Rich and Kyle are live at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and will be liveblogging from Montreal starting at 6 pm EST.  You can also follow the guys on Twitter.

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1st Round Coverage:

TSN’s Darren Dreger just reported that Chris Pronger is going to the Flyers.

1st:  John Tavares

Trade of Pronger has been further clarified.  Chris Pronger and Ryan Dingle from Anaheim to Philadelphia for Joffery Lupul, Luca Sbisa and 2 first round picks (09 &10).

2nd:  Victor Hedman.

3rd:  Matt Duchene

4th:  Evander Kane

5th:  Brayden Schenn

For the rest of the list of the 1st round, click here.

Interesting Notes:
Sweden has most selections they’ve ever had at 7. (previous high was 6 in 1993)
First time since 1993 that the Americans didn’t have a player drafted in the top 10.
First time ever that brothers were taken in back to back years in the top 5 picks. (Staal’s were drafted 2 years apart).
The 26th pick was probably the most traveled pick in the history of picks as it was traded from SJ-TB-OTT-NYI-CBJ-ANA.
This was the lowest selection the Hawks have ever had in the draft.  As well they signed David Bolland to a 5 year 18 million today.

Best Comment of the Night:
Brian Burke in response to a question in which he was asked what it felt like to get booed in Montreal.

I don’t give a rat’s ass about that stuff.  The best hockey fans on the planet are not in Montreal, they are in Toronto.  When we host this event in a couple of years and Montreal goes up to pick, this will seem like child’s play for the booing they get in Toronto.

Stay Tuned for more Day 2 Draft Updates:
Kyle and Richard will be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow and will be reporting live from Montreal’s Bell Centre.  The draft resumes at 10 AM EST.  If you would like to be up-to-date on what is happening, subscribe to Illegalcurve on Twitter.

Welcome to the Illegalcurve.com Canucks-Blackhawks interactive live blog!

The live-blog can be accessed by clicking here:

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We hope you will participate and enjoy being an integral piece in this exciting, new Illegal Curve experiment

The live-blog can be accessed by clicking here:

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We hope you will participate and enjoy being an integral piece in this exciting, new Illegal Curve experiment

Using the latest in cutting edge, interactive, live-blogging technology, please join myself, Richard, David, Kyle and various special guests galore. The action gets underway Saturday at twelve noon here on the site, for what surely will be an entertaining day of hockey, in-depth analysis, and the best in mildly inappropriate humour.

The best part is that you the reader will be able to participate and join in on the shenanigans!

See you Saturday at noon (central time), and we hope you will enjoy reading and become active participants in this new and exciting Illegalcurve experience.

Let’s get started… (all times listed are Central Time)

3:57pm: Nothing more informative is coming out here on TSN/Sportsnet. It is time to rest up for tonight’s Trade Deadline Recap Radio Show.  You can listen here tonight between 8pm and 10pm CST.  Feel free to call in (204) 780-Kick or send a question/comment to our mailbag.

Thanks for reading today, I had a great time. I hope you enjoyed this.

3:51pm: Nine more minutes remaining in this live blog, and then I am shutting it down to prepare for tonight’s radio show.

3:45pm: Unleash the TSN writers who have been caged in the back for seemingly five hours…

3:37pm: Brian Burke/James Duthie interviews are actually must-see tv! That was hilarious!

3:31pm: Another Brian Burke one word answer.  Great humor.  Give Burke credit today, he did a very solid job.

3:26pm: Now, the Oilers also acquired Ales Kotalik for a 2nd round pick as well.

Kotalik is a nice pickup for Edmonton.  He can play on the second or third line, has alright hands and is very defensively responsible.  He isn’t a splashy pickup, but he’s a useful player.

Update: Kotalik is a pending UFA.  A 2nd round pick seems like a lot in that case–especially when the Oilers are not going to get out of the first round if they even make the playoffs.

3:25pm: K, the Hurricanes also got a 2nd round pick in the aforementioned three-way trade and it was from Los Angeles.

3:24pm: What did the panel just say? Was that a 6 way trade?

3:17pm: Leafs trade Richard Peddie Petiot for Olaf Kolzig, Jamie Heward, Andy Rogers and a 4th round pick.

Don’t get fooled here, this is the Leafs taking on salary for the rest of this season to get a 4th round pick. 

3:15pm: No draft picks involved here, this was a straight three-way trade.

I have to say that I like this trade for all three teams, assuming the ‘Canes are very confident that they will re-sign Erik Cole.  All three teams add assets here that can help them now, and if Cole signs, in the future as well.

For me, the biggest winner is Edmonton because they turn a pending UFA into a young talented forward.

3:00pm: I’m confused here.  From the L.A. perspective, they add Williams, a talented player and tireless worker, who just can’t see to stay healthy.  I really like Williams.

In Edmonton, they get O’Sullivan a young guy with great offensive upside for a pending UFA.  They must have included some picks here.

Carolina adds Cole back to the equation, and must be pretty confident they can re-sign him.

2:58pm: Patrick O’Sullivan to Edmonton and some picks to Edmonton for Erik Cole.

Ummm, there must be something else here????? They couldn’t have gotten O’Sullivan for Cole(impending UFA). 

2:53pm: Three-way deal: Patrick O’Sullivan to Edmonton, Justin Williams to Los Angeles and ????? to Carolina.

Still waiting on what Oilers give up.

2:51pm: Nick Bonino, Tim Pihlmeye and a conditional pick go other way in Moen and Huskins deal.

Don’t know enough about these players, but seems to be a nice return from what they are saying.

2:48pm: Patrick O’Sullivan traded to Hurricanes, according to Sportsnet.

Can’t comment until I see the return.  He just signed extension prior to the season, so I am interested to see what they get back in this trade.

2:46pm: Apparently Oilers trade pending here…

2:44pm: Sharks acquire Travis Moen and Kent Huskins from Ducks.

Moen is a great checking line winger, the kind of guy you want in the playoffs.  Huskins doesn’t get much press, but is a nice low-end defenseman that can step in and hold his own.  Nice move by Doug Wilson to add depth and not mess with his core.

2:37pm: Sami Pahlsson to the Blackhawks for James Wisniewski.

Pahlsson is a seasoned veteran who is a terrific checking center that can chip in the odd goal.  He has good playoff experience and is a load to play against.  The Hawks needed strength up the middle and they got it.  Although, they better hope his mono is a thing of the past.

As for the Anaheim return, the Ducks are loading up on defensive depth with anticipation of a possible Niedermayer/Pronger departure.  Wisniewsksi has offensive potential and is only 25 years old, they will slot him into some power play time and hope he can become a nice puck-mover for them.

2:35pm: Kyle McLaren to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 6th round pick

McLaren has been buried in minors all year.  He doesn’t skate well but he’s a Flyers-type player.  He’s mean and has playoff seasoning.  Good to see him get back in the NHL.

2:29pm: Tampa trades Steve Eminger to Florida Panthers for Noah Welch and a 3rd round pick.

Okay. Can someone please tell me why the Lightning trade for anyone???????? Why did they trade Matt Carle for Eminger and Downie????? Now that has turned into Downie (who just attacked an AHL official), Noah Welch and a 3rd round pick.  I’m befuddled.

2:27pm: The long-awaited Nikolai Antropov interview!  That said, he has to be excited to play out of the spotlight in NYC.

2:20pm: Just a reminder that we will be on the air live tonight for a special 2-hour edition of the IllegalCurve.com Radio Show from 8pm CST until 10pm CST.  If you have any comments or questions, drop them in the mailbag.  To listen to the show, just click on the Radio Icon on the top right side of the page.

2:18pm: Sutter is getting praised on the TSN set and it is completely justified.  He’s done a tremendous job this season. 

2:13pm: Darryl Sutter on live television is second only to Brian Burke.  He’s great.

2:09pm: Atlanta trades Erik Christensen traded to Anaheim for Eric O’Dell.

2:07pm: Leafs trade Dominic Moore to Buffalo for a 2nd round pick.

Good work by Burke here.  Moore wasn’t worth anything close to a 2nd rounder prior to the season and he wasn’t going to get a first rounder for him.

As for Buffalo, I don’t mind this move, but I’d have been more comfortable with a 3rd here.

2:04pm: Apparently Leafs forward Dominic Moore has been traded.

2:01pm: From NYR Dmitri Kalinin, Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes for Derek Morris.

Morris is alright, but that whole defense is extremely overrated.  The Rangers overpaid here.  Prucha has talent and Dawes has speed and a nice goal-scoring touch; both are young and still have potential.  As for Kalinin, he has had a horrible year for NYR.

2:00pm: Derek Morris traded to Rangers.

1:59pm: Jay Bouwmeester is not going to get traded, says McGuire.

I don’t like this move at all.  If the offers were even close to the ones mentioned, then you have to make those trades.  Bouwmeester is a goner from Florida, and they aren’t going to the Cup.  I think that’s a missed opportunity.

1:56pm: McGuire says, in a cryptic way, that Philly is closing in on a possible Bouwmeester move.

1:54pm: Why are they treating Bill Guerin sitting at home waiting for a trade while collecting his million dollar paycheck as if that is a “trying experience”???????? Give me a break.

1:53pm: Pierre calls out the Wild for its inactivity.

1:52pm: How many more times will the TSN crew call Dominic Moore–Steve Moore?

1:49pm: Toronto trades Nikolai Antropov to NYR for a 2nd rounder and a conditional pick.

That’s the most Burke is going to get, so he did well.

1:48pm: Avery, Bell and Antropov???? That’s the answer for the Rangers?  They miss the days of Gretzky and Messier, that’s for sure.

1:47pm: TSN says Antropov traded to NYR.

1:44pm: Sportsnet also reporting Antropov to Nashville. No word yet on return.

1:43pm: Sportsnet reports Phoenix trades Daniel Carcillo to Philly for Upshall and 2nd rounder.

Carcillo is a crazy winger who runs around like a chicken with his head cut off.  A perfect Flyers depth player, as he has more game than people think.  As for Upshall, he is a pending RFA, with more offensive skill than he’s shown. He is gritty and is fast as well.  Add in a 2nd rounder and I like this deal for both sides.

1:40pm: Bob McKenzie doesn’t seem as convinced that a deal is going to get done for Bouwmeester.

1:39pm: Could be Mason Raymond, Kevin Bieksa and a 1st going other way says Sportsnet.

1:36pm: Sportsnet is reporting that Vancouver and Florida are close to a Bouwmeester deal.

Would be a huge move for the Canucks and would vault them into a top 4 contender in the West–pushing the Hawks to number five.

1:33pm: By the way, the move by Ken Holland to trade for Brad Stuart  last year at the deadline didn’t get close to enough attention.  It was a masterful move that rounded out the team’s top four.

1:31pm: What is the panel talking about regarding Detroit making a move? Has anyone on there watched them play?  They don’t need to make a deal to just make a deal, they are stacked.

1:27pm: TSN shows an old clip of Darryl Sutter basically denying any actual interest in acquiring certain assets.

C’mon, you didn’t actually think he’d sit idle on deadline day did you?  His team had obvious needs and as a great GM, he filled them perfectly.

1:26pm: Sportsnet reports Havlat is close to inking extension with Blackhawks.

Regarding the Havlat extension, I am really interested to see the term and salary there.  He is very talented but he is so unreliable when it comes to being in the lineup.

1:24pm: Back to the Jokinen trade for a second.  I emailed George Richards of the Miami Herald to ask him about possible chemistry between Todd Bertuzzi and Olli Jokinen from their time in Florida.  But Bertuzzi played so few games in Florida (7) that’ll we’ll have to wait and see.

1:18pm: I made the last one up, but you believed it for like .05 of a second.

1:17pm: Bob McKenzie announced he’s having a post trade deadline toga party…

1:15pm: Dutchie is flexing on the bottie box.

1:11pm: You know they are bored when they are showing clips of Tortorella and Avery diagramming plays…

1:10pm: Darren Millard on Sportsnet calls this a buyer’s market and I have to agree with him.  I really don’t think anyone has overpaid today.

1:08pm: Only 8 trades so far.  Really surprised by that, but I still think lots of deals come down.

1:06pm: Bill Guerin for a 5th round pick but if Pitt makes playoff it is a 4th rounder, if they win one round it is a third round pick.

Cannot give up more than a third rounder.  Nice move by Shero.

1:04pm: Still more chips to fall.  The deadline is less than an hour away, but remember that many trades trickle out after the deadline has passed.

12:59pm: The panel loves the Guerin pick up. 

I like it too.  You give Crosby two wingers to play with and can now leave Malkin with Sykora.  Good move by Shero.

12:57pm: The Forsberg report is apparently false.  And the Guerin trade seems official, says Dreger.

12:55pm: Rangers interested in Morris according to McKenzie.

Blah.  That Rangers defense is going to be filled with a lot of salary that lacks high-salary production.

12:54pm: McKenzie says Guerin to Pittsburgh is a strong rumor.

I’d like that move for Pittsburgh.  Guerin’s name value carries more than what he actually bring at his age, but he can still score a bit, skate and is gritty.

12:51pm: Gord Miller tells us that Peter Forsberg is going to announce his retirement tonight.

I’ll say this, he was one of my favorite players to ever play the game.  Behind Gretzky, he was probably my second favorite player.  This guy was one of the top ten passers of all-time, competed at every opportunity and won two Stanley Cups and two Olympic Gold Medals.

12:44pm: Give Sportsnet credit for having a permanent ticker at the bottom of the screen, even during commercials.  Whereas, TSN doesn’t have anything on during commercials.

12:39pm: Vesa Toskala talks to the Toronto media.  He seems like he just hates it there! Wow.  If he looked anymore unhappy, he’d be Chris Bosh…

12:38pm: I had to double-check there because I thought Lashoff was a defenseman and TSN had him listed at forward.  I don’t know enough about both of these players to provide my personal opinion and I won’t be able to see them in person this weekend with Providence (I am going to see the Bruins play the Moose).  So, here is what Hockeys Future says about Lashoff and Karsums.

12:32pm: Here is official deal: Recchi and 2nd rounder for Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums.

12:30pm: To those wondering, apparently Recchi keeps himself in unbelievable shape, which is probably a significant reason why he’s playing so well at his age.

12:27pm: When did Pierre start borrowing Pat Quinn’s dress shirts?

12:25pm: Apparently Chris Neil won’t re-sign in Ottawa.  Lots of Sharks rumblings there.

12:24pm: Mark Recchi traded to the Boston Bruins.

I like that move for Boston.  Did you know Recchi has 40+ this season? He has Stanley Cup experience and adds depth to an already loaded offensive team.  Smart move by Chiarelli.

12:22pm: Is Dutchie standing in the bootie box at the TSN studios?

12:18pm: I have a feeling this next hour and a half is going to be action-packed.  Too many players need to be dealt by teams that really have no use for pending UFAs.

12:11pm: For all the talk about Jokinen not treating young players well, can someone tell me where all the young players are in Calgary??????????

12:10pm: Barnaby says players he talked to in the Western Conference think Olli Jokinen is so bad in the dressing room that he’ll make the Flames worse.

12:08pm: Gord Miller trips out really hard about saying that if Blackberrys cause health defects he has little time to live.  Don’t worry Gord, Blackberry isn’t going to steal your new Bold.

12:07pm: McKenzie tells us that Vancouver and Philadelphia are the top two teams fighting it out for Bouwmeester.

12:06pm: Darren Dreger tells us Matthew Lombardi isn’t very happy with this trade.

12:03pm: On Sportsnet, Nick Kypreos says that Phil Kessel is in play today.

Some people may not like that, but I don’t mind that move by the Bruins.  They certainly won’t give him away and Chiarelli is a sharp GM. 

11:55am: Ferraro comes in with more good analysis.  He says Jokinen hasn’t ever played in a hockey market and may not work chemistry-wise with Jarome Iginla.  He needs to be on this broadcast more often.  Couldn’t he just drive to Buffalo at 3pm?

