SB Nation - Alex Ovechkin

Islanders Gameday: No Ovechkin, no Martinek ... no problem

Dominik — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:00:41 -0000

Silly humans, we like to view things in groupings, whether or not said groupings relate to one another. So we'll talk about how our team is "such-and-such in November," even if November is just an arbitrary cut-off that's more to do with Pope Gregory than the fortunes of 21st-century hockey teams.

But a seven-game run away from home: that's a grouping that might just matter.

New York Islanders (6-6-5, 5th/Atl) at Washington Capitals (10-3-4, 1st/East)

7 p.m. | [some really annoying telco] Center | MSG+2 (twice the plus!); radio

"They don't, they don't speak for us": Japers' Rink | On Frozen Blog

The Islanders begin that grouping against the Capitals without Radek Martinek, the underrated defenseman who actually did a pretty good job defending Alex Ovechkin the last time these teams met. Then again, for this third Isles-Caps meeting of the season, the Caps are without Ovechkin. So back to square one. Of course, sans Ovi the Capitals just swept two games from Florida -- who has a similar coach, but different 2008-09 results, than our own Scott Gordon.

So group it however you want. I'm probably going to group it under "in games without Kyle Okposo..."

But in the capital, the drama over Ovechkin's injury prognosis is, well, slightly more intense than the "what else is new?" Island reaction to Martinek's. Hell, even the drama over where an unwanted Caps' soldier is headed is consuming more bytes.

While the Islanders without (future captain?) Okposo is unchartered waters, the Caps rather impressively pulled off victories without both Ovechkin and Mike Green. Yikes. I look forward to Trent Hunter's return, but somehow I don't find it to be of equal impact.

Oh, and about those margin-thinning, depth-depleting challenges to the Islanders lineup: Not only is K.O. out with Ye Olde Pig Flu, but now Doug Weight's upper body injury has changed from "week to 10 days" to "4 to 6 weeks." That's not only more realistic and more predictable; it's also a strong hint that it's a more serious shoulder injury, perhaps one very similar to the one that kept him from Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals with Carolina.

We've come, I think, to expect frequent injury from Weight's body at this age. But this one on the captain, coming so soon after his own recovery from the H1N1, is a blow. I was among those hoping for a .500 performance on this road trip. With at least half of it missing Okposo and all of it missing Weight, my expectations are lowered. Add that to our tin six-defensemen depth, and opefully Mr. Snow is watching the wires for potential reinforcements.

* * *

The Cycle of a Rebuild: 1. Suck and get picks. 2. Use picks on future stars. 3. See future stars arrive and evolve. 4. Get good enough to discover that some stars maybe aren't as great as once thought.

Is that where the Caps are at with Alex Semin? Been interesting to see Caps fans slowly question whether he is part of the core. Not just penalties and off nights, but the ominous comment from his agent on whether he'd adjust contract demands to fit into a championship structure in D.C. His agent: Mark Gandler. ... Gandler .... Gandler ... now where have I heard that name before? Ah yes, that's the tool. Good luck, Caps fans and Semin-lovers.

* * *

He Who Shall Not Be Named Until Healthy: I've sort of pledged not to do this, but what the hell, these quotes were interesting in a goalie-rehab sort of way. Scott Gordon on Rick DiPietro's first consecutive days of practice with the team:

He did multiple butterflies, some rapid recoveries, a lot of edge work. It was all good.

Nobody's holding their breath. But at the same time, it's nice to see the team continue to take the conservative approach with The Franchise. Strang adds that DiPi will do Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday work next week. Whatever works.

* * *

Tonight should be an interesting one, particularly if Green is still out. Lineups without their best players, going at it, trying to make do: Somehow, there's something cool and pure about that. What would be strange and unholy? If the Isles lost in OT to move their record to 6-6-6.

