This is the sort of shit that pisses me off:

Gary Bettman has got to go. Whether he gets fired, quits, or someone shoots him dead in the street, I hope it happens soon.

A leaked copy of league revenue http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Hockey/article/433906 shows that Canadian teams were six of the seven top teams in ticket revenue for the 2007-2008 season. Furthermore, those six Canadian teams (which comprise one fifth of the league) account for ONE THIRD of the league's ticket revenue.

What that means is that teams like Phoenix, Nashville, Atlanta, and other backwater cesspools of hockey hell are dead weight; dragging the rest of the league down with their non-existant fanbase and communistic revenue-sharing.

A further implication of this report is not only is it Canadian teams that are pulling the weight, it suggests that the NHL needs to pay more attention to traditional markets, which include New England and the Northern US.

Gary Bettman has been a failure. His philosophy of ignoring and deliberately shutting out Canadian fans, owners, and potential owners in favor of expanding into non-traditional markets has been catastrophic. In the report you will see that 11 of the 24 US teams were flat or LOST ticket income compared to last year. Any guesses as to where those 11 teams are located? Well, here's a fact: Phoenix is at the bottom of the list in terms of ticket revenue.

Gary Bettman still insists on shutting out Jim Ballsillie, who wanted to take one of those sack-of-shit teams in Phoenix or Nashville and relocate it to a place where people would actually buy tickets and watch the games on TV.
"No, we don't like to see fans to come to games, or get local market TV contracts, or work with national sportscasters, or actualy PLAY THE FUCKING SPORT (2004-2005 season)" says Bettman.

And now Bettman is looking into further expanding his crumbling league into Kansas City or Las Vegas. Kansas City. Hmmm, sounds familiar...I guess the logic goes like this: Atlanta failed the firt time, and the second time around it's under dysfunctional management, playing in front of an apathetic (and largely absent) population--this is fun! Lets do it in another failed NHL city too!
And hell, Phoenix is a desert town, they suck, so let's do the SAME THING in Vegas!

Here's why you should be pissed off: Teams that matter, IE, those in real markets like Boston, New York*, and Canada, those with real fans, are suffering because of the crap teams. Bettman forced revenue-sharing with the lockout. What that means is, every time you buy a ticket, or pay your centre ice cable bill, or buy a Bruins, Rangers, or Canadiens jersey/hat/pink panties (oops), you are, in fact, helping pay the mortgage of a shit team like the Florida Panthers. The money you spend on your favorite team gets re-distributed to the owners of southern teams that don't make a dime, pollute the talent pool, and make hockey into a poorly-attended laughingstock.

Without Bettman, we would have had no lockout, and thus, no revenue-sharing, and no salary cap. We would also not have had to deal with overexpansion. So, instead of watching Ilya Kovalchuk waste his time and efforts in Atlanta, Boston fans could be watching him play in a Bruins jersey. Ollie Jokinen could be on the same line with Saku Koivu. Martin Erat could be playing in a city where people actually knew his name.

I am sick to death of the mismanagement of this shit-ass league.

*although the report also shows that those fuck-wit Islanders fans are just as useful as those morons in North Carolina who think the Canadiens' logo is a "Habitron". Islanders fans are excused from being considered "traditional". Buy an effing Rangers sweater and shut up.

Scores and Standings

So Pittsburgh has made it a series. Watching Detroit last night, I got a sense of what it must have been like to see the Canadiens play in the 70's. Although the Wings lost, they are excellent in every aspect of the game. It's obvious that this is a team that expects to win, and is used to winning. I was watching outstanding hockey last night, from both teams.

And I'm sorry, but Holmstrom got what he deserved. When you are constantly running a team's goalie, you'd better be prepared to get some bad treatment when you go towards the net. I was most impressed with Orpik's behavior towards the Wings last night.


Stoner: 139 (137)
Zetterberg (Det)
Malkin (Pit) W=1
Fleury (Pit) W=1


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 136 (133)
Datsyuk (Det)
Hossa, (Pit) A,A,W=3


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 96 (91)
Crosby (Pit) G,G,W=5
Rafalski (Det)


Go Wings: 89 (88)
Gonchar (Pit) W=1
Hasek (Det)


Michael Corleone: 79 (78)
Lidstrom (Det) A=1


Pittsburgh 1 - Detroit 2


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 79 (78)
Whitney (Pit) W=1

Scores and Standings

My deepest apologies for not posting Game 1's results. I was in Pennsyilvania this weekend visting my parents, and they don't have any internets at their house. Hell, they don't even have a laundry machine in their new house, so forget doing that big load of stinky clothes we brought.
Today's Scores and Standings reflects both game 1 and 2.

