We are now 9 games into the NHL season, and there has been a
total of 1 fight. One. Uno. That’s not a lot. It was a decent scrap in
yesterday afternoon’s contest between LA’s Kyle Clifford, and the Rangers
Brandon Prust. I am not here to offer any analysis on why there has only been
one fight, I’m just saying, there hasn’t been many.

http://youtu.be/NpGTNXVIHGM

The Flyers and Bruins sure could have used one the other
night. I was certain Andy Ference and Zac Rinaldo were going to have it out at
one point, to no avail. I am not sure if Rinaldo told Ference global warming is
a sham, or what, but after Rinaldo finished his check on the North End’s
Favorite Son he said something to him that really pissed him off. Maybe he was
asking if Ference got noticed in the women’s department of Marshall’s buying
that gawd awful yellow shirt he was wearing for his day with the Cup. My word,
I had no idea Andy Ference was a cross dresser. Tree hugging hippie yes, but
this cross dressing shit is going a bit far. At any rate, I would have liked to
have seen that tilt. Rinaldo can throw hands (and I suspect he’s probably taken
the soon to be waived Jody Shelley’s spot) and Ference, when prompted, is good
for a spirited bout.

While we’re on the topic of the Bruins and Flyers, I have to
say, the banner ceremony was pretty cool the other night. I have mixed emotions
on all the players skating with the cup one last time. On the one hand it was
cool to see them with it on home ice. On the other, they didn’t earn the right
to skate it around in front of the home fans. It was a nice touch having Recchi
there, and I thought Neely killed with his speech. The home crowd took the
opportunity, not all, but some, to boo owner Jeremy Jacobs. Nice work Boston,
way to be classy. Like him or not, the Bruins won the Cup. Stop booing.

The banner itself is kick ass, and I am looking forward to
turning my head slightly up and to the left to see it every night this year.
Now with the banner up, and the page turned, it’s time to get down to business.
Every team in the league is gunning for Boston right now, and they have to be
ready every night, for every team’s best game. Other than the fact that it’s
very hard to repeat in the NHL, I don’t see another reason why the Bruins can’t
raise another banner next October. Tampa is in town tonight for a game 7 rematch.
Let’s see if the Bruins bring the game they need to bring, or if we’re talking
about firing everyone, and the team having no heart tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the Post Ref! I was at the game yesterday, so I didn’t get the benefit of hearing what Brick and Jack had to say about this. I gotta tell you, I totally agree with Andy Brickley on this one. I have no problem with players being a pest. What I take issue with is the stunts like Sean Avery pulled yesterday. It’s totally uncalled for. More frequently he seems to not want to answer the bell for himself either. I noticed a few times yesterday he was going after David Krejci, but as soon as Milan Lucic came around, he was a ghost. I had your back for the “sloppy seconds” comment. Unfortunately like Paulie in Goodfellas, “Now I gotta turn my back on you.”

I heard on Versus the other night that fighting in the NHL is up 30% this season. I love that stat. It tells me the guys are starting to police themselves once again. After the lockout, I think a little snarl has been taken out of our beloved game. The NHL needs to stop pandering to casual fans, and work on keeping the die hards they have. You get new fans by doing the wildly successful New Year’s Day Winter Classic (viewership up 12% this season for a Blackhawks collapse) you keep the fans you have by allowing the “Old Time Hokey” games to be played. Could this be the year the instigator is finally gone?

One man wishing for no instigator today, is number 87 himself, Sidney Crosby. After being announced as the starter for the East All Stars (voting is a total sham, and I will not watch this game. Carey Price? Really?) Sid the Kid took out some serious frustrations regarding the Pens recent skid on Florida’s Brett McLean. With the Pens down 4-1, and in the midst of a three game losing streak, Sidney decided to send a bit of a message to the group that he’s tired of losing, and isn’t going out like that. I like this fight, and don’t like it for a couple of reasons.

1. As the Captain of the team, sometimes one has to take matters into his own hands. It’s part of earning the “C.” For Sidney he earns it by being arguably the best player in the world on any given day, not by getting 19 minutes in penalties.

