1st Dragon Tamer-Canucks vs Goldstone- Penguins
Canucks win series 3-1
Game 1 Penguins 2 @ Canucks 3 (F)
Game 2 Canucks 1 @ Penguins 3 (F)
Game 3 Penguins 1 @ Canucks 2 (2OT)
Game 4 Canucks 1 @ Penguins 1 (F)

2nd Critter3 - Sharks vs Tiger Toa - Oilers
Sharks win 3-1
Game 1 Oilers 1 @ Sharks 0 (2OT)
Game 2 Sharks 2 @ Oilers 0 (F)
Game 3 Oilers 2 @ Sharks 3 (F)
Game 4 Sharks 2 @ Oilers 1 (1OT)

Special Re-entry tourney ... to determine the opposition to Critter:

I Am Canadian - Leafs 0 @ Tiger Toa - Oilers 1 (F)
Tiger Toa - Oilers 3 @ Frankididou - Canadiens 0 (F)
Frankididou - Canadiens @ I Am Canadian - Leafs

Good luck to everyone!!!

Finals - Game 5: San Jose 3 @ Vancouver 0

One win away from taking over the true #1 spot


This is it. The stage was set. Could the #2 team during the regular season upset the #1 team? Would the Canucks have it in them to come back from such a deficit? Would the Sharks be able to continue to get pucks by Loungo? Would Critter be able to repeat at GUGHL Champion? Or would Dragon be able to come back and crown a new Champion?

It seemed as though only one of these questions (Loungo) would be answered early on. Both goalies were playing great and didn't budge. It seemed as though both teams wanted to get the 1st goal, as both teams played a less defensive game and let their goalies take care of that. And letting the goalies take care of things seemed to work as both goalies carried the shutout into the 3rd period.

The 3rd period would continue to be no different then the previous periods, with both teams looking for that 1st goal and both goalies not allowing it. During a tv timeout Grier spoke to GUG reporter IAC, "We just need to keep working and get pucks to the net. Loungo is hard to beat, so if we keep doing that we might be able to sneak one by him". Grier's line would take to the ice after the break. As though it was almost fate, Grier's words would come true. On a rebound from a Grier shot, Goc would pounce on it and tap it through the pads of Loungo to take the lead 8:49 into the 1st period. The packed crowd at GM place was now quiet.

The Canucks knew they had to get one back quick or they could be done. Unfortunately they were not able to do that and with only 48 seconds left in the game the Sharks would put it away. The Shark's best player, Guerin, would put the Canucks on ice with a breakaway goal to give the Sharks the 2-0 lead. The crowd at GM place was silent. But it was totally opposite at the Shark Tank in SJ. The thousands of people watching the game on the jumbo tron back in SJ were going crazy! Guerin would get another goal just 15 seconds later to finish off the Canucks.

The Sharks would be crowned Stanley Cup Champions!! After a slow regular season start that seen the Sharks near the middle of the pack, the Sharks showed determination and climbed their way to the #2 seed. Looking for that true #1 spot, they continued their dominate play into the playoffs to take that #1 spot from the Vancouver Canucks. As the teams were shaking hands Coach Critter was asked by GUG reporter IAC what made his team so unbeatable this year. "I think it was a combination of things. Picking up Guerin at the trade deadline really brought our second line together and made it a really big offensive threat...The speed of this team is unbelievable, so that gave us many odd man rushes...After taking over the starting role from Toskala, Nabokov was brilliant...and I think the most important thing that also helped me last season is that we played great positional defense and didn't want to get caught out of place going for that big hit." With those words Coach Critter was off to shake hands.

Before the Cup presentation, the Conn Smythe was awarded to Evgeni Nabokov. Nabokov's play during the playoffs were nothing less than spectacular. Being among the top 3 stars in most of the games played, Nabokov gave his team a chance to win every night.

As most of the capacity crowd at GM place left, the ones that were their congratulated Patrick Marleau and the San Jose Sharks as he lifted the Cup. After everyone had their chance to hoist the cup and skate around the rink, there was nothing left but the team picture with the Cup!


Stats:
SJ @ Van
26 shots 18
27 hits 45
14 faceoffs 12

3 Stars:
Guerin 2 0
Nabokov 18 0
Goc 1 0

Great games Dragon! I didn't think one of us would win it in 5. I thought for sure it was going to take 6 or 7 games for one of us to win it.

Finals - Game 4: Vancouver 2 @ San Jose 3

Do or Die

Game 4 was Vancouver's chance to come back in the series. Coming off an impressive win the previous night at the Shark Tank, the Canucks practiced the things they did so well and hoped to continue it in the game. If they faltered they would be down 3-1 in a series.

The practice and Trevor Linden's words of encouragement seemed to work. Early in the 1st the Canucks would take the lead. Sedin would walk into the San Jose zone while his teammates were changing, and rip a shot past Nabokov. It would be the first time all series that a team would score in the 1st period.

The Canucks would take that momentum into the 2nd period. Early in the second Linden would back up his words with a goal. Similar to the Sedin goal, Linden would carry the puck into the Sharks zone and blast a screened shot that would give Nabokov trouble. So with a 2 goal lead halfway through the 2nd and with both teams playing great defensive hockey, it seemed as the game was over. But the Sharks would not lie down and die. It would be the grind line that would give the Sharks some life. Brown would be given a breakaway. With Loungo having a terrific game, the fans were surprised when Brown was able to fake out Loungo and get the Sharks on the board. The goals seemed to give life to the Sharks and the capacity crowd at the Shark tank.

The Sharks would now have the momentum heading to the next period. They would use this momentum very early on. On what seems to be a reoccurring event with Guerin...Guerin would blow past the defense and get a goal just 35 seconds into the period. The Sharks now had everything on their side. The knew if they could pull off the comeback the Cup would only be 1 game away. With Coach Critter shouting out words of experience the Sharks would listen. At the 7:00 mark of the 3rd period Bell would get a similar goal to Linden's previous. Bell crossed the Vancouver blue line and blasted a shot that flew by Loungo.

Despite the two early goals, Nabokov was brilliant and the Sharks would hang on..despite a few close calls and a strong push by the Canucks...to win the game and go up 3-1 in the series and be 1 win away from the Cup!

Stats:
Van @ SJ
28 shots 24
39 hits 28
8 faceoffs 14

3 Stars:
Nabokov 26 0
Bell 1 0
Guerin 1 0

Finals Game 3: Vancouver 3 @ San Jose 0

After suffering 2 losses at home to the Sharks, Linden freaked out in the dressing room. He was quoted as saying "I've now played more games than anyone else in history without winning the cup, and I've had enough". This, plus a good swift kick in several a$$e$ seemed to motivate the Canucks.

The first period was slow, ending up tied at 0-0, but mid way through the second, Naslund ripped home an ugly rebound and muttered "hey, garbage counts too". In the third, Linden snapped a wrist shot past Nabakov to seal the deal, and Kesler followed it up with only a couple of minutes left with a dribbler that obviously confused Nabakov's coach, as he sent him to ride the pine for the remainder of the game.

shots
Van 25 - SJ 17

hits
Van 26 - SJ 22

Faceoffs
Van 5 - SJ 13

3 stars
Markus Naslund
Roberto Luongo
Lukas Krajicek

Summary
1st
No Scoring

2nd
Naslund

3rd
Linden
Kesler - Krajicek

Finals - Game 2: San Jose 1 @ Vancouver 0 (OT)

Defense is the name of the game.

