreal Canadiens in 5. They eventually lost in the Cup finals, but at least they did it with class got that far.
And lastly, the Chicago Blackhawks. Chrissy Pronger’s puck stealing antics and the Philadelphia Flyers were no scare for the Blackhawks riding their gravy train. Defeating the Nashville Predators in 6, the expected Cup contenders Vancouver Canucks in 6, sweeping the San Jose Sharks, finally finishing Philly in 6 with an incredible game winning goal from Patrick Kane. Is it in? Why is he jumping? Are we supposed to cheer? This silence is eerie. The Cup returned to Chicago, last sighting was in 1961, 49 years ago.
While the first two episodes were leading up to the Winter Classic, this episode profiled the match up between the two teams before their showdown on January 1. We were pleasured with over 25 minutes of coverage of the game between the teams last week. We got to see hockey in detail never before seen in this much detail. But before that, there was other happenings between the two teams.
In Pittsburgh, they did a nice job profiling Ben Lovejoy. Against the Panthers, he had his first career goal as well as a fight. He was an assist away from the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” before getting struck on the left cheek by a puck. HBO did a fantastic job of showing the entire process of what happened. From him walking off the ice, to getting checked out and stitched up by the team doctor. He was even a good sport to do a short interview talking about it after getting stitched up.
In the District, they easily disposed of New Jersey. The interesting storylin was trainer Greg Smith meeting with coach Bruce Boudreau and GM George McPhee about Matt Bradley being taken off the active roster. He was injured with a broken finger in the game against New Jersey. Boudreau and McPhee both know that when Smith wants to talk to them, it usually isn’t good.
Next, they showed a video session of Boudreau showing the team how to stop Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. They are both talented players but you have to take different approaches to playing defense against them. Crosby is the more level-headed player, no matter if you play defense against him or you take a run at him he will still play his game and try to get the puck in the net. Malkin is the more tempered player as he’s more likely to retaliate and take a penalty if you play more body against him.
At the Penguins video session, assistant coach Tony Granato pointed out how good Washington is at transitioning from defense to offense. The key for the defensemen is to not get caught too deep because the Capitals forwards are already turning up the ice before their defensemen even have the puck. Leading up to the game, they had great cutting of the footage between both teams. Once Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylisma said something, Boudreau had something to counter to his troops.
The music, sounds, and footage from the game was so life-like and real, you think you were watching a movie. The action from the hits, shots, goals, and between period discussions were very intense. Also including in the intensity was the officials explaining calls to player and coaches, and even Crosby and Ovechkin dropping F-Bombs and other profane language to the officials if a call didn’t go their way. Crosby’s rant in the second period was Boudreau-esque. Between periods, it was a different vibe between the two teams. Pittsburgh was showing little regard to Washington goalie Michal Neivirth, saying how he isn’t good and how he’s prone to allowing rebounds and for them to pounce on them at every chance.
If you never seen how the NHL War Room works during the controversial goal Washington thought they scored, this videogives you a great insight at how it works. In my opinion, the officials got the call right. The official at the goal line did not see the puck cross the line because it was covered by Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove. Thanks to Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy for the video.
The game ends in a long shootout between the teams. Most players missed but it was Pascal Dupuis scoring to win it for Pittsburgh. The rest of the episode featured various Christmas celebrations, Boudreau going shopping with his kids, Bylisma playing XBox Connect and dancing with his son and the setup of Heinz Field
Three Thumbs Up:
1. The Officials. Over the course of the series, if you have ever wondered what the officials hear and think during a game, this is your perfect chance. From last week the officials talking about the game over beers in the locker room, to this week taking a good amount of profane language from both teams’ players this was a good never-before-seen chance at how officials think. I give Kelly Sutherland and his crew lots of credit for getting together and getting the call right, from the puck hitting the net that led to a penalty to the controversial goal going to the NHL War Room in Toronto, they got both calls right in my opinion. The best quote was from Southerland when the time-out coordinator was struck by a puck, “Did we get her the puck at least?”
2. Boudreau and his love for food. The morning after the Pittsburgh loss, the Washington bench boss and his two sons went shopping for Boudreau’s wife. It was before 10:00 a.m. and Boudreau wanted some Haagen-Dazs. He spent just as much time lusting after ice cream early in the morning than actually shopping. But I give Boudreau credit, he doesn’t have a clue of what to buy a woman, and looks like he spends too much time at the food court instead of a treadmill. He ends up buying his wife a pair of shoes that are perhaps the wrong side and color. I bet he’s in the doghouse at this time today. And isn’t it the thought that counts anyway?
3. Interviewing Steelers players James Farrior and James Harrison. Harrison said it best saying “I can skate enough to fight and enforce, not to actually play. If you need someone, give me a call.” How fitting is it that Harrison is perhaps the most fined player in the NFL this season, where he’s paid the league nearly $145,000 this season for various late and helmet-to-helmet hits. Maybe he should take up a sport where he’s more socially acceptable to hit someone?
Check back next week where we chronicle the finale of 24/7 that will feature the end of Crosby’s point streak, as well as a certain outdoor hockey game on January 1.
