8 p.m. game time on a work night? You're killing me, league. In any case, tune into this space at 7:45 pm EDT for the annual SI Stanley Cup Finals Live-Blog. Or at least the first period or so because I'm a dork and have to be in bed by 10 p.m. in order to get up in the morning for work. Stay tuned!

8:00 pm - Our opening CBC montage is by CCR. I may be showing my age but I had no idea who it was until Ron McLean told me. I'm getting schooled on music by Ron McLean! Ron also promises us a special opening by Don Cherry. I'm holding onto the hope that it involves the cast of HNiC singing the theme to "Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat".

8:04 pm - Babcock says Crosby was "head-hunting" and Crosby got all uppity about it and Babcock back-tracked and clarified. Man, lighten up Sid.

8:08 pm - Ron gives us a teaser of the special opening. It involves the U.S. Coast Guards bringing Don in on boat.

8:11 pm - The Cup Raise commercial is one of the few that the League has done that they got right. It's pretty fantastic.

8:12 pm - Special intro time! Don being taken in on the boat to Joe Louis arena flanked by two ladies. Don's wearing a fetching flamingo pink number. Where's the singing and the choreographed numbers and the jazz hands?! Oh, I see. They're doing a rip off of the Dos Sequis commercials.

8:14 pm - INFLATABLE OCTOPUS!

8:15 pm - Don picks Detroit. Let the flaming begin.

8:17 pm - CBC feed goes to commercial so I switch for a quick sec to the NBC feed. Pierre is talking so close to Zetterberg that it makes me comfortable. I promptly switch back.

Period 1

20:00 - Penguins back to 12 forwards and 6 d-men.

19:19 - Osgood handles the puck and Tyler Kennedy looks extra shovey with him.

Click Here for the Rest of the Live-Blog

18:21 - Giveaway by CROSBY and Franzen gets a good chance but Fleury stops that. Big rebound but it's cleared. Play is called on the off-side, not much of that last night. Expectedly this game isn't up to as feverish of a pace as it was last night. Not that I'm complaining...or...anything.

17:48 - Penguins get a good chance but is stopped by Osgood.

17:01 - I must be a terrible person because I giggle everytime I hear "Abdelkader". I don't know why.

16:33 - Ah...seeing somebody beating Hal Gill on a rush. I missed seeing that.

15:49 - Kronwall shoots and it...HITS THE CROWD. So close! Well that was semi-exciting!

14:39 - Lidstrom schooled Bill Guerin. I sort of love that.

14:07 - Icing call on the Penguins and Guerin has been on the ice for a hundred hours now. Still can't leave either. I do like the tie Bylsma's sporting today though. Joe Louis also gets its first music faux pas...All-American Rejects? Really? We really are back in 2008.

13:05 - Big shot from Letang and bigger save from Osgood. Icing call on the Wings now.

12:07 - Puck deflected off the boards. Man, 12 minutes and already the first commercial! That was unheard of last night! Speaking of which, that Keith's commercial with the popped collar speech is kind of awesome.

Abdelkader is the Subway Hockey Night Bio of the night. Abdelkader!

11:45 - Pens are out-shot 6-1 so far. Come on, do you really want to be steam rolled again? Not that I would so much object to that.

11:17 - Icing again called on the Penguins but it's a short one as somebody (perhaps wisely) dumps it into the benches.

10:53 - Hossa with a shot that didn't have enough mustard on it and it flutters wide. Is it me or is Hossa actually kind of useful lately? Why couldn't this have happened when...oh...I don't know, he was playing for us?

10:28 - Staal's got some tissue stuffed up his nose to stop the bleeding after an altercation behind the net with Osgood. Which...ouch and...eew.

10:10 - Icing again on the Penguins. Period 1 is going to take forever!

9:28 - Staal is right in Maltby's wheelhouse along the boards but...he can't do anything about it because Maltby's got the puck Velcroed to his stick before he centres it and gives it away.

