At least it’s over. The Hawks defi- nitely caught a case of Bus-Is-Running-Itis in Nashville on Tuesday night. We’ve been a little rose-colored when it comes to Hawks subpar performances, but there wasn’t any excuse for that bilge that washed up in Music City. Yes, it was the third game in four nights, and at the end of a silly 12 road games in 14. It’s almost a sure thing they were eyeing the home stretch coming up, where they’ll barely be out of the Central timezone for the rest of the season. But that was a pretty inexcus- able effort on Tuesday. Laziness, silliness, stupidness, and any other -ness you can think of were on display, leading us to have to hear the fucking Predators goal song far too many times -- one of the two goal songs worse than the United Center’s (the Kings “I Love LA” is probably worse than The Fratellis, though at least Randy Newman has a hilarious appear- ance on Family Guy to his name). Whatever, it’s over now, and there’s probably no point in dwelling on it. Special Teams A Go-Go One area of concern is the play of both special teams. We’ll start with the power play. Specifically, a hard eye must be focused on the second unit. It has produced exactly one goal in the last 12 games. Versteeg, for whatever reason, has fallen off. Not only is Albatross the name of a kick-ass Corrosion of Conformity song, but it aptly describes Dustin Byfuglien. He can’t, or won’t, get in front of the net enough, doesn’t retrieve the puck with any sort of effort, and his movement is akin to that of an old wino, slow and unfocused. It might be time to change things up. Dave Bolland, while not as flashy as VerStud can be, is a better passer and probably has better feel. Andrew Ladd couldn’t help but be better in front of the net than Buff, and we know his effort will be. The D. Ladd Soul line (Bolland, Ladd, and Havlat) has obvious, destructive chemistry at even-strength, it stands to rea- son it would with the man-advantage. Much more worrisome, though, is the penalty kill. It has fallen from a Top 5 Unit to the bottom half of the league. It has been a sieve. Frankly, it’s time to put Captain Marvel out there, if for no other reason than to win a face-off. Just that alone would kill an addi- tional 20-30 seconds, at least. Toews would provide the same threat that Versteeg does --which is the only reason we can conceive that Q puts him out there a man down. Be- cause, honestly, Versteeg just isn’t that good on the kill. Toews was effective on the unit last season, no reason he wouldn’t be now. If he’s going to make a Mike Richards-like case at contract time (and bet your ass he will) he’d better play in all situations as Richards does. They Were The NHL’s Number One Son, They’ve Treated It Like #2 Tonight, the Clown College-On-Fire that is the Pittsburgh Penguins come a callin’. There’s been so much going wrong along the three rivers it’s hard to know where to start. Suspect off-season moves, injuries, dodgy goaltending, abstract defending, quitting on a coach, firing said coach, the list goes on and on. Things started to go pear-shaped on the Pens when trying to replace Hossa, Ma- lone, and Recchi with Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Matt Cooke. It was always kind of a ridiculous notion. Things didn’t get much better with Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney getting hurt. Even with them, Pittsburgh’s play on the blue line has been hi- larious for all to see -- unless you wear black and gold. There’s not much defending, and there’s hardly any transition game to speak of. That leaves it all up to the forward to do it, and outside of Malkin, Crosby, and Sykora, their forwards haven’t been up to the task. This is clearly something they tried to address with the trade for Chris Kunitz for Whit- ney yesterday. Kunitz may be in the lineup tonight. The Pens are dead last in shots per game, which lets you know how much trouble they’ve had creating offense. Not helping matters is that the very toothy Marc-Andre Fleury hasn’t been bailing them out. In his last 10 games Mr. Ed has a Save % of .884. Backup Mathieu Garon hasn’t been any better. Obviously, the Pens are a front-load- ed squad. Only Scum and San Jose can match a top-two forwards of Crosby and Malkin. But when they play together, there’s no second line scoring. Jordan Staal has been just this side of awful. When split up, Crosby has no support and becomes isolated, as there are no wingers who can keep up with him. All of this adds up to a team in serious, serious trouble. Desperate Pens Call For Desperate Measures It’s hard to fathom that the Hawks will face a more desperate team than Pitts- burgh. They sit outside the playoff picture, and missing them would have financial conse- quences for a franchise that always seems to be teetering on the edge. Not only that, but this was a squad touted as Cup-challenger status, and a playoff-miss would be a huge embarrassment. In the past week, Pittsburgh has struggled to a split with the Isles (which we though only possible if it was a bar bet), been bitch-slapped by the Caps, and beat Philly in Philly. Clearly, they’re a schizo bunch. Their best effort tonight could make things tricky, but who knows if we’ll see it, especially if Crosby doesn’t play (he’s questionable). -Draft Stormy Daniels We Know You Like What’s On Our Mind [email protected]February 27th, 2009 The Committed Indian The REal Fan’s Program THE PENS AREN’T MIGHTIER $3 secondcityhockey.com $3 Computer Dorks Perverts Sidney Crosby People Who Are Still Living In the Basement In Their Mid 20’s
