Everything Else

High On The Hog: Scraping Up A Split

By Jon Fromi 1473 0

The Rockford IceHogs managed to split two home games this weekend despite goals being at a premium. Chicago’s AHL affiliate disappointed the BMO Harris Bank Center fans by being shut out Saturday night at the hands of the Milwaukee Admirals. They rebounded the next afternoon, rallying in the third period to force overtime against San Antonio, then grabbing the third point in extra time.

The IceHogs (10-9-1-4) are in sixth place in the AHL’s Central Division with a .521 points percentage. Rockford is nipping at the heels of Chicago and Texas for the fourth-place slot in the standings.

The fans were miffed Saturday because they had brought stuffed animals with them to throw to the ice. It was the team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss Night and a bevy of fluffy friends would cascade to the playing surface upon the first Rockford goal. One problem; there was no first Rockford goal.

Through forty minutes, the only scoring came on the Admirals side of the score sheet. Following the second period buzzer, fans headed out to the concession stand, restrooms or whatever place they go to avoid being hit with foam rubber hockey pucks. The IceHogs would score in the third and bring down the bears…or they wouldn’t and the promotion would simply take place at the game’s conclusion, as it has in other years in which Rockford was shut out.

Immediately after the Hogs chuck-a-puck promotion, it was suddenly announced that the fans should start throwing bears onto the ice. This caught a good portion of the audience off guard to say the least.

Perhaps management was hoping to avoid renegade fans throwing stuffed animals during live action, as happened a few seasons ago. Maybe they wanted to avoid halting a possible momentum burst when the Hogs got back into the contest with a third period goal. It’s possible that they looked at Rockford’s offensive production of late and decided that a shutout was inevitable. Select the option that best fits your personal narrative.

The piglets were indeed blanked in the final twenty minutes. The disgruntled fans who missed the impromptu toss hurled their bears at the game’s unfortunate conclusion and went on with their lives.

There was a bit of egg on the face of the organization in the aftermath of the promotion. The IceHogs twitter account hinted at the change as the second period was beginning to wind down, but a live announcement that would have surely kept the bear-bearing butts in the seats through the second intermission never happened.

The affair was bungled; however, all’s well that ends well. The bears were still donated and will be put to good use, and the IceHogs…well, the IceHogs got shut out. But they won the next day. And they’re getting a little healthier.

Terry Broadhurst was back in the lineup this weekend after missing from action since November 7. Goalie Collin Delia missed the weekend, but Hogs coach Derek King said that he’d be returning to full practice this week.

 

Recaps

Saturday, December 1-Milwaukee 3, Rockford 0

Ads goalie Tom McCollum sent away all 28 Rockford shots to put a damper on the Hogs annual Teddy Bear Toss. With this win, Milwaukee also evened up the season series between the two teams.

Most of Friday’s scoring came in the last five minutes of the opening period. Connor Brickley crashed the IceHogs net and got a rebound past Rockford starter Anton Forsberg at 15:06 of the first. A few minutes later, Alexandre Carrier knocked in a loose puck in the Rockford crease. The Hogs trailed 2-0 after 20 minutes and never really got back into the contest.

Rockford’s best chance to cue the Teddy Bears came during a busy second period. The IceHogs had a power play opportunity and out shot Milwaukee 13-4. Unfortunately, nothing found its way past McCollun. The Admirals defense stifled Rockford in the final frame and Milwaukee got an empty netter in the final minutes.

 

Sunday, December 2-Rockford 3, San Antonio 2

The IceHogs scraped together enough offense to rally in the third period and triumph in Gus Macker Time.

It took nearly 25 minutes, but Rockford cued the horn for the first time all weekend on a Jacob Nilsson tally. Nilsson parked in the slot to redirect a shot from Carl Dahlstrom past Rampage goalie Ville Husso, off the post and into the net. Luke Johnson brought the puck into the San Antonio zone and collected a rebound of his own shot to set up the scoring play. Rockford was out to a 1-0 lead at 4:56 of the second period.

San Antonio took a 2-1 lead with a pair of goals in the first 4:21 of the third. The Hogs squared things up at the 13:11 mark with a Graham Knott slapper from the right point. Nathan Noel dug a puck out of the left corner and brought it around to Dennis Gilbert, who fed Knott for the equalizer.

