Cheer Up Time!

You know perhaps you are a little bit too into the game when your fave team losing sends you into a sadness spiral. I might be able to get over it a bit quicker if the Pens hadn't lost to the stupid Sens.

Luckily, this cheers me up



Please note Jonathan Toews' face when he is re-enacting Kaner's dance. Missed it? Don't you worry, I have immortalized it via screen snap shot.

Almost Ruined my Boxing Day

While I wasn't brave enough to head out to the malls today, I was more than willing to head to the bar to watch the Canada-Russia World Juniors game. We will ignore how the game started and the fact that they were tied going into the third and just focus on Canada winning 6-3. Awww yeahhhhh.

My good mood was diminished greatly however when the effing Ottawa Senators were beating the Pens 3-0 well into three quarters of the way through the third period and threatening Sid's chance at making his scoring streak 24 games.

Well, luckily I didn't have to lapse into a full depression case because Sid scored his 30th and with it, extended the streak to 24. (Umm unfortch the Pens still lost, 3-1. God damn Ottawa, stupid douchebags)

The stache lives to see another day. (Side note - in his game day interviews today, an interviewer brought up Gretzky's scoring streak record - 51 games - and the reporter asked Sid what his stache would look like after a streak that long. Hahaha he didn't lie : "Probably not much more than this. I think it’s peaked.")

Speaking of my fave teams, the Leafs shocking did not disappoint me tonight and took full advantage of the Devils' struggles to beat them 4-1, with lil' Army scoring 2 goals!!! Love it. (Also Phaneuf and Kovalchuk got into a fight. Nice to know that he is putting his $100 million hands to good use)

Merry Christmas!! :)

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Joyeux Noel and Seasons Greetings to Everyone!! However you celebrate this holiday season, best wishes!

Christmas Countdown: Pittsburgh Penguins

Merry Christmas Eve! What better a way to celebrate than with Sid and the gang :)







(You can watch the rest of this episode of Inside Penguins hockey here!)

That Borderline Looks Like a Fanny Pack

Probably my fave line from episode 2.

I feel like there was something else....

Ohhhh right, the hugely anticipated pre-Winter Classic game between the Pens and Caps was tonight and not only did Sid extend his streak to 23 games - the longest scoring streak in 18 years - but the Pens won it in a 7 round shoot out, with Duper making the winning shoot out goal. Helllllllllo! Can't wait for the all access coverage of this in next week's 24/7 ep!!!



PS - Ummm how cute was Craig Adam's son in episode 2? "My neck is getting kinda sore, I need to stop." and him calling his dad "Craig". Amazing little man.

More Clips from Ep 2

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my life after these 4 episodes are over.





orrrr if you missed it, you can watch the whole thing on youtube



(I'm off to watch it again)

Christmas Countdown: Chicago Blackhawks

Well let's be serious, this had to be one of the ones closest to Christmas as the Hawks always have the best videos and they don't cut any corners when it comes to the holiday season. Suffice to say, I'm going to be posting a lot of videos for them!

Uh Oh...

Okay, please don't toss me in front of a bus for this one but... I think it's really cute that Ovechkin lives with his Momma and packs up his video game system for his road trip. What a little boy. Never will like him but hatred has lessened somewhat...until he does his next cocky, jerky thing (sooo...tomorrow?)

Fave Roomies

Look at Sid and Duper, just watching some TV together. Question though - umm why did they turn the camera away from shirt as he started to take off his adorable sweater and dress shirt combo?

Tease.

Beware of Tossing Waffles

Remember how a fan tossed waffles onto the ice last home game at the ACC when the Leafs lost and everyone thought it was hilarious? Well, the fans maybe thought it was hilarious, the players didn't so much...

"It's not funny. The guy's an idiot, whoever's doing it," said Leafs forward Clarke MacArthur.

“I didn’t even know they sell waffles at the game,” defenceman Luke Schenn said. “That’s a shocker. (And) if you’re bringing waffles to a game, maybe you have issues of your own.”

