Preview: Two Worst Teams in the League!!!

Toronto Maple Leafs Record: Atrocious 1-7-5

Carolina Hurricanes Record: Awful 2-9-3

Maple Leafs Record vs. Whalers Since 2005: 7-5-3-1

Maple Leafs Likely Goalie: Jonas Gustavsson

Hurricanes Likely Goalie: pylon Cam Ward

Maple Leafs Top Scorer: Tomas Kaberle (2 goals, 17 points)

Whalers Top Scorer: Geoff Sanderson Ray Whitney (4 goals, 8 points)

Injury Report: The Leafs will be without Mike Van Ryn (knee) and Jamie Heward (concussion). The Hurricanes will be without Eric Staal (injured vagina). Staal was injured at a gay bath house.

Preview Notes: This game will most likely be painful to watch. Sorry Leafs fans, but they are awful. Hurricanes fans... I'm not sorry, your team sucks. Seriously.

This will be Kessel's 2nd game of the season. Despite not registering a goal Kessel looked great in his first action of the season, even making great plays from the ground

Carolina has lost 10 in a row. 10! They have also been outscored 19-4 in their last 4 games. The team that loses tonight will be the worst team in the league, stats wise. Is it possible to just call it a tie?

Keep your head up Kessel!

Tim Thomas = Save of the Year

This clip really needs no introduction. Wow. Just... wow:

Jack Edwards is crazy

Boston Bruins announcer Jack Edwards had a thing or two to say about Kessel getting rocked in his season debut:



And who can forget this classic from the playoffs last year when Jack Edwards compared a hockey game to the revolutionary war:

Recap: Ottawa beats Lightning In Shootout.

Three Stars:
1. Daniel Alfredsson (1 goals, 0 assists)
2. Martin St. Louis (0 goals, 1 assists)
3. Jason Spezza (1 goal, 2 assists)

Final Score:
Tampa Bay Lightning: 2
Ottawa Senators: 3

Goalie Stats
Antero Niittymaki: SV: 26 SV%: .897 GA: 3
Pascal Leclaire: SV: 18 SV%: .900 GA: 2

Recap Notes:
-Spezza came back after missing to games to get 1 goal (game winner) and 2 assists.
-In fantasy hockey, Spezza is still DTD and I started Getzlaf over him...my mistake.
-Stamkos is, once again, a beast
-Chris Neil took Victor Headman out of the game in the second
-While defending Headman, Steve Downie got a penalty hat-trick (minor, major, and misconduct)
-Ottawa's next game will be Saturday against the Devils

Recap: Boston Still Can't Score, Habs Win in Overtime

Three Stars:
1. Mike Cammalleri (0 goals, 0 assists)
2. Carey Price (Saves: 42 Save%: .977)
3. Tim Thomas (Saves: 25 Save%: .962

Final Score:
Montreal Canadiens: 2
Boston Bruins: 1

Goalie Stats
Carey Price: SV: 42 SV%: .977 GA: 1
Tim Thomas: SV: 25 SV%: .962 GA: 1

Recap Notes:
-This was the 700th game between these two teams
-Bruins almost broke their scoring draught late in the 2nd, but it was ruled that it went under the net and not between the posts.
-Finally, with 51 seconds left in the 3rd, Boston DOES end the drought and avoids a 3game shutout streak...it took six Bruins to do it (Thomas was pulled).
-Last time Bruins were shut out 3 consecutive games was February, 1929. Oddly, they won the Stanley Cup that year.
-Lapierre is a pussy.
-So is Ference.
-This marks the B's 3rd Consecutive loss
-Price is doing well? Come on, even for Montreal fans, that has to be surprising.
-Montreal is 7-0 this season in OT/SO games.

Tuukka Rask Re-signs with Bruins

The Boston Globe is reporting that Boston netminder Tuukka Rask has signed a new two year deal to remain with the team through the 2011-2012 season.

No financial terms have been released per club policy, but we'll have them as soon as someone on the intra-nets gets the info. Stay tuned.

Update: The deal is apparently for 1.2 million the first year and 1.6 million the second year. Not a bad deal overall. For once Chiarelli didn't over pay! Dance in the streets Boston fans!

Bacon Gets Revenge On Krejci

Today the Boston Bruins announced that forward David Krejci has been diagnosed with the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.

