Bruins and Leafs win, Lucic out with high ankle sprain

I'll be honest. Wednesday night I was exhausted and didn't stay awake past Milan Lucic twisting his knee awkwardly after getting his skate stuck in a rut. I'd been watching the Leafs half assed, but I wasn't paying a lot of attention. When I went to watch it later on the Tivo, I discovered I'd recorded the only available feed - from SunSports. Fail. No commentary on the Leafs win since I'm not a sado-masochist and can't watch the morons on SunSports. So here's what I know, I won't expound on what I don't or paraphrase from other peoples' writing.

The Bruins won all 4 road games, bringing home a majestic 8 points, putting them in 1st place in the Northeast Division. The return of Milan Lucic, and having Savard with the team on the roadtrip, and on the ice for the last 2 games, indeed infused the team with the jump and energy they needed to get it done. David Krejci had a monster of a shootout goal, and I'm disappointed in Savvy for not potting one, considering he and Shane Doan are apparently the 2 best shootout shooters in the NHL (keep your remarks about Timmy helping Savvy cheat to yourselves).

The bothersome bit about the Bruins' game was mentioned in paragraph 1, line 2. Milan Lucic caught his skate in a rut, fell awkwardly, twisting his knee in a manner that knees are not meant to be twisted, then made the most awkward hop off the ice I've ever seen, and was helped down the runway to the room in order to be checked out. However, Chiarelli just addressed the media prior to the morning skate and informed them that Looch has a high-ankle sprain, and will be out for a month. I'm not the greatest at math and dates and shit, but I'm fairly sure this all but eliminates Milan's chances of making the Canadian Olympic team.

Looch, Looch, Looch. Baby take care of yourself. You're having a run of bad luck with the injuries. Your fans are rooting for you, and I hope I speak for everyone when I say get well soon. And watch out for ruts.

King Schenn (for a day)

Big ups and congrats to Brayden (the younger) Schenn.

Schenn the elder & Schenn the younger

BS signed a one-day amateur tryout agreement with the Kings, to fill in for injured the Loktionov (dislocated shoulder), who had been called up from Manchester to replace the injured Stoll.  B rocketed up the depth chart for the Kings' away game vs. the Canucks - convenient as he was in Victoria on Wednesday for a Canadian junior all-star competition. So what does it mean for his future with the Kings? I have no idea. He played his ten games and was sent back to the Wheat Kings, but given the CBA rulings, the one-day tryout allows him to play for the date of the contract. Will they sign him to a professional contract? Unknown, but he put up pretty good numbers in his first NHL game, and he has 39 points in 24 games so far with the Wheat Kings. Keeping him can be a good thing if he can adjust to the speed of the NHL. Although he does need to work on his faceoffs.

LOS ANGELES KINGS

+/-

TOI

A/B

HT

TK

BS

FW

FL

F%

TOT

SHF

AVG

PP

SH

EV

55

C

SCHENN, BRAYDEN

-1

12:31

19

00:39

00:11

00:17

12:03

1

4

1

1

4

10

29

Sadly, the Kings lost, 1-4, but Brayden put up respectable numbers for a first-timer, and at the same time managed to be the 3rd youngest player to play in the Kings organisation. There were only a couple photos of B from the game, and one isn't really a highlight photo, so... here you go! B racing with Mason Raymond for the puck.

Keep it up, BSchenn. Hope you stay for more than a day, big guy! Good luck.

The greatest things are on Flickr

Oh Milan Lucic. How awesomely geeky are you?  Thanks to Artimus Duck on flickr for this one:

This could have only been greater if Luke Schenn were in between Darth Vader and Chewie.

Marc Savard being interviewed by Cabbie in a bedazzled Ed Hardy shirt. This is pure gold, people. This photo could only be better if Sav had on leather pants and a sequined hat. Never change, Savvy. We love you just the way you are!

Most amazing thing I've ever seen

Many years ago, I used to watch Dainius Zubrus try to perfect deflecting the puck into the goal with his ass. Then I actually saw him use it in a game, and I was blown away.

Last night I saw something that beats that, hands down.

Milan Lucic deflected the GWG into the net with his crotch. Now there's a SLIM possibility it grazed his hip on the way in but I am prrrrrrrrrrrretty sure it grazed his jock and changed direction.

That, my friends, is talent.

Here is where I would generally bemoan that coach didn't start out Looch, Savvy and Bitzy together, but that's okay because I'm pretty sure Julien was playing Yahtzee with his lines, because there were multiple times where there were 4 forwards out for extended periods of times, so, whatever. WIN!

Leafs sorta win
OK, they lost in OT. To the Islanders. But here's the important thing. JOHN TAVARES HAD ONE SHOT ON GOAL AND THAT WAS IT. No other stats. I have this kid on my fantasy team and elected to play Krejci and Bergeron, and bench Tavares. Good call since Bergie put up four (4) assists in the game, and Krejc at least had a few more SOG. There was even a point where, and I don't know the LeafsTV announcers well enough, this was said "And Luke Schenn will really speed out of the zone." It warmed the cockles. Luke and the word speed in the same sentence without the use of "needs."

I'll also admit I wasn't watching the Leafs game except following it on NHL.com, but a point is a point, even if it came out of a crushing defeat where the boys came back from 3-0 and never stopped fighting. Who here saw the movie Summer School?  That's where I learned that you don't have to do perfect in order to be good. You just have to keep learning, and keep improving. Sure, they lost. But they played hard, their game has improved, and listen people, Rome wasn't built in a day. That light at the end of the tunnel is getting a little bigger after each game. Um. I'm going to put my pom poms away now.

But seriously, folks. Looch scored with his jock. Epic. I'll find photos. Or rip down the goal and post it on the YouTubes. You gotta see it.

Savvy Returns! I'm still adjusting to the Leafs' win...

Per Boston.com, not only will Marc Savard be making his triumphant return to the lineup tonight against the Blues, but Byron Bitz will also be making the shift to the top line, playing with Savvy and Milan Lucic.

God this sounds so familiar... where have I heard this before?

Seriously. This never gets old.

This is also a pretty great quote from the article, if you didn't bother clicking the link:

In the minutes leading up to practice, the players didn’t know what their assignments would be as they sat at their lockers, the suspense ending when one of the trainers finally handed out the color-coded sweaters, with Sturm, Savard, and Bitz all handed first-line whites.

"Yeah, Claude took his time deciding," said Savard, not noting that Julien actually sought his input in the decision. "And when the boys saw Bitzy got a white jersey, a little roar went up in the room. Hey, that’s nice, he deserves it."

 Aww. And props to Sav for nudging coach in the direction of moving Bitzy up. This should be a great game.

The Leafs beat the 1st place Capitals
Listen, this game was 10 kinds of awesome for a lot of reasons for me. I'm unfortunate enough to live in the DC area, so HNIC was actually blacked out for my viewing displeasure. I was about 15 kinds of pissed off. I hate the Caps. And while their broadcasters are quite entertaining (I love that Locker referred to Kessel as "Phil the Thrill" about 27 times), I hate the Caps.

Mid-way through the first, I was a bit surprised to realise it was so quiet in the ACC that it rivaled Philips Arena in Atlanta for silence. Then I further realised, most everyone in the stands was probably doing the same thing I was - holding their collective breaths in fear of breaking the spell that seemed to have captivated the Leafs, and returned skill to their game.

Now I feel it's my duty to add at this point that earlier in the day on Saturday, I'd given myself a Leafs manicure - blue nails with white tips. My manicures are magic. And the Leafs won. Clearly it's all about me. And my nails.

Additionally, I enjoyed the HELL out of the rally helmets for the shootout. I don't know for certain if he was the first to start the tradition, but as far as I know Marc Savard got the rally helmet tradition started in Atlanta in .... 2006?

 
I loved seeing it in the ACC.

Win. Epic, epic win. Let's see if the boys can do it again tonight against Johnny Tavares and his Islanders. It's for sure a media circus in the GTA today.

In totally unrelated news, I'm 204 unique views away from 25,000 visitors. It took about three years to get there, but I want to thank everyone who's visited over the past three years. Including those who found me searching for "does Mike Komisarek have a girlfriend?," "why the fuck isn't versus on my directv?," "new fire wagon designs," "luke schenn shirts," and "hockey cliches." I've gotten hits from all over the world - India, China, Australia, Finland, Canada, South Africa, England, Russia. I've gotten visits from US Federal and State, and Canadian government employees, from players, from Google alerts, and myriad other people, places and things. Thanks you guys. Sincerely. You fucking rock my world. GLOVE BUMP!

More B's pics / Leafs-talk

I'm going to start with the Leafs talk. B's fans, you can skip down.

So there's a REALLY well-written and well-though-out Dave Shoalts column in today's Globe and Mail, and I want all the Leafs fans who found their way here to go read it. I'll wait.

Read it? Awesome. The points he makes that I like are, what damned good would it do to bring Kadri and Bozak up right now? To start breaking them? Kessel is proof that one player CAN'T change a team (although, if you look to the Bruins and the return of Lucic and Savard to the dressing room, you'll find the opposing take on that). Can two? Three? Four? How many does it take? You know what CAN change a team? The coaching. Now I know Burkie won't fire his BFFRW two months before the Olympics, when he's named him as coach of Team USA. Nothing says confidence in a man like canning him but letting him lead your national team. I really kind of hope USA tanks it in the Olympics giving Burke his just cause. And I hate Team USA as an organisation. Sorry. But that still means a couple months of the Leafs mistaking truculent for turbulent. So I'm here to help. Leafs, pay attention. Luke Schenn, you too buddy. I think I can help you out.

Truculent
1 : feeling or displaying ferocity : cruel, savage
2 : deadly, destructive
3 : scathingly harsh : vitriolic
4 : aggressively self-assertive : belligerent

Truculent

Turbulent
 1 : characterized by agitation or tumult : tempestuous

Turbulent

Stop being agitated. Stop feeling sorry for yourselves. Be aggressive, pro-active, destructive and fierce. Bluntly, stop being girls and just go out and play like men.

That said, I would love to see Luke Schenn in the Black & Gold with Wideman. I think it would work. It might take some time, and sorry, Ference, but y'know. These things (could) happen.  

Moving on.

BRUINS PHOTOS!

I snaked all of these from the B's website, cause, surprise, Daylife let me down again.  Enjoy!

Milan Lucic, I love you. I would bake you chocolate cakes and set

your homepage to Zappos and talk to you in Serbian all day long,

but babe, that nose keeps getting bigger and bigger. You're a beast.

Never change.

Is Recchi giving the finger? I think he is!

Looch's goal. I love how the puck is conveniently cut out of frame.
A more detailed breakdown of the goal to be found on WEEI.

This never gets old. That look on Bitzy's face is HILARIOUS.

Krejc drawing a penalty and Mair looking wicked guilty.

WHO HAS MORE FUN THAN US?

Is the ref in on the win-lovin'? Could Chara be taller?

Could Bergie's Movember duster be any creepier?

In a semi-related note to the "Who has more fun than us" caption... There's an hilarious commercial for the NESN show The Instigators, starring Jack Edwards, Mike Milbury and Andy Brickley (which you totally should watch because it's also hilarious), where Edwards gets nailed with water balloons, including one right to the jewels, doubles over and pain, and keeps getting hit with the balloons. Who are still being thrown by Mike and Brick. I'm pretty sure I have it on DVD, I'll try to rip it and put it up on YouTube cause really, you need to see it.

GOAL BY LUCIC!

In a beautiful win by the Bruins over the (division) 1st place Sabres, Milan Lucic [ME-lahn LOO-cheech. Idiots. I'm going to make a bingo card out of all the ways people say his last name wrong. All time favourite is still "Luke-itch."] scored such a pretty, pretty goal. Might be my favourite play of the season. Some Sabre shot the puck, Rask made a pad save, it made its way through a few Sabres, then Byron Bitz poke-checked it, used his loooong stride and quickly skated into the offencive zone with it, sending a sillllly pass beneath some other Sabre's stick to Looch, who just tapped it in.

LOL: Bitzy's face, and the 2 Sabres fans w/the crossed arms.

Tuukka Rask got his first assist in the NHL (his comment on that: "... I did? Really? Huh, I had no idea. I guess I made a save or something."), and Milan Lucic got his first goal of the season. As well as some AWESOME hits on various Sabres - the hurt he put on Tallinder in in the first comes to mind.

I have to collect my thoughts on this game, but bullet points. Some for laaaaater:

• Pominville taking Z's slapshot in the shin from 15'
• Blake Wheeler hunting a goal like his life is on the line
• Tuukka Rask's catch-and-hold
• Marc Savard's press-box attire
• "When Marc Recchi entered the NHL, Tyler Myers was... not even a fetus!"
• The B's jump in the 2nd
• Rask commenting that it was "kind of slow" for him in the 3rd. Dude, what? The 2nd wasn't?
  
• Milan Lucic and Byron Bitz - switch out Begin for Savard? 
• Jack Edwards' lessons in physics
• Jack Edwards getting nailed in the balls by a water balloon. Thrown by Mike Milbury. I KNOW!
  

Oh, yeah. If you're playing a "4 point game" and the game goes to OT? YOU CAN NOT CONTINUE REFERRING TO IT AS A FOUR POINT GAME BECAUSE THE OTHER TEAM GOT A POINT. RETARDS.

Photo courtesy Getty. You can click it. It gets bigger. (That's what she said.)

Bruins @ Thrashers - picture time!

Before we get into the photos, I want to congratulate the Thrashers on finally being an AWESOME team. That was an intensely great game of hockey last night. It might not have seemed it because the crowd just wasn't there, but props to the fans who did show up. That might go down as one of my favourite hockey games of all time. I'm really pleased and pleasantly surprised to see the Thrash coming into their own finally, and see them playing the way I knew they could all along. That said, I'm still waiting for Kari to return until I really start paying attention to the games. Fucked up? Probably. Will Kari even stay on the team? Who knows. But you know how I roll and where my loyalties lie. But well played, Atlanta Thrashers. Very well played.

These are only the first round of photos I was able to dig up. There were more obviously, but I based these on either the Bruins doing something awesome, or the absolute HILARITY of the fans in the background. Considering it sounded and looked like there was only about 200 people in the building, and 100 of them were Bruins fans, these pictures are high-quality entertainment. I shall point out my LOLs. The good photos are from Reuters. The shitty ones are from AP. All rights reserved, blahblabhblah.

LOL: Looch stripped Bogo of the puck in his first day back on the job.

LOL: Is that a wookie in the crowd over Little's left shoulder
(our left, his right)? And/or Johny Candy's ghost???

LOL: There is very little in this world I love more than a fan
giving a hockey player the finger. And this guy goes all the
way with a double-salute. What is he, a disgruntled former
Ottawa fan? Is the nice older lady behind Z smiling at him?
Is that my Aunt Donna?!

LOL: The look of "this isn't happening, I didn't
see it, la la la they didn't score" on the guy over
Wheels' shoulder. Also, A Krejci goal celebration! WIN!

LOL: There are so many I don't know where to start. I love the lady
in the front row trying to use her Jedi powers (or Harry Potter
protection spells) to keep that puck outta the net. The other big LOL
here is that I was praying Bergie did not go into the shootout. I
picked Ryder, Krejci and Wheels. I was 2/3 right. And lookit that,
Bergie deked Pony right out of his net, AND his jock. That
goal was a thing of beauty. Shame Wheels pulled the same
move and whiffed on the open net.