11:54am: Vesa Toskala has been shut down for the season.  Next story please…

11:52am: The Flyers have been too quiet, I expect action from them soon.

11:50am: So it looks like Jokinen isn’t going to force Iginla to switch his number…and instead will wear number 21.

11:48am: Jermain Franklin is back.  Duthie and him fighting for air time is the new Probert/Domi.

11:47am: I love the Pierre hate-on for Derek Morris today.  It’s quite amusing.

11:46am: Pierre calls out the Habs.  I don’t think they are standing pat.  I still think Gainey makes a move or two.

11:39am: Olli Jokinen and a third round pick traded from Phoenix for Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust and a 1st rounder (With option of Cgy if it is 2009 or 2010).

I like this move for both sides.  Jokinen, as said below, is a perfect fit for Calgary.  As for Lombardi, the Coyotes get a speedster who has seen his game improve lately and still has potential.  Although how long can a player have potential for?  Prust is a grinder with a lot of spunk and the first rounder is valuable in this day and age.

11:38am: Petteri Nokelainin from Boston to Anaheim for Steve Montador.

Montador has playoff experience and can fill in the 6th spot in Boston.  He battles and has good character.  As for Nokelainin, good move by Anaheim adding the youngster here who can play well defensively and slot in on the third/fourth line.  They had too many defensemen there anyways.

11:37am: Farhan Lalji appears for an interview.  I once saw him at a bar in Calgary and if the Canucks bring in someone with as little game as Lalji, they are going out in the first round. I kid, I kid.

11:36am: James Duthie checks his blackberry and quickly looks back up…because no one has contacted him and he’s jealous Darren Pang is more popular.

11:35am: Gord Miller starts teaching linear algebra to the Canadian masses.

11:34am: Apparently the deal is done, but we are just waiting on the specifics here.

11:33am: Dreger says the package to Phoenix for Jokinen is expected to include Matthew Lombardi, a first round pick and maybe even Adrian Aucoin?  Yet the deal has apparently not been finalized.

11:32am: LeBrun says Scott Gomez is available in NYR but “teams are avoiding that contract like the plague.”

11:30am: Ken Holland is on the line with Duthie (back to TSN now) and he says Marian Hossa is only day-to-day.  Good news there.

11:28am: I couldn’t watch that practice so I went back to Sportsnet and LeBrun reports it looks like the original Bill Guerin deal has completely fallen apart.  They are working on second options now.

11:27am: TSN is back from commercial and we get another shot of Leafs practice.  Someone please bottle me.

11:25am: Flipped over to Sportsnet’s coverage to take a look.  Pierre LeBrun thinks Pronger will probably be traded at the draft but he isn’t so sure Pronger won’t be traded today.

11:21am: Just to let readers know, Feaster is known as one of the class acts in the NHL and he’s proving that today.

11:19am: The panel talks about the difficulty for Bill Guerin of waiting around.  Ummm, did Bill Guerin think he was signing on the Island to stay there all season long? C’mon, get real here.  He knew he’d be traded from the outset.

11:13am: A live shot of Maple Leafs practice!!!! TradeCentre–Gotta love it!

11:08am: I saw the Andy Wozniewski deal twenty minutes ago but felt it necessary to save my hands for something you actually care about.

11:04am: Waiver wire moves: Brendan Morrison claimed by Dallas, Martin Gerber by Toronto and Erik Reitz by Toronto.

Morrison isn’t what he once was.  He brings more offense to Dallas, a team that has many injuries, but I don’t really like that move.  Gerber is being claimed because they say Toskala will be shut down.  I am sure some Leafs fans are unhappy the Leafs are trying to win any games.  Reitz is a seventh/eighth defenseman.

11:02am: Gord Miller reports Mikael Tellqvist to the Sabres for a fourth round pick.

Tellqvist hasn’t played poorly in Phoenix this season.  The Sabres need some help in net with Ryan Miller injury and Patrick Lalime starting.  I like this small move by Buffalo.

11:00am: Damien Cox is right on with his comments about Sundin still having much more room for improvement.

10:57am: Of course the Oilers would move Robert Nilsson.  He’s been horrible this season.

10:52am: Duthie wants to cut off Jermaine Franklin but is being polite. Awkward.

10:50am: The official deal: Jordan Leopold for a 2nd round pick (from Habs in Tanguay deal), Ryan Wilson and Lawrence Nycholat.

Love this move for Calgary.  One of their two biggest needs was speed on the back-end.  Pending UFA or not, great move.

10:44am: I am agreeing far too much with Pierre McGuire today.

10:42am: They have Leopold on the line already. Damn that was quick.  Leopold sounds like he’s looking forward to be going back to Calgary.

10:39am: McKenzie reports Jordan Leopold has been traded to Calgary.

I love this move.  Put him back with Regehr and let his skating be a perfect compliment to the reliable defensive defenseman.  He moves the puck well, played there before and is a good competitor.  This is a great move. 

Darryl Sutter for Prime Minister.

10:38am: Sportsnet reports that Sean O’Donnell has signed a one-year contract extension.

Good move by the Kings to sign the solid veteran d-man whose presence is most valuable in the room and on the ice helping Doughty and Johnson along.

10:33am: Just to let our readers know.  All trades will be underlined and all trade analysis will be in italics.

10:32am: Antoine Vermette sounds disappointed to be leaving Ottawa.

10:25am: McKenzie says the Flames are close to acquiring Olli Jokinen. Not a done deal yet but close he says.

Would love the move for the Flames.  Keenan loves him and coached him during his great years in Florida.  Moreover, adding him down low with Iginila would be scary to defend.  Never mind that it’d make Langkow a great number two center and give them two great lines.  Love Sutter’s aggressiveness here.

10:24am: The Oilers are the topic of discussion.  Apparently they want to add, but I don’t think it will matter.  This team just isn’t good enough this season.  Good teams don’t get blown out by 7-8 goals a couple times during one season.  The Oilers should sell in my opinion.

10:19am: Ferraro misuses the word assimilated–he meant constructed–but aside from that, good interview.

10:16am: The first Ray Ferraro appearance.  Let’s see more of this guy.  He is candid and knows his stuff.

10:15am: I love how they continue to bash Jose Theodore then Pang says he “loves Jose but…”

10:12am: Pierre McGuire questions Tim Thomas because he hasn’t won a playoff series yet.  He makes a good point. You can’t take anything away from Thomas, as he’s played great this year, but he is a veteran player who has yet to win a series.  Good point Pierre.

9:59am: The crew is having an interesting discussion about the Flames.  A refreshing change for the over-analysis of the Maple Leafs situation.  I agree that the Flames need a backup netminder.  I also don’t think they should go after Derek Morris.  The panel mentioned his big shot, but they already have Phaneuf and Aucoin providing that on the back-end.

9:51am: For people worrying about the lack of activity, I don’t think it is a sign of things to come. Remember, it is only 8:51am in the Mountain time zone and 7:51am for all the Pacific GMs.  Things will pick up soon.

9:46am: Gord Miller tells us that Tim Connnolly has signed a 2 year deal at $9 million total.

That seems like way too much money to me.  Talent-wise Connolly is worth it, but he hardly plays.  The past three seasons he has played 63, 2 and 48 games. In the cap system, you need to have a more reliable player making that much money.  Especially with the cap expected to go down in 2010/11.

9:44am: Feaster likes the Leclaire/Vermette deal for both teams.  Agreed.

9:36am: Burke almost swears. Duthie is doing a great job with the interview here and Burke is being quite candid.  Interesting tv.

9:32am: Brian Burke is on the line! HAHAHA a one word answer! I love it.

9:29am: He also says he probably won’t play this season, which should make Senators fans even more excited.  That’s because they can continue to lose games and get a bettter draft pick.

9:28am: Pascal Leclaire tells the TSN guys they are the ones who actually broke the trade to him.  He seems excited, as he gets to go closer to home and become a starter again.  Senators fans should be excited about this move.

9:27am: Michael Farber discusses Bob Gainey’s five-year plan.  They are lucky it isn’t similar to J.P. Ricciardi’s five-year plan for the Blue Jays.

9:21am: Sara Orlesky comes on from Buffalo and….tells us nothing. 

9:12am: Darren Pang and Pierre McGuire gang up on Keith Jones because he has hair.

9:08am: Cory Woron says Dominic Moore couldn’t agree to a deal with the Leafs.  Apparently the contract talks are off and the Leafs will deal Moore.

No surprise.  I got the impression Burke didn’t want to keep Moore all along.

9:07am: McKenzie gets put on the spot and says he has nothing to say. Brilliant.  Then Dreger reports the same Connolly contract rumor as he did an hour ago.  Can’t miss television here folks!

9:04am: One question: If the trade deadline is so busy for GMs, then how the hell are they able to get a GM on television with less than five hours before the deadline???????????

8:59am: The official trade is Vermette for Leclaire and a second rounder. 

I liked the move for Ottawa before that information came out.  Nice work by Bryan Murray.  But as I said below, I also like the trade for Columbus.

8:55am: McKenzie tells us that the Senators have traded Antoine Vermette to Columbus for Pascal Leclaire.

This trade was rumored for a couple days now and really makes sense for both teams.  Vermette is a speedster who has pretty good hands and adds another offensive player to a team that needs offense.  In Leclaire, the Blue Jackets had a luxury in between the pipes, as Steve Mason is the goalie of the future there.  Even so, remember Leclaire’s play last season? Sure Hitchcock’s system turns out some pretty good numbers, but Leclaire was excellent.  He’s had injury issues this season but he is a huge upgrade for the Senators in net. 

I like this move from both sides.

8:50am: Bob McKenzie tells us that Filip Kuba has signed a 3 year, $3.7 million per season contract extension with the Senators.

Not an overly surprising revelation.  Considering he’s been making $3 million per the last few seasons, that isn’t exactly a big boost in pay.  That said, I’m not the biggest Kuba fan.  That is still a lot of money for Kuba, especially considering Volchenkov and Phillips make $6.7 million combined this season.  So, that is over $10 million dollars tied up on defense, and that’s before you have a real game-changing defenseman under contract. 

8:48am: Brent Wallace tells us that there are no suspicious no shows at Senators practice today.  On another note, when did Brent Wallace go grey?

8:40am: Between hammer curls, Dutchie finds the time to show us the hilights from last night’s games for the fourth time.

8:39am: Apparently the Sabres have offered Tim Connolly a 2 year deal at $4 million per.  If I’m Tim Connolly that contract is already signed.  My god.  He’ll probably play 34 games over those two seasons.  So if he plays 34 games (which is a stretch!), then he’d make about $235,000 per game.

8:31am: Mark Recchi takes a little bit of a shot at the Lightning management for not communicating with him about where he could possibly go.  Translation: GET ME THE HELL OUT OF TAMPA BAY!

8:30am: Matthew Barnaby and Peter Laviolette discuss who is wearing more hair gel. K, I made that up.

8:29am: Somebody stop the Leafs talk! I cannot handle the over-analysis of 3rd and 4th line players who happen to play on the first and second line of a horrible roster.

8:23am: If you are a Panthers fan, you probably don’t want to read this.

8:17am: The Leafs story is coming up next.  Wicked!  While I sit here on the edge of my seat waiting to hear where Dominic Moore (the same Dominic Moore who had trouble consistently cracking the Wild, Rangers and Predators rosters) will go, I am going to pass along this hilarious link.  Thanks to my friend Sean for passing that along.

8:12am: Yup, they are analyzing the Stan Neckar trade from 2004…He was the difference in that series against Calgary!!!!

8:06am: Pierre was on the phone in the background, and now he is walking up to the stage while Duthie is talking–awkward.

8:03am: One hour in and so far no trades.  Well, except for Pierre McGuire trading Darren Pang two Red Bulls for some speed.

7:58am: Our friend Robert from Habs Eye On The Prize has a great post detailing all of Bob Gainey’s transactions since coming to the Habs as GM.

7:53am: The crew has started playing games you play at parties when you are drunk. 

7:52am: Tim Wharnsby of the Globe & Mail says Justin Williams to the Kings has been talked about.

7:47am: Back to Bouwmeester for a second; Eric Duhatschek has a good article about that situation.

7:46am: Pierre says the Capitals won’t win with Jose Theodore in net.  Shouldn’t somebody have told that to the Capitals before the summer?

7:45am: Pierre thinks Bouwmeester will only go if the Panthers get four assets back–similar to the Marian Hossa trade.  Barnaby says he’d trade him.  I agree, and that means I’ve agreed with Barnaby twice now (he also said the Sabres can’t give Tim Connolly big money on a three-year deal).  Pretty trippy!

7:34am: Gord Miller finishes talking and Darren Dreger starts.  Miller then immediately logs onto Facebook chat…

7:27am: The writers panel comes on, hosted by Dave Hodge.  They are talking about the top five Cup contenders????? Couldn’t you save this for Sunday boys?  Thanks for telling me that San Jose and Detroit are the top two teams in the NHL…

7:20am: Lightning GM Brian Lawton expects a busy day.

7:18am: Blues GM John Davidson says if he had a deal in place for Keith Tkachuk already, the veteran probably wouldn’t have been in the lineup last night.

7:11am: The War Room panel includes Jay Feaster, Peter Laviolette and Matthew Barnaby.  So, Barnaby is now part of two crews?  How can he be part of the main panel and then the War Room?  Was Rob Ray unavailable?

7:08am: Pierre McGuire tells Dutchie he’s buff.  Hilight of the morning by far.  Sure we are only 8 minutes into the show, but that was hilarious.

7:06am: Chris Pronger isn’t off the block, but the Ducks apparently haven’t gotten a worthwhile offer yet.  The L.A. Times has some information on the story here.

7:02am: Darren Dreger tells us that the action won’t get started until the Western Conference GMs actually wake up.  Does that mean I can go back to sleep?

Additionally, IllegalCurve.com will be live blogging starting at 8am CST on Trade Deadline Day.  We will analyze every trade, comment on the numerous funny moments on TSN and Sportsnet as they duke it out breaking every trade and, most importantly, we will try to provide you with as much insight as is humanly possible.

On to the links:

• Possible targets for the Flames prior to the deadline.  The return of D-Mo?
• Kyle touched on it in the Afternoon Delight but he is more from our friend Craig Custance of The Sporting News: “Twenty percent of the building in Tampa can be filled with fans who pay, on average, six bucks a ticket next year.”  Oh boy.
• Brendan Witt has been suspended five games by the NHL.  Will this change his trade value?
• Puck Daddy has some interesting comments from Ilya Kovalchuk on Sidney Crosby.  Easy on the Crosby criticism already. 
• Puck Prospectus interviews P.J. Axelsson and Kimmo Timonen.  Since when do Swedes and Fins get along?
• The NHL standings in the baseball standings format from Battle of Alberta.   Love this feature.

Rules: We draft based simply on points.  Goals are worth 1 and assists are worth 1.  We draft 12 players and the worst two at season’s end don’t count.  You cannot pick up players during the year or trade.  Finally, the order snakes so the first pick in the first round drafts last in the second.

Note: The draft will be updated on the site after every round.

Teams:

1. Neil/Richard (Illegal Curve)

2. Shaun

3. Ohad

4. Cole/Dan

5. Aaron B.

6. Dave/Sam

7. Blake

8. Payton/Sam

9. Roma and Aaron M.

10. Ezra (Illegal Curve)/Hart

11. Drew (Illegal Curve)/Seth

12. Ryan/Aaron I.

13. Gill/Eric

First Round:

1. Neil/Richard (IC): Sidney Crosby

2. Shaun: Alexander Ovechkin

3. Ohad: Vincent Lecavalier

4. Cole/Dan: Pavel Datsyuk

5. Aaron B.: Evgeni Malkin

6. Dave/Sam: Jarome Iginla

7. Blake: Henrik Zetterberg

8. Payton/Sam: Joe Thornton

9. Roma/Aaron M.: Marian Hossa

10. Ezra (IC)/Hart: Jason Spezza

11. Drew (IC)/Seth: Dany Heatley

12: Ryan/Ingram: Ilya Kovalchuk

13. Gill/Eric: Ryan Getzlaf

End of First Round

Review: I am surprised Joe Thornton fell all the way to eight; the guy is basically a shoe-in for 95+ points.  Otherwise, not too many surprises in the first round.

