5-hole.com Pick ‘em – Marc owes me $1

OMG PETR PRUCHA’S PLAYING TONIGHT!

But Ryan Callahan isn’t because he has the flu.

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5-hole.com Pick ‘em – Marc is Mini-Kipper – 1/15/09

#2 Boston Bruins @ #30 New York Islanders

Eric – Bruins – If the Bruins don’t win I will eat my hat.  *gimmie*
Marc – Bruins – The Isles were already hopeless with MacDonald… now Danis is in net. *gimmie*
Rory – Bruins – Ha! *gimmie*

#25 Toronto Maple Leafs @ #15 Carolina Hurricanes

Eric – Canes – Fantasy team pick (Cam Ward)
Marc – Canes – blah
Rory – Canes – The Leafs have lost 8 of their last ten.  Plus they suck.

#22 Nashville Predators @ #6 Montreal Canadiens

Eric – Preds – hahaha Pekka.
Marc – Habs – The Preds are looking good recently but it’s tough to go into the Bell Centre and win.
Rory – Habs – No dollar bills are going to be mailed out tonight.

#9 Philadelphia Flyers @ #27 Tampa Bay Lightning

Eric – Flyers – There is no possible way that the Lightning beat the Flyers tonight.  None.
Marc – Flyers – The Lightning are back from a long west coast road trip where they actually won 2 out of 3.  But they lost 7-1 to the Sharks and jet lag is a bitch.
Rory – Flyers – Come on, now.

#20 Edmonton Oilers @ #19 Minnesota Wild

Eric – Wild – I flipped a coin.  It landed on it’s rim.  Bad teams are bad.
Marc – Wild – Backstrom is the man.
Rory – Wild – I flipped a coin – these two are practically the same at the moment, stnadings-wise and record-wise, anyway.

#21 Colorado Avalanche @ #28 St. Louis Blues

Eric – Avs – They’re on a roll… of sorts.
Marc – Avs – These teams are both pretty bad, but at least Col has looked decent lately.  Stl has lost their last 2 and 7 of the last 10.
Rory – Avs – St. Louis is suckin’ it big time this season.

#13 Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. @ #23 Dallas Stars

Eric – Stars – They’re playing pretty well lately.  But then again so are the Sabres.
Marc – Stars – Yes, I’m actually picking Turco.
Rory – Stars – Why not?  I like to mix it up.

#14 Phoenix Coyotes @ #11 Vancouver Canucks

Eric – Canucks – Luongo hath returneth.
Marc – Canucks – Luongo is back in action.  Sanford got waived… ouch.
Rory – Canucks – Not-so-sucky team playing pretty-damn-sucky team. (Ed. Note:  Look at the standings…)

#3 Detroit Red Wings @ #24 Los Angeles Kings

Eric – Wings – Just beat up the Ducks last night.  Didn’t have to travel very far today.
Marc – Wings – When the Wings turn it on, they are the best team in the NHL.  Anyone who has watched a team try to hold on to a 3rd period lead against the Wings knows what I’m talking about.
Rory – Wings – LA shouldn’t even bother to show up to this game.  Save everyone some time and effort.

#5 Calgary Flames @ #1 San Jose Sharks

Eric – Sharks – The Flames probably have the best chance to had the Sharks their first home regulation loss.  But I don’t think that will happen.
Marc – Flames – This would be a big time upset, but I freakin love Kipper almost as much as the Mini-Kipper.  Almost, but not quite. (see video below)
Rory – Sharks – San Jose haven’t lost at home in regulation and only twice in OT.  Yup.

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5-hole.com Pick ‘em is back, baby! Lock up your daughters…

Where has 5-hole.com Pick ‘em been for the last 3 weeks, you ask?   Well, I was in Beijing looking for a lovely young bride.   Eric was on a flight to Florida with his financial adviser.  And Rory was negotiating contracts in California.

Now we’re back, and just in time because there’s a full slate of games on tap for tonight.  It’s a great night to have the NHL Center Ice package.  On to the picks!

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5-hole.com Pick ‘em – OMG! Controversy! – 12/23/08

There is controversy brewing over the Penguins’ game winning goal scored by Sidney Crosby in overtime last night.  The big question is whether Crosby made contact with the puck above or below the crossbar.  The goal was reviewed and it stood.  So what’s the problem?  The call on the ice was goal.  The replay did not conclusively disprove that.  It’s a goal right?  Maybe, maybe not.

Why it’s a goal:
1. The NHL says it’s a goal, therefore, it’s a goal.
2. Someone at Pensblog drew a cute picture!  They can’t be wrong, can they?

