May 17th, 2008
The National Hockey League will be recognizing some of its’ most valuable players on Thursday, June 12, 2008 at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Ontario Canada (win two tickets by clicking the image!). I love the annual NHL Awards show because not only is it exciting to see who will win, but also, isn’t it great to see the players with all (or most) of their teeth, looking clean and all dressed up?
The Awards show will be broadcast in Canada on CBC starting at 8:00 p.m. local time and on Versus in the United States. Here are the nominees:
HART MEMORIAL TROPHY (most valuable player to his team)
- Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames - This is Iggy’s third time as a finalist for this award (he finished second in 2002 and 2004). This year, he had his second career 50-goal season, recorded a career-best 98 points, led the Flames in goals, assists, points, plus-minus (+27), power-play goals (15), game-winning goals (nine) and shots (338), became the franchise leader in career games Nov. 29 with his 804th appearance and became the Flames’ all-time goal-scoring leader with his 365th career tally, passing Theoren Fleury.
- Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins - This is Malkin’s first appearance on this list. He deserves it after stepping up while captain Sidney Crosby was injured. He leads the Pens in scoring and finished second (behind Ovechkin) with 106 points in 82 games. He also made history with his 15-game point streak (Oct. 23 to Nov. 22) which is the longest by any Russian player in the NHL! When you look at the season since December 31st, Malkin has been the league’s leading scorer, with 65 points (32 goals, 33 assists) in 44 games.
- Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals - This is also Ovechkin’s first time on this list and he earned his spot after racking up 112 points (65 goals, 47 assists) in 82 games, capturing the Art Ross Trophy as NHL scoring leader and Maurice Richard Trophy as the League’s top goal scorer. He has the most power-play (22) and game-winning goals (11) in the NHL. He also set a single-season NHL record for goals by a left wing and his 65 goals were the most by an NHL player since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.
MY PICK: Malkin. The Pens would not have come this far without him and they are now on the brink of clinching the Eastern Conference title.
More after the jump!
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By Jeanne -- 0 comments
May 16th, 2008
Well, well, well… the similarities between the Eastern and Western Conference finals continue. The Dallas Stars raged back to force the Detroit Red Wings to go to Game 5 and now so have the Philadelphia Flyers. Before their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, I was wondering if this would be the outcome. Just like the Stars, the Flyers were one game away from being swept and, all of a sudden, they turned on the magic.
In fact, for the first two periods, this game was all about Philly. It looked like they totally took the Pens by surprise which is to be expected after the way they’ve been playing this series.
Joffrey Lupul (Flyers) opened scoring at 08:27 in the first, Daniel Briere followed up with a power-play goal (11:48 in 1st) and then Jeff Carter (PPG)put Philly on the scoreboard for the third time within the first 20 minutes of the game!
Finally, in the third period, a hero emerged for Pittsburgh. Jordan Staal, who had just returned from his grandfather’s funeral the day before, scored TWICE (the only two goals for the Pens!) in the third period (03:16 and 14:11). Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough. With less than a minute left in the game, Lupul scored once more for the Flyers and the deal was sealed.
The Pens and the Flyers will meet again in Game 5 on Sunday May 18, 2008.
image provided by Newscom
By Jeanne -- 1 comment
May 15th, 2008
In the nick of time, the Dallas Stars woke up and decided to actually play hockey during last night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. I can’t blame the Wings for being stunned (or so it looked to me) to actually have to skate because I had all but prepared myself for a sweep. The 2008 Western Conference title is still up for grabs and I’m pretty happy about it.
It was a wild game - Tomas Holmstrom was deemed to be in the crease (there is NO WAY he was!) and the first goal of the night, scored by the Detroit Red Wings, was disallowed. Twelve minutes later, Loui Eriksson scored late in the second period for Dallas but was answered 49 seconds into the third by Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg. Stars player, Mike Modano, tallied the game-winning goal on a power-play about five minutes later and captain, Brendan Morrow, sealed the deal with less than six minutes left in the game.