Second Round:

15. Gill/Eric: Eric Staal

16. Ryan/Ingram: Daniel Alfredsson

17. Drew (IC)/Seth: Martin St. Louis

18. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Mike Ribeiro

19. Roma/Aaron M.: Anze Kopitar

20. Payton/Sam: Marian Gaborik

21. Blake: Rick Nash

22. Dave/Sam: Marc Savard

23. Aaron B: Olli Jokinen

24. Cole/Dan: Mike Richards

25: Ohad: Scott Gomez

26: Shaun: Jonathan Toews

27: Neil/Richard (IC): Paul Stastny

End of 2nd Round

Review: I like the Toews pick by Shaun.  He wasn’t going to get him on the way back and he has big upside.  To me, the biggest reach in that round was Rick Nash.  He’s a great goal-scorer, but in a points pool, he doesn’t merit a second round selection.

Third Round:

28. Neil/Richard (IC): Derek Roy

29. Shaun: Patrick Kane

30. Ohad: Daniel Briere

31. Cole/Dan: Mike Cammalleri

32. Aaron B: Nicklas Backstrom

33. Dave/Sam: Henrik Sedin

34. Blake: Alexei Kovalev

35. Payton/Sam: Jason Pominville

36. Roma/Aaron M: Thomas Vanek

37. Ezra (IC)/Hart: Vinny Prospal

38. Drew (IC)/Seth: Joe Sakic

39. Ryan/Aaron I: Teemu Selanne

40. Gill/Eric: Daniel Sedin

End of 3rd Round

Review: Good pick by Aaron by selecting Backstrom.  With a full year of seasoning and a linemate named Ovechkin, he could be 90+ points.  I couldn’t be the one to take the Kovalev risk.  Taking him is like fooling around with the hot dirty girl.  It could be worth it, or you could get an std (55 pts).   As for the two older players at the end of the round, both Sakic and Selanne could be worth it but they are both getting close to 40 and it is a risk.

Fourth Round:

41. Gill/Eric: Zach Parise 

42. Ryan/Aaron I: Brad Richards

43. Drew(IC)/Seth: Alex Tanguay

44. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Brenden Morrow

45. Roma/Aaron M: Corey Perry

46. Payton/Sam: Shane Doan

47. Blake: Simon Gagne

48. Dave/Sam: Patrice Bergeron

49. Aaron B: Ales Hemsky

50. Cole/Dan: Brad Boyes

51. Ohad: Alexander Semin

52. Shaun: Nicklas Lidstrom

53. Neil/Richard (IC): Alexander Frolov

End of 4th Round

Review: I really like the Brenden Morrow pick by Ezra.  He is big, reliable and plays alongside a great passer in Ribeiro.  Also, I really like Aaron B.’s Hemsky pick; I thought he fell a little too far.

Fifth Round

54. Neil/Richard(IC): J.P. Dumont

55. Shaun: Daymond Langkow

56: Ohad: Patrick Marleau

57. Cole/Dan: Johan Franzen

58. Aaron B: Patrik Elias

59. Dave/Sam: Tomas Plekanec

60. Blake: Dion Phaneuf

61. Payton/Sam: Chris Drury

62. Roma/Aaron M: Jeff Carter

63. Ezra (IC)/Hart: Steve Stamkos

64: Drew (IC)/Seth: Rod Brind’Amour

65. Ryan/Aaron I: Dustin Brown

66. Gill/Eric: Petr Sykora

End of the 5th round

Review: Ohad is banking on Marleau returning to old form, while Cole is hoping Franzen can continue his end of season and playoff success into this season.  Both picks are a bit risky, but it is the 5th round.  Aaron B. says he was between Elias and Plekanec for his pick and he chose Elias.  I’m not gonna lie, I think he made the wrong decision between the two.  Payton is banking on points for character; although he may have gotten a steal as Drury has looked good riding shotgun with Gomez.  I really like the Dustin Brown pick by Ryan/Aaron.  He is going to be a horse for the Kings.

Sixth Round:

67. Gill/Eric: Andy McDonald

68. Ryan/Ingram: Nikolai Zherdev

69. Drew (IC)/Seth: Nathan Horton

70. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Brian Campbell

71. Roma/Aaron M: Milan Michalek

72. Payton/Sam: Andrew Brunette

73. Blake: Paul Kariya

74. Dave/Sam: Pierre-Marc Bouchard

75. Aaron B: Ray Whitney

76. Cole/Dan: Markus Naslund

77. Ohad: Shawn Horcoff

78.  Shaun: Peter Mueller

79. Neil/Richard (IC): Mikko Koivu

End of 6th round.

Review: Zherdev is huge risk/reward but I can understand the pick.  I really like the Andy McDonald pick as he has developed great chemistry with Brad Boyes.  I also really like the Ray Whitney pick.  If he plays 70 games or more, he is a real bargain here.  Shaun’s Peter Mueller pick is great as well.

Seventh Round:

80. Neil/Richard (IC): Jason Arnott

81. Shaun: Brian Rolston

82. Ohad: Pavol Demitra

83. Cole/Dan: Martin Erat

84. Aaron B: Mike Green

85. Dave/Sam: RJ Umberger

86. Blake: Saku Koivu

87. Payton/Sam: Martin Havlat

88. Roma: Sam Gagner

89. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Jiri Hudler

90. Drew (IC)/Seth: Michael Nylander

91. Ryan/Aaron I: A. Kostitsyn

92. Gill/Eric: Brian Rafalski

End of Round 7

Review: Pavol Demitra flies under the radar but I think Ohad gets a steal in Round 7.  Havlat is the ultimate risk/reward and with the two lowest points being dropped from the total, that risk was worth it here in Round 7.  Havlat could get 85+ if he plays 70 games.  Surprised Rafalski was taken before a couple of other prominent defensemen who I won’t name because I may take them…

93. Gill/Eric: Ryan “Ho” Malone

94. Ryan/Aaron I: Patrick O’Sullivan

95. Drew(IC)/Seth: Dan Boyle

96. Ezra (IC)/Hart: Ryan Smyth

97. Roma/Aaron: Jonathan Cheechoo

98. Payton/Sam: Antoine Vermette

99. Blake: Kristian Huselius

100. Dave/Sam: Kyle Turris

101. Cole/Dan: Patrick Sharp

102. Ohad: Jason Williams

103. Shaun: Milan Hejduk

104: Neil/Richard (IC): Miroslav Satan

End of 8th Round

Review: O’Sullivan hasn’t signed so not sure why he went here.  Boyle qbing the SJ power play means he could be 60+.  Smyth slid far and playing alongside Stastny could mean a boat load of goals for the former 40 goal scorer.  Too early for Turris here.  There are too many very productive veteran players to pass over for the talented rookie.

Ninth Round:

105. Neil/Richard (IC): Erik Cole

106. Shaun: Wojtek Wolski

107. Ohad: Brian Gionta

108. Cole/Dan: Marco Sturm

109. Aaron B: Todd Bertuzzi

110. Blake: Mike Modano

111. Payton/Sam: Sergei Fedorov

112. Roma/Aaron M: Jordan Staal

113. Ezra (IC)/Hart: Joffrey Lupul

114. Drew(IC)/Seth: Michael Ryder

115. Ryan/Aaron I: Scott Niedermayer

116: Gill/Eric: Andrei Markov

End of 9th Round

Review: Shaun takes Wolski, so he keeps his team really young.  It is a young team but it is good and Wolski was a nice pick here as he should see his numbers increase in 08/09.  The Bertuzzi pick is risky but with Keenan coaching, Bertuzzi will get loads of minutes and a chance to re-establish himself.   Fedorov would be a good pick…if this was 1995.  Great Jordan Staal pick by Roma.  He has major, major upside and should play wing beside Malkin/Crosby.

Tenth Round

117. Gill/Eric: Eric Perrin

118. Ryan/Aaron I: Erik Cristensen

119. Drew(IC)/Seth: Chris Kunitz

120. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Phil Kessel

121. Roma/Aaron M: Chris Pronger

122. Payton/Sam: Chris Higgins

123. Blake: Radim Vrbata

124. Dave/Sam: Brandon Dubinsky

125. Aaron B: Andrew Cogliano

126. Cole/Dan: Jochen Hecht

127. Shaun: Tomas Holmstrom

128. Neil/Richard (IC): Maxim Afinogenov

End of 10th Round

Review: Love the Brandon Dubinsky pick here.  He is going to earn consistent top six minutes and is capable of putting up 60 points.  Perrin was a major reach.  Perrin over David Perron? Don’t get it.

Eleventh Round

129. Neil/Richard (IC): David Perron

130. Shaun: Mike Fisher

131. Ohad: Nik Antropov

132. Cole/Dan: Valtteri Filppula

133: Aaron B: Lubomir Visnovsky

134. Dave/Sam: Alex Steen

135. Blake: Dustin Penner

136. Payton/Sam: Mark Streit

137. Roma: Travis Zajac

138. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Robert Lang

139. Drew(IC)/Seth: Tim Connolly

140. Ryan/Aaron I: Drew Stafford

141. Gill/Eric: Mike Comrie

End of 11th Round

Twelfth Round

142. Gill/Eric: Tomas Kaberle

143. Ryan/Aaron I: Kyle Okposo

143. Drew(IC)/Seth: Kimmo Timonen

144. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Mike Knuble

145. Roma: Brendan Morrison

146: Payton/Sam: Jamie Langenbrunner

147. Blake: Mikael Samuelsson

148. Dave/Sam: Joni Pitkanen

149. Aaron B: David Legwand

150. Cole/Dan: Mats Sundin

151. Ohad: Joe Pavelski

152: Shaun: Keith Tkachuk

153. Neil/Richard (IC): David Booth (Writer’s note: We flipped a coin for that pick. I wanted Booth, Neil wanted Corvo.)

End of 12th Round and Draft

See you for the morning papers.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

11:47pm: See you on Wednesday for Game 6 live blogging.

11:46pm: Sykora scoressss. The goal was assisted by Malkin and Gonchar. Detroit has to be angry because the puck bounced off the ref’s butt and bounced back to Malkin. What a game. Pittsburgh has to be going nuts!

11:43pm: Wow. Hudler just took a brutal penalty with his stick. That was obviously a penalty. And now we find out it is four minutes long. Obvious statement alert: This could be the turning point of the series…

11:43pm: Rafalski passes up a chance at a huge slapshot and opts to make a pass. Not a great decision on his part. Shots from the point are generally what ends it in a long game like this.

11:37pm: “Danger Zone” makes its first appearance of the game. That took long enough.

11:36pm: Gonchar is back for the 3rd OT.

11:26pm: I think Craig Simpson re-applies hair gel during the overtime periods.

11:15pm: Great penalty kill by the Penguins. Triple OT is coming up…

11:13pm: Lidstrom is quarterbacking the power play instead of Kronwall. I assume with the intermission coming up Babcock is double-shifting Lidstrom to try and finish it here.

11:11pm: Penalty on Sykora coming up. Clearly an even up call here. Terrible penalty call. But it is obviously a call to make up for the earlier two.

11:04pm: Datsyuk looks really, really tired out there.

10:59pm: Amazing save by Marc-Andre Fleury with his glove. Wow. Fleury has been out of his mind good tonight.

10:54pm: Ruutu does his best Zetterberg impression by ringing one off the post.

10:52pm: Zetterberg just misses a Cup winner with a shot off the crossbar.

10:51pm: Big stop by Osgood on a turn-around shot by Malkin.

10:49pm: Daniel Cleary makes a nice move around Tyler Kennedy and they called him for goalie interference. That is the second HORRIBLE goalie interference call. Relax!

10:45pm: Bob Cole just fell asleep…

10:39pm: CBC plays “These Eyes.” That wasn’t on the prediction list…

10:28pm: Some of the Wings look pretty tired which is moderately surprising because I haven’t seen someone roll four lines like Mike Babcock has since Lindsay Lohan entered rehab for the 12th time.

10:23pm: Bob Cole breaks out an “Oh my goodness.” It’s about time Bob! Looks like Zetterberg is getting a goalie interference penalty. He is. Big call there. I don’t like it. He was just going hard to the net. Garbage call.

10:19pm: Has NBC pre-empted the game yet to show the preview of the Belmont Stakes?????????

10:15pm: Lidstrom’s stickwork and his ability to get in the proper lane is the reason the Pens haven’t ended this game.

10:08pm: Big stop by Osgood on Evgeni Malkin. Is Jaarko Ruutu copying the intro of NHL08???

10:06pm: Holmstrom almost won the Cup for the Red Wings on a turn-around back-hand.

10:05pm: Jiri Hudler almost ends it on a scramble in front of the net.

10:03pm: Hal Gill with a massive hit at mid-ice on Valtteri Filpulla.

9:56pm: Here we go. And there we see Gary Roberts’ former teammate Gordie Howe.

9:42pm: Overtime on the way. If Detroit scores, it would be the first overtime goal, since Jason Arnott scored for NJ, to win the Cup.

9:39pm: Wow. Can you believe it? Talbot just tied the game with about 33 seconds remaining!!!!!

9:37pm: Why is Daryl Sydor on the ice?

9:32pm: Can we start a pool to predict what the final song by CBC will be? “Sometimes you can’t make it on your own”-U2, “Dream On”-Aerosmith, Anything by Daughtry….”Hero”-Chad Kroeger????????? I just want them to bring back “The Chance” (Here is “The Chance” link)

9:30pm: Phil Pritchard, the keeper of Lord Stanley’s Cup, has started polishing the trophy.

9:26pm: When will the CBC switch to the high camera because the fans won’t sit down? That’s a playoff staple with Wings games.

9:24pm: The Wings have taken control of this game. And the crowd is finally into it.

9:22pm: Rafalski just pops the 3-2 goal coming in from the point. Then CBC shows a garage in Newfoundland!!!! WOOOO! People in Newfoundland! Good times! Great pass on the goal from the Mule.

9:16pm: The game is tied after a gorgeous tip-in by Pavel Datsyuk. The two big stars come through when it counts. This should be a hell of a finish here…

9:13pm: Interference penalty on Tyler Kennedy. Let’s see if the Wings can get their power play going here…

9:12pm: What a stop by Fleury on a quick shot by Samuelsson. He has been sensational tonight.

9:07pm: That deke by Datsyuk didn’t go in, although everyone thought that it had. Give Bob Cole some credit, he called that from the outset.

9:05pm: Looks like the Wings may have separated Datsyuk and Zetterberg to start the period.

9:01pm: Canada has, and will continue, to apologize for the presence of Chad Kroeger on your radio.

9:00pm: Chad Kroeger puts on Wings jersey as CBC goes to break. If they show him again, I am switching to NHL radio with Sam Rosen.

8:58pm: Brian Burke interview!!! You can never beat this. He is more entertaining than the game. Seriously, I love watching this guy. Scott Oake conducts a terrific interview as per usual.

8:47pm: Second period is done. I can’t wait to see Hrudey and Simpson compare hairstyles during the After 40 minutes segment.

8:43pm: An amazing bodycheck by the referree. Whoa…Ryan Malone was just gushing blood. He took a shot in the face from Gill. Oh man. That was harsh. Gill isn’t exactly a “point man.”

8:41pm: Fleury makes a ridiculous save on a gorgeous 2-on-1. Wow! That was something else! Unreal stop by the young netminder.

8:40pm: Datsyuk pick-pockets Jordan Staal and comes in for a good chance but no cigar.

8:32pm: The game is starting to get a nice flow to it.

8:29pm: Crosby takes a high-sticking penalty then mouthes off Nicklas Lidstrom.

8:27pm: Has anyone seen Zetterberg and Datsyuk?????