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Transcript
Atleastit’sover.TheHawksdefi-nitelycaughtacaseofBus-Is-Running-ItisinNashvilleonTuesdaynight.We’vebeenalittlerose-coloredwhenitcomestoHawkssubparperformances,buttherewasn’tanyexcuseforthatbilgethatwashedupinMusicCity.Yes,itwasthethirdgameinfournights,andattheendofasilly12roadgamesin14.It’salmostasurethingtheywereeyeingthehomestretchcomingup,wherethey’llbarelybeoutoftheCentraltimezonefortherestoftheseason.Butthatwasaprettyinexcus-ableeffortonTuesday.Laziness,silliness,stupidness,andanyother-nessyoucanthinkofwereondisplay,leadingustohavetohearthefuckingPredatorsgoalsongfartoomanytimes--oneofthetwogoalsongsworsethantheUnitedCenter’s(theKings“ILoveLA”isprobablyworsethanTheFratellis,thoughatleastRandyNewmanhasahilariousappear-anceonFamilyGuytohisname).Whatever,it’sovernow,andthere’sprobablynopointindwellingonit.Special Teams A Go-Go Oneareaofconcernistheplayofbothspecialteams.We’llstartwiththepowerplay.Specifically,ahardeyemustbefocusedonthesecondunit.Ithasproducedexactlyonegoalinthelast12games.Versteeg,forwhateverreason,hasfallenoff.NotonlyisAlbatrossthenameofakick-assCorrosionofConformitysong,butitaptlydescribesDustinByfuglien.Hecan’t,orwon’t,getinfrontofthenetenough,doesn’tretrievethepuckwithanysortofeffort,andhismovementisakintothatofanoldwino,slowandunfocused.Itmightbetimetochangethingsup.DaveBolland,whilenotasflashyasVerStudcanbe,isabetterpasserandprobablyhasbetterfeel.AndrewLaddcouldn’thelpbutbebetterinfrontofthenetthanBuff,andweknowhiseffortwillbe.TheD.LaddSoulline(Bolland,Ladd,andHavlat)hasobvious,destructivechemistryateven-strength,itstandstorea-sonitwouldwiththeman-advantage. Muchmoreworrisome,though,isthepenaltykill.IthasfallenfromaTop5Unittothebottomhalfoftheleague.Ithasbeenasieve.Frankly,it’stimetoputCaptainMarveloutthere,iffornootherreasonthantowinaface-off.Justthatalonewouldkillanaddi-tional20-30seconds,atleast.ToewswouldprovidethesamethreatthatVersteegdoes--whichistheonlyreasonwecanconceivethatQputshimoutthereamandown.Be-cause,honestly,Versteegjustisn’tthatgoodonthekill.Toewswaseffectiveontheunitlastseason,noreasonhewouldn’tbenow.If
he’sgoingtomakeaMikeRichards-likecaseatcontracttime(andbetyourasshewill)he’dbetterplayinallsituationsasRichardsdoes.They Were The NHL’s Number One Son, They’ve Treated It Like #2 Tonight,theClownCollege-On-FirethatisthePittsburghPenguinscomeacallin’.There’sbeensomuchgoingwrongalongthethreeriversit’shardtoknowwheretostart.Suspectoff-seasonmoves,injuries,dodgygoaltending,abstractdefending,quittingonacoach,firingsaidcoach,thelistgoesonandon. Thingsstartedtogopear-shapedonthePenswhentryingtoreplaceHossa,Ma-lone,andRecchiwithMiroslavSatan,RuslanFedotenko,andMattCooke.Itwasalwayskindofaridiculousnotion.Thingsdidn’tgetmuchbetterwithSergeiGoncharandRyanWhitneygettinghurt.Evenwiththem,Pittsburgh’splayonthebluelinehasbeenhi-lariousforalltosee--unlessyouwearblackandgold.There’snotmuchdefending,andthere’shardlyanytransitiongametospeakof.Thatleavesitalluptotheforwardtodoit,andoutsideofMalkin,Crosby,andSykora,theirforwardshaven’tbeenuptothetask.ThisisclearlysomethingtheytriedtoaddresswiththetradeforChrisKunitzforWhit-neyyesterday.Kunitzmaybeinthelineuptonight.ThePensaredeadlastinshotspergame,whichletsyouknowhowmuchtroublethey’vehadcreatingoffense. Nothelpingmattersisthatthevery
toothyMarc-AndreFleuryhasn’tbeenbailingthemout.Inhislast10gamesMr.EdhasaSave%of.884.BackupMathieuGaronhasn’tbeenanybetter. Obviously,thePensareafront-load-edsquad.OnlyScumandSanJosecanmatchatop-twoforwardsofCrosbyandMalkin.Butwhentheyplaytogether,there’snosecondlinescoring.JordanStaalhasbeenjustthissideofawful.Whensplitup,Crosbyhasnosupportandbecomesisolated,astherearenowingerswhocankeepupwithhim.Allofthisaddsuptoateaminserious,serioustrouble.Desperate Pens Call For Desperate Measures It’shardtofathomthattheHawkswillfaceamoredesperateteamthanPitts-burgh.Theysitoutsidetheplayoffpicture,andmissingthemwouldhavefinancialconse-quencesforafranchisethatalwaysseemstobeteeteringontheedge.Notonlythat,butthiswasasquadtoutedasCup-challengerstatus,andaplayoff-misswouldbeahugeembarrassment. Inthepastweek,PittsburghhasstruggledtoasplitwiththeIsles(whichwethoughonlypossibleifitwasabarbet),beenbitch-slappedbytheCaps,andbeatPhillyinPhilly.Clearly,they’reaschizobunch.Theirbestefforttonightcouldmakethingstricky,butwhoknowsifwe’llseeit,especiallyifCrosbydoesn’tplay(he’squestionable).