Why it’s not a goal:

1. Conspiracy theorists claim the NHL is just furthering the Sidney Crosby love fest.

2. The picture from Pensblog is misleading because the puck was not in line with the corner where the post and crossbar meet when it made contact with Crosby’s stick.  It was actually closer to the center of the crossbar.  Oh no!  The new line goes under Crosby’s arm and the puck!  NO GOAL!
3. Commenter Tom L. on the Puck Daddy post says, “Crosby is 5′ 11″, 6′ 3″ on skates. The crossbar is 4ft high and the puck hit a few inches below his armpits. Unless Sid’s swollen head is 28 inches tall, that’s well over 4ft.”
4. If the NHL had disciplined Crosby for his actions in the game against Atlanta, he would not have even been playing in this game.
5. This picture left by another commenter in that Puck Daddy post shows with more lines that the net is only 80 pixels tall in the image, while the distance from the puck to the ice is 91 pixels.  11 pixels isn’t all that much but it’s still something.

I say it was no goal.  But what do I know?  Onto the picks!

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5-hole.com Pick ‘em – Zambonis and Crosbys gone wild! – 12/19/08

In yesterday’s game between the Thrashers and Penguins, a fight broke out after the Thrashers’ first goal.  At one point, Sidney Crosby gives Boris Valabik 3 solid punches from behind while teammate Kris Letang held Valabik down.  Crosby was clearly the third man in on this “fight” and he sucker punched Valabik not once, not twice, but three times yet he was only accessed a roughing minor.

The Honda zamboni was so excited to get inside Wrigley field that it jumped off of the truck that was transporting it.  Luckily, no one (including the zamboni) was injured.

Quick! Go look at our picks before Sidney Crosby punches you in the back of the head!

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5-hole.com Pick ‘em – Habs fans should just give up – 12/12/08

Yes, we made picks yesterday and no, we didn’t post them.  We’re sorry.  But just to show our dedication to this, I am revealing to everyone that Marc and I both picked the Habs as our gimmies last night. The Habs lost. To the Lightning.  That’s right, the Lightning.

Last night, I went 5-3 and dropped my first gimmie of the season by picking the Habs over the Bolts.  Marc also went 4-4 and also dropped his gimmie by picking the Habs.  Rory went 3-5 last night but did not pick the Habs as her gimmie.  She went with the Sharks who won.

Oh well.  Let’s get to some news:

Petr Prucha’s days in a Rangers uniform may be numbered.  Andrew Gross over at Ranger Rants has this:

Renney was asked whether Prucha’s latest three-game stint was enough of a sample for him.

“Yup,” Renney said. “If it wasn’t, he would still be in. He gave me everything he could. It depends also on what you need. Nigel is in primarily because of his ability to score and help create offense. Also, he’s a playmaker. He helps, I think, supplement what we might need offensive by his ability to make plays. It’s where we are and what we need to generate. It’s capitalizing on guys that have been out of the lineup that want badly to get back in and do the right thing as they do that.”

So there you have it.  Nigel Dawes: playmaker.  Did anyone actually notice Dawes in that game on Wednesday night?  I mean besides the time in the third when he blew his golden opportunity.

The Islanders got absolutely destroyed last night by the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Enjoy:

Picks coming as soon as I clear all these hats out of the way…

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Rangers lose [insert witty title]

The Rangers have just three regulation wins in 17 games since the start of November with two goals or fewer in 12 of those 17 games. They have been shutout twice on home ice in the last three games and have only scored 2.33 goals per game, second-to-last in the NHL, better than only Tampa Bay.  The Rangers have had the benefit of a fairly easy schedule through the early part of the season.  Now that they’re playing better teams, their true colors are showing. The stars are not playing up to their abilities and the young players have all plateaued.

Scott Gomez has 1 goal in his last 13 games.  Chris Drury has no goals in his last 8, Dubinsky has 1 in his last 20 and Ryan Callahan has 1 in his last 14

Last night’s game against the Flames was not the worst game this season but it was up there (down there?).  They actually played well through the first period and were sticking to the defense first mentality that has worked so well in years past.  They even held the Flames to just 2 shots in the second period.  Those two shots were the shot that led to the rebound which was Jarome Iginla’s goal.

Dear NHL, can you please make a rule change that allows teams to decline penalties?  Honestly, the Rangers’ power play is so bad that they would be better off just playing at even strength.  They had a better chance scoring short handed last night then they did up a man and they now lead the league in short handed goals against.

How is it that a team that has the best penalty kill in the entire league can be so dreadful on the power play?  It’s not like the players are that different.  Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, and Ryan Callahan all had time on both the power play and the penalty kill.  And it’s not like we play with four forwards on the power play.  Why then, can we not defend our net when we have more players on the ice than they do!?!

The highlights of the night were when the crowd started chanting “sloppy seconds” at Dion Phaneuf and when my brother mentioned that the guy sitting behind us sounded exactly like Zoidberg from “Futurama.”  That was the gift that kept on giving.

