Both the San Jose Sharks and the New York Islanders are on the skids, the Sharks having lost 3 straight games in regulation and the Islanders, the last 10. Tonight the Islanders, having just lost on Monday night to the Anaheim Ducks 5-2, put a skate back on the tracks and made a comeback in the 3rd to force overtime and a shootout, winning 3-2, with Kyle Okposo potting the tying goal and the shootout winner for the Islanders. The Sharks will have to contemplate a fourth straight loss and yet another game where they have visibly failed to finish playing a full 60 minutes of hockey.
On the last road game in Minneapolis, the Sharks brought back Matt Nieto and Freddie Hamilton from the Worccester Sharks, hoping to inject some speed back into the Sharks lineup. A late goal by Patrick Marleau with a minute left in the 3rd period was all the team could muster after throwing 38 pucks at Wild goaltender Josh Harding, losing 3-1. The road games showed the Sharks with a lackluster power play and struggles on the faceoff dot. Both the power play and the faceoff wins improved tonight, although the one draw where the game was on the line was lost cleanly by Joe Pavelski, Isle’s Captain John Tarvares passing it back to Kyle Okposo for the late 3rd period goal that tied it up and drove the game into extra time.
The matchup between the Sharks and the Islanders meant that fans were looking forward to seeing the return of Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov in net at the Shark tank. Nabokov tended San Jose’s goal crease for 10 years and they were fond memories for the netminder. Although he practiced with the team during Tuesday’s morning skate, the groin injury that has sidelined him for the past 10 games kept him off the ice for the evening contest.
The Tuesday night tilt featured the battle of centermen as San Jose Sharks Logan Couture went toe-to-toe with New York Islanders John Tavares. Both players bring a fierce compete level to the ice on any night they play but sharing the same ice heightened the drama between the two. Their rivalry goes back to their days playing juniors, Couture with the Ottawa 67s and Tavares the Oshawa Generals. Neither would score a goal in regulation, but both players picked up assists and throughout the night it would be either Tavares blocking a Couture shot on net or vice versa.
The Islanders top line of Tavares, Okposo and Vanek created the most havoc in front of San Jose’s Antti Niemi and gave the Islanders a chance to win. After the shootout loss Sharks Coach Todd McLellan said “What is disappointing for me is through the last 4 games the top line on the other team has handled us and done all the damage. Our shutdown group, the guys we rely on in that situation are getting beat right now along with the goaltender, that has to improve.”
It was all New York Islanders netminder Kevin Poulin for the first frame as he kept the Sharks off the scoresheet despite 18 shots being sent his way. The San Jose Sharks began with 3 power play opportunities in the first period. Islander’s Travis Hamonic created two of them and the Sharks generated some good scoring chances during the man advantage. It took a bad bounce of the puck off Sharks’ Brad Stuart at the blueline to give the Islanders their first real good scoring opportunity 15:00 into the period. Neither team would come away with a goal in the first period, but the Sharks dominated the offensive zone and the Islanders defencemen looked as though they lacked the confidence to clear San Jose from their end.
Patrick Marleau opened up the scoring for the Sharks 5:26 into the second period off a feed from Dan Boyle and Logan Couture. It was a power play goal for San Jose after Islander’s Matt Carkner roughed up Tomas Hertl. The Sharks had struggled on the power play as of late, going 1 for 18. Following the game Coach McLellan highlighted the improvement he saw. “It was significantly better from where it was on the road. We looked like we played with authority, had a good breakout, established possession and it scored us a goal so that was good.”
The Sharks second goal came at 15:24 of the second period as Joe Pavelski made a cross slot pass to Dan Boyle who fired it on Islander’s Poulin. Pavelski picked up the rebound and jammed it home. Patrick Marleau started the drive toward the net and for his effort picked up an assist on the goal.
A little less than a minute into the third period the Islanders got a point on the board. John Tavares muscled his way into the Sharks zone, battling one on one with Justin Braun, and took it to the net. As Niemi slid to take away Tavares’ drive, Thomas Vanek snuck in and put the puck over the line. The glimmer of hope appeared for New York and it was enough to give them the confidence they needed to meet San Jose in their end. Sharks Captain Joe Thornton said of the goal, “I think the Vanek goal gave them a little shot in the arm, made them believe in themselves a little bit. I thought we played well for the first and second periods and then we let it slip away from us.”
