SB Nation - Carey Price

Hockey Night In Canada’s Jim Hughson Thinks Atlanta Hockey Fans Are Dumb

hildymac — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:01:06 -0000

In what might be the largest case of jingoistic "hoserism" ever recorded in a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast - aside from Don Cherry’s anti-European rants, of course - analyst Jim Hughson had this to say about Atlanta hockey fan knowledge:

"You know how you can tell we’re in Winnipeg? They recognize what shouldn’t be a penalty and know Carey Price’s first name. Not in Atlanta."

That was the masterpiece that set off a flurry of angry tweets directed at @hockeynight and @cbc regarding the professionalism of their broadcast. Canadian fans, non-traditional market fans, traditional market fans, and former Thrashers fans all joined together decrying the tastelessness that punctuated the Jets' very Thrashers-like 5-1 loss to the Canadiens. The highlights came from Puck Daddy’s Ryan Lambert (@twolinepass):

@twolinepass this GEE WHIZ ATLANTA SURE WAS A BAD MARKET stuff on HNIC is in remarkably poor taste.

and...

@twolinepass the only difference between atlanta and winnipeg is that fans in atlanta knew the team was garbage and didn't pay to go see it.

Honestly, good for fans in Winnipeg for getting a team back. I’m glad that they can go to hockey games and not drive three and a half hours to do so like fans here have to do now. The media, however, is making it very difficult for fans outside of Winnipeg to share in their excitement. Swipes at failed markets do absolutely no good. Be happy that you have NHL hockey back and enjoy the honeymoon, but here’s a hint: a newlywed bride doesn’t like it when you keep making fun of your ex-wife.

Take note that this comment was broadcast to the Metro Atlanta viewing area (and the rest of the United States) on the NHL Network. Between this and the fact that the NHL's blacking out games broadcast by the Predators and Hurricanes since Atlanta is now apparently a two-hockey team town, the NHL's making it abundantly clear that they don't want our Confederate dollars. Fantastic business plan.

NHL TV Schedule & Starting Goalies, 10/6: Three Games On Opening Night

Travis Hughes — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:12:27 -0000

Opening night in the NHL is finally here. Every team has different hopes and dreams as they begin their seasons, and six of those teams will get their first taste of live, regular season hockey this evening.

Now, the games and all the vital information you need to know about those games. All times Eastern.

7 p.m., Flyers at Bruins. Versus HD. Prized free agent acquisition Ilya Bryzgalov leads the Flyers into battle for the first time against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, who will raise their banner at TD Garden. Tim Thomas is in goal for Boston, as if you needed somebody to tell you that.

7 p.m., Canadiens at Maple Leafs. CBC HD, RDS HD. James Reimer will take on Carey Price on national television across Canada in the first game of the year for the two hated rivals.

10 p.m., Penguins at Canucks. Versus HD, CBC HD. There won't be any banner ceremony in Vancouver, as the Canucks have already placed the Western Conference Champions banner into the rafters at Rogers Arena. Down below, Marc-Andre Fleury will square off against Roberto Luongo. Again, you knew this.

VIDEO: Michael Ryder Scores In Overtime, Pulls Bruins Even With Canadiens

Travis Hughes — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 02:21:02 -0000

Man, somebody really should've kept an eye on Michael Ryder.

The Boston Bruins forward was all alone in front of the net in overtime of Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, and when a rebound spit out right on his stick, it didn't take much for him to bury it behind Carey Price.

The Bruins win, and as a result, the road team has won every game in this best-of-seven NHL playoff series so far.

We're tied at 2-2 as we head back to Boston for Game 5, but hey, with the way things have gone in this series, that might just be a good thing for the Habs.

H/T: Mocksession

VIDEO: Bruins, Canadiens Square Off In Multiple Fights, Including Tim Thomas-Carey Price

Ryan Hudson — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:02:02 -0000

Wednesday night's game between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins featured 14 goals -- including eight in the second period alone -- 14 fighting majors, 192 penalty minutes and even a goalie fight, between Tim Thomas and Carey Price. Albeit a disappointing one, but still: goalie fight!

