A hodgepodge of a post!

Well, I have missed quite a few games on my blog. So here is a quick round up of what I have not written about.

Let’s start with the oldest game first and work our way forward. The game against Detroit was a heartbreaker. I know many fans who were just pissed off but I wasn’t mad about it. The boys played hard and really made the Red Wings work for that win. It wasn’t like games past where we laid down and let them win. We fought them all the way to the shootout. Yes, it went to a shootout.

Which brings me to my next point… Why did we rest the game in young KT’s hands? I know he had a good game and all, but why not put him out in less stressful situation? We need to work on our shootouts in practice. We have not won a game in OT or shootout all season (I think we are 0-4 now).
***
In other news… Sean Avery is not welcome back with the Stars. I have a feeling he won’t really be welcome back in the NHL.
***
Speaking of the Stars, Turco’s got his game back. He was spot on when we played in Dallas this past week. Sucks for us. Turco’s got his game back, the cancer is gone…look for the Stars to make their way up in the standings.

Again, the boys played hard and took it to OT. Again, we couldn’t get the win in OT. Nevertheless, it was a good game to see and I was glad to see Turco back to his usual self. Yes, I have a goalie crush on Turco and I am not afraid to admit it!
***
Thursday night my other favorite team rolled into town. I think I annoyed my seatmates as I was cheering on the Coyotes and then I’d be like good one Suter or way to go Arnott. They kept telling me not to cheer for the Preds but I was like, the coyotes are winning and I can say that the Preds did something well.

And, I never noticed this before but Ellis has this little ritual/dance that he always does when the ice girls clear the snow away. It was actually pretty cute. Yah, another goalie crush…what can I say? I love the goalies.

Anyway, this was a great game and I was excited to see the Preds for the first time this season. Of course the Coyotes win this one and that is all that matters.
***
Last night the Coyotes played the Bluejackets. Bryz with the shutout! Coyotes with the sweep! TAKE THAT NASH! That is for the goal on Ballard/Dmo/Telly last season.

I was on the edge of my seat for about the last minute and a half. I wanted Bryz to get the shut out because he really needs it for his confidence and to prove to us fans that he wants to be a starter and it was looking like he was going to let that one soft goal in. He was looking a little slow while the Bluejackets had 6 guys out.

And speaking of the extra attacker, we really need to work on our empty net shots. Wow, we cannot aim, not even in practice. We went today and it was not pretty. Fridge was launching those suckers. The pucks were getting some air!

Ok, back to the game. Carcillo got in a fight with Boll, which was pretty much expected. It was a pretty good one and I bet the guys could have went longer when the refs stepped in.

All-in-all, a great game. This accompanied by the Wild’s lost to St. Louis has put us in the 7th spot. It’s a pretty nice place to be and the guys seem to be in good spirits.
***
On another note, the Coyotes brought up Lindstrom and I think this kid has finally gotten it. He also seems to make KT better. KT has just played so well with him (he got our only two goals in the Nashville game). I hope Wayne recognizes the chemistry and keeps those two together for a bit. I believe he will be in the lineup for awhile.
***
The guys left today for a road trip. They are hitting Edmonton tomorrow, Colorado on Tuesday and the Kings on Friday.
***
I would also like to say best of luck to McGrattan. He is still with the team but has taken some time to work on a personal matter. I am sure he is going through a hard time; Phoenix fans are here for him and hope to see him back on the ice for us as soon as he is able.
***
And in another note, my friend Michelle thinks I should buy hockey skates with the Christmas money I will be getting. I am still undecided about this since I have only gone once this year. I looked online and it looks like the cheapest skates are $75. That is a lot of money for something I am not sure I will use very often. Eventually, I would like to learn more how to play but right now is not a good time for me; hockey is expensive!

More on Avery

Ok blogger is really pissing me off and won’t accept my correct html, so please go here:
http://stars.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=396741
(I know it’s ugly but it wouldn’t let me do it any other way for that link)

I really enjoyed this blog. It was very well written and came from someone inside the Stars organization, which I believe to be a reliable source. One of my favorite paragraphs from the blog:

Avery’s reputation – which by all accounts – he worked hard to earn and
richly deserved – permeated the Stars room like a foul odor well before he
ever physically set foot in it. Once he did get here – he did not go
out of his way to overcome it. And things deteriorated from
there.