People Who Are Still Living In the Basement In Their Mid 20’s
Forklift, along with CT, are owners and operators of HOC-KEENIGHT.COM, which is at least the third or fourth most popular Blackhawks-related site. They boast staff writers Slats Radke and Pierre Duguay, and are home to the inimi-table HOCKEENIGHT PUCKCAST. In an effort to increase the num-ber of power play opportunities they have been receiving, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced today they were hiring Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis as their diving coach. “Wemadeittothefinalslastyear,but something wasn’t quite right,” Co-owner and Chairman Mario Lemieux told the assembled media. “When we won our two Cups in the 90s, Jaromir (Jagr) and I were always on the Power Play. I see a lot of my style of play in Sidney (Crosby), where he can do as much laying on the ice as he can do on his skates.”
Louganis was asked what the Penguins needed to workon.“Theyneedtoincreasetheirdegreeofdifficulty,”he
said.“Justfloppingtotheicewon’tgetthejobdone.You
need to do it when the ref is looking, and you need to really sell it.” Lemieux continued. “I always saved my best dives for the postseason. But this is the time of year you work
on technique. You get the dives right, and you’ll start seeing those games where you can get into double digits on power plays. Then, once the playoffs start, you want to make sure even strangth play is a rarity. I scored a lot at even strength, but on the power play, we were unstoppable.” When asked why the Penguins had to go outside their organization to hire a div-ing coach, Lemiuex explained. “I’d love to show Sid and (Evegni) Malkin all my tricks
for getting the referee’s arm up, but I’m to busy teaching them when to spear and elbow when nobody’s looking. That takes up all my time now.”
Top 10 Requirements To Be A Pittsburgh Resident10. You must own at least three Steelers jerseys. One home, one away, and one throwback9. You cannot, under any cirumstances, be any good at baseball8. You have to be able to spell “pierogi” on your first attempt7. You have to be able to name all three rivers that form the Conflu-ence (Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio)6. You cannot say Monongahela and laugh uncontrollably5. You can’t for one second believe that Mario was a big, diving pansy4. Neither is Sid3. Malkin didn’t choke in the Finals last year, he was just tired2. You must wear a Steelers construction helmet. At your wedding1. You must think putting your fries directly on your cheeseburger is a good idea (which, truthfully, it is)
Petr Sykora, Right Wing, Pittsburgh: Re-member when the Hawks shipped Ed Belfour off to San Jose, and you heard we got Sykora in return? Then, to your horror, realized it was his totally useless brother, Michal (we don’t know what
Michal Sykora is up to these days, but we bet it involves a squeegee)? Petr’s consistency is something to behold. The last time he failed to crack 20 goals was 1998, and he’s spent a greatmajorityofhiscareerondefense-firstsquads New Jersey and Anaheim. He’s been justasgoodthisyear,andmaytakearunathiscareer high of 35 goals. Without him, it’s hard to imagine where the Pens might be.
*late game not included
Chicago Blackhawks 34-17-8
# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary (Cap Hit)
88 R Patrick Kane 5'10" 187 20 57 20 34 54 2 36 10 0 3 176 11.4 $3,725,000
24 R The Perfect Beard 6'2" 217 27 59 20 32 52 20 20 5 0 3 177 11.3 $6,000,000
Perhaps it is time to call an end to the Versteeg at center experiment. VerStud only has four points in his last eight, his shot totals are dropping, and he just hasn’t been all that noticeable. Problem is, there isn’t anyone else to put there. Whether Versteeg has just hit a wall or this is water seeking its own level, we’ll just have to see.
Though Huet has been more than solid, he’s done nothing to disprove the theory he can’t handle a major workload. His supbar performance in Detroit on 12/1 was his 4th straight start, Tampa was his 3rd, and last time out in Nashville his 7th. More than three starts in a row with Cris, things get dodgy.
We’ve m
entioned Burish’s surprising play before, but it bares repeating. He’s
3rd on the team in Behind the N
et ratings, 4th in Corsi, and the team’s 2nd
best PK’er.
# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary (Cap Hit)
We’ve been hearing a few Staal-for-Seabrook rumors, and they make us queasy. Staal is on a two-year decline, and this year is worse than last.
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Geno & Ovie....We all heard how Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin ended their feud at the All-
Star Game. But we wondered what they might get up to in the future...
Will they take on the entire Bolivian army? Willtheybecomejustdrinkingbuddies?
Start The World’s Greatest Band? Fight crime in Gotham?
and....
Will Sidney “Humperdinck” Crosby be able to live with the jealousy?
What To Watch For: There’s only one guy to watch, and that’s Eric Godard. He has 17 bouts to his name this season, no one else on the Pens has more than two. Much more likely Crosby will have his period all over the refs’ skates, but if Bolland putshiminhispocketthewayhehasdonewithothertopcentersthisseason,maybeSidwilljumphimoutoffrustrationin
2nd.15:08 √ √ A solid bout between two veteran pugi-
lists. Can we take a second to ponder how Odelein sneaked on to the 1996
Canadian World Cup squad?
