Oilers Hold Junior Training camp

The Edmonton Oilers have invited their Junior and Farm squads together to determine who might be able to make the team this upcoming season. Leading Scorer Mikhov will compete against his fellow teammate Salmelainen and current winger Todd Harvey for a 4th line Left Wing Position. Harvey did not contribute much last season for the Oilers and will have to show the Edmonton Managment that he is better then these two talented youngsters in order to save his spot on the Oilers regular roster for this upcoming season. At Center it will be a competition with Established Centerman Marty Reasoner who had a good season with the Oilers changing between the 3rd and 4th lines in the Roster and contributing defensively in some key moments and Brian McConnell who posted up good numbers in Junior last season and is a huge physical prescence in front of the net, Can he be disciplined enough to make the Oilers regular roster? Junior captain Jake Brenk will compete against Vitali Yachmenev & Vladimir Antipov for a regular 4th line RW position. On defense the battle is for 1 spot in the NHL line-up this year Junior hopefuls include Thomas Pock, & Paul Flache while the battle between to keep their spot goes to offensive defenseman Grand-Pierre & Enforcer Chris McAllister. Luc Theroet also is trying to earn a regular spot coming up from the AHL farm affilate of the Oilers. David Leneveau after an awesome season has been invited to the Training camp along with Farm League goaltender Trefilov. Leneveau will more then likely stay down for more experience as the top Goalie on the Oilers Junior squad but the Managment wants a closer look at what may be their future between the pipes. Several players who remained unsigned all last year have come out too attempted to make a stab at a spot in the Oilers Farm system. Training camp will be conducted over the next week and the Oilers expect to have most of their decisions made by then as far as who they need to sign to Pro contracts and who will be sent back down for more experience. All of the Oilers that are going into Free Agency this year have also been invited so that the Oilers may keep them close to talk about re-signing them or whether they are going to release the players all together and make room for more young talent.

Bruins issue (yet another) apology

With scores of rabid protesters outside his country estate, Bruins GM Joshua Anderson issued an apology today to his fellow GMs.

"I realize now some of you may have been offended by my actions in posting The Reverse Cowgirl image as part of my game write-up. I also didn't even think that some of you may open the Blog at work. I failed to consider that the neoconservative wave of prudish thinking which dominates the Western Hemisphere and the North American continent was unable to handle the beauty of the human body.

For that, I apologize for my inconsideration and have edited the image. Please call Pete off and tell him to quit peeing in the bushes."

It was the latest in a long series of apologies issued by the Bruins GM in recent months.

"I regret nothing," Anderson said. "Well, that's not true. I regret some things. Okay, I regret most things. But what a ride along the way, huh?"

Lightning strikes... yet again

"Jesus F'ing Christ.... that (censored) mother (censored) (censored) Bruce (censored) (censored) Sprackman and his (censored) freaking goat (censored) man (censored) (censored) loving (censored) Lighting. (censored) ri(censored)ulous, I say!"

Yup... the Bruins lost... again.

To the Lighting... again.

In a blowout... again.

And Mario Lemieux rode the Bruins' goalies like a porn actress rides her co-star in the fluffer scenes - hard, fast, and with lots of excitement, all until the moment the red light goes off.

Again.

Andrew Raycroft lasted only twenty-four minutes before having to pull out - or twelve times longer than Pete, according to his girlfriend. Eric Brewer broke the scoring seal with a power play goal at 04:47 of the first period, with Mario Lemieux notching his lone assist of the night.

Six minutes later, Lemieux scored his thirty-first goal of the year, fed by Kyle Calder. For good measure, he tacked on number thirty-two less than three minutes later, as the Lightning broke the period up 3-0.

In the second period Eric Brewer struck quickly once again, scoring his second of the game at 03:19. Justin Williams compounded the deficit with a goal forty-five second later, chasing Andrew Raycroft for Joh Grahame, who calmed down the defense and slowed down the game. Keith Tkachuk tallied his twenty-second goal of the year at the 16:58 mark to close the gap to four.

For good measure, Milan Hejduk added a sixth goal in the third period to end the humiliation of the once-proud Bruins franchise. Obviously, the Lightning swept all three game stars (Lemieux, Brewer, J. Williams) as they sent almost seventeen thousand Bruins fans home disappointed.

The Bruins were once again held to less than twenty-five shots. The team will travel to Toronto next to face the Maple Leafs as they desperately claw to hold on to their playoff spot.

Oleg Saprykin shipped to Washington

With Saprykin's refusal to sign in Boston made official by his statement of "I refuse to sign with the Bruins under any circumstances", the hockey club had to act fast in order to make something happen. Saprykin was immediately put on the market in the effort to draw a bit of a bidding spat - since it wouldn't be a full fledged war - to get some bit of value for Saprykin.

Ultimately, though, it came down to just two teams - Colorado and Washington. Both made some attractive offers, but the ultimate tip went to Washington when they solidified their offer with a conditional pick based on Sparykin signing.

"While we know the pick is not guaranteed," Bruins GM Joshua Anderson said from his car phone, still lost in Luxembourg, "there is a shot, at least, of the little bee-yotch signing in Washington, which would add a fourth round pick to our coffers. Colorado did not match nor beat that offer, so that tipped the scales in Washington's direction."

In addition to the conditional pick, the Bruins acquired the Philadelphia Flyers second round pick in 2009 and Washington's second round pick in 2010.

"Both the Flyers and the Capitals are mid-level contenders," Anderson explained. "We know that just as easily as these could be junk picks, the wheels could fall off either wagon at any time, and these could be prime potential picks. Even if they are not, though, they are ammunition for either some wheelin' and dealin' come restricted free agent time, or for restocking the farm system, which as has been lamented regularly, is pretty thin."

Oleg Saprykin, plane crash survivor, lost boy, strip club connosieur... Washington Capitals property.

Rangers herd a victory

After the extended break for The Great "Um... Anyone Seen Ryan?" Debacle of Summer 2006, the Boston Bruins took to the ice under the leadership of Interim General Manager gorn, filling in for regular General Manager Joshua Anderson, who was spending days on end driving on the one-way streets in Luxembourg, trying to find his damned hotel.

The Bruins sported a new look line-up under Gorn, who has won multiple championship trophies in several leagues and believed the task of keeping the Bruins in contention would be a cakewalk... until he viewed the roster. The exact quote overhead in discussions between the two GMs was "Dude, what the hell are you doing to me?"

The Bruins, frustrated by their recent slide, brought out their beating sticks early, getting whistled for a double minor misconduct less than two minutes into the period, as well two additional misconducts in the first. All told, the Bruins served almost half an hour in the penalty box for various infractions.

Matt Spiller spun the red light first, scoring only his fourth of the year at 10:20 of the first period. The score stayed 1-0 as blood was shed, but with only sixteen seconds left, Tim Connolly netted his twelfth of the year by catching a sleeping Mike Dunham in the shoulder, causing the puck to trickle in.

Somehow, the second period was clean in terms of penalty, though not play. The Rangers scored twice, as Radek Dvorak and Alexei Ponikarovsky put the home club up 3-1 with their period book-end goals.

Pavel Bure joined the action by coming to life in the third period. He was all the offense of the first half of the third, scoring twice to make the score 5-1 and chasing Andrew Raycroft from the crease. Sean Brown then managed the rare back-to-back penalties, whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct minor at 10:16, getting out at 12:16, the penalized for a highsticking double minor seven seconds later.

With the man advantage, JP Dumont scored a power play goal to close out the scoring for the hosts. However, ever gracious, they did allow Keith Tkachuk to add a garbage time score to cover the spread and make the final score 6-2.

The Bruins will return home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning, who light up the Bruins every time they visit, tomorrow.