P-stone is widening his lead, but anything can happen. Especially if the Penguins came back and make it a series (which I think they will).


Stoner: 137 (132)
Zetterberg (Det) G,A,W,W=5
Malkin (Pit)
Fleury (Pit)


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 133 (131)
Datsyuk (Det) W,W=2
Hossa, (Pit)


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 91 (89)
Crosby (Pit)
Rafalski (Det) W,W=2


Go Wings: 88 (86)
Gonchar (Pit)
Hasek (Det) W,W=2


Michael Corleone: 78 (75)
Lidstrom (Det) A,W,W=3


Pittsburgh 0 - Detroit 2


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 78
Whitney (Pit)

On another note:

Can someone tell me where these announcers get off telling us that it's "tradition" for players to not even touch the Wales or Campbell trophies? This is a VERY recent development. I remember team captains as recently as 1999 holding, and in some cases, raising the trophy, especially at home.

Now, there may be something to a "don't pretend it's the Stanley Cup" mindset. I'm sure many of us remember the Red Wings in 1995 raising the Campbell trophy over their heads in celebration, only to be swept by the Devils. That, I believe, was the beginning of this "tradition" of being somewhat deferential about the conference trophy, but players still were at least HOLDING the trophy for the photo-op and to reward their fans.

I think I can recall this no-touch bullshit really beginning in 2003 when the Ducks and Devils both refused to even touch their trophies. If someone can provide some evidence of this in earlier years, please enlighten me.

Bottom line, is this may be superstition, but it sure as hell isn't a long-standing tradition, and there sure isn't a lot of precedent for it. And these announcers (I'm looking at you Mike Emrick--but then again, you think Andrei and Dany Markov are brothers, retard) ought to know better than to throw out ignorant bullshit that insults the intelligence of real fans.

Scores and Standings

Hooray, Red Wings win. Now on to the Cup Final. Who will win, Pittsburgh or Detroit? And more importantly, who will win this pool? Stoner has squeaked ahead, but no lead is safe when Hossa and Datsyuk are scoring.


Stoner: 132 (128)
Zetterberg (Det) G,A,W=4
Malkin (Pit)
Fleury (Pit)


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 131 (128)
Datsyuk (Det) G,W=3
Hossa, (Pit)


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 89 88
Crosby (Pit)
Rafalski (Det) W=1


Go Wings: 86 (85)
Gonchar (Pit)
Hasek (Det) W=1


Michael Corleone: 75 (73)
Lidstrom (Det) A,W=2


Pittsburgh 4 - Philadelphia 1
Detroit 4 - Dallas 2


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 78
Whitney (Pit)

Scores and Standings

Well well. Derek and Patrick tied. AGAIN. This is awesome. Who will prevail?
Pittsburgh finally puts the Flyers down. Yay, Philly sucks. Now, Philly has to also weather a firestorm as another scandal rocks the city:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt2AAenVpKg

Does anyone else see the similarities between Malkin and Lemieux? And God help me, I'm starting to become a fan of Crosby. He still needs to shave that dirty rat facial hair of his though.


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 128 (122)
Datsyuk (Det)
Hossa, (Pit) G,A,A,A,W


Stoner: 128 (123)
Zetterberg (Det)
Malkin (Pit) G,W=3
Fleury (Pit) SO=2


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 88 (85)
Crosby (Pit) A,A,W=3
Rafalski (Det)


Go Wings: 85 (83)
Gonchar (Pit) A,W=2
Hasek (Det)


Michael Corleone: 73
Lidstrom (Det)


Pittsburgh 4 - Philadelphia 1
Detroit 3 - Dallas 2


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 78 (77)
Whitney (Pit) W=1

Scores and Standings: Unchanged from Saturday's game

Stoner: 123
Zetterberg (Det)
Malkin (Pit)
Fleury (Pit)


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 122
Datsyuk (Det)
Hossa, (Pit)


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 85
Crosby (Pit)
Rafalski (Det)


Go Wings: 83
Gonchar (Pit)
Hasek (Det)


Michael Corleone: 73
Lidstrom (Det)


Pittsburgh 3 - Philadelphia 0
Detroit 3 - Dallas 1


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 77
Whitney (Pit)

Scores and Standings:Updated 5-16-08

Due to Pittsburgh's loss last night, and the fact that no one from this league was involved in the scoring, the points remain unchanged.