HAWKS vs. PENGUINSFight Stats provided by Hockeyfights.com
The Fight Card
Spotlight
Sidney Crosby
CueanyPittsburghfanshowingupatourofficeswithtorchesandpitchforks.Butunlessyou’refromWesternPA,chancesareyou’resickofSidney’sconstantbitchingatrefs(arepCaptainMarvelisgainingissomecircles,too)andevenmoreconstantpresenceonyourTVscreen.Bett-manseeminglywon’tstoppushingthisguyonus,andfrankly,he’snotworthit.He’soneveryad,VersustelevisesthePensatleasttwiceamonth,anditevenreachesdowntoPittsburghbeingyourHI-DefgameontheCenterIcepackageatleasttwiceaweek!Youcanmakeanargumentthathe’snoteven the most exciting player on his own team. The coup-de-gras was his complaint about Alex Ovechkin after their match-up last Sunday. The differ-encebetweenthetwocouldnothavebeenclearer,andthereasonsOvieshouldbethefaceoftheNHLcouldnothavebeenmoreobvious.ThenexttimeSidtheKidsaysanythinginterestinginaninterviewwillbethefirst.HehasmasteredtheMichaelJordanartofsayingnothingtothepress.However,Jordanonthecourtwasacutthroatstonebitch,knownasbeingthebiggesttrash-talkerintheleague.CrosbysoilshimselfbecauseOviehastheaudac-itytodothesame.Yeah,well,Americanfanslovethatshit.Wewantbrash,outgoing,emotional.Crosbyisnoneofthesethings.IfBettmanthinksthatfanscan’thandleaRussianasthecenterpieceoftheleague,thenheneedstoopenanewspapersometime.IntheNBA,DirkNowitzkihasanMVPtohisname,andTonyParkerandManuGinobliarehouseholdnames.Allofthemarenotfromtheseshores.IsthereabiggerstarinbaseballthanDavidOr-tiz?MannyRamirez?Ashockeyfans,we’veseenEuropeansinourleaguefor20yearsnow.Wecanhandleit.Ovechkinisthebetterplayer,themoredynamicperformer,thebiggerpersonality.IsSidawonderfulplayer?Youbetyourassheis.Top5intheleague?Almostassuredly.Thebest?Nope.Sostopputtinghimfrontandcenterandcedethespotlighttosomeonewhocanfillit.Wedon’twanttobefedmilktoastwhenwecanhaveafullmeal.
The Committed Indian is printed by Royal Omega Graphics- Elk Grove, IL847-952-8000
Hilbert scores twice in the 1st period to pace the Hawks,whichletsyouknowjusthowwoefulboth
these teams were at the time.
Dec. 29th, 2003: Hawks 0, Pens 1Hawks are shutout by Sebastien Caron, who prob-ablyjustsoldyouthatbeeryou’redrinking.StevePassmore only gives up one. God, Steve Passmore.
How far we’ve come, eh?
May 26th, 1992: Hawks 4, Pens 5The period that haunts all Hawks fans. Hawks blow 4-1 lead on some of the dumbest defending you’re
likely to see, never recover, and get swept. Haven’t been back since, and we haven’t been sober since.
If there’s one site, other than the original Blue Line, that we mod-eled our whole outlook on, it was The Pens Blog (www.pensblog.com). A more wretched hive of scum and villainy you will not find, and we love it. Simply a must-read for any hockey fan, and tonight they help us out by informing us about the Pens. Obviously, this season hasn’t gone anywhere near what you hoped. What happened? It is a combo of so much. We heard about the curse of Stanley Cup runner-ups, and we laughed in the face of it. Not so much anymore. We thought for sure the Penguins had all the tools to overcome that, but not so much.Injurieshavebeenafactor,butexcusesareforFlyers fans.
We heard all the rumors that the players quit on Therrien, and it sure looked that way by the Pens play. Is that so? Why? And what has Bylsma done different?Itisnotthattheyquit,hejustlostthem,ifthatmakessense. He was a great coach who was able to develop them,buthejustwasnotthecoachtoleadthemforyears to come.
Marc-Andre Fleury has been a bit dodgy recently? Will he get it together or are Pens fans wondering if this is the guy for the future?We agree Fleury has been shakier than Micheal J. Fox, but he is still in the fold. He proved himself in the playoffs as a big game goalie. You have to respect that.
Other than Hossa, Crosby has rarely found a winger who’s comfortable playing with him. Why do you think that is?It is the age old question that has effected so many great players. People said the same things about Ma-rio back in the day. It takes a special kind of player to play with a superstar, and other than Hossa no one has been able to match it. But it is still early in his career will that player could arrive.
Will Jordan Staal ever approach the 29 goals from his rookie year again?No, he’ll be a 20 goal scorer, 25 assist man who is a constant plus every year. No clue how he had 29 goals.
Right, bottom line: Do you make the playoffs this year?Yep, seven seed, and they’ll beat Washington in seven games. Print it.
Every game, we provide you with the Behind The Net numbers. These are at even strength, 5-on-5. Key: QUALCOMP- A measure of the quality of competition each player faces on the ice. Calculated by averaging +/-/60 for opponents on the ice against player. QUALTEAM- A measure of the quality of teammates each player plays with. Calcu-lated by averaging +/-/60 for teammates on ice with player. TOI/60- Time on ice, per 60 minutes, that player spends on ice at full-strength. GFON/60,GAON/60-Goals for and against team per 60 min. player is on ice +/-ON/60- Team’s Plus/minus, per 60 minutes, while player is on ice. +/-OFF/60- Plus/minus of team while player is off ice, per 60 minutes. RATING- +/-ON/60 subtracted by +/-OFF/60.
Player GFON/60
Cam Barker 10.23
Patrick Sharp 8.61
Dustin Byfuglien 7.83
Patrick Kane 7.49
Brian Campbell 7.2
Jonathan Toews 7.1
Duncan Keith 6.45
Martin Havlat 6.45
Kris Versteeg 6.37
Troy Brouwer 6.24
Brent Seabrook 6.11
Player GA/60Andrew Ladd 4.33
Adam Burish 4.62
Brent Seabrook 5.29
Duncan Keith 5.69
Colin Fraser 6.76
Matt Walker 7.17
James Wisniewski 7.26
Kris Versteeg 7.75
Dave Bolland 7.75
Cam Barker 9.99
Power Play RatingsThis is a measure of a team’s
goals-for per 60 minutes of player being on the ice on the power play.
