tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26389666377828550232024-03-05T05:16:11.525-05:00the BluelineIrreverent, if not irrelevant, views and opinions on all things hockey.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-29873341405679698142007-10-12T14:56:00.001-04:002007-10-12T15:07:17.104-04:00This is getting ridiculous.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://files.leagueathletics.com/Images/Club/2480/Charging.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 89px;" src="http://files.leagueathletics.com/Images/Club/2480/Charging.gif" alt="" border="0" height="154" width="89" /></a><br />Two more controversial hits have been getting some attention in the hockey world. I'll start with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ym7Ii7lWY4">Jordin Tootoo of the Nashville Predators</a>, since there seem to be a lot of people out there who have never heard of charging. For the unfamiliar:<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charging_%28ice_hockey%29"><b></b></a><blockquote><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charging_%28ice_hockey%29"><b>Charging</b> </a>is a penalty in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey" title="Ice hockey">ice hockey</a>. It occurs when a player take more than three steps before <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checking_%28hockey%29" title="Checking (hockey)">checking</a> an opposing player. It can vary in severity from a two minute minor penalty, a double-minor of four minutes, a major penalty of five minutes, a match penalty, or even a suspension if the opposing player becomes injured as a result of the charge.</blockquote><br />The other involves the Flyers, who are apparently Hellbent on returning to the Broad Street Bullies reputation they've held in the past. Jesse Boulerice is going to get <a href="http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071012.wsptboul12/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/home">25 games</a> from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Y3x0mr_Ik">rearranging the Canucks' Ryan Kessler's face</a>.<br /><br />What is going through the minds of some of these players? If this is what's going on in October, what's going to be happening later in the season when teams have started playing other teams in their divisions 5 or 6 times?Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-22930632423267385392007-10-11T14:07:00.000-04:002007-10-12T15:09:47.188-04:00Pens fall to 1 - 2The Pens lost to the Montreal Canadiens last night, 3 - 2.<br /><br />Overall, I think this has been the most solid the Pens have looked so far. Carey Price did a great job in his NHL debut, and the Habs defense did their part by clearing loose pucks in front for most of the night. (When they weren't throwing the Pens forwards into the net, anyway. What was Roman Hamrlik thinking?)<br /><br />The Pens got another solid showing from Eaton and Scuderi, and another shaky game from Sydor. I'm hoping he's just off to a slow start, - you don't win two Stanley Cups for nothing, - but so far I've been unimpressed with Sydor's performance. I wouldn't say he's been a bust, - it's only been 3 games, far too early to tell - but he's definitely got to step it up.<br /><br />I'm also not a member of the "Trade Fleury while we can still get something for him" camp, but he's got to get better at controlling his rebounds. The slot is not an appropriate place for a loose puck. You're just asking for trouble.<br /><br />Hopefully we'll get this thing turned around on Saturday when we face off against the Leafs.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-68341660224970626632007-10-09T16:25:00.000-04:002007-10-09T16:32:11.831-04:00Jason Blake press conferenceI know it's old news by now, but Toronto Maple Leafs winger Jason Blake has recently been diagnosed with a rare, but thankfully treatable, form of leukemia. During the press conference announcing his condition in Toronto, <a href="http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/stupid_questions/">a reporter had the gall to ask</a> if this puts his "mini-slump" in perspective. This man is 34 years old and will be on medication to fight cancer the rest of his life, and you're asking him why he hasn't scored a goal in his first three games?! Are you out of your mind?!<br /><br />Best wishes to Jason Blake and his family. May the medication do his job and allow him to live his life as normally as possible.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-16429040576755543372007-10-07T12:25:00.000-04:002007-10-07T12:48:52.858-04:00Pens win home openerThe Penguins beat the Ducks 5 - 4 last night. It was an exciting game. The goals were coming in bunches. They definitely looked better than they did against the Canes, but not quite in mid-season form yet.<br /><br />A few observations:<br /><ul><li>Hate to talk trash on the refs, but the officiating was not good last night.</li><li>Georges Laraque has really shown up so far. Working hard, flashing some skill. We approve.</li><li>Darryl Sydor has been less than impressive so far.</li><li>Mark Eaton was unstoppable.<br /></li><li>MAF: 4 goals on 23 shots? Isn't someone trying to earn a big contract this season?</li><li>That said, he was hung out to dry by Gonchar on the Ducks shorthanded goal.</li><li>Colby Armstrong's goal was awesome.