Wednesday Caps Clips: Islanders @ Caps Game Day

J.P. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:48:58 -0000

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Your savory breakfast links:

Previews of tonight's Caps/Isles game (Really? These guys again?) from Vogs, NHL.com, Peerless and Rock The Red.net, and be sure to check out our SB Nation partner Lighthouse Hockey for coverage from the other side of tonight's match up.
Infirmary report: Jeff Schultz is out, Mike Green is in, Alexander Semin has a brace on his wrist, Boyd Gordon is getting closer, and what's-his-name is "day-to-day" (unless he's joking again). [Capitals Insider]
Is today Michael Nylander Day, or just another tease?
Mathieu Perreault's NHL career is off to a nice start. [Washington Post]
The Morrison/Mike Knuble effect. [Washington Times]
Huge thanks to @chaddukes and @LaVarArrington (a.k.a. "The LaVar Arrington Show with Chad Dukes") for the shout out yesterday (discussing this post that we ran the other day regarding the risk of Alex Ovechkin's contract) and for providing islands of Caps coverage amid a sea of Redskins bloviating. Check it out, including a must-listen interview with Chris Clark in Segment 2. [Segment 1, Segment 2, Segment 3, Segment 4 (audio)]
Brendan Morrison compares AO to Pavel Bure. [Vancouver Sun]
Ovechkin is only the sixth-most valuable player (second among skaters) in the League so far this season... [Puck Prospectus]
... but he certainly is clutch (as are a trio of other Caps)... [The Hockey News]
... and is a dominant force in the offensive zone. [Behind The Net]
Of course, he's still an easy target for ~~xenophobes~~ haters. [Sportsnet]
More power rankings, with the Caps up a spot to third here at SBN and up four spots to second at CBSSports.com.
It's important to know your ABC's... or at least your A, U, W and X. [The Whig Standard]
Steve Kolbe "Takes 5" with Tyler Sloan. [Capitals (audio)]
Episode 2 of "Caps on the Fly" featuring Green and Bob Woods, for your viewing pleasure. [Caps365 (video)]
Nicklas Backstrom is a fantastic value... at the moment. [Puck Prospectus]
Speaking of Backstrom, even if you're not quite fluent in Swedish, there's some pretty cool stuff in this video (from about the 5:20 mark on). [Hockeykväll (video)]
Remember when AO wasn't suspended for his alleged slew foot in Atlanta? Well, Colin Campbell was just following the League's well-established guidelines for discipline. [Down Goes Brown]
Keith Aucoin had a nice homecoming last weekend (though he would rather have been traveling from Miami to D.C., we're sure). [New England Hockey Journal]
Courage! It couldn't come at a better time. [Hockey Mom]
The Florida man who claimed to have supplied the Caps with 'roids has pled guilty to Federal steroids charges. [Tampa Bay Online]
Cody Eakin on dangerous hits. [Edmonton Sun]
More than you could ever need to read about Sami Lepisto. [Hockey's Future]
On this day back in 1981, the Caps named Bryan Murray head coach. Murray still sits atop the franchise coaching leaderboards for wins, losses, games coached and ~~lispy post-game pressers~~ playoff disappointments.
Happy 55th birthday to Michel Bergeron and happy 37th to personal fave Steve Konowalchuk.
Finally, a very heart-felt thanks on this Veteran's Day to every man and woman who has put themselves in harm's way so that we can live the lives we live (and know that you're in our thoughts on the other 364 days of the year, too).

An Early Look at Penalty Plus‑Minus

J.P. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:35 -0000

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"For us, discipline has been a problem all year, an Achilles' heel." - Brooks Laich, 5/12

"We need to remain disciplined, staying out of the box is a big key for our team." - Brendan Morrison, 10/20

"We need to take leadership and take ownership of the dumb things we're doing. We have to stop it." - Mike Knuble, 11/4

The more things change, eh?