Sid the Kid’s Streak Ends
Dec 30
Pittsburgh Penguin’s Sidney Crosby’s streak has finally come to an end. Last night, against the New York Islanders, team and goaltender Rick DiPietro turned away 37 of 38 shots to take a 2-1 win by means of a shootout. Crosby only had two of those shots.
Crosby’s streak was cut at 25 games with marking at least 1 point every game, tied for 11th longest streak in NHL history. The last streak was from Mats Sundin in the 1992-1993 season with 30 points.
Regardless of team affiliations, every hockey fan should respect that of what Crosby has done. Sure we all dislike the Penguins, and hearing about Crosby, but there really is something special about what he has been able to do this year; a streak of 25 games with at least 1 point, league leader in both goals (32) and points (65).
The streak is over, for now at least. It would not be surprising to see another streak from Crosby, be it this year or the next. All I wonder really is, what off ice training does he do and can I get in on it?
CCM has gone extra lengths for the upcoming Winter Classic as they have made Alexander Ovechkin a customized pair of CCM U+ CL skates to wear for the game. The main thing you’ll notice is there is a lot more red on the boot, which should go well with the Capitals Winter Classic jerseys. Additionally, you’ll notice that the tendon guard and heel both feature the Ovechkin logo. And of course, they wouldn’t be Ovechkin skates if they didn’t have yellow laces.
You can now purchase the Winter Classic CCM U+ Cl at IceWarehouse for $599.99.
What do you guys think of Ovechkin’s Winter Classic CCM U+ CL?
Alexander Ovechkin Custom Winter Classic Skates - CCM U+ CL
Blue liner James Wisniewski will go from one of the worse teams in the league to a team that will be in the playoff chase in 2011.
In a surprising move, the New York Islanders trade 26-year-old defenseman James Wisniewski to the Montreal Canadiens for two draft picks. This season on Long Island, Wisniewski was tied or the team lead in points this season with 21. His career-year on offense will only help the Habs, as he now moves down to the second-best scorer on a much better team. The Canadiens are without defenseman Andrei Markov for the season due to a knee injury.
The draft picks Montreal dealt were a 2011 compensatory second-round pick they were due to receive for not signing former first-round pick David Fisher. The second pick currently stands at a 2012 fifth-round pick. New York will have that selection if Montreal qualifies for the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Wisniewski plays in 50 percent of Montreals’ playoff games. If both of those requirements aren’t met, New York will receive a fourth-round pick in 2013.
This selection benefits Montral more than New York because the Habs will receive a young, solid defenseman. Wisniewski has spent his career playing with Chicago and Anaheim. Wisniewski’s cap hit is $3,250,000 and is scheduled to become a UFA next summer. New York originally acquired him from Anaheim on July 20 for a 2011 third-round pick. Look for Wisniewski to be paired on the top line with Roman Hamerlik. If he doesn’t play on the top line, he’ll play with either Jaroslav Spacek or Alexandre Picard. They now have too many defensemen and look for either Yannick Weber or P.K. Subban to be sent down to the minors as they both have underperformed this season.
I do give credit to Islanders GM Garth Snow for essentially moving a third-round pick for a second rounder in the upcoming draft.
It looks like Bauer will be continuing their recent tradition of releasing limited edition gear. This time, we’ll see a special red and black paint job on the Bauer Total One LE Limited Edition hockey stick. I definitely like the original Total One stick better, but for gear collectors or anyone looking to try something different, this stick should suit you just fine.
Take a look at the Total One LE below and let us know what you think.
Bauer Total One LE Limited Edition Stick
A quick look at the long-range forecast thanks to www.weather.com shows some uncharacteristically warm weather headed to Pittsburgh this weekend for the NHL’s annual Winter Classic.
The warm front will begin on Thursday when temperatures rise to approximately 41 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the forecast, temperatures will peak on Saturday at 48 degrees with a 50 percent chance of rain. The average temperature in Pittsburgh on Januray 1 is roughly 30 degrees.
If the unseasonably warm weather and rain appear to be too much for the outdoor game on Saturday, there is good news on the horizon. Temperatures are expected to drop right back down to the freezing point at 32 degrees on Sunday with a 20 percent chance of precipitation. While the NHL is confident that their ice-making technology can handle the rising temperatures, Sunday could be a viable option for a make-up if Saturday’s weather doesn’t cooperate. However, that creates a new slew of conflicts in terms of TV coverage since NBC is set to carry the last weekend of the NFL’s regular season this weekend. Most likely the game will be played on Saturday, even if it has to be in not-so-perfect conditions. The NHL may also opt to postpone the game several hours in hopes that temperatures will drop when the sun goes down. If the temperature drops enough, it should essentially nullify the rain since the rain will freeze when it hits the ice.
The puck is scheduled to drop at 1 p.m. EST with NBC carrying national coverage for the game.
