Craig MacTavish vs. Some Drunk Fan
Craig MacTavish got into it with a fan after tonight’s game where the Oilers were beat 4-3 by the Stars in Dallas. As MacT was preparing to walk out the bench door to leave the arena, some guy came up to the glass and tried to goat him on. It was pretty hard to read the lips of the clown in the crowd, but whatever he was saying, it sure got under MacT and Huddy’s skin, as they both started firing back with Huddy trying to bash the glass into the guys teeth.
No video of that incident available yet, but here is a classic featuring MacT vs. Wendel Clark… Heyyyy… maybe that guy has seen this video and thinks he could have done the same? Not likely by looking at him.
Best Hockey Fight Video Ever
Be sure to pay attention at 2:32 when a fan is told, “please don’t do that anymore, kind sir!” 
Brian Burke Signs in Toronto
According to SportsNet, Brian Burke has agreed to a six year deal to become the next President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. I guess that all will be happy in the Burke camp this weekend, as the official announcement is expected to come this Saturday.
I’m not sure how much the deal is for, but I guess its good for Burke to take over in the city that he so much loves. We will see how much of a difference Burke can make, and what his next trade will be… as we all know that he has already pulled the trigger on one.
Thanksgiving and Black Friday Hockey
Happy Thanksgiving to all the hockey fans south of the border. We celebrated ours up here quite a while ago, so its a regular work day for Canadians. By the way, was watching Letterman last night and he said that today is the busiest travel day of the year in the States. His question was, “Why do people drive 18 hours, and then can’t wait to get the hell out of there one they arrive?”
Anyway, on to hockey now. I guess the NHL figured that there would be zero attention given to its sport today, and decided to only schedule two games, both of which are in Canada featuring Canadian teams. The first is Toronto in Ottawa, and the second is Calgary in Vancouver. Though tomorrow for Black Friday its a different story, with every single game being played on home ice in the States. Another interesting one is that there is only one Canadian team in action tomorrow night when Montreal visits Washington. Don’t know how they figured this one out, but that’s what we’re in for for the next two days of hockey.
Anyway, the NHL shop is having a sale today and tomorrow with lots of great deals. Today they are offering free shipping on every order over $50, and tomorrow they have something awesome available for those of you that want a ner jersey… oops, did I break that too soon? Regardless, click on the NHL banners at the top or on the side to check everything out, and come back tomorrow for full details about the NHL black friday sale.
Economic Downturn & The NHL
Saw an interesting piece today on SportsNet where they talked about the sports recession, and how it is affecting various leagues. Of course with SportsNet being a big NHL station, they glanced over football and the likes, and concentrated on the finances of hockey.
The first thing that was brought up was the arena naming sponsorships that are currently being utilized by every (I think) team. I’ve got no idea how much you have to pay to re-brand an arena, but if things are getting as bad as the media reports, who knows how much longer those dollars are going to be laying around? Will we return to the days of the Montreal Forum and Maple Leaf Gardens? Or if things get so bad, will we see arena naming rights go for bargain basement prices, giving us the “I can’t believe it’s not butter” arena in some poor town? Can you imagine? Read more
2008-2009 NHL Third Jerseys
Now that they have all been revealed, its time for me to do a review of this years class of third jerseys. I’m going to go through them alphabetically, and then give you my top picks at the end, so be sure to read on and voice your opinions as well. Also, a special thanks to IceThetics for being so diligent in gathering this years third jersey info and sharing it with us all!
Atlanta Thrashers
Is it too early to give out the awful award to the first jersey in the list? That’s the first thing I thought when I first saw this jersey, and I still think the same thing today. Way to be creative and whip up a sweet logo to go along with the players number on the front of that basketball, I mean football, I mean hockey jersey. Read more
Roberto Luongo Injury
Terrible news last night for the Vancouver Canucks, and possibly Team Canada when Roberto Luongo went down with a left groin injury. There hasn’t been any detail released yet, but initial reports are that it doesn’t look good, and he could be out for quite some time.
This couldn’t come at a worse time, as the Canucks are coming home from a brilliant road trip, and have gone something like 7-0-2 in their last nine. I’m also sure that Steve Yzerman is cringing and eagerly waiting for the doc’s results today as he is no doubt concerned about the Team Canada tending situation now with both Marty and Roberto down and out. If you hear more on this before I do, be sure to update us in the comments.
Wendel Clark Tribute Video
#17 in your program, #1 in your heart. They sure don’t make them like this anymore.
Clark and Roy Jersey Retirements
I mentioned earlier that Patrick Roy will have his jersey retired in Montreal, but somehow forgot to mention that Wendel Clark will also be honored tonight in Toronto. I’m not a huge Roy fan, but Clark was one of those players that I loved watching when I was younger. Played with strength, intensity, a wicked wrister, and a sweet mustache that would make any participant in Movember jealous.
Both retirement ceremonies will happen prior to the start of tonights games. Game time is 7pm EST in Toronto and 7:30pm EST in Montreal, but be sure to tune in a bit earlier just in case they decide to start things a little earlier. I think I heard CBC mention something about 30 minutes before, so start those PVR’s or whatever that little bit earlier. Also, don’t forget that you can watch free nhl hockey right here on Mother Pucker Hockey, and catch both of these retirements if you are nowhere near a TV. Enjoy!
High Scoring Night in the NHL
Once again the NHL proved that it doesn’t need to screw with the size of goalie pads or the nets, as all of last nights games produced nine or more goals each.
The first game last night was Buffalo at Boston, where the bruins stormed back to demolish the Sabres 7-4 on home ice. Early in the first, people predicted that the Sabres may be on their way to a rout, but that obviously wasn’t the case.
Second game was supposed to be a duel of the leagues best goalies when the Rangers and Canucks squared off at MSG, but instead it was more of a shootout as the Canucks won 6-3, chasing Lundqvist from the net after surrendering five. Interesting note was that Lundqvist wasn’t pulled, he instead took himself outta the game by skating to the bench and signalling with his stick “I’m outta here!”
The third game, which I thought would be the best game of the night, also turned out to be a shootout, with the Caps taking out the Ducks 6-4, led by a first period where the Caps scored three. There must have been something up with the first periods last night as all three games featured fast starts.
So seriously, do we need more than 9, 10, or 11 goals scored in a game? No. Anyone else on the same wavelength?
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Twitter
@JamienSanders Yeah that's not too far fetched. Or even CHL...after this one I'll give it a shot.
4 hours ago Time to vote for the most annoying NHL fans in the league! http://bit.ly/9UjIi9 #nhl #hockey @nhl
4 hours ago
