Hello Hockey Fans! Last Thursday in Vancouver it was a special night to say the least, especially for Vancouver Canuck fans. Roberto Lunogo was back in town after being traded last year to the Florida Panthers. Like most trades in the NHL, it happened quickly, over night, Lou was no longer a Canuck. Fans didn't get the good bye they wanted so in true fan fashion when Lou returned you knew it was going to be his night. 

It started off like any other game; warm up skate, puck drop, cheering, but Louuuuuuuuus could be heard all over the rink. Every time Luongo touched the puck and made a save in his Florida Panthers jersey the crowd "Luuu'd" even louder. 
Que the TV time out seven minutes into the 1st period and the jumbo tron filled with images of Lunogo and his time here in Vancouver. The crowd rose to their feet and a 'thunderous' as some described it, cheer filled the arena. Luongo did what any true sportsman would do….. put his hand to his heart, looked up to the crowd and with tears in his eyes said thank you. Athlete to fan, it was a great moment. I know Luongo's time here in Vancouver was filled with ups and downs but at the end of the day he is one of, if not the best goaltender to man the pipes for Vancouver. I have always been Team Luo and will continue to be. Now lets look at the facts:

Luongo joined the the Canucks in 2006 after being traded by the Florida Panthers. 
Originally drafted by the New York Islanders in 1997, Luo went in the 1st round, 4th overall.
During his time in Vancouver, Luongo lead his team to victory 252 times, lost 137 (but who pays attention to that) and picked up points in 50 overtime loses. His save percentage was .919 meaning he stopped more then 91 out of 100 pucks that came his way.

While donning the blue, green and white, Lunogo helped his team win back to back President's Trophies in 2011 and 2012. The President's Trophy is handed out annually to the team that collects the most points. In 2011 the team finished with 117 points and in 2012 it was 111. Luongo also played a big part in the Canucks Stanley Cup run in 2011. It was the 3rd time in franchise history the team made it to the last round. It was sad to lose to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 and Lou says that is the only things he regrets about his time in Vancouver. Not being able to bring a cup to the fans. During his 8 years here, Lou also won not one but two Olympic Gold medals. Here in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi Russia in 2014. Ironic upon his return to Van City Luongo would play against 2010 Team USA's goalie Ryan Miller. Miller was awarded MVP of the tournament but Lou skated away with the gold medal. Same building, same city, same goalies….awkward. The NHL can be a small world. 

Now for the juicy facts: Roberto stands 6'3", weights 217 pounds, shoots left, is 35 years old and was born in Montreal, Quebec. Il magnifique! Brown eyes, curly brown hair, a great great smile and a lover of poker, Lou would be fun at any party especially every charity event the Canucks have ever attended.

"Welcome to the Bakery because this game is full of turnovers." That is one of the commentators comments after a commercial break last night in Edmonton. He wasn't lying. The rink was full of turnovers and not the traditional kind with pastry and apple served warm…….and maybe ice cream. I am talking about the kind of turnover that involves losing the puck to the opposing team.  

Hello Good Lookin' Hockey Fans! How is everyone? What exactly is a turnover? In one sentence a turnover is: losing control of the puck to the opposing team. A team doesn't hand the opposing team the puck as a gift. Turnovers usually happen because of sloppy offensiveness, which leads to defensive brilliantness, or sloppy defensiveness and offensive brilliantness, which then leads to the puck being taken down the ice in the opposite direction is was just traveling and possibly a scoring opportunity.  Last night the turnovers were freshly baked and flying high in the 2nd period, 6 goals were scored and it was nutty.

Below I have uploaded Chris Higgins's goal from last night. It was a goal because of a turnover and the commentator even says "The Oilers have the puck and they keep giving it back" followed up by the other commentator saying "And it's not only the dreaded turnover." 

