Over the weekend the LA Kings escaped Calgary with their first victory at the Saddledome in over five years.

However, when you think Flames vs. Kings it’s hard not to conjure up an image of Theo Fleury.

He brought more passion to a single game of hockey than some players bring in an entire season. Over multiple teams in a career that lasted more than 1,000 games in the NHL, he epitomized the line ‘You hate him, unless he’s on your team – then you love him.’

There’s no denying his success on the ice. He finished his career with 455 goals, hoisted the Stanley Cup and won an Olympic gold medal with Team Canada.

A few hours before the game I had the honor of speaking with Theo about a variety of topics, including several of his projects away from the game of hockey.  Of course, we often found our way back to the NHL though.

Regarding some of those legendary contests back in the late ’80s, early ’90s, Theo was quick to point out “I loved playing at the Great Western Forum, especially after they acquired Gretzky. The atmosphere was always electric, even though many people there didn’t like me.”

Flipping the tables a bit, I asked which NHL players he likes in today’s game. Fresh off the NHL All-Star Draft last weekend, what would Team Theo look like?

“Marc-Andre Fleury, my brother from another mother, would be in goal. Shea Weber and Duncan Keith on defense. Up front, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, paired with Jarome Iginla.”

Still loyal to the Flames after all these years.

Although it provided a perfect transition for us to talk about the persistent rumors that Iginla might be traded soon. It’s a business – something Fleury knows having been traded himself (he says he never wanted to leave Calgary, but there were money issues) – so, while he knows it’s a possibility, he just doesn’t envision a scenario where Iginla gets moved. Even more so, he’s insistent that Iginla deserves to retire someday having spent his entire career with the Flames.

Finally, we played word association…

Lanny McDonald – class
Gary Bettman -interesting
Tomas Sandstrom – hard to play against
Luc Robitlaille - great hands
Kelly Buchberger – little talent, hell of a career
Sandy McCarthy – best friend
Sean Avery – different
Eric Lindros – strong
Mark Messier – leadership
Ryan Smyth – pain in the ass

I hope to have Theo back on for an extended conversation before the Flames come to Los Angeles next month.

Until then, check out his book Playing With Fire. He lays it all out there and takes readers inside the mind one of the most intriguing players to ever grace a sheet of ice.

The Mayor
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Revisiting a Rivalry – Kings vs. Flames

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The Rangers will be playing without the injured Marian Gaborik and Chris Drury. The Blue Shirts will be doing battle for the fourth time in six days. The Hawks are also playing their fourth game in six nights and will be without Dave Bolland and Marian Hossa. The Hawks simplified their game and skated hard for a full 60 minutes versus Minnesota and will need the same complete effort this evening. 

The light bulb might have gone off for Troy Brouwer who scored a goal and played his best game of the year. With Bryan Bickell out as a healthy scratch on Saturday night, Brouwer didn’t need an email to tell him he was probably next. Brouwer has to play a physical game and move his feet. If Brouwer is not around the opposition’s goal he isn’t doing his job. 

Corey Crawford should get another start this week but my guess is Marty Turco will be back in action tonight. One can’t complain about Turco’s performance against the Wild as he was solid. 

John Scott should be in the lineup tonight, so Bickell will probably sit again. Joel Quenneville could scratch Jordan Hendry, put Scott back on defense and then dress Bickell. That wouldn’t be my choice and probably the Hawks bench boss will stick with the same lineup as last game unless Brian Campbell is ready to return. 

Hendry needs to gain some confidence but he probably won’t get that opportunity if Campbell is healthy. There is a chance Campbell will be back in action as soon as  tonight. But the Hawks could choose to wait on his return until Wednesday’s contest  at the United Center versus the Devils. 

***Announced at mid-day….. Campbell will return versus the Rangers.

Scott actually played a good game against the Wild, considering his role. He did his job for 6:11 and was credited with two shots and four hits while playing at wing.  

