April 23rd, 2010 (2)

I figured not to make a big cluster of everything. The last post was NHL playoff hockey while this is more random news and happenings for the non playoff world. First off, you should see this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QL2EgTWEf8

Realize the time Thomas Deruns did it, then the score, and then finally realize that he did it in what is their Stanley Cup finals. Simply unreal. I did a little reserch on this player; he played for Switzerland this Olympics and has played in Switzerland for his entire pro career, playing for Servette Geneve since 2002.

One of the neatest thngs to happen this week was recieveing a letter from Toronto Marlies/Leafs defencemen prospect, Phil Oreskovic. He has a storng career ahead of him, and I think he is a great player. He replied to my letter, saying:

Dear Ryan
Thank you for your letter. I'm sorry this has taken so long to get back to you. I appreciate my fans sincerely and take nothing for granted. Your continued support means the world to me.
Your Friend
Phil Oreskovic

I think that is a pretty cool thing to say. For someone of his profession do that is nice to see. I feel that too many players in today's game do not take what they have for granted so it truly is remarkable for him to say such things. I know around Toronto he has a tremedous reputation, and you can clearly see how in this note. So thank you Mr. Oreskovic for being such a class act.

All my Best; Enjoy Life
Ryan Francis

April 23rd, 2010

The team I predicted to go all the way was put out in 5 games... in the first round of playoffs. Slightly rattled to say the least. That is why you've got to love hockey in April. Who knew that Brian Boucher would out perform all-star Martin Brodeur? I thought Ilya Kovalchuk would be like, "oh hey playoffs, I should be the player I can be so I can get that nice ring, it would help out my swag." He didn't do too much. A very mediocre series for him. He played around 22 minutes a game, scored 2 goals and 5 points. Good offensive numbers but he was also 0 when it came to plus minus. It's great scoring 5 points but if you;re going to let the other team have 5 of their own, there is not much gain. Like I said in my predictions, I hoped Zach Parise would play like he did in the Olympics. Disappointingly enough, he didn't manage to do so. These aren't all the factors the led to the fall of the Devils, but certainly 2 big ones. Let's now hope San Jose can get by Colorado, to make me lot only half stupid. Thornton, Heatley, Marleau... play better then Pavelski's line, s'all I'm saying.

The Boston Bruins are down 3-1 in their series and could be eliminated tonight. One more potential upset, although this may not be a big surprise. It also looks like the young Finnish goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks, Antti Nemi has played solid with back to back shutouts. That shaky goal in the first game didn't get to him, which is great for the Hawks.

Montreal is up on Washington 2-1 with the 2nd period just ending. My inner Habness is clinging on for dear life. Low expectations always result to better surprises, right?

All my Best; Enjoy Life
Ryan Francis

April 18th, 2010

I'm not very impressed with the refereeing in the Montreal/Washington game. Perhaps I am being biased, but after watching replay's, I'm not so sure. The goal where Mike Knuble was just on the fringe of the crease was certainly questionable, but I do believe that it was not the correct call. If Jaroslav Halak did want to move up anymore, the was no possible way of doing so. And let's be honest, do you really think Halak wanted to be where he was with that shot being taken where it was? Then there was the one where Hal Gill "shoved" a Washington Capital into Halak. I felt that the the play should have been whistled down at least. Not finished there, before Alex Ovechkin's shot went across the line, he speared Halak into the net. That was defiantly spearing or goaltender interference. Plus there was the call on Benoit Pouliot where it was just another slash that would usually go unnoticed by the ref. I can understand Mike Cammalleri's first slash where he broke Carlson's stick but when it happens twice, you've got to let it go. I mean, I can break those sticks with little effort, so really it's barley a slash. Are you telling me if Chris Pronger did that he's be called? No way. Plus, that play led to Ovechkin skating to his bench with the broken stick. I don't care if it was harmless, because I know it was, but it's still a penalty in the rule book. Oh well, perhaps it was just me. I was glad to see the OT winner go in clean. Montreal should be happy going into the Bell Centre tied with Washington.

TSN did a beautiful piece on Taylor Pyatt before the Phoenix vs. Detroit game. I've been a fan of his while he played on the Vancouver and became an even bigger supporter of his since the incident last year.

Phoenix just grabbed the lead quickly. Hockey and studying for me for the rest of the day. The hockey I suppose evens out the crummy studying!