Blues hand out team awards

Thats right with the offseason now in full swing the Blues announced there picks for all the team awards. While most of the awards will likely be handed out to other teams when the clutch votes are counted by the league, this is who the Blues would be giving them too on there team
Hart Memorial Trophy-Presented to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team-Martin Brodeur
Art Ross Trophy-Presented to the C.L.U.T.C.H.'s leading points scorer of the regular season-Brad Richards BLU 82 31 45 76
James Norris Memorial Trophy-Presented to the player who is judged to be the best defenseman in the league-Fedor Tyutin BLU 83 4 33 37
Conn Smythe Trophy-Presented to the outstanding player who is judged to be the most valuable player to his team in the playoffs-Martin Brodeur
Calder Trophy-Presented to the rookie of the year each season-Nicolas Corbeil BLU 79 11 24 35
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy-Presented to the C.L.U.T.C.H.'s leading goal scorer of the regular season-Michal Handzus BLU 81 32
Vezina Trophy-Presented to the goaltender who is judged by the league to be the best goaltender in the league during the regular season-Martin Brodeur BLU 70 3969 3.20 31 37 1 3 212 1811 .883 0 4
Frank J. Selke Award-Presented to the player judged to be the best defensive forward in the league-Mike Leclerc BLU 82 31 40 71 11
Bobby Orr Trophy-Presented each season to the defenseman who scores the most points over the course of the C.L.U.T.C.H. regular season-Fedor Tyutin BLU 83 4 33 37
Wayne Gretzky Award-Presented each season to the player who gains the most assists over the course of the C.L.U.T.C.H. regular season-Brad Richards 45 A
Bill Masterson Trophy-Awarded to the C.L.U.T.C.H. player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey-Sami Kapanen BLU 82 11 25 36 -21 6
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy-Presented to an excellent player who best exemplifies the qualities of outstanding sportsmanship through the game-Sami Kapanen BLU 82 11 25 36 -21 6
Molson Cup-Presented to the player who accumulates the most Star Points over the course of the Regular Season-Martin Brodeur Blues 1 70 65
Bud Light Plus-Minus Award-Awarded to the player, having played a minimum of 60 games, who leads the league in plus/minus statistics at the end of the regular season-Brooks Orpik +12
Hanson Brothers Award-Awarded to the player who accumulates the most PIM's in the regular season-Ossi Vaananen 277PIM

Oilers Head Office Starts Off-Season Transactions

The Edmonton Oilers have come up with a 30 day plan. In the 1st day of the Off-Season they have started the ball rolling by releasing Defensman Marc Moro. Marc Moro posted 4 pts in 24 games with the Oilers this year. He likely is released to make room for some upcoming youth in the Oilers Defensive line-up. Moro did not show any improvement since being resigned and his undisciplined style of play is something the Oilers are looking to rid their line-up of as much as possible this upcoming season.

Tank ends Blues season

For the 3rd series in a row the Blues took a 3-0 series lead only to let the other team back into the series. First they faced the Hawks and beat them in 7. Then the Predators made it interesting by taking the Blues to 6, and finally the Blues took on the Sharks and lost in game 7. What can the Blues blame for not having that killer instinct when it came to game 7? Could it be that they where just not able to step it up when it came to winning there 4th of the series, and if this is the case who is to blame for there lack of finishing. A look at the earlier games will show that the Blues had relied on Brodeur very heavily and perhaps in the end the Blues netminder was not able to perform in the last game. Maybe it was a lack of dicipline that cost the Blues there season. GM Foley brought in guys like Orpik and Vanannen in order to bring in some toughness and it seems to have helped in the regular season as teams started to realize they couldn't take as many liberties with the Blues more skilled players. However it cost them in the playoffs as the blues went from one of the least penalized teams in the regular season and where one of the most penalized in the playoffs.
Now with the season over the players came today to the Savis center to clean out there locker rooms and while many faces are expected to return next season many of the veteran players may not. Names like Damphouse, Audette, Holik, Kapanen and even Brathewaite will be waying there choices in the offseason and while GM Foley is expected to offer for some of them it is unlikely this team which made it to the Conference finals this season and was tops in the regular season last year in there conference will be returning with a lot of the same personel. When asked about his busy offseason gm Foley had these comment, "It is very likely that the Blues will have a much different lineup in the next season. Right now we are just getting over the big game 7 lose to the Sharks and maybe in a day or 2 we will see where we stand and go out and make some offers to our FA's. Then in the offseason we will look at what we can do and see if we can make a 3rd run. We still have one 1st round pick in the draft and hope that good scouting will give us a winner. As for jr callups we will get together with the Jr coach and see who might be ready to step up this season."

Sad Day in NY as Rangers Bow Out

Ponikarovsky may be on way out after terrible playoffs.

The New York Rangers lost their third straight game and with it their secound round series last night. The Rangers finished fourth overall in the league this year and there were great hopes that they would make it to the conference final and possibly to the Stanley Cup final but it was not to be.

Ultimately the Rangers lost their season to the mighty Panthers power play. As is often the case in the the playoffs it was special teams upon which the series turned. The Panthers were absolutely leathal on the power play scoring 8 goals on 17 chances for a shooting percentage just under 50%. The Rangers on the flip side could only convert on 28% of their chances.

Goat Horn Awards:

1. Alexei Ponikarovsky

The undisciplined play of the young winger was a sight to behold. While contributing 5 points in 11 games he also managed to tally 78 - yes 78 PENALTY MINUTES - in just 11 games. With the Panthers feasting on the Rangers on the power play Ponikarovsky just kept handing them chances. In the final game he was demoted to the third line and still managaged to get 20 minutes in penalties! It's entirely possible that the Rangers may have won the series without Ponikarovsky in the line up.

2. Jocelyn Thilbault

8 Games - 3.47 GAA - .870 GAA

The Rangers made an early season move to get Thilbault with an eye towards the playoffs. When the playoffs came they went with Thilbault's experience and leadership over Dunham's excellent regular season performance and paid the price. He was eventually pulled in favour of Dunham but was put back in when Dunham got hurt. Then he proceeded to let in 5 goals on 27 shots in the final game.

Playoff Hero Awards:

1. Pavel Bure

11 games - 10 goals

The Russian Rocket was an unstoppable force. He was the most dangerous player night in and night out as he scored goals in bunches and flew all over the ice.

2. Rick Nash

12 games - 5 goals and 5 assists.

Despite playing on the third line the young sniper put up 10 points and was a major factor in every game. A breakout playoffs that Ranger fans are praying is just the tip of the iceberg!

3. Mario Lemieux

12 games - 3 goals - 9 assists - 12 points

Although the Rangers had hopped for a little more from Le Magnifique he provided consistent offence though out the playoffs and led the Rangers through a tough series against Carolina. He also steadied them amidst hard knocks against the Panthers such as losing Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Dunham.

The "What If" file:


What if: Daniel Alfresson had not been suspended?

What if Mike Dunham had not been injured in game 5?

These are the two question that will haunt Ranger fans for years to come. Even though Patrick Stefan was knocked out with an injury on the Alfresson suspension the series turned in favour of the Panthers. When Dunham was finally handed the reins in game 4 he perfomed admirably but was knocked out in game 5 - a game which the Rangers lost. A look at his stats suggest that he would have been been tougher on the Panthers than Thilbault was. He finished with 7 games a 2.21 GAA and a .916 GAA.

It's impossible to know if these to events hadn't occured what would have happened. The Rangers may still have lost but odds are the Rangers would have fared a bit better. Then again maybe not. Ranger fans can only wonder and agonize for the rest of the off season.

Dear Mr. Dictator....

A disturbing transformation has taken place the president of CLUTCH over the last season.


Ryan Long started out fresh faced and positive. A welcome burst of youth and enthusiasm in a league that had started to grow stagnant. A new hope if you will. The young Ryan Long possessed enormous management powers and was loved by all.


As Ryan grew in experience and developed his powers he showed great potential but showed some disturbing flashes of tempermentalism and anger. No one thought much of it at the time.

As time went by a the face of our presient began to change. The good spirits that we had so grown to know became replaced by cynicism and anger.


Ryan then began to undergo a disturmbing physical transformation. His health deteriorated and we were all told it was due to the stress of running such a successful league until finally....

Ryan circumvented law and justice and took supreme control of Clutch with a merciless and devestating iron fist by completeling ignoring and the constituion of Clutch by making unilateral decisions without consulting the appeals commitee.

The GM of the Rangers issued the following statment today:

"In regards to your comments about my email I have to apologize that I thought you didn't respond. Rogers shut down my high speed internet 2 weeks earlier than they should have and this somehow affected my email until I logged on to it. That being said however I have hired legal counsel to dispute what I deem to be a disturbing abuse of power within this league. Please allow me to introduce my lawyer: Denny Crane."

"Denny Crane. I have advised my client to stop talking. He's really not good at it. In hopes of ending this amicably I've provided a few quotes from the most important document in Clutch affairs: The Rule book.

Whenever a rule is in doubt, or in question, or when there is a conflict requiring a rule interpretation, GM’s should be aware of the process by which such decisions are made through. The President functions a good deal like the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court is the last step in the legal process not the first and final.