A sidebar to tonight’s contest is if Scott and Rangers tough guy Derek Boogaard will square off. Scott played second fiddle enforcer to Boogaard last season in Minnesota. I’m not sure Boogaard would dominant Scott in a fight although he can move better out on the ice.  Most times an anticipated fight never fulfills expectations. 

Boogaard, like Scott  is not a skilled hockey player. In five seasons with Minnesota the big guy compiled a total of 14 points. Boogaard’s purpose on the ice is to be an enforcer as he seldom loses a fight. These days not many will tangle with Boogaard but Scott may take a chance. Scott (6’8”) is one of the only players in the NHL taller than Boogaard (6’7”). 

To the surprise of almost everyone this past summer, Boogaard was signed to a four year contract paying him $1,625,000 per season. For those of you thinking Scott is a waste of a roster spot he will only earn $512,000 for each of the next two years. 

Many years ago, Rangers’ general manager Glen Sather was considered one of the best in the game. But that was a different time. 

Sather’s best days were when he didn’t have a big check book. The overspending he has done in NY has been well documented. When I think of Sather another general manager of the past comes to mind. 

The Flyers former GM Bobby Clarke was once highly thought of in NHL circles.  Clarke realized the game changed and it was best for him to step aside and allow Paul Holmgren to become the Flyers GM. That decision wasn’t easy for Clarke, but it was the correct one and the Flyers have flourished since his resignation. Many Ranger fans probably wish Sather would do the same. 

Tonight Blackhawk fans will be looking for some consistency. The Rangers are hurt and as tired as the Hawks. Whichever team guts it out and executes will come away with a win. 

The Rangers, like many other clubs, are using this game as a measuring stick.  

The Hawks will have to be up to the challenge and play a disciplined game. If Scott wants to fight fine, as long as he doesn’t put the Hawks down a man. One of the most hated players in the NHL, Sean Avery, will be looking to stir up trouble. Scott and every other Hawk should realize by now that Avery doesn’t drop the gloves. 

Tonight’s contest may ultimately be decided by which team is the smartest.

Al’s  Shots

After Campbell was activated Dave Bolland was placed on the injured reserve list.

So much for the day-to-day status on Bolland.

blackhawkswin@comcast.net

I have to tell you, I might be the only Isles fan not up in arms over Wisniewski being bounced for two games for making his head bounce simulating fellatio at a Columbus Day matinee full of ladies, gents, kids…and Gary Bettman.

You really expected one game?

The NHL under Bettman’s rule has made every effort to be a more family friendly game. Just Avery’s allusion to Phaneuf’s sloppy seconds to his former flame Elisha Cuthbert, caused them to make Mr. Hand into Mr. Fist. If there is one area they have been consistently over-diligent it is over the illusion that the sport of hockey is family friendly and G-rated.

The entire point of punishment is to make sure it doesn’t happen again so if Bettman was actually sitting in a seat with the regular people instead of up in a luxury box, he wouldn’t have the kid next to him ask….

“Mommy, why is that hockey player simulating a blow job?”

Like they don’t know what he did, unless someone mistakenly thought he was simulating swallowing a polish kielbasa.

Compared to what is said in the stands for the Islanders/Rangers tilts, it is downright wholesome. But, that reality is lost on the new NHL who has come in to defang the game to be palatable to the masses who in their view…. doesn’t have sex evidently due to their overwrought reactions over sexual innuendo and simulation.

In a lot of ways, the papacy and the NHL have a lot in common. Especially when hockey players sexual exploits could fill the National Enquirer pages, had supermarket moms cared about hockey. In other words, they’d like the sex stuff hidden away and not on display during game time.

Thus the hammer comes down, where Colin Campbell looks for any excuse to make it more than one game. Wisniweski being a repeat offender for the NHL’s constantly inconsistent if not baffling discipline policy makes it a no brainer. I am sure they tried to even stretch to three if they could have. Sex makes them that uncomfortable, no matter the hypocrisy to the fans in stands, language, violence or that hockey’s soul has always been PG-13 at best.

