Videos Before Bedtime!!

Beer me! We have a few videos before we head for some shuteye. Get the beer ready and some more....here comes the vids!!!!




NHL2K10 shootout goals....




THE HANSONS!!!!




A top 20....of goals? Hmmmm.....



Have a great night!!!!!

Pick The Winner...

Okay so we only went 2-2 last night but hey 200-114 is not so bad honest. Tonight there are just four more games again but one features a battle of Team Canada goalies. Now that should be fun.

On to the predictions and maybe this time I will listen to Ryan about the late games....hmmm. One of these days I will learn.

• Tampa Bay
• New Jersey
• Colorado
• Minnesota

Really a tough night to predict and hopefully we do not take a bath on this one. However, people like to make picks besides us and I think we may have one via YouTube.



Pick time!!!

It Feels Like Moonlighting?

I am always frank and honest with this. I do write for several other sites and it does get fun when the deadlines all jumble together. However this week I wanted to spotlight a piece I wrote for RotoRob on Monday. I hope everyone enjoys it as soon I will also be writing for Sports2Debate.com again. Here goes.....

Tyler Kennedy is scoring plenty of goals and he could be available in your league.

It comes to that time of year where we leave Thanksgiving and head towards Christmas. With eight Fantasy weeks in the books, it also gets down to that time where you have a pretty good idea of what your team is, what it is not, and maybe what it can be. Unless, of course, you have not been paying attention to your Fantasy hockey teams. The key is just to do a diagnostic check, if you will.

This week we are going to take a look at three players that might be able to give your team a better outlook or, in some cases, a new lease on life. Keep in mind that the Christmas Roster Freeze is a little over three weeks away. There may be some movement by then that also can make an impact. Now, here are their stories.

Three to Dream

Tyler Kennedy, C, Pittsburgh Penguins: Sure, he is the fourth-line centre, but he packs some pop on the offensive end. The six goals in 13 games is a total steal and if you can dismiss the Average Time On Ice category in some leagues then you are enjoying a nice little gold mine with the guy that really sparks this Penguin team. The ownership rates fluctuate from league to league with Kennedy. ESPN has him around 70 per cent owned while Yahoo! has him around 60 per cent, but some leagues have him at less than 50 per cent. All leagues have seen double-digit rises in his ownership rate since his return which means you should go get him now.

Anton Stralman, D, Columbus Blue Jackets: I somehow think people are not paying attention here, but quietly Stralman has 15 points on the season. I know about the -8, but his playing time is increasing and that +/- was in double digits for awhile there, but it’s improved. Oh and it does not hurt that Stralman is on the first power play unit with none other than Rick Nash. That will help your Fantasy value — all four of his goals are on the man advantage. So with the 20:05 average ice time and 40 shots on goal, it may be a great time to get Stralman while his ownership rate is only — yes only – in single digits. Buy in while you can!

Trent Hunter, RW, New York Islanders: Somehow I will take some heat for this, but the guy is producing at nearly a point a game rate (11 points in 12 games). Now, Hunter has been playing with some pretty good talent (Kyle Okposo, John Tavares and Matt Moulson), but he is a solid team guy who can put pucks in the net as evidenced by his five goals. Right now, he is owned in only 3 per cent of all Fantasy leagues and that is up two percentage points in the last week. I am thinking some more people could find a home for this talented right winger at some point. Don’t you think so?

For the dearly departed, we have two players this week that shall go to rest for the remainder of the season on the waiver wire. They shall never be picked up on teams again.

To Davy Jones’ Locker

David Jones, RW, Colorado Avalanche: It was sad to see him go, but a torn ACL spells the end of Jones’ 2009-10 campaign. His scoring (10 goals) will be sorely missed by a Colorado team that is losing its way in degrees. Jones will miss the next four-to-six months while he rehabs his knee and it’s strange to think that just Saturday morning I was singing his praises and by the end of that night he was getting ready for surgery. Something truly wicked this way comes, as they say.

Ales Hemsky, RW, Edmonton Oilers: This is another sad case as he’s a player who performs really well for Fantasy teams and is very important to his team. Hemsky provided more than just scoring, as he also was a good leader and solid all around team player. He will be dearly missed by his teammates and fans alike as shoulder surgery will keep him out for the rest of the season. See you in October 2010, sir.

Next week in The Wire Troll, we will dig even deeper and take a look at some returning players. See you later!

Morning Skate (12/2)

There is only 23 days until Christmas? Oh snap! Guess what I just saw???? Okay okay here is Ryan and the Morning Skate.