</li></ul>3 Stars<br /><ol><li>Petr Sykora</li><li>Colby Armstrong</li><li>Chris Kunitz<br /></li></ol>Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-41832461780014129022007-10-06T12:20:00.000-04:002007-10-06T12:27:55.740-04:00Pens fall to Canes in season openerEric Staal scored two first period goals in the Carolina Hurricanes' 4 - 1 decision over then Pens. Mark Recchi scored the only goal for the Pens on a power play late in the third.<br /><br />The Pens didn't look great out there last night, but that's not to take away from Carolina's defense and Cam Ward's unbelievable play. They were all over the loose pucks the Pens were leaving all over the ice, creating turnovers on our multitude of bad passes, blocking shots and smothering Crosby and Malkin every time they went over the boards.<br /><br />The Ducks fell to 1 - 3 last night with a 4 - 0 shellacking by the Columbus Blue Jackets (you know, the "We're the only team in the NHL to never make the playoffs" Columbus Blue Jackets). Something tells me they won't be happy when they roll in to the Igloo tonight. Let's hope for a better showing from the Pens for the home opener.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-16243002280106622652007-10-05T12:57:00.000-04:002007-10-05T13:00:50.236-04:00Darryl Sydor gets no respectFrom the <a href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_531038.html?source=rss&feed=12">Pittsburgh Tribune Review</a>:<br /> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>Only three players, Sykora, Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts, have ever been part of a Stanley Cup championship team. Sykora won with <st1:state st="on">New Jersey</st1:State> in 2000, Recchi with the Hurricanes in 2006 and the Penguins in 1991 and Roberts way back in 1989 when he was with <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Calgary</st1:place></st1:City>.</blockquote><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> Darryl Sydor was cleaning his Stanley Cup rings earned with Dallas and Tampa Bay and could not be reached for comment.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-60202319683117061412007-10-05T10:42:00.001-04:002007-10-05T10:43:54.832-04:00It's a Hockey Night in Pittsburgh!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1105/1489584823_94ee85a8e7.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1105/1489584823_94ee85a8e7.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Puck drops on the 2007-08 Penguins season tonight at 7. Get ready.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-12384127399557253022007-10-02T15:34:00.000-04:002007-10-02T15:37:14.726-04:00Weaver snatched off the waiver wireThe Canucks have acquired another Pens player right before the start of the season. <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07275/822283-100.stm?cmpid=penguins.xml">Mike Weaver will be heading to Vancouver.</a>Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-79582955433069949612007-09-28T16:01:00.000-04:002007-09-28T16:09:19.939-04:00Downie gets 20 games for hit on McAmmondOk, I didn't report on this initially, so if anyone has been hiding under a rock this last week of the preseason, here's some back story:<br /><br />In an exhibition game between the Flyers and the Senators, Flyers prospect Steve Downie took a run at the Sens' Dean McAmmond, caught him with his head down behind the net, and left his feet to deliver a blow to McAmmond's head.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/322zqTkL0-c"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/322zqTkL0-c" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Well the NHL has decided <a href="http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Philadelphia/2007/09/28/4534377-cp.html">that's worth a 20 game suspension</a> to Downie. It's good to see the NHL get this one right and hand out an appropriate suspension. That hit was not only potentially career ending, but McAmmond could have been killed. Hopefully this clown learns his lesson. Provided he ever makes it to the NHL to serve those 20 games.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-62291342674029127462007-09-24T09:51:00.000-04:002007-09-24T09:59:31.417-04:00Pens sloppy in preseason loss to DetroitI had a chance to attend the preseason game against Detroit on Saturday and made a few observations.<br /><br />Mark Eaton got the game's first goal with a wrister from the point. But the Pens couldn't hold on to the lead. A lot of the Pens forwards seemed to be chasing the play, taking stupid penalties, not being in position to get anything going, and when they were they were stifled by Detroit's D.<br /><br />One bright spot from this weekend's game was the penalty kill. With Talbot not dressed for Saturday's game, Erik Christensen ate up his minutes on a PK unit with Colby Armstrong. For being a more offensive minded player, Christensen played very well in shorthanded situations. He made some nice plays to break up Detroit's attack and clear the puck, and was able to hold on to the puck well in the neutral zone as well as in the Wings' zone. It looks like he is taking his new role seriously and could be on his way to being a more complete, 2 way forward.<br /><br />Fleury played well and kept the Pens in it for a while, but in the end it was a 5 - 2 Detroit victory. Malkin had the other Pittsburgh goal on the power play with 2 minutes left in the game.