If you don’t have tickets for the event but were hoping to attend, make sure you have enough money left over from your holiday shopping as you’ll need to shell out a hefty amount to afford a second-hand ticket. According to StubHub.com, a second-hand ticket seller where fans can sell their tickets online for a price of their choosing, the cheapest seats are selling for $250 per ticket. The most expensive? One seller has tickets listed for $11, 765 per ticket in section 239 – which doesn’t even appear to be an ideal location. Most tickets in some of the closer sections are priced anywhere between $500 and $1,000 per ticket depending on the section.
It looks like Santa brought the NHL both good gifts as well as lumps of coal. Washington and New York Islanders have been playing their way out of their slumps lately. On the other side, Detroit seems to lose a player every time they win. Earlier in the week they lost Pavel Datsyuk to injury. Now they lose Dan Cleary to injury. To make matters worse for the Centrals best team, Chicago has been winning games without Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa. Hossa returned to the lineup last night and scored two assist. Kane could return to the lineup as early as tomorrow night. Check back next week for a rundown of the January 1-30 team rankings.
| Rank | Team | Last Week | Team Notes |
| 1 | PIT | 3 | Despite losing last night to Ottawa, there has been no hotter team this month than Pittsburgh. They are rolling on all cylinders leading up to the Winter Classic. Sidney Crosby extended his point streak to 24 games with a goal late in the loss to the Senators. |
| 2 | PHI | 1 | Can’t really write much about a team that played only once last week. But it was an upset loss against Florida. Nine of next 10 games are on the road, which is a brutal stretch for any team. |
| 3 | VAN | 6 | The Canucks went 3-0-1 last week. Three of those wins was on a Central division road trip. This week they host a solid Philadelphia team that appears to be one of the most exciting games in the last days of 2010. |
| 4 | SJ | NR | San Jose is a new entrant in the power rankings this week. They have won its last four games, and in three of those games they allowed one goal. Coach Todd McLellan is starting to have his team play solid, consistent hockey. |
| 5 | WAS | NR | Since snapping their embarrassing losing streak, the Capitals are playing hockey the way they are used to. They have gone 3-0-1 in its last four games. Look for the Capitals to pull off a solid winning streak soon, and an exciting Winter Classic coming up this week. |
| 6 | CHI | NR | The Blackhawks have gone 6-2-1 since Patrick Kane went down with an ankle injury. He missed eight games completely and could return this week. Marian Hossa also missed that stretch and just returned to the lineup last night where he recorded two assists. |
| 25 | NSH | NR | The Preadators are a very streaky team. They can either pull off a long winning streak, or they could pull off a long losing streak. They are in a four-game losing streak currently, and they don’t have many divisional games to quickly rise up the standings. Three of next 15 games between now and the end of January are against a Central division team. |
| 26 | NYI | 29 | The Islanders defeated a first-place team twice in the last week. They have gone 4-0-1 following that dreadful 1-17-3 stretch earlier in the season. Too bad not many fans got to see Sundays 4-1 win over Montreal because of the East Coast Snowstorm. |
| 27 | CAR | NR | Last week was a measuring stick week for the Hurricanes. They were facing three division foes and loss all three. The Southeast division is starting to turn into a three team race with Carolina closer to last than first. |
| 28 | EDM | NR | Last week they had a brutal road trip against some of the leagues best in San Jose, Vancouver and Los Angeles. They kept all three games close and competitive. Look for them to play solid hockey as next five games in 11 days are at home. |
| 29 | TOR | 28 | Sure, Toronto may have won two of its last five games. Those two wins were against Edmonton and New Jersey. |
| 30 | NJ | 30 | What more can be said about them? The fired John McLean and brought in Jacques Lemaire and still lose. They have lost five straight and have scored once in each of those five losses. |
The holidays came early for hockey fans yesterday as a plethora of heavyweight bouts took place around the NHL with nearly every team in action before the Christmas break. Zenon Konopka registered two fighting majors against the New Jersey Devils last night while Kyle Brodziak and Ryan Wilson went at it on the West coast in Colorado. But one the biggest highlights from last night’s card came from the Boston Bruins game against the Atlanta Thrashers where a line brawl ensued after Freddy Meyer absolutely leveled Bruins forward Milan Lucic as he tried to enter the offensive zone. Both teams immediately came together and began squaring off with under five minutes to play in the game. Check out Lucic drop Meyer with one punch as the two have words during the scrum.
One of the better bouts appeared to be Nathan Horton vs Evander Kane – two gifted players who also won’t shy away from a good scrap. At one point Kane goes down to the ice and Horton picks him back up so the two can keep throwing punches. Bryan Little also squared off with Boston center Marc Savard, which came as a surprise with Savard’s recent history with concussions. Check out the entire sequence below:
Another big bout came last night in Dallas during a 3-2 shootout victory for the visiting Calgary Flames. With over 50 NHL fights under his belt, Flames captain Jarome Iginla has never been a player to shy away from a good scrap, but Iginla may have bitten off more than he can chew when he and Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn tangled during last night’s contest. Almost halfway through the first period Benn and Iginla dropped the gloves at center ice. Benn attacked early and got in some good punches but Iginla seemed to have more of a handle on Benn and got some good throws in himself as the fight progressed. It was Iginla, however, who walked away from the fight with blood dripping down his face. This was Benn’s fourth fighting major of the season. Check out the video below:
