Re-post: Army Rangers to Present Flag

I'm just copy/pasting straight from the Bruins site. I'm a Navy girl, but this is awesome. Excuse me, I think I have something in my eye.

Army Rangers to Present Flag

Mark Stuart will receive Bruins flag from soldiers.

Thursday, 12.10.2009 / 9:34 AM / Boston Bruins

BOSTON, MA - Eight soldiers from the United States Army Rangers will present a Bruins flag to defenseman Mark Stuart prior to Thursday’s Bruins/Maple Leafs game in a special pregame ceremony at the TD Garden. From February 2, 2009 to September 11, 2009 the Bruins flag was carried into battle with Bravo Company 2-35 Infantry, 3rd Platoon, 25th Infantry Division United States Army during combat patrols supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"This Boston Bruins flag represents the trademark of the Big Bad Bruins, past, present and future," according to Sergeant Lucas Carr, one of the soldiers from Bravo Company presenting the flag to Stuart. "It marks our steadfast devotion in the call to duty on the fight against global terror and the vindication of the thousands of innocent people that perished during the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001."

The members of Bravo Company that will be participating in the pregame ceremony are SGT Lucas Carr of Boston, SSG. Mark Sollars, SGT. Andrew Zinkievich, SGT. Andrew Rindflesh, SGT. Alick Holland, SGT. Brian Saminego, SGT. Adam Whitney, and SSG. Zach Plante.

Stuart purchased $5,000 worth of tickets to the Bruins/Panthers game on November 12 for military members and their families, as part of the team’s "Military Appreciation Night."

It's beginning to look a lot like hockey!

Ooooooooooooover at Fenwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

SO EXCITING!!!! 21 days to go!

It's the little things that bring me joy

With about 1:49 remaining in the 2nd, and :16 in Toronto's power play, the puck in their defencive zone, Phil Kessel has the puck against the boards. Marc Savard skates all the way across the sheet to throw himself at Kessel, then turns and skitters away to the bench for the change. Kessel turns around, ignoring the puck and the play, and starts chirping Savard. Hey listen, you little snot-nosed punk. You chose to leave. And the boys announced they were going to make your life hell every time you came back. You think because he centred you for 2 years, Savvy's gonna take it easy on you? Grow up. Count your stars that Looch is out right now or you'd be Van Ryn revisited.

Marc Savard, you are totally my hero. I hope you were chirping Kessel while throwing yourself at him. Also I love that Savard doesn't hit, he throws himself at people. Not unlike how he throws himself at the glass after a goal.
 
Big things make me happy too, and let me just say, that robohip David Krejci got during the off-season is really working out for him. Someone put him in an All-Star game. The kid is FAST. He spun Schenn around to leave him on his knees, outskated Kaberle without even trying, and gave every Bruins fan in the world a taste of the skill and talent that's bubbling just below his calm, shy surface. That goal was a thing of beauty and set my heart aflutter. Oh the dekes! Oh the fakes! Oh the wicked forehand he just snapped past Toskala. Was that 7-hole? I think it was!

Toskala is rather askew.

Goal love! Toskala quenching thirst.

And hey, listen, Jamal Mayers? Mark Stuart is going to hand you your ass every time. Just let it go. But thanks for the entertainment!

THAT is how you throw a punch.

Phil Kessel is going to be chirped, booed, and serenaded every time he sets foot in the Garden for the rest of his life. And I could not be happier for that. KesselMania? I think not. KesselFail more like.

I can't wait til Looch is back on the ice and raring to go against Komisarek. Looks like Toronto is suddenly as big an rival as Montreal, if not moreso. When do these two teams play again?!

Psst: It's behind you.

Also, for your pleasure and information, Don Cherry will be manning the NESN desk with Kathryn Tappen and Mike Milbury on 12/30, for the pre-game analysis, and for the 1st intermission, which will be a Bruins-centric Coaches Corner. I can't fucking WAIT. I hope Tappen does as she says she will and just sits back and shuts the fuck up because there is not a THING she can contribute while sitting next to those two great hockey minds. Set your Tivos. 12/30, BOS v ATL. There might be a shoe-beating, who's to say?

Note to self: Save cocky blog posts for after the game, because the opponent will sense said cockiness and set out to shove my foot into my mouth. But thanks to the B's for stepping it up and getting it done. Nice try, Leafs.

Lastly, with tonight's win, Tuukka Rask is 9-2-2 on the season, the best start for a B's goaltender since '73-'74.  God I love Finn goalies.

PS: Yahoo!FAIL:

Um.... pretty sure the only thing Milan Lucic was playing tonight was Brickbreaker on his Blackberry during TV timeouts. Good job using the team's media darling to bring in more clicks, though. Sneaky bastards.

PPS: With Ray Emery on the shelf for 6 weeks with a bruised ego, am I the only one waiting to see how long it takes for Philly to trade for Ty Conklin? It's just not outdoor NHL hockey if Conklin's not playing, and hello - opportunity is knocking!

Looch rocks 30 Rock, TOR v ATL

It really pains me to do this, but Getty/NHLImages are getting really anal about releasing their photos to ANY free photo sources, so ... here's some pictures of Milan Lucic at 30 Rock today in NYC. I'm sorry about the watermarks. I hate them too.

Had to include the last one to give appropriate props to his snazzy and well-chosen outfit. Am I the only one wondering if the camera guy's about to get run down by a yellow cab? You know, it's funny. Mr Charismatic, Milan "The Camera Loves Me" Lucic, actually looks awkward and slightly uncomfortable and hella overwhelmed. In the States, you don't get much more famous than having your face bigger than life in the front display windows of NBC Studios in Rockefeller Center. Welcome to super-stardom, kiddo.

Also! Tonight the 15-8-3 Thrashers visit the ACC to take on the 8-13-7 Leafs. I'm not entirely sure what to say about it, but I'm pretty excited for the game, and I'm curious which Leafs team will show up to play - the team who got raked/blown/crushed by the Bruins, or the one that took the Caps down a notch. I'm just really hoping that whatever team it is, they fight the good fight and don't sleep their way through 60 minutes while the Thrash put on a clinic (See: Leafs @ Bruins 12/5/09). However, this I know: there will be two guys on the ice called "White" and for some reason this makes me laugh.

Milan Lucic: Media Appearance Darling

If you love Lucic, as do I, then this is your lucky week! With the Bruins having the week to get through before playing the 2nd of a home/home-and-home, and the apparently quite-minor high ankle sprain injury (kid's already taken off the boot!), Looch is having a media frenzy. So to say.

Tomorrow, if you happen to be in NYC, Looch will be at the NHL Store (1185 Avenue of the Americas) for what nhl.com is calling a "Q/A Session," from 5-5:30pm EST, which will be something similar to this:

And while in the City, Looch is going to stop by the VH1 studios to talk about the Classic for the Top 20 Countdown show. I'm not sure if he'll be helping count down the Top 20, or if he'll just be a filler or bumper, but Milan Lucic. On VH1. Awesome. The show will air on Saturday at 9am EST. Set your Tivo now!


On Wednesday, Looch, Tim Thomas, Patrice Bergeron, Z, and Marco Sturm (nice representation of all their nationalities except Czech - did Krejci pass on his 7th required public appearance?) will be hitting the Target (LOVE Target!) in Woburn MA (101 Commerce Way) to go Christmas shopping for kids who can't go home from hospital for Christmas. I love hockey charities. They're so awesome. Each guy gets a wish list from each of the participating hospitals. And there is hilarity to be had because, hello?

LOL 1: I know it's a media thing too, but the jersey kills me. Like anyone in New England who saw him would not know who he is.

LOL 2: "I am NOT wearing the hat."

LOL 3: The oblivious couple behind him, studying alarm clocks and iPod docks as intently, while Looch confusedly tries to pick a portable CD player.                                          

LOL 4: Are his fingers pinned between the handle and metal gate?

So there you have it. Loochapalooza. Dig it.

Phil who?

Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out.

Welcome back, to that same old place that you laughed about.

Well the names have all changed since you hung around,

But those dreams have remained and they're turned around.

Yeah we tease you a lot cause we've got you on the spot, welcome back.

Kessel: Oh hey Marco, great to see you buddy!

           Good luck tonight, haha, you'll need it.

   Sturm:  Bereiten sie zu sterben.                          
(Prepare to die)                       

 

Yet another awesomely bad hockey player commercial

I'll give Looch props. His delivery is a little wooden, but his facial expressions are awesome, and you can tell he's speaking memorised lines, not reading a teleprompter. So in carrying with the tradition of sharing with you awesomely bad (although in this case, bad meaning good) hockey player commercials, I give you:

Milan Lucic pimping TTC

Thanks to HubHockey for digging up this gem. If you actually go to the YouTube site, you can find out why the video game looks so ghetto, which is kind of brilliant, IMO.

Here's to hoping Marc Savard shows up next doing an advert for the Ed Hardy Home Collection!

7 + 28.05 + 200 = EPIC WIN

Marc Savard just scored his 200th NHL goal on the eve of re-upping with the B's for 7 years at 28.05m, taking less money than he'd been getting in his current contract, and this is the single most amazing quote I've heard about the re-signing, and I really have to share with my 11 followers:

Savard freely admitted to the media at Wednesday morning’s press briefing he could have entertained more lucrative contract offers had he hit the open market following this season. Toronto, for certain, would have been more than willing to show Savard the money and reunite him with wayward winger Phil Kessel.

But it was an option that the 32-year-old center gave exactly zero thought to while pledging allegiance to the Spoked B – an action that’s effectively thrown down the gauntlet for the rest of the team going forward.

You can read the rest of the article here. But reading between the lines? TAKE THAT, PHIL KESSEL!

Savvy Signs for Seven

I'm kind of in the middle of a move so this'll be short and sweet (just like Savvy himself!). Marc Savard signed a contract extension today with the Bruins for 7 years, $28.5m. What does that say? It says that, just like Krejci, and unlike the winger who fled to Toronto, guys who want to play here, who want to stay in Boston, and stay Bruins, are willing to take less money to get it down. Because let's be honest. Anything over a mill is really just gravy.

Love you Sav! Thanks for staying a Bruin!

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.