In Which Alfredsson Is The Conclusion or Building an Identity, One Puck At a Time

(Photo via the Ottawa Sun)

It took me this long to finally figure it out. Figure out why my interest in hockey has been minimal at best this season. 

2012 NHL Playoffs: Unpatriotic Report And Final Thoughts

(Photo via nhl.com)

I read this week that Bell and Rogers are gunning for the "Hockey Night In Canada" rights, which are up for renewal in 2014. So after 60 years of broadcasting into Canadian homes, there's a chance that the CBC will lose the televised Saturday night tradition. Surprisingly, I'm not upset about this. Not even close. Ask the "10 years younger" version of Paqman and that dude would be raging. "Tradition! Legendary! Institution!" is what he would've said (note to younger Paqman: Chill out homeboy!). All I see today is a sub par product that needs a make over and new talent (I'm talking to you Cole...we cool MacLean. We cool.) I prefer the TSN team right now, and NBC for the Cup Final.

2012 NHL Playoffs: In Which We Analyze The Finals Potential Of The Frozen Four

(Photo via bloguin.com/puckdrunklove)

If you picked the four teams poised to battle it out in this year's edition of the NHL Stanley Cup Conference Finals, you're a better man than me. Not even the pundiest of hockey pundits got this one right. It's been an awesomely odd playoff thus far that gave us several great moments: Giroux's 6 point game, top seeds and perennial contenders dropping like flies, and goaltending dominance by the expected and unexpected. With 2 rounds in the books, we move to the Cup Semis where childhood dreams will be made, or will bust like Fabian Brunnstrom.

Before I jump into this, I need to talk pools. I'm happy to say that thanks to fantastic seasons by Malkin, Giroux, and Spezza, I won my office pool. Brimming with confidence, I jumped into 2 playoff pools: one box and the other draft. My draft pool is already toast. I now have 0 players remaining after Nashville got turfed. My box pool? D.O.A. (calling my box team "Alexandre Daigle" didn't bring the mojo I was looking for!). My strategy for both teams was based on a tried and tested method: I predicted the final four and loaded up my team from those rosters. The teams in question were: Nashville and Vancouver in the West, Pittsburgh and Boston in the East. 3 of those were eliminated in the 1st round, 1 in the 2nd. Moral of this tragic pool story: anything can happen in the Playoffs, but go with your gut. Additionally, watch way more hockey next season.

Moving on to the analysis of the Frozen Four..

NHLPA Beard-a-thon Update: Week 5

image via smr.newswire.ca

As promised, I'm providing an update on my progress in the NHLPA Beardathon.

Just about to enter Week 5, and the beard is coming in real nice right about now.

NHLPA Beard-a-thon: Growing Your Hair Because You Care

image via smr.newswire.ca

Growing a beard during the Stanley Cup Playoffs is a longstanding tradition for both players and fans alike.

This year, you can join in the tradition with some of your favourite players by supporting the NHLPA Beard-a-thon, with proceeds supporting the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

If you're an NHL hockey fan, or simply down with charitable causes (or both), check out the NHLPA Beardathon website  for more information on how you can get behind this great fundraising initiative.

NHLPA members Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux, Jamal Mayers, Brooks Laich, Brian Elliott, Shea Weber, and Logan Couture are just some of the many players involved.

I'll be dropping my razor and supporting the cause as well.

Check P&B on the regular over the next few weeks .... I'll be posting update pics as my beard progresses.

Watch The Throne Beard!



-Turnbull

Wherein The Ottawa Senators Can't Buy A Goal

Sad Michalek (Photo via sbnation.com)

Silver Seven, hands down my fave Senators blog, beat me to the punch on this one. Alfreddson and Co. cannot score a goal to save their contracts. It's downright shitty timing for a drought with the NHL playoffs around the corner. Ottawa has scored 5 goals in their last 4 games. That's 0.8 goals per game. And that is just not enough. Teams go in and out of these funks throughout a season. I get it. But now is not the time to start falling apart. I've watched these games over the past week and one theme keeps coming up: puck support. As in there isn't any. How do you expect a defensman to pass the puck from his defensive end to his forwards when they are all floating around the offensive blue line? Why are you expecting a pass when your ass is in neutral? Why are you consistently dumping the puck without burning steel to grab it? MacLean stated that he wants the Sens to be a puck possession team, but it looks like they are a puck regression team of late. Instead of pushing the play, they are giving it away. These are terrible habits to get into with the second season on the doorstep.