After a short layoff and some pep talks both teams were geared to continue the War and start game 2. "It's sure nice to get that first one under your belt", explained Nabokov, "but I have a feeling both teams will be better in game 2". Nabokov would be right. Similarly to game 1, both teams continued to have even stats through game 2, with the exception of the Sharks winning most faceoffs and the Canucks hitting like trucks.

After 60 minutes of play, both teams were exhausted physically and mentally. Vancouver's leading scoring defenseman for the regular season, Salo, stated, "I don't a goal is ever going to be scored in this game. The goalies are just playing that good". After a few brilliant saves, Coach Dragon explained to reporters, "Loungo is the reason I wanted to come to Vancouver".

Although both teams were pristine in the first 60 minutes, someone would have to make a mistake at one point. The Canucks would be the team to do so first. Again, the Sharks speed was able to breakdown the Canuck defence and give the Sharks another breakaway. Previously Loungo stopped every deke he faced...and Clowe took note. As Clowe came in on Loungo he made a few moves and then shot 5-hole on Loungo. It would work as Loungo was expecting to have to throw the pad out to make the save. The Sharks would gain home ice advantage and head home with a 2 game lead in the Cup Finals!

Stats:
SJ @ Van
21 shots 20
21 hits 44

3 Stars:
Nabokov 20 0
Loungo 20 0
Clowe 1 0

Finals - Game 1: San Jose 3 @ Vancouver 1

As one Stanley Cup Final ends, another begins!

As the Anaheim Ducks were celebrating their win over the Ottawa Senators, another battle for the Cup was about to get underway. For the second straight year it would be the #1 team battling the #2 team.

Fans knew the series could go either way, and that the series could be high scoring (The top 4 scoring leaders were from these team) or the series could be low scoring (Both goalies were stellar during the regular season).

If the 1st period was any indication, the fans had their answer. With the shots identical (7-7) neither team was able to find the back of the net and any chances they had were swept away by the two goalie. "We were really nervous out there, and I'm sure they were too", explained Thornton after the first period.

Everyone knew that with these two powerhouse team, someone would have to score. And that happened halfway through the second period when Matt Carle blasted one from the point that gave Loungo troubles. The Canucks would not be outdone. Shortly after, the true Captain for the Canucks made things even. Trevor Linden came across the top of the circle and wristed one by the pad of Nabokov. The 2nd period would end with both teams having similar stats numbers.

Being in this situation last year, Coach Critter gave a pep talk to his boys during the second intermission. He was quoted as saying, "Don't panic out there. Our chances will come. We need to capitalize on their mistakes and take advantage." Well, just 31 seconds into the 3rd period the San Jose Sharks did just that. Off the faceoff, the Sharks were able to take advantage of poor defensive positioning by the Canucks. A breakaway pass was given to Guerin who walked in and beat Loungo. The Canucks seemed to learn from their mistake because they played solid defensive hockey there after. Both teams had their chances, but both goalies were stellar. The Sharks speed would create another and another chance for the Sharks. With only 2 1/2 minutes left and the Canucks pressing to tie...Thornton and Cheechoo would breakdown the Canucks defense to give them a 2 on 1. Thornton brought the puck into the zone and passed to Cheechoo. Everyone in the building, including Loungo, figured Cheechoo would shoot. But cleverly Cheechoo passed back to Thornton who had a wide open net to shoot in. The nail was in the coffin, and the Sharks would take a 1 game lead in the finals.

Stats:
SJ @ Van
24 shots 19
27 hits 38

3 Stars:
Guerin 1 2
Carle 1 1
Thornton 1 0

Game 4: Edmonton 1 @ San Jose 2 (1OT)

Coach Critter takes his team to the Cup...Again!

Surprisingly someone got sick of Dora the Explorer and assassinated her while she was on stage, so the Stanley Cup Playoffs could resume in San Jose (Actually I think I may have found out why I couldn't host games before).

Thornton would power his way to another goal early in the 1st period. It seemed like he pushed his way through 2 or 3 guys and then deked out Roloson to put the Sharks up 1-0.

The Sharks then tried to play defensive hockey to shutdown the Oilers. But the Oilers would bite back during the PK. Moreau would even up the score on a brilliant short handed goal. After stealing the puck Moreau made his way to the front of the net and fired it passed Nabokov to even the game.

Once again the game would go right to the wire. Neither team was able to score in the 3rd so the game would be going to OT. With the crowd electrified at home, Goc and Grier would get it done. With 15:23 gone in the 1st OT McLaren would carry the puck over the blueline and quickly pass it off to Grier. Grier spotted Goc and headed for the net. After pulling Roloson out of his net, Grier slipped a pass over to Goc for the wide open net! The Sharks would score and end the Series.

So for the second straight year Coach Critter is going to the Cup Final to face the President's Trophy winner. Last year's Finals went the whole 7 games...how will this one play out?? Stay tuned!

Stats:
Edm @ SJ
18 shots 12
38 hits 25

3 Stars:
Nabokov 17 0
Moreau 1 0
Thornton 1 0

Great series (as usual) Tiger! No one is ever declared the clear cut winner when we play.

Game 3: San Jose 3 @ Edmonton 2

Another nail biter!

The 3rd game of the series would be like no other in the series so far. Edmonton would change their strategy from a defensive system to an offensive system, and it would work. Edmonton would get an early lead from a rocket that went top shelf from Hemsky. The Oilers would keep the pressure coming and it would pay off when Torres banged home a loose puck to put the Oilers up by a 2 goal lead.

But the Sharks would not be out done. The Sharks would quickly storm back and tie up the game with goals from Bell and Cheechoo. The first period would end with more goals scored than there has been all series long.

In the 3rd period both teams would go back to their defensive style hockey and shutdown each other at every chance. The Sharks however would take the lead on a loose puck goal of their own. After a blocked shot, the puck would end up in the feet of a few players. However the puck would trickle towards the net and Thornton stabbed at it and put it through Roloson's pads to take the lead.

Stats:
23 shots 28
24 hits 39

3 Stars:
Thornton 1 1
Horcoff 0 2
Nabokov 26 0

Game 2: San Jose 2 @ Edmonton 0

San Jose evens up the series

It seemed that the fans loved the Dora The Explorer so much they decided to put on another weeks show. Unfortunately that ment that the series would be played entirely in Edmonton.

The second game would start off similar to the first game of the series. After the first period there was very little shots and no goals scored. Another defensive battle.

In the second San Jose would finally solve Roloson. In what looked like a set play, Nabokov passed the puck to the blue line for a waiting Mclaren. Mclaren then fired a long pass to a streaking Marleau. With Marleau's speed no one was able to catch him as he went in to give the Sharks the lead.

The third period would have similar play as both teams played a great defensive game, but the Sharks would get the only goal. On the PP Clowe passed a puck from behind the net to Guerin who put it 5-hole.

Stats:
SJ @ Edm
15 shots 22
12 hits 30

3 Stars:
Nabokov 22 1
Marleau 1 0
Guerin 1 0

Game 2 - Vancouver 1 @ Pittsburgh 3

stats coming....





by far some of the best games i have played on NHL 07. thanks Dragon! good luck.