8:20pm: Maltby gets called for interference. It was interference and Maltby only did it because he was angry. With that said, there is an argument that Maltby was kneed by Orpik.

8:16pm: Darren Helm brings the Wings back within one goal with a shot from the left hashmarks that is deflected off Rob Scuderi and goes through Fleury.

8:14pm: The atmosphere at the Joe is that of a regular season game. I can’t believe how many people still aren’t back in their seats. Hockeytown eh??????

8:13pm: Sidney Crosby almost pulls off a ridiculous goal.

8:12pm: Two good chances for the Pens. One bad play by Brad Stuart then a terrible giveaway by Dallas Drake. But, as Greg Millen just said, the Wings are still down two.

8:11pm: Second period is underway…

7:53pm: Pittsburgh has to be extremely happy with that first period. They would trade chances with Detroit all day if they could.

7:52pm: Crosby has a terrific chance in front but just misses the top corner with a backhand. Detroit is giving up way more odd-man chances than I’ve seen in a while.

7:49pm: Darren Helm misses the net on a breakaway. On another note, I’m wondering when Adam Hall became Dave Andreychuk?

7:44pm: Adam Hall somehow scores the 2nd goal of the game for Pittsburgh. I am not sure how that went in. Replay says: Kronwall roofed a perfect shot into his own net.

7:41pm: Zetterberg came in on a partial 2-on-1 and was stopped on Fleury’s glove side after a nice stick-handling display.

7:39pm: Anyone else think this game is really boring?

7:31pm: Hossa scores the first goal of the game. Hossa has been terrific to start the game; the goal demonstrates just how quick his hands are.

7:30pm: Greg Millen says Malkin looks confused on the ice. That means Malkin will score within the next ten minutes.

7:27pm: Detroit easily kills Pittsburgh’s short power play. One note: Malkin has been moved off the point and back up front on the PP.

7:23pm: Datsyuk gets a penalty for trying too hard in the corner. That was not a tripping penalty.

7:22pm: Too many men penalty for the Penguins. Great start for Pitts!

7:21pm: Tomas Holmstrom looks like he never left the front of the net.

7:19pm: That line leaves the ice and boom Brooks Orpik penalty.

7:18pm: Pittsburgh’s top-line has an impressive first shift–especially Marian Hossa.

7:14pm: Karen Newman is making many fans wish there was a second anthem for her to sing.

7:13pm: Prediction for tonight’s game: Detroit 3 Pittsburgh 2

7:09pm: CBC is interviewing the kids who laughed at Marc-Andre Fleury when he fell before Game 1 coming out of the dressing room.

7:05pm: Kelly Hrudey debuts his “summer-wear” (could that be Moore’s new spring line?)

7:03pm: Darren McCarty is expected to take a seat tonight with Tomas Holmstrom returning to the line-up.

7:02pm: Ron just recited 14 cliches in a row–that has to be a CBC record.

7:00pm: CBC “shockingly” decides to play Detroit Rock City as its opening theme music.

2:26 of the Third Period- Jiri Hudler scores his 5th goal of the postseason when Pittsburgh fails to clear the puck out of the defensive zone. Detroit takes a 2-1 lead early in the third period and silences the Mellon Arena Crowd.

Writer’s Note: Pittsburgh really had that coming. They had two opportunities to clear the puck there and did a horrible job of getting the biscuit out of their end. Brooks Orpik shot the puck blindly around the boards as two Pens failed to get to the puck. Detroit has enough skilled forwards that will eat those types of turnovers for dinner.

4:08 of the Third Period- Pens goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury gets a delay of game penalty when he bats the puck over the glass.

Writer’s Note: The Delay-of-Game penalty given to goalies who shoot the puck over the glass is so stupid IMHO. It is especially idiotic when the goalie is forced to play the puck out of the air in front of his net.

9:36 of the Third Period- Kirk Maltby takes a hooking penalty.

10:10 of the Third Period- Andreas Lilja takes an interference penalty.

Writer’s Note: Pittsburgh gets a 5-on-3 here. This is a must-score situation for Pittsburgh.

Pens head coach Michel Therrien calls a time-out with 27 seconds left in Maltby’s penalty.

Detroit kills off both penalties.

Writer’s Note: WOW. So much pressure but very frustrating. Pittsburgh has a couple of decent shots but still fails to score a goal. That two-man advantage may be the turning point in the series.

15:40 into the Third period- M.-A Fleury makes a spectacular pad save on Wings forward Daniel Cleary.

3:16 Left in the Third Period- Brooks Orpik goes back to touch the puck for an icing touch-up. Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock calls a timeout.

Writer’s Note: This is the series right here. Pittsburgh is all but done if they go back to Detroit down 3 games to 1. Malkin is on the ice still even though he has no points in this series.

A final flurry in the Wings zone but Pittsburgh fails to score.

The game ends. Detroit wins 2-1 and takes a commanding 3-1 series lead in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.

Writer’s Post Game Analysis: Detroit wins Game 4 and makes it very difficult for Pittsburgh to come back and win their first Stanley Cup since 1992…. One clear observation: Pittsburgh did not play well with the man advantage tonight and struggled to gain possession in the Detroit zone. Defensemen Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar (their best offensive blueliners) were not good catalysts on the PP and were consistently stood up at the blueline by defensive aces Draper, Maltby and Samuelsson….. Pittsburgh loses their first game in over two months at Mellon Arena and now has to deal with the fact that no team has come back from a 3-1 series deficit since 1975……

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

0:40 into the Second Period- Mikael Samuelsson gets a weak shot on M-A Fleury to start the first period.

3:25 into the Second Period- Pens forward Pascal Dupuis gets a quality shot on net when he cuts into the middle and wrists a shot on Chris Osgood.

Writer’s Note: Dupuis’ scoring chance happened after an uncharacteristic turnover in the neutral zone by 5-time Norris Trophy Winner Nicklas Lidstrom.

3:44 into the Second Period- Jordan Staal takes an obstruction interference penalty.

Writer’s Note: Not good for Pittsburgh for two reasons: they were playing well and Staal is one of their top penalty killers.

Pittsburgh does a great job of killing Staal’s penalty and easily neutralized Detroit’s Top 5 (minus the injured Holmstrom)

8:10 into the Second Period- Detroit has the fresh legs after the last power play. Datsyuk is looking especially good in the Pens zone. Also, Pens defenseman Brooks Orpik had two bodychecks on that last shift that were very effective.

Writer’s Note: Orpik seems to be the only defenseman that seems to understand the importance of standing Detroit’s skilled players up at the blueline. If you’re wondering yourself why this is important, then look no further than the first period when the Wings were walking in and blasts 30 footers on Fleury (Samuelsson, Rafalski)

13:30 into the Second Period- Pascal Dupuis and Sidney Crosby both have great scoring chances in close on Osgood.

Writer’s Note: Osgood made three great saves there as his defenseman clealry took an early intermission break.

16:04 into the Second Period- D-man Brian Ralaski takes a hooking penalty.

Writer’s Note: This would be a great opportunity for Pittsburgh to get something going here on the power play as their previous two opportunities were pretty bad.

17:24 into the Second Period- The Penguins are still having problems activating their defensemen into the rush with the man advantage. Gonchar and Whitney just can’t seem to move the puck up the ice with speedsters Crosby and Malkin.

19:37 into the Second Period- Rafalski coughs the puck up to Marian Hossa but he can’t get a good shot on net as he does a spin-a-rama in front of Lidstrom.

Writer’s Second Period Analysis: That period was a little sloppy. No goals and no sensational scoring chances. The Penguins get the slight shot advantage in the frame 8-7. I would give the period to Pittsburgh for their physical presence and offensive zone pressure. Pittsburgh failed to capitalize on several quality scoring chances and continue to be overly-fancy in the offensive zone. Detroit, on the other hand, was giving the puck up way too much….

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

PERIOD 1

The National Anthem is about to be sung and the sold-out Mellon Arena crowd is loudly chanting “Go Pens Go….. A moment of silence is observed in honour of Luc Bourdon (Vancouver Canucks, Manitoba Moose), who passed away Thursday in a tragic motorcyle accident…. The well-dressed Jeff Jimerson sings the Star Spangled Banner and the game is mere minutes away……

** CBC’s Scott Oake reported before the game that Tomas Holmstrom will not dress for the Red Wings tonight.

0:45 into the game- Wings defenseman Brian Rafalski walks in and blasts a hard, low slapshot that barely misses an outstretched Marc-Andre Fleury.

2:11 into the First Period- Dallas Drake takes a roughing penalty.

2:51 of the First Period- Marian Hossa scores his 10th goal of the playoffs when he takes a Sergei Gonchar rebound, shields the pucks and puts a nifty back-and-forth move and beats Osgood between the legs. Hossa’s goal comes on the power play and is very important as Pittsburgh is 11-0 in the playoffs when they score the first goal.

Writer’s Note: That was a beautiful goal. Hossa fooled everyone by making it seems like he was going to set up shop behind the net for a possible wrap-around or shot. Hossa has been the best player on Pittsburgh over the last two games, now with three points in the last four periods.

5:04 into the First Period- Crosby breaks his stick and as the Wings are buzzing in the Pittsburgh zone, Pens forward Pascal Dupuis take a cross-checking penalty.

7:06 into the First Period- Nicklas Lidstrom lets a howitzer go that goes over the right shoulder of Fleury. The goal is Lidstrom’s third goal of the postseason and happens two seconds after Dupuis’ penalty expires.

Writer’s Note: CBC mentions that Lidstrom is a master at changing his body position to fool the goaltender on point shots and couldn’t agree more. Lidstrom gives himself so much room on the point and using his athleticism and big wind-up to get high quality shots on net. Although the shot could have been stopped by Fleury, it was still a hard shot. Cleary provided a bit of a screen but in reality, the puck went straight in.

9:03 into the First Period- Brian Rafalski takes a roughing penalty.

Pittsburgh fails to score on the power play and fail to register any quality shots on Chris Osgood.

Writer’s Note: That power play was so anti-climactic. Malkin spent a good 15 seconds floating around with the puck when he could have set something up. The Penguins need to get back into intense mode because that was a lackadaisacal power play.

13:39 into the First Period- Mikael Samuelsson has a great slapshot scoring chance on M-A. Fleury that is stopped easily.

14:28 into the First Period- Kris Draper takes a holding penalty when he puts the gorilla hug on Pens sophomore Jordan Staal.

Writer’s Note: Draper needs to take it easy on Pittsburgh’s younger players because Pittsburgh will eventually score if they get enough opportunities.

Pittsburgh fails to score on their third power play opportunity.

16:59 of the First Period- Coincidental penalties to Brett Lebda for cross-checking, and Maxime Talbot for diving.

Pascal Dupuis has a great scoring opportunity but is spun around and coughs the puck up to the Red Wings.

Writer’s Note: Dupuis really bunged that one up. Is Dupuis upset that he was dropped from the Crosby’s No.1 line or is he already thinking about going to see “Sex and The City: The Movie” with Georges Laraque. Either way, Dupuis had a lot of trouble with that rush.

First Period ends. Detroit 1 Pittsburgh 1.

Writer’s 1st Period Notes: A very entertaining first frame. Detroit outshoots Pittsburgh 14-9 and kills off two penalties. Even though I hate to admit it, I would give the Red Wings the First Round decision. They had more energy and they responded well to Pittsburgh scoring the first goal. I thought Samuelsson and Datsyuk were especially impressive for the Wings. Rafalski led all shooters with three shots in the period….

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

14:30 remaining – Detroit is controlling the play and putting all of the pressure on Pittsburgh.

13:00 remaining- 2 huge hits in a row by Pittsburgh on Detroit players Andreas Lilja and Kirk Maltby.

12:52 to go in the Third Period- Adam Hall SCORES. A huge scramble around the net sees Hall bang the puck past Osgood giving Pittsburgh a stranglehood on this game with just over ten minutes to play. The goal is Halls’ 2nd of the postseason.

11:43 to go in the Third Period- An UNBELIEVABLE save by Fleury. Grand Theft Auto perpetrated by Fleury on Holmstrom.

10:45 remaining- The game has opened up for the first time all series. End to end action and bodies are flying everywhere with Pittsburgh hitting everything and everyone remotely associated with the State of Michigan.

8:58 left in the Third Period- As Bob Cole just said, can you believe this pace folks? And frankly I can’t. This is what the NHL has been hoping and praying for since Pittsburgh and Detroit punched their tickets for the Cup Finals.

6:23 Left in the Third Period- Mikael Samuelsson scores on a harmless looking shot that changes direction when Pens defenseman Brooks Orpik gets a stick on the shot (A Don Cherry no-no) thus confusing Goalie Marc Andre Fleury, who was back deep in his net. The goal is Samuelsson’s 5th of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Writer’s Note: The Wings Filppula and Samuelsson did a great job of cycling the puck on that sequence but Fleury should have had this one. He appeared to be too far back in his net and the fact that Orpik tipped that at the last minute didn’t help at all.

4:18 Left in the Third Period- Evgeni Malkin takes a hooking penalty.

Writer’s Note: The Illegal Curve team continues to seach for answers regarding Evgeni Malkin’s religious affiliation. The hot rumour on the World Wide Web is that Malkin wears a necklace with a Magen David (Star of David). Illegal Curve Religion Correspondent Neil Rockman, a proud Jew, continues to pursue the story.

1:45 left in the Third Period- Detroit is all over Pittsburgh in their own end. The Wings have really exploded after Samuelsson’s goal.

After a final flurry in the last minute, which mainly saw Detroit keeping the puck in the Pens zone without many quality scoring chances, the Pens hurriedly clear the puck down the ice and the game ends.

The PartyPoker.net Three Stars of the Game:

*Sidney Crosby
**Marc-Andre Fleury
***Niklas Kronvall

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

Writer’s Post-Game Analysis: Game 3 was by far the most exciting and well-played game of the series. This game had fans all across North America on the edge of their seats because of it’s intensity and grit. This game was exactly what the National Hockey League and it’s fans needed. More than three goals and ultra-competitive. Perfect. That’s what the Stanley Cup Finals is all about. Pittsburgh has now made the ’08 Finals a series and can really build on that second period. However, Detroit outshot Pittsburgh 34-24 and was especially sharp in the last half of the Third Period.
The Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom line was clearly the best one on the ice and played extremely well despite the loss. Game 4 goes Saturday Night in Pittsburgh…

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

With Defenseman Brian Rafalski still in the sin bin, Pittsburgh starts the second period with a man advantage.

0:20 into the Second Period- Sidney Crosby explodes off the half boards, and wrists a hard shot off the crossbar.

2:02 of the Second Period- Kronvall receievs a hooking penalty when he ties up Ryan Malone behind the net.

2:10 of the Second Period- Petr Sykora has a quality shot on net but there is no rebound available to any Penguins when Osgood plays the puck efficiently and the puck is cleared down the ice.

2:34 into the Second Period- Sidney Crosby buries his second goal of the game (6th of the playoffs) on a rebound shot from Marian Hossa. That goal was the result of speed and driving hard to the net. The Penguins exploded in triangular form and buried the rebound, off an excellent first shot.

Writer’s Note: Who do I think I am? Pierre McGuire (of TSN and NBC)?

4:10 into the Second Period – Crosby is hammered so hard he does a back flip when Wings forward Kris Draper lays a low hip at the blueline.

7:00 in the Second Period- For the first time in the series, Pittsburgh has absolute control of this game. FINALLY.

8:54 into the Second Period- Hal Gill takes a cross-checking penalty.

11:40 into the Second Period- CBC’s Scott Oake interviews Alexander Ovechkin.

Writer’s Note: Has Alexander Ovechkin been shopping with Sean Avery, intern for Vogue Magazine? I must say, Ovechkin is looking sharp and fresh tonight. Whether that suit is Armani or Zegna, Ovie is styling tonight.

12:57 of the Second Period- Hal Gill takes a cross-checking penalty on Tomas Holmstrom.

