Cabbie's Journey To The Cup - Hanging With The Hawks

After that bizarre high-scoring first game of the finals, Cabbie catches up with some of the Hawks.

Wow. Just Wow.

I stole this picture from Puck Daddy who legally obtained it from Getty Images. I'm just stunned. As a hockey photographer hack, I can only dream of EVER taking a shot anywhere near this good. I know, I know....these guys have photo holes, thousands of dollars worth of equipment and years of experience, but man it makes me feel inadequate. I could look at this picture all day. It's a work of art. It's like a Monet...and mine is like a kindergartner's finger painting.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Play Offs

Blackhawks 6 - Flyers 5



Well this was definitely not a goal tending clinic. You had the Sieve (that's not a magnifying glass) vs Swiss Cheese. Of course both teams are not throwing the goalies under the bus and I agree, it can't all be laid on the shoulders of the goalies, but WOW! Let's look at some numbers

Antti Niemi - Niemi faced 32 shots and let 5 goals in. That's a save percentage of .843. (OUCH). Niemi did have a nice save in the 3rd period robbing Briere.

Mike Leighton -Leighton was pulled in the 2nd period after letting in 5 goals on 20 shots within 35 minutes, giving him a SV% of .750 (shudder). Mike is a big goalie, but played deep in his net giving the Hawks way too much space to shoot on. (thank you Kevin Weeks for that comment)

Bryan Boucher - This was Bryan's first night back riding the bench after injury, I'm sure he didn't expect to see ice time. He came in to mop up after Leighton and saw 12 shots, stopping all but 1. As he saw the fewest shots, he had the highest SV% with .916.

As for the rest of the teams, yeah I actually acknowledge there are more people on the ice besides the goalie, they were off, too. Chicago did a good job of winning face-offs (63%..largely due to Toews). Top lines for both teams were off. For the Hawks, the usual heroes of Toews, Kane and Byfuglien had no goals, no assists and were a -9. Not to be out done, the Flyers' Richards, Carter and Gagne had no goals, no assists an were a -7. Obviously with 11 goals scored, the secondary scoring guys stepped up. Secondary scoring is vital, but you have to have your super stars doing their jobs, too.

Big discussion question for the Flyers...who do you start with the next game, Boucher or Leighton?

Another issue to discuss, the Kopecky's game winning goal. The puck should have been whistled dead as it hit Patrick Kane on the bench, but it wasn't.


Hopefully the guys are just getting over nerves and feeling each other out and it will be an awesome Game 2!

Take My Stanley Cup Poll!

Stupid technical issues. My home page is still goofed up, but if you click on the individual topic, in this case "Take My Stanley Cup Poll" you should see it at the side.

Who are you pulling for in the Stanley Cup?

Neither of these teams are favorites of mine. I don't particularly hate either one of them. On any given game, I might pick Chicago, but this isn't just any given game! This is the Stanley Cup Finals! I'm torn, I'm not sure who I'm going to pull for. It might be a game time decision!


I'll go through the reasons I like both teams.


The Philadelphia Flyers - From a shootout win to the Stanley Cup Finals
Of course being a goalie girl, I love a good goalie story. Philly has one! Starting goal tender for the season, Ray Emery has been a non-factor for months. Dan Boucher stepped up and played balls-out for the team.



Boucher went down with an injury and the future was looking dim. The Flyers picked up Michael Leighton on waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes. Leighton turned out to be GOLD for the Flyers. The Flyers weren't getting much healthy goalie luck this season. In mid March, Leighton went down with a high ankle sprain, fortunately Boucher was ready to step back in.


Brian Boucher is a true journeyman who has played for at least 10 different teams in his career. He started his NHL career with Philly 10 years ago. He hasn't been a starting goalie in the NHL since. The most games he's played in a season for an NHL team was in the 2002-03 season when he played 45 games for the Phoenix Coyotes. He hasn't sniffed an NHL playoff game since the 2001-02 season and he has helped his team go all the way. Boucher was ready to repeat his deep play off run with Philly when in Game 5 of the series against Boston he suffered an injury. Leighton stepped in making his first playoff appearance ever. Leighton has proven he is up to the task. He has played in 7 games and only had 1 loss, and oh yeah, three of those wins were SHUT OUTS! Can he keep it up? We shall see.