Game 4 - Vancouver 2 @ Pittsburgh 1

Canucks advance...

Stats coming


These were all great games Goldstone.

Game 3 - Pittsburgh 1 @ Vancouver 2 (double OT)

stats coming

Game 1 - Pittsburgh 2 @ Vancouver 3

stats coming

Season 2 Round 1

1st Dragon Tamer-Canucks vs 9th I Am Canadian - Leafs :
Canucks win series 3-1
Game 1 Leafs 0 @ Canucks 3 (F)
Game 2 Canucks 1 @ Leafs 2 (OT)
Game 3 Leafs 1 @ Canucks 4 (F)
Game 4 Canucks 2 @ Leafs 0 (F)

2nd Critter3 - Sharks vs 7th Frankididou - Canadiens
Sharks wins 3-1
Game 1 Canadiens 1 @ Sharks 5 (F)
Game 2 Sharks 1 @ Canadiens 0 (F)
Game 3 Canadiens 1 @ Sharks 2 (F)

3rd TigerToa-Oilers vs 6th Goldstone- Penguins
Penguins Win 3-1
Game 1 Penguins 1 @ Oilers 0 (2OT)
Game 2 Oilers 1 @ Penguins 2 (F)
Game 3 Penguins 1 @ Oilers 6 (F)
Game 4 Oilers 2 @ Penguins 3 (OT)

4th Papernut-Hurricanes vs 5th Angry Rasputin-Predators
PaperNut wins by default.

Special 8th vs 9th playoff ... best of 3 H-A-H deadline May 4th

8th Cadilac Zach-Ducks vs 9th I Am Canadian - Leafs
Leafs win by Default Tied 0-0

Good luck to everyone!!!

Game 3: San Jose 2 @ Montreal 1

San Jose closes out the series in another close one.


With elimination looming the Habs knew they would have to put in another solid effort like the previous game if the wanted to have the chance to continue the series, and San Jose knew that the Habs weren't as easy to beat as the first game may have suggested.

If it was even possible, the Habs played even a better game in the first period of game 3 then they did in game 2. With the help of 2 PPs the Habs were able to control the puck in the San Jose end for most of the period only allowing the Sharks to be in the Habs end for 56 seconds of the possible 20 minutes and only allow 2 shots. However with the 2 PPs the Habs were able to get 9 shots on net, but were not able to get one by Nabokov.

The second period would be another close period with both teams getting their chances but unable to get one past the goalie....until the Canadiens made a mistake. After receiving a long pass, Cheechoo entered the Canadien's zone with a 2 on 1. Cheechoo held onto the puck and the D-man slid to poke the puck away. With the D-man down and out, Cheechoo slid the puck over to Michalek for a 1 on 1 with Huet. Michalek would get the better of Huet and deke him out for the first goal of the game. The goal seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the Habs. Shortly after the goal coach Frankididou was over heard saying in a frustrated manner, "I can't stop you". It wouldn't be long before Thornton would capitalize on another 1 on 1 with Huet, to put the Sharks that much closer to the second round. After the second goal, the Sharks stuck to a defensive game and turned down their offensive pressure.

After some hot dogs and beer for the capacity crowd in attendance, the 3rd period started. It seemed as though the Habs were trying everything they could to try and get back in the game. They knew it was time to play "desperate hockey" and get that goal that would get them back in the game. With 11:18 left in the game they would get that goal. Markov would take a blast from the point that Nabokov would juggle and let trickle in the net. With momentum on their side the Habs pushed for that tying goal. The Sharks stuck to their plan and just tried to play good positional hockey and limit the number of shots that Nabokov saw. Even though the Habs would have a few more chances before the final buzzer sounded, it would be the Sharks defence that would prevail and keep the score 2-1 for the win.

The Sharks will now fly back to San Jose and wait to see who they will face in the second round...and see if that Dora The Explorer concert is over yet!

Stats:
13 shots 22
29 hits 40

3 Stars:
Thornton 1 0
Nabokov 21 0
Hannah 0 2

Summary:
1st:
None
2nd:
SJ: Michalek - Cheechoo, Hannah
SJ: Thornton - Hannah
3rd:
Mtl: Markov

Great series Frankididou! After the first game you played some really good hockey and I had to struggle for my goals. And I was lucky that my defense played well enough to keep you off the score sheet long enough to get the wins. Take care.

Game 2: San Jose 1 @ Montreal 0

Montreal learns their lesson and comes prepared for game 2.

With a horrible showing by Montreal in the first game of the series they knew they would have to be better if they wanted to contain the offensive power of the Sharks. A strong individual effort by Koivu in the previous game and a stern players-only team meeting called by Koivu, did just that.





The first period of the second game would be much more of a team game for the Habs. The Habs were able to slow down San Jose's speed by using better positioning and controlling the puck. Throughout the game both teams had quality chances but neither team could produce. Huet stood on his head as the 22,491 fans in attendance chanted "Hip Hip Huet" every time he would make a stop. At the other end of the ice Nabokov was less active only facing 10 shots through out the game, although he had to be sharp on over half of them.

60 minutes would not produce a goal, but it did produce a lot of tense action. The team meeting called by Koivu worked as the Habs were a much better team and Huet produced a much better outing. San Jose seemed to be their self not changing their game plan and sticking to their run and gun style of play utilizing their team speed.

It was looking like (from the first 60 minutes) that this game could go on forever. But 1:16 into the first OT the Habs would have their hearts broken. From a faceoff to the right of Huet, San Jose would control the puck and Carle took a shot to get the puck on net. The puck would deflect off a Hab D-man's leg and go through the legs of Huet. Huet would squeeze his pads and reach back to grab the puck, but it was too late and the red light was on. The Sharks would celebrate thier 2-0 lead in the series and the Habs would skate off the ice in disbelief that all their hard work was for nothing.

Both teams would get ready for a possible series deciding game 3.

Stats:
29 shots 10
20 hits 34

3 Stars:
Huet 28 1 (well deserved!)
Carle 1 0
Nabokov 10 0

Summary:
1st:
None
2nd:
None
3rd:
None
1OT:
SJ: Carle - McLaren, Marleau

Game 1: San Jose 5 @ Montreal 1

San Jose starts off the playoffs on a high note.


In a surprise announcement prior to the first game of the series, San Jose GM Critter3 announced that the Shark Tank has been pre-booked by Dora The Explorer for the time span of the first round series! In a decision between GM Critter3 and GM Frankididou it was decided that Montreal would be awarded the home advantage throughout their series......aka, for some reason Critter3's 360 kept freezing during the loading screen whenever he tried to host the game. Reason unknown, but hopefully it won't happen again. It was a much anticipated series for Craig Rivet, who had been traded to the Sharks midway through the season. The fans at the Bell center welcomed Rivet back with a standing ovation, but Rivet knew the fans would not be cheering for him.