The showdown between Price and Thomas came shortly after a Milan Lucic goal, when a big pile-up formed after Bard Marchand went in hard on an icing touch-up. Stanley Cup of Chowder takes it from there:

The players paired off in some pushing and shoving, before Thomas skated out of the crease and down the ice to challenge Carey Price. The two goalies jarred at each other a bit, shed some equipment, and squared off. Unfortunately, no real punches were thrown in the somewhat disappointing goalie fight. Despite the lack of punches, both net minders were assessed fighting majors and minors for leaving the crease.

After the game, Thomas spoke of his "big ol' plan" for the fight.

"You just can't let it be an outnumbered situation," Thomas said after the game. "That's what I was thinking when I went down there. He was more than willing to fight."

"I had this big ol' plan," Thomas said with a grin. "I was going to grab his right and I was going to throw lefts because I know he's bigger and taller than me and has a reach on me, and I thought I could do a better job of throwing lefts on him. When we went to grab, he had a good hold on my right arm, and I got nothing.

"So then I was like, 'Oh, now what do I do?' I know he's got a big right cocked and ready to come, so I tried to switch arms, get my right free, and I grabbed him by the back of the shirt. When he threw the right, I was trying to pull him off balance. His shirt came off over his head and then I fell."

The game's other big line brawl came just before the end of the game, and it left hands bruised and faces bloodied.

VIDEO: Bruins, Canadiens Combine For 192 Penalty Minutes In Wednesday Night Fights

Travis Hughes — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 03:31:56 -0000

Remember that crazy second period in the Bruins vs. Canadiens game? Yeah, it wasn't over after just 40 minutes. Instead of describing all the carnage, we'll just show you.

First, the score sheet. You're gonna want to click and enlarge.

Boston finished with 97 penalty minutes. Montreal finished with 95. That's 192 total. There were a total of seven fights (including one goalie fight) and four game misconducts. Oh, 14 goals too.

Goals? So what... we'll look at the rough stuff after the jump.

Courtesty of HockeyFights.com, here's a look at the first brawl and the goalie fight between Carey Price and Tim Thomas.

Things got fun again with about two minutes left in the game. David Krejci might not be fighting any time soon after this one with Benoit Pouliot.

Then with less than a minute to go, it all flared up one more time.

Andrew Ference dropped 'em with Travis Moen, with the Bruin getting the better of that one. Shawn Thornton beat down Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek flopped his way into the fist of Johnny Boychuk, but Taylor Pyatt certainly got the worst of it all. His face met the fist of Gregory Campbell (insert Colie joke here) a whole bunch of times and the results were not pretty.

That was essentially it for the rough stuff, despite a little attempt from Adam McQuaid to get things going once more at the end. 192 penalty minutes and lots of ice in the Canadiens locker room.

Photo H/T: Greg Wyshynski

VIDEO: Goalie Fight, Eight Goals Highlight Second Period Of Bruins Vs. Canadiens Game

Travis Hughes — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 02:09:32 -0000

If there were an award for "Best Period of Hockey Ever," tonight's just-completed second period between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens might be in the running.

The two Original Six rivals looked like actual rivals again tonight, and the second period really did have it all. A total of eight goals were scored in the 20 minute session. Montreal tied the game at 2-2 on back-to-back goals early in the period, but by the end, Boston took the lead back on three separate occasions.

From the 11:01 mark to the 12:48 mark -- a span of 1:17 -- the Habs and B's combined for four of those eight goals. But that wasn't even the half of it. Yes, the headline is correct. For the second time in 11 days (!), there was a goalie fight in the NHL.

As you can see at the start of that beautiful Jack Edwards-adorned video, Tim Thomas and Carey Price dropped the gloves as part of an all-out, old-fashioned line brawl that left five Canadiens and six Bruins in the penalty box. Funny pictures after the jump!

Yes, those are six Bruins in the box. Here's a look at the score sheet.

Yes, there's still a period left in this game as of this writing.

UPDATE: It wasn't over after one! Here's a recap (with video!) of all the carnage: 192 penalty minutes in all.

For more, check in with our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder, and our Canadiens blog, Habs Eyes On The Prize.