With a 1:37 to go in the third period, the Islanders pulled Poulin for the extra attacker and got a face-off deep in the Sharks end. Pavelski and Tavares squared up and New York would win the draw, Tavares sending it back to Okposo who then sent it straight to the back of the Sharks net for the tying goal to force an overtime frame. Joe Pavelski who had won most of the face-off battles on the evening, expressed frustration at the loss of the face-off and the subsequent goal. “I lost it, it’s frustrating as the centerman you have a good night and you lose the one and it ends up being the one you want , at the end of the day it’s the one you got to win.” Coach McLellan remarked, “Tavares won it cleanly. You lose a draw like that, they get a freebie and they made it count.”
The game would ultimately go to a shootout, Islanders Kyle Okposo netting the winning goal. The Sharks, who set the pace for the first two periods of play, for their part lacked any sense of urgency in the 3rd period and let the game slip through their sticks. Pavelski commented that they had to be good all the way to the end and they weren’t. Joe Thornton said, “The last two games we’ve been getting good scoring chances, we just aren’t putting it in the back of the net. We’ve done a pretty good job all year putting away teams especially at home, but tonight, you know hopefully it’s just a hiccup and we’ll get back to it.”
The Sharks won’t have to wait long to get back to it as they face the Minnesota Wild for the second time this week, this time on home ice Thursday. The puck drops at the SAP center at 7:30.
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced this afternoon that it has suspended Pittsburgh Penguins James Neal for five games for his kneeing of Boston Bruins Brad Marchand during the game on Saturday, December 7.
http://youtu.be/vvSkvLbGqK0
This video shows some discussion of a couple of the hits that happened during that game, but does show the tripping of Marchand by Sidney Crosby—which the referees did not call—followed by Neal’s aiming for Marchand. When questioned about this, Neal chose to suggest that he had no intention of hurting Marchand, as seen here in the postgame interview.
Neal had a telephone hearing with Brendan Shanahan in regard to the issue, which meant that the maximum number of games that he could be suspended was five.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Neal will forfeit $128,205.15 as a result of the five games. That money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
In his explanation of the decision to suspend for the five games, Shanahan said that it was clear that this hit was more dangerous than it might have looked, calling attention to where Neal is looking.
“While looking down directly at Marchand, Neal turns his skates and extends his left leg, ensuring that contact is made with Marchand’s head.”
The full explanatory video issued by the Department of Player Safety can be seen by clicking here.
And perhaps the best comment on Neal’s attempts to feign innocence comes from Hockey Hall of Famer scribe, Kevin Paul Dupont.
One is left to wonder if Neal actually thought video would not catch him.
Fortunately Marchand did not end up concussed, but the intent to injure was clearly evident by all who watched the game. Hockey is a game of inherent danger and injury simply from the speed of the men playing and the fact that they have sticks in their hands, knives strapped to their feet, and a vulcanized piece of rubber flying at insane speeds. One has to wonder if Neal will be told, by management of the Penguins, that such plays are not acceptable going forward.
Following a successful (six win, one loss) seven game road tour, the Chicago Blackhawks have had a rough go the last three, losing to the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Anaheim Ducks.
““That’s when you hit rock bottom, when you score with one second to go on one power play when it’s been a disaster,” Coach Joel Quenneville told media after Friday’s loss to the Ducks. “We can only go, from there, right up.”
And that they did Saturday, when Florida came to Chicago.
They started Saturday’s game against the Panthers with 21 power play goals in 31 games. Within the first 20 seconds Patrick Sharp scored one (assisted by Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews) after a thoughtless hit by former Blackhawk Tomas Kopecky on Nickolas Hjalmarsson. A short while later in the first period, Brent Seabrook tallied a power play goal.
They maintained penalty kills through the first period as well, despite a record of only 71.8 percent killing so far this season (29th in the league), a stat that was particularly bothersome these last three games.
Marian Hossa scored 17 seconds into the second period on a Patrick Sharp rebound.
Dylan Olsen, who Chicago traded to pick up Kris Versteeg, answered Hossa’s goal against Antti Raanta.
