Miscellany

Just so you don't loose respect for me 'cause I jumped the shark by using the same bit two days in a row, here's some rambling crap dredged from the recesses of my brain.

Who I'd Be If I Had Any Actual Hockey Knowledge: Down Goes Brown. To read him is to love him.

From The "Why Don't You Give Me A Nice Papercut & Pour Lemon Juice On It" Dept:

Ouch.

GMwatch '09:
John Manasso over at the Atlanta Business Chronicle (or, the ABC as the hipsters in L5P call it) has an interesting thought of John Risebrough and the Atlanta GM job. He makes fantastic points about Risebrough's success in MIN, and his ability to work with limited resources. This got me thinking about other possibilities:

Warning: what follows is pure speculation and may or may not have anything at all to do with acutal hockey knowledge.
You've been warned.

Risebrough: The question raised by Manasso is a vaild one: Who is responsible for the Wild's defense-first strategy, Risebrough or recently-deposed head coach Jacques Lemaire? If the trap begins & ends with Risebrough, he's an awful fit for HC Johnny A's system. But if the system came completely from Lemaire, well... that's a different story. It would be intruiging to see what John could bring to the table.

Bob Gainey: Gainey = Habs = Epic Mortal Fail, so thanks, but no thanks on this one.

Doug Wilson: This would be exciting. Douggie has a rep for building great regular season teams that don't quite get the job done come playoff time. With a group as young and hungry as the one here in Atlanta plus any key "hockey people" (i.e. scouts, management types) Doug might bring with him, it might be an explosive combination (In case you couldn't tell: yes, I am assuming Ole San Jose Doug gets the ax very shortly; what can I say? I'm a risk-taker).

And, of course, there's always...

Don Waddell

Hm. Wonder which one it'll be.

From The Grass Is Greener Dept:
Erik Christensen is averaging ~12min of ice time, and has 2 points to show for it. Jason Williams is averaging ~14min of ice time, and has 1 point to show for it. Oh, and his team just got swept out of the playoffs. Hm.

Hey. You with the "At least they were in the playoffs" crap. Shut it.


Useless Top 5 List:
It's back. With a vengance.

Top 5 Windows-Down, Ready For Summer Songs
5) Happy Day Mama - Better Than Ezra
4) D'yer Mak'er - Led Zeppelin
3) American Girl - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
2) Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) - Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band
1) September Gurls - Big Star

Bonus Hazy Summer Night Makeout Track: Girl From Ipanema by Getz/Gilberto/Gilberto narrowly edges Dusty Springfield's Son of a Preacher Man.

Yea, that'll all change by tomorrow.

Have a good weekend.

Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? Thrashers Lose.

Okay, someone needs to set up a big circle of Dmen and goalies. Have 'em all do trust falls until they get weepy & huggy. Make some popcorn and some kind of chocolate something, spread pillows out on the floor, and they can play Mystery Date in their PJs until they're BFFs. Someone needs to do something, because all that teammateness I yakked on and on about yesterday went straight down the crapper that is the Bell Centre.

Kari, Kari Kari. If it takes him this long to shake the bad game against Detroit, he's not ready. Metro's goal should not have happened. Not at all, not ever. Five goals on 14 shots? Yes, lets toss that first Tanguay goal, that kinda wasn't his fault. Four goals on 13 shots doesn't sound much better.

Vomit.

For a much better, much more statistically comprehensive rant, see the lovely Laura and her post. I'm just much too emotional....

I Been Thinking...And It Hurts

You can thank the good Mr. Timmy F over at Thrashing About for this next batch of lukewarm drivel. He did this great post about one-goal games the Thrashers have been involved in this year. He's got a chart. I can't even begin to fathom how one goes about making a chart, so I'm going to look at his data and add to it.

Me, thinking about making a chart.