Okay, I just have to ask about this Coke Zero commercial. Why are his eyes French, his tongue British and his brain American? Or am I just too dense to get it?

8:18 - Holmstrom tries to pass to Zetterberg but it's picked off by...Crosby. That could end tragically but Osgood makes the save.

7:34 - These passes are so crisp and seamless by the Wings. I sort of forgot what clean plays looked like.

6:48 - The Penguins can't seem to find the net at all tonight but at least their D seem to be controlling the Wings just as well.

5:50 - Osgood way out of the blue paint and makes the save.

Bud Light Lime? Why don't I just drink Sprite then? Oh...right there would be no drunkenness involved.

5:25 - Call me crazy but I kind of like the way Hughson says "Zetterberg" he enunciates it so you can really hear the "T"s

4:04 - Malkin with some speed but, as Hughson puts it, is greeted by "A Wall of Wings". I just have this really funny image in my head of an actual wall of fluttery wings. *cough*

3:58 - First penalty of the game goes to Kronwall for cross-checking.

3:10 - If the Pens want to get something going they really need to connect on this PP--and just as I'm typing this they squeak it past Osgood after a mad scramble in front. 1-0 Pens thanks to...Brad Stuart. Well, he meant well. I think it's actually going to Malkin.

1:43 - That goal must have helped because the Pens are playing with a lot more confidence and organization. The Wings looked trapped a little in their zone. Holmstrom clears it but turns it over at centre ice.

1:03 - Franzen backhands...wide of the net.

0:00 - Period ends with a 1-0 lead for the Penguins. Shots were 7-1 Wings but now 11-7 for the Penguins.

First Intermission
Coach's Corner is coming up. For those interested, my intermission programming is "Law & Order: CI" for today.

Thanks for sticking around for the live-blog, SI faithful but unfortunately this is all I can manage for tonight. The game will still be on in the background but work obligations beckon. Stay tuned for Tuesday for a possible OBC reunion on the live-blog!

Labels: detroit red wings, live-blog, pittsburgh penguins, stanley cup finals

Ladies and gentlemen, I know this blog has gone through a lot of neglect but today, on a whim, I've decided to recommit myself to this space and build it back up from the ground. Well, not quite the ground. I mean there are still 3 of you kicking around, aren't you? Hello to the 3 of you! I even took back my name! (Note: Not my real name)

In any case, no matter how busy my life gets, I always find time to live-blog the finals. Even though I vowed this year that if it was a repeat of the Wings vs. Penguins I would somehow sleep through it (which seemed likely today as I've been laid up all day with a cold. Don't worry, it's not swine...I don't think).

While due to my real life obligations (read: job), I can't blog as much as I would like, I think I'm done with making excuses as to why I don't. Even though I see a long off-season ahead where I'm clawing at news to post, I'm sure we'll find something. We'll suffer through it together you and I.

So, check back at around 7:45 EDT for the annual SI Stanley Cup Finals Live-Blog and marvel as the quality dissolves not due to alcohol, but as I start chugging the cold medication. It'll be epic.

7:50 pm - What the heck is this "Battle of the Blades" thing on CBC with Tie Domi and Bob Probert. I get the feeling it's figure skating related...I am both intrigued and disturbed.

7:51 pm - Elliotte Friedman tells us that Sidney Crosby is very competitive. So much so that he refused to leave the golf course when he was tied at the 18th hole with his father. Oh, Sid. Haven't you heard of a thing called respecting your elders?

7:53 pm - Well, Sid's beard might look slightly better this year but it could still use some filling in. Apparently his favourite activity in the summer is to go fishing by himself. I have...no comment on that whatsoever because I think just the thought of fishing put me right to sleep.

8:01 pm - Just the mere sight of Steve Yzerman makes me happy. That still doesn't mean I'm cheering for the Wings though. Or the Penguins. According to Steve, Detroit will win if...they win 4 games. Thanks, Steve!