With Montreal Canadiens fans in town, there is always the chance Krejci nailed one of those "pigs" and contracted something.

With the Bruins continually going down with injuries/flu, you Boston fans may want to break out the Providence Bruins 2009-2010 book and get familiar with those names.

The AHL Bruins face-off against the Mite League Canadiens tonight.

Preview: Lightning vs Senators

Ottawa Senators Record: 6-4-2 (2nd in the Northeast)

Tampa Bay Lightning Record: 5-4-4 (2nd in the Southleast)

Senators Record vs. Lightning Since 2005: 12-4-0-2

Senators Likely Goalie: Pascal LeClaire

Lightning Likely Goalie: Antero Niittymaki

Senators Top Scorer: Daniel Alfredsson (5 goals, 16 points)

Lightning Top Scorer: Steven Stamkos (11 goals, 16 points)

Injury Report: Ottawa will be without Anton Volchenkov (elbow) and Jesse Winchester (knee, girly first name).

Pittsburgh South Tampa Bay will be without Paul Ranger (personal reasons). Ryan Malone is questionable (bitterness over leaving the Penguins and not winning a Cup).

Preview Notes:
Perhaps the legendary Gary Roberts has a future as a trainer... look what he's done with Stamkos. Stamkos trained with Roberts all summer and has been playing some great hockey (and is much harder to knock off the puck!)

This is the third meeting between the two teams this season (Ottawa won the first game 7-1, and Tampa retaliated with a 5-2 victory two weeks later). Jason Spezza will be back in the line-up tonight and is still looking for his first goal of the season.

With Ottawa struggling with injuries and the Lightning's top center (Lecavalier) playing like he's on the Maple Leafs this game might be harder to watch than a game announced by Pierre McGuire.

The two teams made a bet prior to tonight's game, and the loser will officially be the team with the laziest third jersey in hockey:

Best Rivalry Ever...Montreal @ Boston Tonight!

Boston Bruins Record: 6-8-1

Montreal Canadiens Record: 7-8-0

Bruins Record vs. Canadiens Since 2005: 9-19-2

Bruins Likely Goalie: Tim Thomas

Canadiens Likely Goalie: Carey Price

Bruins Top Scorer: Patrice Bergeron (4)

Canadiens Top Scorer: Mike Cammalleri (7)

Injury Report: No surprise that Lucic and Savard are still out, but now Byron Bitz is DTD with a groin injury as well.

Montreal's defense is hurting with Markov, Gill, and O'Byrne all on the IR. I wouldn't expect to see Matt D'Agostini or Georges Laraque tonight either.

Preview Notes: When I say best rivalry ever, I don't mean in hockey, I mean any sport (well admittedly I don't know much about soccer...or cricket, but those are stupid). There's not another match up that matches the intensity and physicality as a Bs/Habs match up.

This game is going to be important for both teams, neither of which have gotten off to the type of start they would like. More than anything, this should serve as a momentum boost for the victor.

Only one point separates these two teams. Bruins can't seem to get their offense going, while the Canadien's defense is leaving a lot to be desired. They have been goaltending issues on both sides of the ice too. Match ups don't get much better than this, watch it!

Buffalo Wins, Miller is Still Awesome

Three Stars:
1. Derek Roy (1 Goal )
2. Ryan Miller (24 saves, shut out, being awesome)
3. Thomas Vanek (1 goal, 1 assist)

Final Score:
New York Islanders: 2
Buffalo Sabres: 3

Goalie Stats
Marty Biron: SV: 36 SV%: .923 GA: 3
Ryan Miller: SV: 24 SV%: 1.00 GA: 0

Recap Notes:

-Buffalo exacts sweet, sweet revenge.
-1/5 of Miller's starts so far are shut outs
-Islanders 4 game win streak has been snapped
-Tavares also had his four game point streak broken, reports indicate that he was sent to his room without dessert.
-Derek Roy got his first goal of the season.
-Buffalo is now 5 points ahead of Ottawa and Montreal, 6 points ahead of Boston, and a lot of points ahead of the Maple Leafs

Preview: Islanders vs Sabres

Buffalo Sabres Record: 8-2-1 (1st in the Northeast)

New York Islanders Record: 5-4-5 (Last in the Atlantic)

Sabres Record vs. Islanders Since 2005: 12-6

Sabres Likely Goalie: Ryan Miller

Islanders Likely Goalie: Martin Biron

Sabres Top Scorer: Tim Connolly (4 goals, 10 points)

Islanders Top Scorer: Matt Moulson (6 goals, 11 points)

Injury Report: The Islanders will be without Trent Hunter (torn pectoral) and Rick DiPietro (knee, hip).