Last night's game in Edmonton also showed some smooth scoring ability by both teams.  The Canucks scored 3 seconds into a power play, right off the draw. Henrik Sedin wins the face-off, gets the puck to his brother Daniel who passes the puck to a wide open Radim Vrbata. It was a beauty of a goal. Teddy Purcell of the Edmonton Oilers smashed the 3 second record and scored 2 seconds into a power play after a face-off win by Mark Arcobello. Eleven seconds later Boyd Gordon scored for the Oilers and we had a tie game.  

Perhaps the one of the most exciting parts of the game was a disallowed goal with 11 seconds left by David Perron, end of the 3rd period that would have tied the game and sent it to overtime. The goal was immediately waved off by the referee no questions asked. They did call head office in Toronto for the reply but a bad goal is a bad goal. Why was this goal disallowed? It was determined the goal was kicked into the net. Remember hockey fans, pucks cannot be thrown or kicked into the net. You can see an obvious kicking motion, Perron's skate contacts the puck and slides in underneath Ryan Miller. Done, over, no goal. At the end of the video I have uploaded below you can see in slow motion why the goal was disallowed and the ref waving it off. 

And finally hockey fans I have to point out that a Gordie Howe Hat Trick happened last night. Steven Pinizzotto fought Derek Dorsett, scored his 1st NHL goal and also assisted Boyd Gordon's goal.

Below I have uploaded the fight, followed by the goal and finally Boyd's goal and we hear the commentator say assisted by Pizizzotto.

Congrats Pinizzotto! May your vintage hockey style of fights and scoring lead to even more great nights in hockey.

Until next time hockey fans, enjoy! 

Hello Hockey Fans!  It is that time of year when the temperature outside is minus something and I am inside heating up talking about Good Lookin Hockey Players.  The same debate as last week, player from the East or the West?  Veteran or Rookie?  Original 6 or Expansion?  Blue Eyes or brown?  Then I was flipping through Instrgram last night and found him!  

Ladies, let me introduce you to…. Nino Niederriter!  

First off I would like to start by saying congratulations to Nino Neiderreiter for scoring his 1st career Hat Trick last night.

Now let's get down to business.  Nino Neiderreiter was born on September 8th 1992 in Chur, Switzerland.  That makes him a Virgo.  He stands 6'2", weight 210 pounds, wears number 22 and plays right wing.  This is Neiderriter's 4th season in the NHL.  His first two seasons were spent with the New York Islanders. They drafted him in the 1st round, 5th overall in 2010. The Islanders traded Neiderretier to Minnesota for mustache sporting gritty Cal Clutterbuck in 2013.  

Last year Neiderreiter played 81 games with the Wild scoring 14 goals and assisting 22 others.  He also showed up during the Wild's play off run scoring 3 goals and assisting 3 in 13 games.  This year in only 15 games Neiderreiter has already scored 7 goals!!  

Neidererriter with you European grace, mad hockey skills and dark brown eyes….. I am happy to call you this week's Fantasy Friday!

Ladies one last thing…….. Neiderreiter's 1st goal last night came only 7 seconds after Ryan Carter's goal.  I wanted to show you Carter's goal.  At first glance why should this goal count?  Carter is behind the goalie plus it looks like he bats the puck in very high, which is a no in hockey.  Take a closer look and you realize that players are allowed in the goalie crease.  That Carter does in fact hit the puck in, with a part off his stick that is not the blade but it is still his stick so it counts.  You are not allowed to kick or throw the puck into the net.  Carter also does have great hand eye coordination because you are not allowed to hit the puck in above the cross bar.  Point of contact with the puck must be below the cross bar for a good goal.  As you can see in the side angle review the puck is indeed cross checked into the net below the cross bar making it a good goal and tying the game 1-1 for 7 seconds before Neiderreiter makes it 2-1.