Writer’s Note: This penalty kill should be no problem for Pittsburgh. They have done an excellent job down a man thus far tonight. Jordan Staal (7 shorthanded goals in 2006’07 regular season) is always effective.

14:48 of the Second Period- Johan Franzen (Landsbro, Sweden) scores his 13th goal of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs on a beautiful individual effort. The goal comes with only seconds left in Gill’s minor penalty and was quite simply a highlight-reel goal.

Writer’s Note: Was that Johan Franzen or Alexei Zhamnov? Wow. That goal was exciting to watch. And I’m cheering for Pittsburgh too. Franzen went around three Pittsburgh Penguins on his way to the goal and stuffed it short-side on M.A. Fleury. The Mule has another goal, his league-leading 13th of the postseason.

*** Second Period Ends…. Pittsburgh outshoots Detroit 13-9 in the Second Period and has an overall 19-18 Shots advantage.

Writer’s Analysis: This game is by far the best of the series so far, mainly because Pittsburgh seems to have awaken from a late May sleep. Pittsburgh played extraordinarily in the middle frame and really deserved a bigger lead than one goal…

Stay Tuned for Period 3…..

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg…

- Hockey Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman drops the puck at Center Ice and the start of Game 3 is minutes away.

0:15 into the First Period- Detroit’s Top 5 (Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Lidstrom, Rafalski) starts the game with more jump than Tyler Kennedy’s line.

1:04 into the First Peiod- An obstruction holding penalty is called on Johan Franzen, as his back check on Pens forward Marian Hossa is a tad over-zealous.

1:39 into the First Period- 35 seconds into the power play, Ryan Malone has a great chance to score when he moves in on Osgood and finesses a half-decent forehand shot that is thwarted into the corner. Malone has another great chance to score when he one-times a shot in the slot.

3:05 into the First Period- Jordan Staal takes a holding penalty that looks like something you would see in an instructional video for NHL officials. He puts his arm around the Detroit player and clearly impeded his progress in the neutral zone. Not a very good penalty to take.

Writer’s Note: Pittsburgh had some excellent scoring chances on their first power play and appeared to be on the verge of more pressure. Pittsburgh really needed a good start to this game and they must kill this penalty off quickly so they can sustain more pressure in their home rink.

6:59 into the First Period- After killing off Staal’s penalty, Detroit continues to control the pace of the game by using their speed and smarts.

Niklas Lidstrom turns the puck over in the Detroit zone to Sidney Crosby but the Penguins fail to get a clear shot on net when they get too fancy.

Wings Super-Grinder Tomas Holmstrom wires a hard slap shot on Marc-Andre Fleury which he stops handily.

Writer’s Note: The Penguins defensemen need to do a better shop of standing the Wings up at the blueline, because their modus operandi is clearly to get as many rebounds as possible. If the Pens continue to let Detroit’s speedy forwards walk in over the blueline, someone will eventually get a juicy rebound. You cannot give players like Datsyuk, Holmstrom and Franzen the autonomy to walk in and fire 30-foot slappers. This is where Darryl Sydor and his Stanley Cup experience come into play.

CBC shows Lays spokesman Mark Messier and NHL Scoring Champion Alexander Ovechkin
9:15 into the Period -Press box. Messier and Ovechkin appear to be more interested in who’s texting their Blackberry than Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

11:00 into the First Period- The Red Wings are shooting from all over the ice at Marc-Andre Fleury as they continue to frustrate the scrambly hometown Penguins.

12:07 into the First Period- Sergei Gonchar takes a tripping penalty.

Writer’s Note: The Penguins have one shot on net. I repeat. The Penguins have ONE SHOT on net. Is Pittsburgh for real? Are they purposely trying to play like the 1980’81 Winnipeg Jets?

16:10 into the First Period- Marian Hoosa registers Pittsburgh’s second shot on net, after he tips a Sergei Gonchar point shot.

17:25 into the First Period- Pittsburgh breaks the scoreless draw when Brad Stuart coughs the puck up to Sidney Crosby after his clearing pass hits the back of Henrik Zetterbeg’s skate. Crosby takes the puck, drops it to Hossa, then takes the return feed off of a Detroit skate and buries his 5th goal past Chris Osgood. A nice goal, which always looks better when it comes off the stick of Sid the Kid.

Writer’s Note: Crosby’s goal was a true double-whammy as he pops his personal Stanley Cup Finals cherry and the team’s as well. It is nice to see the Crosby show back on air. It is about time.

19:19 of the First Period- Former New Jersey Devils Defenseman Brian Rafalski takes a minor tripping penalty.

19:53 of the First Period- Marian Hossa misses the net on a one-timer and the Penguins end the period with pressure and on a high note.

Writer’s Note: Wow. Hossa had a great opportunity to put the Pens up by 2 on a beautiful feed from Malone. Hossa still hasn’t found his comfort zone. Don’t look now but Hossa and Crosby are really clicking together.

First Period Notes: The Wings outshoot the Penguins 9-6 in the period…..

Please stay tuned for Period 2……

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

0:22 into the Third Period- Marian Hossa gets called for a minor holding penalty.

Writer’s Note: Egads!

3:10 into the Third Period- The pace of this game has slowed down considerably and is better suited for the veteran-laden Detroit Red Wings. The Pens just can’t seem to create an offensive flow in the Red Wings zone as they appear to be treating the puck like a hot potatoe.

3:42 into the Third Period- Malone and Datsyuk get coincidental minor roughing penalties after Malone hammers Zetterberg after the whistle blows.

6:00 into the Third Period- HELLO PITTSBURGH!! YOU HAVEN’T SCORED A GOAL YET IN 5+ PERIODS. IT’S TIME TO PUT THE PUCK IN THE NET.

Writer’s Note: Aside from Gary Roberts forechecking tenaciously and Tyler Kennedy sliding into the Red Wings Zone off of the bench, the Penguins look as lifeless as Norm on an episode of Cheers.

7:49 into the Third Period- Dallas Drake Tripping Penalty.

8:04 into the Third Period- Ryan Malone takes a goaltender interference penalty after he gets a little too close to Osgood, thus putting the confident Red Wings back on the power play.

8:48 of the Third Period- Valteri Filppula scores one of the nicest goals of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs when he takes a pass from Johan “Mule” Franzen in the neutral zone, splits the defence, blows by Pens defenseman Kris Letang, then buries a forehand shot as he is falling to the ice on a delayed penalty. Filppula scores his 4th goal of the playoffs on the power play and puts the Wings up 3-0.

11:55 into the Third Period- Maxime Talbot is called for a minor roughing penalty.

The Wing second powerplay unit (Jiri Hudler-Daniel Cleary-Valteri Filppula) skates circles around the Pens in their own zone and continues to dominate in almost every aspect of the game.

15:13 into the Third Period- Sidney Crosby gets a weak backhand shot on Osgood but he easily clears the puck into the corner.

Writer’s Note: This game is pretty much over as CBC breaks to another television timeout. The Illegal Curve team (Rich, Drew, Neil) is already thinking about highlights of Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals and the French Open tennis tournament.

16:09 of the Third Period- Defenseman Ryan Whitney takes a roughing penalty as Pittsburgh continues to play the rough stuff with Franzen.

Writer’s Note: The Penguins have clearly given up tonight. The Whitney penalty is their 10th of the game. This is quite mind-boggling as Laraque and Talbot are normally your partners in crime. Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone have played on the edge the whole game.

18:52 of the Third Period- Chris Osgood is bumped behind the net by Petr Sykora which leads to a Evgeni Malkin stage dive, which then leads to a short fight between Gary Roberts and Pavel Datsyuk.

Third Period Ends.

The Red Wings win Game 2 by a score of 3-0 and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.

Writer’s Post-Game Analysis- Pittsburgh got really chippy in the 3rd period and are simply being outplayed by a team which boasts 11 Stanley Cup Winners. Not much can be said here that hasn’t been said already. The Wings took both games in Detroit and head to Pittsburgh with all of their poker chips in hand. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, returns home dejected and sans anything to rally around. Are we going to see a Stanley Cup Finals sweep or is Pittsburgh going to make this a series? Hopefully, and this is for everyone’s sake, it is the latter.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

- Detroit begins the second period on the power play and spends most of the opening minutes in Pittsburgh territory.

5:00 into the Second Period- Pittsburgh begins to gain a little momentum in the game when Pittsburgh’s No.1 Unit of Crosby-Hossa-Malone begins to play a Calgary Flames-style of dump-and-chase smash mouth hockey.

Writer’s Note: The hockey that Pittsburgh is playing right now may be the result of something Gary Roberts said in the dressing room or on the bench because Roberts looks more into this game than anyone. By the way, the Department of Homeland Security has just issued an Amber Alert regarding Pens sophomore superstar Evgeni Malkin. An A.P.B has also been sent out by Pens coach Michel Therrien. Where are you Evgeni?? Where is your 106 points that you scored during the 2007’08 regular season???

9:30 into the Second Period- Detroit is playing brilliantly as they continute to play their authentic puck-possession game that won them the Presidents Trophy and the Western Conference Championship Tropgy. Detroit’s superb Top 3 defensemen (Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronvall) move the puck so eloquently and break up everything at their own blueline that they essentially dictate the pace of the game, which totally throws off the entire Pittsburgh Penguins strategy.

10:45 into the Second Period- Kid Rock is interviewed by CBC’s Scott Oake in the crowd and looks like he has consumed at least 6 Miller Lights. Best line of the interview: Scott Oake asks Kid Rock what he likes about the Red Wings. Kid Rock responds ” It’s like what I tell the girls, Everything. “Kid Rock says “Rock on Canada”. Bob Cole interjects by saying “Thanks Kid.”

Writer’s Note: 97% of the tickets available for Kid Rock’s concerts have not been sold.

13:25 into the Second Period- Marian Hossa has a decent scoring opportunity when he touch-tips a Rob Scuderi centering pass, but it is effortlessly stopped by a well-positioned Chris Osgood, who is a remarkable 11-2 so far in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

15:35 into the Second Period- Andreas Lilja falls down on a phantom check, resulting in an excellent Pittsburgh scoring chance . Gary Roberts takes the puck, spins around and dishes a beautiful feed to 19-year-old Jordan Staal who one-times the puck wide of Chris Osgood. Pittsburgh is unable to bury the rebound opportunity, but has one of the best scoring chances of the period.

17:30 of the Second Period- Ryan Malone takes a slashing penalty at the worst possible time.

Writer’s Note: Frustrating. Very Frustrating. The Penguins were displaying lots of sustained pressure in the Wings zone and appeared to be on the brink of a score.

Second Period is over.

*** Writer’s Note: The Second period ends just as it started. The Wings remain in the lead by a score of 2-0 with one period to go in Game 2. The shots are 22-12 Detroit and the Pittsburgh Penguins are playing like a bunch of 15-year-old A-3 players instead of the crew that captured the Prince of Wales Trophy for winning the Eastern Conference championship. The Wings simply look like a much better-prepared team. Wings head coach Mike Babcock, the hockey mastermind, has his troops prepared for the Crosby and Malkin show. Maybe the Penguins will mount a comeback in the third. Or maybe Lidstrom and Rafalski will continue to shut down the entire Pens team. We shall wait and see.

Stay tuned for our Period 3 Live Blog…

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

**Red Wings lead the series 1-0**

Pre-Game Notes…. Teams winning Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals have won 78% of the time since the NHL adopted a Best-of-Seven format….. In other words, 53 of 68 Finals since 1939 have gone to the team winning the all-important first game…… Pens veteran forward Gary Roberts replaces Enforcer Georges Laraque in the line-up……. Wings Left Winger Johan Franzen (12 goals, 3 assists in 2008 NHL Playoffs) is back in the line-up after missing six games with post concussion-like symptoms…..

FIRST PERIOD

3:00 into the First Period – The pace of the opening period of Game 2 is quite frantic with both teams displaying the type of skating and athleticism that was expected by most hockey pundits and hockey enthusiasts. The Red Wings have had a few shots from the outside, courtesy of Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Samuelsson, but Marc-Andre Fleury. The Pens, on the other hand, have yet to register a shot.

6:20 into the First Period- Pens uber-superstar Sidney Crosby continues to be smothered by the tight-checking Detroit Red Wings defense corps, and specifically Brett Lebda.

Writer’s Note: When Crosby swings his stick in frustration at Lebda like he just did, you know he wishes he had a lot more room out there.

6:55 into the First Period- Evgeni Malkin coughs up the puck in the neutral zone, resulting in a takeaway. On an innocent looking play in the Penguins defensive zone, Brad Stuart takes a nifty pass from Valteri Filppula and blasts a mediocre slap shot which eludes Marc-Andre Fleury. The goal is Stuart’s first of the postseason.

Writer’s Note: Malkin had one hand on his stick and must start playing more intelligently in the neutral zone. Stuart’s shot was half-decent but could have easily been stopped by Fleury.

8:00 of the 1st – Pens d-man Rob Scuderi gets highsticked in the face by teammate Hal Gill, as he was checking Filpulla. Scuderi is bloodied as he took Gill’s blade right in the forehead.

Writer’s Analysis: Oy Vey. Did the 6’7” Hal Gill just high stick his own defense partner? That was painful to watch. The Penguins are struggling to get anything going offensively and seem to be running around like a bunch of contestants on Supermarket Sweep in their own zone.

11:18 into the First Period- Wings Playoff Stalwart Tomas Holmstrom taps in a rebound off of a Henrik Zetterberg backhand that slipped through the pads of Fleury. Detroit takes a 2-0 lead at the Joe Louis Arena and looks to be in absolute control of the game.

11:33 into the First Period- Brad Stuart takes a silly tripping penalty, putting Pittsburgh on the power play, where they struggled so badly in Game 1.

13:00 into the First Period- The Penguins have some pressure in the Wings Zone on their power play but fail to get many quality shots. With 30 seconds left in the power play, the Penguins continue to have stage fright under the bright lights of the Stanley Cup Finals

15:14 of the First Period- Ryan Malone takes a lazy interference penalty. The shots are currently at 11-3 in favour of the Red Wings. Early in the power play, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are buzzing around like a bunch of killer bees, but Detroit fails to get many shots on net.

17:49 of the 1st- Daniel Cleary takes a hooking penalty. The shots are 12-3 in favour of Detroit and the Penguins could really use something to build on going into the second period.

Gary Roberts has the best chance of the Penguins power play when he has two whacks at the puck in front of Chris Osgood but then takes a roughing penalty with 14 seconds left in the period, thus ending the Pens powerplay.

The Joe Louis Arena buzzer sounds and the Wings have a 2-0 lead after one period. The shots after the first period are 12-6 in favour of the Red Wings.

Writer’s First Period Analysis: The first period goes to Detroit in a unanimous decision. Detroit gets early goals from Stuart and Holmstrom and manhandles the Penguins young guns in their own end. The best example of how dominant the Wings were in the First Period was shown during Pittsburgh’s second power play when Niklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski simply did not let Crosby, Malkin, Malone or Hossa set up in the slot for chances on Osgood.

Stay tuned for Period 2….For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

3rd period is about to begin……

The Illegal Curve Contributors are gathered at Richy P’s house and are waiting in eager anticipation of the all-important, do-or-die final frame.

Detroit starts the period on the powerplay.

2:16 into the Third Period- A broken play by Pittsburgh in their own zone results in some serious Detroit pressure. The puck was bouncing around in the slot and Samuellson turns, fires, and counts his 2nd unassisted goal of the game, 4th of the playoffs.

Writer’s Note: Samuelsson is clearly Johnny-on-the spot tonight. Funny, because Samuelsson is horrible and is a career 30 point player.

10:00 into the Third Period- The Wings are playing an extremely smart puck possession game and are frustrating the young Penguins. They have squeezed all the life out of Pittsburgh’s young guns.

