Well that sucked

1 - 3

Mostly, we're not ones for We told you so's, however, we told you. Sens by 2. We can't really give you much of a coherent recap since dish network decided last night would be a fun night to mess with us, and we missed the whole first period while sitting on hold with tech support, but things that stood out of the portions we did see include:

• Brian "Billy" Elliot - Played his first NHL game last night, his dream since aged 7. Congrats, kid! Do you mind if we call you Billy? Said Lehts, "When they're going with a guy who's playing his first NHL game, you think you have the advantage. But he proved us wrong. He played tremendous." High praise indeed.

• Eric Perrin (we told you so). If everyone on the team played like him, we'd be money.
• Bryan Little - Good follow through on the play, seems to always be in the right place at the right time, indicating a good head for the game. Keep an eye on #10. This kid's good.
• Tobi Enstrom - Ohmuhguh! A defenceman! An honest-to-god defenceman who knows how to play D! It's like Christmas and birthday all rolled up in one! Tobi Enstrom we love you!!
  
• Kari Lehtonen - No brainer on this. Our guy faced 36 shots once again. If he wasn't as good as he is, the score would've been a lot higher in Sens favour. As of this morning, his GAA is 3.08 (ouch!) but his SV% is .921. The story's in the numbers, folks.
  

Other than that, we don't have much. Hoss was out with his groin strain, Popovic kept him company in the pressbox. Are we running a pool on whether or not Heddy or Lehts will start tonight? We're betting Heddy since Lehts was worked to the bone last night. But since it's Buffalo and the Sabres are probably starting Miller, it'd be nice to see youngster v youngster.

Larry the Goalie discusses goaltending in Atlanta in part 2 of his 30-part series. It's nothing you haven't read or heard before, but it's nice to see the boys getting props all around the league.

Are the Thrashers EVER going to put up the new head shots? Oh, sneaky sneaky! Our contacts forwarded us the two we've been waiting for, and now we'll share them with you!


That might be the happiest Lehts has ever looked in a headshot!

Also, the Thrash've posted the new billboards, that're plastered all over downtown A-T-L and WE LOVE!

You can go see the rest of them for yourselves.

---

Around the League
From the Toronto Star: "Blake should be able to continue playing hockey, although if he is among a small percentage of patients whose spleen is abnormally large then there is a risk it could rupture during a body check." So, we're not hockey players (at least not very good ones), but we're thinking, probably this is a bad thing. Luckily, we have a solution! Blake can take some time off, and the Leafs can call Tony Salmelainen up from the Marlies (note to any and all press reading, that is the proper way to spell Salmelainen. Please get it right in future releases. Thank you - mgmt). We hate the Leafs, much like most of the NHL's fanbase, but we love Salmo. He deserves time in the big club. Don't let him fester in the A when he could've stayed in Finland to play for SM:L and been the MVP, top scorer, etc. Give him his chance.

Ryan and Drew Miller's cousin Matt Schoals passed away this week after a bone marrow transplant. He had just turned 18, and was diagnosed with leukemia in December of 2005. He continues to be an inspiration to those he has left behind. Excuse us, we have something in our eyes.

Flyers win 8-2, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! In the battle of which team do we hate more, the Nucks win by default since the Flyers have Gator now. And seriously, did we laugh hysterically yet? Oh good.

The Ducks finally had their home opener, and the ceremony was pretty classy. It was almost a little too long, but it was tastefully done. Have you seen those rings?? Are we the only ones who thought it was a little cheap and tasteless to give the HHOF a replica ring? It's not like you don't have the revenue for one extra with actual diamonds. Former London Knight Corey Perry ("He Who Wins At Life") proved he's the whitest guy on the West Coast by commenting, “I like it. There are a lot of diamonds in it, a lot of ‘bling-bling.’"

Rookie netminder Carey Price made his NHL debut last night against the Pens, 22 years to the day from Patrick Roy's NHL debut, also against the Pens. They both walked away with Ws. Congrats, Carey, and welcome to the NHL.

Look. Good for that little troll Comrie that he's hooked up with some "rock star" and managed to wing his way into her heart with a $100k gift (which is probably the only way Comrie can get play). The hockey fans don't care, and don't need to see her face on TV during games, during intermissions, whenever. We love seeing stars in the stands as much as the next fan (and I don't just mean Modano!), but it's getting ridiculous with this one. We get it. Let it go.

FWH favourite Dominic Moore, who was finally getting a fair look by Jacques Lemaire, pulled an abdominal muscle in practice the other day, and is now out with the injury. Dom can't buy a break. Perhaps we should auction a break for him on eBay? Also of note, friend of FWH Brent Burns put up a great goal last night against the Oil. Way to go, Burnzie!


Word on the street is that the Pens and Sens will kick off the 08-09 season in Praha. We're not sure if this is exciting or just plain odd. But hey, maybe the Pens can go check out Puffnuts' Sports Bar!

Lastly...

Dear NHL;
What's the deal with there being NO games on Center Ice on Tuesday night, and 12 on Wednesday? Who arranged this scheduling? Did no one get the memo that there was a Navy football game on Wednesday night? I thought the league was making an effort to not compete with NCAA or NFL showings. Guess what? This week, you FAIL.