In fact the way he operates is modeled directly on it. This includes committee heads and the Appeals and Arbitration Committee. They hear evidence from both sides of the issue; look at all relevant facts, such as logs or witnesses or emails.

The President should overseeing this comittee and it is their job to discuss rules on the basis of, among other things:

whether the INTENTION of the rule was to allow such things.

As we have argued and shown this rule is not intended to suspend Lady Byng candidates for minor infractions.

That is all.

Denny Crane.

Dear Mr Burns....

In response to the public lashing from Rangers GM David Burns, League Commissioner and Islander GM Ryan Long was quick to fire a statement back:

``In regards to Mr Burns comments about not hearing back from us regarding his call for an appeal on the Alfredsson suspension, we have twice tried to contact Mr Burns via email, and twice had our emails bounce back with the following error

554 delivery error: dd Sorry your message to davidpjburns@yahoo.ca cannot be delivered. This account has been disabled or discontinued [#102]. - mta256.mail.re4.yahoo.com.

This is the official email that the league has on our records for Mr. Burns. If he has changed it, we have not been informed, and this is the email on record, as evidenced by the GM contact list. Perhaps if Mr. Burns spent a little less time hopping up Daniel Alfredsson on pure testosterone, and had spent a little more time keeping the league informed of changes in contact details, he would have received his answer by now.





With regards to Mr. Burns' insinuation that he has not been informed of a decision on his application for appeal because I am somehow looking out for the team which I GM is also saddening. Even sadder though, is the fact that this is not the first time Mr. Burns has engaged in such gossip, making broad allegations about my integrity as commissioner and the previous success of this proud franchise. Unlike Mr. Burns, I do not wish to further spread gossip and innuendo publicly, so if Mr. Burns wishes to discuss these matters directly with myself further, I would be happy to do so. If not, I would ask that he keep such rumours and chit-chat confined to his Oprah book club meetings.


On the matter of an appeal to Alfredsson's suspension, there are no grounds to do so, and as such Alfredsson will sit for the full 11 games. . The rule as it stands was implemented at the start of this season, and has been used several times already, and there was no structure for an appeal process specific to lengths of suspensions put into place. It is currently a cut and dry process, and the suspension is determined by the chart in the rulebook, based on type of penalty and the extent of the player's injury.

If Mr Burns, or anyone else in the league would like to call for a review of the rule itself, I am more than happy to discuss this offseason.''

Controversy in New York! What Else is New?

The New York Rangers have battled through the first four games of their series agains the Florida Panthers despite a controversial call that landed star winger Daniel Alfredsson with an 11 game suspension, their GM going on vacation at a crucial time of year, and then Rogers Cable shutting down his internet connection for no apparent reason.

"It's been a trying time but I'm proud of the focus and determination of our boys," said Captain J.P. Dumont.

The Rangers are fighting for an appeal on the Alfredsson call which replay clearly shows was an errant and unintentional high stick on Patrick Stefan. Stefan took the stick in the face and Alfredsson - a sure fire lady byng candidate with zero penatly minutes in 82 games - was hammered with an eleven game suspension. The star winger was stunned at the suspension.

"The stick clipped him and he spun around and tore his groin muscle. How I get suspended for that is beyond me. How can I get suspended for a high sticking minor when the guy tears his groin muscle?"

General Manager David Burns weighed in on the issue. "It clearly states on the Panthers own injury report that Stefan's injury IS, in fact, related to his groin and not from the contact of the high stic. Please note exibit A from the injury report ---> Patrik Stefan sidelined 2-4 weeks (torn groin muscle)"

"The incident incurred a minor penalty not a major," he continued.
D. ALFREDSSON RAN (HIGHSTICKING, Minor, Game Misconduct) 09:09

"Eleven games is out of line for player of this type. Alfredsson is very sportsmanlike and there was clearly no intent to injure. We think a suspension should be at most 1-2 games if there is to be one at all. Since he's already served that many we think he should be returned to active duty immediately. We have contacted Ryan Longer but he has yet to respond. Perhaps it's because he is afraid to face the Rangers in the conference final? We would like to have a hearing before the appeals committee. We would also like to make sure that the committee does not consist of just Pete as he's already stated that "Alfredsson is toast" on mirc and has clearly prejudged this case before hearing all the facts. Plus the word "committee" implies a group of people. We would like a reduction in this suspension as soon as possible!"

Senators Look Forward to Offseason

With the Jr. Senators falling in the 6th game of their series, GM Schmucky has begun to look toward the offseason for both teams. For once, they are looking forward to the offseason and it could be an opportunity for the Sens to greatly improve their team.

With few changes possible in a league where GM's tend to be tough when it comes to trading, Schmucky looks at potential within the organization to solve at least some of their problems. For one, the protecting of Alexei Kovalev from FA is a must and a no-brainer. Kovalev joined the team and only played their 3 final games due to an injury that is expected to more of an ego crushing than a serious ailment. He landed 2 points in three games and a +2 plus/minus rating. Kovalev finished the year with good numbers: 76 GP 26G 48A 74PTS +9. These numbers will be extremely valuable this season for the Sens.

However, the added offence and leadership of Kovalev will not be enough. The Senators have been desperately trying to replace goaltender Roman Turek but have had little success. CLUTCH has a shortage of star goaltenders and their young goalies are weak and incapable of filling a #1 pro spot. Schmucky is not gambling on UFA's as the market is very slim when it comes to goalies being available so, Turek could be the #1 guy to start the year.

The Senators are also hoping to sign free agent forward Michal Grosek to a new deal before he hits the open market. Grosek landed 27 goals, more than newly acquired star Alexei Kovalev, and a total of 49 points. He had a very much improved year and could be a nice player on line 2 next season.

As for the Junior prospects of the Sens, it looks like young stars Kiel McLeod, Nick Tarnasky and Matt Hendricks are on their way out of Junior. Schmucky would love to keep them there one more year for development purposes, but as they have improved so much, it may be impossible to hold them back another year. Even youngsters Tomas Plihal and Alex Golovin could be on their way to pro as they are borderline as to where they will rate next season. This could lead to another Senators season full of developing youth and future stars. But Schmucky promises his fans more wins and as many changes as possible to get his team closer to the playoffs.

Tampa names Award winners

(Tampa) - Lightning have completed a turmoil season with a 1st round exit to the New York Islanders. After the last game was over, Gm Sprackman stated he would sit down with the coaches and decide what moves have to be made for next season and come up with team awards. Gm Sprackman was delighted that the team made the playoffs and with a bit of rebuilding going on this season, it was a bonus.

As for team rewards, the coaching staff had no problems picking the MVP. Milan Hejduk was the easily the best player the team had this year. He lead the team in scoring and was the most consistent player on the team. He led the team in goals, assists and points with 36 goals, 57 assists and 93 points. If he didn't show up this season, Tampa would surely have been way down in the standings.

Best defenceman for the team was none other then team Captain Pavel Kubina. He led all Dman on the team in goals, assists and points with 14 goals, 47 assists and 61 points. He once again showed why he is the Captain and will be for some time.

Tampa didn't dress any rookies so there was no real candidate but Lehtonen was a 12 game winnner in limited action and is one of the youngsters brought in to help the team in the future.

Goalie of the year would go to Hurme due to the amount of time he played. After Thibault was deal, he stepped in and finished with 23 wins and .881 save percentage.

+/- winner for the team was Marc Savard who ended the season with a +9 overall. Again, another strong year for the center and with Lemieux gone, will take over as the #1 center next season.

Goon of the year was awarded to Matt Cullen with his 193 Pim's. It was a big battle with him and Vaananen but with Ossi traded, Cullen took over the role. Only problem with that is the fact he was the #2 center behind Savard, so not someone the team wanted to throw the punches around.

Junior player of the year went to Marian Havel who had 31 goals, 38 assists and 69 points on a team that didn't really play until the final 2 weeks of the season. He will be looked upon more next season and this was a great start to hopefully more great seasons from Marian.

Well, after a tough season and many players moved, Gm Sprackman looks to the off season. A few players will need to be resigned, including all 4 top Dmen, Satan, Hejduk and Lehtonen to name a few. It will be a busy off season and maybe more changes will come with spots open on the team.