Writer’s Note: Pittsburgh’s excellent first period has obviously been wasted as they have played awful thus far in the third. This game has suddenly got very boring as Pittsburgh has lost all of the momentum to the upstart Red Wings. This game looks more and more like a New Jersey Devils/Anaheim Ducks Stanley Cup final series circa 2003 instead of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals Shootout that all of the hockey broadcasters were predicting. I would rather watch a re-run of Married with Children than this snoozefest. The shots are 32-18 overall in the game. WOW.

14:00 into the Third Period- Illegal Curve.com founder Richard Pollock is sick of the trap-style hockey being played by the Detroit Red Wings and switches his 61” HDTV to Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals game between the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics.

15:26 into the Third Period- Niklas Lidstrom takes his second penalty of the game, an interference penalty.

Writer’s Note: If the Penguins are going to do anything, such as scoring a goal, now would be a great time. Their power play has been horrible so far tonight and they would be wise to get something, ANYTHING, going here.

16:30 into the Third Period- Pittsburgh gets a weak shot on net that Osgood stops easily. The super-skilled Evgeni Malkin looks like Casper the Friendly Ghost out there.

17:18 into the Third Period- Wings defenseman Brad Stuart rifles the puck down the ice and a speedy Daniel Cleary gets to the puck first. He roofs a shot past a shaky Marc-Andre Fleury, scoring shorthanded for his 2nd goal of the postseason. Cleary’s goal eliminates any chance the Penguins had at making a late game comeback.

Writer’s Note: What was Fleury thinking there? He clearly had a terrible oportunity to play that puck and then looked unprepared for Cleary’s attack.

18:08 of the Third Period- Jarkko Ruutu slashes Samuelsson in the mid section and gets a penalty.

Writer’s Note: Ruutu is a moron. He was effective in the first three rounds as a tenacious grinder but that was a ridiculous penalty to take.

19:47 of the Third Period- Henrik Zetterberg scores his 12th goal of the playoffs on the power play as he wrists a beautiful shot past Fleury.

Writer’s Note: This game was over a long time ago but that was the figurative nail in the coffin. What a goal by Zetterberg. If it wasn’t for Samuelsson’s two-goal performance, Zetterberg would be the clear favourite for 1st star of the game.

The Horn sounds. This game is over. Detroit wins 4-0 and takes Game 1 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.

Writer’s Post Game Analysis: Detroit dominated this game in almost every area. The final shot count was 36-19 for Detroit and they simply did not let Pittsburgh get comfortable in their home rink. The Wings checked the Penguins effectively and didn’t allow them to get any momentum from those three early period penalties. Kudos to Mikael Samuelsson who had a great game and scored goals at crucial parts of the game. Chris Osgood also deserves a mention here as he was good when he needed to be. He only faced 19 shots, but he stopped all of them, many coming on the power play. When we look back at this game, we will see a Detroit shutout, regardless if Pittsburgh fell asleep in the final two periods, which means the Wings had a better start to this series then they could have ever imagined.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

The Wings start the second on the man advantage as they look to score the game’s first goal.

Sidney Crosby takes a slashing penalty 1:55 into the second.

Writer’s Note: Crosby is playing a little over-anxiously. The Pens need Crosby on the ice early in the middle frame as he is the catalyst on the first line and allows Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis to buzz around the ice, typically drawing a lot of attention.

Fleury continues to play like a human wall as he stymies the Red Wings top snipers. Fleury easily stops a Pavel Datsyuk rebound shot as the Pens continue to outbody the Wings forwards.

6:10 into the Second Period- Ex-Atlanta Thrasher and Trade Deadline Pick-up Pascal Dupuis has a tremendous breakway chance but is stopped by Osgood, the celebrated veteran.

8:00 into the Second Period- The Wings Top 5 Unit (Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmsrom, Lidtsrom and Rafalski) is clearly skating circles around the Pens third line but still can’t get any substantial threat going in the offensive zone.

Writer’s Note: This game is going at a Donovan Bailey-like pace but players on both teams are holding their sticks very tightly. The Wings have had more pressure so far but the Pens blueline corps, featuring the likes of Rob Scuderi, Brooks Orpik and Ryan Whitney, continue to play very well

13:01 of the Second Period- Wings forward Mikael Samuelsson scores on a beautiful wrap-around goal as Marc-Andre Fleury is slow to move side-to-side across the goal line. The Wings go up 1-0. The puck actually goes off of Fleury’s skate but nonetheless Samuelsson used his speed and quick hands to score a beauty.

Writer’s Note: I believe that’s Samuelsson’s third goal and 10th point of the playoffs but I cannot confirm because NHL.com and Sportsnet.ca are saying that Jarkko Ruutu scored the game’s first goal. That’s funny because it is 1-0 Detroit and Ruutu has not been remotely close to scoring a goal. It appears the chief statistician working for the NHL thinks that the other #37 scored the goal. Is the NHL’s stats department autistic? Nonethless, it’s been minutes since the goal and they still haven’t changed it.

13:13 of the Second Period- Ryan Whitney takes a holding penalty as the Wings have built on the momentum of their first goal and are giving the Pens a conniption in their own zone.

Writer’s Note: Pittsburgh needs to calm down. This is ice hockey, not American Gladiators.

15:58 into the Second Period- Zetterberg absolutely hammers Sidney Crosby at the blueline, leading to a scoring chance for fellow linemate Tomas Holmstrom.

Writer’s Note: Zetterberg has been the best player on the ice so far. He is skating around with panache and has been playing physically as well. I said he is playing with panache, not pancakes. Jordan Staal,on other hand, looks like he had pancakes earlier this afternoon. NOTE: The NHL and all other websites have still not posted the correct goal on their websites.

The Wings outshoot the Pens 16-4 in the period and have commanding control of the game. Overall, the Wings have a 27-16 shots advantage in the game.

Stay Tuned for the Third Period Blog…

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

Writer’s Note: Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury leads the visiting team onto the ice before the national anthem and falls down flat on his face as the scruffy-faced puckstopper looks very excited. Is this Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals or an episode of Dancing with the Stars?

PERIOD 1

-Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang take a cross-checking penalty 3:51 into the first period as the Red Wings come out with more energy in front of the hometown Joe Louis Arena crowd.

Writer’s Note: Letang needs to be careful here. He is a talented young rookie defenseman but uber-talented veterans Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Cleary will eat the smallish QMJHL star up if he doesn’t stick to his position.

Detroit Red Wings super pest Tomas Holmstrom takes a high-sticking penalty 15 seconds later, nullifying the short Red Wings power play.

Writer’s Note: I realize Holmstrom is highly effective at goalie-crashing but he is not useful on the Wings power play if he pulls Sean Avery-esque antics.

Valtteri Filupula has a great scoring chance when he blows past Pens d-man Hall Gill and tries to stuff the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury, knocking the young goalies mask off in the process.

6:25 into the First Period- The Red Wings top line of Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom is buzzing in the Penguins zone, but most of the shots are coming from 30 feet away. Pens top two defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney will have their hands full all night with this dynamic triumvirate.

8:00 into the 1st- No goals yet. Both teams are playing tight defense with few scoring chances and a lot of excellent neutral zone play.

10:15 into the First Period- Nicklas Lidstrom takes a hooking penalty. Pens were 5 for 18 on the power play versus the Philadelphia Flyers during the Eastern Conference Finals and are instantly in a good position on the road in Game 1.

2 minutes later- The Red Wings kill off the Lidstrom penalty with ease. Zetterberg looks especially effective on the PK, rushing down the ice and killing a good 30 seconds off the power play.

12:38 into the First Period- Winnipeg native Darren Helm (#43) takes a tripping penalty. On the powerplay, Hossa has a great chance to score right in front of Wings goaltender Chris Osgood, but has his stick lifted by Wings d-man Brian Rafalski.

Writer’s Note: Hossa should have buried that. He had the best scoring chance of the first period and should’ve had a tighter grip on his stick. Don Cherry will have something to say about that during the first intermision on Coach’s Corner.

After the Wings kill off another penalty, Nicklas Lidstrom walks in and fires one by Fleury and looks to have the first goal of the Stanley Cup Finals. But referee Paul Devorski notices that Holmstrom interferes with Fleury and waves the goal off. With 4 and a half minutes left in the period, the Pens have yet another power play opportunity.

Writer’s Note: Holmstrom takes another penalty for goaltender interference. WHAT A BAD CALL. AN ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE GOALIE INTERFERENCE CALL by Devorski and O’Hallaran. Wings coach Mike Babcock is livid. So is the Illegal Curve team watching the game. The Refs need to chill.

Pittsburgh fails to score on their third power play of the period and look disorganized and sloppy.

19:00 of the First Period- Pens defenseman Hal Gill takes a high-sticking penalty with exactly one minute left in the period. The 6’7” blueliner looks dejected as he skates into the sin bin.

The First Period ends in a scoreless draw. The Red Wings outshoot the Penguins 12-11. The Wings will start the next period with one minute left in Hal Gill’s minor penalty.

Writer’s First Period Analysis: Wow. A pretty topsy-turvy opening frame. The Red Wings take a lot of uncharacteristic penalties but the Penguins fail to put any pucks behind Chris Osgood. I would give the slight edge in the period to the Wings who do an awesome job of killing off both of Holmstrom’s penalties. This game looks to be a wild affair as both teams have energy and the playoff fight in them. Sidney Crosby didn’t register anything on the scoresheet but did have two shots on net and looked more poised than Malkin, Staal or anyone else on the Pittsburgh roster.

Stay tuned for Period 2……

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.

Please stay tuned to your favourite hockey blog for a live period-by-period analysis of the Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings. Illegal Curve correspondent Ezra Ginsburg will have all the action covered…..

We hope this draft can serve as a mock draft for all the poolies out there. After each round, I will write a short analysis of some of the picks that stood out and why they did.

The draft gets underway in just over half an hour. The draft has a whopping 15 teams.
Here is the draft order:

1. Adam Gutkin (Numbers Game) and Steve Werier (IC Contributor)
2. Cole
3. Seth/Drew
4. Lioz/Ohad
5. John
6. Sam/Payton
7. Adam/Sergio
8. David
9. Rod
10. Richard (Me) and Rocky (HD Corner)
11. Aaron
12. Shaun
13. Hari
14. Sam/Dave
15. Ezzy (AHL Report and Euro Curve) and Hart

I will be posting the picks round-by-round with a short analysis after each round.

The draft is getting underway now…

Round 1:
1. Adam and Steve: Sidney Crosby
2. Cole: Pavel Datsyuk
3. Seth/Drew: Evgeni Malkin
4. Lioz/Ohad: Joe Thornton
5. John: Henrik Zetterberg
6. Sam/Payton: Alexei Kovalev
7. Adam/Sergio: Nicklas Lidstrom
8. David: Jarome Iginla
9. Rod: Ryan Getzlaf
10. Richard/Rocky: Jaromir Jagr
11. Aaron: Alexander Ovechkin
12. Shaun: Teemu Selanne
13. Hari: Mike Modano
14. Sam/Dave: Marian Gaborik
15. Ezzy/Hart: Marian Hossa

Analysis: There were two shockers this round. The first was Iginla at such a high pick. David is a Flames homer, however, and that is why he reached. The Flames are playing a better team in San Jose and they most likely will be a first round casualty. The second surprise was Modano, as he is probably the fourth best forward on his own team. Nostalgia can do wonders… The best value pick of the first round may be Shaun at 11 with his Selanne pick. Selanne has been terrific since his late-season return and many have the Ducks pegged for a Stanley Cup repeat.

Round 2:
16. Ezzy/Hart: Nicklas Backstrom
17. Sam/Dave: Mike Ribiero
18. Hari: Joe Sakic
19. Shaun: Sergei Gonchar
20. Aaron: Chris Pronger
21. Rich/Rocky: Patrick Marleau
22. Rod: Zach Parise
23. David: Tomas Plekanec
24. Adam/Sergio: Andrei Markov
25. Sam/Payton: Brian Rafalski
26. John: Scott Niedermayer
27. Lioz/Ohad: Jonathan Cheechoo
28. Seth/Drew: Scott Gomez
29. Cole: Tomas Holmstrom
30: Adam/Steve: Brian Campbell

Analysis: In the second round, team still draft the best player regardless of team. However, after this round you start seeing teams take players from the team of their first/second round picks. The combination strategy is very popular because you are hoping the team you draft from goes the farthest and thus plays the most games. Therefore, having more players on that team is beneficial. Hardly any teams will scatter their selections from more than 5 teams. The biggest surprise of this round is probably Backstrom, but he is a talented surprise that plays with the game’s best player in Ovechkin. Any thought that the Habs were not going to be well-respected in the draft have gone by the wayside as three Habs have already been drafted. Also, Holmstom at full health is a solid pick at the end of the second round, but I am a bit concerned about his groin. That pick may be a little risky for a top two pick.

Round 3:
31. Adam/Steve: Petr Sykora
32. Cole: Mark Streit
33. Seth/Drew: Paul Stastny
34. Lioz/Ohad: Milan Michalek
35. John: Johan Franzen
36. Sam/Payton: Dany Heatley
37. Adam/Sergio: Chris Drury
38. David: Andrei Kostitsyn
39. Rod: Corey Perry
40. Rich/Rocky: Martin Straka
41. Aaron: Alexander Semin
42. Shaun: Chris Kunitz
43. Hari: Jason Spezza
44. Sam/Dave: Brenden Morrow
45. Ezzy/Hart: Pavol Demitra

Analysis: The third round is where teams go off on later teams they think will do well. This, of course, leads in 15 different directions as every team has a different 8 teams they think will advance in the second round. Rock and I like the Rangers, while others are banking on the Capitals, Sens, etc. In my opinion the Flyers aren’t getting enough respect. But that is just one man’s opinion. A Peter Forsberg pick has to be next round doesn’t it?

Round 4:
46. Ezzy/Hart: Ryan Malone
47. Sam/Dave: Pierre-Marc Bouchard
48. Hari: Vaclav Prospal
49. Shaun: Peter Forsberg
50. Aaron: Todd Bertuzzi
51. Rich/Rocky: Joe Pavelski
52. Rod: Patrik Elias
53. David: Chris Higgins
54. Adam/Sergio: Daniel Cleary
55. Sam/Payton: Brian Gionta
56. John: Daniel Briere
57. Lioz/Ohad: Milan Hejduk
58. Seth/Drew: Saku Koivu
59. Cole: Mikael Samuelsson
60: Adam/Steve: Ryan Whitney

Analysis: Not a big fan of the Bertuzzi pick. He just didn`t do anything for me this season and looked old. I like the Higgins selection by David. Higgins is a player who plays better when the games are more physical which is sure to be the case against the Bruins. Also, I think John got a steal in Briere. As you may be able to tell, I favor the Flyers in an upset over the Capitals.

Round 5:
61. Adam/Steve: Brian Rolston
62. Cole: Valtteri Filpulla
63. Seth/Drew: Pascal Dupuis
64. Lioz/Ohad: Andrew Brunette
65. John: Mike Richards
66. Sam/Payton: Mike Green
67. Adam/Sergio: Sergei Kostitsyn
68. David: Michael Ryder
69. Rod: Mathieu Schneider
70. Rich/Rocky: Jordan Staal
71. Aaron: Viktor Kozlov
72. Shaun: Ryan Smyth
73. Hari: Brad Richards
74. Sam/Dave: Daymond Langkow
75. Ezzy/Hart: Mikko Koivu

Analysis: Pascal Dupuis went too early here. By too early, I mean it is too early he went at all. I don’t care if he’s playing with Crosby, he’s awful. I like the Ryan Smyth selection by Shaun. With Nick Schultz getting an appendectomy, I like the Avs more than I did before, and I still liked them to win the series. Also, good value selection by Hari with Brad Richards.