I can tell you the exact date that I knew this season was a wash. October 25, 2008. The Thrashers were playing the Bruins at Boston Garden (TD Bankwhaaa? Never heard of it.). I was spackling the big chunk o wall I had just replaced in my music room (leaky roof, shoddy patch job, more leaky, more patchy, a little head-bashing & finally got it right). I had the Kamalian on my nifty Grundig crank radio (Srsly, get one. It could Save. Your. Life. Or you could just play with the crank-thing until you get tired of it; and, look! Fashion colors!). Covered in spackle dust, I listened as our Thrashers blew 2 leads, and frittered away 12:38 of the third period without even being able to mutser a tying goal to claim a pity point. The B's still hadn't figured out what kind of powerhouse team they could become, and we hadn't yet seen the depth to which we could fall. The sky was the limit. Until that horn sounded, and we left Boston with no points. Then, The Decline of Thrasher Civilization.

Yup. That just happened.

They skated to a 19-31-5 record until the West Coast swing that netted them an improbable (at the time) 3-2-1 record, and some serious confidence. What happened? Well, on 1/16/09, Jason Williams was traded to Columbus. I'm not saying that Williams was a bad person, never met him, have no clue what he's like. But let's play What If. What if I really like a certain kind of music. Like country, maybe - just picking a random genre out of thin air. What if, in the locker room before a game, somebody (who I otherwise would have no issue with) decides to play some crap like "Russian Privjet" - again, out of thin air. That doesn't put me in the calm zen-like state needed for me to be able to bang some bodies into the boards. Thusly, my play may, just may, be affected. And then, what if I'm hearing he's griping about his lack of power play time? Once more, out of thin air....
The record after the Williams trade? 6-7-0. With 4 of those losses being by 1 goal margins. Then Matthieu Schnieder went to Montreal. 3-2-1. Then Havelid to Jersey. Christensen to Anaheim. 7-3-0. You will not find a bigger Havelid or Schnieder fan than me: both seasoned vets, both assets to their new teams. But I noticed that they may not have been as keyed into the system as some of the other players, whatever "system" we were running at the time. Three players traded, and the record improves. I want to reiterate - these are probably solid, upstanding human beings. But at the same time, they're all human beings. They all affect the ebb & flow of a dressing room.

Look at Kovy. His stats soared after being given the 'C' (as chronicled on this very blog). A conicidence? Well, let throw this theory out at you: Kovy comes in this year, expecting to be named captain, and rightfuly so; I thought it was a foregone conclusion. But here comes HC Johnny A. He's just been named HC, as a matter of fact. He's bad, he's nationwide. He's gotta see how this team works. He's thinking, "Let's hold on just a second on the whole 'C' thing... let's see who steps up." Hence, four 'A's & no 'C'. If I'm Kovy, I might be thinking, "Whoa, new HC is not a Kovy fan." Maybe not in those words, and maybe not conciously at all, but I start to grip my stick a little tighter, second-guess myself before I shoot, etc & etc.

I don't know if luck is the right word. Maybe chemistry might be a better term. But yes, Timmy F, I do believe in this hockey team.

Now, back to the rehashed crap I usually pass along.

*sigh* Okay.... Seems that.... Scott Hartnell may be... *swallows bile* an alright dude. Fartsmell. That'll get you to click the link.

Kevin Allen details the wealth of talent available in this years' draft. What he doesn't tell you is how easy it would be to completely derail their careers due to improper development.

Habs tonight.

Go Thrashers.

When Did We Get a Hockey Team?

Friday Night's Game. Habs taking liberties; PIMs for everybody!; Habs watch playoff seeding (and maybe even hopes) fade; O'Byrne's a joke; X gets 10 for allegedly being a Francophobe. Oh yea, and a shutout for Kari.

Sunday's Game. Bry-Bry (again) with the leadoff tally; jobbing by CalGARY; Toby with a MONSTER shot; more jobbing by CalGARY; Kovy being Kovy; even more jobbing by CalGARY; and Bry-Bry (again) with the final word. Oh yea, and a Greek God goal thrown in for good measure.

Obligatory Stupid Question: Where was this team in October? With all of the different guys that have been moved from the team, I wonder how the chemestry has been affected. Did we dump some malcontents? Did we move some bodies that didn't jive with the of the team, not from any mental issues, but simply years of habit? At this point, you could ask these questions without having to name names, and I'd really like to know.