Hogs goalie Kevin Lankinen stopped 35 of 37 shots in regulation. The rookie saved his team’s bacon in the extra session with a pad save to deny a 2-on-0 rush by San Antonio. The overtime period was entering the final minute when Nilsson found Dylan Sikura knocking on Husso’s back door. The pass was true and Sikura The Younger guided it into the promised land for the game-winner.

 

Upcoming Action

Rockford has a full week of practice before another pair of games at the BMO. The Hogs take on the hot Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday before bringing in the Chicago Wolves Saturday.

Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for thoughts on the IceHogs all season long.

 

Everything Else

Game #28 – Flames 3, Hawks 2 – Just a Deadbeat, Right Off the Street, Bound to Follow You Down

By Rose Rankin 2124 0

Tonight’s game was quite a throwback—to stupidity, dirty hits, pointless fights, everything you remember from the bad old days! This marks two games in a row where the Blackhawks have had a player thrown out, which tells you nearly all you need to know. Let’s get to it:

Box Score

Corsica

Natural Stat Trick

–The Hawks actually made it over 10 minutes without giving up a goal in the first period. This is where we’re at now, when going half of the first without falling behind is a major step. Putting aside the blackness of that reality, not only did they avoid giving up multiple goals early, they even answered the Flames’ first goal with a classic forehand-backhand by Jonathan Toews, which just de-pantsed Mike Smith. So the game didn’t get off to TOO terrible of a start, although it must be said that the Flames outshot the Hawks 18-6 in the first. Think about that for a minute. They gave up 18 shots in one period, which is bad enough, and that was a full three times the number of shots they themselves managed. What does this tell you? One, is that they barely clung to life in that period. Two, is that the only reason they did so was because Corey Crawford is unreal. He had multiple saves in the first that kept the game from getting out of hand early, including after Forsling had a bad giveaway, and also on the PK after Kunitz took Dumb Penalty #1 (more on that later). Crawford hasn’t exactly been lights out in his last few games, but none of the goals tonight can be pinned on him as bad or soft ones. He was definitely back to form.

–And man did we need him to be. The level of stupidity tonight was really something to behold. After getting out of the first tied at one and with a tenuous hold on things through 4-on-4 to start the second, Chris Kunitz went full-on Neanderthal and elbowed Travis Hamonic in what can only be described as a dickhead play. Hamonic’s head was down, but Kunitz went high with the elbow and he was getting rid of the puck so it was both foolish and dangerous. Kunitz fully deserved the major penalty and game misconduct. And of course, the Flames scored twice on the ensuing extended power play. Those goals made the difference in the game, and they were entirely because of Kunitz being a stupid asshole. If he isn’t stapled to a chair in the pressbox for the rest of the season that will prove once and for all that the Hawks’ brass is incompetent, doesn’t understand how to win, and doesn’t care to figure it out.

–In an attempt to not be outdone in the stupid asshole department, everyone’s favorite dung heap Brandon Manning got in the most useless and wimpy fight possible with Garnet Hathaway (which btw is NOT an actual name). The two skated around each other with fists brandished like old timey boxers, and hit each other far less than that. It didn’t “change the momentum” or “send a message.” In fact, the only upside was that Manning spent most of the rest of the game in the penalty box and thus unable to offend our eyes with his playing.

–Clearly I’m not one for fighting, but I will say this: in the second period when James Neal basically stomped on Corey Crawford and Crawford came after him and nearly punched him, I was cackling with delight. If Crow wants to hit someone because he’s frustrated with this shitty team and the defense allowing him to get curb-stomped, I’ll set aside my issues and I’ll be here for it.

–The power play…it’s just so bad. And on paper it really shouldn’t be: Toews, Kane, Saad, DeBrincat and Jokiharju…this should be a functional first power play unit! But they can’t make a zone entry to save their lives. Seriously. They cannot get out of their own zone, they cannot get through the neutral zone, and they most certainly can’t get across the offensive blue line. It’s like a god damn force field, and that stupid-ass drop pass in the defensive zone has lived on in the Colliton era like a recurring nightmare. There are too many issues to cover in these bullets, but suffice it to say that the clown shoes are still firmly entrenched.

–Alright, enough doom and gloom. What was good from this game? Toews’ goal was pretty and we need the top line to keep scoring. The Kahun-Kampf-Kane line may be something that works. Their 43 CF% didn’t bode all that well but they were certainly fast (and besides, the entire team was underwater in possession). Dylan Strome had a nice goal. And once again, for the cheap seats in the back, Crawford finished the night with a .927 SV% and an assist, and had to face 41 fucking shots on goal.