This Weekend's Hockey Schedule

Friday November 14th 
Penguins vs Maple Leafs 4:30pm
Blue Jackets vs Flyers 4:00pm
Devils vs Capitals 4:00pm
Blackhawks vs Red Wings 4:30pm
Islanders vs Panthers at 4:30pm
Coyotes vs Canucks at 7:00pm

Saturday November 15th 
Hurricanes vs Bruins at 10:00am
Wild vs Stars at 11:00am
Ducks vs Kings at 1:00pm
Rangers vs Penguins at 4:00pm
Jets vs Predators at 4:00pm
Maple Leafs vs Sabres at 4:00pm
Flyers vs Canadiens at 4:00pm
Islanders vs Lightning at 4:00pm
Avalanche vs Devils at 4:00pm
Sharks vs Blue Jackets at 4:00pm
Capitals vs Blues at 5:00pm
Senators vs Flames at 7:00pm

Sunday November 16th 
Jets vs Wild 2:00pm
Sharks vs Hurricanes 2:00pm
Canadiens vs Red Wings 4:00pm
Stars vs Blackhawks 4:00pm
Panthers vs Ducks 5:00pm
Coyotes vs Oilers 6:00pm

Hello Good Lookin Hockey Fans!  During what was a long weekend for a lot of people I couldn't help but notice that the New Jersey Devils were producing a lot of great hockey highlights.

First there was the great goal by Seth Griffith, Monday night. I don't even know what you would call this? "Between the legs, backwards, watch what I can do?"  It was Griffith's 4th goal of the season in twelve games with the Bruins.  

And for your knowledge Ladies, Seth is 21, wears number 53, is a centreman, was drafted in 2012, is playing his rookie season in the NHL and is regarded as one of the top rookie prospects.

If I said Wayne Gretzky with 894, Gordie Howe with 801, Brett Hull with 741, Marcel Dionne with 731, Phil Esposito with 717, Mike Gartner with 708 and Jarmoir Jagr with 708, would that mean anything to you?

These men are the top scoring NHL players of all time.  The only one currently playing in the NHL is Jarmoir Jagr who scored his 708th goal Monday night to tie Mike Gartner.

Getting on this list doesn't come easy. A player must play for many years, sustain a high level of skill level throughout, and be a constant student of the game, always learning and adapting to the changes in the NHL. To put this into perspective, Jagr was drafted in 1990 by the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Seth Griffith was born in 1993.  Jagr has played 1,489 games in the NHL and Griffith has played 12. During his career Jagr has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils but also stints with Avangard Omsk of the KHL and HC Kladno in CZE. Jagr has won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992, has won the Art Ross Trophy (most points scored in a season) 5 times, Hart Memorial Trophy (awarded to the most valuable player on team) and the Ted Lindsay Award 3 times (most outstanding player of the season voted by fellow players).  Jagr has assisted another 1,059 goals and scored an additional 78 goals in 202 playoff games over his career.  Jagr has played so many games and has sported the mullet back when it was trendy and not something we did at Halloween to reference the 1990s. One last little fun fact about Jagr…. he is the 1st non Canadian player to crack the top 6 in goal scoring ever.

And finally we all know I have a soft spot for New Jersey Devil goaltender Cory Schneider.  I like to claim my son was the original Schneider fan here in Vancouver 3 years ago.  Back when Schneider was back up to Roberto Luongo.  Tuesday night's game ended with the Devils beating the Minnesota Wild 3-1 and it was definitely Schneider's 24 saves that helped.  Four of which were insane, especially the one where he bats it out of the net just before the puck crosses the goal line and the puck continues to bounce along the goal line never actually crossing it.  Remember for a goal to count it has to cross the goal line 100%.  Below you can watch Schneider and his crazy saves.

Until next time hockey fans, enjoy!

Hello Ladies!

Welcome to Fantasy Friday! This week I ran over ideas and players in my head. It was the same debate as last week, east or west, blue eyes or brown? Forward or defence? And then it hit me…. a player who was drafted by a team in the east but now plays for a team in the west.  I am talking about the one and only, uber handsome, extremely talented, Stanley Cup winning Tyler Seguin!