8:11 pm - One of the things I do love about HNiC: their dramatic musical montages. Today's offering is "The Scientist" by Coldplay. Well, at least it's a Coldplay song that doesn't put me to sleep. Today's montage is done similar to the music video for "The Scientist" where everything goes backwards and we see some childhood memories from some of the key players. It's well done and suitably dramatic as per the CBC's usual montages. If I cared about either team, it would certainly bring a tear to my eye.

8:14 pm - The Octopus inflatable is released from the scoreboard at centre ice and some poor game screw schlup has to skate it safely off the ice. Don Cherry stares on in wonder. Datsyuk and Draper is out for the Wings. Penguins icing 11 forwards and 7 d-men. Apparently Chris Pronger has some advice to give them, something about stomping your enemies into submission. I might be paraphrasing here.

National Anthem - You know what I would like? To hear the Canadian anthem at the finals one of these days. And Lidstrom has some very funky spiked up hair going on. Nice. Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay for the ceremonial puck drop. Nice touch. I see throwing octopi on the ice isn't so much banned as long as their lil ocotopi.

Click Here for the Rest of the Live-Blog

First Period
20:00 - Jim Hughson with the call. Bill Guerin gets the first shot on goal. It's his first final appearance since 1995. Oh, Billy G. Fleury makes his first save of the Finals game and he's already doing better this year than last what with not tripping on the entrance and everything. Massive rebound off the save but nicely cleared by Scuderi.

18:47 - Max Talbot with a shot off a bounce off the dasher boards and a good save by Osgood. Things getting chippy early. Apparently part of the home ice advantage of the Wings is doing where the puck bounces off the boards. Sure, I guess that sounds kind of true.

18:11 - It really does please me to see Tim Hortons rinkboards in American stadiums for some reason.

17:20 - Zetterberg in on a 1-on-2 and just shoots it in. Good end to end action here early.

16:50 - Confession... I still don't really know how to pronounce "Bylsma".

16:05 - Staal with a short-side shot and Osgood swallows it up. He's like a puck vortex! Whereas Fleury is giving out rebounds, but he's controlling them all right so far.

15:45 - Cleary to Zetterberg to Franzen...with a great one-timer that goes off the post and the crowd goes wild! So close!

15:00 - I will say this about the Penguins, they seem to be giving as good as they're getting and they don't look way over matched as they did last year.

14:20 - All sorts of traffic in front of Fleury and the Pens have some trouble getting it out of the zone before it's finally cleared.

13:33 - No whistles so far. Great continuous action, barely have time to take a breath!

12:34 - Shots 4 on 4 so far...I swear it felt like more. Hossa delays and shoots and stopped by Fleury as it flutters to the other side.

11:53 - Orpik lays a big one on Hossa. I was wondering if any of them was going to get extra saucy with Hossa.

11:40 - Finally a whistle when the puck goes off the netting. And we can finally go to the bathroom. Osgood's favourite band is "The Eagles". I KNEW there was something I didn't like about him. Asides from being a Red Wing.

10:53 - One of the things I enjoy judging the arenas on is their choice of music. Joe Louis is playing Rise Against right now...I think I might slightly approve.

10:21 - Crosby now on a line with Cooke. He wheels and deals into the zone and Cooke gets a good shot off that's stopped by Osgood.

9:41 - Malkin from behind the net with a good chance on his own but the puck slides off his stick.

8:51 - Staal breaking to the net, off to Tyler Kennedy but tipped off the net, great defensive play by the Wings!

7:55 - Red Wings bring it to centre but that's as far as they'll go. Good pressure by the Pens as they get it back deep into the zone. Shot on Osgood holds onto but there's no whistle until he drops it back onto the ice.

6:22 - Brad Stuart off the boards and into the net just trickled by Fleury. 1-0 Wings. Guess knowing where the bounces go really does help!

5:45 - Wings have a 8-1 record when scoring first. Not that these stats mean anything...of course.

5:06 - Great chance by Zetterberg that goes high. Zetterberg again with another shot off a turnover that's stopped.

4:49 - Wings have the Pens deep in their zone and take the opportunity for a line change after Zetterberg had been on for what seemed like forever.