Tonight was ugly, dumb and frustrating. If the Hawks had gotten blown out it would have made sense and been deserved. The Flames are playing much better, but again this could have been a winnable game—Mike Smith is Mike Smith which means there’s always a chance, and the fact that it came down to the stupidest of penalties is downright painful. But, there’s no rest for the wicked with three more games this week. Fire Chris Kunitz into the sun. Onward and upward.

Photo credit: Chicago Tribune

 

Everything Else

Game #28 – Flames vs. Hawks Preview – Everyone Learns Faster On Fire

By Matt McClure 1671 0

 vs 

Game Time: 6:00PM CST
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Chicago, NHL Network, WGN-AM 720
Alberta Clipper: Matchsticks & Gasoline, Flames Nation

As this Blackhawks season quickly spirals into the separating asshole of mutual acrimony and defeat, every successive game is both an opportunity to right the ship, and also one to finally make the breakthrough into Fun Bad. And the schedule certainly has conspired to make the latter more likely with the Flames in town tonight on West Madison.

Everything Else

Game #28 – Flames vs. Hawks Spotlight: Big Save Dave

By Sam Fels 1911 0

The Flames season was on the verge of turning into a mini civil war before October even ended. What was a talented team, and more than talented enough to compete in a learning annex of a division that is the Pacific, couldn’t stop spinning its wheels. They were scoring enough, were even fun to watch for the first time in a dog’s age, but kept seeing their work undone by bulging twine in their own end. The fans had already starting crafting effigies of Mike Smith. You can’t help but wonder if some of the players started to have furrowed brows as well, given the way Smith continually tossed them under the bus for his struggles in the press.

And then, over the ridge, at first just a silhouette on the horizon, but quickly coming into shape and definition, an apparition of hope and salvation, appeared “Big Save Dave” Rittich. And suddenly the Flames season was pulled from ash and chaos…

Ok, that’s dramatic. But the Flames are tussling at the top of the Pacific, where very few would have had them before we kicked this all off, mostly thanks to their goaltender from out of the ether (or the Czech Republic).

And make no mistake, Rittich has earned that “Big Save Dave” moniker, while at the same time proving that though it was indelicate, Smith may not have been wrong in shredding the Flames defense in front of him.

Currently, Rittich ranks first among all goalies with 500 minutes of even-strength time in high-danger save-percentage, at .883. Quite simply, this is a bonkers number. Last year, Corey Crawford had the best high-danger SV% at .859. The highest mark in this category from the past five seasons is Carey Price‘s .876 in ’16-’17, which earned him a Vezina finalist slot. No one else has been above .870 for a season when it comes to stopping the best chances.

And Rittich has had to be. Both he and Smith are in the seven-lowest expected-save-percentages in the league, meaning they’re facing some of the best chances around every night. Which is a touch weird, given that the Flames give up the third-lowest amount of attempts per game in the league. But the ones they do give up tend to be prime. Rittich has pulled their ass out of a sling, Mike Smith has eaten that sling.

That’s getting better, though. The Flames were 24th in October in scoring chances against, and 30th in high-danger chances against. In November that has improved to 2nd and 5th, respectively. They haven’t needed as much of the big saves that Rittich was so happily providing, which is good. It’s also why they rocketed up the standings.

It would behoove them to keep that going, because given the recent history, Rittich isn’t going to be able to keep up anything near a .880 SV% on high-danger chances. And Rittich’s pedigree is a little on the light side. He played 31 games in the AHL last year and put up a .924 overall, which is promising. But it’s 31 games. Other than that, it’s all back in the Czech Republic.

But the Flames have little alternative. Smith is what he is at this point, despite his acting chops. He was sinking their season, and Rittich has saved it. They might as well see how far the bolt of fortune can take them, especially if they’re tuning up their defensive game.

 

Game #28 Preview Suite

Preview

Spotlight

Q&A

Douchebag Du Jour

I Make A Lot Of Graphs

Lineups & How Teams Were Built

Everything Else

Game #28 – Flames vs. Hawks Q&A: Some Survivalist In The Alberta Hinterlands

By Sam Fels 1448 0

Mike Pfeil is some nutjob we were pointed to a while ago. He’s got scary views. And face. But we love him, we think. Anyway, he knows his Flames hockey. Which doesn’t say much for him. 

First place and rolling. Is the Flames success merely down to finally, finally switching to Big Save Dave? 