2. When Crosby does decide to fight, he’s not all that bad at it. Now before you guys go all crazy on me here, consider this. Last night’s fight was Crosby’s second career fight. I saw his first one live in person when he beat up Mr. Green of the Boston Bruins. He has pretty good balance, and doesn’t throw slaps like a baseball player charging the mound. I am not anointing him the Champion of the league, I’m just saying. For a guy that does what he does, he’s not bad at it.

3. I don’t like it, because he’s arguably the best player in the league. I read “The Code”, and in it, Tony Twist was telling a story about Brett Hull getting in a fight. When Hull came back to the bench, Twist said something to the effect of, “Hey, good fight. Don’t ever do it again.” Point being, that’s Twister’s job. It’s the enforcer’s job to enforce. I applaud him for taking matters into his own hands, but it’s his job to score. Someone else should be doing the fighting.

Speaking of slaps charging the mound, another non enforcer had a fight last night. Washington’s Alexander Semin got into it with the Rangers Marc Staal. There was a little pushing and shoving, then, hilarity. Watch this fight. If it doesn’t make you laugh, you don’t have a sense of humor. As an aside, I am not 100% sure Craig Laughlin, the color analyst for Caps games, wasn’t drunk last night. He called Marc Staal “Eric” three times, and when Semin got the gate for not being tied down, he had no idea why he was getting tossed. Is it just me, or should the color analyst be all over that? Andy Brickley would have known exactly why Semin was being tossed, as well as had an interesting anecdote about playing for the Baltimore Skipjacks, while Jack Edwards stroked himself to a Milan Lucic glossy photo.

PS: Go to Youtube and watch the MSG feed of this scrap. Trust me.

I’m off to Lowell today for the Devils. Good job last night Sid. Bummer you had to take matters into your own hands, but you got some points from Goonblog for doing so. Maybe you can start a little fight club. Your first student? Alexander Semin.

It’s been a big hockey weekend so far. Last night Milan Lucic and I watched the Bruins game, and some of the Calgary game. Then Milan woke up at 7 AM, so I took her out for a walk (she was super good by the way) and came in the house to find Youngblood on On Demand. It had been years since I’d seen it, and as I was telling Dean Youngblood’s skating was done by Peter Zezel, and why we hated him, I did my normal morning routine of looking at box scores. I was pretty happy to see two “Old Time Hockey” games last night in the NHL.

The beloved Bruins and Thrashers had 4 fights in the 7-3 Boston win. What makes this all the more interesting is these two teams face off again tonight at The Garden. It started about 3 minutes in last night in Atlanta. Eric Boulton and Shawn Thornton got into it after the Bruins went up 1-0. They were talking about it off the opening draw but decided against it. After the early lead taken by the Bruins, Thornton obliged Boulton’s request to have a go. It was a pretty good scrap that I score as a draw. Boulton fought again later in the game, and I score it a win for Boston’s Milan Lucic. Zdeno Chara’s fight was fairly lame that I guess was a draw, although I am not 100% sure any punches were thrown. It was more of a wrestling match, and obviously Jack Edwards mentioned Z’s dad was a former wrestler. He’s the biggest homer ever, and I love it. The fourth fight was Shawn Thornton again having a go with Atlanta’s hulking Boris Valabik. Looking at the tale of the tape on this fight, Thornton has to get credit for giving up the huge size advantage to the massive Valabik. I was quite impressed with the big Slovak. He handled Thornton nicely, and it was a clear win for him.

Not to be outdone on the score sheet, New Jersey and the New York Rangers had a slug fest at the Rock last night. They had 4 dust ups themselves, across all weight classes. Round one was the heavyweight division with Colton Orr and Mike Rupp getting into it. I liked this fight, and I score it a win for Rupp. He threw and landed more than Orr did. The next fight was in the light heavyweight division featuring two former Lowell Devils teammates in New Jersey’s David Clarkson, and the Rangers Aaron Voros. This could be the fight of the night. A lot of punches trade by each guy. I score it a draw, but nominate it for fight of the night.

