One of the lovely ushers at the Tank stopped me before Saturday’s game and said:
“You always have a different look! The day you had heels on and looked like a (sassy) harlequin! Today you look cute and comfy. I love that you always have a different look. Keep me guessing!”
Now, who am I to let her down after such a flattering comment?!
Saturday’s dress-du-jour was definitely a little more on the low maintenance side–especially given the unnecessary upheaval I went through to look presentable at the previous tilt. It was also a matinee game–we don’t have too many 1 pm puck drops here in the South Bay–which meant I was going to be hopping on the train early in the morning to get to the Tank on time.
Went with the black-and-white striped H&M tunic dress, Bebe black leather jacket, opaque black tights and black moto boots. To keep extra warm, I threw on this gi-huge-ic orange sarong that doubles as a gauzy scarf, to cut into the monochrome color palette of the rest of the ensemble.
Even my purse matched!
FASH TIP: I’ve written before that a good purse is a game day must. This new addition to my much-to-large artillery of handbags, leather Kenneth Cole Reaction square tote, is no exception. It’s great quality, and is big enough to fit all my game day/night knick-knacks into–see, I could carry my iPad and notepad in there if I needed to!
Now, if only there was a Bloody Mary bar up here in the rafters during early day games…
Until the next puck drops,
The Girl In The Black Tights
What should have been an easy win, playing a 1-7 team, turned out to be a big tank at the Tank for the San Jose Sharks. Even with double the shots on net, the Sharks were still not able to light the lamp but once against the Buffalo Sabres.
All the scoring occurred in the third period. Cody Hodgson was first on the board for the Sabres at 3:43. Just over two minutes later, the Sabres put the Sharks two in the hole, with a goal from Nicolas Deslauriers, a rookie, and his first goal of the season. Eleven seconds later, an unassisted goal by Brent Burns – his second of the season and giving him a healthy 9 points in 9 games – lit up the crowd and got the Sharks back in the game for the moment. But that would be all to write in the box score.
Unfortunately, the power plays weren’t exciting either. A smattering of penalties in the second, plus some 4-on-4 action, resulted in both clubs coming up empty on all attempts.
So, what was good about this game? For starters, the Sharks were 67% in the playoff circle, winning 33 of 49 attempts. And, Tommy Wingels’ game total of four shots put him ahead of both teams, showing his determination.
Wingels reflected after the game, “I tried to play hard,” but knows that there is work to be done on the D noting “We need to do a better job at keeping them from scoring. We have to find a way to get more pucks to the net.” The Sharks did get pucks to the net, but regardless of those 30 shots, Sabres’ goalie Michal Neuvirth was near perfect.
Adam Burish continued to make his presence known with 3 shots on net. Burns also had 3 shots, while rookies Chris Tierney and Mirco Mueller both contributed to the shot clock, with 3 and 1, respectively. Speaking of those two, the line with Wingels and Tierney, with Mueller on defense, really stood out the entire game.
Coach McLellan agreed in a postgame interview: “I thought Chris Tierney had his best game for us – Tommy Wingels, Matt Nieto – certainly through the first two periods they were our best line.”
Those were the positives and important things to keep in mind as the club faces Pacific Division leader Anaheim Ducks tomorrow in Anaheim.
But to sum up this contest, McLellan further noted, “I thought we just played with them rather than putting our foot on the gas. And that’s disappointing.”
Whether it was the atypical afternoon start time or the Sharks letting off the gas against a team with a less-than-stellar record, this game was disappointing, indeed.
Two teams were undefeated in regulation Thursday night. The Nashville Predators continued that streak while the Chicago Blackhawks added a sad little one in the loss column for a 4-1-1 record.
A number of issues contribute to their inability to dominate against teams they should beat–but a particularly notable one is their inability to shine for a full 60 minutes of regulation hockey.
It’s the middle of the game that proves especially problematic. This season, the team has 63 shots in the second period but no goals to show for them.
Dating back to Game 7 of 2014 Western Conference Finals, that’s a 101:35 goal-less streak in 2nd period for #Blackhawks
Wayne Simmonds is off to a strong start for the Philadelphia Flyers. He ha seven points on the season.
Simmonds has five goals and two assists in seven games played this season. He didn’t register a point in the home opener against the Boston Bruins nor did he get a point against the Dallas Stars. The winger also has two multi-goal games against the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens.
The power play is where Simmonds has done most of his damage with three of his five goals coming with the man advantage. One of the reasons for the success on the power play is that he plays on the top unit with Claude Giroux, Jake Voracek and Mark Streit. Simmonds make himself comfortable in front of the goalie, looking for rebounds or deflections off of shots that the other three players can get to the net. Simmonds just hacks away at the puck until he hear a whistle for the stoppage of play. He’ll stand in front of the goalie as a screen and if the puck is coming he’ll try to deflect it or jump out-of-the-way. He had scored a power play in three straight games this season.