Marcel Goc scored a second unanswered goal about halfway through the second.
In a scary moment late in the third, Raanta took a hit to the head from former Blackhawk/Icehog Jimmy Hayes and appeared shaken up momentarily. It led to a no-goal call due to goalie interference, but no penalty on the play.
“I knew it was not so bad, even though my head was a little hurt,” Raanta told media. “I knew I had to play to the end. I didn’t even want to act like I was hurt. I had a good talk with (head trainer) Mike Gapski on the ice.”
Without another goaltending option, players on the bench discussed who might step in if Raanta weren’t so lucky.
“I asked (assistant coach Jamie Kompon) who was going to go, I think (Andrew Shaw) volunteered. If Antti couldn’t finish, that would’ve been a sight to see,” Sharp said after the game. “(Shaw) keeps getting hit with pucks, so might as well put him in our net.”
Shaw’s puck-to-the-shinpad Sunday scored a goal a’ la game 1 of last year’s playoffs “I love shinpads!” Shaw scored on another power play off a shot by Sharp, with another Kane assist early in the third.
After more than a period of chirping and aggression, Krys Barch and Brandon Bollig finally dropped gloves.
Brandon Saad finished the game coast-to-coast, goalie-undressing breakaway in the final minute. Jeremy Morin and Kris Versteeg, who took a hit to allow the play, had the assist against his former team.
With six different scorers, and holding the Panthers to two goals despite plenty of drama in net, the Blackhawks have shown they can do much better than they have performed the previous three games. Perhaps having Michal Handzus and Andrew Shaw back in the game was a chemistry booster.
Raanta stopped 29 of 31 Panther shots after his unexpected entrance, but jokingly gave himself the assist on Goc’s goal. Because Raanta was on the ice for the Blackhawks’ game-winning goal, he is credited with the win.
There’s no real update for Crawford yet.
“I haven’t talked to the [doctors], but I don’t think it’s too serious,” Quenneville told media. “But when it’s a goalie, it’s a little more serious than other players because of how important he is to our team.”
With no practice Monday, no updates are expected until the Dallas game Tuesday. Until Crawford is cleared, Raanta will serve as starting netminder.
Monday afternoon, the team recalled goalie Kent Simpson, 21, from Rockford and placed Bryan Bickell on the Injured Reserve. Bickell was expected to return to the team soon.
Simpson has q 6-7-0, record for his 15 game appearances in Rockford this season. He has a 3.38 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage for those outings.
Everyone seems to like corned beef hash…except me. It is one of my husbands favorites, while I always tend to stick to the sweet breakfast items, like french toast or pancakes while always secretly jealous of his protein choice to start off his day.
Well, my life changed a few weeks ago when we ventured out away from our usual breakfast spot to a new place. This new place had steak hash on the menu, and it was magical. Lots of tasty red meat coupled with potatoes, peppers and onions, and topped with 2 eggs. A very hearty breakfast that kept me full through lunch.
I decided to recreate this at home after having some leftover meat that I didn’t need for my chili the night before. I marinated it in salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce (but any leftover meat, even pre-cooked, would work for this dish).
1/2-3/4 lb of sirloin or tri-tip cut into one inch cubes
1 TBSP of Worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP of vegetable oil
1 -1/2 TBSP of butter
salt
pepper
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 2 inch cubes
1 large bell pepper, any color, cut into small pieces
1 small white onion, cut into small wedges
Directions:
1. Add 1 TBSP butter and 1 TBSP vegetable oil to a large sauté pan and heat over medium heat. Add cut up onions, pepper and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and cover to allow steam to help cook potatoes through. Cook approx. 20 minutes
2. If time allows, cut up meat the night before, season generously with salt and black pepper and 1 TBP worchshire sauce. Seal in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight. If you are cooking same day, skip the marinade and just season with salt and pepper. Use 1 TBSP of vegetable oil in a sauté pan until warm. Individually place pieces of meat in pan and brown on all sides until desired doneness. Remove from pan.
3. Add 1/2 TBSP of butter to a small sauté pan. Cook two eggs at a time until desired doneness (typically served over easy or over medium with this dish).