Stoner: 123 (121)
Zetterberg (Det) G=2
Malkin (Pit)
Fleury (Pit)


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 122 (121)
Datsyuk (Det) A=1
Hossa, (Pit)


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 85
Crosby (Pit)
Rafalski (Det) 0


Go Wings: 83
Gonchar (Pit)
Hasek (Det) 0


Michael Corleone: 73
lidstrom (Det) 0


Pittsburgh 3 - Philadelphia 0
Detroit 3 - Dallas 1


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 77
Whitney (Pit)

Scores and Standings

Derek is right. This is actually more interesting than the actual games being played. I'm hoping this goes down to the wire, and I also believe that one of you two has the Conn Smythe winner on your team. Thanks for making these playoffs interesting for the rest of us.


Stoner: 121 (118)
Zetterberg (Det)
Malkin (Pit) A,W=2
Fleury (Pit) W=1


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 121 (116)
Datsyuk (Det)
Hossa, (Pit) G,G,W=5


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 85 (82)
Crosby (Pit) A,A,W=3
Rafalski (Det)


Go Wings: 83 (81)
Gonchar (Pit) A,W=2
Hasek (Det)


Michael Corleone: 73
Lidstrom (Det)


Pittsburgh 3 - Philadelphia 0
Detroit 3 - Dallas 0


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 77 (74)
Whitney (Pit) G,W=3

Scores and Standings

Stoner: 118 (113)
Zetterberg (Det) G,A,A,W=5
Malkin (Pit)
Fleury (Pit)


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 116 (109)
Datsyuk (Det) G,G,G,W=7
Hossa, (Pit)


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 82 (79)
Crosby (Pit)
Rafalski (Det) A,A,W=3


Go Wings: 81 (80)
Gonchar (Pit)
Hasek (Det) W=1


Michael Corleone: 73 (72)
Lidstrom (Det) W=1


Is Dallas even trying?

Pittsburgh 2 - Philadelphia 0
Detroit 3 - Dallas 0


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 74
Whitney (Pit)

Scores and Standings

Stoner: 113 (111)
Zetterberg (Det)
Malkin (Pit) W=1
Fleury (Pit) W=1


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 109 (106)
Datsyuk (Det)
Hossa, (Pit) G,W=3


Go Wings: 80 (76)
Gonchar (Pit) A,A,A,W=4
Hasek (Det)


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 79 (75)
Crosby (Pit) G,A,W=4
Rafalski (Det)


Michael Corleone: 72
Lidstrom (Det)

Flyers lose, say that's good. Mickey Ribs is up to his usual shenanigans: he's a turd.
Bride of Kovalev put it best when she said that the Flyers don't deserve to be in the conference finals. Bottom line is, they're dirty and overrated.

Pittsburgh 2 - Philadelphia 0
Detroit 2 - Dallas 0


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 74 (73)
Whitney (Pit) W=1

Memo to Flyers Fans: You are all animals and deserve to be put down.

Watching Braden Coburn take a puck to the face tonight made me realize something. When opposition players go down in Philadelphia, their moronic fans boo. They boo while the player is down, and when he gets up, the boo louder. Watch the replay in Pittsburgh. The fans in Mellon Arena cheered, or at least politely applauded Coburn when he got back up. No one likes to see injured players, unless they're animal Flyers fans who are conditioned by their brief and spotty history of success during the 70's with a team full of jackass douchebags who eventually got a taste of their own medicine and have never been able to take it since.

Flyers fans are assholes. They are fuck-up morons who wouldn't know real hockey if it slashed them in the face with a goalie stick. Oh, and as I'm watching, I'd like you to know that Scotty Upshall is a pussy. And Steve Downie can suck the ass of any Bruins fans who are into that sort of thing. And Derien Hatcher is an over-the-hill fraud.

Scores and Standings

My apologies for skipping a day. This refelects both Friday and Saturday's games.