Saluting Willie O'Ree: The NHL's First Black Player

image via sportsillustrated.com

In honour of Black History Month, P&B would like to pay special tribute to Canada's own Willie O'Ree, known as the "Jackie Robinson of Hockey."

A native of Fredricton, New Brunswick, O'Ree is the first black player to play in the National Hockey League, making his debut with the Boston Bruins on January 18, 1958 in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.

Dr. Integrity or: How I Learned To Stop Hating and Love Brian Burke

(Photo via hockeydraft.ca)

I was watching George Stroumboulopoulous Tonight on CBC a few nights ago and I experienced a revelation. Brian Burke, President and General Manager of your Toronto Maple Leafs, had a sit down with the talk show host and after his interview, I realized that I don't hate him. I might actually almost love that man. Here's the reason why I had a change of heart (but not allegiance).

Subban Takes Out Larsson With Huge Hit; Players Show Respect After The Fact

(Photo via montrealgazette.com) 

P.K. Subban has been dogged all season for his sub-par play and bonehead actions on the ice. On this edition of "This Is How You Do It", Subban wipes out Devils rookie Adam Larsson with a clean shoulder-to-chest hit.  Larsson slides into the boards and is in obvious pain. He left the game due to a bruised back.

My Fantasy Line-up For The 2012 NHL All-Star Game In Ottawa

(Photo via nhl.com)

With the NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft completed, here are my coaching decisions for the All-Star game line-up:

UPDATE WITH STATEMENT - Hockey And Politics: Tim Thomas Refuses To Join The Boston Bruins For White House Celebration

(Photo via mobyrebuttal.blogspot.com)

Tim Thomas, the Conn Smythe trophy winner for the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, declined the White House's invitation to celebrate their accomplishment. Thomas is a known Tea Party supporter and we can only assume that this was the reason why he didn't show up. I don't agree with what Whyshynski wrote, but I will reserve my full comment until Thomas releases his statement on Facebook NHL.com.

My initial feeling is that this is a classless move by the Bruins goal tender. A visit to the White House is an honour and not an opportunity for grandstanding. Politics and pucks don't belong together.

UPDATE WITH TIM THOMAS' STATEMENT REGARDING BOYCOTTING THE BOSTON BRUINS' WHITE HOUSE VISIT

My Recommended Twist For The 2012 NHL All-Star Game In Ottawa

(Photo via ticketmaster.ca)

The NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft is taking place in Gatineau (which is just north of Ottawa for those who are geographically curious) at Casino du Lac-Leamy on January 26th. This Capital City All-Star Draft will follow the same format as last year: 2 captains, along with their alternates, will pick from the pool of 30 players on the draft floor. Your captains will be Daniel Alfredsson from the Ottawa Senators and Zdeno Chara from the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins (expect to hear boos for the big man from the still bitter Sens faithful in attendance).

3 Reasons Why The Ottawa Senators Are A Team To Watch

(Photo via senators.nhl.com)

Many (everybody) predicted that the Ottawa Senators would be tenants in Bettman's basement this season, myself included. I wasn't going to flip out like I did last pre-season when all the puck pundits predicted the Sens would miss the playoffs. I decided to have no expectations for this club this year. In case you missed it, the Sens traded a few pieces away before the 2011 deadline that were considered "heart and soul" character players including fan favourite Mike Fisher and defensive specialist Chris Kelly. So, this Ottawa Senators team is rebooting and building the next chapter of their history through the draft and free agent signings. I would've never guessed that the Sens would be holding down fifth place in the conference, 2nd in the Northeast in January. Did I mention that they are one of the hottest teams in the league over the last 10 games? Ottawa is 7-1-2 with a couple come from behind wins. This has been their story this season.