Another reason for me to pull for Philly? They have Jared Ross, the NHL's first player to be born and trained in my home state of Alabama. And, if you are wondering, yes he has played in the playoffs, three games to be exact. He has had only a few minutes, but he's been there.



I wouldn't mind Pronger lifting the cup again.



There is an ex-Thrasher factor as well. They have former Thrasher Braydon Coburn, probably most famous for the infamous Zhitnik trade.



One of the most important factors for me, Ian Laperriere. No one deserves to hoist a cup more than this man. This picture was taken the night after he took a puck to the face and lost like 8 teeth and had over a hundred stitches. He was clocked in the head with a puck during the playoffs and thought he lost his vision. This man is a warrior and warriors deserve to win!





The Chicago Blackhawks - Youth Gone Wild

The Blackhawks are a young team and a lot of fun to watch. They are the favored by most to win the Cup. With such talent, it's not hard to see why.


Captain Jonathon Toews has an amazing 26 points in the playoffs so far with 7 goals and 19 assists.



Patrick Kane doesn't have Toews numbers, nor his beard growing ability, but the mullet wearing wonder does have 20 points with 7 goals and 13 assists.



And of course there is my favorite, Dustin "Big Buff" Byfuglien. What's not to love? He's hot. He camps out in front of net making life miserable for my goalies (something I usually hate depending on the team). When he scores, he celebrates BIG! And speaking of scoring, he might only have 10 points with 8 goals and 2 assists, but FOUR of those goals were game winners!



Of course there is the Hossa factor. Lots of fans hate Marian Hossa. Pens fans hate him, Wings fans hate him and a lot of Thrashers fans hate him. As a Thrashers fan, I don't hate him. I usually wish most of my ex-Thrashers well. Plus, there is something just sad about a guy going to the finals 3 times and coming away with nothing. Maybe this third time is a charm and the Hossa curse will be broken.



And of course behind every story for me is a goalie! The season started with all eyes on Hawks goalie, Christobal Huet. Huet struggled and Antti Niemi battled for the job. Niemi ended the season with a respectable .912 SV% and a 2.25 GAA, but has really stepped up his game in the playoffs. Niemi has a .921 SV% and a 2.31 GAA in the playoffs with 2 shut outs. Questions about how well Niemi can play when he sees a ton of shots? I mean prior to the playoffs, his career high for saves in a single game was 35. No problem! In Game 1 of the Western Finals against San Jose, Niemi faced 45 shots and in Game 3, faced 46.



Did I mention Buff?


So I'm torn. I guess I'll have to wait and see who I get more upset about when they score. Who are you pulling for?

We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties Here At GPD

You might have noticed that when you come to the main page of the blog, all of the "stuff" (followers, about me, poll, Thrashers News, etc) is missing at the side. Also, at the bottom you cannot click on the "see older posts."



For some bizarre reason if you click on the title of one of the posts and go to that post, you CAN see all of the stuff at the side.


I think it's a blogger glitch and hope it will be cleared up soon. It's driving me nuts!

Your Getting Pucks Deep Summer Programming

First just let me say, summer sucks! It's hot. There is no hockey. Your favorite shows are in reruns. Blech. Fun and sun my ass. I guess if you live somewhere that it snows half the year summer is nice. I don't so it's not!


I plan to once again keep this site alive and kicking during the long, hot, hockey-less days of summer. It helps me pass the days with no hockey and besides, it's not like I have a job or anything. So I thought I'd give you a schedule of what you can look forward to this summer on GPD.

Monday - On Mondays I will continue the series I started last summer, "Blueland Guest Goalie." We had some new goalies come through this season. There won't be as many goalies featured because I covered most of them last season, but it should still be fun.

Tuesday - People of Phillips. A fun look at the douchebags and oddities you see through out the season in Blueland (Thanks for the idea, Kerry)

Wednesday - Thrashers Yearbook. Each Wednesday I will select a Thrasher and post some of my favorite pictures from this past season.

Friday - Focus on a Thrasher. This will be a continuation of the series I started last summer. We had a bunch of new players this season and I'll be telling you what you need to know about them.