Stoner: 111 (101)
Zetterberg (Det) G,W=3
Malkin (Pit) G,G,A,W=6
Fleury (Pit) W=1


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 106 (102)
Datsyuk (Det) A,W=2
Hossa, (Pit) A,W=2


Go Wings: 76 (73)
Gonchar (Pit) A,W=2
Hasek (Det) W=1


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 75 (71)
Crosby (Pit) G,W=3
Rafalski (Det) W=1


Michael Corleone: 72 (71)
Lidstrom (Det) W=1


P-Stone has overtaken Derek! And I've got a funny feeling that this time, P-stone will not give up 1st place. This has been a fun battle to watch, and it will probably stay pretty competitive.

Pittsburgh 1 - Philadelphia 0
Detroit 2 - Dallas 0


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 73 (71)
Whitney (Pit) A,W=2

Scores and Standings

After a protracted absence, the Scores and Standings are back. My mandatory grieving period is over, and now I can say Go Penguins (ugh).

D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 102 (101)
Datsyuk (Det) W=1
Hossa, (Pit)


Stoner: 101 (99)
Zetterberg (Det) A,W=2
Malkin (Pit)
Fleury (Pit)


Go Wings: 73 (72)
Gonchar (Pit)
Hasek (Det) W=1


Michael Corleone: 71 (68)
Lidstrom (Det) A,A,W=3


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 71 (68)
Crosby (Pit)
Rafalski (Det) G,W=3



So the conference finals begin, and I'm trying to find a reason to care. Other than seeing the Phbblblblthlyers get embarassed, I don't care who wins the Cup.


Pittsburgh - Philadelphia
Detroit 1 - Dallas 0



Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 71
Whitney (Pit)

A Very Special Thank You to Bob Gainey

Thank you for firing Claude Julien, who OUGHT to be this year's Jack Adams winner as coach of the year.

Thank you for trading Mike Ribeiro for Janne Niinimaa. (One of them is playing in a conference final. The other is playing in Switzerland.)

Thank you for hiring your buddy Guy Carbonneau whose idea of coaching is wearing a different tie. And not even giving Michael Ryder a chance while sticking with Guillaume Latendresse, Mathieu Dandenault, and Mark Streit.

Thank you for trading the erstwhile starting goaltender, Cristobal Huet, for a second-round pick in a shallow draft, going with two inexperienced goalies for a playoff run.

Thank you for doing nothing else at this year's trade deadline to bolster the team (aside from trading a veteran goalie for a song).

Thank you for raising ticket prices at the Bell Centre.

Sincerely,
Montreal Canadiens Fans

Scores and Standings

D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 101 (96)
Datsyuk (Det)
Hossa, (Pit) G,G,W=5
A. Kostitsyn (Mtl)
Campbell, (SJ) 0
Nabokov (SJ) 0


Stoner: 99 (95)
Zetterberg (Det)
Malkin (Pit) G,W=3
Michalek (SJ) 0
Markov (Mtl)
Fleury (Pit) W=1


Go Wings: 72 (71)
Thornton (SJ) 0
Streit (Mtl)
Gonchar (Pit) W=1
Hasek (Det)


Michael Corleone: 68
Kovalev (Mtl)
Lidstrom (Det)
Price (Mtl)


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 68 (65)
Crosby (Pit) A,A,W=3
Cheechoo (SJ) 0
Rafalski (Det)


So, Michael Ryder never got a chance to do anything for the Habs, they're eliminated, no veteran goaltending, misery and humiliation ensues. Go Penguins, I guess. I'm kind of hoping either the Pens or the Stars win the Cup--the Penguins would show Bob Gainey that making a deadline deal for one more game-breaker is NOT a bad idea (Hossa) as would the Stars (Richards, whom I desperately wanted), but the Stars would also be rubbing Gainey's nose in the fact that Ribeiro for Niinimaa was a retarded trade, and the whole world knows it.
Oh, and I officially hate the Sharks. They are the West Coast version of the Senators. Playoff flops. derek and I have taken a vow to never select a Shark again in the post-season.