Actually, yes, to a degree. Entering play last night, the Caps had committed the 12th-fewest minor penalties per game in the League, a marked improvement over a season ago, when only a half-dozen teams committed more minors than the Caps (in raw numbers, the Caps' minors-per-game is down from 5.05 in 2008-09 to 4.35 so far this season). And despite a couple of memorably bad back-to-back games (against Columbus and New Jersey), the Caps have faced three or fewer power-play-opportunities-against in five of their last eight games (going shorthanded just twice in four of those five). So even if the team individuals on the team need to work on the "when" and the "where" of the penalties, discipline overall has been improving.

At the same time, the Caps are drawing more penalties than they did last season, up from 19th in the League to 7th, from 4.11 power plays per game to 4.41. Now if only the extra man unit could catch fire...

But enough about this whole "team" concept - let's focus on the individuals who are taking and drawing these penalties.

Back in late March, we took a look at "penalty plus-minus," that is, simply, the difference between the penalties a given player has drawn and those he's taken - the power play opportunities he's creating and the penalties he's forcing his teammates to try to kill. It's all after the jump.

First, a look at the forwards, ranked by penalty plus-minus per sixty minutes of five-on-five ice time (and we're just looking at five-on-five non-coincidental penalties; PD is penalties drawn, PT penalties taken, +/- the difference and +/-Per60 the +/- per sixty minutes of five-on-five ice time):

Player	PD	PT	+/-	+/-Per60
Alexandre Giroux	2	0	2	5.9
Eric Fehr	2	0	2	2.0
Mathieu Perreault	1	0	1	1.8
Quintin Laing	4	0	4	1.8
Matt Bradley	5	1	4	1.4
Chris Clark	6	4	2	0.7
Nicklas Backstrom	5	2	3	0.7
David Steckel	3	1	2	0.7
Brooks Laich	2	2	0	0.0
Keith Aucoin	0	0	0	0.0
Alexander Semin	6	6	0	0.0
Alex Ovechkin	4	4	0	0.0
Boyd Kane	1	1	0	0.0
Tomas Fleischmann	0	0	0	0.0
Mike Knuble	7	7	0	0.0
Brendan Morrison	2	4	-2	-0.5
Boyd Gordon	0	4	-4	-5.3

And now the blueliners, same criteria apply:

Player	PD	PT	+/-	+/-Per60
Mike Green	5	5	0	0.0
Tom Poti	1	1	0	0.0
Brian Pothier	0	2	-2	-0.5
Shaone Morrisonn	3	6	-3	-0.7
John Erskine	1	2	-1	-0.7
Jeff Schultz	0	3	-3	-1.0
Tyler Sloan	0	2	-2	-1.1
Milan Jurcina	0	5	-5	-1.3

So what have we got?

Up front, to see checkers like Matt Bradley and Quintin Laing so solidly in the black thus far speaks to how well they've done been doing their jobs at five-aside.
Raise your hand if you'd have guessed that Chris Clark has drawn 50% more penalties than he's taken. Or that he's 25th in the League in penalties drawn (forwards only). Not too many hands raised...
Brooks Laich was a stud in this metric a year ago, drawing 23 penalties and taking only five. For whatever reason, he hasn't drawn 'em at nearly that rate this year (0.6 per sixty, down from 1.5).
In fact, most of the Caps' skill forwards aren't fairing too well here, with a nominal "top seven" (Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, Knuble, Morrison, Fleischmann and Laich) having a combined rating of plus-one.
Of course, that may have been somewhat predictable, given that Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin combined for an even rating last season, Flash was two in the red, Knuble took twice as many as he drew, and BMo was plus-one. Still, you'd like to see your skill guys drawing a lot more penalties than they're taking.
Only nine forwards have drawn more penalties than Knuble has thus far... but only four have taken more.
Boyd Gordon... tough start, buddy.
On the backline, Tom Poti is second among the team's defensemen in even-strength ice time and has played against the toughest competition, and yet has taken only one minor penalty (and has a plus-four rating). Pretty remarkable.
Mike Green is second among the League's rearguards in penalties drawn.
No surprise to see Milan Jurcina at the bottom of this list - it's where he was last season, too.

