it's june

so obviously a hockey fan's thoughts turn to ... the winter classic? rumors are brewin' that the bruins will host the flyers at fenway at the turn of 2010, and that it'll possibly be the first game of a doubleheader with the leafs traveling to calgary to play the flames later on new year's day. my take: two games is overkill. the league's done a great job with the winter classic thus far, turning it into a real must-see event. two games dilutes the attention, and the game already competes with a full slate of new year's day college bowl games. but we'll all have to stay tuned for the official announcement from bettman's office ....

pittsburgh is the new boston

well, the pens are the stanley cup champs! in a series that looked at times to be a foregone conclusion well in favor of the red wings, the pens did it! and although malkin was the conn smythe winner (and deservedly so for his amazing play throughout the playoffs), marc-andre fleury was the clear mvp of the finals. right down to the last second (literally).

the second round and the finals were so good that it almost -- but not quite -- makes me feel better about what happened in round one. which shall henceforth be known, a la j.k. rowling, as "that which shall not be mentioned". suffice to say it was enough to make me wonder if i can even continue to be a devils fan, and that says quite a bit.

back to the pens -- although i would have preferred the blackhawks, who stumbled badly against the wings in a very meh round three, the pens are exciting for a lot of reasons, not least of which is that they're a young team loaded with both talent and heart, and they have great ownership to keep things going for many years to come. not unlike that other world championship team in pittsburgh, the mighty steelers. mr. mario lemieux looked right at home on the ice last night, as well he should, but it seems to be he is poised to become a legend not only as one of the greatest players in the game, but as a great owner as well. it's remarkable what he and his group have done to bring the penguins back to championship form, so bravo, mr. lemieux.

so congratulations to the pittsburgh penguins, newly crowned stanley cup champs, giving the city of pittsburgh its second title of 2009 (and, let's face it, its last -- unless the pirates are a lot better than i think they are). you were fun to watch, and you kept me watching after the devastation of round one.

"have another doughnut, you fat pig"

last night marked the last game of referee don "doughnuts" koharski's career.  i've never been a fan, as he always seemed to be one of those officials who injected himself too much into the game by calling "makeup"/"equalizer" penalties, particularly late in close games -- just let the players play, buddy.  anyway, i think the most distinct aspect of koharski's career was the incident in the 1988 playoffs when then-devils head coach jim schoenfeld waited for him after a game and told him to "have another doughnut, you fat pig" -- HA!  so momentous that it is actually mentioned in articles recounting koharski's career.  also, in the movie "wayne's world", there is a cop in a doughnut shop named officer koharski, which mike myers has said is most definitely a reference to "doughnutgate".  tee hee.

p.s. must be nice to retire at 53.  

in other news, the devils got their 50th win last night in shootout over ottawa -- after their dreadful 6-game winless streak, they have won 3 of their last 4, which i hope means good things for the playoffs.  it's been a season of milestones, as 50 wins is a franchise record.  they also clinched the division (yawn) and at least a third seed in the playoffs.  and jarkko ruutu scored for the sens, which is not really all that noteworthy except that i really like saying jarkko ruutu.  oh finland, why are your names so fun to say?!  

the rangers and habs also clinched last night and the sabres were eliminated, which means the eastern conference playoff teams are set, although still yet to be seeded.  the western conference is still open, with nashville and minnesota still knocking on the door -- nashville, anaheim and st. louis all have 88 points but the blues and ducks have a game in hand.  minnesota is still in the mix with 85 points and two games left, and the preds and wild are playing head-to-head tonight.  and into the last weekend of the regular season we go ....

more on brodeur

excellent video clip of barry melrose breaking down brodeur's career. barry breaks down brodeur's career behind a stifling defense and how some of marty's contemporaries would have played behind the same defense. and comes to the conclusion that marty is, indeed, the best ever.

ok, with the playoffs approaching, i promise this blog will stop being a valentine to brodeur. or i'll try, anyway -- can't make that promise if he continues to be brilliant in net ....

not everyone's a fan

including the new jersey courts, apparently, which ruled that brodeur must pay $500,000 in alimony annually to his ex-wife, melanie dubois. remember her? the camera loved her in 2000 in the stanley cup finals win over the dallas stars. that $500,000 is in addition to the $9 million in assets and $132,000/year in child support. i guess that's what you get for having an affair with your sister-in-law. hope she was worth it ....

let the debate begin ....

is brodeur the best goalie in ice hockey history? thus far, the best and most interesting take i've seen about it is this one, which argues that by the time he's finished playing brodeur will so clearly be considered the most dominant goalie in nhl history that you can only even engage in the debate for a limited time, because pretty soon it'll be clear that he's "lapped" the field.

so enjoy arguing about it while you can, all. although there's little room for debate even now, if you ask me ....

cutting down the net

a little early for talking about cutting the net, right? i mean, the ncaa tournament doesn't start until thursday.

ah, but we're talking about #552 ... martin brodeur's record-breaking 552nd win, that is. brodeur, who never played in the traditional butterfly-style, who revolutionized the way goalies handled the puck away from the crease, couldn't just take a puck from this milestone game. no, he got some scissors and cut out the net from the posts as his souvenir, then took a victory skate.

bravo, marty. it was clear you'd break the record, but we shouldn't be surprised you did it with style.