Penalty Kill RatingsThis measures how many goals a team gives up per 60 minutes the
player is on the ice on the PK.
Corsi RatingShots attempted for a team vs. how many are attempted against while a given player is on
the ice, per 60 min.
NAME CORSIJames Wisniewski 23.5
Jonathan Toews 14.6
Martin Havlat 14
Adam Burish 12.6
Troy Brouwer 12.1
Brian Campbell 11.9
Patrick Sharp 11.9
Andrew Ladd 11.3
Kris Versteeg 11.1
Brent Seabrook 10.9
Duncan Keith 10.7
Patrick Kane 10.6
Dustin Byfuglien 10.4
Cam Barker 10.3
Aaron Johnson 8.9
Dave Bolland 8.9
Ben Eager 7.7
Matt Walker 6.5
Colin Fraser 4.5
Penalties Drawn vs. Taken
Pretty self-explanatory. A measure of penalties drawn vs. taken, per 60 min.
NAME PDRAW/60 PTAKE/60
Kris Versteeg 1.6 0.7
Colin Fraser 1.5 0.5
Patrick Kane 1.5 1.1
Adam Burish 1.4 1
Patrick Sharp 1.4 0.9
Dave Bolland 1.3 0.5
Craig Adams 1.3 0.9
Andrew Ladd 1.2 0.7
Ben Eager 1.2 2.6
Martin Havlat 1.2 0.6
Troy Brouwer 1.2 1
Jonathan Toews 0.9 0.7
Dustin Byfuglien 0.9 1.4
James Wisniewski 0.6 0.6
Brian Campbell 0.5 0.4
Brent Sopel 0.5 1
Aaron Johnson 0.4 2
Matt Walker 0.4 0.6
Duncan Keith 0.2 0.8
Face-offsPlayer Face-Offs Taken FO%
Jonathan Toews 917 53.3
Colin Fraser 608 46.9
Patrick Sharp 556 46.0
Dave Bolland 856 43.6
Kris Versteeg 187 42.8
Total Rank: 28th 46.8
Hockey Sabermetrics
Player GAON/60
Rob Scuderi 5.39
Brooks Orpik 5.52
M. Zigomanis 5.71
Max Talbot 6.79
Evgeni Malkin 6.81
Jordan Staal 7.15
Pascal Dupuis 7.29
Hal Gill 7.29
Mark Eaton 8.27
Kris Letang 8.4
Power Play RatingsThis is a measure of a team’s goals for per 60 minutes of player being
on the ice on the power play.
Penalty Kill RatingsThis measures how many goals a team gives up per 60 minutes the player is on the ice on the
Corsi RatingThis measures how many shots are attempted
for a team vs. how many are attempted against while a given player is on the ice, per 60 min.
NAME CORSIChris Kunitz 17
Tyler Kennedy 1.1
Sidney Crosby -0.3
Pascal Dupuis -0.3
Kris Letang -1.8
Ruslan Fedotenko -3.9
Hal Gill -4.4
Miro Satan -5
Evgeni Malkin -6.9
M. Zigomanis -7
Chris Minard -7.4
Phillipe Boucher -7.5
Jordan Staal -7.5
Matt Cooke -8.7
Petr Sykora -8.9
Rob Scuderi -10.7
Mark Eaton -10.7
Max Talbot -13.4
Brooks Orpik -13.8
Eric Godard -23
Penalties Drawn vs. Taken
Pretty self-explanatory. A measure of penalties drawn vs. taken, per 60 min.
PITTSBURGHEvery game, we provide you with the Behind The Net numbers. These are at even strength, 5-on-5. Key: QUALCOMP- A measure of the quality of competition each player faces on the ice. Calculated by averaging +/-/60 for opponents on the ice against player. QUALTEAM- A measure of the quality of teammates each player plays with. Calcu-lated by averaging +/-/60 for teammates on ice with player. TOI/60- Time on ice, per 60 minutes, that player spends on ice at full-strength. GFON/60,GAON/60-Goals for and against team per 60 min. player is on ice +/-ON/60- Team’s Plus/minus, per 60 minutes, while player is on ice. +/-OFF/60- Plus/minus of team while player is off ice, per 60 minutes. RATING- +/-ON/60 subtracted by +/-OFF/60.