Right from the first face off the San Jose Sharks were in playoff mode and it seemed like Montreal was just trying to keep up. With hard work Grier was able to get the first goal of the game shorthanded when he backhanded a one-timer through the 5-hole of Huet. The goal quieted the capacity crowd to a few rumblings in the stands. Shortly after while still on the PP, the Canadiens had a chance to tie it up on a one-time shot while Nabokov got caught trying to play the shot and not the pass. But the Montreal player shot it right into the chest of Nabokov for the easy stop. The missed opportunity seemed to knock out any life that the Canadiens may have been showing. Marleau and Goc were able to get a goal each on breakaways to give the Sharks the 3-0 lead.

The game would get even worse for the Canadiens in the third when Guerin would get credited for a goal put in by Huet's own D-man. If there was one guy on the Canadiens bench that could give life to the team it was Saku Koivu...and he did just that. Even thought the game was pretty much over, Koivu showed that the Habs would not roll over and die. In a brilliant display of determination Koivu picked up a loose puck and headed for the Sharks net. After losing the puck twice but taking it right back from the person who stole it from him, Koivu streaked into the Sharks zone and put it by Nabokov to get the Habs on the board. The Sharks however would get another breakaway goal to finish off the game and getting 5 goal on 22 shots.

Going into game two it seemed like the speed of the Sharks, Koivu's heart, Huet's game, and the Shark's positional play would be the deciding factors of the series.

Stats:
SJ @ Mtl
22 shots 19
18 hits 43

3 Stars:
Grier: 1 1
Marleau 1 0
Brown 0 2

Summary:
1st:
SJ: Grier - Brown, Vlasic (SH)
SJ: Marleau - Michalek, McLaren
2nd:
SJ: Goc - Brown, Grier
3rd:
SJ: Guerin
Mtl: Koivu
SJ: Clowe - Rivet

Game 3 Pittsburgh 1 @ Edmonton 6 (F)

Pittburgh 1 @ Edmonton 2 (F)
Edmonton Come Back Strong in Game 3
The Oilers came back home with their backs to the wall and came out flying. With only 45 seconds into first, center Sean Horcoff batted down a clearing attempt after Fleury made a couple of nice saves and buried the puck in the net unassisted. Oilers kept the pressure piled up and the new look second line found chemistry early as Nedved and Lupul scored to put the Oilers up 3-0 after 1.
Early in the third the tied changed as the Pittburgh pressed and Ryan Malone found a hole in the Oilers defence and put the vistors on the board. The momentum shift was short lived as minutes later Fleury tried to pass the pack behind the net but the post got in the way and the puck slid into the empty net. Coach Goldstone decided it was time to pull his young goal tender and put in Thibault. For the first part he faired better until rookie ruffian Zach Stortini finished off a passing play to make the game 5-1. Later Horcoff bookended the scoring by finding twine in a broken down play. Both teams seemed to ease up at that point trying to save some energy for the battle that would be game 4.



Stats
Shots: Pitt 18 @ Edm 30
Hits: Pitt 42 @ Edm 24

3 Stars
1st star S Horcoff 2G
2nd star J. Lupul 1G 1A
3rd star Smid 1 G

Scoring summary
1st
Edm: Horcoff
Edm: Lupul
Edm: Nedved
2nd
Pit: Malone
Edm: Smid
3rd:
Edm: Stortini: Lupul, Reasoner
Edm: Horcoff
Goalies: Fleury/Thibault, Roloson
Good series goldstone ...

Edmonton 2 @ Pittsburgh 3 (OT)

After a complete break down in game 3 the penguins had their work cut out for them to try and not have the series turn around. Game 4 brought more defensive hockey, leading to a scoreless game well into the second period. Torres was able to sneak one past Fleury and things weren't looking positive for the Pens.

3rd period started with the Oilers in control and a 1-0 lead. However, Sid was not to be outdone on his home turf. He was able to float one over the shoulder of Roloson early. Mid way thru Sid banged home a loose puck in the crease, after Malkin was robbed stone cold on a breakaway.

Edmonton never quit, knowing anything can happen. After numerous attempts from the Pens to clear the zone, Skyora was left all alone in the hash marks and made no mistake. We were headed to another OT.

Much like this first this one barely got started as Malkin stole a draw in the Oilers end and quickly ripped one past Roloson for the win.

The Pens now wait to find out who they will face in the second round of the GUGHL playoffs.

Stats

shots - edm -25, pit - 21

hits - pit - 33, edm - 24

faceoffs - edm - 20, pit - 3

1st -

no scoring

2nd -

Torres - Pisani

3rd -

Crosby

Crosby - Malkin

OT -

Malkin

Vancouver @ Toronto - Game 4

Vancouver moves on to the second round

The Canucks headed back to Toronto to try and finish things off. Raycroft stood strong in the net for the first half of the game, but a couple of sloppy giveaways by the star goalie cost the Leafs the game.

In the second, he passed the puck directly onto Daniel Sedin's stick, who wasted no time putting in the back of the net. Things stayed tight until just over half way through the third, while killing a penalty, he did the exact same thing, except he passed directly to Linden.

shots
Van 23 - Tor 18

hits
Van 34 - Tor 15

Faceoffs
Van 8 - Tor 16

3 stars
Roberto Luongo
Daniel Sedin
Andrew Raycroft

Summary
1st
No Scoring

2nd
D. Sedin

3rd
Linden (pp)

Great game IAC, see you next season :)

Toronto @ Vancouver Game 2

Vancouver 1
Toronto 2 OT

3 Stars: Raycroft, Kaberley, Kabina

Shots 32-24 Van
Face Offs 13-22 Tor
Hits 32-6Van

Toronto @ Vancouver - Game 3

After an OT loss in game 2, the Canucks were determined to make a better showing in game 3 and came out charging. They were up 3-0 after 1 and never really looked back. Raycroft made some absolutely outrageous saves throughout the game, which left both coaches with their mouths hanging open, but it just wasn't enough on this night. Wellwood added a goal with a minute left in the game to spoil the shutout.

shots
Van 29 - Tor 15

hits
Van 41 - Tor 13

Faceoffs
Van 19 - Tor 14

3 stars
Mattias Ohlund
Matt Cooke
Ryan Kesler

Summary
1st
H. Sedin - D. Sedin, Ohlund
Kesler - Sopel, Green
Cooke - Ohlund

2nd
No Scoring

3rd
Cooke - Ohlund, Morrison
Wellwood - Perreault, Kubina

Another Good Game IAC - game 4 goes Tuesday

Toronto @ Vancouver - Game 1

Toronto headed to Vancouver for game 1 of the 5 game series, and it turned out to be the Luongo show. Henrik Sedin drew first blood late in the first on a long wrister that handcuffed Raycroft. The second was evenly matched with no scoring, and Vancouver finished of the third by scoring two more and holding on for the shutout.

shots
Van 26 - Tor 15

hits
Van 34 - Tor 6

Faceoffs
Van 13 - Tor 11

3 stars
Henrik Sedin
Matt Cooke
Roberto Luongo

Summary
1st
H. Sedin - Cooke
2nd
No Scoring
3rd
H Sedin - Ohlund
Cooke

Good Game IAC

Edmonton 1 @ Pittsburgh 2

The sold out crowd at Mellon Arena was in for a treat as game 2 took to the ice. Would someone opening the series up tonight or would this just prove to be a evenly matched series?