all-time great

there aren't too many bad things to be said about martin brodeur. ok, i know he had some issues in his personal life (my mother refers to him as "cheatin brodeur"), but let's keep it relevant, shall we? since he was brought up to the nhl, he's been both spectacular and solid. you could argue that he's changed the position -- his puckhandling skills are legendary and he's often effectively been a third defenseman and opening up the ice for his teammates. almost as impressive as his technical skills is his temperament -- unlike so many goalies, brodeur isn't easily rattled.

so here we are, 2 periods into what may be his 551st career win, which would tie him with the legendary patrick roy -- brodeur's childhood hero -- for all-time wins. even if it doesn't happen tonight, there is little doubt that brodeur will tie and soon surpass roy, earning more wins in few games played. and yet, there are few non-hockey fans who even recognize brodeur's name, let alone his face. it is perhaps a fatal flaw of the nhl that it fails to capitalize on the marketing potential that a player such as brodeur possesses, particularly since he plays in the new york-metropolitan area. the wall street journal, of all sources, published a piece comparing brodeur to derek jeter and concluded that brodeur is the more accomplished of the two.

regardless, there is little doubt that brodeur is an all-time great, and likely one of the top two or three goalies in the history of the nhl. he is the type of goalie who seems as though he'd be as comfortable in net in past decades as he is in today's nhl. since returning from his injury, he's been playing as sharp as he ever. he has one more vezina trophy than roy, sooner or later (hopefully sooner), he'll have more career wins ... perhaps this is the year he'll tie roy by getting his name engraved on his 4th stanley cup ....

UPDATE: brodeur did get his 551st on saturday night, in a 3-1 victory over the habs, who played the devils surprisingly well for a team that's been in a major free-fall lately. the devils' power play was not too effective. however, they got the job done -- here's hoping brodeur's record-breaking 552nd win comes on tuesday at home in jersey against the young and fun-to-watch incarnation of the chicago blackhawks ....

kids today and ugh, the economy

if a trade deadline passes without much fanfare, does it actually exist? like the lone tree that falls in the forest without notice, the effects of the 2008-2009 nhl season's trade deadline have yet to be felt, at least by us organisms who reside outside the forest. so why'd this year's trading season come in like a lamb and go out like a lamb? is it the first signs of the wretched global economy's effect on professional sports? hockey has always been the most vulnerable of the major sports, and the one with the least conspicuous consumption (although, unfortunately for us fans, not the lowest ticket prices). is it possible that owners and management were worried about using up cap room, going on a spending spree for a "rent-a-player" or trading away young, inexpensive talent for a more established and expensive star? for better or for worse, the biggest splash we saw was sean avery's return to broadway.

speaking of the cah-lassy mr. avery ... a friend of mine caught elisha cuthbert's ex in his return to the blueskirts out on long island the other day. he had great seats, about 3 rows away from the glass. he observed a kid, who didn't appear to even be 13 years old yet, waving a sign. the one side said, "welcome back, avery!" the other said, "i don't like sloppy seconds, either." UGH.

100, 200, 300

i don't say this often, but yesterday was a lovely afternoon in downtown newark, nj. finally, in my third trip to the prudential center, i got to witness a devils' win.

but this win was far more satisfying than your average regular-season 2 points. a sunday afternoon devils-flyers matchup is hard to beat, but it's especially satisfying when it means the devils have opened up a 9-point lead over their closest division rival. add to that the thrill of the rock rocking to the [spectacular!] sights and sounds of brodeur’s 100th career shutout, as well as langenbrunner’s 200th goal and gionta’s 300th point and, well … it was a magical afternoon.

ok, perhaps “magical” is a bit strong. the devils’ power play looked weak and somewhat ineffective, and the ppu failed to convert on 1:11 of 5-on-3 play in the 2nd period. the flyers were the far more physical team yesterday and got in more and stronger body blows than the devils. no really good fights, either, which is usually a hallmark of a late-season devils-flyers game. still, the devils outshot the flyers 42-27, the pku was efficient and effective, and brodeur looked like the four-time vezina trophy winner (and perennial contender) that he is.

i [perhaps smugly] enjoyed pointing out the numerous division championship and stanley cup banners to my young companion [a misguided rangers fan, although perhaps misguided is redundant]. he was nonplussed, but somewhat mollified by the delicious bbq brisket sandwich that the pru center food concourse offers up. i never tire of looking up at those banners. seems about time we get another one up there, though – those three are looking kind of lonely.

In other news: watch out for the pittsburgh penguins! the defending eastern conference champs are 4-0 since sid the kid went down and they destroyed the dallas stars yesterday to jump into 8th place in the east. the young and incredibly fun-to-watch chicago blackhawks turned things around after a 3-game skid by holding on for a 4-2 victory over the hapless kings. maybe they need to bring barry melrose back?

i miss nhl 2night

for many reasons, not the least of which is my little teeny tiny crush on john buccigross (there, i said it!). i long for the days of hearing things like, "what jeff tweedy is to wilco, so is martin st. louis to the lightning" over hockey highlights on national television. (i know, just the hockey highlights on national television would be nice these days.)

i take a lot of ribbing for being a hockey fan. "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" is a common comment (obviously from people who don't watch hockey). but here is a great thing about hockey fans -- we don't really care what other people think. is there a faster, more exhilarating sport than ice hockey? is there a cooler event than the winter classic? are there more humble, down-to-earth athletes (for the most part)?

anyway, i set this blog up to post my random thoughts about hockey (mostly devils hockey) since i don't know too many people who care to watch or follow it. which is a pity, but we always have to remember that they're the ones missing out!