There's No Crying In Hockey.

Could those Leafs complain ANY more?

Watch for White to try something really nasty with Kovy.

Two words for the Wilson & his Buds:

GO CRY.

(BTW: This image came up under a Google search for "Mats Sundin." Draw your own conclusions.)

Holy Carp.

Re: Washington. It's like they said, "Hey guys, that Toronto game was to easy. We might be getting too good at this hockey thing. Let's spot AO a hat trick and see if we can come back from that." Kind of like I did one time with my buddy Rob when we were playing NHL2K9. ZING! Srsly, I spotted him a Hank hatter, and my Thrashers still worked his Wings like a job.


Re: Tonight v. Nashville.
- Joey Crabb debuts tonight, taking EC's place on the third line, and seeing some PK time as well. Let's hope he fills the role of "aggressive winger with an eye for the back of the net."
- Nashville is coming off of a game where they demonstrated HUGE puck control. The Nashville top line has been their Kahlua line, but Shea Webber has kept pace, points-wise. We don't need to help them up their SOG average. Mongoose time.
- It'll be tougher than the Leafs, but so far this year, the boys have hung with Boston, the Rags, Detroit & Buffalo. They just need to find the right motivation during those moments when the legs seem just a little heavier, and they can take a couple of these tough close games.
- Let's go over .500 at home.

We wore out hungry mongoose, and to defeat the Preds, we need vigilance. I give you Mogoose-at-the-ready. Watch out, he's pissed.

Go Thrashers.
Defend Phillips.

Caps tonight and tidbits.

Tidbits first:
- Lots of nice debate about the Kovy/White scrap. Check out Kukla's. Seems only the Leaf fans are missing the part where White cheap-shotted Kovy.

- Speaking of Kovy, here's what Mick Kern of XM204 had to say about our star. I think Mick Kern is THE best personality on Home Ice, but... c'mon Mick, Special K? He's right about one thing, though: these are Kovy's Atlanta Thrashers. He alone has the star captial to expend to bring the Birds out to the front of the NHL. Kozzy's always great, Little is on the way to being a star, Hainsey is seriously underrated, but only Kovy can make the Toronto Hockey Media even acknowledge Atlanta as a hockey city. This IS his team.

Tonight vs. the Capitals:
- Half the Caps starters are out. Kidding. But seriously, no Mike Green, no Alex Semin and no Federov (who always seemed to torch me in NHL2K when he was a Wing). Jose Theodore gets the nod in goal, who in the past has pretty much owned us. Click for expansion.

The good news is he has a .888 SV% and a 3.26 GAA against the rest of the leauge, and he was in goal when the Thrash nailed the Craps for 7 goals. Pavs gets the start, and here's hoping he stands on his head again. If the boys bring the fire again, it'll be a long night for 'ol Bruce.

Looking for his second win in as many games, Hungy Mongoose.

Go Thrashers.

Leafs Get Blown Away

Just a couple of things:

- I like watching Army score. Is it just me, or did he look like a kid at Christmas?
- Did it also look like Kovy was breathing a big HUGE sigh of relief after that goal?
- Ian White = 'Stache Bum. And what was with that joke charging penalty?

From the ajc:

White called Kovalchuk “selfish” for going after him and taking a double-minor that could have hurt Atlanta. Kovalchuk said he was just finishing what White started.

White’s version: “I finished my check off. Clean hit. And then he took a run at me on the far blue [line]. So I followed him up the ice, I was saying something to him, and he stopped, and I wasn’t expecting that, obviously. I was protecting myself. That’s the ugly part of the game. He’ll get what’s coming to him.”

Yea. Right. You pulled a crap move, and got jacked by a "sniper." Deal.

Kovy with the last laugh:

“Whatever he wants to say. The score on the board, we win. We get two points [in the standings]. We’ve got three games [left] against them, so if he’s got something he wants to say, I’m always ready to answer.”

12.22.08.
- Mathieu "off the" Schneid-er. You knew it was coming.
- Hungry Mongoose rocked it.
- Go read the Puck Daddy account of the Kovy/White debacle. Bomb the comments. Show them there are, in fact, hockey fans in Atlanta.
- Dan Kamal was aces on HTM yesterday.
- Hainsey was fun as always with Espo & Rossi.
- That Kahlua Line is freakin magic.
- EJ Hradek is still talking... and still not making much sense.

Gameday vs Leafs

Both these teams have dropped 3 straight (and are coming off stinging losses), so something's gotta give.

Bad news: The Leafs lead the East in both shots for (34.3) and fewest shots against (27.1). Moose has 3.01 GAA and .891 SV% v. the Buds. Those Leafs are pretty decent at blocking shots (team total: 386, Atlanta has 256). Matt Stajan is running a point-per-game. Statistically, our boys don't have a shot...