Saturday - Saturday nights alright for fighting! On Saturday I will be putting up fight pics. Not sure how many I have, but we'll see!! (Thanks Brittany for the idea)

Of course be sure to check every day for the "Hockey Photo of the Day." Also, I will be posting randomly when there is Thrashers news or big hockey news.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Local Guy Looking Into Buying The Thrashers

How awesome would it be if this guy could come up with the dough to do this? Imagine that, a local guy who is passionate about ATLANTA hockey owning our team?? It's too good to be true...you know what that usually means.

Check out the article:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=5224553

Congratulations to Chris Thorburn!

Chris and his wife Sara welcomed their first child into the world! Their new son, Bennett, weighed in a little over 7lbs and everyone is doing well. Chris is enjoying his new job, saying:

I hold him at night and feed him and it just hasn’t sunk in yet that this is real. It’s so surreal. He’s such a little guy and it’s so hard to wrap your head around the fact that as parents you made him. It’s such a wonderful feeling. It’s so special.

If that doesn't give you the warm fuzzies, I don't know what will! You can read more about Chris and Bennett on the Blueland Blog:

http://www.bluelandblog2.com/2010/05/26/thorburn-a-dad/

Cabbie Talks To The Hawks After Game Three

Cabbie gets chatty with the Hawks after their victory in Game 3 over the Sharks.


I can't wait to see what he has coming after the Hawks swept the Sharks out today.

Don Cherry Is A Pimp!

Cabbie catches up with Don Cherry and his cohort Ron Maclean.

Checking In With Bogo

They grow up so fast! Thrashers TV checks in with Zach Bogosian. It seems like just yesterday he was blogging and making his mom's french fries. He seems to love Atlanta, that's cool.

Final "In The Nest" of the 2009-10 Season

It seems like just yesterday, I was freshly unemployed (It's now been almost a year) and my little baby Thrashers were in town for prospect camp! I've enjoyed keeping tabs on them this season and have enjoyed passing on the knowledge. So let's see how our baby Thrashers did this season.



Atlanta's first round draft pick (#4 overall) was Evander Kane. I think you guys are probably familiar with how he did this season.


Kaner missed 14 games late in the season, but still managed to end the season a +2 with 236 points (14 goals and 12 assists).

You can see Kaner talk about his rookie season here:



The Thrashers 2nd round pick (34th overall) Carl Klingberg played last season with Frolunda HC of the Swedish Elite League. Carl played 42 games, scoring 13 points (6 goals and 7 assists). In addition to playing for Frolunda, he represented Sweden in the World Junior Championships and helped bring home a Bronze medal.



It's hard for me to get a lot of information on Klingy as the Indians website is in Swedish. Me and my Rosetta Stone can't keep up. I deeply regret this because, I don't know if you noticed, but...he's one of my favorites!



Jeremy Morin, another of the Thrashers 2nd round picks (45th overall) had a smashing season and tore through the OHL. Jeremy played 58 games and scored a fabulous 83 points (47 goals and 36 assists), putting him as the 12th highest scorer in the OHL. Jeremy was named the CHL Player of the Week for April 20, 2010. He was also named to the OHL All Star Team. In addition to playing for Kitchener, Jeremy was on the Gold Medal winning Team USA in the World Junior Championships!



The Thrashers took a goalie in the 4th round, (117th overall), in Ed Pasquale. While playing 51 games with the Saginaw Spirit this season, Ed posted a .916 SV% and a GAA of 3.17. According to Cap Geek, Ed was offered a three year entry level contract worth about $1.837 million from the Thrashers. Talk is, he could go and play for Gwinnett. If Ed is in Gwinnett next season, I will definitely make an effort to see more games!



With their next pick in the 4th round, the Thrashers chose Ben Chiarot (120th overall), described as a nasty physical defenseman. Ben spent 41 games playing for the Guelph Storm before being traded to the Sudbury Wolves. During the season, Ben scored 21 points (8 goals and 13 assists).



The Thrashers 5th round selection (125th overall) was Cody Sol. Cody is a bruising 6'4'' defenseman who played the season with the Saginaw Spirit. Cody put up 15 points last season, 7 goals and 6 assists.



