http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=lebrun_pierre&id=4017781 Long-ish article about Pothier returning from his year-long absence after his 4th concussion
It's amazing that one eye doctor fixed the issue in a few minutes after so many months where Pothier could barely function normally.
Here is the Caps version of CFs if anybody is interested: http://boards.washingtoncaps.com/ And this is a daily blog from the Washington Post called Capitals Insider that has interesting posts every day about all things related to the Caps, including lineups, injury reports, interviews, etc... on game days: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitalsinsider/ There are a bunch of other Caps-related sites you can find at the bottom of the first post in gameday threads but the above two are the ones I visit most frequently.
How about all that stuff with Patrick Roy and his wife? Didn't he cheat on her then she cheated on him with a teammate or something? I don't remember the details. Then there was that limo incident with Scott Stevens and a few other Caps back in the 80s. There are a lot of other stories like that over the years with hockey players. How about Phaneuf getting Avery's sloppy seconds?
Shout out to Mike Green for becoming the 1st D-man to score 30 or more goals in 16 years and just the 8th D-man ever to accomplish the feat! And don't forget, he's done this while missing 14 games this season. He's also averaging more than a PPG (70 pts in 63 GP) and I believe he'd be the 1st D-man to do that in quite a while. He also broke the all-time record this season for goals in consecutive games by a D-man (8). Some say he isn't a great defensive defenseman, but his peripherals say otherwise. He's ahead of Chara in several defensive categories (I'll try to dig them up later). He does have a lot of giveaways but that is understandable, imo, considering how much he handles the puck. Chara, Markov, Lidstrom and several others have been great this season but as far as I'm concerned, Green should win the Norris. He's played solid D while his offensive production is too much to overlook. As far as the Hart, I'm not sure which way to go. Malkin is a better two-way player than Ovechkin and has had a tremendous season. My honest opinion is that it should got to Datsyuk although I doubt that will happen. Datsyuk does everything well. There isn't a weakness in his game.
Last week, I didn't want the Caps to face the Canadiens in the 1st round but that was before the news about Schneider and Markov. I just feel like we'll somehow end up with the Penguins. I'd rather play them in a later round given their finals appearance last season and the way they've been playing since the trade deadline. I imagine both the Pens and the Habs would prefer the Caps over the Devils in the 1st round so it will be interesting to see how those two teams approach their final 3 games.
Boston feels destined to continue the tradition set forth by teams like the Wings and Caps (x2), Panthers and Lightning who have all had 120+ point President Cups Winning Seasons to then go on and not with The Cup.
Last night's games were fantastic...which is somewhat unusual for first round games. The regulation wins were exciting...and the nightcaps ended up with two overtime games (one double-OT). Home teams went 2-2. The absolute best playoffs out of the four major sports in the US. Those guys pretty much have to be disemboweled before they want off the ice. For example, see Minnesota's Ryan Hartman. Dude probably should've been in the lockerroom but somehow managed to stay in the game after two different leg injuries. Ends up driving home the winner in the second overtime. That Dallas/Minnesota series is going to be absolutely killer. So much fun. And...in honor of Seattle playing in their first playoff game tonight...Brandon Tanev...
In other interesting hockey news.... Tempe will be voting on the arena situation for the Coyotes this month, and it doesn't look to be going well. They have literally been playing at a 4,500 person multi-purpose arena at Arizona State. I think they will be relocating to Houston as soon as next season. I think Tilman makes a move to acquire them and move them into Toyota Center asap. Houston is at the top of the list of where the NHL wants a team, whatever team is looking to relocate next, it will be to Houston. And the Coyotes are an absolute dumpster fire. Their situation is an embarrassment to the league and are the overwhelming the most likely team to move. Hockey would also be a good endeavor for Tilman, as players are cheap AF compared to basketball players. You can pay a top 5 NHL talent the same money you are paying Jae'Sean Tate lol.
Have you seen any polling on this in Tempe? I've been looking for any indication of how they think the vote will go, but I'm not finding it. I have read there's a pretty well organized opposition group, though.
Why has Bettman been so hell-bent on keeping the Coyotes in Arizona when Houston is sitting right here? Does the NHL really value the Phoenix market that highly compared to Houston? It seems like they've had arena issues for 10+ years.
Dallas haters where y'all at? Texas Hockey reigns Supreme, better brush up on your hockey lingo, its hockey country now. Goodbye basketball, Baseball, football, hahaha