Round 6:
76. Ezzy/Hart: Brooks Laich
77. Sam/Dave: Kristian Huselius
78. Hari: Cory Stillman
79. Shaun: Doug Weight
80. Aaron: Mikhail Grabovski
81. Rich/Rocky: John-Michael Liles
82. Rod: Wade Redden
83. David: Alex Tanguay
84. Adam/Sergio: Brendan Shanahan
85. Sam/Payton: Guillaume Latendresse
86. John: Joffrey Lupul
87. Lioz/Ohad: Jamie Langenbrunner
88. Seth/Drew: Wojtek Wolski
89. Cole: Jiri Hudler
90: Adam/Steve: Maxime Talbot

Analysis: Ezra would have been better off selecting Ricky Lake. Also, Douggie Weght has been an unhappy healthy scratch in Anaheim, so Shaun may have been better off drafting another Duck instead. Tanguay is a good selection this late. The Flames always play the Shakrs well and if they do make a run, Tanguay will play a big part in that. Shanahan seems like a steal here, but he has been placed on the fourth line for Game 1 versus the Devils. Also, considering the Devils are the favorite, Langenbrunner at the 87th overall pick is good value.

Round 7:
91. Adam/Steve: Ryan Clowe
92. Cole: Niklas Kronwall
93. Seth/Drew: Sergei Fedorov
94. Lioz/Ohad: Devon Setoguchi
95. John: Nigel Dawes
96. Sam/Payton: Dion Phaneuf
97. Adam/Sergio: Roman Hamrlik
98. David: Jason Arnott
99. Rod: Alexander Radulov
100. Rich/Rocky: Brandon Dubinsky
101. Aaron: Samuel Pahlsson
102. Shaun: John Madden
103. Hari: Niklas Hagman
104. Sam/Dave: Brent Burns
105. Ezzy/Hart: J.P. Dumont

Analysis: The picks in this round were all good. I love the Setoguchi selection by Lioz/Ohad. Ryan Clowe was a nice selection at the top of the round and Kronwall was a good value pick by Cole. Radulov is a risk/reward pick as he could be great if he replaces Jan Hlavac on the first line. However, there is no sign that is the case, and he has struggled on the second unit with Bonk and Erat.

Round 8:
106. Ezzy/Hart: Kris Letang
107. Sam/Dave: Dainius Zubrus
108. Hari: Owen Nolan
109. Shaun: Travis Zajac
110. Aaron: Bobby Ryan
111. Rich/Rocky: Sean Avery
112. Rod: Paul Martin
113. David: Mike Komisarek
114. Adam/Sergio: Jere Lehtinen
115. Sam/Payton: Eric Belanger
116. John: Todd Marchant
117. Lioz/Ohad: Jeremy Roenick
118. Seth/Drew: Craig Rivet
119. Cole: Bryan Smolinksi
120: Adam/Steve: Mike Knuble

Analysis: It is hard to make fun of any of these picks because the players are all brutal. We are already 120 deep and still have 30 more picks to go! Bobby Ryan could be good, but he isn’t even assured a spot on the Ducks’ starting roster when the playoffs begin. Also, the Roenick pick is a nice one by Lioz/Ohad. The veteran has scored some big goals all season long and that could pay off in overtime in the playoffs.

Round 9:

121. Adam/Steve: Jeff Carter

122. Cole: Brad Stuart

123. Seth/Drew: Antoine Vermette

124. Lioz/Ohad: Jay Pandolfo

125. John: Marc Savard

126. Sam/Payton: Chris Kelly

127. Adam/Sergio: Maxim Lapierre

128. David: Martin Erat

129. Rod: Daniel Alfredsson

130. Rich/Rocky: Kimmo Timonen

131. Aaron: Travis Moen

132. Shaun: Tyler Arnason

133. Hari: Craig Conroy

134. Sam/Dave: Mark Parrish

135. Ezzy/Hart: Tom Poti

Analysis: With our worst two players not counting towards total points, and it being the ninth round, teams are loading up on high risk/reward players like Savard and Alfredsson. The Jeff Carter selection caught my eye, as I am surprised the young center fell this far. Good selection by Adam/Steve.

Round 10:
136. Ezzy/Hart: Torrey Mitchell
137. Sam/Dave: Sergei Zubov
138. Hari: Marco Sturm
139. Shaun: Johnny Oduya
140. Aaron: Tomas Fleischmann
141. Rich/Rocky: Michael Roszival
142. Rod: Francois Beauchemin
143. David: Matthew Lombardi
144. Adam/Sergio: Adrian Aucoin
145. Sam/Payton: Kim Johnsson
146. John: Braydon Coburn
147. Lioz/Ohad: Mike Grier
148. Seth/Drew: Gary Roberts
149. Cole: Kris Draper
150. Adam/Steve: R.J. Umberger

Analysis: Teams are just rounding out their squads. This was a deep draft by playoff standards. 150 players is a lot to pick when the player pool is basically cut in half. We will be posting updates of the results of the pool every Monday morning.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.

2:40pm: Alright, we are 40 minutes past the deadline and I’ve been here for almost eight straight hours. Time to go home for a nap. Thanks to everyone who came by and checked out the blog; I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

2:34: The Thrashers have traded Alex Giroux to the Capitals for Joe Motzko.

Analysis: I’m not an AHL scout so I’ve got nothing for you on this one!

2:31pm: The Kings have dealt J.S. Aubin to the Ducks for a 7th round pick.

Analysis: If Aubin plays for the Ducks in any kind of meaningful game, they won’t be playing meaningful games for long…

2:27pm: In my opinion, everyone is overrating the Pens. I just wanna know who is going to start in net for them come playoff time… Conklin? Fleury? Does that instill confidence in Penguins fans? I’d say no.

2:22pm: The Islanders have traded Marc-Andre Bergeron to the Ducks for a 3rd rounder.

Analysis: Don’t see why the Ducks want him considering he can’t play any defense. The Islanders did well getting a 3rd rounder here.

2:20pm: The Leafs have traded Chad Kilger to the Panthers for a 3rd rounder.

Analysis: Kilger is a third/fourth line grinder. The Panthers want some veterans on their depth lines due to some injuries and the Leafs can use picks, so it makes sense for both sides.

2:18pm: The Coyotes have dealt Fred Sjostrom, David LeNeveu and Josh Gratton to the Rangers for Al Montoya and Marcel Hossa.

Analysis: Don Maloney used to be Sather’s right-hand man so he knows what he’s getting with Montoya and Hossa. In my opinion, Montoya is the best player in this deal. Sjostom is good defensively but limited in his offensive ability. LeNeveu has been in the AHL for a long-time now and is not any one’s long term goaltending answer and Gratton is a throw in. As for Hossa’s inclusion, well, he’s good on the boards but that’s about it. Give the victory here to the Coyotes.

2:14pm: The Wings have acquired Brad Stuart from the Kings for a 2nd round pick and a 4th rounder.

Analysis: Well, Stuart should add depth to the Wings defense corps going into the playoffs. He skates well and makes a good first-pass but isn’t going to put this team over the top. As for the Kings, it is always nice to stash picks, especially when they have some young defensive prospects to work into their line-up in the next little while.

2:10pm: The Islanders traded Chris Simon to the Wild for a 6th round pick.

Analysis: Not really sure why. That’s all I have to say. As the panel points out, they have enough fighters. Simon used to be a pretty good hockey player back in the day, but he’s not what he used to be and he brings with him distractions.

2:00pm: The deadline is here, but there still may be some trades. Regardless, I’m still in shock over this trade. Pierre is going nuts, and I don’t blame him.

1:58pm: Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis to the Penguins for Angelo Esposito, Erik Christensen, Colby Armstrong and a 1st rounder.

Analysis: Unless the Pens re-sign Hossa then they overpaid by miles. Wow. Hossa will make them the favorite in the East, but that is a big time price to give up. As for Atlanta, Don Waddell may have just saved his job.

1:55pm: The Rangers have acquired Christian Backman from the Blues for a 4th round pick.

Analysis: Backman is earning $2.2 million per season this year and $3.4 million next year but his addition is a good one for the Rangers. The Rangers biggest weakness is their defense, and Backman is an improvement for them. As for the Blues, they didn’t get much in return but got cap relief and that’s all they wanted.

1:53pm: The Leafs have traded Hal Gil to the Penguins for a 2nd round and 5th round pick.

Analysis: The Leafs did well here. They don’t need Hal Gill on their back-end and they need picks. As for the Pens, they need size and stability on the defense and want to make a run this year so it makes sense for them too.

1:47pm: 13 minutes until the deadline…But remember, lots of trades trickle through a bit after the 2pm CST cutoff.

1:45pm: Milbury throws down with some Armstrong/Modano feud information as to why Doug Armstrong was canned. Good stuff.

1:32pm: Nothing doing still. However, they did just play a clip of Cristobal Huet. He sounded genuinely shocked to be dealt and I don’t blame him.

1:17pm: Lucky us! We get to listen to the Brian Campbell interview for a third time.

1:15pm: It only took just over six hours for the first Milbury/Luongo crack. Let’s review the old Milbury trade for entertainment purposes. Islanders traded Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha….speechless? I thought so.

1:09pm: Lots of talking but no action lately. I’d guess this is the calm before the final storm.

12:58pm: Dave Hodge and the writers are talking about Columbus again and how they are throwing in the towel. Guys, IT IS THE RIGHT DECISION!

12:51pm: Again, I’m with Pierre. I don’t trust Huet and I like the trade by the Habs.

12:48pm: Matt Pettinger interview time. I need a nap…

12:44pm: Bob McKenzie doesn’t see Olli Jokinen or Rob Blake being moved today.

12:42pm: The second Wade Belak interview of the day! This is enjoyable.

12:36pm: Dreger is saying Vancouver has dealt Matt Cooke to Washington for Matt Pettinger.

Analysis: Matt Cooke isn’t what he once was either. Pettinger is a depth winger, who isn’t much better than Cooke but is younger and a BC boy. As for Washington, not really sure what they are doing here today. I don’t mind the Huet pickup, but Fedorov and Cooke??? I just don’t see that as an upgrade.

12:29pm: When Glenn Healy talks, does anyone listen?

12:25pm: The official move is Adam Foote from Columbus for a conditional first rounder. Also, if he re-signs after the season with the Avs, there is another pick involved.

Analysis: Foote has played a lot of minutes this year, so I worry a bit about his wearing down. If the Avs allow him to share the burden with Hannan and Co., I’d say the deal is a positive for both sides. Columbus has to be happy with grabbing a first rounder. Scott Howson knows what he’s doing; any talk about them going for a playoff spot at the expense of the future is ludicrous.

12:21pm: Burkie is in a great mood. This puts me in a bad mood.

12:19pm: Here we go. Burke says he isn’t a deadline guy. Who woulda though that? He is doing an interview with only 1 hour and 40 minutes until the trade deadline…

12:17pm: Brian Burke has arrived for an interview!!!! Damn, the sound isn’t working. I can’t wait for this. It should be epic. I’m pretty sure this interview is the only reason I watch trade deadline day.

12:15pm: Who else is for making the GM Corner the Canadian version of PTI???? Please, I know I have support from you readers. You can’t tell me that wouldn’t be amazing.

12:12pm: Dreger is reporting Sergei Fedorov to the Washington Capitals for prospect Theo Ruth.

Analysis: I’m sorry, but most people haven’t seen Fedorov play this year. Lets just say he is not what he once was. In fact, he’s not close to what he once was. Don’t really know why Washington is making this move.

12:10pm: The GM Corner returns! And Milbury is saying the Leafs no-trade clauses are inhibiting Fletcher’s ability to make a deal. And yes, JFJ is ACROSS THE TABLE! Wow, unintentional comedy at its finest.

12:06pm: Pierre is the first one on the set to drop arms-race. Where is Fall Out Boy???? Get the song ready…

12:03pm: The Avs have acquired Adam Foote from the Blue Jackets. What the Jackets get in return hasn’t been reported. In other news, Warren Rychel, Rene Corbet and Craig Billington also waived their no-trades to return to Denver…

11:54am: McKenzie says the Avs are hot in pursuit of Foote and Foote says he’d only go to Colorado if he were to be traded. Who would be going the other way is not yet known.

11:51am: If I have to watch Michael Landsberg on that curling commercial one more time, I may break my computer in half and there is no way TSN wouldn’t held responsible for that. Granted, I could always put my computer back together with Landsberg’s hair gel.

11:48am: Somebody please tell James Duthie this isn’t a funeral. Why is he talking in such a sad tone???? These guys are paid millions of dollars and this is a part of the business.

11:44am: Brian Campbell is doing his best Ryan Smyth impersonation.

11:38am: It is Martin Lapointe from Chicago to Ottawa for a 6th round pick.

Analysis: Well, they paid less for Lapointe than Florida did for Belak so that’s a plus. Lapointe’s best days are behind him, but he should help in the dressing room. His toughness should help their 4th line.

11:37am: Martin Lapointe has been traded to the Senators, but what the Blackhawks are getting in return is yet to be determined.

11:35am: Bob McKenzie is reporting that Adam Foote’s contract talks with Columbus have fallen apart and that may lead to a deal.

11:33am: Why does Duthie sound sad for Mike Smith??? This guy is going from being a backup behind Marty Turco to being a starter in Tampa Bay. It’s his lucky day.

11:27am: Brian Campbell seems far more shaken up now than he was when I met him in September and he asked me what brisket was. (True story)

11:20am: The Blackhawks have traded Tuomo Ruutu to Carolina for Andrew Ladd.

Analysis: Both teams are trading youngsters who haven’t played up to expectations. In fact, their contracts are both $1.8 million for this season and both are RFA’s at season’s end. In my opinion Ruutu is the superior player, however, he couldn’t reach his potential in Chicago. Same for Ladd in Carolina, although I think he is tad overrated.

11:16am: The Avalanche have traded Karlis Skrastins and a 3rd round pick to the Panthers for Ruslan Salei.

Analysis: The Panthers will plug Skrastins on their back-end to block shots, but the deal was made for the 3rd pick. Salei is getting up there in age and isn’t a long-term option for a young team like Florida. As for Colorado, Salei bring veteran experience on the back-end, as the Avs have demonstrated they are serious about making a playoff run.

11:13am: Dave Hodge has to be 134 years old.

11:00am: The boys on the set are hungry, so JFJ has just bought pizza for his fellow members. What a great guy. He just over-tipped the pizza guy and gave him a no-trade clause…

10:50am: Cristobal Huet to the Capitals for a 2nd round pick in 2009.

Analysis: I know this trade seems stupid but I actually like it. Price is ready to carry the load and he’s definitely no worse than Huet. The Habs were going to lose Huet anyways, so at least they get a draft pick out of the deal. Also, the team is also going to make another move today, so let’s not rush to judgment.

10:43am: The Richards trade is a big one. Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist for Michael Smith, Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern.

Analysis: Jokinen is a nice winger and Smith is a solid netminder who flies under the radar, but this trade doesn’t make the Bolts better unless they use this extra money to sign a defenseman in the off-season.

10:42am: Brad Richards has waived his no-movement clause but the word on what the Bolts are getting back is not yet out.

Analysis: I’m a big Richards fan and I really think this move has Brett Hull’s hands all over it. He realizes Richards’ potential and ability; the extra offense should put Dallas over the top.

10:39am: Apparently Brad Richards has been traded to Dallas pending his approval.

10:35am: The details are out. Campbell for Steve Bernier and a 1st rounder.

Analysis: Well, I am not the biggest Steve Bernier fan. He’s a big guy but he isn’t the most consistent player. At least the Sabres are getting some value for Campbell though. Plus, while the first round pick will be at the end of the 1st round, it is a deep draft and those picks are always worth something.

10:33am: Even though they have yet to mention his name, you have to wonder if the deal includes Matt Carle. He was rumored to be going other way in the Redden rumors and Redden and Campbell are both pending UFA’s.

10:25am: Our first real trade and it is Brian Campbell to the Sharks.

Analysis: I’ll hold out until I see what they gave up, but he is EXACTLY what they need on their back-end.

10:23am: TSN has upstaged its Cam Janssen interview with a Wade Belak interview! Well done. I’m confused though. JFJ hasn’t given Wade a no-trade? But he has a pulse…

10:21am: Kenny Holland is always a good interview, but c’mon, he ain’t giving you anything right now. Is there a more useless interview than the GM pre-deadline interview??? Do people expect Holland to say, “You know we just offered Hudler and picks for Hossa”?