Chosen in the 6th round (155th overall) is the guy who already has cult following in Atlanta just because he has a cool last name, Jimmy Bubnick. Jimmy played most of the season (44 games) with the Kamloops Blazers where he tallied 40 points (17 goals and 23 assists). He was then traded to the Calgary Hitmen where he finished up the season playing in 21 games scoring 13 points (5 goals and 8 assists). Jimmy is currently playing in the Memorial Cup with the Hitmen.



Another of my favorites, Levko Koper, was the Thrashers' 7th round pick (185th overall). Levko had a great year with the Spokane Chiefs, putting up 54 points (27 goals and 27 assists).



The Thrashers final pick in the 7th round (203rd overall) of the draft was Jordan Samuels-Thomas. Jordan is another favorite because he is a good Connecticut boy and my husband is from Connecticut. Jordan got his learn on last season while playing for the Bowling Green State University Falcons. The winger played in 35 games, scoring 25 points (11 goals and 14 assists).


Well that's it! We will soon be getting a brand new crop of draft babies and I will have the low down on them when they are chosen.

Birds Of A Feather

Who knew that there was actually someone who was just a big of a douchebag as Sean Avery??



Milk-a-what?

Lindsey Lohan and Avery are made for each other.

According to the New York Post, Lindsey threw a drink in the face of Aaron Voros' girlfriend when she couldn't get the table she wanted.

Lindsay Lohan started another fight in a club -- this time with New York Ranger skaters Aaron Voros and Sean Avery at 1Oak. The troubled starlet threw a drink over Voros' model girlfriend, Jessica Stam, and then tried to get all three thrown out of the Wildfox fall-collection party the other night. A spy relates, "Lindsay threw a fit because she wanted to be at their table near the DJ. But she claimed she didn't want to sit with Aaron and said, 'He's my ex-boyfriend. I don't want him anywhere near me.' Voros denied knowing her. A drink then flew in Jessica's face, and Lindsay demanded their table be moved out. Club bosses refused and tried to calm her down. Stam, Voros and Avery were shocked but didn't retaliate, and Lindsay left shortly afterward." We await Lohan's inevitable denial, but we have multiple witnesses. A different source said "Lindsay threw a fit. There was total drama for absolutely no reason."
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/lohan_latest_club_tantrum_zaXLwJUrUlWVcODh2z4tDJ#ixzz0o7Gw5LdE

Classy! It takes a special kind of person to make Sean Avery look like the "better man."

Why You Should Be Watching The Memorial Cup

First and foremost you should be watching it because it's kick-ass hockey. You can see the NHL's top prospects and future super stars go head-to-head. These kids play hard and hit even harder. They are trying to make impressions on scouts, so they have something to prove and that means entertainment for us!



As Thrashers fans, you should be watching it because we actually have a prospect in the tournament. Jimmy Bubnick, the Thrashers round 6 pick (155 overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft, was traded to the Calgary Hitmen a little over half way through the season. In last night's exciting comeback for the Hitmen, Bubnick scored 2 assists to help Calgary over come a 3-0 deficit and go on to win the game 5-4.


We Americans don't get much of a chance to watch the Canadian Hockey League. I'm a bit new to it myself, last season was my first watching the Memorial Cup. This is an amazing opportunity for us to get to watch the CHL. For my friends that don't know much about the CHL or Memorial Cup, I've prepared a "Memorial Cup for Dummies." I'm sure no one needs this, but hey, I gotta fill some blog space, right? And, maybe someone will benefit.

What is the CHL?
The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canadian-based major junior ice hockey leagues for players 16 to 20 years of age. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League.
There are 3 leagues within the CHL

• Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
• Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL or "The Q")
• Western Hockey League (WHL)

What is the Memorial Cup?
A championship trophy awarded to the CHL champion. The trophy was created to honour all soldiers who died fighting for Canada in any conflict.

How does the Memorial Cup Tournament work?
Every year there is a different host city selected. The Memorial Cup is a round robin tournament between the team of the host city and the champions of the OHL, QMJHL and the WHL.