Marty Turco actually looked like himself, turning away 33 shots on goal. I don’t know if Dallas can remain perfect for the next three games but we’ll find out on Saturday.
image provided by Newscom
By Jeanne -- 4 comments
May 14th, 2008
Oh. My. Gawd. This is absolutely insane. The Dallas Stars and now the Philadelphia Flyers are each one game away from being swept in the 2008 Western and Eastern Conference Finals, respectively. I cannot even believe this.
Last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins VISITED the Philadelphia Flyers and dominated the game. I was hoping that home ice advantage would work in the Flyers’ favor and make this a more exciting series but, instead, it was almost like it made the Pens stronger. While Pittsburgh scored twice in the first and third (each), Philly scored once, halfway through the opening period and that was it - they were done. What the hell??? Where is their fire? I felt bad for the fans since the “Orange Crush” was in full effect - everyone was wearing team colors and showing support (okay, so they weren’t jerseys but still) but the team failed to show up.
I refuse to believe that Pittsburgh is just that good. Have the Flyers been psyched out? Are they distracted by the US presidential candidates? Are the new jerseys too uncomfortable??? What the heck is wrong with the Flyers (and the Stars for that matter)??? Don’t you think it’s a bit shameful (I don’t care if you are a fan or not!) to make it to the third round and punk out like this?
image provided by Newscom
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philadelphia flyersBy Jeanne -- 0 comments
May 13th, 2008
Have you guys been enjoying Versus this season? I think it’s great that they have been televising the games. Being here in Canada, I’ve really taken for granted being able to watch hockey whenever I want, basically, but on a recent trip to the States, Versus became my best friend, lol. Here’s a great promo video:
By Jeanne -- 0 comments
May 13th, 2008
What the hell??? I can’t even believe how bad this series has gone for the Dallas Stars. That game was a complete and total waste of my time last night. The Detroit Red Wings all but mopped the ice with the Stars and Marty Turco was a hot mess. He didn’t even look like he was trying to stop the puck half the time. Is he tired? Injured? Athletes foot? WHAT THE HECK?!?!?
What’s the result? Well, the Wings all but have the 2008 Western Conference Finals sealed up. It’s dumb because up until the third period, it really looked like anyone’s game and then the Stars just laid down. I think they are going to get swept which FREAKING RIDICULOUS IN THE THIRD ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS! You kind of expect a team that has made it this far to have some fight in them but they don’t.
We’ll have to wait to see what happens tonight with the Philadelphia Flyers. Are they going to go down to the Pittsburgh Penguins again? All I have to say is that I would hate to have to watch the Flyers play the Stars after each team’s recent performances. What a sleeper that would be…
image provided by Newscom
By Jeanne -- 0 comments
May 12th, 2008
The Pittsburgh Penguins currently have the best record of any team in the playoffs since the postseason began. With last night’s 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pens have improved 10-1. Since this is their second game (and second victory), they are halfway to winning the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals. If I were Philly, I’d be very worried.
To be fair, the Flyers have been dealt a couple blows - they lost Kimmo Timonen to a blood clot before the start of the series, Braydon Coburn got knocked out of the lineup early in last night’s game after taking a puck to the face and the first two games have been played at the Pens’ Mellon Arena, where they have been hugely successful during the playoffs.
Here’s the scoring summary:
PHI: Carter, J. (PPG, 05:46 in 2nd), Richards, M. (SHG, 19:36 in 2nd)
PIT: Crosby, S. (PPG, 10:48 in 1st), Hossa, M. (PPG, 13:43 in 2nd), Talbot, M. (08:51 in 3rd), Staal, J. (19:31 in 3rd)
The Penguins are really on a roll. Maybe on home ice, the Flyers will be able to turn things around and make this series a bit more exciting because the only thing I’m finding interesting right now is how similarly the Eastern and Western Conference Finals are playing out. Can you imagine how crazy it would be if the Pens went up against the Detroit Red Wings for the Stanley Cup? It would be insane!
image provided by Newscom
By Jeanne -- 0 comments
May 12th, 2008
Here on b5media’s Sports Channel, we’ve been talking about our favorite childhood sports memories and I would love to share mine with you.