Ruttu, overlooked in the line up in game one, was out to prove he deserved his share when he took a slick feed from Laraque and deked out Roloson finally going top shelf to light the lamp. That duo wasn't done yet as just over a minute later Ruttu tapped in a Laraque slapper that Roloson couldn't keep a handle on.

Edmonton stuck with the never say die motto and it paid off. Late in the 2nd period Nedved was able to sneak one past Fleury, stopping the Oiler goal drought at 7 periods. The game tightened back up from there, and both goalies stole the show not allowing anything else.

shots
edm 21 - pit 20
hits
edm 25 - pit 25

3 stars
ruttu
laraque
fleury

summary
1st
ruttu - laraque, kwiatkowski
ruttu - laraque, whitney
2nd
nedved - hemsky
3rd
no scoring

another great game tiger!

Pittsburgh 1 @ Edmonton 0 (2ND OT)

Both teams came out in this one looking to steal that first game in the shortened series. Although cautious through most the early periods both teams applied pressure and held back at responsible times creating a chess match of sorts.

As the game progressed the teams opened up some but you could sense there was spots being picked as neither team wanted to give the other that slight advantage. It took 5 hard battled periods before this one ended when Ryan Malone was able to solve the Oilers netminder, with a quick low shot off a loose puck in the slot. The Pens were lucky to have even survived that far as they escaped an earlier flury from the Oilers resulting in Hemski ripping one off the post that left shivers running down Fleury's spine every time they gained the zone after that.

2nd OT

Malone - unassisted 3:43

Sorry stats were lost due to OT.

gg tigertoa

edit........thanks tiger for the stats

Shots Pit 27 - Edm 25

Hits 61 - Edm 48

Season 2 Final Standings

POS	City	Team	Owner	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	SF	SA
1	Vancouver	Canucks	DragonTamer	16	9	5	2	20	31	28	321	307
2	San Jose	Sharks	Critter3	14	10	4	0	20	37	23	310	243
3	Edmonton	Oilers	TigerToa	14	8	5	1	17	29	31	311	313
4	Carolina	Hurricanes	Papernut	13	8	5	0	16	29	24	306	262
5	Nashville	Predators	Angry Rasputin	10	7	1	2	16	29	11	198	127
6	Pittsburgh	Penguins	Goldstone	15	5	9	1	11	20	33	313	311
7	Montreal	Canadiens	Frankididou	14	4	10	0	8	14	31	211	313
8	Anaheim	Ducks	Cadillac Zach	6	4	2	0	8	12	6	110	116
9	Toronto	Maple Leafs	I am Canadian	12	2	9	1	5	15	29	267	355

San Jose 4 @ Toronto 2

The GMC line looks to be unstoppable

Once again the new second line of Guerin-Marleau-Clowe for San Jose would prove to be the factor of the game. San Jose's first line would put San Jose up 1 nothing in the first by a pretty gtic-tac-toe play by Thornton from Michalek and Rivet. In the second period the GMC line would strike when Guerin made a pretty deke and roofed it.

With over two periods gone it seemed as though Nabokov would be getting a shutout to finish the year. But O'neill had other plans. O'neill struck for two quick goals when he rifled a shot that gave Nabokov problems, and then he lasered a shot top shelf to tie the game and put the capacity crowd at the ACC up on their feet. Though a few minutes later San Jose would get a break. Bell was given a rebound and took a few swipes at the puck before what seemed like Kilger kicked in the puck into his own net. Toronto would again press in the last few minutes only to have the comeback squashed when the GMC line produced another goal with about 25 seconds left.

Stats:
SJ @ Tor
35 shots 26
19 hits 15

3 Stars:
O'Neill 2 0
Guerin 1 1
Clowe 1 1

Summary:
1st:
SJ: Thornton - Michalek, Rivet
2nd:
SJ: Guerin - Clowe, McLaren
3rd:
Tor: O'Neil - Coliacovo
Tor: O'Neil - Steen
SJ: Bell - Bernier
SJ: Clowe - Marleau, Guerin

Toronto 2 @ San Jose 4

New second line proves to be potent.

The scoring would start on the Toronto powerplay to quiet the packed crowd at the Shark Tank. O'neil shoveled in a rebound past Nabokov to take the early lead. Just minutes later San Jose would tie it up with a similar rebound goal by Guerin.

The new (after updates) San Jose second line of Clowe-Marleau-Guerin would strike again when Clowe made a nifty move around the d-man and then Raycroft to take the lead for the first time in the game. This line would keep rolling, when in the third period Marleau was sent in on a semi-breakaway and netting one for the home team. Battaglia would get one back to make it a 1 goal game. With only a few minutes left Toronto was pressing for the tying goal. Just before Coach IAC was gonna yank the goalie San Jose would put the game away when Thornton was given the puck in the slot. Thornton put it on the short side just over the pad.

Stats:
Tor @ SJ
14 shots 26
18 hits 19

3 Stars:
Marleau 1 2
Guerin 1 2
Clowe 1 1

Summary:
1st:
Tor: O'neill (PP)
SJ: Guerin - Clowe, Marleau
2nd:
SJ: Clowe - Guerin, Marleau
3rd:
SJ: Marleau - Guerin, McLaren
Tor: Battaglia - Sundin, Ponikorovsky
SJ: Thornton - Rivet, Hannan

Vancouver 3 @ Nashville 4 (OT)

Vancouver 3 @ Nashville 4 (OT)
No Stats ... OT win

Vancouver 2 @ San Jose 3 (OT)

Wild finish to a tight game!

Vancouver would take an early lead in this one when Smolinski would steal the puck and fire it low past Toskala. Once again Loungo was brilliant when he had to be. Although, SJ would hit a couple posts in the period and then get another post in the 3rd. Vancouver would dominate the first period and only allow only 3 shots against.

It played out similar for most the second period. Loungo would stop every chance SJ would get, including a couple clear breakaways. And after the shaky start Toskala was on his game. With just under 3 minutes left to play in the 2nd, SJ would get the equalizer. Marleau would jump on a loose puck and deke Loungo enough that he could slide it 5-hole.

Halfway through the 3rd Vancouver would go back on top. On some hard work and a take-away Naslund would be fed a pass at the side of the net and hammer it top shelf in a matter of milliseconds. Toskala had no chance. With Loungo not giving an inch it seemed like SJ was just watching the clock tick down to end the game...until Cheechoo gave them a reason to believe. With about 10 seconds left on the clock, Cheechoo and Clowe would forecheck hard and make the only D-man back give up the puck....Cheechoo picked up the loose puck and headed into the Canuck zone all alone....it all seemed a little too late with the clock ticking down and Loungo stopping all 10 or so breakaways so far...with 3 seconds left Cheechoo was able to finally deke out Loungo and tie the game! Everyone's jaw dropped, including coach Dragon and coach Critter!

With the momentum in San Jose's favour it didn't take long before they would complete the comeback. Just 35 seconds into OT Marleau was able to pick up a loose puck after a strong fore-check and streak in all alone and successfully deke out Loungo for the game winner.

Stats:
Van @ SJ
25 shots 17
43 hits 28

3 Stars:
Marleau - 2 0
Cheechoo - 1 0
Toskala - 23 0

Summary:
1st:
Van: Smolinski
2nd:
SJ: Marleau - Goc, Bell
3rd:
Van: Naslund - Kessler
SJ: Cheechoo - Clowe, Vlasic
OT:
SJ: Marleau - Guerin

Great games Dragon! This last game was intense!