But therein lies a lot of denial.

Meanwhile, it actually besides overshadowing a scrappy Isles win, it also washed away an embarrassment of only about 11,000 fans to the day game. So far, fans are not coming back this season, and I will have an unblinking look to the whys later this week.

I got to tell you, as I read the Islanders reactions to the two game ban, who then try to pin it on Avery and escalation during the game, it is just plain silly. After all, it’s been clear that players can say whatever they wish with no reprisal for years. You think they were comparing men’s shopping tips before Wisniewski began faux fellating?

Fact is, once it became outside just verbal ripostes and was viewable to anyone but lip readers is a clear line in the sand of uncomfortability and concern by the NHL. Nobody should care that the Isles have a full injury ward. That’s really not their problem.

This is the NHL who repeats them self each time the Lighthouse Project is brought up but hasn’t taken any active role in trying to solve the major impasse between the Isles, the County pushing them onto a casino plan, and the ToH who is now trying to push off the Isles attempt to have some meetings.

If only the NHL was as diligent to protecting Islander fans from politics than being the sexual simulation police.

Wisniewski should have cited that it was ice cream day at the Coliseum

At this point, I’m not sold on this team getting there due to the many shortcomings that they have shown on most nights this year.  Too many defensive lapses in which Lundqvist has been hung out to dry and not enough offense on a lot of evenings.  I would rather see them retool for next season and try to become a true contender instead of a mediocre midpack team, which is what they have become over the last few years. 

Well, this homestand continues with games against MTL on Tuesday on VS, which I still don’t get thanks to Directv/Comcast’s ongoing BS and Thursday against STL, which is their last game vs. the West.  After this, they have to play 8 of their final 11 on the road where it’s a true crap shoot for them.  Well, I’m not sure about what else to comment about them except that I will continue to hope that they can sneak in to postseason play, but I won’t be upset if they don’t make it.

So, on that note, until next time

Howie

After they had a somewhat sluggish first period, they exploded for 4 goals in the second to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead which they would not relinquish for the rest of the night.  The team defense limited the Sens big-time and kept the home crowd quiet for most of the evening.  It would be nice to see them carry this effort over into Thursday night, but that will remain to be seen since this team has been up and down all year.

What I hope doesn’t happen is that Sather does something foolish like trying to get a quick fix for a one and done playoff run.  I’d rather see this team build around its youth and turn this crap into a cup contender for years to come so we Ranger fans have something to look forward to.

One other thing, I’m still at a loss at Directv’s stubbornness at the whole Versus issue; come on already, the playoffs are 6 weeks or so away and subscribers can still not see the games on that channel.  Time for both sides to get it done and stop the BS that has been going on for now 6 months and newsflash – the ones who are suffering are the subscribers and no one else, so cut the s__t Comcast and Directv.

Well, their next few games are as follows:  home against the Pens and Sidney Crybaby on Thurs, in DC to face Ovie and the Caps on Saturday, and home against Ryan Miller and the Sabres on Sunday Night as they continue to wind down their season schedule.

Until next time,

Howie

All I know is that this is becoming a lost season and in a way glad I haven’t gone to that many games.  On the flip side though, I feel like I flushed a ton of money down the toilet on season tickets to see a mediocre team play night after night.  My take is again, if they don’t give a crap, why should anyone at this point.  We as fans invest our time and money and hearts into a team hoping for that Stanley Cup run every year, but this franchise, from the clueless owner Dolan, to the idiot GM Sather; who put this awful team together, should both be shown the door.  I’m sick of blah hockey and the fact that ownership could care less about the fans and only about how many sellouts that they have each year and a one round playoff money grab.

I look at the Yankees and the Steinbrenners, they spend their money correctly and always put a winner out on the field year after year and this is the example the Dolans should be looking at for a change instead of always looking to fill the cash register.  If you build a winner, then more fans will come and it will result in more $$$ to fill the registers with sustained playoff runs and a stronger team to put ou on the ice on a game by game basis. 