Next up we have Travis Zajac getting fed 3 hard rights from Dan Girardi after Girardi leveled him. High marks to Zajac for standing up for himself. Quick tip: Let someone else do your dirty work. Yikes that was ugly. The final tilt was Jamie Langenbrunner of New Jersey against Ryan Callahan. Not a bad scrap that I score a win for Callahan. He threw and landed more.

So, we had two games, and 8 fights between them. These are classic examples of why I love fighting. Look at the Bruins and Atlanta first. There isn’t much of a rivalry there, and why would there be? They are not in the same division, and haven’t ever had a reason to dislike each other…until maybe last night. The Thrashers were sending a message to Boston: “you may be beating us on the ice, but we are not taking it lying down.” I love games like that, and it’s a big reason why I love fighting in hockey. I would not be surprised if these two have a fight off the hop in the Garden tonight.

Then there are the Devils, and Rangers. This is a classic natural rivalry game that got out of hand on the scoreboard, and frustrations were reflected on the penalty sheet. These two clubs don’t like each other, and when the score gets out of hand, this kind of thing happens. I for one love it, and it’s what makes hockey so unique. What happens in other sports when the score gets high? They can either let up on each other, or run up the score. In hockey, you have the element of having to stand up for winning or losing. The mentality being, “we are beating you on the scoreboard, now I’m sending you a message that we can beat you physically too.” Or, “ok, you are winning on the scoreboard, but I am not going down without a fight.” It’s a factor that makes hockey unique, and probably the least understood part of the game for non fans. Last night’s games are what we fans talk about when we say “Old Time Hockey” and I loved every second of it. So did Milan Lucic the dog. Here’s hoping Atlanta hasn’t forgotten last night yet, and will be looking to settle a score early tonight, and here’s hoping Boston is ready for it.

MOL is in Connecticut visiting our new nephew, leaving me at home by myself to watch the Bruins. Not a bad deal really. I saw the little guy yesterday, and he’s super cute. He does a lot of baby things like sleep, and look around like he’s lost. It’s pretty cool. MOL gets to hang with him tonight, so I have done all my laundry, ate left over Chinese and yelled at Shawn Thornton for having a crappy fight with Toronto’s Jamal Mayers. Like I said, not a bad deal. I’ve been super busy over the last few weeks. I’ll spare you the gory details, but I have made three observations in this young NHL season. They are, in no particular order.

1. I grossly under estimated how good the Bruins are. I mean, when I wrote the piece about the sneaking suspicion I had about their suckatude, I couldn’t have been more off base. Milan Lucic has turned his game around so drastically it’s hard to explain. He’s gone from zero to hero in no time, and I am pretty sure if he ran for Governor of the Commonwealth he’d win in a land slide. Not only is he responsible for a hit that will be played on every jumbotron in every arena in the NHL (well, maybe except for Toronto) for the next 20 years, he’s started scoring and piling up assists at a furious pace. Oh, and don’t forget his first fight of the year last Thursday. In a battle that had Jack Edwards near a stroke, he beat Mike Komisarek like he stole something in a 6-1 thrashing at Boston last Thursday.

On top of Lucic’s improved play, they have the ability to roll four very solid lines. In fact, one could argue the line of Shawn Thornton, Stephan Yelle, and Chuck Kobasew (now that he’s back. The real loser in all of this is Petteri Nokelainen who finds himself the odd man out since Koba’s return) has been the Bruins best and most consistent line. They have been super fun to watch all year, and I have been having the time of my life as a season ticket holder so far.