Walking wounded

Just like in their round 1 series the Blues head home to the friendly confinds of the Savis center up 2-0 in their series with the Predators. The difference however is that the Predators are taking a much bigger physical toll on the Blues roster. First Sydor was pressed into service when Hrdina was highsticked in game 1 by Kubina and is not expected back in this series. Now after game 2 the Blues will be dressing another forward after Bobby Holik pulled a muscle in his lower body and isn't expected to be in the lineup when they play there first game in St Louis and is doubtfull for the 2nd as well. The Game plan for the Blues going into the series was a simple one. To get physical with the Predators and make them lose there heads. This game plan has worked but the Physical toll on the Blues to date has been a little more then they bagained for. Of course the trade off of Hrdina for Kubina was adecent one but now with 2/3 of the Blues Checking line on the mend they will be hardpressed to continue there winning ways. Blues Captain Brad Richards had these comments when arriving for morning practice, "Guys are dropping like flies and this has been the most physical series we have ever been in. No worries though other guys are just going to have to step up and make it difficult for the coaches to decide when the walking wounded do return."

Blues dominate Preds

The Blues game plan was to get rough and physical with the Predators in game 1. The Plan was to take the fight out of them before they ever got started and it worked very well. Orpick and Vananen got placed on the top line and in the first 4 minutes both where in the box, but the damage had been done and the Predators seemed to have lost there will to fight. The Predators began taking bad penalties of there own and the Blues got 2 consecutive P and while they were unable to score on the Predators they did tilt the ice. Then at the 17:34 mark Richards scored his 6th of the season. A late period goal by the Predators Scott Hartnell seem to take the momentum back going into the dressing room after the 1st period.
However in the 2nd the Blues came out flying and the Predators where not ready. The Blues scored only 8 secounds when Handzus scored his 3rd then at 1:48 Hamhuis scored his 2nd on the PP to put the Blues up 3-1. Vananen then scored his 1st of the playoffs also on the PP to put the Blues up 4-1. Modano then scored at the 16:02 point of the period and the Blues would head to the dressing room up 4-2.
Going into the 3rd it was more of the same physical play and a hard body check put Predators leading scorer Chris Pronger out of the game when he hit his head on the ice. He left the ice with help from teamates and training staff with an obvious concousion and is not expected in tommorrows game. The Blues then scored 2 more goals to put this game to bed. An unfortunate incident late in the third saw Jan Hrdina get a crosscheck to the upper back and is not expected back for at least 3 games. The player who hit him Filip Kuba was tossed from the game and the league was quick to hand down a 3 game suspension to him.

Canuck JRs fall in Anaheim

Well the trip to Anaheim was very turbulent and the players had no time to relax.During the pre-game skate the players looked like they were skating in sand.The 1st period was dominated by the Ducks both physically and on the scoreboard.Redenbach got nailed early in his fight with Griffen and procedded to take may shots to the head. The ducks scored 2 goals in the period lynch his 3rd and Griffen with his 1st. Shots were 8-7 Canucks.
Andrew Sarauerwas injured at 8:22 when he was nailed from behind by that gutless puke Parenteau.The Canuck bench was livid and were heard screaming your a dead man you f,n pussy .Ducks scored late in the period to lead 3-0
Thee travel schedule finally caught up to the visiters and only managed 5 sog in the 3rd.Lubor Pistek scored the lone goal of the night for the Canucks before the 13 min mark but the Ducks scored into an empty net for the 4-1 win.
After the game all the Canucks could talk about was the cheap shot and that retribution will be sweet.Next game we will be ready to punish these babies .

Blues move on

After going up 3 games to 0 in there series with the Hawks the Blues let them back into the series losing the next 3 games to go into game 7 tied at 3. The game turned out to be a carbon copy of the series as well with the Blues going up 3 goals to 0 then allowing the Hawks to score 3 of there own to end the game ties at 3. In OT the Blues would have to step it up if they had any hopes of moving on to the 2nd round. Then at 2:23 of OT Martin Erat steped up and scored his 1st of the playoffs which turned out to be there most important goal of the series as after reveiw the Hawks were sent packing and the Blues move on to face the Predators in the 2nd round.
Now the Blues wisk there way to Nashville where they will face the 2nd best team in the league and the best team in the conference. In the season series with the Predators the Blues only managed but 1 win but all the loses were by 1 goal and this shapes up to be a very tight series. The Predators will be short Jordan Krestanovich who was involved in a vicius incident in the first round of the playoffs and will likely miss the whole playoffs. If the Blues hope to win this series they will have to shut down Chris Pronger who leads the team with 5 goals and 4 assists. this should be a daughting task indeed. The predators are a solid team from there centers to there goalies and should prove to be a very strong test for the Blues. will this be the end of the Blues playoff run or will they move on to take on either the Sharks or the Flames for the conference title. Of course first things first the Blues must dispatch the Predators in an all Smythe Division battle.

Do or die

After winning the first 3 games to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series the Blues appear to have let the Hawks back into the series losing the next 3 to go into game 7 ties at 3. Having lost the momentum they had early in the series the Blues appear to be in tough and have there backs against the wall. Goalie Martin Brodeur had these comments after game 6, "It sure looks like the forwards on the team have lsot the will to compete in this series." A key injury to Ethan Moreau appears to have stopped the Blues in there tracks. Line jugling has been the norm in the last 3 games as the coaching staff tries to get the offence going. A lack of discipline also appears to be killing the Blues who are the 3rd most penalized team in the playoffs.
Can they turn it around in game 7 with very little time till game time speculation is that backup Kevin Weekes will be in net for the crutail game but as of yet no word has been given from the Blues as they have been very tight lipped about game 7. There was a deal done between the Hawks and the Blues erlier in the season that would have seen Weekes playing for the Hawks but at the last minute the league permitted the Hawks to back out of the deal. Could this be the ultimate insult to the Hawks where Weekes does them in in game 7. We shall soon find out.

Capitals End Season With Whimper

With the season on the line in Game 6, the Washington Capitals went out with a whimper in a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. Florida advances to the second round of the playoffs with the 4-2 series win.

Jarrett gave the Panthers a great start when he scored his first of the playoffs from Roche at 7:06. Krajicek made it 2-0 from Parrish and Stefan at 7:59. Washington finally got on the board on Zigmund Palffy's fifth of the postseason from Patrick Marleau and Bryan Berard.

The Capitals upped the tempo in the second period, outshooting the Panthers 12-8, but Parrish scored against the run of play from Nolan and Rathje to take the wind out of Washington's sails.

Florida added a pair of goals in the third period to put the game and the series away. Bondra got the first from Weiss and Dagenais at 13:11, before Stefan netted from Krajicek and Parrish at 15:38.

Manny Legace made 18 saves in the loss. Peter Skudra stopped one shot in relief. Roberto Luongo made 27 saves to earn the win.

Canuck,s under investigation after win in Detroit

(Hockey Buzz) by UGHlund
Some little birdie told me to look out for a major announcement from the Clutch management regarding bounty,s and excessive alcoholism by the Vancouver Jr team.The media covering this series has been reporting stripers, lots of beer being seen in the dressing room.But clutch got involved when reporter Howard Burger who usually follows the laffs heard gm Blkhawk praise tyler Redenbach and give hime a wad of cash for beating Bykow to a bloody pulp.

Scott Edwards was sent out to find out what was going on but was last seeen in a Gentlemans club with upper management of the Canucks.Well after the win in Detroit that put the Canucks up 3-2 the media was banned from the dressing room.An enraged Blkhawk was heard screaming at Burger saying"you fuckin have no buisness following my team go back to Toronto and stick your nose up those guys asses".

The Canucks were then snuck on to a bus and rushed to the private jet for there trip back to Vancouver.The media was banned from the flight and while looking out at the tarmac 2 limo,s pulled up.A harem of young beauty,s were led from the 1st onto the plane and in the 2nd a willowy figure was helped by 2 large men who were obviously carrying the passed out man onto the plane.
Reporters were trying to get a picture of the man who they think is the league deputy Scott Edwards that hasnt been seen since early afternoon in windsor.When informed of this Ryan Longer got on the phone to the RCMP and told them that when the plane lands in Vancouver to make sure Edwards is safe and sound.These new owners nowadays dont respect the authority of our league a sadened Longer was overheard saying to his busty secretary.
Ucklund will guess what is gonna happen next i mean will follow this story closely.Stay tuned.By the way Canuck Jrs are up 3-2 heading home.

Oilers Lose in Overtime

A crippled version of the Oilers lineup took to the ice yesterday in what turned out to be their final game of the season. Down 3 of their top defensman and with most of the rest of the team wielding bumps, cuts and bruises from this physical series that can only be described as an all out war.