LOL: The dismay of the three Atlana fans in the audience, and Tuukka with
his best QB pose EVAR (4th-and-2 what?). What's even funnier is that he
was stumbling at the time, and falling backwards, so mad props
to the photographer of this one.

Also funny, I was talking to one of my friends as it went to the shootout (ok, talking is a stretch. I was just saying "SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT" but whatever, it's communication), and look, the B's aren't really known for their prowess on the shootout (I keep typing that shoutout. Hilar!). And uh, hello? Kozlov, Afinegenov, (can't spell that to save my life), Kovalchuk? This was disaster waiting to happen. I told my girl that someone better make sure all the milk crates in Philips were tied down.

As Jack Edwards loves to say - Two U's, two K's and a big fat W.

I'll keep looking for more photo o'hilarity for you. Thrashers fans, you keep it funny. There may not be a lot of you, but I salute those of you that show up and make the game more entertaining.

Also of relevance to Thrashers fans, tickets for Casino Night are now available! The event will occur on 01/10/10. Someone please buy me a ticket so I can come mingle and meet all of you?

Believe in Schenn

Ron Wilson does not:

But I do. And if you do, spread this around. Or make a new one. Believe in Schenn. Someone has to.

Wides hits 100 and other Bs @ ATL / TOR observations!

Congratulations, Dennis Wideman! 100 NHL points. And way to pick up your O. Mikey Ryder, my fantasy team thanks you. Milan Lucic looks awesome out there. There's been a few missteps, but on the whole, looking good. Coach, thanks for taking my suggestion to put Wides back with Ference.

Um. BOTH Thrasher goals left me agape. My jack was slack. Very, very impressive.

This would be SUCH a better game if there was a roar of a crowd. DURING the game. This is a GOOD hockey game. Sigh.

Awesome. A 4 on 3. Say it with me now, lovelies. FIRE. WAGON. HOCKEY!

Seriously this game really needs a roaring crowd. This is intense. It's just not the same without the OOOOOOOOOOHs and AAAAAAAHHHHHHs.

OK I will do a summary of both games tomorrow because a lot of things blew my mind. Like Blake Wheeler whiffing on an open net in the shootout.  And the Thrashers tying it up in the last minute. I SAW THE PITTSBURGH GAME FLASH BY MY EYES ALL OVER AGAIN. Then it went to the shootout. The SHOOTOUT! I cussed for about 2 minutes straight. I told a friend of mine someone better make sure all the milk crates are strapped down, just in case. But Tuuuuuuuuukks!

Anyway, I was watching the Leafs score on my computer, and WHOAH! up 3-0 in the first! Then the Leafs turned back into the Leafs and went on to lose to Carolina 6-5 in the shootout.

I'm getting a good feel for what it's like to be a fan of the Leafs.It's not much different from being a fan of the Caps in the early 00s. Funny, that.

PTHI: Lucic en-route to ATL, Savard sitting, Bruins trade update

Title says it all, really. Milan Lucic will be in the ATL for tonight's game, hopefully playing. Game time decision yet again, so change your bets accordingly, ladies and gentlemen. Savard will not be playing tonight, again, adjust your bets. Holla to my Thrashers friends I quickly notified about Looch missing the game, please adjust your hopes accordingly. Juuuuuuuust in case.

I like to think my use of the Serbian in my prior post really helped him feel better (SHUT UP! I'M NOT DELUSIONAL, OK? I LIKE PRETEND.).

And since I'm posting and don't really want to post bomb you like I have been the past few days... More word on the street from Boston.

Summary: Chiarelli won't be making any trades until Lucic and Savard are back.
Translation: If you guys don't step it the fuck by the time those two return, you're ALL on the block. Give your heads a shake and get yo' shit TOGETHER  (in my head, Chiarelli's gangsta).
Solution: (Per me) Try putting Wideman with one of the stay-at-home defenceman tonight, and not with guys who're going to beat him up to the play. Think it through.

But ooooh, trade threats. Scary.

Here's to hoping Looch'll be on the ice shoving guys over the boards by their asses tonight.

UPDATE: Lucic did not make the trip to ATL

According to Marc Savard, who is well known for being a prankster, Milan Lucic did not make the trip to Atlanta for tonight's game because he has food poisoning. Not that I think Looch is necessarily that kind of guy, but could "food poisoning" be a synonym for "so hungover he can't tie his skates?"

Mamuran? Ili trovanje hranom? Vas presuditi! 
Ozdravi što pre Gino, nedostaješ mi!

Didn't know I knew Serbian, didja? But yeah, I never said I have a lot of class, people. My job here is to MAKE YOU LAUGH!

Anyway, take the news with a grain of salt and consider the source.

Supporting Schenn | Tonight is what Tivo is for

There's a super nice (SHOCKINGLY) article on Luke Schenn in this morning's Star. Someone in Toronto make a sign and take it to the ACC tonight for warmups, and hold it right behind Ron Wilson's head. It should say "YOU NEVER BENCHED WITTER!" Also potentially appropriate, "CAN'T FIRE WILSON CAUSE YOU HIRED HIM FOR TEAM USA? GO CANADA!" I'm just saying.