Well, their next game is against the resurgent Canes at the Garden before they head out on a 3 game Western trip.  I hope for something good to happen, but I’m running out of optimism at this point so I’ll let you know how I feel after Wednesday night’s game.

Until next time

Your NYR Blogger,

Howie

I’m further disgusted since this poor effort came on the heels of back to back top notch performances at home where they scored 14 goals in the 2 games.  Maybe they left their scoring shoes at home because they showed zip tonight.  The other Rangers who didn’t play bad were Lundqvist and Avery but the rest of the team was pretty invisible tonight. 

The roller coaster ride with this team continues as some days they are up and others they are down.  I simply can’t make heads or tails regarding this bunch.  One thing I do know is that Kotalik is likely not going to be a Ranger much longer as he has been a total bust and they need to trade him before his no-trade clause or else they are stuck with him. 

I have a few things I want to discuss that are league issues.  The officiating has come under fire lately with the whole Burrows-Auger incident, which of course was brushed under the rug by the league as per usual.  I find it laughable that a professional league could have such inept officials in charge of these games.  Phantom calls and other interesting ones have made games less fun to watch as well as way too many discussions from announcers, bloggers, and twitterers regarding their total ineptitude.  One other issue is that there is too much of a disparity when it comes to doling out discipline.  It’s time that suspensions be the same for the same type of dangerous or dirty play, regardless of who commits the infraction instead of this bs system of preferential treatment depending on who you are.

Another thing is the oversized goalie equipment which has become an issue again as scoring has dropped off to a point where it looks like some games are pre lockout style hockey.  Other than Marty Brodeur, most other goalies including our own Lundqvist have the some of the biggest equipment I have seen yet.  These guys look like Michelin men and it’s getting out of hand since there is hardly any net to shoot at as well as way too many shutouts being recorded.

One last thing is that it’s becoming alarming regarding the downward slide in attendance in some cities as well as the financial issues of some franchises.  I get tired of hearing Bettman talk about how the league is solvent, I beg to differ since PHX, CLB, TB, FLA, ATL, NYI, NJ, DAL, and other teams have trouble drawing fans with lower bowls looking like ghost towns.  It’s time that things change in order to have 30 solid teams, but it might include relocating franchises and yes even maybe some back to Canada of all places to Bettman’s dismay or even contraction of some teams.

Now that I’m done with my NHL rant, back to the task at hand regarding the Rangers.

Hopefully they will get this dud out of the way and get back on the horse on Saturday when they faceoff against the Habs, who they beat on Sunday at MSG.  After that, they then face the Pens at MSG on Monday and then the Canes at MSG on Wednesday.

That’s it for now.

Your NYR Blogger

Looking at this game tonight, the top performers for this game were:  Callahan, who had a pair of goals including a PPG, the first in 6 games as well as 2 assists; Dubinsky, who had a pair of goals including a SHG; Gaborik with a goal and 2 assists; Drury, who had a goal and 2 assists; Prospal who had a pair of assists, and Lundqvist; who once again was solid in net when he had to be as the Rangers D limited the number of chances to score the rest of the evening after allowing 2 in the first.

Callahan’s goal broke a 147 plus minute goalless drought and the floodgates just seemed to open with goal after goal coming.  It then became a boxing match with a few fights with Redden and Avery being some of the featured pugilists.  Hey even Drury scored tonight and he played solidly for a change and acted like the Captain that he is out on the ice.  It was nice to see the Garden rocking and really loud for a change as it has not been pretty in the building lately.

Going forward this month, they will face Tampa on Tuesday at MSG and then they are off to Philly on Thursday to take on the Flyers at the Wachovia Center.  I will be in the building on Tuesday evening for the Tampa game.

Anyway, that’s it for tonight folks.