San Jose 3 @ Vancouver 1

The Sharks return from hiatus.

It's good to be back! After a month with the 360 in sickbay, it was nice to get some games in again.

The first period of this game was what you would expect from two good goalies...lots of chances but no goals. In the second period the Canucks would get a PP though, and on that PP Naslund was able to rip one by Toskala top shelf over the glove. It wasn't long before Clowe evened it up with a rebound that he stuffed 5-hole.

The third would start similarly to the way the 2nd ended...Clowe would jump on a rebound and trickle it 5-hole to take the lead. And with about 5 minutes remaining Michalek put it away with a shot to the far post from inside the circle.

Stats:
SJ @ Van
28 shots 17
30 hits 20

3 Stars:
Clowe - 2 0
Naslund - 1 0
Michalek - 1 0

Summary:
1st:
None
2nd:
Van: Naslund - Salo (PP)
SJ: Clowe - Cheechoo
3rd:
SJ: Clowe
SJ: Michalek - Marleau

Carolina 3 @ Vancouver 0 (F)

No stats, None although I am pretty sure Ward got the shutout!

Montreal 2 @ Carolina 0

Statistics

Mtl - Car
10 shots 22
32 hits 32
18 faceoffs 5

Game summary

- 1st period
Johnson (Perezogin, Dandenault)

- 2nd period
Samsonov(Higgins, Markov)

- 3rd period
No score

Carolina 1 @ Montreal 2

Statistics

Carolina - Montreal
35 shots 12
39 hits 29
17 faceoffs 6

Game summary

- 1st
No Score

- 2nd
Kovalev (Plekanec, Ryder)
Koivu

- 3rd
Ladd (Walker)

Edmonton 2 @ Nashville 1 (F)

Edmonton 2 @ Nashville 1 (F)
Controversial Rematch goes down to the Wire
After it was leaked that the first installment of the Oilers @ Preds game had disappeared from recorded existance, some controversy arose. The incident was blamed on an intern and a computer error as usual and it was decided the game should be replayed. The controversy deepened as the lights went out 9 minutes into the first just after a Reasoner called an "off the left post, the right post, the goalies right skate and nothing but net" goal ... since the bounce was off the left skate, the teams started from skratch once again.

As with the first game, it was a tough defensive battle with neither team getting many opportunities and much free space. 4 minutes in however, the Oiler's defence were too agressive and kind of forgot what Peter Forsbergh could do with the puck ... after a couple of missed checks, the smooth skilled Swede deked out helpless Roloson and fired the puck home to put his team up 1-0. The Oiler's D solidified and the game went back and forth with both teams applying pressure for two and a half periods with nothing getting by either goalie.

With just over 2 minutes left it seemed that the Predators had the game sewn up but the Oilers were going to give one more try sending out the first unit. As the line change was started, the 3rd and 4th line workhorse Fernando Pisani found himself all alone against 5 Predators with the puck on his stick. Somehow finding a seem in the defence, the forward garnered some of last year's playoff magic and fired a bullet of a wrist shot past a stunned Vokoun that looked kind of peeved at his defence. The next shift was huge as the Predators got the puck and had a chance turned away by Roloson. The Oilers first line was able to get the puck deep and found two of their forward behind the net battling for the puck. Suddenly the puck popped free and Sean Horcoff picked it up, skating in front of the net and slip the puck past Vokoun. The stunned crowd was deadly quiet for the last minute as the Predators could not get either of two shots past the Oilers netminder.

Stats
Shots: Edm 18 @ Nsh 21
Hits: Edm 37 @ Nsh 21
Faceoffs: Edm 6 @ Nsh 11
Possession: Edm 7:46 @ Nsh 9:14


3 Stars
1st star Horcoff 1 0
2nd star Roloson 20
3rd star Pisani 1 0

Scoring summary
1st
4:04 Nsh: Forsberg- Hamhuis
2nd
No Scoring.
3rd
18:03 Pisani - Tjarnqvist
19:03 Horcoff - Unassisted
Goalies: Vokoun, Roloson

Great game as usual AngryRasputin ... I got lucky :)

Pittsburgh 1 @ Toronto 0

The Pens rolled across the east looking to close out the season with a home and home against Toronto. Media was in a frenzy as Crosby has been on fire as of late, and this being his first visit. But it was none other than Gary Roberts who stole the show bursting thru only :44 seconds in to shovel one past Raycroft. It set the tone and the Pens were able to ride that to a victory. Both goalies were amazing making key saves to keep this one so close.

shots - pit -27, tor -26
hits- pit -28, tor -14
face- tor -17, pit -5
pp - tor 0/1, pit 0/1

3 stars
fluery 26 sv
raycroft 26 sv
roberts 1g

summary

pit roberts - crosby

Montreal 1 @ Pittsburgh 2

The pens carried momentum into the second game jumping out to an early lead with a power play goal from Malkin. Montreal battled back and both teams defensive games were at there best. Samsonov evened up the scored when he undressed Gonchar and slid the puck in on the short side past Fluery.

Once again Sid came to the rescue, this time in the third when he took the feed in the slot from Recchi and fired one past Huet.

shots- pit -18, mtl -12
hits- mtl -37, pit -32
face- pit -21, mtl -8
pp- pit 1/1, mtl 0/1

3 stars
crosby 1g
malkin 1g
gonchar 1a

summary

pit malkin - scuderi, eaton (pp)
mtl samsonov - higgins
pit crosby - recchi, gonchar

Pittsburgh 3 @ Montreal 0

Habs fans didn't seem to mind losing this one to the Penguins. They knew Sidney was coming home and something was in the works. Crosby had just that, something up his sleeve, breaking loose in the second scoring goals just a minute apart to put the Pens out to a solid two goal lead. Combine that with a solid night from Fluery and the Habs were left out in the cold not able to get much going all game.

Shots - pit -29, mtl -18
Hits - pit -48, mtl -39
Face - pit 24, mtl -5
PP - pit 1/3, mtl 0/1

3 stars
crosby 2g
fluery 18sv
ruutu 1g

1st - no scoring
2nd
pit crosby (pp)
pit crosby - roberts
pit ruutu - staal (sh)
3rd - no scoring

Toronto 3 @ Pittsburg 1

Toronto 3 @ Pittsburg 1
Shots 23 - 39
Faceoffs 16- 15
Hits 12 - 42
Pitts Scoring: Ruttu assisted by Petrovicky
Toronto Scoring: Sundin uassisted / Kaberle assisted by Sundin / O'neil assited by Mccabe

3 Stars: Raycroft / Sundin / Kaberle

Pittsburgh 1 @ Nashville 0

Pittsburgh managed to grap the 2 points in a very tight defensive game when Crosby burst thru the defense and slid one under Vokoun's pad early into the OT period. The Penguins have struggled all season on the score board and have really needed that offensive burst we seen here from Crosby.