Get those little digs in where you can, Torontonians, because Wilson sucks as a coach. Can he just get the sack and Burkie ring up Tim Armstrong and have him come take this dude's place?  If CR belongs behind any bench, it's with a big fat ASSISTANT before the word coach. I can't figure out where the hell Army went after the Capitals switched affiliations from Portland to Hershey, but if anyone can lead the Leafs out of the valley and closer to the mountaintop, it's this guy. The first year he coached in Portland, the Pirates went from 12th in the conference with 80 points, to 1st in the conference with 114. I can't remember subsequent seasons, or find ANY information on him on the internets - TIM ARMSTRONG WHERE ARE YOU? Because I sense another Bruce Boudreau situation waiting to happen should Timmy get the call. Make it happen Burkie. The world will forgive you even though you hired Wilson to coach Team USA. But let's be honest, Team USA ain't winning gold anyway. It'll be Canada and Sweden in the final, mark my words.

Sorry, I digressed. We were talking about Luke. Don't bench him. That's the bottom line. He's a fragile little bunny right now, trying to find his confidence and his game again. You really think benching him will give him "the ability to watch the game from up high" and let him lick his wounds? WRONG. That's what IR is for. You just don't do that to a potential franchise defenceman. Case in point: Steve Eminger. Go look him up. He was supposed to be one of the Caps' franchise defencemen and then bounced all over the place after Wilson fucked him up too.

I can go on about this all day, can't I? Here's Luke looking pretty cause all the ladies in the place, I'm callin' out to ya'!

Anyway, tonight is the kind of night Tivo was made for. The Leafs are taking on the WORST team in the league (ha ha Carolina, HA HA!), and the Bruins are down in Atlanta taking on the 4-win-streak-having Thrashers. Plus Lucic and Savard are rumoured to be game-time decisions. With Savard being higher in the "rumour" category than the "reality" category, but no one be surprised if Savvy takes to the ice for warm ups, cause that is just the kind of guy he is. Wysh, over at Puck Daddy, wrote a pretty interesting article about the return of the Lord and his protector. Give him a read. Just skip the parts where he quotes Kathryn Tappen.

So here's what I'm thinking, if you're a betting kind of fan. Keep Schenn in uniform and let him build some confidence against a shit team. I put the line on this game at 4, and I suggest you take the over. Bruins in Atlanta, with a returned Lucic, and possibly Savard taking the warm-ups, this'll have a HUGE psychological impact on the B's so I'm setting the line at 6, and definitely take the under.

THANK YOU TIVO, FOR BEING INVENTED, SO I CAN WATCH ALL THE GAMES. AMEN!

PTH: Savard "close" to signing 7 year deal!!

Sorry I'm all uppity and hysterically fan-girling lately, but DUDE! First off Savvy made the trip with the team to Atlanta - THIS BODES WELL! Secondly, I'm totally copy/pasting from NESN on this one so there's no fuckups in the retelling, cause I've heard he already signed - ENNNNH WRONG!

Report: Bruins, Marc Savard Close to Seven-Year Extension

by John Beattie on Nov 18, 2009 5:52:36 PM

As he nears his return to the ice following a broken foot injury, Bruins' center Marc Savard is also nearing a contract extension with Boston according to Bob Hartley of RDS.

Hartley, who coached Savard for three seasons in Atlanta, is reporting that the Bruins and Savvy are close to a seven-year, $39 million extension.

On Sunday, the Boston Globe reported that the B's and Savard were aiming towards Thanksgiving as a date to agree on a four- or five-year deal at roughly $6- to $6.5 million per season.

The 32-year-old Savard is in the final year of his current four-year, $20 million contract. In his first three-plus seasons with Boston, the All-Star has posted 203 assists and 66 goals in 245 games played.

Bits & Pieces - Bs and Leafs (Milan Lucic up for auction)

Item the first: Marc Savard and Milan Lucic are both to be game-time decisions for playing tomorrow night. Do not let my calm, normal text deceive you. I'm flipping my shit because this has the potential to be the best thing ever. Then again, Pony shut out the Kings 7-0 last week and the Thrashers are on a 4 game win streak. Oh the delicious irony.

Item the second: He made like TWO fucking mistakes on one shift in the third, a 42 second shift if memory serves, and Wilson benched this kid for the rest of the game:

I've read a few things about his fight, and his game, that I disagree with. First off, he was bleeding BEFORE he took on Neil, from Neil cross-checking him in the back as Luke tried to get up from being boarded (if that wasn't boarding, Neil has a career as a prima ballerina when he leaves the game, cause he must've been on the TIPPY TOE of his blade, and frankly, it's Chris Neil. It's not above him to leave his feet). Schenny was on his knees, facing the boards when Neil circled back and smacked him in the back with his stick, causing Luke's face to kiss the boards, helmet askew thus leaving his face unshielded. Watch the replay. You can see the mark the edge of the visor left along his forehead, leading to the laceration. If I'm wrong, mea culpa, but that's how it looked on the Leafs version of the Rogers' broadcast. But I'm not usually wrong.