Until next time,

Your NYR blogger,

Howie

I want to give out some kudos tonight to several players for top performances tonight.  Avery, who was all over the ice, scored a goal for the first time in ages and had 3 assists and even took a 10 min. misconduct; Cally – EN Goal; Drury – 1 goal; Gabby – 1 goal; Kotalik – 1 goal; Henrik, who was solid in net and had a rare assist; and Christensen, Gilroy, & Del Zotto with solid efforts as well.

It’s finally nice to see this team put a stretch together where they don’t want to make me rip my hair out or want to throw the remote through the TV.  Hopefully they can keep this going for a nice stretch to pick up more points before the break.  I just want to be able  see them get another playoff spot this season which would make it their 5th straight if they did.

Anyway, their next games are on the road in Atlanta on Thursday and then face the Bruins for the 2^nd time in less than a week on Saturday up in Boston.

Well folks, that’s it till next time.

Your content NYR blogger,

Howie

The bright spots tonight were that there were goals from Gaborik (SH), Prospal with 2 goals (broke a 14 game drought), and Drury who scored his 3^rd goal in 4 games and looks like he has come out of his funk.  This also was their first home win in a month, which shows you how bad it’s been at the Garden lately, maybe this will help them to play better at home going forward since they need the home cooking in order to get on a huge streak.  The other key at home tonight was that they had the crowd in the game all night long which gives the players extra confidence out on the ice to perform a little harder. 

It’s also nice to see the Rangers show some edge to their game this evening as well as Avery having returned to his annoying style of play and Callahan showed a ton of hustle all over the ice.  In addition, they played as a team again defensively and limited the Panthers for a lot of the night despite them having 4 power plays to work with.  This style of play can go a long way to them continuing to climb up the ladder and hey even some secondary scoring is beginning to appear as well.  The secondary scoring is important because without it, there is no way they could even stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. 

I now believe that whatever Torts is preaching in the locker room and practices is beginning to sink in during games as I haven’t seen them play this well since early October.  This is the time to pick up points as they are playing teams that are behind them in the standings and they should not throw away these potential points as they have over the long slump that looks like they are now out of.  If they lose to the teams ahead of them, that’s not a good thing, but is understandable if it happens, but losing to the league bottom feeders is a sure way to miss the postseason.

Anyway, their next game is at MSG on Saturday evening where they will face the Islanders and the reeling Flyers on the 30th before they head back out on the road on New Year’s Eve to face the Hurricanes after which they come home for another 3 game home stand on January 2nd to begin the 2010 portion of the schedule which leads up to the Olympic break in mid February.

Merry Christmas to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well folks, that’s it till Saturday night.

Your NYR blogger,

Howie

One great sign was the fact that even though they fell behind early by a pair, the timeout that Torts called after the 2nd goal was a true turning point.  They had been outplayed up till that point and needed something to change the momentum.  This indeed changed the games flow as the Rangers scored not long after that point.  They rang up 7 straight before the Jackets could realize what hit them.   Lundqvist didn’t have too much work bit was solid when he had to be, but hey he usually is their best player. 

In other news, Drury was skating with the team today and is going to join the team on their 3 game road trip, and hopefully be returning to the lineup, which is good news for the team since his presence has been missed both on and off the ice.  The Rangers next road trip will take them first to Sunrise, FL to face the Panthers on Wednesday, who previously beat them on Saturday at MSG, then to Tampa on Friday to face LeCavalier and St. Louis and finally to Pittsburgh on Saturday where they will face Crosby and Malkin for the 2^nd time this year, having lost to them on opening night back in October. 

The main key to this trip is that they need to get at least 4 out of the 6 points since the 4-9-1 slump they have been in has dropped them into a pack of teams right around the playoff bubble. Basically, the more points that they can pile up now, the better chances it will give them as they push towards a potential playoff spot.  This is also important since they have a ton of games in January right before the Olympic Break.

Well folks, that’s all from me till Wednesday evening

Your NYR blogger,

Howie