1 Evgeni Malkin PIT 882 A. Ovechkin WAS 803 Sidney Crosby PIT 794 Pavel Datsyuk DET 755 Zach Parise NJ 7333 Patrick Kane CHI 54
Goals
Player Team G
1 A. Ovechkin WAS 442 Zach Parise NJ 363 Jeff Carter PHI 364 P. Marleau SJ 345 M. Hossa DET 3431 Patrick Sharp CHI 23
GAAPlayer Team GAA
1 Tim Thomas BOS 2.012 Steve Mason CBJ 2.193 N. Backstrom MIN 2.204 Pekka Rinne NSH 2.215 M. Fernandez BOS 2.247 CristobalHuet CHI 2.32
SV%
Player Team SV%
1 Tim Thomas BOS .9342 Tomas Vokoun FLA .9273 Craig Anderson FLA .9274 N. Backstrom MIN .9265 N.Khabibulin CHI .924
Sunday’sthirdinaseriesoffiveChicagoBlackhawk“HeritageNights”at the United Center, spotlighting once-NHL enforcer Bob Probert, was a perfect example of how a professional sports organization can attempt to present it’s own ver-sion of history, while alienating the truth for the sake of a good party. By ignoring the facts and presenting Probert to Blackhawks fans of 2009 as something he most certainly wasn’t – a hallmark of Hawks’ teams of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the team -- and more importantly Probert himself -- missed out on an opportunity to tell what in part is the inspiring truth. In an interview with the Blackhawks in-arena game program, Probert chronicled his version of the path traveled in becoming a Blackhawk:
“I talked to a few different teams, but I always loved going to Chicago and playing in the old Stadium when I was with the Detroit…. so when the opportunity arose to play
inChicago,Ijumpedatit.” But that’s not how it happened exactly. Blackhawks Magazine as well ignoredthespecificsofProbert’staleandside-steppedanyacknowledgementthatthissupposed famed Blackhawk hero came to the organization as a scumbag drug user and while he did supposedly stay clean as a Hawk,throughouthistenurewasafinancialandprofessionalbur-den. I guess we can add altering history to John McDonough’s marketing 101. Upon completion of the 1993-94 campaign, the Red Wings dragged their feet about re-signing Probert. Stalled labor negotiations between owners and the NHLPA which eventually led to the ’94-95 season being cut in half didn’t give the Wings anyreasontojumponthecaseanyhow. In those days, the free agency period hadn’t quite reached the level of insanity it resembles today, where any player worthadamnissnatchedupwithinthefirst48hours.Therecer-tainly was interest in the embattled bad-boy from a few different sources, but as of mid-July, Probert was a man without a team. Then on July 15, 1994 Probert got all liquored-up, snorted some cocaine and smashed his motorcycle into a car in suburban Detroit. For the Red Wings, this symbolized the end ofthetwosides’affiliation.ForotherteamssniffingaroundtheProbert camp, it was a stench no longer worth exploring. As it turned out, the Blackhawks were the only team left standing, offering a generous four-year, 1.6 million per year contract to a guy who almost-certainly was about to be banished from the NHL for an undetermined period of time. For comparison, $1.6M in the NHL those days was like $4M is now. 1At that moment the facts were coldly harsh; the concerns for Probert’s immediate mortality were very real. Before signing with the Hawks, Detroit executives very publicly stated they were washing their hands of Probert, who had been in and out of rehab almost since the day his career began in 1985. The reality was, Detroit felt they couldn’t control someone who obviously wasn’t capable of helping himself. This was a guy who already had received a ‘lifetime’ ban; multiple DUI’s and was in and out of jailforsmugglingcocaineovertheCanadian/USborder. But on the 23rd of July, a mere eight days after Probert’s accident in West BloomfieldTownship,theBlackhawkssignedhimtothefour-yearcontractworth$1.6million dollars annually. That was a 400 percent raise from what he had been earning with the Wings and to boot, Blackhawks’ owner Bill Wirtz would personally fund Probert’s six-month, $150,000 stay at a rehabilitation clinic in Van Nuys, California. No other team was interested in agreeing to terms anywhere close to those. It would beafullyearbeforeProbertwasclearedbydoctorsandtheNHLtoofficiallyjointheBlackhawks and resume his career. Bill Wirtz’s intentions though weren’t entirely gratuitous. The internal expectation was if Probert could get clean, his on-ice performance would regain its earlierform.HisstatsplummetedinhisfinalyearwithDetroitandthetheorywashis troubles off the ice were directly related. The idea he could ‘steal’ Probert from the rival Red Wings, rehabilitate him and possess the undisputed brute of the National Hockey League played into Wirtz’s game as well. A reasonable hope, but Probert never resembled the player he was on the junkinMotown,post-rehab.Inhisreturntohockey,the1995-96season,Probert’s