Secondly, look at how much damage the kid was already playing with. A healing blood blister in his left thumb (and he's left handed), healing bruises on his left hand from punching guys (what was this? 5th fighting major of the season? Has he been hanging out with Lucic? Hmmmm?), looks like his nose has recently been broken (again), and he appears to putting his jaw BACK into place. And then there's that flap of skin above his eyebrow that's gaping and had to be stitched close, cause super glue ain't helping that one. So the kid's just gotten stitched back up and put back together like Frankenstein's monster, he goes out in the 2nd, and OK he was on for one goal against, but he was also on for a goal for. Ruutu then made him a target for the rest of his time on the ice, and when he REALLY started fucking with Luke, John Mitchell (OF ALL PEOPLE) had enough and went after Ruutu. Did I take the blue pill? What was going ON with this game?!

Thirdly, whatever idiot wrote in the Sun or Canada post or wherever the hell it was that Luke "tripped" over Toskala obviously wasn't paying attention the split second BEFORE, when he was hit in the chest with a slapshot that knocked him over. Details, people, try paying attention to them. Shortly thereafter, or perhaps on the same play, it's all blurring at this point, Luke coughed up the puck.

And did not return to the ice.


I'm going over all of this in my mind and trying to decide if Wilson benched him for his own safety, or to send him a message. If it was a message, here's a message, Crazy Ron - go fuck yourself. If it was for his own safety, I'm also of the same mind in my message. Hockey players are the toughest guys you will ever meet. This is a 20 year old kid who's trying to adjust to new partners, new teammates, a slightly different system, and living up to hype. Let him fucking play. Let him make mistakes. I mean seriously, at this point, how much worse can it get? What's he gonna do, let the other team score ANOTHER goal? Whether they're losing by 1 or by 10, they're still losing so let the kid play. Let him find his legs, let him find his game, and stop kicking him while he's down. And while we're at it, someone get the kid some Peas for his face and hands. Greatest thing evar.

Item the third: If you happen to be in Boston on the 27th and 28th of November, you will be able to bid on this spec-fucking-tacular painting of Milan Lucic, created by Russian artist Veronika Loginova. I WANT that. I don't have the money to participate in an auction for it, but that is BEAUTIFUL. Click it to enlarge so you can see the actual texture of the nets in the painting, and how awesome that she used Looch's awesome hit in Seidenberg from last year's playoffs. This is truly an amazing work of art. I expect it to go for no less than $1,500USD. And frankly, that's a steal. I'm not sure of the size of the painting, but depending on size, and if it comes framed or just on stretched canvas, it could realistically go for up to $10k. If I had more information I could use my knowledge of paintings to help you out on a more accurate price. But the proceeds are going to the Boston Sports Museum, who I hope is busy making an awesome fake of it to hang up in their gallery (note: making a fake of a masterpiece is easier than you'd imagine).  So anyway, hit the Garden on the 27/28th and make a bid! THAT COULD BE HANGING OVER YOUR FIREPLACE! Or bed, whatever blows your skirt up.

PTH: KARI LEHTONEN NEWS!

PTH again, but word is, Kari expects to be back skating next week. DW has already stated he doesn't expect the big Finn to return to the team until after the Winter Classic (yes, that is what I am calling the New Year, so eat it), which will then pose a whole new passel of issues, but those'll be dealt with then.

So this is great news the day after Kari turns 26. And watch me leap right back onto that Thrashers Bandwagon (YEAH, SUCH A THING EXISTS) once he returns to the ice. Rakkastan sinua, Karppa!

In honour of this fucking AWESOME news, here's some of my favourite pics of Kari.

Get back on the ice, and get well soon, Kari!

Pardon the Hysteria (PTH)

Pardon the hysteria, but MARC SAVARD IS BACK ON THE ICE TODAY!!!!! From Bish's blog

10:56 a.m.
I've been watching Marc Savard skate for several minutes and to my untrained eye the Bruins playmaker looks to have no mobility restrictions. He has been working with pucks, skating hard and does not seem to be favoring anything.

It is a darn good sight, frankly. And Derek Morris, Milan Lucic and Marco Sturm have all been out to watch him skate and are wearing smiles.

Clearly, Marc looks a little tired or winded after some of these drills, but after several weeks off, that is to be expected. Not to mention that the man he is working with, John Whitesides, is not known for his easy workouts.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing, at least for Bruins fans, is the big 'ol smile on Savard's face.


12:04 p.m.
My favorite Twitter re-tweet of the day to the news that Savard is skating: "Skies parting... angels singing..." Obviously, there are no miracles yet as Savard is not on the ice for the regular session, but the sentiment is correct.

Skies parting? Sadly, not really, but in honour of it, here's Marc looking like a man's man from the Improper Bostonian photoshoot:

And the angels truly sang....

Praise Jesus and thank the LORD! Christmas is coming early for Bruins fans if Savvy's back on the ice, and Looch is set to return on Thursday/Friday.  Is it ridiculous to post too much hope on 2 men that are merely part of a 23-man unit? Probably but WHO GIVES A FUCK, IT'S LOOCH AND SAVVY!

My suggestion upon their mutual return: Put Sobotka with them and watch points rack up.