Let's break it down:

Tyler Seguin:

Great body, check
Beautiful eyes, check
Make you weak at the knees smile, check
Tattoos, check

That about covers it.

Tyler Seguin was drafted by the Boston Bruins in 2010. Want to know how much potential the Original 6, Stanley Cup contending team thought Seguin had? Seguin went 2nd overall!  The player to go 1st that year was Edmonton Oiler Taylor Hall. Seguin stands 6'1" and weight 200 pounds. Wears #91 and plays centre. Born January 31st, 1992 in Brampton, Ontario means Seguin is an ultra fun aquarius when it comes to zodiac signs.

Here though is the best hockey fun fact when it comes to this adorable player:

Once drafted into the Bosotn Bruins organization, Sequin did what every freshly drafted player does. Training camp, a few pre season games but then it stops.  While the majority of newly drafted players are released by the team to play in leagues below the NHL to strengthen their game, Seguin continued to play for the Bruins. Out of an 82 game season Seguin played 74 games scoring 11 goals and assisting 11 others. Boston made the playoffs that year.  After ousting the Montreal Canadiens in game 7 Round 1, sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers in Round 2, beating the Tamps Bay Lightning in another 7 game series in round 3 and finally winning the Stanley Cup here in Vancouver against the Canucks in the 3rd game 7 for the Bruins, Seguin had officially won a Cup in his Rookie Season. No small feat. At tender age of 19, Seguin hoisted that beautiful cup above his head.  

Sequin went on the play two more season with the Bruins, playing every game except for one. Then in the summer of 2013, Tyler was traded to the Dallas Stars. Although his journey with the Original 6 team the Bruins was over, his journey was just beginning in Texas.  Nobody could have predicted the chemistry Sequin was going to have with Dallas Stars captain and one of Hockey Talk with Courtney's favourite players' Jamie Benn.  If Benn scores a goal, Seguin probably has an assist on it and if Seguin scoes a goal, Benn probably passed him the puck. This chemistry was most definitely a factor in the Dallas Stars making the playoffs last year for the 1st time in 6 years. They were ousted by the Anaheim Ducks in 6 games but that doesn't matter. With Seguin's playoff experience, chemistry with Benn and leadership in the dressing room the Dallas Stars future looks bright and their playoff season and Stanley Cup win looks even brighter.

Thank you Tyler Sequin for being so handsome and talented. Until next time hockey fans! The weekend lineup looks like this:

Friday November 7th
The Edmonton Oilers vs the Buffalo Sabres
The Columbus Blue Jackets vs the Carolina Hurricanes
the New Jersey Devils vs the Detroit Red Wings
The Washington Capitals vs the Chicago Blackhawks
The Arizona Coyotes vs the Anaheim Ducks

Saturday November 8th
The Vancouver Canucks vs the Los Angeles Kings
The Pittsburgh Penguins vs the Buffalo Sabres
The Winnipeg Jets vs the Ottawa Senators
The New York Rangers vs the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Calgary Flames vs the Florida Panthers
The Minnesota Wild vs the Montreal Canadiens
The Colorado Avalanche vs the Philadelphia Flyers
The Tampa Bay Lightning vs the Columbus Blue Jackets
The Carolina Hurricane vs the Washington Capitals
The Nashville Predators vs the St. Louis Blues
The San Jose Sharks vs the Dallas Stars
The New York Islanders vs the Arizona Coyotes

Sunday November 9th
The Vancouver Canucks vs the Anaheim Ducks
The Toronto Maple Leafs ve the Ottawa Senators
The Tampa Bay Lightning vs the Detroit Red Wings
The Edmonton Oilers vs the New York Rangers
The San Jose Sharks vs the Chicago Blackhawks 

Until next time Hockey Fans!  Below I have unloaded the 4 goals before Shawn Matthias's goal, and yes as we now know they are all unanswered!