2. Someone is going to get killed if something isn’t done about the hitting from behind problem. Forget the headshots, I think the biggest disciplinary issue facing the NHL, is guys hitting each other from behind. Tom Kostopoulos’s hit on poor Mike Van Ryan, best known this year as the guy that Milan Lucic almost put into the second row in Boston with his glass shattering hit, and the guy that almost got paralyzed by some asshole with no respect for the other guys on the ice, should have been suspended for at least 5 games. The first thing you are taught when learning how to body check, is don’t hit someone when you can see their numbers. I have heard all the rational that Van Ryan turned at the last minute and the like, but it’s bull shit. Van Ryan fully had his back to Kostopoulos, and the only thing he turns is his head from looking right at the glass, to looking left over his shoulder to see if TK is going to slow up. Guess what? He’s not. Ding Dong. I’ll get it. Oh, and to the announcers out there. All of them. Can we stop defending people that are doing these heinous things on the ice please? Why is there any blame being laid on Mike Van Ryan? Tom Kostopoulos could have pulled up, and shouldn’t have hit him. Sorry or not about it, he had a choice on the ice, and he made the wrong one.

3. This game needs policing. This is NOT your father’s NHL. If it were, they’d still be trying to break up the fight that would have erupted after Tom Kostopoulos hit Mike Van Ryan. There seems to be a lot more punks in the league than ever before. Jarkko Ruutu was running around like a punk earlier tonight against New York, and wouldn’t fight when Aaron Voros tried to fight him. Steve Ott was ringing the bell all over the ice in Boston a few weeks ago, and never would answer the bell. When he slew footed Nokelainen at the end of the first, he should have been held accountable as soon as the second period started, but he never was made to answer the bell. If something isn’t done soon, i.e. removal of the instigator penalty, and guys having more respect for one another on the ice someone is going to get really hurt out there.

So, that’s what I’ve been seeing. Right now I’m watching the third period of the Sharks and Nashville. Jody Shelley just had a nice go with Greg De Vries. Shelley landed a wicked upper cut to win the fight. It was the last of three fights in a row. Nice to see Brad Staubitz get in a dust up with Jordin Tootoo as well. Big Joe Thornton was in the first one. Not much of a fight really. I love the Center Ice Package for this very reason. Anyway, I’d love to hear your opinions on the first quarter of the season so far. Don’t leave me out to dry here goons and goonettes. You know what to do, and as Dave says “Stay Gooney!”

MOL, George, and I went to Feng Shui for a very serious throw down, two Mai Tai’s and the division of Bruins tickets for the upcoming season. If you are in the Chelmsford area, I highly suggest stopping in. In fact, here is a quick ranking of my top 3 local Chinese restaurants.

1. Feng Shui. Chelmsford, MA. Try the General Gau’s shrimp, salt and pepper shrimp, and the house rice. Very strong Mai Tai. Nice buffet on weekends
2. Bamboo. Westford, MA. Johnny is the heat! Strong Mai Tai. Excellent shrimp tempura, salt and pepper pork, and lo mein. Excellent buffet as well.
3. Makaha Acton, MA. Excellent Pu Pu. Mai Tai strong enough to run your car on. Excellent Juke Box. If you’re looking for a dark place to get a Pu Pu and get loaded…this is it. No real redeeming qualities other than they let me drink in there when I was 16.

In keeping with the Public Service spirit, I thought it appropriate to let you know the games in which I have drawn. Reason being, if you are a faithful Goonblog reader, you might want to stop by and say hi, or if you are a faithful Goonblog reader you know what happens at these games when I go, so you might want to avoid being in the City of Boston all together. Should be a great season, and I am getting more pumped by the day. I can almost hear the roar of the Zamboni, OK, the propane whine, of the Zamboni!

I have 9 games on my own. I’ll probably need a date for 8 of them. MOL will go to opening night, and that’s about it for her. Maybe I’ll run a contest. Go to a Bruins game with a guy that is trying to disprove Dean Wormer’s fat, drunk, and stupid theory…..that’ll be cool.

George has 10 solo games. We were very surprised how easily the schedule was divided. It just kind of fell into place easily. No arguments at all. Sort of the opposite of MOL and me.

We will both be in the house for 20 games, and are giving away 2 games that neither one of us can attend. It looks like January is going to be a busy month of hockey for me. Between the Bruins, and the Lowell Devils, I will be at 15 hockey games. That’s a lot of hockey. This is going to be great. Breakdown is below.