Montreal 1 - Philadelphia 4
Pittsburgh 4 - New York 1
Detroit 4 - Colorado 0
San Jose 2 - Dallas 4


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 71 (68)
Marleau (SJ) 0
Plekanec (Mtl)
Whitney (Pit) A,W=2
Rivet (SJ) A=1

D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 96 (93)
Datsyuk (Det)
Hossa, (Pit)
A. Kostitsyn (Mtl) G,A=3
Campbell, (SJ)
Nabokov (SJ)


Stoner: 95
Zetterberg (Det)
Malkin (Pit)
Michalek (SJ)
Markov (Mtl) 0
Fleury (Pit)


Go Wings: 71
Thornton (SJ)
Streit (Mtl) 0
Gonchar (Pit)
Hasek (Det)


Michael Corleone: 68 (65)
Kovalev (Mtl) G,A=3
Lidstrom (Det)
Price (Mtl) 0


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 65
Crosby (Pit)
Cheechoo (SJ)
Rafalski (Det)



Fuck. More on that later. Now to go back to sleep.


Montreal 1 - Philadelphia 4
Pittsburgh 3 - New York 1
Detroit 4 - Colorado 0
San Jose 2 - Dallas 3


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 68 (65)
Marleau (SJ)
Plekanec (Mtl) G,A=3
Whitney (Pit)
Rivet (SJ)

Scores and Standings

Stoner: 95 (92)
Zetterberg (Det)
Malkin (Pit)
Michalek (SJ) G,W=3
Markov (Mtl)
Fleury (Pit)


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 93 (89)
Datsyuk (Det)
Hossa, (Pit)
A. Kostitsyn (Mtl)
Campbell, (SJ) G,W=3
Nabokov (SJ) W=1


Go Wings: 71 (69)
Thornton (SJ) A,W=2
Streit (Mtl)
Gonchar (Pit)
Hasek (Det)


Michael Corleone: 65
Kovalev (Mtl)
Lidstrom (Det)
Price (Mtl)


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 65 (63)
Crosby (Pit)
Cheechoo (SJ) A,W=2
Rafalski (Det)


Ha ha ha. Very funny. Yes, I seem to be neck-and-neck with my wife, who made her picks only after everyone else had made theirs. I seem to suck at making fantasy draft picks. I've been running this league for ten years now and not ONCE have I won it! I've come close, but never won it. Friggin Brett Hull...(long story)

Oh and the Sharks make it slightly interesting.


Montreal 1 - Philadelphia 3
Pittsburgh 3 - New York 1
Detroit 4 - Colorado 0
San Jose 2 - Dallas 3


Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 65 (63)
Marleau (SJ) W=1
Plekanec (Mtl)
Whitney (Pit)
Rivet (SJ) W=1

Scores and Standings

Stoner: 92 (85)
Zetterberg (Det) G,G,A,A,W=7
Malkin (Pit) 0
Michalek (SJ)
Markov (Mtl)
Fleury (Pit) 0


D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 89 (85)
Datsyuk (Det) A,A,A,W=4
Hossa, (Pit) 0
A. Kostitsyn (Mtl)
Campbell, (SJ)
Nabokov (SJ)


Go Wings: 69 (68)
Thornton (SJ)
Streit (Mtl)
Gonchar (Pit) 0
Hasek (Det) W=1


Michael Corleone: 65 (62)
Kovalev (Mtl)
Lidstrom (Det) A,A,W=3
Price (Mtl)


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 63 (62)
Crosby (Pit) 0
Cheechoo (SJ)
Rafalski (Det) W=1

Rangers at least make it respectable, but no one's really worried that Pittsburgh will lose this series. Jagr was on fire last night! And this Franzen guy...holy crap. Oh, and Theodore is a sieve. But you already knew that, didn't you?

P-stone has overtaken Derek for the lead! I hate to break it t0 you, but this is a two-man race. Either Derek or P-stone will win this thing.


Montreal 1 - Philadelphia 3
Pittsburgh 3 - New York 1
Detroit 4 - Colorado 0
San Jose 1 - Dallas 3



Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 63
Marleau (SJ)
Plekanec (Mtl)
Whitney (Pit) 0
Rivet (SJ)

A few random thoughts

Guy Carbonneau is one of the three finalists for Coach of the Year. His competition is Bruce Boudreau of the Capitals and Mike Babcock of the Red Wings. My personal pick would be Claude Julien of the Bruins. He proved what an outstanding coach he is during the regular season and the playoffs, taking the Bruins far beyond anyone's expectations. Guy Carbonneau doesn't belong in the same league as these gentlemen. His idea of coaching has been to wear a lucky tie, give his players the day off every time they lose, and break up Montreal's best, most consistent line of Kostopoulos-Begin-Smolinski.