<br /><br />Let's hope they can get something going next week when the games matter.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-26968213179975644582007-09-20T22:37:00.001-04:002007-09-20T22:40:53.831-04:00More tickets to the Winter Classic?Tonight at the Pens' Season Ticket Holder Town Hall Meeting, David Morehouse told us they are still in talks with the NHL about securing more tickets to the Winter Classic for Pittsburgh season ticket holders. Expect some kind of announcement from the team sometime after September 28th.<br /><br />And if anyone out there is wondering why Fleury decided to become a goaltender, here's your answer:<br /><br /><blockquote>"Because I suck to score goals."</blockquote><br /><br />There you have it.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-48477293260851964802007-09-20T11:15:00.001-04:002007-09-20T11:16:49.379-04:00Pens sign lease for new Arena<a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07263/819121-100.stm?cmpid=latest.xml">The Penguins have signed a lease agreement</a> for the new arena that will keep them in town until 2040.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-62306661510529354552007-09-20T00:31:00.000-04:002007-09-20T00:36:27.535-04:00Sykora to miss 2 games, Curry sent to AHLIn what is becoming a disturbing preseason trend, a new Penguin player has been hurt by a teammate in an exhibition game. This time Brooks Orpik's elbow <a href="http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=218710&hubname=">will cost Petr Sykora at least 2 games</a> with a broken nose.<br /><br />From the same TSN article, goaltender John Curry was sent to the Pens' AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-53541959307381221852007-09-19T10:02:00.000-04:002007-09-19T10:21:45.057-04:00Pens even preseason series, NHL finally admits their schedule sucksAs I failed to point out yesterday, the Pens dropped their first preseason game to the Habs, but came back to win the second game 5 - 2. Lighting the lamp for Pittsburgh were: Ryan Stone and Jeff Taffe, who scored on the first two shots of the game, Petr Sykora, Evgeni Malkin and Tyler Kennedy.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=337709">Word on the street</a> is we will no longer have to suffer through the current NHL scheduling mess after this season. The NHL's Board of Governors is set to vote on a change in the schedule that will see each team face all 29 other teams in a year. As much fun as it is to see the Islanders 8 times a year, I'd really like a chance to see the rest of the league more often.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-54576722061325108112007-09-18T14:37:00.000-04:002007-09-18T14:44:02.557-04:00Empty Netters: Great blog, questionable fashion tasteIf you're not already checking in on <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/emptynetters/">Empty Netters</a>, you owe it to yourself to make it a daily read. Seth does a great job keeping up with the hockey world and presents a very entertaining blog.<br /><br />He's been on record throughout the summer railing against Reebok's new EDGE uniform system. I can't say I blame him. There have been some real train wrecks unveiled this summer. So you can imagine my surprise reading his take on San Jose's new look this afternoon:<blockquote><br />The Sharks unveiled their jerseys and guess what, we actually like them. Even if they did "update" (i.e. downgrade) what was one of the <a href="http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/d/d3/San_Jose_Sharks.gif" target="_blank">best logos in all of sports</a>, the new Sharks uniforms are an upgrade in our opinion, mainly because they got rid of the <a href="http://www.sharkspage.com/jpgs3/cheechoo1.jpg" target="_blank">ridiculous vertical striping that had been on the jersey previously</a>. Now if the rest of the league could follow...</blockquote>For my money, I'd take the Sharks jerseys of old over this monstrosity:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kuklaskorner.com/images/uploads/sharksjerseysrbk.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.kuklaskorner.com/images/uploads/sharksjerseysrbk.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-57775853941537122312007-09-18T11:39:00.000-04:002007-09-18T14:32:14.105-04:00Winter Classic sells out in about half an hourAround 10:30 or so I got a text message from a friend of mine who was unable to get tickets to the "AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic" (do we get free Mountain Dew at this thing?). 41,000+ tickets, gone in less than an hour. That's amazing. Not one to drag their feet on getting hockey tickets, Firefox was waiting on ticketmaster.com for about 10 minutes before tickets went on sale. We'll see you in Buffalo, suckers!Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-82213664854297542902007-09-17T11:18:00.000-04:002007-09-17T11:23:09.351-04:00It's official. Look out Buffalo.In what has got to be one of the worst kept secrets in the history of sports, an official announcement is coming today on the "Ice Bowl". <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/164557.html">The game will take place at Ralph Wilson Stadium</a> in Buffalo on New Years Day at 1pm. Tickets will be available tomorrow, September 18th, and should range from $29 for the upper bowl to $225.<br /><br />The Blueline will be among the multitude of Pens fans making the trip up I79 to Buffalo. We'll see you there.