Give the Kid A Break

For the record I am not the worlds biggest Sidney Crosby fan. That being said I am still a fan and the one thing that I can’t stand is that there are a lot of people who seem to unjustly jump on him for everything that he does. It doesn’t matter if it is the right thing, the wrong thing, or even the same thing that 99% of other players do, people (usually the media and hockey followers that think they know more then they do) try to spin everything that is said or done in a negative light. Sure it is easy to take pot shots at him because he is the face of the game (a title he did not run for but was appointed to, just for being good) but sometimes he deserves a break from the criticism. People say he’s a whiner that he complains too much...ok that may be the case but maybe the reason is because as the best he is targeted by the other team and when you constantly have an Iso-cam on you at all times everything is caught. You not think that Jarkko Ruutu or Dan Carcillo or even Jerome Iginla cherp as much as he does?

People will again argue that as a play of his stature he is held in even higher regard and should act accordingly. I agree, but again everyone has a breaking point and for the most part he does fight through an awful lot, and after all he is only 22.

One thing I did hear this morning was an ignorant radio host trying to blame Crosby for not being "Patriotic" enough in declining a spot to play for Canada at the World Hockey Championships. First off, there are many players each year that decline invitations to this tournament who don’t even make the playoffs to single him out after playing in the finals 2 years ago -2 full seasons -a Stanley cup last year and 2 rounds of playoffs this year, oh yeah and mix in the Olympics as well. That is a lot of hockey.

If you watched any of that series he looked like a guy who was either physically and mentally worn down or a guy who was injured. Either way not up to flying to Germany to play in this tournament. The team only has one member of the Olympic team on it and that is Corey Perry so to single out Crosby is just ridiculous. What about Luongo then, should he not be questioned, or every other player on the team??

It is sad when people and the media build someone up so much and then when they get to a point where they are covered so much that they begin to get scrutinized for every little thing it is just a shame. Crosby gets more negative attention because he is the first and last person people see or hear about and that makes him an easy, but undeserving target.

No one was criticizing him in February when he potted the "Golden Goal". How quickly some people forget.

In a related note, it is being reported that he will be moving out from Mario Lemieux’s home. He has apparently bought a home in Pittsburgh near Lemieux house...It looks like hockey’s most famous house guest is moving on up, no word as of yet if it is to the East Side.

Canada Defeats USA In Ice Hockey...They're Our Rivals

As a collective sigh of relief rang out over an entire nation it was then replaced by a whole new sound. That sound was booming screams and ecstatic yelling. In the hockey game that was anticipated by many to be a showdown between Canada and their old rivals Team Russia became yet another chapter of the new number one rivals of Canada on the ice Team USA. This has been a rivalry that has blossomed from 1996 when the US beat Canada in the World Cup and has continued to grow on the international stage after the 2002 Olympics that was won by Canada in Salt Lake City. From then the reigns were handed over to the under 20 team during the World Junior tournament. After 3 years of epic games the rivalry has grown strong. 3 epic wins by Canada in the last 2 on last second heroics and then this year on an overtime goal by Team USA just solidified them as our new number 1 rivals.

Going into the game there was a lot of optimism that winning was just an inevitability for Canada, I was nearly convinced that it was going to go the other way. There seemed to be way too much hype by not only the TV media but of the fans as well. It felt like they were putting all their Olympic eggs in one basket and if the unthinkable happened then the entire Olympics would have been a failure even with a record tying amount of gold medals that Canada brought home. This isn’t Vegas and putting everything on Red is a ballsy move at best.

As the game went on Team Canada looked good, fast and strong. The most important thing in my mind was they needed to score first. It sounds like an obvious thing to say (in the same ilk as ‘I think the team that scores more will win the game" or "he can see better when his glasses are on") but it felt just like watching an Ottawa Senators game back in the day, you knew once they scored one the floodgates could open but until that first one went in there was a good chance that they would either get shut out or score meaningless goals after the game was all but decided. This felt even more apparent after seeing what USA goaltender Ryan Miller had done during the duration of the tournament and why he was the one reason why they were in the position they were in. Jonathan Toews opened the scoring with a nice goal from the "dirty area" on a rebound, just what was needed to get the ball rolling. Corry Perry made the game 2-0 on a nice play deep in USA territory that Miller had very little chance on. At that point there was a little breathing room. Then came the inevitable, a strike back by the US on a beautiful tip by Ryan Kessler that managed to squeak by his Vancouver teammate Roberto Luongo. That is when things were about to get interesting.