The takeaway from this is that the Caps, in general, seem to be getting with the program as far as discipline goes, and are also drawing more penalties than they did a year ago - in both areas, the team is trending in the right direction. So despite a handful of penalties and a few games that we all wish we could forget, it's important to step back and see the forest for the trees from time to time... and this forest is looking better than it used to.

Tuesday Caps Clips: Ovi Jokes, Nyles Clears

J.P. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:45:30 -0000

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Your savory breakfast links:

So it was all a big joke. Ha ha? [ESPN.com]
Of course, that doesn't stop some writers from speculating that there's trouble brewin' between the Caps and their franchise player. Silly. [The Star]
In the other news of the day, Michael Nylander cleared waivers and George McPhee announced that... he'll talk about it today... [Caps365 (video)]
... which means it's time to see who's got sources. The leader in the clubhouse? Tarik El-Bashir (who did a great job all day at CI) with his Dynamo Minsk nugget.
Unrelated, one would assume, Minsk is the team by which Glen Hanlon was just recently canned. [FanShot]
Only one U.S.-based team is ahead of the Caps in season-to-date paid admissions. Amazing. [Ted's Take]
And that's with the Caps being a great bargain. [WTimes]
Speaking of the Times, big shake-up over there yesterday that had better not impact our hockey coverage. [Washington Post]
A new batch of power rankings are out with the Caps up three spots to fourth at The Hockey News, up one to second at The Sporting News, up three to second at the L.A. Times and holding at fifth at TSN.
Mike Knuble is a fab puck deflector... [Behind The Net]
... a skill that helped him net Hockey Night's First Star for the weekend. [CBC]
Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green and Boyd Gordon filmed a quick message for the ~~ladies~~ fans on Saturday night. [GreenLife52.com]
Semyon Varlamov is "fighting for the 3rd goalie spot" for the Russian Olympic Team. At this point, you've got to say he's got a worse chance to win that fight than Matt Bradley has to win his next tilt (and Brads is currently riding an 11-fight winless streak, per HockeyFights.com). [@dchesnokov]
"Tomas Fleischmann" and "fantasy" together in an article that doesn't use "Bruce Boudreau" to link the two. [ESPN]
Speaking of Gabby, if there's one thing we'd like to see more of in his "Behind the Bench" segment, it's specifics about the current team. We get our wish this week, and you'll never guess about whom he gushes. [Capitals]
Elliotte Friedman's weekly column is a must-read - click for the Alex Semin zinger, stay for the knowledge. [CBC]
Four American Caps honor the troops. [Capitals, Caps365 (video)]
The Caps have three of the top 19 players in the "Three Stars Standings." [NHL.com]
From the "No [Stuff]" file, the Caps are D.C.'s Best Team. [Express Night Out]
Peter Bondra's on the list of next year's first-time-Hall-of-Fame-eligible players. It would be a pretty major surprise if he was elected. [Slam!]
Bear Tracks! [LDN]
On this date back in 2001, the Caps traded Trevor Linden and a second round pick in 2002 to Vancouver for a 2002 first round pick with which they selected Boyd Gordon and a 2003 third rounder (that the Caps moved to Edmonton for Mike Grier and which the Oil used on Zack Stortini).
Finally, happy 53rd birthday to Greg Carroll.

Tuesday links: Cuz you gotta nuke something edition

averagejoe — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:00:42 -0000

Gotta nuke something.

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I really want to beat the Canucks tonight. Stop this losing skid and beat a team I really, really, don't like.