4. Mix in the meat with the potato mixture and plate, placing 2 eggs on top of the mixture. Top with salsa, hot sauce or katchup and serve with toast.
This would even be great as a “breakfast-for-dinner” meal.
Sean Avery. Matt Cooke. Dan Carcillo. Esa Tikkanen. Darius Kasparaitis. Theo Fleury. Jordin Tootoo. Claude Lemieux.
Besides being a list of some of my favorite players (and Sean Avery), this is also a list of players people would naturally call “hockey pests” or “four and five lettered words that you can’t say in front of mixed company.” And it’s one thing when one of these players becomes “yours” and is traded to your team. That old saying of “you hate him until he’s your teammate” easily comes into play (except possibly for Dallas Stars fans) but what happens when said player isn’t one of “those” kinds of players?
How do you go about trying to separate your personal rational (or irrational) sports hate for a hockey player everyone else loves?
Vinny, the Puck Buddies resident Islanders reporter and a hockey pest on and off the internet in his own right, had this to say:
“As Seinfeld once said, we root for laundry. We all find assholes less assholey when they are on our team. It’s what fans do. Do not apologize for it, it is natural. But realize, every fanbase does it. To judge them for it is hypocrisy.”
Which is fine and dandy when said player is Cal Clutterbuck (who is only not on my list above because I am a Steinbrenner girl and abhor facial hair) but what if it’s Jaromir Jagr?
I’ve spent most of my life hating the man with a passion that should be considered unhealthy mostly because of his record against the Devils (specifically Marty Brodeur). As we all know, Patrik Elias is my favoritest hockey player ever and, as a fan having to constantly listen to him be compared to Jagr (when there is an entire chunk of young Czech players out of Kladno that the media could much more easily compare Jagr too and sometimes do), or just completely ignored because Jagr is in the room (prior to him actually being his full-time teammate, of course) that the old Derek Edwards quote always came to my mind:
“I’m the second-most-famous person from Timmins, Ontario — after Shania Twain. That’s like being the second-most-famous person from Bethlehem. No one cares about Duncan of Bethlehem.”
And even that is a lie as Steve Sullivan and his Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is probably the second most famous person from Timmins, Ontario.
Out of 99 games played against the Devils, Jagr had a goal in 35 games and 54 assists and 89 points. As of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs when Jagr’s Flyers and Brodeur’s Devils met in post season play, Jagr had 18 goals against him, but I am unsure if in the last year as a Bruin and a Star, if he had any more chances to score on Brodeur. Because if I did know, I probably blocked those thoughts out of my mind rather quickly…
And of course, that’s not even the biggest stat that angers me. The one that annoys me the most has always been the fact that Elias is behind Jagr with the GWG in OT stat. And now after the Nov. 21st game against the LA Kings, Jagr’s numbers are even higher against Elias, as he has 18 game winning goals in over time as compared to Elias’ 15 (who is still tied with Sergei Fedorov and Mats Sundin) — and they are number 1 & 2 respectively of all time in the NHL.
Within the last couple of years, the Devils have been the last stop for quite a number of players, albeit, usually ones who used to play for them and not really players who used to dominate them, like Brendan Shanahan, Bobby Holik, (not counting European) Igor Larionov (and I guess if I’m going to use that kind of American-centric math, can’t forget;) Ilya Kovalchuk, etc. etc. so I was a little prepared for this season being The Season of Jagr but at the same time it’s still been a long strange trip just for me (who knows how weird it is for Jagr and his teammates) and it’s only December.
All that being said, yes, I understand that I am seeing Jagr (hopefully) 14 games this season live in the arena and, yes, I realize I am seeing one of the greatest players of what is sadly becoming a smaller and smaller group of players from my Golden Age of hockey who are still active and, yes, he is a hilarious interviewee (of course, so is Patrik Elias because a dry sense of humor is the best as well) which will be something we’ll all need in the incoming dark days of Devils hockey, but at the same time I still can’t get myself to chant his name with the crowds or clap & holler when his name is called for the starting lineup.
Of course, I didn’t have that big of a problem cheering for him when he scored in Game #4 of the Regular Season against the Vancouver Canucks and I am sure once he scores against his old team the New York Rangers, I’ll cheer even louder because as Vinny said, “I became a huge admirer of Cal Clutterbuck once he put on our jersey. Huger still when he scored against the Rangers.”