The Finer Points. Team play. That's the buzzword. Only Boris was a minus this weekend, and only Bogosian was over +1 (+2). There wasn't on line that led, or one line that let everybody down.

"Live together, die alone."

Um, thanks, Jack.

The cycles in both weekend games looked tighter & crisper, but the boys didn't back down from a physical game, either. I've had the recurring thought that we need a little more grit, but watching both games put that to bed. Friday night's backcheck looked a little sloppy at times. But when the average age of your defense is 24, that's gonna happen. Then came Sunday, and all fears were assuaged. Add the recently arrived Mr. Salmela, and we might just have a defense. Then again, that's what we said at the beginning of the year, too. But I choose hope.



Kovy Since the 'C'

Gms	G	A	Pts	+/-	PPG	SOG	Pts/G	S%	Pts/G
23	20	13	33	2	5	90	1.43	22.22%	1.43

Money. As in: "The man is." As in "Show him the." We know what he's capable of. Now, he's proving it. The crowd was LOUD Sunday, especially toward the end.

Goals. We has 'em.
The way I see it, this team is playing against itself. More specificly, the 5-9-2 record of last year's Thrashers. That's .375 points per game. For the remainder of the year, we have 16 games, 12 against playoff (or within spitting distance of a playoff spot) teams, 6 on the road, 6 at home. If we could pull off a 9-7 record over that span (.889 points per game), I will be convinced. I know, a lot to ask. The team that showed up this weekend could do it.

Nice.

This'll get old one day. But not today.

Re: The Peverley Bounce? No, it's not the hottest new dance in the Buckhead clubs - it's the initial jolt after a fresh dispensation of some Pevs. After last nights' 3rd period, I'm wondering if it isn't starting to wear off. No real sustained pressure, 18 shots allowed... not a good sign. Kari shouldn't have to work that hard. Hopefully the momentum can keep rolling tonight.

Re: Scoring. I love it when people not named Kovalchuk have mutli-point games and multi-game point streaks. Shuts the haters right up.

Re: Jimmy Slater Get well soon. Haste the return of Joe's Crabb Shack. And hopefully Ex. 'Cause this looks like fun:

Next up: Philthadelphia.

Fact: I have never been to a Flyers game without someone wearing orange being escorted out of the arena. True story.

Gameday v. Habs

No staying or going today - focusing on beating the Habs tonight. Halak gets the start, he of the 11.2 GAA against the Thrash. This is also the same Montreal team that blew the two goal lead in the third against Ottawa. As long as the momentum keeps rolling, we can outplay them. They'll run out of comebacks sooner or later.

Tonight's Checklist:
__ Keep the legs moving
__ Go to the net
__ Play physical
__ Have fun

Yes, it really is that easy.

...and just 'cause I'm on a roll:

Go Thrashers.

Bah...

X Still Hasn't Figured It Out: When Talking To Scott Hartnell,
Use Small Words And SPEAK SLOWLY.

The Flyers Crash The Crease Like It's Filled With
Booze & "Get Out Of Suspension Free" Cards

Re: Philthadelphia Game

Big up to Slava & Little, especially Bryan extending a point streak to six games AND jumping back out on the ice after a rough check. Gamer of the night. Moose & Havelid need to run some Herbies after Lupul's goal.

Other than that...

I grew up in NEPA - I've seen Flyer fans in their natural habitat. A level of darkness unseen by normal human beings.

We shall speak of it no longer.

Re: Attrapé!

Seems some Habs fans got caught stuffing the box. Now they're saying "...shyea, like it matters..."

From Habs Inside/Out:

"Late last week, the NHL said it was studying the legitimacy of this Habs runaway, the rules stating that automated voting activity is prohibited. Saturday into yesterday morning, it stripped thousands of votes from the Canadiens, as many as 20,000 from Kovalev alone if you’re to believe the “real-time” totals.

But then, does it really matter? The All-Star Game long ago took a fork in the road from its original purpose and much of its relevence."

But if it doesn't matter... why cheat? Boo hoo, mes amis, you got caught. Deal.

(h/t Pensblog Staff)