10:17am: The crew is now analyzing this trade. Somebody please bottle me. This is agonizing.

10:15am: Another trade has been made. The Leafs have dealt Wade Belak to Florida for a 5th round pick.

Analysis: Any pick for Belak is a plus.

10:10am: Mike Milbury just questioned the contract given to Patrick Marleau, specifically because of his inability to compete. Ummm, Mike Milbury….ummm, didn’t you sign Alexei Yashin to a 10 year contract?????

10:07am: Pierre and JFJ are disagreeing on the value of Pavel Kubina. I’m with Pierre on this one–and it’s not close.

10:04am: People need to stop ragging on Brad Richards. The guy is better than he is getting credit for. Has anyone seen his linemates this season? He logs big minutes in all situations and has proven to be clutch in the past.

9:59am: JFJ says he thinks Brian Burke would have given up the Oilers’ first round pick for Mats Sundin. That is interesting; I like it when former GMs give you some insight like that.

9:50am: You know the cast is in trouble when Mike Milbury has been the voice of reason all morning.

9:44am: The cast has Cam Janssen on the line! Tremendous. This is definitely the first time he has EVER been interviewed. So far this beats the Marty Biron interview from last year.

9:41am: Duthie is caught off-guard as Gord throws it back to him while he’s clearly on Facebook…

9:39am: Gord Miller is intrigued by Detroit. Bob McKenzie is also intrigued by the Wings…that he just had as an after breakfast snack.

9:33am: We have a trade! The Devils have acquired Bryce Salvador from the Blues for Cam Janssen.

Analysis: A nice move by the Devils to shore up their defensive corps. Salvador is a UFA but Janssen isn’t much to give up. It was clear after the Blues extended Jackman that Salvador was on his way out.

9:30am: Matthew Barnaby just called Duncan Keith a stallworth???? A Donte Stallworth? Matthew I think you mean stalwart.

9:28am: I’ve now taken to listening to the new Jack Johnson CD in the background. It makes listening to Dave Hodge that much more soothing.

9:26am: Michael Farber tells us Patrick Marleau has another gear… Thank you Michael. You mean his 29 points isn’t to the best of his abilities?

9:22am: Why do people keep bringing up the Ducks’ poor goal differential? Have people not realized that Selanne and Niedermayer weren’t there for a majority of the season? Am I missing something? This team is far and away the best in the NHL right now.

9:17am: John Lu tells us that Hossa’s equipment is in his Atlanta stall right now. That is pretty intense. Is John gonna tell us that Hossa uses Dove soap too? Gotta love the pre-trade reports when no one has any news or anything to say.

9:14am: The last 20 minutes of boredom has allowed me to check my spelling of Buhler below and imdb tells me it’s Bueller. My bad.

8:55am: Can anyone tell me why TSN isn’t broadcasting this in HD? Buhler?

8:40am: I’d say the MVP of the telecast so far has been Darren Pang. Panger is being honest with his analysis of many of the players being bandied about today.

8:35am: There we have it, Bobby Holik admitting to Matthew Barnaby in the past that if he’s your number one center you don’t have a chance to make the playoffs. Funny, because I don’t remember him saying that when the Rangers gave him 5 yr /$45 million.

8:27am: Cory Woron tells us the Leafs are going to workout on the beach today and that the TSN crew will have video of that. Folks, I DID NOT MAKE THAT UP. Seriously.

8:21am: Gord Miller just asked Bob what Foote’s contract situation was with Colorado. Thanks Gord, goin retro with the analysis. I wonder how many minutes Ray Bourque will log tonight…

8:12am: Our first real filler has debuted. The panel is now listing their top five Stanley Cup contenders. Does anyone care??? For goodness sake, it is February.

8:06am: We have just sat through almost fifteen minutes of nothing. Finally, Dreger tells us that no one from the Bolts has told Richards, “Here’s the deal we want you to consider.” But Dreger does expect that to happen soon. McKenzie tells us that Rob Blake (the actor) has not yet waived his no trade clause. In other news, McKenzie has waived his no bacon clause and is expecting the breakfast B.E.L.T in a matter of moments.

7:52am: John Lu tells us that the zamboni was on the ice at Habs practice. Thanks Jon!!! Terrific insight from the TSN reporters who are on location.

7:50am: In what is becoming terrific unintentional comedy, Duthie continues to whisper into his mic during interviews.

7:46am: Gord Miller’s first appearance on the show is upstaged by Darren Dreger’s first appearance. Apparently the Stars are the favorite for Richards with an offer of Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen and others. Bob McKenzie tells us that Adam Foote wants to remain in Columbus and the deal is getting close. Big Mac does mention that if the talks fall through, he may come into play.

7:35am: Duthie just said that both the Richards and Hossa deals are close to getting done. He lists the Sens and Habs as top candidates for Hossa. Late last night the rumor was that the Sens were including Antoine Vermette in their package and the Habs possibly including Chris Higgins. It will be interesting to see what the Thrashers are looking for.

7:32am: K, it has already reached the point of awkward with JFJ talking about the Leafs and it isn’t even 8am CST.

7:28am: Pierre just said the Leafs may not make the playoffs…

7:23am: Shocker of the day–the first Mats Sundin interview!!! This was an unexpected beginning to the telecast. Over/under how many times we see this video today is at 4.5.

7:20am: I finally got TSN broadband to start working. Just to let readers know, we will be relying on TSN throughout the day for the most recent news and unintentional comedy. If you haven’t heard, Pierre Maguire has apparently just traded a few dollar bills for an eight ball… I mean, how else could he have this much energy at 8am?????????

7:16am: There were some overnight rumors that Brad Richards had been traded to Dallas and Marian Hossa to Montreal; however, these have yet to be confirmed by the major broadcast networks and it doesn’t look like they have been completed just yet.

7:13am: Mike Comrie has agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Islanders, and appears to be staying put on Long Island.

Analysis: Comrie seems to like playing for NYI and the team appears to be happy to have him. This decision made sense for both sides.

6:11pm: With four games on CBC’s schedule today, Dean Brown and Gary Galley will be calling this one. I have never heard Dean Brown, but this should be a nice break from Bob Cole.

6:14pm: 22 seconds into the game Ottawa makes it 1-0, there is nothing wrong with shooting the puck at the net, remember that one kids. Anything can happen when you shoot the puck towards the net.

6:15pm: Ottawa makes it 2-0. Dany Heatley takes a shot from the side and Cristobal Huet misplays the puck like Bill Buckner in 86 and it goes right through him into the net. Way to show you belong in first Montreal!

6:19pm: 3-0 Ottawa!! Is this game real? Spezza, Heatley, Alfredsson and Corvo combine on a fantastic passing play to bury the third goal in 4 mins. Guy Carbonneau goes to the bullpen and brings in rookie Carey Price to replace starter Cris Huet. If you are Montreal, this must be depressing. In the words of Greg Millen, lets see how they will react to being down 3-0 to start the game.

6:27pm: Commentator Gary Galley says that Tom Kostopoulos would rather dance (fight) with Jason Spezza than Ray Emery after hacking at a lose puck in front of the net. Has there been any other team in NHL history where the goalie is the toughest player on the team? This needs to be more closely examined. He went toe to toe last year with Buffalo Sabres tough guy Andrew Peters and not one person on the team stepped in to protect their goalie. The guy had Mike Tyson painted on his mask and was told to take it off. The same Mike Tyson who: was convicted of rape, bit of Evander Holyfields ear, and is probably definitely insane. He probably should have specified that it was Mike Tyson circa 1987 in his “Mike Tyson’s Punch Out” (best. game. ever.) days as opposed to the Mike Tyson present day who is bankrupt and getting tattoos on his face. Don’t mess with Emery.

6:40pm: Flipping to CBC’s other game, Edmonton @ Calgary: while profiling Oilers rookie Sam Gagner, Greg Millen says that John Tavares once got so mad at Sam Gagner that he took of his skate and threw it at him. I didn’t know that John Tavares attended the Happy Gilmore school of hockey.

6:58pm: While today is Hockey Day in Canada on CBC, celebrating hockey around Canada. Don Cherry seems to be confused and keeps calling it Canada Day. Confusing it with Canada Day which takes place on July 1st, celebrating the establishment of Canada as a country. Get a clue, Don! (not that this is the least bit surprising)

7:12pm: While it is still 3-0 for Ottawa, Montreal has had their fair share of chances to score a few goals. Emery must be arriving at practice a few minutes early these days. He’s stopped 15 shots on 15 saves.

7:14pm: Cris Huet’s stat line of the night. 4 shots, 1 save, that is a 25% save percentage. Brutal.

7:20pm: DANY HEATLEY! Wow, all alone in front of the net, I have pulled that many times in NHL 08 for XBOX 360 (gamertag mremis ; i’ll take anyone), as he walked in alone I felt myself moving the joysticks left and right. Very nice goal, Heatley buries his chance in alone on Carey Price. Something that Montreal have not been able to do tonight (bury their chances).

7:40pm: Since it is Hockey Day in Canada, live from Winkler, MB. Instead of the CBC Hot Stove full of juicy trade rumors of where Sundin, or Forsberg will be going, we are treated to some of Manitoba’s finest junior hockey. For the record it is -26 celcius in Winkler and with the wind it feels like -42. That is one COLD Hockey Day in Canada.

7:55pm: On NESN they also play Nickelback’s cover of Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting during hockey broadcasts. I always thought that was only for CBC, NESN should find their own music.

8:51pm: Due to the lack of competitive nature in the games, I have taken the time to bring to Illegal Curve Dany Heatley’s goal in the Senators game. Enjoy, have a good night.

Previous Live Blogs:
February 2, 2008:
January 26, 2008: NHL Superskills

Enjoy Hockey Day in Canada everyone, and make sure to check out Illegal Curve’s live blog throughout the day on February 26.

Tonight, CBC will be broadcasting a gem, the Toronto Maple Leafs (don’t confuse them with the Marlies) will face-off against the Alfredsson-less and Heatley-less Ottawa Senators. This one should be awesome!

Before I begin, I would like to say that last night I saw Peace Rally 3D, U2 3D and it was excellent. Hardcore U2 fans, and even fringe fans, will enjoy this technological spectacle.

I will be flipping to other games this evening depending on which are the most competitive. All times central.

8:31: Leafs win 4 – 2. Thats it for me, I’m off to drink some Chilean Merlot.

8:23: CBC just showed a great commercial for Cheez Whiz, I had no idea that it could be used on so many things. The last time I had Cheez Whiz was when I was seven and it was on celery with raisins. Yum.

8:09: Toronto scores again to make it 4-2. The nails are coming down on the coffin.

8:02: Robert Earl in his first NHL game, makes a nifty behind the back pass to Carlo Colaiacovo to retake the lead.

7:57: Ottawa ties it up. Chris “the hammer” Neil.

7:53: Going into the third period of Ottawa/Toronto. Ottawa needs to stay out of the box to give themselves a chance to generate some momentum on offense. Toronto has had plenty of chances to score and have failed to deliver on the power play. I could see Ottawa pulling a come from behind win.

7:48: The CBC Hotstove speculates on Peter Forsberg. Apparently one team is putting a 3 year deal on the table. Are they nuts? Peter Forsberg is good, but he is coming off several foot surgeries and hasn’t proven he can stay healthy. I hope he can come back but I would not take that kind of risk on him.

7:32: Boy do I love the NESN announcers and their accents. They just announced a contest where you can have “dinnah” with Bruins legend Donny Sweeney. Always gives me a chuckle. Detroit 1 – Boston 1.

7:21: Ottawa now commits their 4th penalty of the period, it was committed by Rick Nash look alike (as Ron MacLean pointed out in Coaches Corner) Andrej Meszaros. His third of the period.

7:11: The unstoppable force that is Mats Sundin has now drawn his second penalty of the game. Toronto has been on the power play for much of the beginning of the second period. They should look to better utilize their most accurate shooter Tomas Kaberle.

7:07: Ottawa looked very strong at the end of the first period, controlling the puck in the Maple Leafs zone. Lets see how they come out for the second.

6:36: Forward/Defenseman Christoph Schubert is no match for the man beast that is Mats Sundin. He takes a penalty while trying to cover Sundin behind the net.

On the ensuing powerplay, nude model & voyeur Jiri Tlusty buries puts the Leafs up 2-0.

6:29: The other lesser known Moore Dominic (brother of Steve) scores his first goal as a Leaf, assisted by Boyd Devereaux. What a one-two punch.

5:45: Elliotte Friedman has his pregame interview with Mats Sundin, who is looking awful bald these days, it seems like he put his head in the Shine-O’-Ball-O before the game. While watching the interview, I thought “if he put on glasses, he would look alot like Pierre McGuire”. Allow me to illustrate my point.

In order: Obstacle Course Relay, Fastest Skater, Elimination Shootout, YoungStars Game, Accuracy Shooting, Hardest Shot, Breakaway Challenge.

I will be updating this throughout the competition, timestamped (Central time) with the most recent entry at the top.

8:22pm: The competition is over, it was a bit of a snoozer at times, but some players were able to showcase their talent. Ovechkin was the superstar of the night, receiving the biggest ovation. Tomorrow is the All-Star game, for all you fans of Frozen Assets, the over/under is 16. Out.

8:18pm: Alex Ovechkin tries to spin-o-rama and then baseball bat the puck into the net and gets a loud ovation. Somewhere Sidney Crosby is sitting at home crying.

8:09pm: The balding (who knew?) 22 year old Ryan Getzlaf shows two of the nicer moves so far. This event is showing so far to be a bit of a bust, with goalies making the saves and poke checking. I wouldn’t mind seeing a shooter tutor or Mr. Sieve.

8:04pm: The moment everyone has been waiting for, the shootout challenge. Atlanta Hawk Dominique Wilkins, Scot Mellanby, Bill Clement and some guy from Friday Night Lights are judges.

7:42pm: Kaberle hits the target in sudden death, all the players celebrate. Greg Millen says “you don’t think these guys compete”. Settle down Greg.

7:14pm: Manny Legace makes a beauty breakaway pass to Patty Kane for a goal. Maybe I spoke too soon.

7:12pm: If the players don’t really care, should I be interested?

7:01pm: The YoungStars were just introduced, what a bunch of babyfaces, several of them look like they just had their bar-mitzvahs.

6:53pm: Dion Phaneuf, who knew he could deke like this? He wins the elimination shootout.

6:45pm: CBC has chosen to put a person skating with a camera behind the shootout shooters, it’s giving me a headache. Excuse me while I go throw up.

6:42pm: Jim Hughson explains that Brian Campbell’s time was the only one that registered for the East, so he was put in the final. Wow. Who is running this thing?

6:36pm: After much confusion, Brian Campbell and Shawn Horcoff face-off in fastest skater. CBC shows the time as 0.00 seconds. Someone explain to me what is going on here. I would have preferred the traditional fastest skater, and compare to former all stars such as Petr Bondra and Mike Gartner. I really had no idea what was going on there.

6:27pm: Evegni Malkin just screwed up on the stickhanlding. If Nelson Muntz was here he’d say Ha Ha!

6:25pm: If the first time wasn’t exciting enough, they are doing this course again. Alright!

6:20pm: Obstacle course relay, this is new. Great hands displayed by Spezza and Henrik Sedin. This is a nice change from guys skating through pylons.

6:17pm: Sidney Crosby wasn’t available to play in the competition tonight, but he is featured playing with children in Tim Hortons commercials. What a role model.

6:07pm: Here’s the most exciting part of the night, the player introductions. Is it just me, or does Mike Ribero look like a starving fetus?

6:00pm: I just got back from dominating the cowbell, lets get this thing started.

5:00pm: I have gone to practice with my Rock Band, Estimated Tongue. I am quite the shredder on lead guitar (Medium Difficulty), I’ll be back around 5:45 with updates.