For me, it truly does involve hockey and my big brother, Freddie. He was always so enthusiastic and, because he was so much older than me, he was able to teach me so much about the game (even though I wasn’t always listening). One year, I even got a Wayne Gretzky doll (click to enlarge image). It was perfect because it was the same size as my Barbie dolls so Wayne gave Ken a run for his money with the ladies. Good ol’ Wayne…
My brother also played hockey and my grandmother and I would sit in the stands and watch him play. He was so much smaller than the other guys but he was so fast! This was back in the days before everyone wore helmets and my grandmother would be yelling at the other players to leave Freddie alone (how embarrassing!) but then she’d also be yelling at him to fight back. Isn’t that how we all feel about hockey? We want our team to do the hitting but we get all upset when we get pushed around.
I think I was born in the right city at the right time to be a hockey fan. The Montreal Canadiens had won the Stanley Cup two years in a row leading up to my birth, then they won in each of my first two years of life and then again in 1986 and 1993. It was truly incredible and really made hockey so much of my day-to-day life. Now that I’ve moved to Calgary, I’m hoping they can have similar success but the fan base here is pretty fantastic anyway - now I just support both teams!
I’d love to hear from you - what’s your favorite childhood sports memory (it doesn’t have to include hockey)?
image via Classic Auctions
By Jeanne -- 3 comments
May 11th, 2008
The 2008 IIHF World Championships are underway in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Quebec City here in Canada and, even though you might not be able to attend, you can still get some cool merchandise that you can buy by either clicking in the image of the collectible pucks at left or clicking here.
Here’s the schedule for the remainder of the 2008 IIHF World Hockey Championships:
SUN 11 MAY 2008
- 12:30 Qualifying round Group F Game 38 - NOR vs. LAT Halifax Metro Centre
- 13:00 Qualifying round Group E Game 39 - DEN vs. SUI Colisee Pepsi
- 16:30 Qualifying round Group F Game 40 - FIN vs. USA Halifax Metro Centre
- 19:00 Qualifying round Group E Game 41 - SWE vs. CZE Colisee Pepsi
MON 12 MAY 2008
- 12:30 Qualifying round Group F Game 42 - USA vs. NOR Halifax Metro Centre
- 13:00 Qualifying round Group E Game 43 - SUI vs. RUS Colisee Pepsi
- 16:30 Qualifying round Group F Game 44 - CAN vs. FIN Halifax Metro Centre
- 19:00 Qualifying round Group E Game 45 - BLR vs. DEN Colisee Pepsi
- 20:15 Qualifying round Group F Game 46 - LAT vs. GER Halifax Metro Centre
TUE 13 MAY 2008
- 19:00 Relegation round Group G Game 47 - FRA vs. ITA Colisee Pepsi
- 20:15 Relegation round Group G Game 48 - SLO vs. SVK Halifax Metro Centre
WED 14 MAY 2008
- 13:00 Play-off round quarterfinals Game 49 - QF1 vs. QF1 Colisee Pepsi
- 16:30 Play-off round quarterfinals Game 50 - QF2 vs. QF2 Halifax Metro Centre
- 19:15 Play-off round quarterfinals Game 51 - QF3 vs. QF3 Colisee Pepsi
- 20:15 Play-off round quarterfinals Game 52 - QF4 vs. QF4 Halifax Metro Centre
FRI 16 MAY 2008
- 13:00 Play-off round semifinals Game 53 - SF1 vs. SF1 Colisee Pepsi
- 17:00 Play-off round semifinals Game 54 - SF2 vs. SF2 Colisee Pepsi
SAT 17 MAY 2008
- 15:00 Play-off bronze medal game Game 55 - L53 vs. L54 Colisee Pepsi
SUN 18 MAY 2008
- 13:00 Play-off round gold medal game Game 56 - W53 vs. W54
image via worldhockeygear.com
By Jeanne -- 0 comments
May 11th, 2008
Wow. I almost beat my son when he groaned over Germany scoring a single goal in Team Canada’s 10-1 victory during the IIHF championship game yesterday. Can you believe that!?!?! As the Canadians scored goal after goal, I felt worse and worse for Germany. I like winning, don’t get me wrong, but a slaughter!?!?! Ouch. Here are the highlights:
By Jeanne -- 0 comments
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