This is the chance for you to see the future super stars of the NHL. Check out this list of Memorial Cup winners and the names you will recognize on their rosters:

2003 Kitchner Rangers

• David Clarkson (New Jersey Devils)
• Mike Richards (Philadelphia Flyers)
• Derek Roy (Buffalo Sabers)

2004 Kelowna Rockets

• Shea Weber (Nashville Predators)
• Josh Georges (Montreal Canadiens)

2005 London Knights

• Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks)
• Rob Schremp (New York Islanders)

2006 Quebec Remparts

• Alexander Radulov (Former Nashville Predator)
• Drew Paris (Gwinnett Gladiator)
• Angelo Esposito (Atlanta Thrashers prospect)

2007 Vancouver Giants

• Milan Lucic (Boston Bruins)
• Spencer Machacek (Thrashers prospect)
• Evander Kane (Atlanta Thrashers)

2008 Spokane Chiefs

• Levko Koper (Thrashers prospect)
• Dustin Tokarski (Tampa Bay Lightning)

2009 Windsor Spitfires

• Taylor Hall (the probable #1 draft pick of 2010)

So check it out, it's cool. Thanks to the NHL Network, many of us will get to see this tournament. Below is the schedule.

Congratulations Chris Carrozzi!

Chris Carrozzi, the Thrashers 6th round draft pick in 2008, has been named the OHL Goalie of the year! His 2.36 goals-against average was second-best in the league, and he finished fourth among netminders with a .916 save percentage. Chris plays for Mississauga-St. Michael's, and the goaltending duo of Carrozzi and JP Anderson combined to help the Majors allow the fewest regular-season goals in the league (175).





Chris is also the OHL's nominee for the CHL's "Goal Tender of the Year."


Way to go Chris! Good luck on the CHL award.

Félicitations fans du Canadiens

Well, yeah, I'm sad. I'm a big Pens fan and I was hoping they would win this series. They totally imploded. You have to give some credit to the Habs though. They've been outstanding. They made road kill of the Penguins on their way to the cup.

This 8th seeded team beat the best team in the league (Presidents Trophy winning Washington Capitals) to get through the first series. Their reward? A date with the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins.


One big reason the Habs are on their way to the Division Finals is this man, Jaroslav Halak. Crease Beast! God of the Pipes! All of these names fit him. He's faced 411 shots in the 12 games he's played and boasts a .932 SV% and 2.45 GAA.


Again, I wanted the Pens to win, so I'm bummed about that, but I've enjoyed watching Halak play. I've also seriously enjoyed watching PK Subban. What an awesome playoffs he's had. Something tells me he won't be seeing the minors any time soon!


I talk a lot of shit about the Habs and their fans, so I like to keep it balanced. Congrats on the wins! Your team has deserved it 100%. Depending on how the finals look, I might even be cheering for them.

All Hail Satan

Miroslav, of course. Miro has one of those cool new "History Will Be Made" videos. Glad the Bruins picked him up and I'm sure they are as well!

Bonne fête Marty Brodeur!

On March 6, 1972 in Quebec, Montreal one of the best goalies in the history of the sport of hockey was born. Happy Birthday, Marty! I hope you have a great birthday! I didn't make any Marty likes cake jokes because a. he's not fat and b. those are about as funny and original as Cry Baby Crosby jokes.


Myspace Glitter Graphics

New Marc-Andrei Fluery "History Will Be Made" Commercial

One of my all time favorite saves!

Want To Know What Music Evander Kane Listens To?

Check out his episode of Puck Tracks on PuckDaddy. Tech N9ne and Chopin never sounded so good!
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Podcast-Atlanta-s-Evander-Kane-goes-hardcore-c?urn=nhl,238822

Grattis på födelsedagen Johan Hedberg!

Happy Birthday, Moose! On this day 37 years ago in Leksand, Sweden my favorite hockey player was born! I hope you have a wonderful birthday!!


Glitter Graphics

Sneak Peek of the 2010-11 Schedule for the Gwinnett Gladiators

I got this via email today. They say it won't be released on the website until next month.
The schedule breaks down like this:

• There are 27 total weekend dates - 11 Saturdays, 9 Sundays and 7 Fridays
• The Gladiators play nine different teams from the American Conference during their 36 game home schedule
• The Glads will open on the road for the first time since the 2007 - 2008 season
• As per tradition, the Glads will play on both Thanksgiving Night and on MLK Day
• The Glads will play a New Year's Eve home game for the first time in history
• The Gladiators play 7 games in October, the most number of games they've played in team history in that month.
• The Gladiators play 2 home games in October, 6 in November, 8 in December, 6 in January, 4 in February, 9 in March and 1 in April.