AlaskaFlyerFan

I posted this in the "Roberto Luongo Saga" thread also. I'm a little dumbfounded on this trade. Eddie Lack is not a NHL starting goalie IMHO. Markstrom played down here for the better part of the last 2 1/2 years. I was not impressed. In fact, I was telling some people that he needs some time in the ECHL because of how bad he was playing. I can understand Vancouver wanted to dump that salary but then they should have held on to Schneider.

I'm a little dumbfounded on this trade. Eddie Lack is not a NHL starting goalie IMHO. Markstrom played down here for the better part of the last 2 1/2 years. I was not impressed. In fact, I was telling some people that he needs some time in the ECHL because of how bad he was playing. I can understand Vancouver wanted to dump that salary but then they should have held on to Schneider.

Yes, the concrete floor was showing in several spots. The linesmen and rink workers were trying to repair the large holes at every whistle. It was a futile attempt.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/this-day-in-history-139-years-ago-the-first-organized-game-of-hockey-was-played/ On this day 139 years ago, the first recorded organized game of hockey was played at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal. The game was played under a set of rules that were drawn up by a collection of students from McGill University, including James G. A. Creighton, who is believed to have been influential in the early days of organized hockey. It was only the beginning of a new era and this event still came 42 years before the official formation of the NHL. But, for the first time, hockey moved indoors and became more organized than it ever had been before. The Montreal Gazette recorded pre-game and post-game stories to mark the historic occasion and after the game, according to the paper “the spectators then adjourned well satisfied with the evening’s entertainment.” Today, the McGill University website celebrates the birth of organized hockey. From McGill: The contest was divided into two halves and played with nine men per side. The players on one side were Charles E. Torrance (captain), Daniel Meagher, Thomas J. Potter, Edwin H. Gough, William M.S. Barnston, George W. Gardner, W.O. Griffin, Francis Jarvis and a fellow named Whiting. The other team was composed of James G.A. Creighton (captain), Robert Esdaile, Henry Joseph, Frederick C. Henshaw, William B. Chapman, Robert H.W. Powell and Edward S. Clouston, along with brothers Lorne and George Campbell. By moving ice hockey indoors, the smaller dimensions of the rink initiated a major change from the outdoor version of the game, limiting organized contests to a nine-man limit per team. Until that time, outdoor games had no prescribed number of players, the number being more or less the number that could fit on a frozen pond or river and often ranged in the dozens. The nine-man per side rule would last until the 1880s, when it was reduced during the Montreal Winter Carnival Hockey Tournament. The key innovation was the substitution of a square, wooden disk (puck), which offered the players far more control than they had over a lacrosse ball. In 1877, the first organized team, the McGill University Hockey Club, was formed and in 1886, the first national association, the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada, was founded. Happy Birthday, hockey.

@jammer2, Believe it or not, San Antonio is usually #6 or 7 in attendance every year. The people come out and support the team but they have no clue what they're watching!

http://theahl.com/stars-rampage-game-suspended-p190701 Stars-Rampage game suspended March 1, 2014 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … This evening’s American Hockey League game between the Texas Stars and the San Antonio Rampage has been suspended due to unsafe ice conditions at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Texas led, 2-0, when the game was suspended with 12:01 remaining in the first period. The American Hockey League will make an announcement at a later time regarding the completion of the game. -------------------------------------------------------------- Every year in the month of February, there is a rodeo that takes over the AT&T Center in San Antonio. This year, there was not enough time to put the ice back in before the Rampage had a game. No one skated on the ice before warmups, which is a problem in itself. The ice was only ~1/2 inch thick (at most). When there was a check, the boards would flex and the ice started chipping away around the kick plate. The referees stopped the game 7:59 into the 1st period to allow the rink workers try to fix the ice. There was no fixing it. It was military appreciation night in a military town. Over 10K fans were sent home unhappy. Someone in the AT&T building management needs to be unemployed after this.