stats
shots - pit 13 nsh 11
hits - pit 32 nsh 28
faceoff - pit 2 nsh 14

3 stars
crosby - 1g
fleury - 11sv 1a
vokoun - 12sv

summary
ot - crosby (fleury, eaton) - 0:23

NSH 3 @ EDM 0

NSH 3 EDM 0

Shots 24 14
Hits 21 33
Face Off 20 3
PP 0/1 0/2

3 stars
Zidlicky 1 goal 1 assist
Hartnell 1 goal
Sullivan 1 goal

scoring summary

Hartnall (Smithson, Hamhuis)
Sullivan (Zidlicky, Arnott)
Zidlicky

NAS 7 MTL 0

NAS 7 MTL 0

shots 27 6
hits 32 31
face off 21 1
pp 1/1 0/1

3 stars
Legwand 2 goals
Hamhuis 2 assists
Suter 1 goal

scoring:
1st
Legwand (Kariya, Forsberg)
Erat (Radulov)
Legwand (Sullivan, Kariya)

2nd
Suter (Hamhuis) (sh)
Dumont (sh)
Arnott (Hamhuis, Vokoun) (sh)

3rd
Zidlicky (pp)

Nsh 4 Mtl 1

Nas 4 Mtl 1
shots 25 12
hits 24 41
face off 22 2
pp 2/3 0/0

3 stars
Legwand 2 goals
Erat 1 goal
Radulov 2 assists

scoring:

1st
Legwand (Hamhuis, Forsberg) (pp)

2nd
Erat (Radulov)
Samsonov (Koivu, Markov)

3rd
Hartnell (Radulov)
Legwand (Frosberg, Weber) (pp)

NSH 1 ANA 0

Nas 1 Ana 0

shots 24 12
hits 34 33
face off 13 5
pp 1/2 0/0

3 stars
Arnott 1 goal
Giguere 23 saves
Vokoun 12 saves

scoring:
3rd
Arnott (Zidlicky) (pp)

NSH 2 SJ 0

Nas 2 SJ 0
shots 13 15
hits 21 19
face off 9 6

3 stars
Sullivan 1 goal 1 assist
Vlasic 0 goals, 0 assists
Vokoun 15 saves

scoring:
3rd
Sullivan (Timonen, Arnott)
Hartnell (Sullivan, Arnot)

NSH 5 @ Van 1

NSH 5 Van 1
shots 29 12
Hits 34 37
Face Off 16 3
pp 0/1 0/1

3 stars
Sullivan 2 goals
Kariya 2 goals
Bulis 1 assist

scoring:
1st
Kariya (Erat, Vasicek)

2nd
Sullivan (Timonen, Arnott)
Sullivan (Arnott, Zidlicky)
Hartnell (Hamhuis, Arnott) (sh)

3rd
Naslund (Bulis, Krajicek)
Kariya

ANA 3 vs SJ 1

ANA 3 vs SJ 1
15 shots 18
21 FO 9
38 Hits 18

3 Stars
Todd Marchmant 1G
Travis Moen 1 G
Temmu 1A

Vancouver 3 @ Carolina 0

After losing 3-0 at home to the hurricanes, the canucks were determined to make a better showing in the away game.

Willie Mitchell opened the scoring 8 minutes in with a long wrister that seemed to fool Ward, bouncing off his shoulder and rolling down his back and in. 10 minutes later, after a big scramble in front of the Hurricanes net, Matt Cooke banged in an ugly rebound that Ward had no chance on. In the second, the play was a bit more even, but the Canucks got another lucky bounce as Naslund put another one in to make it 3-0. The third period was uneventful, although both goalies made some great saves, and both teams came close, but there was no scoring.

Stats
Vancouver @ Carolina
27 shots 14
26 hits 32
29 faceoffs 10

Scoring Summary
1st Period
Willie Mitchell
Matt Cooke

2nd Period
Naslund - Kesler, Salo

3rd Period
No Scoring

3 Stars
Willie Mitchell - 1 Goal
Roberto Luongo - 14 Saves
Matt Cooke - 1 Goal

GG Papernut

Standings Posted!

Canucks and Hurricanes Moving on up ... the Predators still only one game in the books.

(S2) 2 Tor VS 3 Car

2 Tor VS 3 Car

Home lag returns. Another close game dominated by early scoring by both teams. The Canes got 2 early PP goals by Cole and Brind'Amour to go up 2-0 after 1. Peca started the 2nd off with a goal to get Tor closer, but Larose hit a 360 goal to take a 3-1 lead. Stajan would score to end the 2nd and that would end all the scoring in this one for a 3-2 Carolina win. GG again IAC.

3 Stars: Ward, Brind'Amour, Larose
Goalies: Ward, Raycroft

Tor Car
Shots 27 28
Hits 14 35
Faceoff 32 3
PP 2/3

1st 4:36 PP Cole (Staal, Ladd)
19:48 PP Brind'Amour (Wesley)
2nd 5:22 Peca (Panikarowsky, Gill)
6:55 Larose (C. Adams, Hedican)
18:22 Stajan

(S2) 3 Car VS 2 Tor OT

3 Car VS 2 Tor OT

Great game with very little lag for a change. Tor started off hot with a quick goal by Tucker and led after one. Car came back to tie in the 2nd with a goal from Vasicek. Tor took the lead again in the 3rd (Wellwood) till the last minute when Walker lit the lamp for the Hurricanes to send it to OT. Once again the OT period was played down to the last minute when Walker was the hero again with the game winner. Good game IAC.

3 Stars Walker, Vasicek, Gleson
Goalies: Ward, Raycroft
Car Tor
Shots 43 24
Hits 50 24
Faceoff 14 12
PP 0/1

1st 4:13 Tucker

2nd 1:31 Vasicek

3rd 7:44 Wellwood (Steen, McCabe)
19:26 Walker

OT 4:33 Walker (Vasicek, Gleason)

Vancouver 3 @ Toronto 0

The second game of the double header was a bit more lopsided, Toronto seemed to have run out of gas after the 5 minute flight back to TO. Luongo looked sharp as always, stopping 14 shots for his 6th shutout of the season, while the forwards managed to score one goal in each period.

Stats
Vancouver @ Toronto
27 shots 14
29 hits 21
14 faceoffs 8

Scoring Summary
1st Period
Sopel - Pyatt, Naslund (pp)

2nd Period
H. Sedin - Kesler, Ohlund

3rd Period
Naslund - Salo, Smolinski

3 Stars
Naslund - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
Sopel - 1 Goal
Luongo - 14 saves

Another great game I am Canadian, the score didn't really reflect the game. Looking forward to playing again and chatting with you.

Toronto 1 @ Vancouver 2

The leafs lost a heartbreaker in Vancouver last night in a very tight game. It was actually a pretty uneventful game as there was no scoring in the first or second periods. There were plenty of chances, but both goalies looked sharp.

In the third, Vancouver opened the scoring on a shorthanded goal by Bieksa, but just over a minute later, on the same PP, Sundin managed to rip one by Luongo. It looked as if it was going to overtime, but with 32 seconds left, Ohlund fired a weak wristshot that seemed to handcuff Raycroft, hitting his shoulder and rolling down his back and in. The last 30 seconds was a flurry of course, but Luongo managed to hold on.