comeback was, however, immensely successful with the big guy dressing for all but four games, scoring 19 goals, 21 assists while accumulating 237 penalty minutes, the most of any Hawk since Bryan Marchment amassed 313 in ’92-93. Aside from his comeback ’95-96 season, there really isn’t much to recall about Probert’s Blackhawk career. If it had ended there, it would’ve been one of professionalsportsmostinspiringstories.InsteadtheHawkshungontohimashisfiredissipated and ability slid dramatically from year to year. Astonishingly, Wirtz and general manager Bob Pulford gave Probert a raise when his contract came up for renewal prior to the 1997-98 season. A year later, new general manager Bob Murray inherited the distinction of being the one to approach Probertandrequestherenegotiatehisdeal,takinganearfiftypercentpaycut.Probertresponded by mocking Murray and challenging the GM to send him to the minors. Murray didn’t because Bill Wirtz wasn’t about to shell out nearly two million dollars for a minor leaguer. But in effect he was anyway, as the Hawks were stuck with a player nobody else wanted, and a bad contract on the books for years after Probert had outskated his usefulness. Probert’sfinaldaysasaHawkscameinthe2001-02seasonthatsawhimscorejustonegoalandfourpointsin61games.Hewouldretirethefollow-
ing November after it was clear neither the Hawks or any other NHL team had a swig of interest in him. Bill Wirtz convinced Probert to stay with the organization as an intermission radio analyst (remember how horrible he was?) but that lasted only a few months as Probert quickly fell off the sobriety wagon post-retirement and re-enlisted in a substance-abuse program. Since then Probert’s name has popped up in the po-lice blotter from time to time, signifying a man whose struggles with dependency are interminable. Only three and a half years ago Probert was arrested for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace after Winsdor, Ontario police were called to his home at 9am in July of 2005. Hewasarrestedafterallegedlyfightingwithapoliceofficerbutthe charges were mysteriously dropped because the surrounding home’ surveillance cameras didn’t pick up the incident. Almost a year prior to that altercation, Probert was arrested and tazered multiple times after resisting arrest and fightingmultiplepoliceofficersinDelRayBeach,Florida,whereProbertworkedbriefly.Probertwassooutofitthatnight,thear-restingofficersneverbotheredtobookhismugshotbecausetheywere afraid he would become too combative once again if they
allowed him out of his cell. A year later he was acquitted of all charges. It sure would’ve been nice had Probert stepped off the self-serving plat-form John McDonough placed him on for a brief moment at some point last weekend and gave thanks to the Blackhawks and the late Bill Wirtz for giving him another opportunityatlife,notjustsomethingasfrivolousasprofessionalhockey. What would’ve become of Bob Probert, the infamous heavyweight cham-pion of hockey, had Bill Wirtz not stepped up in 1994, offering another chance at life andaboyhooddream?Theoddsaremorethanlikely–Probertwouldbedead,justlike his contemporary and fellow bad-boy John Kordic who also couldn’t manage the extra-curriculars involved in his chosen lifestyle. Probert’s wife Dani, who’s stood by him throughout these countless ordeals would be without a husband and his children without a father. He claimed his most memorable Blackhawks’ moment being the goal he scored at Maple Leaf Gardens in February of 1999, the last goal scored in Toronto’s historic arena. How about that contract he signed in July of 1994, the company-spon-sored rehab or the gift he received four years later? Probert should be heaving faint praise in this franchise’s direction. Not the other way around. To hear him humble himself in acknowledging that fact would’ve given Sunday night, and his celebrated distinction, in my mind anyway, vindication. They say those who cannot accept the past are doomed to repeat it. Good luck, Probie.
Chris Block is the founder of Third Man In (thethirdmanin.com), the definitive Hawks blog, and Puck Chatter, an outstanding NHL blog.(www.puckchatter.blogspot.com)
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The Hockey Oscars
The Making of The Chicago Blackhawks
YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT2008-2009 Brian Campbell (BUF 6th round 1997
Cristobal Huet (LA 7th round 2001)Matt Walker (STL 3rd round 1998)Aaron Johnson (CLB 3rd round 2001)Antti Niemi (Undrafted FA)
2007-2008 Patrick Kane (1st round) Ben Eager (PHO 1st round 2002) from PHI for Jim Vandermeer (FA PHI 2000)Craig Adams (HAR 9th round 1996) from CAR for future considerations.Andrew Ladd (CAR 1st round 2004) from CAR for Tuomo Ruutu (CHI 1st round 2001)
Brent Sopel (VAN 6th round 1995)
2006-2007 Jonathan Toews (1st round) Martin Havlat (OTT 1st round 1999) from OTT and Bryan Smolinski (BOS 1st round 1990) for Tom Preissing (FA SJ 2003), Josh Hennessy (SJ 2nd round 2003) and Michael Barinka (CHI 2nd round 2003)Kris Versteeg (BOS 5th round 2004) from BOS for Brandon Bochenski (OTT 7th round 2001)
2005-2006 Niklas Hjalmarsson (4th round) Patrick Sharp (PHI 3rd round 2001) from PHI for Matt Ellison (CHI 4th round 2002) and CHI 3rd round pick 2006
Colin Fraser (PHI 3rd round 2003), Jim Vandermeer (PHI FA 2000) and 2004 2nd round pick from PHI for Alex Zhamnov and 2004 4th round pick (WIN 4th round 1990)
GM HISTORYDale Tallon (2005-Present)Bob Pulford (Too Fucking Long, Too Many Fuck-ing Times)Mike Smith (2001-2004)Bob Murray (1999-2000)
info in part provided by hockeyreference.com
The Making of The Pittsburgh Penguins
YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT2008-2009 Chris Kunitz (ANA Undrafted FA
2003) and Eric Tangradi (ANA 2nd round 2007) for Ryan Whitney (PIT 1st round 2003)Michael Zigomanis (CAR 2nd round 2001) from PHX for future consider-ationsPhiilipe Boucher (BUF 1st round 1991) from DAL for Daryl Sydor (LA 1st round 1990)Mathieu Garon (MON 2nd round 1996) from EDM for Dany Sabourin (CAL 4th round 1998), Ryan Stone (PIT 2nd round 2003), and 2011 4th round pick