At even strength, he is a plus three. He is willing to battle along the boards and play physical. Simmonds has been pretty solid in all phases of the game, so far, even with his center out hurt. Vincent Lecavalier is out do to a lower body injury and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare has taken his spot on the second line.
Simmonds is one of the few Flyers that have looked ready to go since the puck dropped on the season. He never gives up on the play so that helps him get more points. The winger had a career high in goals (29), assists (31) and points (60) last season, and was one of the Flyers most consistent players. Of his 29 goals last season, 15 of them came while the Flyers were on the power play.
Only time will tell if this is just a hot streak for Simmonds or if it is the real deal. If the Flyers can stay out of the penalty box this season then that would benefit Simmonds because he doesn’t play on the penalty kill. The more that he is on the ice the better shot that he has of having another career year for the Flyers.
Military Appreciation Weekend with the Stockton Thunder is a special event for the entire community. Many military families make their home in or around Stockton, especially with the base close by. The team wears specialty jerseys, the concourse is lined with a moving tribute to fallen heroes and the proceeds from the jersey auction benefit the Welcome Home Heroes Foundation. It is a weekend that deserves a special outfit.
It all started with a jacket, a random find at Target. You couldn’t really make it more perfect than a camouflage blazer and that was exactly what I stumbled upon in my size this past week, so of course I bought it. I already had the same blazer in black so I knew it would be the perfect fit. I paired the camo coat with layered camis in olive green and desert storm tan, a stretchy grey skirt and olive green tights and viola I had an outfit that was made for me. I still had a shoe dilemma but again Target had the perfect little boot number that provided a rougher edge with a side zipper but maintained the feminine with a slim heel.
My friend and I had a pregame nail party so I gave my nails a military color dusting with an olive green base and a splash of gold sparkle to complement the look.
I have to say that this outfit really made my night especially since the home team couldn’t get a W. Given the recent events both in Canada and here at home, the evening turned out to be more emotional for me than I expected and I was glad I had an outfit that worked for the press and paid tribute to our military men and women.
Outfit Breakdown:
Camouflage blazer-Target $29.99
Layered camis- Forever 21 $1.80 (if you don’t have these in every color possible you are doing yourself a disservice to your fashion wardrobe)
Grey skirt-Forever 21 $9.99
Olive tights- Hue-Macys $8.99
Monica Boots-Target- $32.99
Necklace-Forever 21- $9.99
Hockey is known for its ability to bring people together, and this was never more evident this week following the tragedy in Canada’s capital. It started Wednesday night as the Pittsburgh Penguins faced state rivals the Philadelphia Flyers.
In respect to the shooting in Ottawa on Wednesday – where a gunman shot and killed Canadian soldier Nathan Cirillo standing guard at the War Memorial in Ottawa, before House of Commons Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers stopped the gunman as he entered Parliament – the Penguins bucked with tradition with a moving rendition of ‘O Canada.’
Fans were asked by the announcer at Consol Energy Centre, “Please rise and remove your hats. Ladies and gentleman, tonight our thoughts and prayers are with our friends in Ottawa and across Canada. Please join us in singing O Canada.”
For me personally, this was especially moving. After attending a Penguins home game in December 2013, I have seen Pittsburgh hospitality first-hand. But to see American hockey fans paying tribute to a tragedy in Canada so respectfully and wholeheartedly, I can honestly say it moved me to tears.
By Thursday night, several teams around the league had paid tribute to the Ottawa tragedy. The Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild all played ‘O Canada’ in respect of their friends in the north. Additionally, Canadian team the Edmonton Oilers held a moment of silence before their anthems. (Videos for the Red Wings, Bruins, Wild and Oilers can be viewed in full here)
With this show of solidarity, teams throughout the league have clearly demonstrated how the hockey family comes together in the face of adversity, and I would like to express a heartfelt thank you as a hockey fan from the true north, strong and free.
I have seen it happen many times – a disallowed goal ultimately becomes a game-winning goal. Such was the case in last night’s matchup with the San Jose Sharks and the Columbus Blue Jackets. This was such a hard-fought, close game. As noted in a post-game interview by Blue Jackets’ center Artem Anisimov, the “game was wild…back and forth.”
The Sharks got on the board first with Adam Burish’s first goal of the season, and his second as a Shark, merely five minutes into the game. With three chances in the first period to score on the man advantage, the Sharks were able to net one power-play goal from Joe Pavelski.