Army and Steeger still managed to let their humour shine through of their unimpressed-ness but still made it clear they weren't pleased

“I don’t appreciate it, really, a guy throwing waffles at me as I am skating by,” Leafs forward Colby Armstrong said. “Almost hit me. I don’t know if the guy was aiming at me or whatever. Who knows? A guy brought waffles. We’re trying to make light of it in here. Throw a filet, throw a T-bone. Spend some money.”

“(Francois) Beauchemin brought his stick for flipping waffles,” forward Kris Versteeg joked when asked about the incident. “But we’re not going to have waffles today... It’s just stupidity and it shouldn’t even have happened during the game. You hate to see stuff get thrown on the ice. To (the fans’) credit, yeah, it was a bad game and stuff got thrown. But you don’t ever want to see anyone get hurt.”

Well anyways, that fan (whom I shall name "Waffle Tosser") came back for the Leafs home game against the Thrashers and he was fully equipped with his waffles

Mmmm, except this time, he got arrested and is banned from all future MLSE sporting events (i.e. the Leafs, the Marlies, the Raptors and Toronto FC)... oh yeah and all events at the ACC (poor guy can't go see Taylor Swift now)

Whoopsies. He got away with it the first time, probably should've chalked that up to a close call and not tempt fate doing it a second time.

Goal Celebrations: The Kiss

I told you the kiss was one of the top 5 goal celebrations



If this is a new trend picking up, I'm going to sneak on to the Pens and pass the puck to Crosby constantly. Oh, he's on the bench right now? No matter.

Christmas Countdown: Toronto Maple Leafs

Merry Christmas from the Leafs!







And Merry Christmas from the Leafs fans (we like to give our boys much needed gifts...)

Christmas Countdown: Vancouver Canucks

Happy Holidays from the Canucks!!

Rivalry?

Whew, thank God they did this little compilation, because it's the first I've heard of this "rivalry"

Christmas Countdown: New Jersey Devils

Merry Christmas from the Devils!

Yikes!

There was a bit of Leafs drama that brewed this past week apparently. As you probably know, Colby Armstrong and his wife Melissa have a 2 month old lil' man named Cruise and I guess they did a little photo shoot with him. Somehow the pictures got leaked and one girl posted a few of them on Twitter.

When Colby's wife found out, she clearly wasn't too happy and posted to the girl

Army also clearly messaged her, upset about the invasion of privacy, although he (I assume) sent her a private message (I think that's possible on Twitter? Beats me). The girl replied an apology to both but her reply to his wife as maybe a bit more snarky...

She may have not been the original one to steal the pictures (or leak them, whatever the case was) but I think the Armstrongs still have every right to be beyond unimpressed, but maybe that's just me

Anyways, I'm not going to post any of the pics here because it def is kinda creepy but if you do want to see them, you could go to one of the websites she talks about in the message above. Hopefully they will get taken down soon!

We'll end on a more light hearted, less awkward note! At the team practice before the game against his former team the Flames (whiiiiiiich they lost), Phaneuf had to miss it because he had to go to a funeral back home, Versteeg decided to make sure he was present... in one way or another

A.Ma.Zing.

Even though it's against the Leafs, I think the Green Men were amazing last night.

Christmas Countdown: Detroit Red Wings

Happy Holidays from the Red Wings!

Other Lil' Tidbits

Just a few other things I wanted to share!

The Pens did their annual Christmas Hospital visit and they posted some pics of their visit

 The Pens had a team Christmas party last night at Flower's house with an ugly Christmas sweater theme. Tyler Kennedy got Twitter and posted a pic of his outfit

Biz Nasty and Bettman are besties

Watch Online!

They put the first ep of 24/7 Pens:Caps online! They won't let you embed the video but you can watch it on NHL Video Centre here (sorry, its USA and Canada only)

Wooo, off to watch it again!!