It’s a combination of a lot of things, but the surge of legitimately good goaltending performances boils down to Big Save Dave (David Rittich). It’s hard to believe the Flames’ confidence in Mike Smith continued, but a lot of it comes down to the kids (and even Rittich) being perceived as not ready or unable to carry the workload.
And for the time being, Rittich has proven them wrong; giving the Flames goaltending we haven’t really seen in awhile. We saw glimpses of acceptable or above-average performance at times from Brian Elliott, Chad Johnson, and even Mike Smith but this is different.
Beyond Rittich the top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and new-Flame Elias Lindholm have been fantastic. A lot of fans were hoping to see Lindholm’s offensive game grow if he spent time with the two and it has blossomed nicely.
Shit-heel extraordinaire Matthew Tkachuk has taken a huge step forward (again, just like each year) and Mikael Backlund remains a constant in dictating pace of play. The revolving door on the right-wing of Michael Frolik, Sam Bennett, Austin Czarnik, or even James Neal has been hit and miss.
Depth in the bottom six is great and we haven’t even discussed the blue line. Dougie Hamilton’s departure is huge, but everyone has stepped up. Mark Giordano remains timeless and in pursuit of a Norris Trophy already. Travis Hamonic has returned to form after last season’s doldrums. TJ Brodie has had his moments, but looks better-ish. The rookies: Rasmus Andersson, Juuso Valimaki, and now Oliver Kylington all look pretty solid too.
It’s just a lot of good happening for once. I could go on and on about the legitimately good things.
How has Mark Giordano not won a Norris? Is this the year he gets something of a lifetime achievement award? Or Flames fans do what the Kings fans do and just wet themselves until he wins?
Injuries at weird inopportune times and really deep classes of talent. He should have been a finalist in 2013-14 . He probably should have been a finalist and won in 2014-15. He just does so many things well despite just turning 35.
He should be a finalist if he keeps it up at this pace. The thing is, the league has some of the best talent on the blue line in ages. This is a golden age we’re living through and most teams have a guy of exceptional caliber. The problem is this league has weird voting habits and typically pick guys who “deserve” it rather than have earned it.
If he wins, it’ll be evidence that a lot of folks didn’t need, but also needed to prove he has been one of this era’s best.
 Noah Hanifin had a rough start in Calgary. Has that straightened out? 
Yes and no. He looks a step behind the play at time and still makes boneheaded decisions with the puck. You ask a lot of fans and they’ll say he’s better than Hamilton was; I remain firmly in the “prove it then” camp because he hasn’t been as impressive as one would imagine.
I like his play at 4v5, predominately on entry suppression and breaking up breakouts that try to enter the zone quite a bit. It’s a very low key part of his game that shows how well he can manage gap control and time & space with plays occurring.
But to flip that, he’ll throw a puck into a location that is immediately at risk of screwing the Flames over. It’s a weird hot and cold experience with him that hopefully comes down to new town, new team, just some minor anxieties.
So now that he’s got goaltending is it that Bill Peters might not be a moron? 
It remains to be seen, but I like the results and the emphasis on the top-nine getting TOI. [Glen] Gulutzan rode four lines regularly; while Peters doesn’t and it’s a welcome change. He needs to tighten up play resulting in high-danger chances though. It’s a huge issue that hopefully gets worked out.
I think he’s a step above Gulutzan, but anything can happen in this league. I’m sure in a year I’ll be calling for his head for some reason.

 

Game #28 Preview Suite

Preview

Spotlight

Q&A

Douchebag Du Jour

I Make A Lot Of Graphs

Lineups & How Teams Were Built

Everything Else

Game #28 – Flames vs. Hawks Douchebag Du Jour: The Owner Who Couldn’t Own

By Sam Fels 1475 0

Perhaps the credit should go to the city of Calgary and mayor Naheed Nenshi for becoming one of the first cities to tell the owner of a sports team to go pound when they came and asked for a municipality to pay for a new arena. But then it’s hard to do that when Nenshi turned around and tried to sell Calgary on bringing the Olympics back to Calgary, when everyone knows that any host city turns into Dark City after the Olympics leave town. Still, let’s cherish a step forward for once.

That didn’t stop Flames owner Murray Edwards from trying to influence the mayoral election in Calgary to get Nenshi out of office, along with the help of one Gary Bettman. But there are no sports in politics, remember.

