Here are the stars, recaps and highlights from tonight’s NHL action.
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Ottawa 5, Washington 2
Things are getting silly in the East. The Sens are currently two points out of their division lead while the Capitals continue to slip out of contention. Craziness! Now it has to be noted that Ottawa has played a whopping four extra games on the Bruins so I would not be too worried as a Boston fan, but it sure looks like Ron MacLean’s bold prediction that Ottawa would make the playoffs is going to come true. Karlsson and Michalek led the offense tonight … it’s crazy what Karlsson is doing … now 60 points in 61 games. Michalek has 27 goals now on the year. Ovechkin was held out of this game due to some kind of ailment. Not good.
Boston 4, St. Louis 2
The Bruins got back on track, scoring four goals on the most stingy team in the league and it’s most stingy goalie, Brian Elliott. They scored four times on just 19 shots. Marchand scored twice and has 21 goals on the year. Thomas was strong in goal, making 30 saves for the win. Nice to see Boston get back in the win column after a round month (by their lofty standards). Halak has missed 3 straight games for the Blues do to the flu.
Colorado 4, Los Angeles 1
The woes continue for the Kings. Colorado scored three times in the 1st and cruised to a 4-1 victory. Dustin Brown broke the shutout early in the 3rd but by then it was already 4-0 and the Kings are not coming back from that. Varlamov actually had a good start, nice to see. Downie made his debut for the Avs, got a penalty and played 16 mins. Colorado is now just two back of LA for 8th in the West. Big win for them.
Here’s a new western … been a bit for one of these, but nice to see they are still trying. I am not huge into Western’s, but have enjoyed a few and this one looks decent enough and it certainly has a twist on the classic theme. The story is kind of funny, definitely different … The film follows an odd romance and the resulting emotional confusion of an outlaw who reluctantly develops strong feelings for a woman he has kidnapped. Yet when the outlaw (Cohen Holloway) tries to force himself on the young and beautiful Isabella Montgomery, he finds himself unable to ‘get it up’ due to a surprising bout of performance anxiety. Unable to understand the reason for his erectile dysfunction, the outlaw goes on a quest to find a solution for his problem with the kidnapped Isabella in tow. He tries various means to cure his ailment – including tracking down fancy doctors and sage medicine men – all in an attempt to fix his problem and finally having his way with Isabella. But the pair are pursued by an unpredictable posse who are set on killing both the outlaw and Isabella, who they have mistaken for a whore and accomplice to the outlaw. Adventure, drama and humor ensue when this unlikely duo are forced to help each other to survive in this unique film. Might have a few laughs, the rating is strong, R for violence and sexual references, and the girl is cute. Not a bad combo. Take a look.
Mike Ribeiro scored a big goal last night for the Dallas Stars and their pursuit of a playoff spot. He did it in front of the crowd he used to play for too, the team that deemed him expendable. It must have felt pretty good after all the time away. Show up the team that traded you a little. There are reports of him mocking the crowd but looked more like a simple enough, albeit flamboyant, goal celebration. Sure he whopped it up a bit more, how could you not against your former team.
The crowd actually gave him a real nice ovation while he was out celebrating for his 1st star selection.
I still cannot stand Ribeiro. Definitely one of my own personal ‘most hated’ players in the league. I’ll never forget the mockery he made of hockey with the diving act below or the time he’d acted like he’d been shot when playing up a phantom high stick. Hate divers. He’s a cocky guy, that bugs me I guess. Anyway … when asked if he wanted to prove the Canadiens made a mistake in trading him a few years back, he simply stated the following:
More from 25 year old Colombian model Melissa Giraldo. How this girl is not more famous is beyond me. Her body is unreal. One of the best ‘booties’ on the planet. Anyway … enjoy!
On route to making 50 saves last night, albeit in a losing cause, Ondrej Pavelec came up with a doozy, see below. He’s certainly the Jets only hope at a playoff spot but right now he has the team believing and he’s keeping them in games, almost getting the win last night. The Jets were horribly outplayed, but Pavelec made it intersting. Take a look.