Blues news

Good news for the Canucks: Roberto Luongo and Daniel Sedin are returning soon. Good news for the Blues: It won't be tonight. [CBSSports]
John Davidson: Hall of Fame broadcaster. [Belleville News-Democrat]
Brett Hull wears his Hall of Fame ring on his left hand -- he always had to stand out. [STLtoday.com]
If you are unable to watch Hull's speech, here is his speech. [STLtoday.com]
A look behind the scenes at the Hall of Fame. [STLtoday.com]

Hockey news

Jon Toews is back and the Blackhawks won. Ugh. [Yahoo! Sports]
Blues play tonight, so do some other teams.[Yahoo! Sports]
Somewhere a Michigan there was a scream of approval: Manny Legace is a Hurricane. [American Chronicle]
Carolina fans are trying to get excited for the Manny Legace era. Manny is a lot of things, but exciting is not one of them. [Canes Country]
Oh yeah, some other guys made the Hall of Fame. [ESPN]
Curtis Glencross suddenly has some free time on his hands -- he was suspended three games for a high hit on Chris Drury. [ESPN]
Despite the whole Coyotes mess, Wayne Gretzky showed up to the Hall of Fame preceding. [ESPN]
Alex Ovechkin says he was joking earlier and will only miss a week. [ESPN]
Steve Ott, and you're never going to believe this, but he might have crossed the line again. [Defending Big D]
Jarome Iginla is the NHL player of the week. [TSN]

Other links

I normally want to punch kids, but this one is cool. [The High Definite]
From RFJCC: Tips on where to get autographs. [Surviving the World]
From Busch Ice comes soccer violence ... women's soccer violence. Carnie? [ESPN]
Wanna bag on your co-worker? Here's the place. [Bash Your Co-Worker]
Dragons. [LOL I DREW THIS DRAGON]
Sometimes when I'm typing Petro for Alex Pietrangelo I type Ptero. That brings me to this: The Motherfucking Pterodactyl. [The Oatmeal]

Video

Doc Whiskey sends along this video that made me laugh really, really hard.

That'll do it. Go Blues. See you later?

Capital Ups and Downs: Week 6

J.P. — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:33 -0000

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Our weekly look at individual Washington Capitals' ups and downs:

Goalies	Trend	Notes
Jose Theodore	▲	A strong performance on Friday night in Sunrise earned him Saturday's start in which he looked understandably less sharp. Still, a 2-0-0/2.51/.912 week keeps his hold on the #1 spot firm.
Semyon Varlamov	-	To the untrained eye, he looked pretty good in Jersey. But Bruce Boudreau didn't see it that way (calling two of the three goals allowed "iffy"), so Varly stays in Chez Bow Wow and doesn't get a start against a bad team in a back-to-backs when the #1 guy has a recent history of back spasms.

Defensemen
John Erskine	▲	Shaking off the rust after missing nearly a month, has a plus-five rating over his last four games.
Mike Green	-	Had his nine-game scoring streak snapped in Jersey, then was injured early in Florida. Get well soon, GreenLife52.
Milan Jurcina	-	Ugly minus-four on Saturday night (though his play wasn't as bad as that would seem to indicate), has still yet to find the back of the net this season and is pointless and averaging just one shot per game in his last ten.
Shaone Morrisonn	▼	Didn't register a single shot last week... except for the boarding late in Friday night's game.
Brian Pothier	▲	Responded to Wednesday's healthy scratch with a goal, three assists and a plus-six rating over the next two games (which included loads of PP time with Green out).
Tom Poti	-	An assist and a plus-three rating in Saturday's stat-padder, but wasn't credited with a shot on goal all week.
Jeff Schultz	-	Injured on Friday night, missed on Saturday.

Swingman
Tyler Sloan	▲	Versatility earns him his own position on this list. Had a pair of goals as a forward and played well when shifted back to D on Friday, but struggled on the blueline Saturday.