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-80609257982730856702007-09-12T16:28:00.000-04:002007-09-12T16:37:05.597-04:00Watch Live Streaming QMJHL Games This SeasonWant to see how your teams prospects that don't make the big club are progressing? Well, here's your chance. All QMJHL games, including the playoffs, will be streaming live, for free, at <a href="http://qmjhl.mytelus.com/">qmjhl.mytelus</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.lhjmq.qc.ca/lang_en/index.php?page=234342412&id_type_cal=0">QMJHL 2007/08 Regular Season Schedule</a><br /><blockquote><span id="intelliTxt"><br /><blockquote></blockquote><br /></span></blockquote>Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-84838884231473746672007-09-12T11:40:00.001-04:002007-09-12T11:41:52.797-04:00Pens re-sign Assistant coaches<a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07255/816822-100.stm?cmpid=latest.xml">From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</a>: Mike Yeo and Andre Savard each got one year extensions to assist head coach Michel Therrien, while goaltending coach Gilles Meloche signed a two year contract.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-88367896389034026522007-09-07T14:44:00.000-04:002007-09-07T14:47:42.001-04:00Barrasso named Carolina's Directory of Goaltender DevelopmentFormer Penguins goalie <a href="http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=217754&hubname=">Tom Barrasso has been named Director of Goaltender Development</a> with the Carolina Hurricanes. He will be working with goaltenders on Carolina's minor league affiliates.<br /><br />No word yet if he will berate each goalie individually or issue one blanket insult to be used.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-9855948209122850402007-09-06T16:04:00.001-04:002007-09-06T16:12:55.743-04:00A Nice Touch24 lucky season ticket holders had their 2007/08 package <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07249/815197-100.stm?cmpid=latest.xml">hand delivered by one of 6 Penguins players.</a><br /><br />No offense to my mailman, but I'm a little disappointed now that my tickets just came in a run of the mill USPS box. It would have been much more entertaining to have Evgeni Malkin on my doorstep not having any idea what I was saying to him. Until I offered him a shot of vodka anyway.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-2565406279398357742007-09-06T00:11:00.000-04:002007-09-06T00:26:13.712-04:00Pens New ThreadsI couldn't get close enough to take my own pictures, so I'll just link to <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fw7iF68JR8k/Rt86dNtRwxI/AAAAAAAAFu4/2CqhF6fwA9I/s1600/fourjerseys.jpg">some</a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMSjMcuPWbH9fJ3JWRnweXTd1tR5I4ABnwqGG3k-G51wdmUTBhRZM_hWmxQCHuE2oS9huZ7YLi_4j07Dx2dbg9818OhPzoFz4NgS8R6PTY8hejfuUlwNGuMEYBix0RYJUauXyK4QT1LTh/s1600-h/pensnewrbk.jpg">from</a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2Cn_7v1vPeL_KrUEyzmF9UUCYSrcPcKMh9jhJkHwOfbV2VZoWzo8C0bseUJSwUByPY2-9ovYW0uN9Xs5aS1P-_vbgDkHVzC83QSCdXRTiSL4GZPk3driMRrORBITbxUAXMWhOuWfb7Z3/s320/pithomecrest.png">the net</a>. (<a href="http://thepensblog.com/">thepensblog</a> - go there. now.)<br /><br /><br />I'm for 'em. I still don't plan on buying one, especially since I just got a newly obsolete Talbot jersey at the end of last season, but they look good. Minimal changes, no <a href="http://www.nhldigest.com/images/Predators%20new%20jersey.png">stupid piping</a>. Things could have been a <a href="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2007/08/sweater07_082907_b.jpg">lot worse</a>.<br /><br />It was great to hear "IT'S A HOCKEY NIGHT IN PITTSBURGH!" again.<br /><br />Camp starts soon.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-75263328246875988022007-09-05T15:55:00.000-04:002007-09-05T15:58:13.745-04:00Don't forget<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdn.nhl.com/penguins/images/upload/2007/09/main_image_template9507.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://cdn.nhl.com/penguins/images/upload/2007/09/main_image_template9507.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The Pens will unveil their new look tonight at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. Festivities are set to begin at 5:30, with the actual unveiling coming at 6:30.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-91154457483913010702007-09-04T17:11:00.000-04:002007-09-04T17:15:47.021-04:00Several Pens prospects sit out rookie tournamentThe Post Gazette is reporting Angelo Esposito, Alex Goligoski and Keven Veilleux will be watching the prospect tournament that pits rookies from Pittsburgh, Toronto, Ottawa and Florida against each other from the press box. Esposito is still out with a groin injury, Goligoski is rehabbing a surgically repaired shoulder and Veilleux will be going under the knife to repair a sports hernia.<br /><br />Esposito is expected to dress for training camp on September 13th.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638966637782855023.post-13551154526723324602007-08-31T10:18:00.000-04:002007-08-31T10:19:12.749-04:00Ever wonder how a hockey puck is made?Find out at <a href="http://www.onfrozenblog.com/2007/08/31/how-its-made-hockey-pucks/">On Frozen Blog</a>.Pathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11387344351153683231noreply@blogger.com0