The first period was dominated by the Oilers but Boucher showed some obvious butterflies from the pressure and let in 2 quick goals mid-way through the 3rd. The Oilers were trailing after one 2-1 even though the Oilers had out shot the Preds 10-5.

The 2nd was an even matched battle and the Oilers were able to take the lead 3-2 after goals from Pandolfo & Grand-Pierre. The Predators out shot the Oilers 8-6.

The Predators came out flying in the 3rd and the majority of the period was played in Edmonton's end. Boucher held the Predators relentless attack off the best he could but at 12:16 in the 3rd Mike Modano tied the game up. Their were some really good chances in the dieing moments but nothing was decided in regulation and the game went to Overtime.

Early in the 1st Overtime Nolan Pratt stepped over the blue line and wound up to take a big slapshot, The puck was deflected off of Grand-Pierre's skate and in the net it went.

The Predators took the series 4-2 in what turned out to be a close series.

Capitals Drop Game 5

The Washington Capitals dropped a tough 4-2 decision in Game 5 of its playoff series with the Florida Panthers to go down three games to two. Game 6 is tonight in Washington.

Zigmund Palffy gave the Caps a good start when he scored his fourth of the series from Mikael Renberg and Rob Blake at 5:23, but the Panthers answered with a pair of goals. Nolan got the first from Krajicek and Novoseltsev at 6:43, before Parrish made it 2-1 from Hill and Nolan at 9:14.

Florida dominated the middle stanza, outshooting Washington 12-6 and stretching its lead to two goals. Bondra was the scorer from Weiss and Johnsson at 16:56.

The Panthers continued to control the play in the first half of the third period. Weiss made the strong play pay off when he scored his third of the series from Bondra and Daze at 9:06 to make it 4-1. Washington finally woke up after Weiss' goal, but Vyborny's late marker from Cheechoo at 17:18 was all the visiting side could muster.

Manny Legace made 26 saves in the loss. Roberto Luongo stopped 24 shots to earn the win.

Clutch Opens Investigation

With rumours running rampant on the west coast Ryan Longer sent deputy Scott Edwards to look into allegations of hookers seen in Canucks dressing room after last game.Edwards was quoted as saying "im the man to dig deep into these seemy dark places and clean this shit up".

Once his jet landed in Detroit he was met by Canucks gm Blkhawk who quickly led him off in his limo.As theyt crossed the border heading to Windsor a confused Edwards asked where we heading?.Blkhawk answered "im taking you to our pre game function so you can see the boys pre game rituael before the big game". Edwards seemed pleased with this answer and was looking forward to meeting the west coast jr,s.
As they pulled up to the Gold Club gentlemans club a puzzled look came across the meek league official.They were greeted by 2 sultry blondes who whisked Mr Edward,s away as Blkhawks looked on with a wry smile on his face.A club official was later seen heading to the VIP room with a camera. More to come on this story.
In hockey news Vancouver took a 3-2 lead n the series

Burns Released on Bail, Implements Line Up changes

Post game dressing room source of screaming dress down by newly freed GM

Rangers' General Manager David Burns was released from prison on $1,000,000 bail just in time for the Rangers fifth game and he did not like what he saw. The Rangers put forward a tepid effort to lose 4-2 to the Hurricanes and the GM hit the roof after the game. The General Manager stormed into the room after the game, kicked out coach Roger Neilson and screamed at the team for half an hour. The press was held back from the door so exact wording could not be heard but the sound of screaming and objects crashing was clear.

There was no doubt that Jocelyn Thilbault took the brunt of the verbal barrage as, after the meeting, he emerged from the dressing foom in tears. The goaltender had a terrible game allowing four goals only 17 shots including two goals on 3 shots in the third.

"You can't treat me like that! You just can't talk to me that way! I mean I have feelings!" sobbed Thilbault after the game.

Burns stormed out of the dressing room, handed coach Neilson a line up sheet, and snarled "Thilbault is out next game. OUT! Dunham is in. I've made some other adjustments. If you can't get these guys to play better than that then I will." He then strode away.

Roger Neilson looked at the reporters then went into the dressing room where he consoled a despondent Thilbault.

Time will tell if the GM motivated his team or destroyed their confidence.
The rest of the team was white faced and silent when they left the dressing room.

DWYER AND DOAN PUT TEAM ON BACK, GAME 6 ON THE WAY

Carolina

After struggling to find a win for three straight game, the Hurricanes looked to their grinders to set the tone. Gord Dwyer, a man never associated with offensive ability, stepped up his game and scored 2 huge goals for the Hurricanes. Dwyer, who could be argued as the league's best body checker, put his offensive totals up to 5 points in 5 games, an average well beyond his normal output.

Captain Shane Doan also added a goal and 2 assists in the contest. The leader of the Hurricanes had publically spoken out against his squad stating they had not put in the efforts needed to move on. He was not the only one who felt this way.

"The Rags made some really big moves towards the end of the season," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "When you take a team who was that good all year long and add a Mats Sundin, Daniel Alfredsson and then toss in arguably the greatest player who ever played in Mario, you know you have your hands full. I think some of the guys got really fired up to take down the giants in game 1, but then got lazy. By the time they knew it, it was a 3-1 series. The bangers made their mark tonight though. Doan and Dwyer stepped it up and guys like McKee and Woywitka did not give the Rangers any room. That is how we need to play to be successful."

Daniel Briere rounded out the goal scorers with his second of the series.

Play resumes tomorrow as the Carolina squad hosts the Rangers. Jose Theodore will get another start in net after a 21 save performance last night. The new home lines have been created in hopes to keep the momentum going.

"When you play at home, anything can happen," said defenseman Jay McKee. "The Rags have a lot of fire power and I am getting tired of trying to keep up with guys like Bure and Dumont all game long. Tonight we take the physicality to a new level. Tonight we go after them hard and hopefully keep ourselves in this series for a 7th game. Right now, that is all I want."

Saprykin gives Bruins same message as League Management

After a courtship that felt even longer than the one GM Joshua Anderson had for his sweet dark haired Irish girl - which only took four years - the Oleg Saprykin- Boston Bruins flirting has ended.

Oleg Saprykin and SuperAgent Pete - yes, like Pele and Madonna, he only uses one name - have told the Bruins organization that they will, under no circumstances whatsoever, sign with the Boston hockey club.

"Apparently, Oleg has decided that after using us like Tom Kozlowski uses a copy of the Lane Bryant catalog, he finds us no more desirable than eighty percent of the population finds Lane Bryant models. Sure, they are curvy and have huge knockers, but that's because it's all fat and you sure don't want to have that cottage cheese rooting around in your fridge the next day. Oleg told the team where they could stick it, and unlike Tom, we weren't given the option of a wetnap," Anderson ranted.

"So, as a result, since we can't do squat with the son of a bitch, Oleg Saprykin will be on the market. Obviously, we realize the asking price has to decrease, but don't come with jacksquat offers."

Bruins issue retraction

Boston Bruins GM Joshua Anderson issued a retraction of sorts from a previous diatribe.

"We've reviewed the game logs and noted that there were only two incidents we can find of the Carolina Hurricanes cheating by dressing a additional skater," Anderson began.

He continued, "We regret that some may have construed our statement as saying the Hurricanes dressed an illegal number of skaters in all games and made the playoffs due to being dirty sycophant ass clumps. The team obviously would have made the playoffs had they lost the two games in question, so the overall situation does not change."

Anderson paused, grinned, then completed his statement, "However, the facts remain the Hurricanes started an illegal number of players against the Bruins, and as such, we demand the victory be struck from their official record books! We refuse to recognize this loss and will not do so in any future references."

Boston out, but not done!

Though the regular season and the AP Chase are over, the blogging is not!

Yes, my fellow GMs... in an effort for the Boston Bruins to catch up on the cash they missed out on, the blogging must continue! You thought you were safe, but no, no, no... we will not rest until every game has been reviewed and every penny has been squeaked from the bank that is the CLUTCH Fiscal Reserve. Really, though, we're just trying to get back the cash we lost in fines and penalties this season.

So sit back, relax, and read along as the stories begin.

Capitals Fall in Game 4 Thriller

David Vyborny scored a goal and assisted on another, but it wasn't enough for the Washington Capitals in Game 4. The Florida Panthers came from behind twice to earn a 5-4 victory and tie the series 2-2. Game 5 is tonight in Florida.