During the third period both the team and the crowd seemed to get a bit tight and a little bit nervous. As much as Canada had fed off the crowd earlier in the game as well as others in the tournament it also took on the same characteristic that were less then positive. When you see 2 posts and a breakaway by Canada go the wrong way you had to feel like this was ramping up to be a monumental finish and maybe not a positive one. It seemed like in the last 12-15 minutes they went into a kind of prevent defence like in football. I don’t like it there and I don’t like it here. As far as I am concerned, all a prevent defence does is prevent you from winning. That is why a team can not be able to move the ball in an NFL game until the 2-minute drill and then they manage to be the best quick strike offence and manage to look unstoppable as the other team backs off the pressure. Right on cue that happened and Zach Parise netted the tying goal with 25 seconds and that was when the collective gasp was taken by and entire arena and with that a nation of passionate hockey fans.

I think that the saving grace was that there was no real intermission but just enough of a break that they were able to regain their composure and focus on the overtime going forward. Had that goal been scored with 5 minutes left the momentum would have flipped and I believe to outcome would have been different.

In the overtime there was truly a sense of the unknown, you wanted Canada to push for the goal but at the same time you were weary about the counter punch if you missed. That is how the World Juniors ended when Alex Pietrangelo pinched and almost won the game only to give up an odd man rush back the other way and it ended up behind goaltender Jake Allen and in the back of the Canadian net. The steady smooth Scott Niedermayer who was one of the best players on Team Canada nearly made a costly miscue in his own end and relied on Roberto Luongo to bail him out. If i am not mistaken I am pretty sure that the youngest player on the team playing one of the toughest positions on the ice was 20 year old Drew Doughty. Right after that Sidney Crosby and Jerome Iginla gained the US zone and just like that a quick strike move on a relatively harmless looking play became one of the biggest and most important or defining moments in the history of hockey in Canada.

It was well called by Chris Cuthbert "Crosby scores! The golden goal! And Canada has won a once-in-a-lifetime Olympic gold!" and later added "These golden games have their crowning moment!". 16.6 Million people took in at least a bit of the game - nearly 80% of all Canadians.

Pen-Sational

I will give credit where credit is due and congratulate the youngest captain to win the cup in Sidney Crosby and the rest of Pittsburgh Penguins on winning the Stanley Cup. Also the fact that he grabbed the Conference Trophy and was not concerned with avoiding it or some sort of voodoo thing was good to see. In one of the best post seasons for the NHL in many, many years and for the game to go to a 7th game that was decided by 1 goal, even a Red Wings fan must admit it was a good series. Perhaps they aren't happy with the outcome (and who could blame them) but as a hockey fan and a fan of the league nobody could have asked for more.

With that said there are a few things that have come up that have, i don’t want to say tainted but as shed a bit of a bad light on the whole thing. The fact that the Red Wings feel that Crosby snubbed Nick Lidstrom in shaking his hand is a bit of a concern. I will give Sid the benefit of the doubt it was his first time raising the cup he is still young one can forgive him for being a little excited and maybe not being as prompt with protocol as perhaps he should have been but this is pretty minor. No real harm, no real foul. What is more of a concern is the poor officiating that took place. The whistles went away and the standard that was supposed to be set was thrown out the window. This is one good reason why the Pens may have had a bit of an advantage because their less mobile players had an advantage when it came to interference, plus the fact that the Jonathan Ericsson penalty that was called for interference was only called once and turned out to be a turning point in the series. It also goes the other way where Johan Franzen’s hit on Crosby in the 2nd period of game 7 was interference and it tweaked Crosby’s knee and essentially knocked him out of the game and could have become a big deal had Pittsburgh lost. The NHL has got to decide on rules and stick with them...pass interference in the first quarter of a pre-season game in the NFL is also a pass interference in the 4th quarter of the Super bowl. Nobody wants it to go back to the way it was in the mid 90’s (except maybe the New Jersey Devils)

Look But Don't Touch??

I am not a huge Pittsburgh Penguins fan or the biggest Sidney Crosby supporter. Sure, I respect his talent and ability but he just doesn’t captivate me. That being said I found it was a solid move to grab hold of the Wales Trophy after his team moved past the Hurricanes and into the Stanley Cup Finals. The same can’t be said for assistant captain Henrik Zetterberg who avoided the Campbell Trophy like it was the plague. It is similar to thanking God after a big win, like he had a $5 Proline ticket and was rooting for only your team. Not once have I ever heard a player after losing say "We were doing great and poised to win until Jesus made me fumble"

Posing for a picture, but making sure not to touch the trophy I find is just silly. I understand that it is not the ultimate goal but it is not only a stop on the path to the promised land but is a very big deal in its own right. I am sure that there are many a team that would be more then happy to grab hold of it at this point. However you look at it, it is an accomplishment and should be celebrated as such.