2011 NHL Skills Competition Events And Lineups

JasonB — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 00:05:20 -0000

Tonight's NHL Skills Competition consists of six events. There's the fastest skater, breakaway challenge, accuracy shooting, skills challenge relay, hardest shot and the elimination shootout. The first event of the night is the fastest skater competition and will feature two teams of six, each including a goalie. "Team Staal" features Michael Grabner, Mike Green, Ryan Kesler, Marc Staal, Kris Letang, and Cam Ward.

Team Lidstrom will feature Duncan Keith, Taylor Hall, Matt Duchene, Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, & Tim Thomas.

Then comes the Breakaway challenge (how is Claude Giroux not in this?) where two teams of 3 go for the most stylish breakaway move.

Team Staal
P.K. Subban – Montreal Canadiens
Corey Perry – Anaheim Ducks
Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals
Carey Price - Montreal Canadiens

Team Lidstrom
Evgeny Dadonov – Florida Panthers
Anze Kopitar – Los Angeles Kings
Loui Eriksson – Dallas Stars
Marc-Andre Fleury - Pittsburgh Penguins

Up next is one of the older and more well known events, which is the accuracy shooting competition where players aim to break plates fashioned in corners of the goal.

Team Staal
Rick Nash – Columbus Blue Jackets
Daniel Sedin – Vancouver Canucks
Eric Staal – Carolina Hurricanes
Logan Couture – San Jose Sharks
Patrick Sharp – Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan Kesler – Vancouver Canucks
Passer: Dan Boyle – San Jose Sharks
Passer: Paul Stastny – Colorado Avalanche

Team Lidstrom
Brad Richards – Dallas Stars
Phil Kessel – Toronto Maple Leafs
Patrick Kane – Chicago Blackhawks
Jonathan Toews – Chicago Blackhawks
Martin Havlat – Minnesota Wild
Derek Stepan – New York Rangers
Passer: Nicklas Lidstrom – Red Wings
Passer: Danny Briere – Philadelphia Flyers

Then comes the all new Skills challenge relay. For a description check here, but there's 32 guys in this so I'm not going to list them all.

The hardest shot competition is up next and is probably the classic event of the whole competition.

Team Staal
Zdeno Chara – Boston Bruins
Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals
David Backes – St. Louis Blues
Tyler Seguin – Boston Bruins
Rick Nash – Columbus Blue Jackets
Patrick Sharp – Chicago Blackhawks

Team Lidstrom
Anze Kopitar – Los Angeles Kings
Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning
Dustin Byfuglien – Atlanta Thrashers
Brent Burns - Minnesota Wild
Shea Weber – Nashville Predators
Cam Fowler – Anaheim Ducks

Finally, there's the Elimination Shootout where every All Star takes turns at penalty shots and each guy who misses is elimination. The last man standing is the winner.

VIDEO: Steven Stamkos' Spin-O-Rama Penalty Shot Goal

Travis Hughes — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 03:30:40 -0000

Martin St. Louis walked into the zone and dished the puck off to Steven Stamkos. Stamkos walked in past the defense and eyed up Canadiens' goalie Carey Price. From behind, the stick of one of the Habs hooked Stamkos in the ribs. Penalty shot time, as weak an infraction as it may have been.

That's when No. 91 did this:

There's no doubt that someone in Montreal will complain about this in the paper tomorrow, but that shouldn't take away from an awesome, awesome goal.

VIDEO: Jay Beagle Scores Alex Ovechkin-esque Goal (Which Has Been Hard To Come By)

Adam Vingan — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:57:06 -0000

In Tuesday's 3-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, recent call-up Jay Beagle made his presence felt by netting an unbelievable goal to open the scoring.

Beagle came from behind the net and fired a no-look backhanded shot over the right shoulder of Canadiens goaltender Carey Price. Beagle looked as surprised as everyone else on the ice and inside Verizon Center when the siren blared signaling a goal.

Some would call Beagle's tally a "shinny" goal (but Craig Laughlin should refrain lest he be accused of swearing on television again). Either way, Beagle's goal was No. 9 on Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays Wednesday and he is making a strong case to stay with the Caps. Beagle has two goals since being called up from AHL Hershey December 15.