All my Best; Enjoy Life
Ryan Francis

April 17th, 2010

And to think I simply went out to the kitchen to get a bowl of Froot Loops. I thought I had time! But no, Peter Regin had to score just 18 seconds into the first period. Thankfully my timing with the Froot Loops wasn't all to awful, and I was able to see the reply just after the orginal goal. The Froot Loops were well worth it by the way, I had to get seconds.

The Penguins were able to eventually get the win in a great game. Sidney Crosby played great, scoring a goal and setting up the game winner. Heck, he even tried to impersonate Roberto Luongo with a diving save. Luongo's was better, we all know that but still, very impressive Mr. Crosby. Monster Andy Sutton at 6'6 landed a huge hit on defenceman Jordan Leopold. Sutton was clearly trying to put Leopold through the boards, but interestingly enough, he was the one to "go through the boards." Leopold stayed down for a bit, and left the game; more information on his status will be available today. The hit was clean, just very nasty.

It was a hard night to decide what game to watch. The Pittsburgh and Ottawa game was high intensity, but I had more intrest in the Philly/NJ game. Channel flip I did do. New Jersey was able to get the win, to even up the series one a peice. All games last night actually went in favor for my predictions. Well except, the Nashville game, but the was game one of a best of seven series.

So Montreal takes on Washington in game 2. I would like nothing more then a 2-0 series lead for my 16th birthday. I hope to see Ovechkin be the same player he was last game, and Jaroslaov Spacek do the same. It should be a dandy.

All my Best; Enjoy Life
Ryan Francis

April 16th, 2010 (2)

With my first round predictions done and up, that leaves the next rounds to, well predict. Here I go:

2nd Round:
Pittsburgh (4) over Washington (1) in 7
New Jersey (2) over Buffalo (3) in 5

San Jose (1) over Los Angeles (6) in 5
Chicago (2) over Detroit (5) in 6

Another classic between Washington and Pittsburgh, and Sidney Crosby again proves is amazingness. He has proved over and over again that he leads team victory. It's a thriller no doubt, again and will be awesome just like last year. New Jersery handles Buffalo because Martin Brodeur realizes the goalie he is. He somehow out duels Ryan Miller. Zach Parise will be the player he is destined to be, like he is in an American sweater. In the West, San Jose gets by LA in 5, but all games are scarily close. Chicago's skill is just too great over Jimmy Howard and the aging Red Wings.

3rd Round:
New Jersey (2) over Pittsburgh (4) in 6
San Jose (1) over Chicago (2) in 7

Everyone on New Jersey elevates their game, and everything good must come to an end. As unreal as it would be to see the Penguins make the Cup finals 3 years in a row, it just won't happen. Parise and Brodeur continue to lead the way, with a wonderful supporting cast to help along the way. As great as Chicago is, I think San Jose will get past narrowly because they have the best first line going and are well coached, plus the have home advantage.

The Stanley Cup Finals:
New Jersey (2) over San Jose (1) in 6

I'm scared about this pick, but I'm taking the New Jersey Devils for the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions. They have one of the greatest goaltenders of all-time, and despite his shaky play of late, he is going to realize that he is playing for the Stanley Cup. We all saw how much Zach Parise wanted that gold medal in February and he played like a champion. They have Travis Zajac, and Ilya Kovalchuk for goals, alongside Parise. Then they have David Clarkson, Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Rolston, Jay Paldonfo, and the list goes on. They have the right roster to win the Cup. There defencemen are no wheres impressive, but you know what you are going to get night in and night out. All 6 of their defenders are consistent.

All my Best; Enjoy Life
Ryan Francis

April 16th, 2010

Without out a doubt, this is one of the best time of the year. What really can be better than playoff hockey, every night for the next 2 months? It is slightly tiring though. I made a big mistake last night attempting to stay up and watch the Vancouver/Phoenix game after the thrill of the Montreal game. It certainly has been an interesting to see the finals of the games. I would have never guessed Colorado would have beat San Jose and Montreal beat Washington in the first game.

I made my picks a day before the playoffs, and figure although late, it would still make sense to post them. The teams I have picked to go on past the first round haven't won a game yet. Oh dear, plus I'm starting to doubt my pick for the Stanley Cup champion... already.