4:18 - Malkin's backhander is wide of the net and it looks like Osgood got a piece of it.

4:04 - Hossa bursts after the puck to get in alone but to quote Hughson "Hal Gill had to be as quick as he could be"...which elicited a giggle out of me.

3:14 - Is it just me or does "Abdelkader" sound like an organ of some kind? Like "Ouch! My Abdelkader!"

2:15 - Wings keep it in before the Pens finally get it out. Things have calmed down a bit, it looks like the teams are taking their time a bit more with line changes and such. Makes sense after the fevered pace the game started out with.

1:24 - Malkin takes a shot and Osgood can't control the rebound and Fedotenko has a wide open net to score! 1-1 tie!

0:41 - The Wings respond well to the goal by pinning the Pens back in their own zone. Couple of good chances but none that connect.

0:00 - And that's time. Tied 1-1 after one. Everybody is on the edge of their seats.

1st Intermission
Coach's Corner is coming up...I think I'll go watch some Robin Hood.

2nd Period
19:35 - Shot early for the Penguins and Osgood with some mad moves to make a save off a scramble in front of him.

19:20 - Puck over the boards and out of play. Man, I can't even remember when the last time that happened was!

18:08 - Osgood attempts to clear but puts it on a Pens' stick, he makes the save and didn't know there was a rebound but it's safely cleared for an icing call. First one of the game!

17:05 - Maltby with a hard shoot in and almost has a chance all alone in front but is stopped.

16:37 - Malkin on a break away off of what seems like a trip on Kronwall that's not called. Malkin's in all alone and a full head of steam and STOPPED BY OSGOOD. And the crowd goes wild!

16:23 - Shots 5-1 for Pittsburgh so far in the 2nd. Kris Letang may or might not be hurt. He looks like he's in some pain on the bench.

15:30- First penalty of the game for the Wings. Lebda in the box.

14:47 - Guerin with a shot, Osgood saves and the Wings clear it but the Pens bring it back up again with ease. Lidstrom gives it to Hossa and wastes some time in the Pens' zone.

13:49 - Malkin tries to tap it on the side of the net with some space but Osgood saves! Mad scramble before it's cleared to the blueline.

13:21 - Penalty over and Pens get another shot but Osgood hangs on.

13:15 - Red Wings come out 3-on-2 but doesn't get a good chance before Staal brings it back out again.

12:55 - Staal hauled down and Samuelsson is off to the box. Second PP for the Pens in the period.

12:35 - Short-handed chance by the Wings but is saved by Fleury.

11:10 - Gonchar can't keep it in, only 10 seconds left in the PP...and the crowd cheers...?

10:51 - Penalties over and Samuelsson is back on but the Pens have the puck in the offensive zone. The Wings players must be dog tired.

9:40 - Pens have the Wings pretty deep in their zone before they finally clear it on the icing. They look like they're on their heels a bit. Babcock is suitably aggravated.

8:08 - Hockey Night Close Up is about how Zetterberg and Crosby are practically the same person. I think that's an insult to Zetterberg's much more impressive playoff beard.

7:13 - Satan makes one deke too many and Osgood stops him off of a good chance.

6:31 - Crosby makes a fancy schmany spin but is stopped by Osgood! Hooking call on the Penguins and the Wings get their first PP of the game. And...the Empire's Theme from Star Wars plays. Nice.

5:31 - Offside call on the Red Wings. This PP isn't looking too organized.

4:27 - Holmstrom's ass is right in front of Fleury's face but he manages to stop the puck anyways. All sorts of shenanigans in front of the net. Cooke is at the center of it all. What a surprise.

4:10 - Penalty's over. Both teams still tied at 1.

3:03 - Gill with a shot, Osgood makes the save and another crowd gathers at the front. Man, these goalies sure are popular!

2:45 - Boys are saying if the Penguins come out of this period with nothing it will be a darn shame and I tend to agree. They really were the stronger team in this period.

