NHL Hockey

[Rocket Surgeon]

From the wall Street Journal

Ask New Yorkers to name the greatest local sportsman of the current generation and they'll inevitably put Derek Jeter's name at, or at least near, the top of the list.

But by numbers alone, the charismatic Yankee captain isn't the greatest New York-area athlete of his generation. That honor belongs to a guy who probably wouldn't even be recognized if he showed up at Le Cirque in full pads: New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur.

These two athletes' careers are nearly identical. Each was named rookie of the year in his first season, has played more than a decade for the same team and has made the playoffs in every year but one. Mr. Brodeur started his career in 1992 and has won three titles, an Olympic gold medal and four Vezina trophies -- the award given to the NHL's best goalie. Mr. Jeter joined the Yankees in 1995 and has won four titles, a World Series MVP and three Gold Gloves:rolleyes: .

Where the goalie separates himself from the shortstop is in his assault on the NHL record book. Mr. Brodeur is on pace to break nearly every significant goalie mark, including Patrick Roy's 551 regular-season wins, which should fall within days. Mr. Jeter doesn't own any record that momentous -- it would take him about nine seasons to beat Pete Rose's record of 4,256 hits -- and his many postseason records can be explained away by baseball's expanded playoff format.

[indifan101]

So my friends we begin yet another chapter in a sport where it's championship trophy is the most sought after of all. Since it's introduction of the championship trophy of the National Hockey League back in 1893 purchased by Lord Stanley of Preston, Victoria the Stanley Cup has been the ideal dream, the driven purpose of any professional hockey player's career. Every player in the game dreams about raising it in view of twenty one thousand screaming fans, skating with it around the rink, kissing the metallic surface of all it's glory, and sharing a drink from the brim of it's cup touching their lips where so many other ledgends and heroes have done before. Names like Orr, Richard, Howe, Dryden, Trotier, Gretzky, Lemeiux, Sawchuck, Broda, Hull, Clarke, Messier, Roy, Yzerman, Brodeur, Modano, Sacic, Borque, Hasek and Bossy have all shared their taste of victory from it's gleeming bowl. But now this season begins a new page in the trophy's history. Since their inaugural season in 2000-2001, the Columbus Blue Jackets have achieved their first ever playoff appearance in their franchise. However to prove their worth they must start their series against a team that's no stranger to playoff and championship hockey. The defending Stanley Cup Champions Detroit Red Wings who have now made the playoffs fourty five times in their history with eleven stanley cup championships in their franchise. Four in the last ten years including back to back wins in 1997 and 1998. The Montreal Canadians and Boston Bruins meet eachother in a classic Original Six series for the first time since 1977 where the Canadians defeated the Bruins in a six game series to win their 21st stanley cup championship. The Chicago Blackhawks have redeemed their honor and captured the fourth seed to face the calgary flames. The Blackhawks currently still have the NHL record for second longest championship drought which began after their last stanley cup victory back in 1961. The state of Pennsylvania finds itself locked once again in the battle of the cities. The defending Eastern Conference Champions Pittsburgh Penguins will face off against their brother to the east the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers have not watched the their team raise the cup since 1974 defeating the Buffalo Sabers in six games. After the quarterfinals end eight total will remain, after the semifinals end four total will remain after the conference finals end two total will remain and after the finals are over only one will remain. Only one team will take home the stanley cup the question is when its all said and done, who will that team be?

[Finn]

http://dictionary.reference.com/dic?q=paragraph

[Stoo]

Not to mention spelling!:p Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Trottier, Lemieux, Sakic, etc.

Who's going to take the cup? Why the HABS, of course! Montreal vs. Boston, OMG, this is going to be nasty! Here's the Bruins doing what they do best:

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[Rocket Surgeon]

Let's hope Boston can turn The NHL's most popular player and Lady Bing candidate Sean Avery into a bag of skin holding powdered bones!

Anyone want to put money on him not making it out of the first round?
5 will get you 10!

What are the odds in Vegas he finished his season in the hospital like last year?:dead:

[Ska]

Let's go Pens!

Keep the momentum going into the Playoffs.

[Lonsome_Drifter]

Hockey is the sport of mullets, am I right?

[DocWhiskey]

Hockey is the sport of mullets, am I right?

Nah. Nascar is more "mullet" than hockey. That is, if you call making a high speed left turn for 2 hours a sport.

[roundshort]

Lets go Pens, but Now the Steelers have yet another SB, I could really care less . . .

[Goonie]

I held Stanley over my head about six years ago. I should dig out a photo. I didn't win it:rolleyes: , but I know someone who has won it four times.