I also found it funny that he now asks for help for his “anger management” issues. Is this a cop-out? Is he trying to blame something other than his poor judgment for his behavior? According to this blog, he was asked to not talk to the media and yet he did. He blatantly disregarded a request by his employer. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions, he seems to be blaming it on “anger management” issues. I am so sick of people not taking responsibility for their actions. It’s stress, it’s them not me, it’s fill-in-the-blank. Seriously grow up and accept that you messed up.

Try to learn some class Mr. Avery. It will take you much farther in all aspects of your life then the way you act now.

Oh and I am surprised he didn’t find some way to insult Shane Doan in all of this! 😛

Sean Avery Suspended

Sean Avery has been suspended indefinitely and I find it quite funny.

He basically called Dion Phaneuf’s new girlfriend sloppy seconds, as she previously dated Avery (what is with her dating all the ugly hockey players? I guess that’s ok, saves the cute ones for me).

The Dallas Stars said that even if Avery hadn’t been suspended by the NHL, they would have done the same thing.

I think that is hilarious. As does Adam Carolla. He was talking about it this morning. He was making fun of Avery for calling her sloppy seconds. He said if she is sloppy seconds, turn on the microwave. Or something along those lines. I was cracking up.

Dallas 3, Coyotes 2

Last night the job made sure to welcome Avery with open arms… or something like that. There were plenty of signs around the arena that we got a good laugh out of. One of my friends had a sign that said “Avery is a” and then had a purple pansy with his head at the center. She went down to warm ups with it and Avery called her a fat fucking bitch. Way to stay classy Avery. Avery got a couple of penalties and I have never heard a crowd cheer so loud; it was great. That’s what you get for calling our Captain over-rated in every interview you have. Seriously, do you have a crush on Doan or what?

Ott also received a warm welcome from Carcillo. The first time, the refs wouldn’t let them go and just gave them 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. I still think Barch should have gotten a penalty also, as he tried to get in on the fight making it two on one. Almost as soon as those two got out of the box, they went after each other. The highlight of the fight was when Ott stuck his tongue out at the cameraman and Carcillo gets his arm free and just hauls off and punches him. As the fight was at the end of the period, the boys went straight to the locker room. When they came back, I couldn’t concentrate on the game because they were still jawing at each other. After awhile, it looked like Carcillo was just laughing.

Even though Carcillo didn’t get a goal, he played a good game. He was energized and hitting every star player he could. He was still favoring his right leg. In warm ups, he kept picking it up. He was always pushing off with his left foot and he kept doing this hop move to get going fast. I think his knee may be bothering him.

Jokinen again took a stupid penalty right off the bat and then disappeared for the first and second periods. He decided to make an appearance in the third. He was too busy doing fancy moves to score though. Seriously, I don’t care how prettily you can skate; I want you to put the puck in the net.

Two things that we need to work on: consistency and face-offs. We could (and should) have beaten the stars. They were not playing well but neither were we. We were going in streaks. We’d have a good five minutes or so where everyone was trying, the energy was up and we were doing good things and then we’d back off not play all out for about ten minutes or so. As for the face-offs, we need to find someone who can either do a good face off or find someone who can teach our guys to win. At key moments, we would lose the face-offs, making it harder to control the puck. We won maybe 3 face-offs all night.

Bryz actually had another good night. Yes, he let in three goals, but those can be blamed on the D letting him down. Our D probably sucked the most out of all the guys out there. It’s a sad day when Yandle is probably your best dman out there.

Oh yes, we need to work on communication. Passes were all over the place and guys were running into each other. Overall, not our best game and we definitely deserved to lose that one.

Scratches were Daniel Winnik, Brian McGrattan, and David Hale. Winnik and McGrattan were definitely missed. I want to see McGrattan in the lineup. Put him in against Chicago on Tuesday. That is definitely a game we can’t afford to lose.