Buffalo will be without Toni Lydman (groin) and Patrick Lalime (also groin...)

Preview Notes: This is the third meeting of the season for these two teams, each having molested the other once.

Islanders are suddenly looking strong, having won 4 in a row (and getting points in 6 straight games).

Sabres last game was that 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Tavares' and was also Ryan Miller's first regulation loss of the season. Should be a good game!

You Know You Suck When Osgood Shuts You Out

Three Stars:
1. Chris Osgood (shutout)
2. Pavel Datsyuk
3. Tomas Holmstrom (is a piece of shit)

Final Score:
Detroit Whiners Red Wings: 2
Boston Bruins: Nil. Nothing. Zero. Goose Egg. 0.

Goalie Stats
Chris Not Os-good As Fleury: SV: 29 SV%: Perfect GA: 0
Tim Thomas: SV: 24 SV%: .923 GA: 2

Recap Notes:
- Red Wings were missing two of their top 6 D-men... Bruins still couldn't score
- The guy in that movie 40 Year Old Virgin scoreds more than the Bruins
- If the Bruins simply learned to shoot high when a goalie is down on the ice they'd score more
- I mean really... if the goalie is down... and the top of the net is wide open... why shoot the puck right into the goalie's pads?!
- Bruins are playing better defensively
- That means nothing if you don't win
- Although... the posts behind Osgood are pretty sore today
- Look forward to all the upcoming "Bruins Should've Kept Kessel!!!" articles
- Bruins should come out angry against their hated rivals tomorrow night

Kessel Gets Rude Welcome Back

Three Stars:
1. Antero Niittymaki (40 saves, about 39 from Kessel)
2. Jonas Gustavsson (30 saves)
3. Phil Kessel (for being a brave, brave boy after getting beat up)

Final Score:
Tampa Bay Lightning: 2
Toronto Maple Leafs: 1

Goalie Stats
Antero Niittymaki: SV: 40 SV%: .976 GA: 1
Jonas Gustavsson: SV: 30 SV%: .938 GA: 2

Recap Notes:
- Leafs lose again, but continue to get points
- Still worst team in the NHL
- Mattias Ohlund reminded Kessel to keep his head up
- Kessel might be the NHL's Terrel Owens... think he gave up on the Bruins
- But admittedly... Kessel did look good last night
- Gustavsson just may be the real deal
- If only there were good defenders in front of him
- Ves Toskala is probably on suicide watch
- Toronto announcers have trouble pronouncing players' names. A lot.
- Hagman should never fight again... ever.
- Kessel's wrist shot is quicker than him in bed.
- Thats really fast in case you were wondering
- Kessel took 10 shots (thinks he's Ovechkin!?)
- Toronto's next game is Friday against the Hurricanes

Defense Abandons Price, Canadiens Lose

Three Stars:
1. Rich Peverley (1 goal, 2 assists)
2. Bryan Little (1 goal, 1 assist)
3. Brian Gionta (2 goals)

Final Score:
Atlanta Thrashers: 5
Montreal Canadiens: 4

Goalie Stats
Ondrej Pavelec: SV: 34 SV%: .895 GA: 4
Carey Price: SV: 25 SV%: .833 GA: 5

Recap Notes:
- Thrashers first win in Montreal in 5 years
- Carey Price is by no means a Vezina candidate... but that D in front of him really let him down
- Brian Gionta and Bryan Little got into a first period scrum over how to properly spell their first names
- Both teams loved passing it to the wrong team
- Apparently passing in real life was even harder than passing in NHL10
- Montreal seems to have the inability to beat the average to very good teams
- Had a lot of trouble with a very average, Kovalchuk-less, Atlanta team
- Canadiens meet Bruins tomorrow........