[IndyAJA77]

As a New Englander, I am loyal to my home teams. It the case of hockey, I'm rooting for the Bruins!

[00Kevin]

i recently visited family in Columbus and went to my first NHL game! my mom got me all excited and then the blue jackets made the playoffs for the first time! now i'm all interested in following it

[Stoo]

Hey, 00Kevin, that's great to hear and I hope Columbus does well because...

Hockey is the sport of mullets, am I right?No. This should be truncated to: "Hockey is THE sport." Period.

I held Stanley over my head about six years ago. I should dig out a photo. I didn't win it , but I know someone who has won it four times.Hmm...Who would that be?;) I've met a few legends (Lafleur, Orr, Dickie Moore) but, like you, I know a Stanley Cup champ (my "brother-in-law" drank champagne from the cup...lucky dog!) Plus a relative of mine was a semi-notorius Bruin!

[Finn]

Hey, 00Kevin, that's great to hear and I hope Columbus does well because... No hope against the Red Wings, it appears.

[Nurhachi1991]

Ducks all the way

[Stoo]

No hope against the Red Wings, it appears.Eeesh. Yes, that is true. Good luck, Blue Jackets!:eek:

I held Stanley over my head about six years ago. I should dig out a photo. I didn't win it , but I know someone who has won it four times.O.K. It must be an Edmonton Oiler from the '80s. The question is which one? Messier? Fuhr? McSorley? or even...The Great One? (BTW, Kevin Lowe's family has a home-made ice-cream place north of Montreal and they have photos of Stanley sitting right on the counter. They are very proud and make delicious ice-cream!)

I've also met Manon Rhéaume, the only woman to ever play in the NHL (she played some pre-season games for Tampa Bay Lightning in the early '90s).

Ducks all the wayYeah, it looks like good odds for the Ducks.

[Finn]

Believe it or not, but I've played croquet with someone who's won five SCs...

[Stoo]

Ha ha. Really? Hmm...Selanne? Kurri, maybe?:confused:

[Finn]

Ha ha. Really? Hmm...Selanne? Kurri, maybe?:confused: Esa Tikkanen.



The options were scarce to begin with, since he and Kurri are the only Finns with five. Teemu still has a few cups to take before he can reach those numbers.

[Stoo]

Cool! So, did you beat him in the croquet game?:D (Yeah, Teemu was the 1st Finn that popped into my head.)

[Finn]

Let's say that all parties present agreed that he ought to stick to golf as pastime activity.

[Goonie]

Hmm...Who would that be?;) I've met a few legends (Lafleur, Orr, Dickie Moore) but, like you, I know a Stanley Cup champ (my "brother-in-law" drank champagne from the cup...lucky dog!) Plus a relative of mine was a semi-notorius Bruin!

The person I know is still playing and he's considered to be the most decorated player in hockey history, that's hockey history, not NHL history. He's won pretty much all the major international awards.

And in other news...
Canucks advance to round 2!

First team to go to round 2 and it's the first time in Canucks' history that they swept a series in four games! Congrats Vancouver!:up:

[Stoo]

The person I know is still playing and he's considered to be the most decorated player in hockey history, that's hockey history, not NHL history. He's won pretty much all the major international awards.Well, I'm stumped. Go, Canucks! Montreal is getting slaughtered. Boston is making Cream Pies out of them.:(

[Rocket Surgeon]

Marty ties the playoff shutout record...

[Rocket Surgeon]

Aaaaaaaaaahhhh!:mad:

First Round!:down:

:sick:

[Ska]

The Pens vs. Caps round 2 match-up should be VERY interesting.

Malkin and Ovechkin have been feuding all season.

[Rocket Surgeon]

Bruins force game 7...hmmm

Come on Red Wings...

Want to see BlackHawks Red Wings!

[Rocket Surgeon]

Chicago Detroit!

Pittsburgh Carolina!

Not that it means any thing to me or that I'm superstitious, but the last 6(?) years the Stanley Cup winners have come through NJ...

[Goonie]

I don't give a darn any longer. No Canadian teams in it, and the Ducks are out.:( Here's to next season.:hat:

At least the Memorial Cup is on. Kelowna won the WHL final and is going to the Memorial Cup. Go Rockets go!:up:

[Agent Z]

Good Luck to the Canes! :up:


They'll need it!

[Rocket Surgeon]

Re-Match! Game 1 Saturday

[Rocket Surgeon]

Shaping up to be a repeat of last year...almost down to the scores.
Come on Guins, make it a series!