@hf101, No idea who the one team is. I would think the Islanders will be checking on Simon now that Tavares is injured.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/flyers/20140224_Ex-Flyer_Gagne_would_rather_be_playing.html MONTREAL - Just as the sun crackled over the Mount Royal summit yesterday, throngs of people made their usual weekend pilgrimage downtown. The route and ritual was familiar, if not the time of day. Fans clad in red and white streamed past Bell Centre, hockey's current cathedral, and packed bars - before liquor was even allowed to be served - to share in the camaraderie of this country's golden hockey generation. When the final horn sounded in Sochi and all of Canada erupted, the bright lights were once again shining on former Flyers forward Simon Gagne. Yet these lights, burning in the TVA studio in Montreal, were much different than the ones beaming on him 12 years ago when Gagne jumped into the arms of a waiting Martin Brodeur on the ice in Salt Lake City to celebrate Canada's first Olympic gold medal in men's hockey in more than five decades. Even in yesterday's hedonistic setting, in a country where hockey is religion, something was missing. While Gagne was reliving his Olympic memories on-air in French for all of Quebec to see, he was simultaneously wrestling with the fade of his playing career at the too-young age of 33. Gagne, who turns 34 on Friday, does not have an NHL contract - but he isn't ready or willing to sign retirement papers just yet. In fact, when TVA contacted him in December about his availability to serve as a panelist for its Olympic broadcasts, he politely declined. He was still in contact with at least one NHL team about playing this season. "I told them I was not willing to do it, I wasn't sure if I was going to play," Gagne said yesterday in a wide-ranging interview with the Daily News. "I wasn't ready to turn the page to next year. Once I saw that was not going to work out, I thought I might try TV a little bit to see if I like it, maybe it would be fun in the future. I thought the Olympics might be a great moment to start." With injuries grinding his career to a rapid and unceremonious halt, it is easy to forget exactly how impressive a player Gagne was at his best. Yes, he was a two-time NHL All-Star (2001, '07) and two-time winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy (2006, '07) as the Flyers' team MVP. He was named to the NHL's all-rookie team in 2000. More importantly, he was one of Canada's top 12 forwards for three consecutive best-on-best tournaments: 2002 Olympics, 2005 World Championships (during NHL lockout) and 2006 Olympics. He captured the 2012 Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings - and played in the Cup-clinching game after returning from injury - but few exploits stack up to Salt Lake. "I have moved around a lot in the last few years, to Florida and to LA and Philly, but the gold medal is one of the things I keep taking with me," Gagne said. "Once in a while, I go look in the box and check to make sure it is still there." Talking about hockey yesterday confirmed Gagne's desire to still play. Up until December, he was skating three times a day near his house in Quebec City. He has scaled back now, but is still not far from playing shape. Five months into the season, Gagne still has trouble believing he is not playing with the Flyers this season. When last season ended with eight points in his final 13 games, then-coach Peter Laviolette called Gagne one of the team's best forwards. All summer, it appeared Gagne was a lock to fill out the Flyers' roster - until he was never invited to training camp. To this day, he feels like he was perhaps strung along. "It's in the past, but every time I think about it, it's tough to swallow," Gagne said. "I think a lot if it is maybe my fault. I think maybe I had too much confidence in the Flyers. "I had my meeting with [general manager] Paul Holmgren before the free-agent market opened and he told me to hang tight. I thought I was going to be with the Flyers. That didn't work the way it was supposed to. I made the mistake of telling team employees the Flyers were the only team I wanted to play for this season. I got caught up." While no one will shed a tear for Gagne - who earned $42.8 million in his 14-year career - he was a victim of loyalty and circumstance. Never before in the NHL had the salary cap gone down, as it decreased by $6 million last summer. By September, it was tough to get a job elsewhere. No team was willing to offer him a guaranteed contract, though many called with tryout deals. Now, Gagne knows a tryout deal is all that may be left for him this summer. The risk is Gagne's health. He has 597 points in 799 career games, but he has missed 233 regular-season games and another 43 playoff contests over the years. When he is healthy, Gagne is a talented and clutch scorer - it is impossible to forget his gutty playoff comeback series against Boston in 2010. "With all of my injuries, I knew the end was going to come at one point," Gagne said. "But watching games, I still believe I can play, I know I could do a lot better than some of these guys. It is all about the health issues in my past. When you give big money to players, you want them to play and not sit on the bench. I totally understand that." The blessing - and the curse - is that he is completely healthy now. Gagne is thankful his neck, head and groin issues are behind him and he wakes up energized each day to play with his daughter Lily (3) and son Matthew (4). But he is bothered to not have a job. Gagne is not ready to quit just yet. Bad feelings aside, if last season was his last game in an NHL uniform, he is thrilled it was in Flyers orange. "I'm keeping my options open," Gagne said. "I'm really glad I had the chance to come back and say a proper goodbye. It's still the best place for a hockey player to play." ------------------------------- I wouldn't have a problem if the Flyers signed him on the cheap for the rest of the year.