Vegas odds and Dennis Wideman

I read an interesting article today on the Star, wherein the author pointed out that the current Vegas odds of the Leafs making it to the Playoffs were 1/125 (1.7%). I find a lot lot lot wrong with those odds, because I do a lot of sports betting (WITH FAKE MONEY PEOPLE, I AM UNEMPLOYED) and know a bit about setting the odds and lines, an particularly chaos math. But I had to go take a look and see what the odds are on the Bruins making it.

Now here's one thing I want everyone to keep in mind about Vegas odds at this point. We're ~20 games into the season, or 1/4 of the way through. While commentators and the media love prognosticating this early in the game and saying "if the season ended today...." Except we  need to take into heavy consideration the fact that the season will not, in fact, end today. Here are other things that need to be taken into account, which are not:

• Injuries
• Trades
• Firings
• Olympic fatique
• Streakiness
• Media pressure
  
• Locker-room cancers
• Coaches who can't find their ass with a map and a flashlight

These things are generally NOT taken into account in Vegas odd setting, and introduce chaos theory into the betting predictions. It's almost strictly stat-based, both current and historical, factoring in the stats of all current players, including their stats on previous teams. Odds and lines change daily, and the Bruins losing to the Pens and Isles shifted all the lines in Vegas by 6%, so it goes to show that odds or lines on any given day are subject to change at a moment's notice, and just because Vegas thinks you suck doesn't necessarily mean jack shit.

I've spent about an hour trying to find accurate lines with over/under and parlay on playoff-entry odds, and I'm failing spectacularly, so if anyone knows a good site with all this information (without me having to enter a credit card), please let me know. We'll revisit this later.

Moving on to my favourite B' defenceman, Dennis Wideman.
Dennis, Dennis, Dennis. What are we going to do with you? Is something wrong? Are you hurt? Did you have a personal crisis? I hate saying that you're the B's biggest liability right now, but having watched the past 3 games, I have no choice BUT to say that. Do you miss playing with Ference? Are you relying too much on Hunwick to save your bacon? I just don't understand what the problem here is. Last season you were uh-may-zing. You were a d-man that young kids aspire to be like. We never heard your name mentioned, and that's the sign of a great d-man - they just do their job, they never get credited for it on TV. But the past 3 games, I've heard your name more than if you'd hit up a whorehouse and done the full tour. Get the foot looked out. Get into some yoga. Work on your reflexes, and STOP THINKING ABOUT THE GAME. Just play. That's all. Just play. Be where the puck is going, not where it is. Be where the play is going, not where it is. And for the love of the lord, please don't turn into Garnet Exelby, who has a magnet in his pants and is permanently stuck to the goalpost. You're better than this. A lot better. Let's make this happen. I will cheerlead from the sides, completely with sparkly black and gold pom-pons if necessary. YOU CAN DOOOOO IIIIIIIIIT!

Bruins Game Day Posters

Before I get to the posters - NO ONE FREAK OUT. I changed my nom de plume to match what I use every other damned place so I'm not so confused. Props and love to whomever knows to what my name refers. I STILL LOVE KARI THOUGH, OK? And for those who always wondered? Maalivahti means 'goaltender' in Finnish. 

So I found this guy on eBay who's selling AWESOME Bruins game-day photos. I think you should go check him out, because these are the hockey world version of the old Fillmore West Janis Joplin posters. Yeah that was a stretch, but I made it work! And no, I'm not that fucking old. But I had one in high school and thought it was the coolest thing EVAR. Shut up.

Here's an example to whet your desires:

Click and go buy yourself some memorabilia! You know you want to.

Saturday Night sucked.

One minor complaint I have about loving the Bruins and Luke Schenn is that, the B's and Leafs somehow managed to get nearly identical schedules for the duration of the season. How am I supposed to be a good cougar and watch Schenny play when the Bruins are playing at the same time?! Thank god for opening ceremonies EVERY GAME at the ACC (or so it seems), and staggered start times, and commercial breaks. I still haven't quite figured out the length of LeafsTV commercial breaks yet though, so I'm missing important things. Or unimportant, depending.

But Saturday night, I was pumped. It was supposed to be grrrrrrrrrrrreat! The B's taking on the Pens, whom they'd JUST shut out earlier in the week, and the Leafs welcoming the Flames into the ACC (Side note on why this was great: Kipper's GAA in the ACC lifetime is ~5.42) was filled with promise. And it was 80s night at the ACC! WENDEL CLARK! TRUCULENCE! I felt my heart swell watching Wendel not only beat ass, but pot a shitload of goals. Luke Schenn I hope you were watching, young man! THAT is how you do it. Someone set up a meeting with Luke and Wendel. I think that can help his confidence a lot.

Moving on before I fangirl like a teenager who likes Twilight.... So the game starts. And the Flames put up 2 in like a minute in a half, :16 apart. Oh. Shit. But hello pugilists. Was I the only one laughing at Olli Jokinen dropping his gloves? Has anyone ever seen a Finn fight (Tony Salmelainen not included)? I'm trying to think of badass pugilistic Finns, and I'm failing here. Someone help a sista out.