Lalime Hurt, Sabres Recall Enroth

Buffalo Sabres' goalie Patrick Lalime hurt his groin banging Mike Richards' mom in practice and will be out for an undetermined amount of time.

Jhonas Enroth has been recalled from Portland of the AHL to fill in as back-up to the fantastic Ryan Miller

Hal Gill Injured, No One Notices

We're a little late on this, but things are finally getting back to normal here at Adams Division

Cement footed defensive liability Hal Gill will miss a couple weeks after injuring his foot in practice. As you saw last night, Mathieu Carle has been called up to replace Gill.

If that doesn't work out, we are told the Canadiens will just place a road cone on the ice, which will probably be more effective than Gill.

Preview: Tampa Bay vs. Toronto

Toronto Maple Leafs Record: Piss Poor

Tampa Bay Lightning Record: 4-4-4

Maple Leafs vs. Lightning Since 2005: 9-5-2

Maple Leafs Likely Goalie: Jonas Gustavsson (1-2-2, GAA: 3.22)

Lightning's Likely Goalie: Antero Niittymaki (2-1-1, GAA: 2.18)

Maple Leafs Top Scorer: Niklas Hagman (6)

Lightning's Top Scorer: Steven Stamkos (10)

Injury Report: Kessel may be back for the Leafs starting tonight, we'll see.

Preview Notes: Well well well...if it isn't a team that Toronto may actually be able to beat. Not that it'll be easy for them, nothing is. Kessel should be able to provide a much needed boost, however a moderately trained monkey with downs syndrome could provide a boost to the Maple Leafs, albeit a hilarious one.

Seriously though, Toronto needs to get their asses in gear if they want any hopes of salvaging the season. Kessel seems more like the nerd that the Maple Leaf bullies would throw in a locker, but there is no denying the offense he could bring to the team. It'll be interesting to watch what transpires when he finally takes the ice.

Preview: Bruins vs. Red Wings

Boston Bruins Record: 6-6-1

Detroit Red Wings Record: 5-4-1

Boston's Record vs. Detroit Since 2005: 2-1-0

Boston's Likely Goalie: Tim Thomas (4-5-0, GAA: 2.66 )

Detroit's Likely Goalie: Chris Osgood(4-2-2, GAA: 3.10)

Boston's Top Scorer: Patrice Bergeron (4)

Detroit's Top Scorer: Tomas Holmstrom (7)

Injury Report: Lucic and Savard are still out, blah, blah, blah.

It seems that the flu is running wild and free in Hockeytown; Ericsson, Kronwall, and Rafalski have all been stricken by it and are considered DTD. Franzen is still out after having surgery on his ACL, and Filppula is still nursing his wrist.

Preview Notes: Interesting original six match up here. Both of these teams are coming off of great 08-09 seasons and both are among the most inconsistant this year so far. Where the Bruins are struggling offensively, Detroit has had just as many problems in net. Notgood err...Osgood and Howard aren't exactly star goalies and they've proven to be the figurative thorn in the Red Wings' side.

A win tonight will keep the Bruins pattern alive.

Michelin Man, Gaborik Down Bruins

Three Stars:
1. Henrik Lundqvist (29 saves, shutout, giant pads)
2. Marian Gaborik (only goal of the game)
3. Tim Thomas (22 saves)

Final Score:
New York Rangers: 1
Boston Bruins: 0

Goalie Stats
Henrik Lundqvist: SV: 29 SV%: 1.00 GA: 0
Tim Thomas: SV: 22 SV%: .957 GA: 1

Recap Notes:
- Bruins offense is in hibernation
- 3 of the last 4 meetings between these two teams ended in shutouts (Bruins won last game 1-0 on April 4th)
- Sean Avery mouthed off before the game
- Chara smashed Avery into a pile of goo in the first
- Avery didn't talk the rest of the game
- Funny how that works, isn't it?
- Bruins still have not won, or lost, two games in a row this season
- That means they will beat Detroit tomorrow
- New York's offense is Maple Leaf-like without Gaborik
- Boston's offense is starting to be Maple Leaf-like in general
- Not much to say in this game.... barely anything happened

We're sorry...

Much like the Boston Bruins powerplay, we were lazy and ineffective this weekend. We'd give you some bull about it being Halloween and busy etc. But excuses are lame. We dropped the ball. We'll be better this week.