Here is a pretty nice stop by Roberto Luongo last night against the Predators. Unfortunately for him, his Canucks could not solve Pekka Rinne enough for the win, but this was pretty nice. I think what’s most shocking about this play is that it was Shea Weber that had the breakaway. Not often you see a D-man in on a breakaway.
Once again, Luongo has overcome an awful start to post some big Fantasy numbers. He currently has a 25-11-6 record with a 2.32 GAA and a .921 Save%. His value is huge in Head to Head leagues where you can ride out the early rough patches. He’ll hurt you more in Rotisserie leagues though. Quite the enigma Lou is.
Deloris is just 18 years old, 5’6 & 100 lbs, from Pekin, Illinois, US. I think she’s super cute, has a pretty cool look. She has just jumped into modeling, looking to see if she has what it takes. I think she’s shown that she does. Tons of potential. She’s worked with a number of photographers already and is not shy about shoots. Hopefully we see a lot more from her in the future.
Steven Stamkos is pretty much as consistent as it comes in the NHL today, already at 42 goals on the year. He’s the Ovechkin of a couple years ago, although not quite as prolific or highlight reel worthy. He scored twice last night in a Tampa Bay win and has the Lightning sniffing at a playoff spot with his recent surge. He’s scored 9 goals in 9 games to effectively win the scoring title early. It would be shocking to see anyone catch him at this point considering Malkin is closest with 33 goals.
Forgetting his hot streak, his 42 goals in 59 games has him on a 58 goal pace. Now that would indeed be prolific and put him into some pretty elite company. My guess is he ends up around 53-54 goals but you never know with a guy like Stamkos … if he gets hot, and he is, he can score in bunches. Look what Perry did down the stretch for Anaheim last year.
More importantly, the Lightning have gone 5-3-1 over Stamkos’ 9 game surge and now sit just 5 points out of 8th in the East and coincidentally, 5 points out of the division lead which is a guaranteed 3rd seed in the playoffs. I suspect it’s too little too late for Tampa Bay, so hard to leap frog so many teams, especially with the goaltending the Lightning get, but if Stamkos keeps it going, who knows. Anyway, it will be fun to see how he finishes up the year.
Ever since Edmonton Oilers forward Sam Gagner’s historic 8 point night, things have been looking up for the 22 year old. He’s been putting up points and playing much better. Maybe that night was the much needed confidence boost he’s been waiting for. Since the outburst, Gagne has put up 5 goals and 10 points through 8 games. And this is for an Oilers team that has struggled, going 3-4-1 in that same span. Gagner now has 40 points, (14 goals) in 52 games this season. That’s pretty respectable.
So now comes the trade deadline. First off … Gagner is a restricted free agent at the end of the year. The season he is having is certainly going to boost his value from the $2.275M he is making today. Putting a price though on what he’s done this year is going to be tough. What do the Oilers do about Sam Gagner.
His trade value has never been higher. The former 6th overall pick is about to eclipse his career highs in goals (16) and points (49). Could probably get a pretty nice return for the kid at the deadline and the Oilers could certainly use some help in goal and on defense where they are incredibly weak.
But what if? What if Gagner just took a bit to find his game at the pro level? What if the kid that put up 118 points in 53 games back in the OHL has finally settled into the NHL. He’s only 22, stranger things have happened. Sometimes it takes a bit. He was not given the luxury of developing in the AHL like some stars. What if Gagner is suddenly a 70-80 point forward? Obviously his recent stretch is a real short span. What merit do you put into the 8 point night? How does that factor into anything or do you just discount it as something special that happened?
The Oilers are real deep as mentioned at forward. I guess the question will be how much another team is willing to roll the dice with Gagner and what they will pony up. Are they getting a 45 point scorer or a 70 point guy, the guy that Gagner was expected to be. He’s going to be one of the bigger gambles at the trade deadline. His value has never been higher and the Oilers have some tough decisions over the next few days. Who are their building blocks up front going forward and who can go?