***

Notes

• The more I watch this team, the more they remind me of last year’s Ottawa Senators.
• The Lightning just waived Radim Vrbata.  If they try to bring him back up, the Rangers should snag him at half the price.  This guy had a great year with the Coyotes last season and I think he would play wonderfully next to Brandon Dubinsky and Petr Prucha.
• Michal Rozsival played his best game of the season last night.  Hopefully he can make a habit of it.
• Corey Potter played very well in his first NHL game and reminded me of Dan Girardi when he was first called up.  Defensively sound.

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5-hole.com Pick ‘em – Bottom Feeders Delight – 12/2/08

This is a new daily feature here on 5-hole.com.  Everyday, Marc, Rory, and I will each pick which teams we think will win that day.  Each of us will consider one of our picks to be a “gimmie” meaning that there is no way that we will get that pick wrong.  At the end of the season, the writer with the most correct picks wins!  In the event of a tie, the percentage of gimmies correctly chosen will break the tie.  Pretty straight forward right?

And don’t forget to vote early and vote often for the New York Rangers for the All Star Game.  Or, just write a program that votes thousands of times for you!

On to the picks! (Rankings are for the entire league).

#30 Tampa Bay Lightning @ #12 Philadelphia Flyers

Eric – Flyers
Marc – Flyers
Rory – Flyers

#26 Florida Panthers @ #11 Washington Capitals

Eric – Capitals
Marc – Panthers
Rory – Capitals

#29 Atlanta Thrashers @ #7 Montréal Canadiens

Eric – Habs *gimmie*
Marc – Habs
Rory – Habs

#28 Dallas Stars @ #10 Calgary Flames

Eric – Flames
Marc – Flames
Rory – Flames

#21 Los Angeles Kings @ #23 Phoenix Coyotes

Eric – Coyotes
Marc – Coyotes
Rory – Kings

#20 Toronto Maple Leafs @ #1 San Jose Sharks

Eric – Sharks
Marc – Sharks *gimmie*
Rory – Sharks *gimmie*

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The ol’ nine-minute power play

That’s right.  Last night in Calgary, the Capitals had a NINE-MINUTE POWER PLAY.  Now, one might ask, “How do you get a nine-minute power play?”

Like this:

Tyler Sloan gets a nice open-ice hit and then Rene Bourque pounces on him.  Bourque was given 4 penalties.  A five-minute major for fighting, a two-minute minor for instigating, a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, and a 10 minute misconduct.  Keep in mind that it was just a misconduct, not a game misconduct.

On Friday against the Maple Leafs, Marc Staal laid a nasty (but clean) hit on Matt Stajan.  Almost instantly,  Jamal Mayers went after Staal and proceeded to wrestle him to the ground.

Those two plays were very similar, yet they had very different outcomes.  As I said before, the Capitals ended up getting a nine-minute power play (which they failed to score on) but in the Rangers’ case, both Staal and Mayers were given five-minute majors for fighting.

But Eric, Staal fought back while Sloan didn’t!

That’s not true.  If you go watch the first video again, you can see that Sloan throws his gloves off as Bourque comes after him.  Sloan just didn’t get any punches in and fell down almost instantly.  Staal, on the other hand, stayed up a few for a few seconds.

So why do the refs deal with these two similar plays so differently?  Is the league trying to crack down on this sort of thing?

Also, why is it that Paul Mara gets a game misconduct for sticking up for himself after he avoided what would have been a very dirty hit from the guy that broke his face last season, but Rene Bourque only gets a misconduct (which allows him to return) even after being given an instigator AND an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty?

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My UFA wish list

After taking a very brief look at who is going to be available, I’ve come up with a preliminary list of a few players I’d like to see wearing a Rangers jersey next season.

Ryan Malone, LW, Pit
The 6’4″, 225 lb. winger would add much needed size and skill to the Rangers front lines. The fast and powerful forward would make a great complement to the quick and shifty Scott Gomez. Malone, who racked up 103 PIM this season, would also add some toughness to the Rangers. Malone is 28 years old, and recorded 27 goals and 24 assists this season. Current salary: $1.45 mil

Kristian Huselius, LW, Cal
Huselius is a fast skater with a scorer’s touch. He had 25 goals this season to go with 41 assists. He plays fearlessly on the boards, which when combined with his quickness, makes him a very dangerous forechecker. I would love to see the 29-year-old Huselius on a line with Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan. Current salary: $1.4 mil

John Michael-Liles, D, Col
The Rangers have had their sights set on this 27-year-old Defenseman for some time. It was rumored they were trying to acquire him at this season’s trade deadline but the price was too steep. Now that he will be an Unrestricted Free Agent, I expect Sather to go after him. At 5’10″ 185 lbs., he is smaller than your prototypical NHL defenseman, but he could be the power play quarterback the Rangers so desperately need. The offensive defenseman had 6 goals and 26 assists this season. Current salary: $1.4 mil

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