(I first watched this though. Hahaha I love BizNasty):

Christmas Countdown: Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers

Merry Christmas from the Avalanche and

Colorado Avalanche

Florida Panthers

Christmas Countdown: Tampa Bay Lightning

Seasons Greetings from the Bolts!!

What the Bolts Wanted for Christmas Last Year:

Victor Hedman: Two points in the standings……and a Wii.

Andrej Meszaros: I’ve got everything I need. I have my family here, and that’s all I could ask for.

Matt Smaby: I don’t have a big Christmas list this year. Maybe a nice vacation during the Olympic break would be a good gift. I’d like to go someplace warm – Florida is nice, but maybe someplace a little more exotic.

David Hale: To be honest with you, I had a hard time this year telling my wife what I wanted. I can’t really pinpoint anything, but just some good food and time with my family.

Mike Smith: Good question. I’m more of a giver than a taker, so I like to make sure everyone is looked after in that department. But probably at the top of my list is a “Slingbox”. It’s something you hook up to your cable box and then you can watch your TV channels from anywhere around the world.

Antero Niittymaki: All I want for Christmas I already have; a healthy, happy family. For myself, I’m not a selfish person.

Zenon Konopka: For the team, a playoff berth. Off the ice? A playoff berth.

Steve Downie: Seeing my family. They’re coming in to town.

Paul Szczechura: I have no idea – I haven’t asked for anything.

Blair Jones: Well, all the gifts that I bought for my family and friends are in my apartment in Norfolk, so they won’t be arriving or getting distributed anytime soon. Basically, here in Tampa I’ve got no Christmas tree with no presents under it. I’m just winging it. But for myself, anything will do. Maybe a tee-shirt or something like that. It doesn’t take much to satisfy me.

Steven Stamkos: Other than a few more wins for the Tampa Bay Lightning, maybe a spot on the Canadian Olympic Team would be nice. That would be pretty cool. My family is down here for the holidays, so that’s pretty special as well.

We Don't Even Have to Wait for Monday!!

Looky what got leaked eaaaaaaarlyyyyyyyyy

(I dont know if it was actually "leaked" but whatevs). Is it embarrassing that I thought that they were going to be physically ON the show (not just on the show via satellite TV or whatever)? I fully looked at their schedules to try and figure out what section of time they would be able to use to fly to Cali in. What a fantasy world I live in, such a silly sally

(PS - why isn't Ovechkin repping his Winter Classic jersey? Odd)

More Clips from Last Night's Ep

Ohhhh, big shout out to EhisCDN for finding this clip of the guys on the plane along with the rookie prank. I love the actual pouring of candy down their throats - I wonder what Gary Roberts was thinking when he saw that... (And it includes one of my fave parts "Max is a douche" and Sid just cracking up in response to it. hahaha oh I love it, thanks girl!)

Also, here is the first two minutes of the episode:



OH and they did some player interviews after the guys watched the ep last night (you can see them on NHL.com) and they talked to Sid about his stache and he said he is going to keep it until Christmas... Which would you rather ring in the new year with?

 or

(Oh let's be serious, I would take both)

Fleury's Prank

24/7 Penguins Capitals: Pittsburgh Rookie Prank from Greg Wyshynski on Vimeo.

Those tricksters! As a side note, Boudreau has QUITE a potty mouth! (I will say though, he makes a really good point)

Christmas Countdown: Columbus Blue Jackets

Happy Holidays from the Blue Jackets!!

24/7: Pens Caps

Sid extended his scoring streak to 20 games, surpassing his previous career high of 19 games. That is all I will discuss about tonight's game

Just wanted to quickly comment on the ep of 24/7 tonight - I think I went in with pretty high expectations but I was still VERY impressed! I thought it was so good! Some non-spoiler highlights include:

• my increased love for Dupuis and his family
• Dupuis' very unexpected "Fuck you Geno"
• Fleury: "Max is a douche"
• the Pens Christmas family skate and Talbot's adorableness with the kids
• the rookies: "we're going to find out who did this and then do nothing about it" (wording may differ slightly)

I am beyond pumped for the next episode!! You need to watch this week's ep soon if you didn't catch it at 10 tonight!!!