@hf101, I'm looking for a video of Mike Babcock's post game presser. He wasn't very happy with one of the questions that was either about the low offensive output or playing a defensive system. He held up a stat sheet and said...“Does anybody know who won the scoring race? Does anybody care? Does anybody know who won the gold medal? See you guys." He got up and left.

I'm pretty sure all the Canadian players were in uniform and on the ice at the end of the game except Tavares.

I don't think any one player stood out for either team. I do think Quick was the better goalie only because he was tested. I can't remember one time that Price was tested. Canada completely shut down the slot and didn't allow the US to get a player in there, let alone the puck. They kept everything to the outside.

Yep, He's dead. R.I.P. Ruxpin. You'll be missed.

Too bad we don't have better video. I don't agree with whoever wrote the article. Holmstrom did not start the fight. He may have high sticked Murphy in retaliation, but again, Holmstrom and two other Phantoms players reacted to whatever Murphy did. Murphy started this brawl. This article agrees with what I am saying. "I’m not sure what Connor Murphy said or did to provoke this fight, but whatever it was sent three Adirondack Phantoms in a mad dash to jump the Portland Pirates’ defenseman." http://the700level.com/sports/video-adirondack-phantoms-destroy-portland-pirates-during-line-brawl/

@SpikeDDS, I saw the middle of that match. I had to leave as they were going into the 8th end. Too bad I missed it. Hopefully I can see a replay.

I only have one Russian. Getzlov is Canadian.

Akeson wasn't on the ice neither was the hitter in that picture, Chris Summers. That picture was from the other side or other end of the ice (no Portland bench in the background). 16 McGinn, 23 Holmstrom, 35 Heeter, 11 Newbury, 28 Manning, 37 Gervais were all on the ice during the brawl (bold guys got penalties). There was one other guy who (I think) left the ice when Heeter jumped back on. I think that was 13 Fitzgerald. McGinn took a run at Shinnimin on the side boards and missed. Conner Murphy came over and did something to McGinn to attract 2 other Phantoms players to turn around and gang up on Murphy. When play resumed, Fitzgerald was on the ice and started another fight 12 seconds later. http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1011857

I think it was something that Connor Murphy did. At the very beginning of the video clip, the phantoms players turned and three of them went to Murphy. That doesn't happen unless you spear player, slash someone, or something along those lines. Too bad the camera missed it.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tM58G6nlaIA

I don't see a problem with what McGinn did. Both players dropped the gloves and were squared off. Murphy should have protected himself and maybe thrown a punch or two. Heeter will get a 10 game suspension.

@hf101, I think the goalie should get credit for the Shootout win. I don't have a great reason other than the goalie played the entire game. I would take it one step further and give both goalies credit for a shutout if the game ends in a 0-0 tie before the shoot out. That happened in the Russia-Slovakia game yesterday. They score shutouts for both goalies like that in the NHL.

Shootout goals should not count.

The Dallas Stars Ice Girls are pretty spectacular. I was drooling on myself when I went to the game this year.

13:56 http://olympics.cbc.ca/hockey/event/men/match=ihm400a02/doc=stats.html

@StevenTobey, I agree with what the guys have said above (except Ruxpin, because he's a jackwagon ). Any type of learn to play program will help. A Power skating clinic will also help you out. Ice time is important. The more time you can skate, play shinney hockey, play in a league, etc., the better skater/player you will become. One word of caution (Bertmega touched on this in his post). I'm sure you've heard the phrase "Practice makes perfect". Well, it should be "Perfect practice makes perfect". You can get really good at doing something the wrong way and that may hurt your progress in the long run. I play with some guys that have been playing hockey for 40 years and they are the worst players on the ice. The are out of position, chop at the puck when they pass or shoot, pass the puck 10 feet behind you...I could go on and on. Learn to do things the right way. You will be a better player for it. Good luck!