1st round:
Washington (1) over Montreal (8) in 5
New Jersey (2) over Philadelphia (7) in 6
Buffalo (3) over Boston (6) in 6
Pittsburgh (4) over Ottawa (5) in 6

San Jose (1) over Colorado (8) in 4
Chicago(2) over Nashville (7) in 5
Los Angeles (6) over Vancouver (3) in 7
Detroit (5) over Phoenix (4) in 6

Not many surprises here, actually almost the same as TSN (I picked before their show, I promise!) The only first round upsets are Los Angeles over Vancouver and that is so up in the air. I just feel that LA has the right amount of youngsters and vetrens, and Vancouver lacks skill defensivley wise. The other "upset" is Phoenix losing to Detroit but I think everyone sees Detroit getting by. Also, it looks like I failed on the San Jose/Colorado series. I called the sweep, and Colorado won the first game.

All my Best; Enjoy Life
Ryan Francis

April 9th, 2010

Two nights ago, the New York Rangers took on the Toronto Maple Leafs. The game ended in a 5-1 win for the Blue Shirts and I was able to catch some of the game. What made the game, was 28 year old Aaron Voros scoring the last goal 12 minutes into the 3rd period. It was his 3rd goal of the season and 18th of his NHL career. He doesn't score often, so he doesn't get much practice when it comes to celebrations. What he did after the gaol though was gold. Remember, this was to put them up by 4 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He simply smashed his sticked against the boards. It was great, how many people slam their sticks into the glass after a goal? All I have to say is, take that Alexander Ovechkin.

To my disappointment, Montreal was unable to get the point they needed to lock up their playoff spot last night vs. Carolina. It will take a lot for the Habs to loose it, but it really would have been nice if they could have managed to pull off the win. They have a chance again vs. a much more difficult opposition, Chicago to clinch a berth. New York (the Rangers, not the Islanders, duh) have an important home and home vs. Philadelphia that may decide who gets into the post season. Unfortunately, no hockey is on any channels I have, but NHL.com has the game at 2-1 for New York after 1 period of play.

In other hockey news, Alexei Ponikarovsky of the Pittsburgh Penguins was suspended for the remainder of the season (all 2 games!) for a hit from behind on Islanders, Josh Bailey. What blew my mind while reading about this, is that Ponikarovsky will be losing more than 20,000 dollars over this! I never thought much of how much money the players lose when suspended. Let's be honest though, I imagine 20 grand isn't much to him. So, Mr. Dan Carcillo, how much have you lost over the years?

March 5th, 2010

A couple of former Halifax Mooseheads were able to make it into the hockey world the past week. First in the NHL, where the 23-year-old, American goaltender Jeremy Duchense made his NHL debut with the Philadelphia Flyers. He has been the 7th goaltender used by the Flyers the season. He was put in the early going of the 3rd period after Brian Boucher was pulled. He faced 4 shots, and allowed one goal. He was a late call up for Philadelphia and interestingly enough, the night before Duchense was pulled in his AHL game after allowing a goal from centre ice. When he was picked in the 4th round of the '05 draft, I doubted he would ever become a NHL goaltender. Well, he got a chance to do so, and is a step closer to being a part of the show.

The other Moosehead who made news, was current player, Gabriel Desjardins who was named to the U18 Team Canada roster last week. He, along his teammates will compete in Belarus this week. Congrats and best of luck to him.

The playoffs are a week away, and there is quite the interesting battle for the last couple of spots in the East. Atlanta doesn't have enough time left, as they only have 3 games compared to Philly's and Montreal's 4 and are 3 points from 8th. I fell that Montreal is safe because of the extra game and the way Jaroslav Halak has been playing. I've been able to watch his past two shutouts and he has been wonderful. The way the Habs have been playing isn't great but they must be gaining confidence is their goaltender situation, but certainly not themselves. One player I feel who has risen his game though is Andrei Kostitsyn. He has been playing well along the boards and is in the right places. He has always seemed to be average but his play of late has shown his potential.

New York I feel will be able to sneak into the 8th place somehow, which leaves Philadelphia and Boston to duel for the 7th and 9th. It is hard to say who will be the winners, if Boston had Marc Savard then without a doubt it's Boston but will they be able to play well enough the next 3 games to get by? The win vs. Toronto was a sweater but they pulled through, but now have to face the 1st place Caps, twice. 3rd place, Buffalo is in there future to, and the Hurricanes who manage to be only 8 points behind the Bruins could surprise them.

Then again, Philadelphia has only 3 games left and have to trust that Brian Boucher can keep them in the playoffs. They have the hard working Maple Leafs and then an oh so important back-to-back vs. the New York Rangers. This whole thing is up for grabs but I see Philadelphia finishing 9th, New York 8th, and Boston 7th. Really though, who honestly knows whats going to go down? At least it's a short wait to see!

All my Best; Enjoy Life
Ryan Francis