The happiness of being up two goals soon diminished, as the second period belonged solely to the Blue Jackets. Standout player Ryan Johansen, who idolized Joe Thornton growing up and picked to wear #19 on his sweater, scored his first of two goals in the second.
(photo: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports)
Goals two and three for the Jackets happened in only a minute-and-a-half of one another, one by Mark Letestu, and Johansen’s second of the night.
Both of Johansen’s goals were assisted by Scott Hartnell, and put the Jackets up over the Sharks 3-2 to end the second period.
Notching the additional assist on Johansen’s first goal was Nick Foligno, who commented after the game about Hartnell: “That was a great play by Hartsy (Hartnell). He used his soccer skills. I asked him about his soccer skills. That was a great play by him to just kick it over to me and I had a wide open net.”
A glimmer of hope to tie the game only 2:05 into the third came from Pavelski’s second on the night. Then, an unassisted goal by Logan Couture put the Sharks ahead one. With his assist on Pavelski’s first goal plus his fourth goal of the season in this game gave Couture eight points in eight games. Celebration did not last long as a hooking call on Brent Burns put the Sharks in the box and the Jackets on the power play, resulting in a power play goal by Foligno and thus beginning the Sharks’ demise.
“Mistakes – just too many mistakes. The power play goal they got at the end was a mistake in coverage. Just too many mistakes that ended up in the back of our net. Simple as that,” commented Couture after the game.
What would have been a hat trick for the talented center Johansen ended up not counting. Contact between Foligno and Sharks goalie Antti Niemi resulted in Johansen’s goal being waved off. One of the new focuses for this season is that the two referees and two linesmen not only focus on the action with the puck but also any interference that may occur with the goalie before the puck even reaches the crease. And that’s exactly what happened with this disallowed goal. The game remained tied and overtime looked like a great possibility.
Such was not the case. With only 20 seconds left, Letestu netted his second of the night (and assisted by, who else, but Hartnell), ultimately ending the game and extinguishing any hope for San Jose. A heart-breaker for sure.
Head coach Todd McLellan admitted after the game, “You give up five, you aren’t winning. Our defensive play right now is killing us. You look at the trip we averaged three to three and a quarter goals against per night without the empty netters and now tonight we’re at five. You are not winning like that.”
Even Pavelski, who had his 29th career multi-goal game, was upset: “No one in here is happy with the way we’ve played the second half of games. You think it’s getting better, but we are getting the same results. We’re not good enough.”
Kudos to the Jackets, though, who came from behind and kept on working hard. Head coach Todd Richards commented
“There are a lot of things that happened in this game that remind me a lot of what this team is…Tonight was a resilient win. Finding the game, finding our game… getting us back into it. Getting the lead. I am really proud of the guys.”
For the most part, every entry I have made for the Pink Puck has been happy and light and full of “omg look at how awesome my clothes are.”
But in the real world, there are days where the first thing we put on isn’t what we end up wearing out the front door. And often the road to a happy ensemble is paved with trials and tribulations.
Is this a bit over dramatic for an outfit piece? Probably. But putting my game night attire together when the Sharks hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets was a coffee stain away from being a complete hot mess. Let me explain…
Problem #1: Due to certain sports superstitions, I could only wear certain colors on this particular night. Being that I am a Bay Area native and a certain baseball team was playing in the Fall Classic, I was reduced to wearing only black, white, grey and orange for the duration of October. Luckily most of my wardrobe is black anyways, and I found a dress to wear pretty easily. But said dress needed to be complimented by a certain pair of shoes. The fit-and-flare nature of the dress didn’t pair well with chunky boots; a sleek shoe was needed. Which brings us to…
Problem #2: I couldn’t find my black ballet flats!!! My ride-or-dies, my feets-bestest-buddies, have been missing in action since the home opener. And I haven’t the foggiest where they might be.
Suddenly, my usual game day morning schedule had been thrown into turmoil. I had writing and practice-note-reading to do, I didn’t have time to try on two million different outfits!
At the end of the morning, I paired something together that I was quite happy with. Here goes:
The all-around look is a bit 90s–which is the best because ALL the cool kids are partying like “Blossom” just aired. The dress a little more modest than my usual fitted style. The skirt portion is full and hits just a bit above my knees, and since I’m short the bottom of the outfit would need to be balanced with a sleek shoe to keep me from looking frumpy.
STYLE SECRET: Last season, I re-aggravated an old knee injury and was at games on crutches for about a month and a half. Needless to say, part of my obsession with my little black flats is that they gave me a stylish and comfortable alternative to wearing heels.
Thus, Thursday night’s ankle booties marks the first time I wore heels to a Sharks game in almost a year. You’re welcome, America.
Complimented the look with some rock’n’roll inspired jewelry and I was out the door! Not bad for a day that started out with a near wardrobe malfunction.