Good News: Toskala is in goal... let's hope he brings his 3.33 GAA & .876 SV%. But that will only matter if the Thrash actually SHOOT (yes, I am ignoring his career 5-0-1 dominance of Atlanta. thankyouverymuch). The more you shoot, the more likely you are to find the back of the net. The other bit of good news? Ex was ready to give his game summary after Saturday's loss. The last time Ex brought the heat, our boys took the next 5 straight games. Maybe the correlation will continue.

Seeing as how the other moongoose(s?) haven't gotten the job done, I give you a much fiercer Gameday Mongoose. He's hungry.

Go Thrashers.

Crap.

Well, there goes that idea...

So now there are conflicting reports.

Tidbits

A few things this afternoon:

Re: Retail. Don't. Do it. EVER. Rumors of a sagging economy make the belligerent even worse. Add Christmas, and stir 'til nauseous.

Re: Luongo. That woosh of air you heard was every Canucks' fans relief that their entire season isn't a loss. Alanah over @ Canucks and Beyond gives 5 reasons why the 'nucks can weather the storm. Ben Wright examines a possible All-Star Voodoo.

Re: Kovalchuck. You owe it to yourself to read the Falconers' calling out of Kovy.

Re: Finally. A suspension over an obviously cheap shot.

Bleated games thoughts, miscellany

Couldn't get to a computer this weekend - hooray for winterizing.

The best game summary came after Hamburglar potted his empty netter and my cat proceeded to vomit right in front of me.

But here are some thoughts:

Gamers (Rose-Colored Glasses Edition):
Ex - Trying to light a fire by dancing with Jared Boll in the second. You may call his offensive (and sometimes defensive) skills into question, but you can never question his heart. Once the team finds an identity (more on that in a second), that heart will serve us well.

Kozlov - A couple of roughing penalties late in the game say to me that he's frustrated. Frustrated is better than apathetic, which has been an issue team-wide for stretches (see: 2007-2008 season).

Todd White - The word "Charmin" shall be uttered no longer around here. Good to see him back & skating.

Other than that, the Jackets remind me of those 07-08 Thrashers, with a couple of key differences. They have attendance issues, a superstar in Rick Nash, cagey veterans (proved by a couple of non-calls on Friday), a couple of players that step up sometimes, and Leclaire, who shows flashes of being a pretty solid netminder. The differences? Work ethic and the trap, aka Ken Hitchcock.

Re: Terrence Moore's surprisingly insightful column from Sunday's AJC. This is the kind of piece we need to copy and mail 100,000 times to the ASG until they get the message. I think Terrance was fair and honest, and this is the kind of thing you see in "real" NHL towns as a calling-out of the powers that be. Hopefully the ASG will learn firsthand with the Hawks that, once you start winning, butts fill the seats. Yea, sure, it's probably easier to build a winning team in the NBA and easier to sell said team to a large group of fairweather sports fans, but with an average ticket price that is $10 higher than the Hawks (for a comparable product, in terms of win pct.), you'd think they'd follow the money. Anyway, back to the article. The only thing that concerns me is the Anderson quote at the end:

“We’re dealt a hand here a little bit... We can’t just say, ‘OK, this is what I want us to be.’ You look [at the Thrashers’ roster], and that’s not what it is. You have to adjust a little bit, and that’s what we’re doing.”

A little bit of "you go to war with the army you have"? Let's hope our fearless leader is not losing the drive & desire that motivates the guys on a good night. But is it true that the Thrashers are "talent-challenged"? I may have to think on that a bit...

Re: The Leafs on Tuesday. If any team has been as schizophrenic as the Thrash, it's been the Buds. Seems to me a major difference between the two teams has been Toronto's ability to pick up the charity point. Maybe we'll have a Burke sighting in Phillips. Maybe the ASG will have a moment of clarity and throw large piles of cash at him and put Don Waddell in charge of... I don't know... something else. Maybe Burke will sign a 52 & 1/2 year contract, make some shrewd deals (further enraging one Kevin Lowe in the process) and Atlanta becomes the 6th "sunbelt" team in 7 years to reach the SCFs.

Or maybe we get to see a shootout showdown between their Poni and our Pony.

Yea... cause that's the same...

Re: Dan Kamal on HTM/XM204 with Dulcet Tones & Big Country. Sounds like fun.

Re: Off-Topic

- It's amazing how much better NHL2k9 looks when you set your screen resolution to match your TV.

- Saw the new James Bond. +1

- Had personal rediscovery of Mitch Hedberg this weekend, and was thusly saved by the bouyancy of citrus. Hockey Luv.

Now I'm off to catch up on what everyone else has to say...