Perhaps Alex Ovechkin should take some notes.

NHL Standings And Avalanche Schedule Preview, Dec. 13

Muzia — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:16:22 -0000

Colorado has finally finished its season-long five-game road trip to the Eastern seaboard, and finally return home with playoff dreams intact. Before we preview the Avalanche's next week of games, let's take a closer look at one of the most anticipated events in this year's NHL calendar; HBO's new mini-series "The Road To The Winter Classic," premiering Wednesday, Dec. 15.

Though the television show is a marketing tool for the NHL, promoting its premier mid-season game on New Year's Day, it's a genuinely exciting concept for all hockey fans, promising an inside look into the locker rooms of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, two of the most exciting teams in the league. Cameras have been given exclusive access to both clubs during the two week buildup to their showdown in Heinz Field on Jan. 1.

There's one problem: these two teams are heading in completely opposite directions.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are on a serious hot streak, winning 12 straight games. They aren't just winning, they are dominating to the tune of a 43-18 goal differential during that period. They've shot from the fringes of playoff contention into the #1 overall seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pens are led by their superstar -- and undeniable Best Player On Earth -- Sidney Crosby, who has 14 goals and 9 assists during this winning streak. His 51 points this season has put him on pace for 130+ points this season, numbers the NHL hasn't seen in 15 years.

Contrast Pittsburgh with its New Year's Day opponent, the Washington Capitals. The Capitals are in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Before this stretch, they had lost one game all season at Verizon Center. They've now lost four home games in a row. On Sunday, Dec. 13, they officially hit their low point of the season; a 7-0 beatdown at the hands of the New York Rangers. Their power play, one of the league's elite units with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin, has gone 3-37 during this skid, a stunningly low 8%.

The Dec. 15 premiere could not come at a better time, watching the contrast between the two locker rooms at completely different levels of play. Crosby and Evenki Malkin celebrating after yet another dominating victory, immediately followed by Semin and Ovechkin slowly walking to the locker room after another blowout loss? It's tough to ask for greater drama. I imagine the NHL was hoping both teams were playing at an elite level, but from a spectator's viewpoint, HBO's timing is simply perfect.

Colorado Schedule Preview

Home again, finally! After going winless through the first three games of their road trip, Colorado again found their footing by taking out a streaking Atlanta Thrashers team and a scuffling Washington team, two very impressive victories. Out of a possible 12 points, Colorado earned seven against their Southeast opponents. This 58% points earned is right at their season average, making this difficult stretch of schedule a successful road trip in the standings. What does this week bring?

Monday, Dec. 15 Vs. Chicago Blackhawks

Wednesday, Dec. 17 At Chicago Blackhawks

Colorado Avalanche, you just survived a five-game road trip against some very quick, high scoring teams. You lost leading scorer Milan Hejduk to a groin injury. How do we reward you for surviving this brutal stretch? Try back-to-back games against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.

Chicago enters these games without several of their top players as well, as Patrick Kane and Marion Hossa are very unlikely to play against Colorado. Much like the Avalanche, Chicago lives and dies by their offense, with defense an afterthought. These two teams haven't met since their Opening Night battle and, with all of the injuries, will be playing a very different set of players from that early October matchup.

Friday, Dec. 17 Vs. Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators have their only visit of the season, coming into this game a poor team. Their offense ranks 27th in goals scored, 25th in goals allowed. 38 year old Daniel Alfredsson is their leading scorer with 18 points and big offseason acquisition defenseman Sergei Gonchar is having a very average season. Factor in the revolving door at goalie, and you have all the makings of a struggling team. Ottawa plays in Minnesota on Thursday night, so the back-to-back should give Colorado a huge edge in this game.

Sunday, Dec. 19 Vs. Montreal Canadiens

Stud goalie Carey Price leads his very talented Montreal team into Pepsi Center on Sunday night. Montreal, last year considered a Cinderella in the playoffs, comes into this game leading the Northeast Division and playing like a Cup contender. The Canadiens have ridden a stout defense (ranking 2nd in the league in goals allowed) and an easy schedule (they are currently ranked dead last in difficulty of schedule) to the top of the standings.