Until the next puck drops,
The Girl In The Black Tights
While a lot of attention was on the return of Johnny Boychuk in his first game with the New York Islanders against his former team, after the first few minutes, it became clear that the emotions that may have been stirred up amongst Boychuk’s former players would be the least of their worries. In fact, as the game continued into the second, emotion of any kind may have been appreciated.
Coming off of their win against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday that saw Bruins’ Seth Griffith earn his first NHL career goal, there had been much talk of how the team was beginning to find their rhythm. The San Jose game also saw Matt Bartkowski back on the blue line, with the news that Kevan Miller would be out indefinitely with a dislocated shoulder.
As the starting line up was announced for the Islanders, the Bruins fans were loud with their appreciation of Boychuk, cheering his name, and were happy to see him on the ice. In fact, when he touched the puck for the first few moments there was clapping. As he fired a Johnny Rocket past Niklas Svedberg, the crowd erupted in a cheer. The goal was disallowed as a result of Anders Lee pushing Bartkowski into Svedberg when Bartkowski didn’t have the puck—which resulted in Lee getting two for goaltender interference.
However, it wouldn’t take the Islanders long to score again, with just one mistake after another taking hold of the Bruins in their defensive zone. And like an impending train wreck from which you can’t turn your gaze, the knowledge and understanding that the Islanders were about to score–which they did–seemed somehow inevitable. And once again the Islanders were on the board first.
Just after his fifth shift of the game against the Islanders, captain Zdeno Chara would disappear not to return and the Bruins defense would once again find themselves having to get it done with just five d-men. A story all too familiar to the Boston Bruins.
And unfortunately another story all too familiar to the Bruins fans, the team would come out lacking in all manner of urgency and, as Dennis Seidenberg would say post game, “sleepwalked through the second.” Given that the Islanders managed to get twice as many shots on goal (12-6) in the second and two goals, Seidenberg’s assessment was certainly accurate.
After the game every player who had to man-up and face the reporters would call themselves out for their lack of production as a team, not just in the second, but also in the first period.
“We missed some opportunities to get back in the game and tie it up,” Patrice Bergeron said. “But if you don’t play for 40 [minutes] it’s hard to win a game only with 20 minutes.”
Bergeron went on to explain why, even when they did have control of the puck in their defensive zone, things were still likely to go wrong Thursday evening.
“We’re taking the extra second we don’t have to get the puck out and it doesn’t get out,” Bergeron stated to media present. “Once we do that we’re on our heels, you know, and we’re not making plays and it ends up in the back of our net more often than not.”
Seidenberg was a little more blunt in his assessment.
“That’s usually what happens when you get caught outside, in your zone. You get tired and you turn brain dead it seems,” he said. “But in that case you have to tell yourself to stay calm and make strong plays. Get out of your zone and go from there. Right now we’re not doing that and we get scored on in those situations.”
The fans will let their displeasure be known, but in the end they aren’t telling each player anything they don’t already know. They know they aren’t playing well. They know that they didn’t play a full sixty minutes. In fact, Chris Kelly wasn’t even too sure they played a full twenty in the last period. However it was at some point in the third that they began to play with an urgency and tempo that reminded the fans, and perhaps themselves, of the team they are and should be.
You know when we’re playing good hockey is when we’re crisp, sharp and making the simple plays. – Patrice Bergeron
As the Nor’easter continued to dump rain and the wind gusts reached the 35 mph level (okay – not as hard as a Chara slap shot – but can pelt you with that rain) the last thing I wanted to do was to worry about potentially getting soaked. After all I had to dash from work and catch the subway to what promised to be a very emotional game with the return of former Boston Bruin, Johnny Boychuk. I didn’t want to have my attention on wet feet or cold legs. So I elected to go with a warm pair of skinny pants, a loose-fitting but comfy sweater and one of my favorite scarves. And the booties had been soaked once before without consequence, so I knew that my feet would be dry and warm. They would also be comfortable, as I have walked from the train station to the Bruins practice rink – Ristuccia – in Wilmington (and back). So it would be no problem to get from press level to the Visitors’ locker room and then the Bruins’ room and still be fine for getting me home after the last interviews were done.
Breakdown:
Black and grey striped sweater, Marshalls, $19.99
Black lace front skinny pants, Marshalls, $24.99
Rose, mauve and grey scarf, Nordstrom Rack, $15.00
Grey yarn and black lace fingerless mittens, Marshalls $6.95
Oxblood tie booties, Rainbow Shops, $29.95
Media Tip: Despite being up above the ice, don’t expect press level to be warm. Wearing fingerless, and fashionable, mitts is one way to stay a little warmer and still be able to type on your keyboard.
Prev