NHLPA Shoots Down The NHL BOG's Proposed Realignment For 2012-2013 Season; Bill Daly Is Mad

In this picture, Hedman represents the NHL, Neil the NHLPA (Photo via sfgate.com) 

I guess the NHL players read my post about the NHL Board of Governors' proposed realignment. The NHLPA thankfully rejected the proposal for several reasons, citing team travel and lack of involvement in the development of the new format as the main reasons. Here's the NHL's statement following the "bad news".

The Blogging Universe Works In Mysterious Ways

(Photo via nasa.gov)

For those of you that don't know me (but you will in time), I give credit where credit is due and always man up if I f'ed up. I always shoot from the hip, even though I'm no George Washington. I'm writing this post to reaffirm our mission here at Paqman&Bull: we write with integrity and bring you great original pieces through our opinions and thoughts. We also offer you the best of the Internet (according to us anyways) by posting links and vids with full credits.

"Canadiens" In French Means "Madness"

(Photo via thehockeynews.com)

I was going to post about the emergence of the Florida Panthers as a force in the Eastern Conference (and the league in general). Then I was thinking about how Jose Theodore has been blazing hot this season. Then I remembered how Theo killed it in 2001 for the Habs as he scooped up the Hart and Vezina trophy while rocking a 2.11 GAA and .919 save percentage. THEN the Habs coaching debacle reared its fleur-de-lis head. And I didn't want to write about it. But I will. I don't have to. But I want to. This is getting to a level of ridiculousness that can only shake down in La Belle Province.

HBO's 24/7 Is Back: Road to The NHL Winter Classic Featuring the Flyers and Rangers

(Photo via buzzonbroad.com)

For the second year in a row, the NHL and HBO are offering the very excellent 24/7, which chronicles the lead up to the Winter Classic in the City of Brotherly Love on New Year's Day. The Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers are the featured teams this season. There are some interesting storylines developing for each side with Giroux's concussion (I said it before, but this really sucks for my pool...and the Flyers too) and Avery's yearning for male modeling.

Here is the complete schedule for 24/7 - Flyers and Rangers:

Episode 1 - Dec. 17 -6:00PM ET / MT (replay)

Episode 2 - Dec. 21 -10:01PM ET / MT

Episode 3 - Dec. 28 -10:00PM ET / MT

Episode 4 - Jan. 5 -10:00PM ET / MT

If you have TMN/HBO On Demand, you won't have to be a slave to this schedule as they post the episodes fairly quickly.

I won't divulge anymore information about the first episode because you need to experience it for yourself. The NHL doesn't give its fans this level of access often, so please take advantage of this beautifully produced mini series...and John Tortorella is the shit. Scratch everything I said. Watch it to witness Torts unleashed behind the scenes. Watching him go off on Gaborik during a game was priceless.

If you're still not convinced, here's the sneak peak:

 

-Paqman

Introducing The 2011 NHL All-Concussion Team

There's always plenty of injuries during the course of an NHL season. It's a tough game that's played at blazing high speeds. If you're following hockey this year, the injury du jour is the concussion. With that said, here's your 2011 NHL All-Concussion Team:

Center

 87 - Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins

After A Terrible Start, The Bruins Are Back In Championship Form

H-Orr-ton (Photo via bruins.nhl.com)

The Bruins ended a whirlwind of an off-season on a high. A summer of hanging out with the Stanley Cup (shirts optional) and celebrating is tough work. And wearing those heavy championship rings can make even a conditioned athlete tired. Boston were suffering from a serious case of cup hangover when the season kicked off. They limped to a 3-7 start in October and many were wondering what happened. Did the loss of Ryder, Kaberle and Reechi have that deep of an impact on this club?

P&B Take Buffalo: Hockey Road Trip Edition

Paqman and Turnbull are heading to Buffalo to watch the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres game tonight. Also on the menu will be a stop at the world famous Anchor Bar, birthplace of the chicken wing! 3 of my favorite things will be on tap for P&B: hockey, beer and wings. There is no better way to get a weekend started!

On a very biased notes, the Sens are my team of choice and today is a very special and important day. It's Alfie Day!! It's the tp11th day of the 11th month of 2011 and the longest serving active captain in the NHL Daniel Alfredsson wears #11! You know I'll be rocking my Alfie jersey tonight!

For any of our fans that will be in attendance tonight, check out the About Us page to see our pics and come say "What's up?!".

-Paqman