Edwards also couldn’t even figure out how to leverage Seattle into getting what he wanted, sitting idly by while the NHL handed that city an expansion franchise (or soon officially will). So for once, an owner is forced to sit and just rake in the cash that his team generates in an arena that is only a touch old.

There’s nowhere for Edwards to turn. The NHL likely isn’t going to let him move to Quebec City, not when it’s on the cusp of having its perfect alignment. Kansas City? Been muted for a long time. There just isn’t any option.

And Edwards can suck it. He’s currently worth $2.2 billion, and if he wanted a new arena he could probably find the change in his couch. The impasse for the arena wasn’t that Nenshi was unwilling to put any money into it, it’s that he wanted a return on that investment for the city. Edwards wanted Calgary’s money and then to keep the revenues all to himself. It’s the normal ploy from owners, but it’s one more and more cities are standing up to.

So you wonder what Edwards thinks when he meets with fellow owners who did get their arenas, but he was too crude or stupid to get his own. Or both. While Calgary will be better off, you can be sure he’s stewing that he can’t match his fellow greed-monsters in the board room of the NHL’s meetings.

There’s a lot wrong with sports, but the image of Edwards feeling inferior and aggrieved is one we can hold onto that things could get better one day.

 

Game #28 Preview Suite

Preview

Spotlight

Q&A

Douchebag Du Jour

I Make A Lot Of Graphs

Lineups & How Teams Were Built

Everything Else

Game #28 – Flames vs. Hawks: Lineups & How Teams Were Built

By Sam Fels 1428 0

Notes: Michael Frolik and Jusso Valimaki have missed the last couple through injury…Big Save Dave gave up four to the Stars last out so maybe Mike Smith gets a run-out with tougher games against Columbus and Minnesota later in the week for the Flames…Kylington is a prospect our Flames friends were pretty excited about before the season so he may entrench himself in the lineup…This should be the year Backlund gets Selke consideration but won’t…WHO WANTS TO WALK WITH ELIAS?!

 

Notes: We imagine Martinsen will keep his spot ahead of Fortin and Kunitz…At least Keith will be rested…Is Saad playing the best stretch of his career?…Funny how Manning played his best game of the season with the return of Connor Murphy looming this week, no?…The Kampf line actually got its head kicked in last night…Strome and Kane and Top Cat were better but once again broken up, would like to see them get the full game tonight…

Game #28 Preview Suite

Preview

Spotlight

Q&A

Douchebag Du Jour

I Make A Lot Of Graphs

Lineups & How Teams Were Built

Everything Else

Game #27 – And If It’s Heads I Go to Tennessee, and Tails I Buy a Drink, If It Lands on the Edge I Keep Talking to You – Hawks 2 Preds 5

By John Pullega 1861 0

Box Score

Corsica

Natural Stat Trick

Through the first four minutes, this game had all the feel of a sudden onset of diarrhea after your morning shower, punctuated by slipping off the toilet seat because you didn’t have time to dry your ass off. While things got marginally better and there were some bright spots, the song remains the same: a flaccid start and a broken heart at the end of it all. Let’s clean it up.

– We don’t condone fighting usually. We get red and nude when anyone in the broadcast booth starts alluding to physicality and barbaric dickery (more on that later). But it’s not hard to understand Duncan Keith completely losing his goddamn mind and assaulting Miikka “I let a cat walking across the keyboard name me” Salomaki early in the first. It was a blindside hit along the boards. I’m sure people will try to argue that the hit came from the side and THIS IS HOCKEY and all that happy horse shit. Those people are wrong, and the Venn diagram of people who defend that hit and who own more than zero piss-yellow Mike Ribeiro sweaters is the same fucking circle.

Along the boards at an angle that Linda Blair would have had a hard time twisting to see, let alone Keith playing the puck, is inexcusable. I’m not going to defend Keith trying to piledrive Salomaki and getting the match penalty for it, but I sure understand it. There aren’t many good tit-for-tat arguments, but if you wanted to make one for Keith after the no call, I’m open to it.

– Gustav Forsling is still only 22, and he missed a good portion of last year to injury. But with each game, it gets harder and harder to figure out how he fits in among a D-corps that you couldn’t trade for a cup of coffee along with the two dollars in your pocket. When he’s not getting overpowered (by Ryan Johansen on Goal 1 and Kevin Fiala on Goal 3), he’s freezing up in his own zone (Craig Smith, Goal 4). His vision is questionable at best, and are we really sure he has the skill to be the breakout D-man we thought he was? At this point, you let him shit his pants, dive in, and swim, but you wonder if the clock is starting to tick on whether he’s a guy they keep long term.