The Morning After:
Last night’s scores:
Maple Leafs 3, Canadiens 0
Blackhawks 4, Blue Jackets 3 (SO)
Sharks 5, Senators 2
Kings 4, Ducks 3
Predictions record: 3-1

My 3 stars from last night:
1. Patrick Marleau, SJ (2 Goals)
Marleau was everywhere last night, and led the Sharks to a big win.
2. Joey MacDonald, TOR (18 Saves, 0 GA)
MacDonald was thrown into the game after the 1st intermission when the ‘Monster’ went to the hospital. He didn’t miss a beat, and made some big saves.
3. Brad Richardson, LA (1 Goal, 1 Assist)
His first 2 points of the season came at a critical time for the Kings.
Dud of the Night:
Montreal Canadiens… You know it’s bad when the loudest the crowd got at the Bell Centre when they gave the Montreal Alouettes a raucous ovation before the game for winning the Grey Cup.
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Tonight’s Slate:
Lightning @ Bruins, 7:00 ET
Canucks @ Devils, 7:00
Avalanche @ Panthers, 7:30
Predators @ Wild, 8:00

Games of the Night:
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Boston Bruins
7:00 ET… TV: Local Networks

Records:
Overall: Lightning (10-7-8) … Bruins (13-8-5)
Last Ten: Lightning (4-3-3) … Bruins (6-1-3)
Away/Home: Lightning (4-5-4) … Bruins (7-5-3)
Season Series: First meeting

Players to watch:
TB- Steven Stamkos
His speed and goal-scoring ability is usually a mismatch for opponents. Will it be for Chara?
BOS- Marc Savard
How will he perform after receiving a nice 7-year extension?

Projected Goaltenders:
TB- Mike Smith (09/10 stats: 4-4-5, 3.22 GAA)
BOS- Tim Thomas (09/10 stats: 6-6-3, 2.36 GAA)

Injury Report:
TB- Paul Ranger (personal, out)
BOS- Milan Lucic (ankle, out)

Game Thoughts:
Boston will look to keep pace with the Sens and Sabres in the Northeast tonight against the consistently inconsistent Lightning. The Bolts have dropped six of their last eight decisions in Boston, but haven’t lost three straight games since their first three of the year. I have a funny feeling that Tampa could win this one…
Prediction: Lightning 4, Bruins 3 (OT)
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Vancouver Canucks @ New Jersey Devils
7:00 ET… TV: Local Networks

Records:
Overall: Canucks (14-12-0) … Devils (17-6-1)
Last Ten: Canucks (5-5-0) … Devils (7-2-1)
Away/Home: Canucks (4-8-0) … Devils (7-4-0)
Season Series: First meeting

Players to watch:
VAN- Ryan Kesler
Kesler will have to have a strong two-way game tonight.
NJ- Patrik Elias
He’s been hot lately, tallying 10 points in the last 6 games.

Projected Goaltenders:
VAN- Roberto Luongo (09/10 stats: 10-9-0, 2.56 GAA)
NJ- Martin Brodeur (09/10 stats: 15-6-1, 2.05 GAA)

Injury Report:
VAN- Rick Rypien (upper body, questionable), Pavol Demitra (shoulder, out), Michael Grabner (ankle, out), Alexandre Bolduc (shoulder, out)
NJ- Jamie Langenbrunner (undisclosed, questionable), David Clarkson (leg, out), Paul Martin (arm, out), Dainius Zubrus (knee, out), Johnny Oduya (groin, out), Rob Niedermayer (upper body, probable), Jay Pandolfo (shoulder, out)

Game Thoughts:
This is a rare goaltending dual between Luongo and Brodeur. The Team Canada hopefuls square off tonight in what should be a low-scoring, tight game. Vancouver needs to play better on the road, and could be catching the Devils at a good time with all of those injuries. I still like the Devils, though…
Prediction: Devils 3, Canucks 2

The rest of tonight’s predictions:
Panthers over Avalanche
Wild over Predators

You can follow the Red Light District on Twitter @RLDhockey!

Show Outline Tonight....

Well what do you know, we have a show tonight at 8pm ET on Blog Talk Radio. Two hours of no nonsense hockey talk and well we may see how much we can tick off the hockey establishment. Also, we will again delve into the weird world of injuries and hockey scores and much much more! Here is what is on tap for tonight.

The Program

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-- Intros

-- The injury counter is ticking UP!

-- Live scores and updates....

-- I burned a Ducks shirt....yes I did.

-- Did you see that shootout last night?

-- Battle Of Team Canada goalies....

-- Head shots of the wrong kind.....

-- When knee on knee goes bad for the one who knees...

-- Nice to see a signing.....

-- Break time and promos

-- Blog and podcast update time.....

-- A little fantasy focus!

-- Shameless plug time (Plug away)!

-- Looking back at earlier predictions...

-- Rapid fire

-- Final Jeopardy

-- Aloha means archive!


We always enjoy all feedback and encourage anyone and everyone to call in at 1-347-826-7358. It should be a fun time tonight and we hope that you can make it. See you there and hope its one hell of a show.


Sincerely,

Chris Wassel

Director Of The Program

Hockey Top 5...

Today we go retro and salute goalies from a decade ago in a rare Saves Of The Week that you can tell was taped originally by a VCR. To me, this is something that is pretty cool to watch as a long time hockey fan. Here goes something.




A "Noodles" sighting......

Morning Video Fix....

Though it was a light schedule, I heard a rumor that we have a few videos from last night's action anyway. The innocent were clearly not protected in this case at all and we do apologize profusely.



A record shootout for Versus.




Yes its the Stache!!!!




Some more late night fights......



Take that into your HUMP DAY!!!!!

This Day In Hockey History (12/2)

Its Hump Day!! Time to find a moment that will fit in. Wait this is hockey, that may be kind of difficult but here is that moment at any rate.



And below something from the past....distant at that.

December 02, 1995

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N.Y. Islanders fired General Manager Don Maloney. Darcy Regier was named as his interim replacement.