In a day that is destined to lead to the downfall of the NHL, the New York Islanders have won the NHL Draft Lottery for the #1 draft pick. There are two questions that need to be answered between now and draft day in June: 1) Tavares or Hedman? and 2) Will they still have the pick by the time all 30 teams roll into Montreal for the draft? Continue reading
Toronto Maple Leafs
Fighting In The Stands Isn’t Just For Hockey Parents
There’s a long held perception in Canada that hockey moms and dads are more into the games and more intense than the kids on the ice. Fights among parents in the stands, yelling at coaches, police being called in and brawling with the refs all seem to be the status quo in Canadian youth hockey.
It turns out, though, that the crowds at NHL games can degenerate into near brawls like as this recent one in Vancouver:
According to a commenter on YouTube (treat as [sic’d]):
The kid was throwing peanuts at the bearded guy. The bearded guy got up and jokingly said “Ok, who’s the tough guy?” The kid couldn’t man up though. So the woman sitting behind the kid pointed to the “Tough Guy” and mouthed the words “He did it”. So the bearded guy had a few choice words, including the offer to “step outside like a man, punk” But the kid could only work his gums and had no cajones to back up cowardly assault from the rear.
Maybe we should chalk this one up to “Only in Canada” but seeing as fans are becoming increasingly violent, I’m not so sure. I don’t want to get sanctimonious but can’t we just unwind for a few hours at a game without trying to kill each other. But that’s coming from a guy who was “kindly” informing a referee on Saturday night that he was letting the visiting team make all his penalty calls.
Red Light District: Leafs Try To Ruin More Coaches Careers
NY Rangers 1 @ Toronto 2 (SO) – It wasn’t the prettiest game ever and neither team really deserved to win but Nikolai Kulemin’s shootout goal was all the Make Believes needed for two points. New Rangers coach John Tortorella was already calling out his team after one game saying that they needed better conditioning. Well, that’s one way to get them on your side.
NY Islanders 0 @ Pittsburgh 1 – Petr Sykora scored with less than 3 minutes left in the game to prove that the Pens don’t need Sidney Crosby to compete. They just need him to have any jump. Without Sid the Kid, the Pens played down to the level of the cellar-dwelling Islanders and were lucky to escape with a win.
Los Angeles 0 @ Philadelphia 2 – In another exhibition of an offensive master class, Jeff Carter scored in a scramble in front and Simon Gagne scored an empty netter to pickup two points for the Flyers. Martin Biron made 34 saves for his 25th career shutout.
San Jose 1 @ Detroit 4 – Henrik Zetterberg scored a highlight real goal while short handed to put the dagger to the Sharks. In a game that was being hyped for the return of super villain Claude Lemieux’s return to Detroit, there were no major incidents involving the cheap-shotting one. The win moves the Wings within 3 points of the Sharks for top spot in the West but the Sharks still have two games in hand. As a bonus, here’s that Zetterberg goal.
Morning Link-Off: The Sens Have Lady Problems
I’m trying the day-long blogging thing again. If you have any tips, send them in to thelowdown@live.ca.
The Sens traded for secondary scoring but Mike Comrie’s tougher half is in the stands. (Us Magazine) Carrie Underwood mocks Duff’s attempts to make a spectacle of herself at a hockey game. (YouTube)
Carlos Delgado wants your bank account information. (Sports Rubbish)
Ovi proves that he is clinically insane. (Total Pro Sports)
While most teams are freezing ticket prices, the Make Believes continue to gouge their fans. (CNBC)
The prosecutor changes the charges in The Pirate Bay trial. It’s still the most important trial in the history of the interweb. (The Guardian)
Bud Selig is being paid $17 million to run baseball into the ground while Roger Goodell is getting paid less and willing to take a 20% pay cut. (Reuters)
ESPN may contribute most of Disney’s total revenue but costs are expected to go up. (Wall Street Journal)
As a door slowly closes on Williams, a window opens for the F1 team formerly known as Honda. (Daily Telegraph)
You may not have heard but Tiger played a round of golf yesterday. (Sky Sports)
Spiderman is going to Broadway with Bono and The Edge. (CBC)
In tribute of Steven Page leaving the Barenaked Ladies (Toronto Star), here’s BNL butchering The Hockey Theme.
Well, it might have been passable without the lyrics. Sorry for ruining your morning with that.
The Lowdown 