1:49 - Red Wings with a great deal of pressure in the Pens zone before Guerin finally clears the puck.

1:15 - Icing call on the Penguins. Gill and Scuderi are gasping for air. "Ghost Town" by Shiny Toy Guns plays...another good choice. Bylsma wisely calls for a time out to give his troops a breather.

1:12 - Okay whatever this poppy techno they're now playing is has erased any good will I had of them.

1:04 - Crowd in front and the RED WINGS SCORE! Looks like it might go to Cleary. Stadium explodes appropriately.

0:20 - Zetterberg with a good shot but is gobbled up by Fleury. Good thing that goal hasn't shaken him up too badly.

0:00 - Period over and the Wings are up 2-1.

2nd Intermission
Lebrun, Strachan, Morrison and McLean are on The Hotstove. No Mike Milbury? You mean I shall be denied a potential fist fight between him and Strachan once more? Back to Robin Hood it is.

3rd Period
19:20 - Hughson with a fun tidbit: Zetterberg and Crosby have seen over 12 minutes of Even Strength action so far.

18:45 - In this year's playoffs, Wings are 9-0 when leading after 2.

18:33 - Malkin barely gets away from the missile that is Kronwall. Man he just throws himself at anything.

17:48 - Darren Helm is in all alone and...is STOPPED BY FLEURY. Good stick work by Gill to throw him off. Man, I never thought I'd say anything "good" about Gill if it wasn't paired with the word "Grief".

17:14 - Abdelkader with a shot that alludes Fleury. Staal lost sight of the puck and he dejectedly skates back to the bench. 3-1 Wings!

16:32 - Osgood stops a good hard shot by Letang. Good to see Letang is feeling better.

15:56 - Crosby tries to bank it in off the post and off Osgood and Osgood pounces on it and a pile-up occurs. The frustration is boiling over...

14:13 - Crosby gains the zone and makes some space while his teammates catch up, Hossa finally clears the zone.

11:11 - Good end to end action so far. No whistles, no nada. The boys are just letting the boys play.

9:27 - Darren Helm had 9 minutes of ice time so far.

7:38 - Icing call on the Red Wings and Babcock calls a timeout. "What I Like About You" on the system...eh. It's not the most original choice but I think it's an arena staple. And then it's the Mortal Kombat theme! You're back in my good books, music people.

5:36 - Tim Horton's commercial where the Penguins' bus breaks down and he goes off to play with the little Timbits. Oh please, as if the Pens' personnel would let him off that bus. I do like this one better than "Just a couple more minutes" though.

5:30 - Shots 30-30 overall. Off-side call. This game has slowed down quite a bit.

4:08 - Loads of action in front of Fleury and he's flying all over the place to stop the puck. Good pressure by the Wings, even better saves by Fleury!

2:33 - Maltby just lost his helmet and now Kronwall loses his. Come on guys, tighten those buckets. Speaking of Maltby, I literally have not heard his name in this game until now. Had a good couple of shifts though.

1:45 - Extra attacker and net empty for the Pens. Hossa makes a beeline to the net but he misses wide.

1:13 - Lidstrom holds the zone and the net is empty, Pens have some trouble getting out but the Wings have some trouble getting to the net as well.

0:41 - Icing call on the Red Wings. No time out, no change. Could be tight. Lemieux looks on and does not look best pleased.

0:18 - Lidstrom gets it out and Gonchar takes his sweet time getting to the puck...and it will be another icing call on the Wings.

0:00 - And that's time! Red Wings take Game 1 and the Penguins are forced to go back and regroup.

The Penguins are a stronger team and they even controlled the play at times tonight, but in the end the Red Wings still came through. This won't be as easy of a series as it was for them last year as the Pens have shown that they are indeed a better team than last year. It ought to be a good challenge and we'll see how both teams respond.

See you tomorrow and thanks for hanging out for the long-winded liveblog!

Labels: detroit red wings, live-blog, pittsburgh penguins, stanley cup finals

WTF?. No, seriously. I mean I guess it's a cute fun summer thing for children but...really? You're not THAT starved for cash are you? You're the Yankees for crying out loud.