Christmas Countdown: Belfast Giants

Complete credit of this discovery goes to TheHockeyJunkies for this but I had to post it because it is FANTASTIC. And as if their music video stylings aren't amazing enough for you, keep in mind they have Irish accents. Yep, sold, love it.



Okay seriously, I thought it was amazing within the first fifteen seconds and it JUST. KEPT. GETTING. BETTER.

Devestation.

I think it goes without saying that I do not want to speak of the effing Flyers and their life ruiner Scott Hartnell for halting the Penguins streak at 12. So I shan't. (However, on the bright side, Sid is still just givin'er with his 2 assists last night extending his personal scoring streak to 19, matching his previous career high. Stud)

Anywho, the Leafs won though! (That still doesn't make up for it but I'm just a huge bitter Betty over here).

Anyways, moving on. I came cross this lil article today and only read it for the picture it had. Have I not said before what a little baby angel Sid is? They clearly agree with me!

In the article, the fifth naughtiest person/group of the year was the 2010 World Junior USA team (who beat Canada for gold on home soil... Sigh...). I don't know what rock I was living under, but I didn't even know this drama occurred:

 I watched the video and team USA did indeed chant to Canada that "we just beat your fucking ass". Mmm who wouldn't feel cocky about that? I'm Canadian but sure, I understand. But perhaps don't video tape it and make yourself look cocky and disrespectful (do it behind peoples' backs like everyone else!)

As a side note, Sidney was fifth nicest guy. Mmm I think he deserves higher for just being alive but whatever. Then again, LeBron James was only named the third naughtiest and I think there are a few people in the Cavalier organization slash Cleveland dwellers that may disagree with that one as well... (That being said, the nicer and naughtier people chosen definitely make sense)

Don't forget the first ep of the 24/7 Pens/Caps HBO show is on tonight at 10!! They don't really have a lot of reminders up on NHL.com or the Pens website for it so it may slip your mind! ;)

Christmas Countdown: Edmonton Oilers

Happy Holidays from the Oilers!! (and Happy Birthday to my big brother!!!)

Celebration Time!

After a big win, who wouldn't want to celebrate? In the NHL today, there are quite a few celebration rituals that some players have. I'm going to stick to the group celebrations rather than individual players' goal celebrations because last time I checked, hockey was a team sport and your stick is *not* on fire (I'm looking at you Ovi)

Anywho! Here is my take on the top big game win celebrations:

5. Goalie Dogpile
You know your goalie? The one who has been getting that hard rubber disc shot at him at high speeds all night, blocking it from getting in the net using his body? No no, not Brent Seabrook and his groin blocks (but uhh yeah, talk about taking one for the team), I'm talking about that guy in the net who just made the huge save and won you the big game? Yeah, that guy! Go and tackle him to the ice and get all the other guys on the team to jump on top of you. 

(Mmmm, I did say tackle him to the *ground* but smashing his body up against the boards with the force of 30 grown men works too, fine)

4. Secret Handshakes
Nothing makes the other team left out more than if the winning team has...A SECRET HANDSHAKE!!!
It is also that much more satisfying when you do the handshake only when you win and and because your goalie got a girlfriend and isn't out carousing for tail every night, you get to win a lot!


WARNING: It is very much less intimidating and effective as a tool to make the other team bad when you mess up doing the handshake and fumble along until you get it. Be careful of this.

3. Full Team Goal Celebrations
All right, so I said I wasn't going to include individual players' goal celebrations but when numerous players / the whole team gets in on the fun, that is a completely different story!

(I tried to find a video of only team Zian and their stupendousness but it seemed to be an impossible task. So yeah, its the number one video and then there are 9 other individual player celebrations. Oh well).