Teams have both won and lost after not touching their respective Conference Championship trophies. If you have faith in your team then there should be no reason not to at least acknowledge it. I was hoping that the Red Wings would do the same when they won, that way it will prove that it makes no difference one team will win and one will lose and the game is to be decided on the ice. Henrik Zetterberg foiled that plan, I am sure that had Lidstrom been in the lineup he would have grabbed hold of it. Even with the injuries I like Detroit in the finals and still kind of want to see them go back to back but the fact that Crosby bucked the trend I give him a little more street cred and may have to pull for the Pens to take the Stanley Cup back to Mellon Arena before it gets blown up. This may change how I choose to evaluate this match up.

No Playoffs...No Problem.

After the first 2 days of the Memorial Cup in Rimouski you shouldn’t be. These young men have more then done their part to give viewers ample reason to tune in to Sportsnet.

The Friday game with host Rimouski vs the WHL Champs Kelowna was a very fun game to watch. Sure the 4-0 final may make it sound 1 sided (which it was) but also it was high paced and entertaining up and down hockey. As for yesterdays game with Drummondville and Windsor it was one great Junior game. For two teams that have some of the most offense in all of junior hockey it was low scoring game and ended up being decided 3-2 in overtime. For a good portion of the game it looked like first goal would win. This too was a great high paced game with a ton of great scoring opportunities, but it was the goaltending that kept this thing tight. Windsor was probably the favorite going into the tournament but now find themselves in a bit of a hole.
Kelowna looks very strong and World Jr. standout Tyler Meyers looked like a monster on the back end. Rimouski looked over matched and will need a lot of help versus the other 2 teams. Drummondville and Windsor looked evenly matched and both have the potential to get even better as the tournament goes on.

If you really need the pro game and are going into withdraw due to the 3 days of no playoff hockey, don’t worry, the puck drops today when the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Detroit Red Wings. This Original Six match up should be a display of great skill, speed and hard hitting...what more could a fan want?
Prediction: Detroit in 6

As for Mondays Eastern Finals with the Penguins and the Hurricanes It should prove to be a tight match up. Hard hitting and aggressive. I doubt that it will take long for there to be some bad blood and some blood spilled for that matter. The battle of the brothers Staal should be fun, Seeing what Crosby and Malkin can do will be interesting but it may come down to a battle of the goaltender between Marc-Andre Fleury, and former Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward. If one of them get hot it could push their respective team into the Cup Finals.
Prediction: Penguins in 7

Battle Of The Young-Stars

Rivalries come and go in sports all the time. There have always been battles through the years between teams. Whether it be due to repeated playoff meetings, divisional match ups or strictly geographical. Celtics- Lakers, Michigan-Ohio State, Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins, Cowboys-Redskins, Senators-Leafs, Flames-Oilers and of course Yankees-Red Sox and so on.

With that also comes personal rivalries. Usually those are sparked when 2 elite level players are either so good that they match up well or are involved in a team rivalry and it escalates to a “Whatever you can do, I can do better”. It seems that it is more a basketball thing because 1 player can make more of a team impact then the other sports. Recent memory has Magic vs Bird, Jordan vs the NBA...Jordan was just that much better, Reggie Miller vs Spike Lee (Ok that may be a stretch but hey, it is funny), Kobe vs Shaq. But right now there is a new battle that is taking form and it is probably the best thing for the NHL - Sidney Crosby and sidekick Evgeni Malkin going head to head with Alexander Ovechkin and his boy wonder Alexander Semin.

Despite the collaboration at the All Star game between Malkin and Ovechkin there still is some dislike I believe. Semin and Ovetchkin have been very critical of Crosby of late and both sides have thrown out some barbs, both on the ice and in the media. Crosby has taken exception to how Ovechkin handles himself on the ice, especially his celebrations while on the other side Ovechkin has said that Crosby is a talker and a whiner. This give Capitals-Penguins games a nice bit of intrigue above and beyond the game and may just be what hockey needs, 2 of the top players going head to head with real emotion and dislike. Bird Magic saved the NBA, maybe this will do the same for the NHL. Should be interesting to see how this storey plays out.