– A quick word on Erik Gustafsson: You might be able to capitalize on whatever offensive potential he has when Connor Murphy gets back. Maybe. But he’s just as bad as Forsling in his own zone, if not worse. You’d excuse that if he’s a point per game D-man, but he’s playing more like an eleven-year-old with a mustache who thinks running head first into a wall is a good way to impress girls.

– There were some positives here. Brandon Manning was by far the best D-man the Hawks had out there tonight. All of his metrics flesh it out: He had a 55+ straight CF%, a 51+ CF% SVA (score and venue adjusted), and contributed offensively. His assist on Artem Anisimov’s goal was flat-out gorgeous, splitting traffic in the slot and allowing Wide Dick to just be there. He also hit the crossbar off a Henri Jokiharju rebound in the second. You hope that this kind of play continues from Manning, because he’s exactly the kind of guy you can trade for a young flyer or mid-round draft pick later down the line.

– Brent Seabrook flashed some of the old style of play too. Outside of his terrible turnover that led to the Preds’s second goal, he was, for lack of a better word, crafty with the puck. He nearly set up David Kampf with a semi-breakaway off an area pass, and managed to juke Roman Josi out of his skates with a fake shot in the third, which led to a quality chance for Dylan Strome off a Forsling point shot rebound.

– Brandon Saad—who has more goals than Artemi Panarin on the year, thanks—did that voodoo that he do so well again. When Saad gets a full of head of steam along the boards, there aren’t many people who can stop him. And he managed to overpower both Ryan Ellis and Pekka Rinne on his goal, swatting his own attempt out of mid-air. Anyone who doesn’t want to admit that Brandon Saad fucks is a jerk.

– I don’t want to see Alex DeBrincat fighting. In the moment, it’s fun, but let’s not make that a thing in the future.

– We rag on the broadcast for falling back into the MORE PHYSICAL trope all the time. And while Eddie was guilty of it a few times tonight, nothing was quite as weird as Steve Konroyd after the first intermission. I get being mad about the Keith hit, but Konroyd went so far as to say that a guy like John Hayden should “go after one of Nashville’s smaller guys” to “help bring them [the Hawks] together.” Motherfucker even acknowledged that “that may not be right” and called his own idea “kinda barbaric,” then proceeded to justify it as something to bring the team together. It may not seem like anything more than Konroyd tossing meat to the worst kinds of hockey fans, but this kind of mind-set contributes to guys like Tom Wilson constantly having the chance at gainful employment in the NHL. It’s fucking gross to imply that someone should put a horseshit hit on an opponent as a team-building exercise. Stuff your mouth with my dog’s fart blanket with that suggestion, Stevie K.

The Hawks get a heaping helping of mulligan stew with a tilt against Calgary tomorrow. If they play anything like they did in the second period tonight, it’ll be fun. But at this point, any wins the Hawks get should be considered gravy, because even if the brain geniouses in the front office won’t admit it, this team is in rebuild mode.

Onward. . .

Booze du Jour: Four Roses and Eagle Rare

Line of the Night: “The Mute Lounge was conceived for nights just like this one.” –Matt McClure

Everything Else

Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – December 1st

By Sam Fels 1027 0

First Screen Viewing

Maple Leafs vs. Wild – 6pm

They won’t have William Nylander yet, but as soon as they do the Leafs very well might be Showtime! That is if they aren’t already. Anyway, they’re at the top of their division, the Wild are near the top of theirs, and that’s the best on offer tonight. With Boudreau behind the bench and Mike Babcock seemingly giving in and actually letting his team be fun, this one should look a little like a track meet.

Second Screen Viewing

Flyers vs. Penguins – 6pm

Both these teams blow right now but these things tend to turn into ECW matches and that’s always good for a laugh. Hmm, the Penguins suck two seasons after they won their third Cup. The Kings never recovered from winning their second. It’s almost like every team succumbs to their success after a while. Wonder if I could think of another example…

Other Games

Red Wings vs. Bruins

Rangers vs. Canadiens – 6pm

Lightning vs. Panthers – 6pm

Jets vs. Devils – 6pm

Jacktes vs. Islanders – 6pm

Blues vs Coyotes – 7pm

Knights vs. Oilers – 9pm