Forwards
Nicklas Backstrom	-	Seemed to get his groove back once paired with Fleischmann and Knuble, ended the week with three helpers, a plus-three rating and a 56.3% faceoff win rate.
Matt Bradley	-	A beautiful pass to set up Laing's goal (and some wrestling) on Saturday night highlight his week.
Chris Clark	▲	Helpers in each of the week's three games and a fight in Jersey. Good stuff, Cap'n.
Eric Fehr	-	Finally got back in the lineup Saturday and produced an assist in limited ice time.
Tomas Fleischmann	▲	Three goals, one assist and a plus-four rating for the week and five goals and seven points in his last five games overall. We are all, for the moment, seeing Flash as Gabby has always seen him.
Boyd Gordon	-	Still hurt (and the PK still misses him). His games played by season over the last three campaigns: 71, 67, 63. Expect 59 this year?
Mike Knuble	▲	Two goals, three assists and a plus-four rating over the weekend is how a veteran rebounds from a couple of bad games in a row.
Brooks Laich	▲	18 points in 17 games on the season, including four last week. Laich also hasn't taken a penalty in his last nine games and has just two minors on the campaign.
Quintin Laing	-	Had one more goal than and the same number of shots as Alex Semin last week. Another interesting Q stat: he's been credited with fewer blocked shots on the year than Knuble or Backstrom.
Brendan Morrison	▲	Called out by his coach for a bad penalty in Jersey, responds with two goals on Friday.
Michael Nylander	-	Has agreed to be put on waivers, still would have to agree to any loan to another league (KHL, AHL, etc.), but it's another step closer to what everyone wants.
Alex Ovechkin	-	Of the countless AO vids on YouTube, this has to be just about my least favorite. It's gonna be a long ~~4-5 weeks~~ wait...
Mathieu Perreault	▲	A burst of energy who has made Chris Clark and Tyler Sloan look like serviceable NHL wingers, which is no small accomplishment.
Alexander Semin	▼▼	One down arrow wasn't enough to capture the disappointment of what Semin is doing with his opportunity to be the team's top scoring threat. No points and as nearly many offensive-zone minor penalties (five) as shots on goal (six) for the week. Brutal.
David Steckel	▼	The only Caps forward still looking for his first goal of the season (minimum seven games played), Steckel was point-less on the week and was on the ice for all three power play goals the Caps surrendered in the three games. He did win 62.5% of his draws overall, however.

Monday Caps Clips: Another Week Begins

J.P. — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:42:57 -0000

via the shoebox next to my desk

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Your savory breakfast links:

Mathieu Perreault sure is a l'il sparkplug, ain't he? [CSN Washington]
Odd choice for a "Getting to Know" feature in a national pub. [The Hockey News]
CSN's Russ Thaler sticks up for buddy Dmitry Chesnokov on the "4-5 Weeksgate" front. [CSN Washington]
It's still anyone's guess as to how long Alex Ovechkin will be sidelined, but in case you were wondering, the fewest games played by a Hart Trophy winner (modern era, non-goalie, non-lockout year) in his MVP season? 60, Mario Lemiuex in 1992-93 (Le Magnifique had 69 goals and 91 assists in those 60 games).
How 'bout that Flash? [Examiner]
A look at the Caps' goaltending situation from a fantasy perspective (and by "fantasy," I don't mean "Jose Theodore fully recaptures his Hart/Vezina form"). [The Hockey News]
Keith Aucoin has scored five goals since being returned to Hershey and Michal Neuvirth seems to be finding his groove, having now won three-straight (saving 76 of 80 shots along the way), including Sunday night's win in Providence. [Bears]
The captain of Sweden's U-20 team, Marcus Johansson (yes, that one), isn't intimidated by playing on North American-sized rinks. Good. [The Charlatan]
Former Cap Pat Peake is now coaching 'em up and has brought in a former boxer to teach his players how to defend themselves. The kicker? His players are 14-years-old. [Detroit Free Press (h/t KK)]

Monday Links: Wins are overrated edition

averagejoe — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:45 -0000

Wins? Who needs them, not when you're getting those sweet, sweet charity points.

