HockeyRants: The 2011-12 Saturday Picks XVII

by Joseph Desjardins    February 17, 2012   |   Categories: NHL

Here are your picks for Saturday February 18th, 2012.

Pens vs Flyers. Pens a good road team and they are healthy. Pens

Hawks vs Jackets. Nothing to say except, ‘man, the Blue Jackets suck’. Hawks

Wild vs Blues. Blues have a fantastic home record. Blues

Hurricanes vs Islanders. Still think the Islanders can make something of this season. Isles

Caps vs Lightning. Divisional rivals cross swords in meaningful game. Tampa

Leafs vs Canucks. Leafs struggling and the Canucks are rolling. Canucks

Stars vs Coyotes. Yotes are riding a hot goalie. Coyotes

Flames vs Kings. Sutter brothers head to head with the Flames starting to cook. Flames

Blake W 2011-12 Record: 54-44
Joseph D 2011-12 Record: 47-37

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Leafs insulted again

by Joseph Desjardins    February 17, 2012   |   Categories: Leafs, Media

First it was the Phil Kessel selection humiliation at last years All-Star game. Recently it was reported that Phaneuf is the most overrated player in the NHL.  Now it seems that Phil Kessel has been voted the ‘most easily intimidated.’ Kessel is currently 3rd in league scoring and has scored more than 30 goals the last four season. He just keeps skating and shooting.  It is hard to see what drives this animosity but it certainly can’t be fact.  Leafs gets talked about a lot because they play in the largest Canadian media market. Everyone makes money when the CBC and TSN go on about the Leafs. Time to get over it.

The Sports Illustrated poll is really just junk news published for effect and attention. How else to explain Ilya Kovalchuk making the list of easiest intimidated? You could accuse Kovalchuck of not being a team player or of taking nights off but he is a big man who is not intimidated.
Don’t believe me?  Just ask the Philadelphia Flyers and Brayden Schenn.

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HockeyRants: The 2011-12 Saturday Picks XVI

by Joseph Desjardins    February 11, 2012   |   Categories: NHL

Here are your picks for Saturday February 11, 2012.

Preds vs Bruins. Boston has been struggling a bit and the Preds are going strong. Preds

Panthers vs Devils.Kovalchuk is hot. Devils

Kings vs Islanders. Gut check time for the Islanders. Islanders

Rangers vs Flyers. This should be one entertaining game. Rangers

Jets vs Pens. Pittsburg is rolling. Watch out. Pens

Oilers vs Sens. Which Oiler team is going to show up, which Sens? Oilers.

Lightning vs Sabres. Tampa will be playing with urgency as their playoff window is closing. Tampa

Habs vs Leafs. Even though the Habs have God on their side they won’t be able to get a win in Hogtown. Leafs

Avs vs Blues. Blues should wear down the tired avs. Blues

Jackets vs Wild. A couple of struggling teams but the Wild needs this one. Wild.

Hawks vs Yotes. Hawks lost last night so they should be cranky. Hawks

Canucks vs Flames. Should be fun but the Flames aren’t really up to Vancouvers’ level. Canucks

Blake W 2011-12 Record: 54-44
Joseph D 2011-12 Record: 41-31

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Miracles Do Happen – Gomez scores !

by Joseph Desjardins    February 10, 2012   |   Categories: Habs

Could it be that the appeal by the Catholic Church of Montreal to pray for the Canadians is working?  The Habs are winning again and unbelievably, Scott Gomez has scored a goal!

Gomez just broke a personal 369 day scoring drought in fine style, scoring what ultimately was the game winning goal against the New York Islander last night.  Could it be that Jesus Christ is a Habs fan?

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Habs. Let us pray

by Joseph Desjardins    February 9, 2012   |   Categories: Habs, Media
pray for habs

Does this mean it's over?

Oh boy. You know its over when the priests start praying for you.

The Church of Montreal purchased a couple of newspaper advertisements today depicting the Eastern Conference standing with Prions (“let us pray”) in the 8th place spot.  It’s hard to figure out who is more pathetic.  For the church, this is a desperate attention grab by an organization mired in a putrid stew of sexism, homophobia, and sexual abuse litigation.  For the Habs, it does highlight the plight of Les Canadiens.

The team is terrible. Gomez hasn’t scored in a year, they have a coach who thinks benching PK Subban is a good idea, and the boos rain down every night. Tough times in la belle province.

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HockeyRants: The 2011-12 Saturday Picks XV

by Joseph Desjardins    February 4, 2012   |   Categories: NHL

Here are your picks for Saturday Feb 4th, 2012.

Pens vs Bruins. Tough one to call. Take the Bruins at home. Bruins

Devils vs Flyers. Big divisional matchup.  Flyers

Caps vs Habs. Habs sinking like a stone while the Caps will be fired up. Washington

Canucks vs Avs. Vancouver is better on the road than at home while the Avs lose all the time. Vancouver

Leafs vs Sens. Leafs rolling, Sens not so much. Leafs

Sabres vs Isles. Islanders getting ready for a surge. Isles

Kings vs Canes. Kings in the middle of a playoff dogfight while the Canes are in the middle of another losing season. Kings

Panthers vs Bolts. Bolts rallying around Garon. Tampa Bay

Blues vs Preds. This should be a tight checking affair that is decided in a shootout following a 0-0 tie during which the puck is dumped in over 1000 times :-) Preds

Wild vs Dallas. Morrow’s now healthy and Dallas is on the outside of the playoffs looking in. Stars

Sharks vs Yotes. I just can’t find a way to pick Phoenix. Sharks

Wings vs Oilers. Don’t expect the Oilers to fill the net against the mighty wings. Detroit


Blake W 2011-12 Record: 54-44
Joseph D 2011-12 Record: 35-25

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Sasakamoose leads the way again

by Joseph Desjardins    February 3, 2012   |   Categories: Media

Fred Sasakamoose, first aboriginal to play in the NHL, is again leading the way for his people.
He testified yesterday at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada about his experiences at Duck Lake Residential School. He opened his heart and told of the pain and sorrow within so that others may understand that they are not alone.