The tempo and emotion of the final meeting of the regular season between the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins was established with the first shift on the ice. It was clear that it would be a physical, finish-your-check kind of a game, which traditionally favors the Bruins, as the more emotionally invested they are, the better they seem to play
During that first shift, Penguin Brooks Orpik put an open-ice hit on the Bruins Loui Eriksson, that while not dirty (as in he did not appear to intentionally target Eriksson’s head) should have resulted in a penalty to Orpik for interference. Unfortunately, Eriksson went down hard and then, once off the ice, headed down the tunnel to the locker room. He would not return to the game. And during the post game interviews, Bruins head coach, Claude Julien, confirmed that Eriksson had suffered another concussion.
http://youtu.be/nvteW6mvasA
When asked if it was frustrating for Julien to see Eriksson out of commission with another concussion, he pointed out that there is more at stake than a person filling a spot on a team.
“Frustrating, yeah,” he said. “It has to be frustrating for him too. We’re talking about health here too. Concussions are not just an injury; it’s a health issue and it’s unfortunate that that happened to him.”
And while Eriksson was struggling to get up off the ice, Bruin captain Zdeno Chara cross checked Chris Kunitz, for which he would spend the next two minutes reflecting on his lapse in control.
Unfortunately, what happened throughout the bulk of the first period leaves virtually no one on either team innocent, except perhaps the goalies—Tuukka Rask and Marc-Andre Fleury—who continued to attempt to play the game of hockey.
At 11:06 of the first period, a lot of horrible took place under the guise of a sports game. One player would head down the tunnel to be examined after a knee to the head (after having been what appeared to be tripped first). But far worse, another player would require immediate medical attention requiring him to be taken to a local Boston hospital. A third player would be ejected from the game, for his role in the injury; perhaps never to be looked at the same way again by the hockey community.
The facts, as seen by the available camera angles afforded the various media outlets airing the game show the following at the critical time mark of 11:06.
First, Brad Marchand had gone down on the ice just inside the Bruins red line after what appeared to be a trip by Penguin captain Sidney Crosby. When asked post game, Marchand innocuously responded “I think I just tripped myself. Yeah, tough skates today, two left feet.”
While on the ice, his upper body slightly raised as he leaned on his elbow, Penguin James Neal came along and kneed Marchand in the head.
Click to set into motion.
When Neal was asked about the hit after the game, he responded, “I need to be more careful and I guess get my knee out of the way, but I’m not trying to hit him in the head or injure him or anything like that.”
Neal will have a telephone hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Monday. While assessed a two-minute minor for kneeing on the play, the hearing could result in lost games for Neal .
Second, after having tried to engage Orpik during a previous shift, Bruin Shawn Thornton was seen taking him down and hitting him at least twice which apparently resulted in a loss of consciousness to Orpik.
http://youtu.be/GuVq-TZ7AJM
The referees intervened, issuing a match penalty to Thornton and escorting him from the ice. A match penalty results in the immediate suspension to the player until the Commissioner of Hockey looks into the matter.
The above video shows that Gregory Campbell and Kris Letang were having a heated discussion which is what drew the attention of the on ice officials to that end of the ice, and then shows Thornton coming up and taking Orpik down. However, it also shows no resistance from Thornton as the referee pushes him away toward the Bruins bench. At the door to exit the ice, the referee talks to Thornton who nods and leaves the game.
Anyone who has ever seen Thornton when he is involved in a fight or when he has been ejected from a game for what he feels is an unjust reason has seen an extremely loud and animated individual. Saturday night, as the referee pushed Thornton to the exit door, it was clear that he was stunned by what had just happened and his part in it.
He was made available to the media following the game, and though most will criticize him and his comments, as outsiders—people who do not personally know the real Shawn Thornton—those vilifying him on every blog and through every social media outlet are irresponsible and do nothing to foster communication about the sport of hockey.
The remainder of that first period simply put wasn’t hockey. No one who is a true fan of the sport wants to see any player on either team seriously hurt. And for the Bruins fans, there was the shock of seeing one of the players they respect, cross a line they never thought he would. But in the end, he admitted to his mistake and it is clear that he understands the severity of the trouble his actions have brought on him and his team.