Frantisek Lukes gave the Caps a great start in a fast-paced opening period with a goal from Vyborny and Radoslav Suchy at 5:56. Todd Warriner made it 2-0 less than a minute later when he netted from Andrew Ference at Greg Watson. The Panthers rallied with a pair of goals to tie the game before the intermission. Parrish got the first from Cirillo and Jarrett at 7:39, before Weiss tallied from Novoseltsev and Hoglund at 19:56. The two clubs combined for 33 shots on goal in the first.

Washington came out flying in the second period, and Vyborny's goal from Anson Carter and Frantisek Kaberle at 1:02 made it 3-2. Florida answered, however, and two goals in a 5:27 span made it 4-3 for the visitors. Stefan made it 3-3 from Jarrett and Cirillo at 5:22, and Hoglund converted from Nolan and Krajicek at 10:49. The Capitals tied the game just 27 seconds after Hoglund's goal to setup a dramatic final period. Zigmund Palffy was the scorer from Mikael Renberg and Patrick Marleau. Washington outshot Florida 17-7 in the second, but too many shots were from outside and posed little challenge to the goaltender.

With the final period winding down and overtime looming, Marek came out of nowhere to win the game for the Panthers. The goal came at 19:20 of the third from Novoseltsev and Johnsson.

Manny Legace made 28 saves in the loss. Peter Skudra stopped two shots in relief. Jamie Storr was the surprise starter for Florida and made 30 saves in the win. Roberto Luongo stopped five shots in relief.

Oilers Tie Series

The Nashville Predators got a first hand experience of why Edmonton is the hardest hockey city to play in in the NHL again last night. Facing a sold out crowd and a very motivated Edmonton squad faired to be too much for the Predators. The Predators got off to a great start out-shooting the Oilers 11-7 in the 1st period but went scoreless due to Brian Boucher's excellent goaltending. It looked Grim early on for the Oilers as Daymond Langkow scored his 2nd of the playoffs with 16:32 remaining but the crowd got louder and the Oilers dominated the remainder of the 2nd out shooting the Preds 10-7. The Oilers continued to fly, out working the Preds at both ends of the ice winning every small battle and finally in the last minutes the Oilers Allison scored of a perfect set-up from Krivokrasov & Kariya. The attack was relentass and finally with just over a minute left Paul Kariya made a beautiful moved and shelfed the game winner. Short of Defense the Oilers had to rely on some of their lesser played depth players and the youngster Theoret but they stepped up and didn't miss a beat. Now the Oilers return to Nashville for another hard fought battle, Still short of Boughner to suspension and with Smith out hurt they will rely on the fill in Defense to perform well again.

After a fairly tame game the Canucks decided to wake the dead things in a sold out arena.The boys were treated to pre-game beer and promises of hooker,s by renegade Gm and owner Mr Blkhawk.He is known for his strange method,s and the players love him said a player who didnt wanna be quoted.This same player was seen after the game screeming "i get first choice of the broads since i knocked the crap out of that commie bastard".
Tyler Redenbach was thrown out of the game near the end of the !st period for leaving Byhov laying in a bloody heap near center ice.He then attacked an innocent blogger for quoting him earlier in the article.The league was gonna look into it but the representative they sent was last seen leaving the Gm,s office drunk and in the company of 2 tight little asian,s.
The league has had all its deputies volunteer to look into this fiasco
On a side note Canuck jr,s won 5-1 and head back to Detroit tied 2-2

FLORIDA
The Florida Jr's made a statement to the OttawaJR's last night when they tied the series at 2.

The Jr. Cats gave an outstanding performance and dominated the game from start to finish defeating Ottawa 5-0.

The series goes back to Ottawa for the all important game 5. If the JR Cats want any chance of winning this series they will have to win one in Ottawa.

GM Perrault was asked to respond to GM Schmucky's comments accusing him of sending out goons.

GM Schmucky ""what is this guy doing anyways? Does he not realize that this is Jr? He is sending his goons out to hurt these guys and not receiving any repercussions."

GM Perrault "LMFAO...He needs to see Dr. Phil. He is just trying to deflect attention from the fact that his team didn't play well. Truth be known it is and was the same line up that I put out in every game this series. He went on about Rostislav Olesz who was sidelined 4-6 weeks with a foot injury. There was no call on the play because he FELL into the boards awkwardly and got injured. GM Schmucky needs to get his facts straight."

GM Perrault continued "Barry Tallackson was slashed so hard his wrist was sprained and is out for 1 to 2 weeks so who is gooning who here."

The Jr. Cats will have some of their inured players back in the line up tonight for game 5. Toni Koivisto returns tonight as does Alexei Stonkus. Toni will be playing his regular shift on the wing and Alexei may see some limited play.

"Toni is ready to go. Alexei on the other hand has been cleared to play but he is still not 100% so if he does play it will be limited. I would rather play on the side of caution and have him 100% for game 6 then possibly get hurt in game 5 and be out again."

Home Ice Could be the Difference in JRSens Series

Well, the Senators should be happy to be heading back to the Corel Center after dropping both games to the Panthers in Florida.

Ottawa left the Corel Center 2 nights ago up 2-0 in the series having come up with two excellent wins on home ice. In Florida, the Sens couldn't put anything together coming up short twice and getting embarrassed in game 4, 5-0.

The Sens lost some key players as well. Rostislav Olesz, the 18 year old phenom, went down in the second period and looks to be done for the remainder of the playoffs, regardless of Ottawa's success or failure. Brent MacLellan was also injured in the 3rd period but is expected to play, just maybe not on first line duties. And finally, Defenseman Peter Reynolds was suspended for the payback he laid out on the Florida player that injured Olesz.

"We were not disciplined and we may pay for that with our playoff lives if some of our key contributors do not step up now when we need them. It's fine to stick up for your young guys but you have to use common sense in the playoffs and do what's best for the team" said GM Schmucky in this morning's press conference.

Schmucky also fired accusations at GM Ego, "what is this guy doing anyways? Does he not realize that this is Jr? He is sending his goons out to hurt these guys and not receiving any repercussions. It's disgusting. No playoff series is worth ruining an 18 year old's career. It's just disgusting...something must be done!"

The Sens will have a fresh lineup heading into action tonight on home ice and we will see what happens.

Rangers Push Hurricanes to Brink

Lemieux, Bure break free from Carolina checkers.

The New York Rangers head back to Madison Square Gardens tonight with a chance to ice the series against the Hurricanes thanks to a magnificent performance by the ageless Mario Lemieux and the heretofore dormant sniper Pavel Bure.

After being hooked, hassled, and held in check for 3 games the #1 unit finally broke out. Lemieux dominated with points on all three goals, 6 shots on net and a plus three rating. Pavel Bure's speed gave the 'Cane's fits and he scored on 2 of his 3 shots while Mats Sundin added an assist and managed 4 shots of his own. The triumverate accounted for 13 of their teams 26 shots while propelling their team towards victory.

The highlight of the night was the go ahead goal which started deep in the Rangers end. Mathew Spiller moved the puck up to Wade Redden on the upper left boards and he blasted down the ice with Lemieux on his left and Bure on the far side. Redden gained the zone then passed it to Lemieux and who drew the defenceman and goalie towards him then fired an almost impossible pass to a streaking Bure. Bure one timed it into the net with little difficulty.

Check out the highlight here!
http://ca.search.yahoo.com/video/view?&h=90&w=120&type=realmedia&rurl=www.newyorkrangers.com%2Fteam%2Fplayermm.asp%3Fplayerid%3D217%26filecategory%3Dvideo&vurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorkrangers.com%2Fmultimedia%2Fvideo%2FBure_Pavel_G_120102.ram&back=p%3Dpavel%2520bure%2520rangers%26fr%3DFP-tab-web-t340%26toggle%3D1%26ei%3DUTF-8%26meta%3Dvl%3D%26fr2%3Dtab-web&turl=re2.mm-so.yimg.com%2Fimage%2F1791877910&name=%3Cb%3EBure%3C%2Fb%3E_%3Cb%3EPavel%3C%2Fb%3E_G_120102.ram&no=3&tt=6&p=pavel+bure+rangers&ei=UTF-8&oid=2b9b428c3204cc4c&dur=51
That is the longest web address ever! Click on the video to watch the highlight. The Carolina Hurricanes tried to fool the Rangers by showing up in Tampa Bay Lightning uniforms and for some reason the annoucers are getting all the names wrong but the goal still counted!