My solo games in BOLD in case you want to enter my Fat Drunk and Stupid contest.

Oct. 20th. Opening night. Penguins. Probably MOL’s only appearance of the season. Come see her in all her glory.

Oct. 23rd. Maple Leafs. George wasn’t too happy about this one. He saw every Leafs Bruins tilt last year, and admitted the 10-1 or 10 something loss the Bruins took at the hands of Toronto was the only time he’s ever left a game early. Can’t blame him. I was there too, and I left early.

Nov. 1. Stars. Sean Avery is a shit disturber, and I love it.

Nov. 6th. Leafs. George couldn’t take it (seeing the Leafs again), so I took one for the team here.

Nov. 13th. Canadiens. Now way either one of us was missing the Habs, or Georges Laraque’s debut in the Garden as a Canadien. This one will be electric.

Nov. 28th. Islanders. I love the annual day after Thanksgiving game. Kinger and I had a blast two years ago. MOL might actually want to come to this one.

Dec. 8th. Lightning. I am interested in seeing Steve Stamkos.

Dec. 18th. Maple Leafs. See what I mean? George hates the Leafs.

Dec. 20th. Hurricanes. I am happy Tom Rowe has a job in the NHL. There are still a few faces left on this roster from the old Lockmoster days.

Jan. 1st. Penguins. MOL and I were going to Chicago, but decided a trip to Florida for a couple of Bruins games was probably a better idea. I can’t think of a better way to ring in the New Year than by watching the Bruins and Penguins slug it out. The last time I went to a game on New Year’s Day was against Philadelphia a few years ago. Dave, MOL and I went, and I assure you. It did not end well.

Jan. 3rd. Sabres. Not sure why I agreed to go to this game. I have an unexplained and unnatural hatred of the Buffalo Sabres. Not sure why.

Jan. 6th. Wild. Boogieman. That’s the reason I’m here.

Jan. 8th. Senators. This is going to be an interesting club this season. Eager to see how they react after all that has happened to them over the last season. Jason Spezza, when he wants to be, is a God.

Jan. 10th. Hurricanes. Love the Matinee.

Jan. 13th. Canadiens. Hopefully the bad blood is really boiling by now.

Jan. 27th. Capitals. If you have never seen Alex Ovechkin live, I highly suggest doing so. You can’t take your eyes off of him.

Jan. 31st. Rangers. Original Six matinee. Doesn’t get any better than that.

Feb. 10th. Sharks. Joe’s second trip as a Shark. His first one was short lived, but a great performance. If you remember, he got kicked out very early for “boarding” Hal Gill. Questionable call at best. I just don’t like Gill, so I was cheering wildly. Pretty sure the people in my section didn’t like it.

Feb. 24th. Panthers. What else is there to do on a Tuesday in February?

Feb. 26th. Ducks. George Parros and his awesome Porn ‘stache in the house. Can’t miss it.

Feb. 28th. Capitals. A matinee and the Caps?! I can’t lose!

Mar. 3rd. Flyers. Shawn Thornton and Riley Cote. I am looking forward to these guys having a go.

Mar. 5th. Coyotes. Probably my most anticipated game of the year. Todd Fedoruk, Brian McGratton, and Daniel Carcillo all on the same club? This could be my Center Ice West Coast team of the season.

Mar. 14th. Islanders. Nothing better to do.

Mar. 19th. Kings. This should be another interesting team. Revolving door in goal. Some decent talent in Dan Boyle, and Teddy Purcell possibly coming in. Very young on defense. Really could go either way.

Mar. 31st. Lightning. Barry Melrose will field a scrappy team. No doubt.

Apr. 2nd. Senators. We’ll know by this point if the Senators have put all their troubles behind them.

Apr. 4th. Rangers. Original Six matinee. Can’t miss it.

Apr. 14th. Canadiens. Great way to end the regular season.

So, there it is. I am really looking forward to this year. It should be awesome. I may need a good divorce lawyer after as that is a lot of hockey. I think MOL understands the psychosis by now though. Let’s get it on.