But oh blessed relief, the B's game was about to start. So I'm working my remote-control magic, caressing the remote and flipping at every stoppage in play and every commercial. And holy fucking shit the Bruins and their O! David Krejci, marry me! I love you! I love when you set up beautiful goals put in from the goal line. And I love your goal celebrations! And I love that you and Sobotka were on the 5-on-3 PP towards the end of the 3rd together (well played Coach!). I can't lie. At some point during the evening, possibly once Monster was pulled in favour of Toskala (yeah, I see the irony too), I kind of just gave up on the Leafs, relying on my friends online to tell me when to flip to catch Luke looking truculent. Because the Bruins! They were playing catch up with the Pens every few minutes. It was like watching ping pong. Not that I've ever done that sober, but whatever. And when Timmy stopped Crosby towards the final few minutes, oh dear god how I love this team.

AND THEN THE BRUINS TOOK THE LEAD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE GAME, with 2:29 to go! Danke, Marco! Then Bylsma pulled Johnny out of the net and put the 6th attacker out, and was I the only one waiting for Timmy to shoot for the empty net? He'd been wandering almost up to the blueline all  night and I felt like it was in preparation for something, and MAYBE THAT SOMETHING WAS AN EMPTY NETTER! HERE WAS HIS CHANCE!

And then.... then it all fell apart.

Patrice Bergeron was moving to take a shot at the empty net from the blueline and HIS FUCKING STICK BROKE. HIS STICK BROKE! RIGHT IN FRONT OF CROSBY, MALKIN AND GUERIN! Sweet bleeding Jesus, those are the last 3 guys you want to have an equipment malfunction in front of. And sure enough, the three raced up ice with the puck and with 00:00:00.04 left on the clock, Guerin snapped it high stick side, tying it, and leaving every Bruins fan in the world with a slack-jawed look wondering, what the fuck just happened? No seriously, what the FUCK just happened?

Just when you thought, well it'll be okay, OT, the boys're pretty good in OT, just, for the love of the lord don't let it go to the shootout cause Julien kind of sucks at picking his shootout snipers. And then Timmy wandered into the trapezoid. And Dennis Wideman, who in all fairness should not have been on the ice, what, having taken a slapshot IN THE FOOT in the 3rd and was shown beating his head on the dasher in pain, missed Jordan Staal coming around to steal the puck from Tim, who got sort of caught up on his own pipes, and Pascal Dupuis just hit the layup right into the open net and the green light turned on.

I'm still wondering what the fuck just happened. I'm sort of over it, cause tonight it's the Isles. But you know what? Let's take a look at the positives that came out of Saturday night, shall we?

LUKE SCHENN GOT HIS GAME BACK! Seriously, Ron Wilson if you don't keep Schenn and Gunnarsson together, I'm coming up to TO and keying "you still suck Crazy Ron" into your car. OK no I won't, but I will think about it for a long time! These two played together the same way Luke and Tyler Myers played together in Kelowna. There was instant chemistry there that hasn't been apparent yet between Schenn and ANY of the d-men he's been paired with, no matter how much he can learn from them a veterans. What have we learned from this experiment? Keep the younger guys together, and look - they stay at an even +/-. Who knew?

Also, Phil Kessel, way to keep trying to carry this team on your back. This is unnatural for me, not talking shit about Philly. But I'll give credit where it's due. But Ron Wilson, I mean it, mister! You know I mean business! You keep those boys together and your blue line will improve. OK well, I mean you have 2 other pairings you've gotta worry about but I propose you put Beauchemin and Komisarek together AND LEAVE THEM TOGETHER, and then I guess White and Finger, and just let Ex stay upstairs. I'm sorry, I spent too many years watching Ex lose games for the Thrashers. His play appalls. I am appalled. It's appalling.

David Krejci got goal #2 on the season, and assist, what, 5? He's finding his groove again. I give it another 5 games before he's back into last season's form, and 7-8 before he's showing us what he can REALLY do while healthy. AND! Milan Lucic showed up in the NESN studios during the 2nd intermission to promote Travis Roy's Fenway Winter Classic charity raffle. We all know I love Looch so it was like Christmas for me. Except.. well. OK I like what Looch was wearing, but I have to admit, he's kind of pushing the mobster look a liiiiiiittle too far here. It's a nice shirt but um. Well you guys can decide for yourselves what you think about this:

Keep in mind that Looch's nickname is Gino, and just go ahead and let your mind wander from there. Way to live up to your nickname, big guy. Drop it like it's hot and get your ass in the lineup on Thursday and all will be forgiven.

So! In my way, instead of dwelling on the negative (FUCK YOU, COMPOSITE STICKS!) I will instead ignore everything crappy that happened Saturday, and post some pictures highlighting the positive. Enjoy. Photos courtesy Reuter's and Getty and maybe AP. All rights reserved, etc.

 

 

Apparently David Krejci didn't actually score, since there's no photos of it. ANGRY FACE! Bring it tonight, Bruins.

OH OH! I almost forgot! Word on the street is, Marc Savard will be signed to a contract extension right around American Thanksgiving. Can I get a WHUT WHUT HOLLA HOLLA BLING BLING?! Wooooord up!  Best. News. Evar.

Lastly (hah, yeah right, we've met, you know me and my PS's), if you're into this sort of thing, go over and check out The Handsome Man's Guide To Life where a totally hetero man posts and reviews the fashion wins and fails of professional athletes, and also talks a lot about the Leafs. I have a sneaking suspicion it may be Sean Avery in hiding, but he's funny, so I'll let that suspicion slide by the wayside.