"We're happy with the win," said Mats Sundin after the game. "We need one more and neither of the last two wins has been at all easy. We're going to have to play our best game of the season next game in order to finish this thing. "

Justice Served & Smith to make full recovery

The league has come to a ruling on the Brutal Krestanovich head-butt that lead into Jason Smith of the Oilers breaking his arm. The good news for the Oilers is that Jason Smith arm is expected to heal fully and he should be ready for play for the Oilers Pre-Season game 1. Edmonton has a hard fought battle ahead of them and a lot of their defensman are going to have to step-up their games to fill in the shoes of veterans Smith & Boughner who are out of the line-up. Marc Moro who has dressed for all 3 games but seen little more then 5 minutes of ice a game now will get a regular spot in the line-up as well as young Luc Theroet who has only played 10 games in the NHL is getting the chance of a lifetime to prove his worth.

6 Periods of War in Edmonton

In triple overtime the Edmonton Oilers Defensman Grand-Pierre put in the game winner to bring the oilers within one goal. Conklin who continues to impress stopped 49 out 52 shots as the Oilers gritted their way to a 4-3 OT win. The win didn't come without a price although, As Bob Boughner received a 3 game suspension and Jason Smith in a devasting display of retailiation took a possible career ending head-butt from Nashville's Jodran Krestanovich. Smith is not expected to return until next season (if at all). Edmonton Managment has appealed to the league to suspend Krestanovich for intent to injure and the play is currently under review. Brian Boucher returns to the Edmonton line-up for game 4.

Blues look to elimanate Hawks

Even with the retrun of the Hawks netminder Dan Cloutier the Blackhawks where unable to get the puck past Blues netminder Martin Brodeur. Brodeur once again was awesome in his bid to win his first ever Conn Smythe the Blues netminder stopped another 30 shots and the 3 that got by him where not enough to stop his team as the Blues top 2 lines woke up to score 5. Led by Kapanens goal and assist after being called out by team captain Brad Richards it seems to have motivated the Blues top winger who scored late in the 2nd and had an assist on the PK as coach Paul Maurice rolled the dice and put a more offencive flavor to his PK. After the game Paul Maurice had these comments, "We have one of the best PP in the game and our PK has yet to be stopped. Kapanen played most of the season on defence so i wasn't really concerned that he would be a liability on the PK. When i saw him break up the ice and Hammy got that pass up to him i knew he wouldn't be stopped. A great backpass took Ozo out of the play and after that it was a simple tap in for Michal Handzus who scored his 2nd of the series.
The Blues will now be looking to put an end to the Hawks season in tommorrows game and many fans are expected a sweep in the series will be bringing there brooms in hopes of being able to toss them on the ice with a win. Blues GM Foley had these comments, "We definately have them on the ropes but the 4th win is always the hardest. We know we are in for a battle and missing one of our top shutdown guys in Ethan we will have to fight hard to make this our last game of the series. Brodeur can hopefully shutdown the Hawks offence once again and the penalties hopefully will be adressed."

Capitals Edge Panthers in Game 3

Anson Carter scored the game-winning goal and assisted on another to lead the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of their first round playoff series. Game 4 is tonight in Washington.

Zigmund Palffy gave the Caps a good start in the first period when he scored his second of the playoffs from Carter and Rob Blake at 12:14. Both teams managed 10 shots on goal in a well played opening 20 minutes.

Florida put Washington on its heels in the second period, but Carter's goal from Radoslav Suchy and Todd Warriner at 18:04 gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead. Washington only recorded three shots on goal in the period while the Panthers fired 12.

The Panthers came out quickly in the final 20 minutes and got on the board after just 32 seconds. Parrish was the scorer from Jarrett and Roche. Washington clamped down on the defensive end after the goal and held Florida to just six shots in the third.

Manny Legace made 27 saves to earn the win. Roberto Luongo stopped 19 shots in the loss.

Rangers Calm the Hurricane

With time winding down and overtime looming in a tightly contested and tense contest in Carolina last night Brad Lukowich slid off the point to the right face off dot and one timed a bullet pass from captain J.P. Dumont to win the game for the New York Rangers.

"When I saw it go in I just went over and patted him on the head," said Dumont. I really had to wire that pass to him and he got all of it. Luksie's been great all year. 39 points for us and a rock on defence. A lot of people were thinking his career was over but he's showing he's still got plenty left in the tank."

Unlike the opening two games in New York, the two teams both put their best games forward last night. The teams went at each other with ferocious intensity and there were many hits, scrums and even an entertaining bout between the Rangers' Ponikarovsky and the 'Canes' Jay McKee. Both teams had good chances and the highlight reel will show great passes, shots, and especially saves at both ends of the ice.

'Canes players Draper and Klesla finished the night with game high 5 hits each. The majority of those hits were absorbed by Lemieux, Sundin, and Bure who really couldn't get much going. Lemieux, who has only 1 goal in the series, was asked if he was concerned about his lack of production "I don't care how many points I get as long as we win," he answered matter of factly.

Although they didn't score and were harassed all night by Carloina's excellent defensive forwards the second unit of Ribeiro between Ponikarovsky and Alfredsson did manage to generate 10 shots on net. The highlight of the night came midway through the second as Ponikarovsky broke in on Theodore and appeared to have a sure goal when he beat the 'tender's poke check but as he went around Theodore he did the splits and knocked a sure goal out of mid air with his blocker.

With no player on the team managing a point a game over the regular season the Rangers secret to success has been a balanced attack and tonight it was the third line getting the job done. Both goals came off passes from the creative Dumont. First Nash tapped in a beautiful set up and then Lukowich with the blast that won the game.

"That's our kind of game," said Redden after the game. "We keep it close and we're comfortable with low scores because we know we have 9 guys up front and at least a few back on defence that can pot one. We're happy with the win but that is one hell of a team on the other side of the rink and we're not taking a single thing for granted. The toughest game is coming up, we're sure of it."

Tampa Splits on Long Island

(New York) - Tonight the Lightning and Islanders will play game 3 of their series and the Bolts come home with a surprising split in the series. When asked about the situation, Gm Sprackman downplayed the game and said that he feels the Lightning will play hard but this isn't the season for them.

"I said all along we would win one game in this series. I thought we could win one at home and give the fans something to cheer about. After that sad first game, I thought we were done in 4. This will atleast ensure 5 games in the series and maybe some insight on how the team will stack up next season." Gm Sprackman stated.

Game one was not one Gm Sprackman or the players and coaches wanted to talk about. An 8-1 killing was something Gm Sprackman wasn't expecting. In Game 2, a more tightly played game and the Lightning came away with a 3-1 win. All people involved with the Bolts are hoping for a similar game in Tampa tonight, but like Cullen says:

"We kept Sakic and Peca relatively quiet last night, I doubt we can do it for 3 more wins. They are a great 1-2 up the middle and we expect a very hard game tonight."

Once again, Hurme will get the call in net and look for some more play for Hejduk and Savard. Will this be another blow out or shall we see another tight game. In about 6 hours, we shall find out.

Blues look to leave Hawks singing the Blues

A hat trick in game 2 of the Hawks/Blues 1st round playoff series by Brad Richards who scored 2 times in the 1st period and once in the 2nd gave the Blues all they needed to go up 2 games to none in the series. Richard Matvichuck who was inserted into the lineup to give more of s defencive presence on the blueline also scored his 1st of the playoffs in the 1st period. Nicolas Corbeil who had a strong rookie season (11 goals and 24 assists in the regular season to be 6th in rookie scoring) with the Blues recorded his first goal of the playoffs unassisted in the 3rd period of todays game.

The big story of the game however was the thrashing David Koci recieved at the hands of Blues tough guy Brooks Orpik in the 2nd period. Koci is not expected back in the series and is reported to have an upper body injury. For Orpiks part in the fight he was ejected from the game after the fight. Some league officials wonder if Orpik should be suspended but when asked after the game his opinion on the fight and injury that occured because of it Blue coach Paul Maurice had these comments, "When 2 players drop there gloves and an injury occurs because of it I think both players are responsible for there own actions. I don't feel that a player shouold be punished for defending himself. Hockey is a rough game and injuries occur sometimes when players ingage in rough play such as dropping there gloves. We feel in this case the rules protect Orpik and he is not likely to receive any more punitive action becasue of this incident. "the actual play that injured a player didn’t involve a fight, with both the injurer and the injuree being called for fighting. (if this does occur no suspension can be called for)"
Martin Brodeur who sometimes struggled during the regular season has also stepped up his game so far in the playoffs. He has allowed only 3 goals in the 2 games the Blues have played in this playoffs and is sporting an impressive 1.45 GAA and a 933 save percentage. GM Foley had these comments about his goalie, "Marty was brought in to get us deep into the playoffs and if he continues playing the way he has then i believe we have a ligit shot at the cup. Marty is one of the top goalies in the league and dispite losing some confidence as the Habs netminder he has come in and done the job for us." Now the Blues will head back to the friendly confinds of the Savis Center were they were 24-15 and 2 during the regular season and will be looking to keep the momentum and close out the series or at the very least win one in the next 2 games to put the Blackhawks on the brink. Team Captain Brad Richards had these comments, "I don't feel as a team we have played our best game yet. We have had good periods and gotten some steller goaltending but if we want to finish off this series we need contributions from all the lines. This happened last year too where our best line was shut down and we went out in the 1st round. I for one am not interested in a repeat of that." Richards has a point as some players have been invisible thus far in the playoffs some notible players who have been held pointless are Steve Kariya, Ossi Vaananen, Ethan Moreau, Bobby Holik, Jan Hrdina and Sami Kapanen. If the Blues have any hope to go deep they will need some of these players to step it up and contribute.