A Cree from northern Saskatchewan, Sasakamoose was forcibly removed from his home at the age of 6 and placed in a residential school. He spoke of his lost childhood, the physical and mental abuse. For the first time he spoke of being raped by older children and the indifference to these crimes by the Catholic priests who ran this evil institution. The full story, including video, can be found on cbc news saskatchewan.

Sasakamoose is a hero in so many ways. Here is a clip of Sasakamoose speaking of the happiest of times, his first game in the NHL:

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Blackhawks – SouthEast edition – Fighting for playoff spot

by Joseph Desjardins    February 1, 2012   |   Categories: American Teams

The moment of truth is soon approaching for the Chicago Blackhawks, South-East edition. A team stocked with ex-Blackhawks, starting with GM Dale Tallon, has brought respectability to the Florida Panthers.  The last time the Panthers made the playoffs was 2000.  Twelve long years of futility and empty seats. Now, depending on how you look at it, they are either a point out of 8th or 3rd.

Back in December the Panthers where in 3rd place and winning regularly but then injuries and expectations started to weigh on them. The Panthers have lost 11 of their last 15 games (4-6-5) and have dropped to 9th overall in the Eastern Conference. Lucky for Florida, the other teams in the SouthEast division (Washington, Winnipeg, Tampa Bay, Carolina) range from mediocre to terrible. The Capitals are 3rd in the conference with only one more point. Florida play Washington 3 times in the next 9 games so have an opportunity to pass the Capitals and put themselves into playoff position.

The one thing that seems to be consistent in the SouthEast is inconsistency.  Which team gets the one playoff position reserved for the division probably won’t be decided until the 81st or 82nd game. While Florida has improved dramatically from last year they will have to fight to make it. They are currently 24th in goals for, 26th in 5 on 5 play, 4-11 in OT and 3-6 in shootouts. Their injury list is also getting a little long with Jovanovski (hand surgery), Bergenheim (groin), Sturm (concussion) and Kulikov (knee surgery) out for the foreseeable future. The next two months will show how good the new Florida Panthers are.

The best thing about the current situation is that Florida is in this position at all. Who would of thought that the firing of Dale Tallon by the Chicago Blackhawks in the summer of 2009 was the beginning of Florida’s climb back into respectability.  One of hockey’s little ironies is that some of the players who played a part in his firing have led directly to Florida’s success. Many people thought Tallon paid too much for Brian Campbell (8 year, 56.8 million) as Blackhawks GM  while Kris Versteeg was one of the botched restricted free agent signings that pushed Chicago over the salary cap.As Florida GM, Tallon flushed the roster by bringing in 14 new players and instilling a winning attitude via ex-Blackhawks.

If you find yourself in South Florida this winter it would be worth your while to check out a Panther game to see how the drive for the playoffs is working out. If you need tickets just get a haircut at Hair Cuttery on a Tuesday and they will give you two complimentary tickets. Now that’s a deal, tickets to a playoff contending team for the price of a haircut.

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Tim Thomas skips White House visit

by Joseph Desjardins    January 24, 2012   |   Categories: American Teams

The Bruins visited the White House yesterday to get a pat on the back for winning the Stanley Cup. All the Bruins except Tim Thomas. He took a pass in order to protest a Federal Government “…grown out of control.”

Looks like the Bruins may have a Tea Partier between the pipes. The full text of his statement can be found here.

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HockeyRants: The 2011-12 Saturday Picks XIV

by Joseph Desjardins    January 21, 2012   |   Categories: NHL

Here are your Saturday picks for January 21st, 2012.

Flyers vs Devils. A good Eastern Conference matchup between divisional rivals. Devils.

Rangers vs Bruins. Battle for top spot in the East. Bruins.

Sharks vs Canucks. Taking the Sharks on the road. Sharks.

Senators vs Ducks. Here comes a big test for the resurgent Ducks. They are up for it. Ducks.

Hurricanes vs Islanders. Isles are rested and playing at home. Islanders.

Panthers vs Jets. Florida is on the road and lost last night in Chicago. Jets are good at home. Jets.

Habs vs Leafs. Neither team is impressing anyone these days. Like Corb Lund says, “They’re losin’ lately gamblers”. Leafs.

Jackets vs Wings. Jackets have to try to go into Detroit and get a win. Good luck. Detroit.

Sabres vs Blues. Blues have a strong record at home and are winning. Blues.

Hawks vs Preds. Hawks are in first and the Preds are coming on strong. Should be great game. Preds.

Lightning vs Yotes. A couple of teams going nowhere with no one watching. Coyotes.

Stars vs Wild. Two good teams sinking in the standings with a need for a win to pull back in playoff contention. Wild.

Flames vs Oilers.  Battle of Alberta bottom feeders.

Avs vs Kings. Look for the Kings to pull away with this one. Kings.

Blake W 2011-12 Record: 54-44
Joseph D 2011-12 Record: 29-18

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