To those who know all the players involved, personally and away from their “hockey” personas, they struggled to reconcile the people they know with the spectacle that was supposed to be the opening frame of a hockey game, rather than two rival gangs rumbling.
Julien, perhaps put it best when he answered the opening question of the post game press conference, “It kind of escalated to the point where I don’t think anybody is proud of what’s happened in this first period; both sides I would hope.”
Coming into last night’s game, the Sharks had not scored more than 3 goals in a game yet this season. But things had been turning around for them. After the first 14 games of the season, they were just 5-8-1 and had not yet been over the .500 mark. The goaltending was definitely making an improvement, as starting goalie Harri Sateri seemed to settling into season form. But, it was still a struggle to put the puck in the back of the other team’s net. Despite that, the Sharks were on a 3 game winning streak. That would all change though, as they put up 8 goals for their fourth straight win.
In the Sharks previous 3 wins, they had also totaled 8 goals. It was the most goals scored my the Sharks at home since the team moved to Worcester. This is also the first time that the Sharks have won four straight in almost two years. So what changed? It seems to be the lines of forwards that are really making all the difference right now.
The game started off with the ice immediately tilted in the Sharks favor. But it looked like it might be another game where the Sharks put up a lot of shots but could not capitalize. There were a few great chances missed early. But that was when the Sharks newly assembled line struck for the first time (of five). Rookie forward Matt Nieto, who recently returned to Worcester from San Jose, passed across the ice to Freddie Hamilton. Pirates goalie Mark Visentin looked like he might have had the shot but it took a weird bounce behind him and crossed the line. Just a minute later, the Sharks got another strange goal. Marek Viedensky skated in, doing most of the work and showing a lot of skill, and took an initial shot. Eriah Hayes crashed the net and ended up putting the puck in off some part of his body. The goal was under review since the net came off, but it was ruled a good goal.
After the first period, the Sharks had an unusual 2 goal lead and had kept Portland off the board. Just in the first, the Sharks put up 16 shots to the Pirates 5. The line of Hamilton, Nieto, and Daniil Tarasov took just over a minute into the second to put their second goal of the night up. This time it was Nieto with the goal. Not to be left out, Tarasov added a goal of his own two minutes later to put the Sharks up 4-0. That was all for Visentin. At 3:10 into the second, the Pirates yanked their goalie and replaced him with Mike Lee.
There was no break for Lee either, though. At 5:25 into the second, the Sharks took the 5-0 lead. Travis Oleksuk added his second of the season. Halfway through the second, the Pirates looked like they might get a small break. Sharks defenseman and captain Rob Davison pulled Brendan Shinimin down while he was headed in to take a shot on Harri Sateri. The referee awarded Shinimin the penalty shot. Sateri stood tall and held the Pirates off the board. Within the last minute of the period, the Pirates managed to get on the board for the first time. Gilbert Brule capitalized on the power play with Sharks defenseman Taylor Doherty in the box.
During the middle frame, the shots were much more even with Worcester taking 15 and Portland taking 14. When the Sharks came back for the final frame, they found themselves on the power play just 16 seconds in. At the :49 mark, Nieto capitalized for his second of the game and his second in the AHL this season. He had two goals through 19 games with San Jose so far this season. Later that period, Hamilton added his second of the night as well giving that line their fifth of the night. Hamilton (2g, 1a), Tarasov (1g, 2a), and Nieto (2g, 3a) all finished +4 on the night.
Less than a minute after Hamilton’s goal put the Sharks up 7-1, Shinimin put one past Sateri. He had not been able to capitalize on his penalty shot but still got on the board. Towards the end of the game, the Sharks added a final goal. Viedensky had been doing a lot of right things during the game and was finally rewarded with the goal that made the game 8-2.
It was the second straight game for the Sharks against the Pirates and the second straight win. The Sharks had a rare Saturday and Sunday off from games last weekend. This weekend, they have two more division rivals to face off against. They host the Providence Bruins tonight. Last night, the Bruins beat Manchester 7-2. On Sunday, they will travel up to Manchester to face off against the Monarchs.
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