Capitals Leave Florida With Split

The Washington Capitals stumbled to a 4-2 defeat against the Florida Panthers in Game 2, but the club leaves the Sunshine State with a 1-1 split in the series. Game three is tonight in Washington.

Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening period and never looked back. Weiss started things off with a goal from Daze and Rathje at 7:39, before Johnsson extended the lead from Nolan and Stefan at 18:06. The Panthers outshot Washington 13-7 in the period.

The Capitals battled back in the middle stanza and controlled the play. Greg Watson got Washington on the board from Todd Warriner at 13:26 as the Caps gained a 12-5 edge in shots in the period.

Florida came out flying in the final period and two goals in the first 10:30 put the game away. Bondra netted the first from Nolan and Johnsson at 6:37, and Lehoux made it 4-1 on the power play from Daze and Krajicek. Jonathan Cheechoo scored a late goal for the Caps from Rob Blake and Zigmund Palffy at 19:03 to complete the scoring.

Manny Legace made 27 saves in the loss. Roberto Luongo stopped 23 shots to earn the win.

canuck Jrs tie up series

Well the Canucks promised they wouldnt be pushed around and the jr Wings found out in a hard fought battle
The gloves were dropped early and often in this game.Newman and Schubert started the festivities 2:14.This was folowed by Redenbach and Stuart at 14:06.Thge shots were 10-9 in favour of the visiters.
The second was a little tamer and the Jr Canucks finally hit paydirt with a powerplay goal by Sainomaa from Vorobiev and Sarauer at 12:13.Globke and Blatak dropped the gloves at 14:43 after Blatek took a open ice hit.Detroit Jrs outshot Nucks 12-6 in this period.
The 3rd degenerated into a chippy affair. 8 mnors were called along with 4 majors .The Canucks held the territorial edge outshooting their opponents 11-5.
Brandon-Crawford West was named 1st star in his return to action .The series now moves to the west coast.Series tied 1-1

Sens Scrape Victory from Under Panthers Claws

The Senators are a lucky bunch this fine Tuesday morning as they prepare to head out on the road to face the Panthers in game 3 of their series. However, after Monday night's marathon, GM Schmucky asked coach Martin to keep practice light and let them spend some time with their families before heading to Florida for two games.

The Sens strolled into action on Tuesday with a new starting goalie and a load of confidence after outscoring, outshooting and simply out playing the Panthers on Sunday night in Game 1. However, early into game 2 of this series, the Sens received a wake up call! With the Panthers gaining an early powerplay, youngster Tobias Stephan was to be tested early on. However, after a barrage of shots, Fleishmann scored his 2nd of the series to let the Panthers pounce out to an early lead. THe Sens were up to the task though as Chris Kelly notched a PP marker of his own and his 2nd of the series to tie it up at one.

The second period was close as well with Bochenski being the man of this 20 minutes, notching two assists on goals by Lee and Bobrov. The lone Senators goal of the period came at the13:38 mark by Defensive wizard Brian O'Hanley and assisted by Ottawa leading scorer in the playoffs, Tomas Plihal, who gained 1st star honours in game one.

Heading to the 3rd the score was 3-2 Florida. But Alexander Giroux, playing in his 1st games of the year in the two playoff openers, in for sorely missed and injured Viktor Oreskovich, scored his 1st career Senators goal at 4:04 to tie it up at 3. The Panthers answered back as defenseman Jan Platil received his 24th penalty minute and gave the Panthers a huge PP. But Ottawa tied it back up with just 4 minutes remaining to send the game to OT.

The Senators leader on offense this season came through with his 2nd of the playoffs, and the most important goal of the series, when Nick Tarnasky scored the game winner at the 12 minute mark of OT.

Look forward to a nasty battle when the Panthers hit home ice tonight.

JUNIOR CANES GET BOOST FROM JUNIOR

Carolina

After a poor showing for game 1, the Canes were called out by head coach Craig Hartsburg and responded in a big way. The Canes deadly line of Jeff Carter, igor Mirnov and Junior Lessard combined for 4 goals and 9 points in a 6-3 drubbing of the Sabres. Jeff Glass pushed aside 29 of 32 shots for the victory.

"We wanted offense from our gunners and they showed up tonight," said head coach Craig Hartsburg. "Mirnov was dazzling tonight and Carter was his usual playmaking self. Junior Lessard was the guy though. A 4 point evening including his first career hat trick in the playoffs. He was fantastic."

Lessard, who has likely played his last regular season game in the juniors, took the call from head coach Hartsburg personally and vowed to step up his game. After leading the club in points throughout the season, he was passed late by Carter and his play was slipping. This game might have given him the confidence he needs.

"I knew that I had done some things incorrectly lately. I often find I am trying too hard to get things done and that is not my game. I need to keep it all simple. Crash the net, forecheck and get open. Playing with two of the most dynamic offensive forces in the league every night in Igor and Carts makes things a lot easier but I still need to hold up my end of the bargain. I think tonight everything clicked for us."

The Canes have now tied up the series at 1 and head off to Buffalo. Look for Jeff Glass to continue in nets for the Canes. Weber has served his first of 5 games.

CANES DROP NUMBER 2 IN REVENGE MATCH

Carolina

The Canes came out flat in game two and this time, had no answer for the offense of the Rangers. Jose Theodore was pulled, more or less because of defensive breakdowns. He will be in net for game three.

The Canes also outshot the Rangers this game after being badly outshot last game. The main point here is shots never translate to wins.

"I guess when you win the first game, the series is over," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "Yes sir, we won that first game and everyone around here seemed like the title was ours. Personally, I am glad we got smoked like that. Opens up their eyes to the two principles that you hear non-stop on interviews. You play 60 minutes and the series is not over until you win all four. Anyways, it is a best of 5 now."

The Rangers were quite happy to win the game as the final minute came to a close, celebrations on the bench were being had.

"I'd not want to see that next game,” said Shane Doan. “We can win this series as easily as them. But one of these games, both teams have to show up and see who the better squad is. I think we both had our game off, it is now go time.”

Relief in NY Palpable after Rangers Crush 'Canes

Like a firey phonenix rising from the ashes the New York Rangers emerged from a humilating defeat in game 1 of these playoffs and soared to victory by crushing the Carolina Hurricanes 6 -1.

With leading goal scorer Pavel Bure out the Rangers juggled the lineup but kept Jocelyn Thilbault in net despite the schellacking he took in game 1 and he showed the form that helped his former team, the Lightning, to the Stanley Cup last year. Thilbault turned aside 27 of 28 shots and earned the games second star.

The Rangers shifted Alfredsson to the first line and J.P. Dumont to the second in Bure's absence and the Rangers' second line had a great night. The games first star was Alexei Ponikarovsky who scored just 42 seconds in. By the 9 minute mark he had 2 more helpers as the Rangers went up 3-0.

"They handed us a huge helping of humble pie in game one," said Ponikarovsky in a post game interview. "I was fortunate to get some bounces but every line contirbuted to the total tonight and we played much better as a team."

"With all the trades and excitment of making the playoffs the guys were just too hyped up," said coach Neilson after the game. "So we brought in a zen master to calm the guys down. He sat with them and they had a 2 hour meditation session before the game. They really relaxed and focused."

"They showed us in game one that they can really play," said an upbeat Lemieux. "That team is excellent in all areas of the game. We're glad to be back in it. We're looking forward to a tough series."

In other great news for the Rangers doctors have cleared Bure to dress for game 3.