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 – Marc sucks – 12/18/08

No, Mats Sundin hasn’t decided yet. About 10 minutes after this was posted, Sundin announced he will be going to the Canucks… more later

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Yahoo! Sports brought the tie back!

We won people!  We got rid of the skills competition!

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5-hole.com Pick ’em – Free speech sold separately – 12/3/08

The first day of 5-hole.com Pick ’em seems to have been a rousing success!  The standings to the right will be updated daily and we will now offer a handful of what we feel are the most interesting stories from around the league.  Additionally, we will now give you all a reason for why we picked the teams we’ve picked.  You know, in case we are your main source before heading to the bookie.

• Sean Avery has been suspended indefinitely after sharing his thoughts with the Canadian media. “I just want to comment on how it’s become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don’t know what that’s about. Enjoy the game tonight.” Come on, that’s funny!
• Speaking of Avery, M Hurley over at My Blueshirt Heaven calls out the NHL or National Hypocrites League for their reaction to the situation. “This is the same league that has let a criminal like Todd Bertuzzi play again after he criminally assaulted and ended the career of Steve Moore.”
• The All Star voting is still a joke, but at least Jarome Iginla has broken the Red Wings hold on the West.  In the East, Sidney Crosby is now only 40,000 votes behind Alex Tanguay for a spot on the starting lineup.

We’ll get into our picks for tonight after the jump…

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