Watching him behind the bench last night I saw the clinching proof that he is not respected by his players, and has been completely tuned out. During Montreal's time-out, he was trying to speak to the players, while captain Saku Koivu was talking at the same time. The players were all ignoring Carbonneau, paying attention to Koivu's directions. Carbonneau kept yelling, and Koivu kept talking, and the players were all taking their directions from Koivu, not the coach.
Carbonneau has had enough time to get a handle on things. If he's already being tuned out, and is in a power struggle with Montreal's captain and best playoff performer, he has no business being coach of the Canadiens.


If Guy Carbonneau is overrated as a coach, then Bob Gainey has to take the prize as Most Overrated GM in the History of the NHL. His Curriculum Vitae makes him look more suited to be the GM for the Blackhawks than the Canadiens. He has managed to make ONE good trade during his time in Montreal. He brought in Kovalev to bolster a 7th place team and provide an upset against Boston in 2004. After that, he has only made moves that have helped Montreal's bottom line. When faced with the impending free-agency of two excellent defensive forwards in Radek Bonk and Mike Johnson, he let them walk. Whether or not he should have signed Sheldon Souray, he foolishly lowballed him, cementing his reputation as a cheapskate among other NHL players. One phrase that has factored into nearly every one of Bob Gainey's decisions has been "Salary Dump." Jose Theodore, Mike Ribeiro, Sergei Samsonov, Cristobal Huet, were all traded for a song with the implicit promise that the money would be used to sign free agents or make room for deadline-day game-breakers. The problem is, Chicago has operated the same way for years, overpaying for duds, and clearing salaries for nothing.


I *almost* wish Boston had beaten Montreal in the first round this year. Then Bob Gainey would have no choice but to admit that 1) his coach is a fraud, and 2) his "value-added" philosophy of sitting on his ass and hoping that a group of rookies and third-liners can go all the way is completely unrealistic. (I say "almost", because my friends in Massachusetts would never give me a moment's peace should the Bruins beat Montreal in a series.)
My prediction is that, even should Montreal lose on Saturday, Bob Gainey will go into the post-season very pleased with himself, give all sorts of platitudes about a great season (News Flash: The Cup is all that matters), and sit on his ass and do nothing to improve the team in the off-season. He will describe this year's playoffs as a learning experience for his young team, and that they will all do better next year, and require no help from blue-chip free agents or deadline-day acquisitions.

Actually, I think Gainey will make one big off-season signing. Pierre Turgeon will come out of retirement and sign a $750,000 deal to play in Montreal.

Scores and Standings

D-man (Capt. Sparrow): 85 (82)
Datsyuk (Det)
Hossa, (Pit)
A. Kostitsyn (Mtl) 0
Campbell, (SJ) A,W=2
Nabokov (SJ) W=1


Stoner: 85 (82)
Zetterberg (Det)
Malkin (Pit)
Michalek (SJ) G,W=3
Markov (Mtl) 0
Fleury (Pit)


Go Wings: 68 (65)
Thornton (SJ) A,W=2
Streit (Mtl) A=1
Gonchar (Pit)
Hasek (Det)


Michael Corleone: 62
Kovalev (Mtl) 0
Lidstrom (Det)
Price (Mtl) 0


Kovalev Jr. (Habsfan1993): 62 (61)
Crosby (Pit)
Cheechoo (SJ) W=1
Rafalski (Det)


P-Stone and Derek are still tied for the lead. You boys had better put some distance between yourselves. I don't want to have to make a ruling on the tie-breaker. (Most players from Cup winner, after that, most players in the finals, after that, team with most goals overall, after that, the player with most goals overall, after that, a coin flip)

I've got lots of opinions about why the Habs suck so much; we'll see if I feel like posting them or if anyone really cares. (Bob Gainey sure as hell doesn't, that's for sure.)

Montreal 1 - Philadelphia 3
Pittsburgh 3 - New York 0
Detroit 3 - Colorado 0
San Jose 1 - Dallas 3



Bride of Kovalev (making some mean leftovers): 63 (58)
Marleau (SJ) G=2
Plekanec (Mtl) G=2
Whitney (Pit)
Rivet (SJ) W=1