Blues news

In case you didn't know, the Blues blew it Sunday afternoon. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Here's the Canadian Press writeup of the Blues game. [TSN]
John Davidson will be going into the Hall of Fame today as a broadcaster. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Brett Hull will be joining JD in Toronto, but he'll be going as player. [Blues]
Some more notes on the Blues' Hall-of-Famers. [Belleville News-Democrat]

Hockey news

Here a your standings for Monday. [NHL.com]
Oilers and Thrashers both won last night. [Yahoo! Sports]
Just one game on the schedule Tuesday. Go Kings. [Yahoo! Sports]
Cam Ward is going to be out for a while. My prediction that he was going to have a breakout season looks ... less than promising. [newsobserver.com]
Alex Ovechkin speaks out about his injury. [Puck Daddy]
Chris Chelios must go to save the NHLPA. [CBCSports.ca]
Will Manny Legace resurface in Carolina? [Canes Country]
Some of the Calgary Flames got flu shots and now people are getting fired. [ESPN]
Ben Fanelli, the kid who was rocked and caused Michael Liambas to be suspended for the year. [ESPN]
Jonas Gustavsson is the key for the Leafs this season. [ESPN]
Agents are getting clients in trouble via Twitter. Welcome to 2009. [TSN]

Other links

This site is NSFW, but if you are a fan of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, you will want one of these. [DICK TOWEL]
This really isn't funny or anything, it's damn good journalism. [Denver Post]
Project Mayhem anyone?[ESTY]

Video

So this song might not be considered appropriate, but NatetheGreat. passed it along and its stuck in my head. Enjoy.

Gametimelinks(at)gmail.com

Monday Morning Fly By: Injuries around every corner

Travis Hughes — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:40 -0000

by Matt Slocum - AP

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Your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news...

Last night's NHL scores... ATL 3, STL 2 (OT) - EDM 5, COL 3
It was a weekend of injuries around the NHL, and brutal ones at that. Most notably, Carolina goaltender Cam Ward suffered a horrifying laceration to his upper left leg on Saturday night when Columbus' Rick Nash's skate came up and caught him. He'll miss at least three weeks, a devastating blow to an already suffering Hurricanes team. [Canes Country]
In Detroit, winger Jason Williams will miss at least two months after breaking his right fibula -- that's his leg, for the uninitiated. [Winging It In Motown]
Alex Ovechkin has been sidelined for about a week now, and in an interview with Puck Daddy, he said that he'll be out about four-to-five weeks. Not so fast, AO. [Japers']
In Pittsburgh, they entered Saturday night's game in San Jose without Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Tyler Kennedy, or Maxime Talbot. Add Kris Letang to the list, as he fell with a shoulder problem. He could be out a while, too. [Pensburgh]
Of course, the Flyers weren't exempt on the injury front this weekend. With Simon Gagne, Danny Briere, and Ryan Parent already out, James van Riemsdyk and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen didn't complete Saturday's game. OKT has a concussion and JVR has a fractured pinky finger. Each are listed as day-to-day. [CSN Philly]
As if it were some kind of foreshadowing, Puck Daddy published a list of the top 10 most brutal NHL injuries of the last decade on Saturday afternoon. Randy Jones' hit on Patrice Bergeron and Patrick Thoresen's "potentially ruptured testicle" each make the cut. [PD]
While Danny Syvret has been less than impressive as a Flyer this season, the guy he was traded for, Ryan Potulny, is getting a chance with the Oilers. Until now, he has only played in eight NHL games since the June 2008 trade. [Oilers]
Spectrum seats go on sale today at 10 AM. [BSH]
The Phantoms played once this weekend and fell to archrival Albany 3-1. [Post-Star]
If you don't venture past the main column of this site, you a) have tunnel vision and b) missed out on some good discussion of the current standings system, started by mikefive over the weekend. [BSH FanPosts]
Ron Hextall selling Canada Dry ginger ale, just because. [YouTube]

Alex Ovechkin to Miss 4-5 Weeks? Not So Fast...

J.P. — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:53:33 -0000

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Earlier this afternoon, Puck Daddy's Dmitry Chesnokov published an interview in which injured Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin was quoted as saying that he "will miss 4-5 weeks."

Per a team spokesman, however, "The Washington Capitals dispute the validity of this report."

Stay tuned.

Update (9/9, 1:15 PM): Per @cmasisak 22, "Ovechkin says he feels better today and only hopes to be out a week. He says he was joking Saturday."