Matt Cooke (VAN 6th round 1997)Ruslan Fedotenko (PHI Undrafted FA 1997)Eric Godard (FLA Undrafted FA 1999)Miroslav Satan (EDM 5th round 1993)Bill Thomas (PHX Undrafted FA 2006)
2007-2008 Pascal Dupuis (MIN Undrafted FA 2000) and Marian Hossa (OTT 1st round 1997) from ATL for Colby Armstrong (PIT 1st round 2001), Erik Christensen (PIT 3rd round 2002), Angelo Esposito (PIT 1st round 2007), and 2008 1st round pickHal Gill (BOS 8th round 1993) from TOR for 2008 2nd round pick and 2009 5th round pick
Chris Minard (Undrafted FA)Petr Sykora (NJ 1st round 1995)
2006-2007 Jordan Staal (1st round) Mark Eaton (PHI Undrafted FA 1998)
2003-2004 Marc-Andre Fleury (1st round)2002-2003 Maxime Talbot (8th round)2000-2001 Brooks Orpik (1st round)1998-1999 Rob Scuderi (5ht round)
COACHESHead Coach-Dan BylsmaAssistant Coach- Mike YeoAssistant Coach- Tom FitzgeraldGoaltending Coach- Gilles Meloche
GM HISTORY2007-Present: Ray Shero1991-2007: Craig Patrick
info in part provided by hockeyreference.com
Playing at home............ 15-5-5Playing on road........... 19-12-3Scoring first.......... 23-5-3Opponent scores first........ 11-12-5Shoot the puck bimbo scores...... 4-1-1Shoot the puck bimbo doesn’t score...... 11-3-4Shoot the puck bimbo blows editors of Commited Indian..... 0-0-0ANYONE blows editors of Committed Indian ................. 0-1-0Playing on a Monday.............. 2-2-1 Playing on a Tuesday................ 5-2-0Playing on a Wednesday........... 7-1-2Playing on a Thursday.............. 2-3-0Playing on a Friday................ 4-3-2Playing on a Saturday............. 7-4-3Playing on a Sunday................ 7-2-0Savard changes lines during game... 1-2-1Coach Q keeps lines as they are..... 33-15-7Are out-muscled by opponent.... 10-13-4Outshoot opponent....... 23-10-3Are outshot by opponent.... 11-7-5Havlat shies from contact......... 16-6-6Patrick Kane scores............... 11-4-2Jonathan Toews scores.......... 11-1-4Martin Havlat scores............. 12-4-1Patrick Sharp scores............ 15-3-2Dustin Byfuglien scores......... 6-1-1Dustin Byfuglien turns down a hit...... 27-13-6Andrew Ladd scores............. 9-0-1Dave Bolland scores......... 10-1-1Adam Burish scores....... 3-2-0, and totally ruins that joke51 Phantom scores....... 3-2-1Duncan Keith scores........ 4-3-0Brent Seabrook scores...... 4-0-1VerStud scores.... 10-4-1Troy Brouwer scores.... 7-0-0Scoring a Power Play goal....... 25-5-7Not scoring a Power Play goal... 9-11-1Allowing a Power Play goal...... 13-14-8Not Allowing a Power Play goal....... 21-3-0Scoring a short-handed goal........... 6-2-0
Allowing a short-handed goal......... 2-2-1Taking 30 or more shots......... 25-12-6Taking less than 30 shots..... 9-5-2Allowing 30 shots or more...... 16-6-5Allowing 30 shots or less......... 18-11-3100 Level doesn’t cheer for anthem. 15-3-51st of a back-to-back...... 4-4-32nd of a back-to-back..... 7-4-0Opponent played night before.... 8-3-1Taking more than 5 penalties..... 16-13-3Taking 5 or less penalties.... 18-4-5Seabrook gets a flat-footed penalty.... 8-4-4Burish takes a penalty....... 7-5-2Keith takes a penalty......... 10-3-2Sharp takes a penalty....... 10-2-2Toews takes a penalty..... 8-4-2Havlat takes a penalty.... 5-3-0Sopel takes a penalty...... 3-2-1Sopel looks 6 steps slow...... 7-5-551 Phantom blows a coverage...... 23-14-7Toews is trying too hard...... 3-7-2At least 1 fight in 300 Level... 3-2-3No fights in 300 Level..... 12-3-2Playing Eastern Conference..... 7-2-2Playing Western Conference..... 27-15-6Playing Central Division...... 4-6-5Playing Northwest Division.... 12-5-0Playing Pacific Division 11-4-1Playing Atlantic Division 1-1-1Playing NASCAR Division 3-1-0Playing Northeast Division 3-0-1Playing in October.... 4-3-3Playing in November.... 6-3-3Playing in December...... 10-1-1Playing in January..... 7-6-1Playing in February..... 7-4-0Playing in March...... 0-0-0Playing in April...... 0-0-0UC plays really stupid goal song..... 15-3-5Huet’s five-hole open like Lindsay Lohan’s..... 3-9-2
Getting obliterated on face-offs....... 13-10-4Are even close on face-offs..... 21-7-4Eddie O tells crew to “stop it right here!”.... 29-15-8Eddie O tells us D have the forwards and forwards have the D during 4-on-4........ 29-15-8Pat Foley screws up a name...... 32-14-8Ice Crew wear skirts....... 6-1-3Ice Crew wear pants....... 3-1-0Ice Crew wear shorts.... 6-3-2Member of Ice Crew hilariously falls on her shapely ass.... 0-1-0Leading after 2 periods...... 28-2-3Losing after 2 periods...... 2-10-2Tied after 2 periods......... 4-5-3In overtime.......... 3-3In shootout....... 2-5Cam Barker plays....... 27-13-5Cam Barker is in Rockford due to GM incompetence..... 5-2-3Lacking a #2 center........ 34-17-8In 1-goal games..... 7-6-8In 2-goal games...... 11-5-0In 3-goal games....... 7-4-0In 4+ goal games...... 8-2-0Scoring 3+ goals..... 32-4-4Scoring less than 3 goals...... 2-12-4PA plays Ministry....... 0-0-0PA plays Modern Cock-Rock..... 15-5-5PA plays Classic Cock-Rock....... 9-4-5PA plays P.J. Harvey........ 0-0-0Fraser fights...... 7-2-1Burish fights....... 5-2-0Seabrook fights..... 0-0-0Barker fights......... 0-0-2Buff fights......... 1-0-2Sharp fights........ 1-0-0Eager fights.......... 9-1-1On Comcast...... 26-9-5On WGN....... 8-5-3On Vs........ 0-2-0On NBC.... 0-1-0Judd Sirott hates Adam Creighton 34-17-8
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