2. Matt Duchene and Paul Stastny

These lil' Avalanche buddies bust out the "bang bang" dance after a win. Mmm not the best name for a celebratory dance because, come on, you know your mind goes to the dirty place first, but I do enjoy their dancing style! What lil' studs (especially since most guys wouldn't be caught dead doing that in public. Outstanding)

1. Winning gold for your country and, after the game, going back out on the ice and just givin'er, getting wasted and smoking cigars.
Remember how the entire team apologized afterwards and said they were so sorry for embarrassing their country? Meanwhile we all thought it was phenomenal?

Christmas Countdown: Phoenix Coyotes

Happy Holidays from the 'Yotes!

Time to Call in Sick

When I was little and sick from school, watching the Price is Right at 11:00, they never had these types of special guests. Jealous.

Time for a way back play back to the younger years and be sick for the day!

Former National Hockey League player Jeremy Roenick joins THE PRICE IS RIGHT to present an NHL-themed showcase and give away tickets to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, Monday, Dec. 20 (11:00 AM-12:00 Noon, ET; 10:00-11:00 AM, PT) on the CBS Television Network.  In addition, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will also help Roenick introduce a showcase that will include a trip to Pittsburgh to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins play against the Washington Capitals at the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field on New Year’s Day; VIP passes to the NHL’s New Year’s Eve Party in Pittsburgh; field/ice-level access during the Capitals and Penguins team practices at Heinz Field on Friday, Dec. 31; and a new 2011 Honda CR-Z Sport Hybrid car.  The NHL-themed showcase includes prizes from Reebok, Bridgestone, Enterprise and Starwood Hotels.

Fleury est une étoile!

Flower got second star of the week for last week! Woo!



SECOND STAR -- MARC-ANDRE FLEURY, G, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Fleury posted a 3-0-0 record, 1.67 goals-against average and .944 save percentage as the Penguins (21-8-2) extended their winning streak to 12 games. Fleury made 27 saves in a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils Dec. 6, stopped 23 shots in a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs Dec. 8 and concluded the week by making 34 saves in a 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres Dec. 11. Fleury improved his season record to 14-6-1 with a 2.31 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and one shutout. He is 13-0-1 in his past 14 appearances, tying a career-high streak without a regulation defeat. He also has an active and career-best 11-game winning streak, recording a save percentage of .945 during that span.

Christmas Countdown: New York Islanders

Seasons Greetings from the Islanders!

Interesting...

Christmas Countdown: San Jose Sharks

Happy Holidays from the Sharks!!

Embarrassing...?

It's your first NHL game...ever. You've already got an assist and then your coach calls on you to be the third guy in the shootout. Let's bust out the big guns and make a name for yourself and throw the goalie off. How do you do that?

This is probably a pretty good way...



Meanwhile, Dan Ellis says its "embarrassing" and Stamkos is whining, saying that he is being disrespectful.

I don't know what anyone else thinks but geeze, making mountains out of molehills a bit there? Sure, something like that from so far away from the goalie probably isn't going to do a lot to help you score (but you know what, he *did* score) and maybe it's showing off a bit but eff it, he was having fun, I'm sure the coaches won't let him do it again and he had the game of his life, that just happened to be his first NHL game ever

Just let him have his moment!!

Christmas Countdown: Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars

Merry Christmas from the Kings and the Stars!

Los Angeles Kings

Dallas Stars

Sid and Stache - Still Besties

The stache is still going strong



I'm so glad someone brought it up to him - I've probably been out of the loop but I haven't heard any interviews in which someone point out the stache. Here is hoping his streak lasts long enough for his stache to not look like a 14 year old boy's. (Perhaps a 12 year old boy's. Your call).

He's still a smoke show.

Ummm EW!

Umm hi Matt Carkner, what the eff is wrong with you



He denies it but I shall, of course, assume the worst of him as he is an Ottawa Senator