Just as long as you stay far and away from the NHL. Although I can't say I wouldn't be mildly intrigued by tangerine flavoured Senators apparel. It would be delicious!

Labels: apparel, merchandise, new york yankees, wtf?

For the record: Go 'Canes, Go Blackhawks!

If this turns into another Wings vs. Penguins final I may have to boycott if only because I have such negative feelings towards both teams...then again is it worth missing the awesome hockey?

I will admit this, as little invested as I am in this year's post-season, we've seen some damn fine hockey. I never thought I could care less about Sid vs. Alex but that turned into a fine match-up (the dud that the Capitals produced in Game 7 excepted).

Tomorrow I shall be heading to the Toronto FC game. I can't say I won't be plotting ways to which I can somehow sneak down to Detroit and Chicago for a couple of games.

Picks. Let's hear 'em.

Labels: carolina hurricanes, chicago blackhawks, playoffs, round 3: it's on, stanley cup

Witness one of the many exhibits of why Round 2 of this year's playoffs totally sucks: Alexander Ovechkin's knee-on-knee on Sergei Gonchar.



Normally in circumstances like this I would get riled up on behalf of the wronged party but...it's the Penguins. I mean, I'm not at the point where I enjoy seeing people getting injured. But it's the Penguins. And of course the League isn't going to be doing anything about it because it's Ovechkin and to take away even just one game of the EPICOHEMGEE CROSBY VS. OVECHKIN marquee would be to put a dagger in the heart of the MSM.

I'll be watching the match-up tonight and yes, I will be cheering for the Capitals if only because Ovechkin is in my playoff pool. I've been a terrible little blogger lately and hope that will change once training camp opens and we're all filled with the happy optimism that preludes the eventual disappointment and bitterness. Hourray!

One thing to look forward to, thanks to Five for Smiting, our Swedish Saviour has arrived!.

Labels: erik karlsson, pittsburgh penguins, playoffs, washington capitals

Faithful readers, well the few of you that are left I suppose. It's not that I'm intentionally ignoring this blog. I thought that I could figure out how to balance work and blogging but apparently...I'm lazier than I thought.

It's not just work seems to be eating my face off, but I have to tell you...this year's playoffs suck. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, even with the OH EM GEE MARQUEE MATCH UP of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, I just can't seem to get into it this year. Maybe it's because the dramatic and up and down but mostly down season the Senators put me through has absolutely warn me out. And listen, I love hockey and the playoffs even if the Senators aren't in the post-season...but there is not a single team in Round 2 I can get behind. The Blackhawks and Canucks match up is intriguing, but unfortunately with the late starts I can't sit through the entire game without falling asleep or paying for it the next morning. And of course, my Western team, the San Jose Sharks which might as well be christened the Senators of the west had another Round 1 implosion. Suffice it to say this year doesn't have a lot going for it.

Of course this off-season isn't without some intriguing stories, namely Jim Balsillie's latest attempt to own an NHL franchise. Gary Bettman is fighting tooth and nail to not let it happen. Because Balsillie 1) actually has money and 2) actually likes hockey. At this point, Balsillie just looks desperate, but I give him props for sticking to his guns and making no bones about him wanting to move this team. Here is a ready, willing investor and he wants to make sure it's done on his terms and if Bettman isn't happy with it, he'll have to go off and hope another White Knight comes riding in.

I'm not going to rehash the arguments for whether or not there should be another NHL team in Southern Ontario. Frankly, everybody has an opinion on it and I'll keep my thoughts to myself on the matter except to say that Copps Coliseum is nowhere near NHL ready and while I think it's a gross injustice that there aren't more NHL teams in Canadian markets, the Bulldogs, Marlies, Sabres and I dare say the Coyotes don't deserve to get screwed because some billionaire has some money to spend.

Labels: jim balsillie, phoenix coyotes, playoffs, random thoughts, sherry is lazy