Cats and Dogs Living Together, Mass Hysteria! Yeah, who saw this coming? The Capitals had lost 10 of their last 12. The Senators had won 12 of their last 13. The game was in Ottawa. So of course in makes perfect sense for the American Government to trounce the Canadian Government 4-1. 19 year-old Nicklas Backstrom scored his first-ever NHL goal, and Viktor Kozlov returned to the lineup with 3 points. Anytime a coach can single out Boyd Gordon for a good game, you know something’s not right. My money’s on negatively-charged pink slime flowing underneath Scotiabank Place.
Well, there’s something you don’t see every day. If you’re a goalie and plan on taking a vacation from the crease, you better be sure to ask one of your defenseman to drop by to pick up your mail and water your plants. Marty “Stay-Puft” Turco wandered behind his own goal to tame a Derek Morris shot, but the puck took a weird bounce off the boards right onto the stick of Phoenix’s Stephen Reinprecht, who padded his stats with a free goal in a 5-2 win.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nice Shootin’, Tex! The Tampa Bay Lightning had struggled on the road this season, winless in all 7 attempts. However, 5 of their 31 shots found the back of the net against the Carolina Hurricanes, dropping them by a score of 5-1. Sure, Shane O’Brien may have had two goals, and stat sheet regulars like Lecavalier and Prospal may have done their part, but the hero of this game was Johan Holmqvist who blocked 40 of 41 that came his way.
When someone asks if you’re a God, you say YES! Apparently, Sidney Crosby said no last night whilst visiting the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. “Too little, too late,” Crosby said. “We’ve got to give ourselves a better chance to get back into it.” Sid, when you let players like Brandon Dubinsky score against you, things probably aren’t working out right. Rangers win 4-2. If the Penguins would do us all a favor and cross the streams, it would be much appreciated.
I make it a rule never to get involved with possessed people. 7-8 years ago, the Flyers turned to 18 year-old Dainius Zubrus to become the young future of the team for the new century. He got elite first-line status, all the hottest Ice Girls, and a sweet parking spot (even though he had been driving for a year or so). Then he got shipped to Montreal, and Washington, and now New Jersey. In an act of revenge, something took hold of Zubrus last night as he set out to defeat his first team. His two goals would have been enough against a Flyers team at the end of an 8-game road trip, but the Devils added 2 more to give them a 4-1 win.
And the flowers are still standing! Sorry, Boston. Your voodoo magic that has allowed you to dominate every damn sport these days doesn’t work on ice. The Bruins only managed to get one goal past Habs’ goalie Carey Price, and Kovalev and Plekanec scored to lift Montreal to a 5-1-1 record on the road.
Someone saw a cockroach up on 12. Being an exterminator is indeed a thankless job. Aside from holding the one position of employment whose equipment could actually get you mistaken for a Ghostbuster, you pretty much spend all day with zero recognition and a grinding workload. In hockey, 4th liners do nothing but take occasional defensive shifts to spell the stars or to punch somebody in the mouth. However, Vancouver’s 4th line contributed two goals – Byron Ritchie and Alex Burrows – on the way to a 3-2 win over Calgary.
Melt Your Face-Off 