[Rocket Surgeon]

•May 24: Detroit 4 - Pittsburgh 0


•May 26: Detroit 3 - Pittsburgh 0
•May 28: Pittsburgh 3 - Detroit 2
•May 31: Detroit 2 - Pittsburgh 1
•June 2: Pittsburgh 4 - Detroit 3 (3 OT)
•June 4: Detroit 3 - Pittsburgh 2
Detroit wins series 4-2


2009...
Red Wings lead series 2 - 1

GAME 1: DET 3, PIT 1
GAME 2: DET 3, PIT 1
GAME 3: PIT 4, DET 2
GAME 4: 6/4 8:00 PM EDT

[Rocket Surgeon]

Shaping up to be a repeat of last year...almost down to the scores.
Come on Guins, make it a series!

The Steelers, The Phillies and now The Penguins.

Pennsylvania is the place to be!

NBC's coverage SUCKED! McGuire talking about the team he coached! For THREE DAYS?

[roundshort]

OH YAY!

Where is Indiefan101? The Pens get SWEET revenge to becoemt he City of Champions, AGAIN!

Steelers, Pens, now if only the Pirates . . .never mind.

[Rocket Surgeon]

Maybe the Mods can change the thread name to "NHL Hockey"

Brodeur sets NHL record with 104th shutout

Devils goalie eclipses Sawchuk’s mark in 4-0 victory over Penguins

updated 12:10 a.m. ET, Tues., Dec . 22, 2009
PITTSBURGH - This was more than a regular-season game for Martin Brodeur, more than another night at the rink, and his Devils teammates knew it. They threw themselves at every Penguins shot and played as if the Stanley Cup was being decided, all to make sure Brodeur reached the NHL record book again.

Brodeur broke Terry Sawchuk’s 40-year-old record with his 104th career shutout, further strengthening his case to be considered the best goaltender to play the game, and the streaking New Jersey Devils had little trouble beating Pittsburgh 4-0 on Monday night.

Brodeur made 35 stops to surpass the coveted shutout record only two games after setting the NHL mark for regular-season appearances by a goaltender. The shutout record came in his 1,032nd game over 16 seasons, all with the Devils.

Now the question is how long Brodeur will own his latest and hardest-to-surpass record. Twenty-five years? Fifty? Forever? Until Brodeur came along, no other goalie was within 10 shutouts of Sawchuk, who last played in 1969-70.

“This record was held for so long, when you do break records and see how long they lasted, it’s cool,” Brodeur said. “Tying it was amazing and surpassing him, was a great honor for me to be in that position.”

Brodeur has long been compared to the game’s greats, and for obvious reasons — no other current-day goalie can begin to compare to the 37-year-old, the only active player among the top 22 on the career shutouts list. He has three shutouts this season and six in his career against Pittsburgh. He broke the record two weeks after beating Buffalo 3-0 on Dec. 7 to tie it.

As the game ended, his teammates swarmed to congratulate him, and the remaining fans from the standing-room crowd of 17,132 applauded as a congratulatory message from Penguins owner Mario Lemieux was read on the public address system.

“It’s great, but I wasn’t focusing on it,” Brodeur said. “I’m definitely happy it’s passed and we can just go play, and I don’t have to answer the questions about it.”

Brodeur, the NHL’s winningest goalie with 580 wins, is 23-8-1 this season.

“When it got down to 10 minutes, five minutes, everybody’s thinking about it (the record),” teammate Zach Parise said. “We’re on the ice when a lot of these records are happening and it’s fun. ... I don’t think much needs to be said. It’s all self-explanatory, all the winning he’s done, the shutouts, the (three Stanley) Cups. It’s unbelievable.”

Brodeur’s latest shutout came only two days after he was pulled during a rare off night in New Jersey’s 5-4 victory over Atlanta on Saturday. He left after allowing three goals in the first.

“Surpassing a record definitely becomes a little nerve-racking,” Brodeur said. “I don’t get nervous, but today I was a little nervous. It was a like a good playoff game, everybody was trying to get the puck out and blocking shots and definitely it was a great effort by my teammates for me to break it.”

Devil of a goalie


New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, the winningest netminder in NHL history.


Fleury has been playing as well as any NHL goalie other than Brodeur with a 10-1-1 record and 1.80 goals-against average in 12 games, only to be yanked after allowing four goals on 16 goals.

Pittsburgh came into matchup between the NHL’s two best-record teams with a five-game winning streak and a 13-2-1 record in the last 16 games, but were dominated at home by New Jersey for the third time this season. The Devils outscored the Penguins 12-2 in winning all three games at Mellon Arena, where they won’t play again unless the teams meet in the playoffs.

[Ska]

That was a brutal game to watch as a Pens fan...

...but my congrats go out to Brodeur. He's an amazing goalie and seems like a genuinely nice guy.