Stats
Toronto @ Vancouver
27 shots 29
14 hits 31
12 faceoffs 16

Scoring Summary
1st Period
No Scoring

2nd Period
No Scoring

3rd Period
Bieksa - Green (sh)
Sundin - Kaberle (pp)
Ohlund - H. Sedin

3 Stars
Luongo - 26 saves
Ohlund - 1 Goal
Bieksa - 1 Goal

Great game I am Canadian

Anaheim 2 @ Vancouver 0

Anaheim 2 Van 0

21 shots 20
40 hits 44
6 Faceoffs 14

3 Stars
Andy McDonald 1G, 1A
JS Giguere 20 Saves
Temmu Selanne 1G

Pittsburght 1 @ Anaheim 4 (F)

Anahiem 4 Pitts 1

19 shots 16
36 hits 41
13 Faceoffs 8

3 Stars
Andy McDonald 2G
Richard Jackman 1G
Scott Niedermayer 1A

Anahiem 3 @ Pittsburgh 1 (F)

Anahiem 3 Pitts 1

21 shots 14
23 hits 21
12 Faceoffs 8

3 Stars
Temmu 1G
Samuel Pahlsson 1G
Malkin 1G
Posting for Cadilac

Toronto 0 @ Montreal 2

Again, Frankididou has asked me to post his stats.
Critter.

Stats:
Mtl @ Tor
23 shots 19
42 hits 16

Scoring Summary:
Bonk (Souray, Johnson)
Johnson (Bonk, Komisarek)

Lets hope this outcome is similar to this Saturday's! ;)

Edmonton 1 @ Montreal 3

Frankididou is having problems posting so I'm posting for him.
Critter.

Stats:
Edm @ Mtl
11 shots 21
28 hits 18

Scoring Summary:

Montreal:
Goal Assist
Ryder 0 1
Plekanec 0 2
Niinima 0 1
Latendresse 1 0
Kovalev 2 0

Oilers:
Jacques 1 0

Standings Posted

Please post the games played and try and get 8 games in by the 21st!

Montreal 0 @ Toronto 1

Sorry about the stats, I had them all typed out in notepad but my machine got rebooted and I lost the info. Best memory is as follows:

Faces Offs: T 17-M 2
Hits: T 10 - M 27
Shots: T 23 -M 26
Final Score: T 1 - M 0

Great games Franky, and as always a pleasure chatting with you!

Edmonton 4 @ Toronto 1 (F)

Edmonton 4 @ Toronto 1 (F)
Leafs fall to Oil in Winter
The Oilers and Leafs travelled back to central Canada to finish off their series. After a tight finish and a tough battle the trash talk was evident as the Ryan Smyth trade was used as salt to try and throw off the Oilers. It seemed to fire up some of the Oilers especially the defacto home town favourite Lupul who wired a shot past Raycroft early in the 1st. Then in a move not seen since the ’86 playoffs, an unnamed Leaf pulled a Steve Smith and fired a pass off the pads of a stunned Grant … err I mean Andrew Raycroft to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead and smiling Sean Horcoff credit for the goal.
The second period started no better for the Leafs as Petr Sykora finished off a nice passing play top shelf over the blocker “I fooled everybody, including myself” Shrugged Petr “ … I was aiming low glove side”. The Leafs were able to get some flow back as Captain Sundin fired home a bullet past the Oiler’s netminder early in the third but the momentum was short lived as Petr Sykora scored his second of the game to put the game away. Despite some close calls on both sides, that is how the game ended.
Stats
Shots: Edm 35 @ Tor 22
Hits: Edm 19 @ Tor 9
Faceofffs: Edm 8 @ Tor 17
Possession: Edm 10:56 @ Tor 3:54


3 Stars
1st star Sykora 2 0
2nd star Horcoff 1 1
3rd star Roloson 21 0

Scoring summary
1st
Edm: Lupul - Winchester
Edm: Horcoff (unassisted)
2nd
Edm: Sykora – Horcoff
Tor: Sundin- Kaberle
3rd
Sykora – Horcoff
Goalies: Raycroft, Roloson

Great games IAC... nice chatting with you!!!

Toronto 1 @ Edmonton 2

Toronto 1 @ Edmonton 2 (F)
Leafs and Oil Slug it out at Rexall
The Maple Leafs came for a visit out west to battle with the Oilers. Both teams came out tentative and playing some tight defence as neither goalie gave up any rebounds or daylight. The first period ended with no goals being scored.
The second period started with much of the same until just over five minutes in when home town boy Joffrey Lupul finished off a nice passing play from Pisani to beat Raycroft high glove side. The play continued back and forth until Ethan Moreau found himself in the slot with the puck. The defensive journeymen who suddenly found himself in an offensive role showed some hands by rifling a wrist shot over the blocker of Raycroft.
The Leafs did not turn over and change colors but stormed the Oilers net. However, Oilers Goalie Roloson kept all the shots at bay until the 3 minute mark of the third as Thomas Steen finished off a nice passing play from Stajan to slip the puck five hole by Roloson. With chances at both ends, neither goalie gave up any room for the rest of the game and the Oilers held on for their 6th win of the season.

Stats
Shots: Tor 18 @ Edm 21
Hits: Tor 9 @ Edm 22
Faceofffs: Tor 9 @ Edm 13
Offensive Pocession: Tor 5:03 @ Edm 6:29


3 Stars
1st star E Moreau
2nd star Roloson
3rd star Lupul

Scoring summary

1st
No Scoring
2nd
Edm: Lupul – Pisani, Tjarnqvist
Edm: Moreau - Staios, Roloson
3rd
Tor: Steen - Stajan
Goalies: Raycroft, Roloson

Vancouver 2 @ Anaheim 0

Once again Luongo saved the day as Vancouver flew into the duck pond. It was another close game for the Canucks as they struggled to capitalize on their chances. It looked like it was going to be an easy night as Ohlund stepped across the blue line and ripped a wrist shot that seemed to fool Giguere and trickled in. There was no more scoring, but lots of chances at both ends until late in the third period when Burrows slipped one in to seal the deal. The last 5 minutes was pretty frantic in the Canucks zone, but Luongo managed to hold on for the shutout. Most importantly however, to an Edmontonian, was the fact that in the second period, Pronger got absolutely levelled :)

Stats
Shots Van 21 Ana 25
Hits Van 27 Ana 46
Faceoffs Van 14 Ana 15

3 Stars
Luongo 25 saves
Ohlund 1 goal, 1 assist
Burrows 1 goal

Summary
1st Period
Ohlund
2nd Period
No Scoring
3rd Period
Burrows - Ohlund

Pittsburgh 0 @ Vancouver 2

After losing the first of a back to back series, Vancouver pleases the home crowd with a shutout victory. After being pulled for letting in 4 goals in under 20 minutes in the first game, Luongo stood on his head to make sure he didn't get benched again.

The first goal of the game was less than 6 minutes in when Henrik Sedin ripped a wrister over Fleury's shoulder from 50 feet out. The rest of the game was back and forth, and a tight defensive battle. In the dying seconds of the third, Pittsburgh gambled and pulled the goalie, but Smolinski managed to take a long feed from Kesler and put it in, sealing the deal.

Stats
Shots Van 28 Pit 19
Hits Van 39 Pit 39
Faceoffs Van 10 Pit 7

3 Stars
Luongo 19 saves
H. Sedin 1 goal
Fleury 26 saves

Summary
1st period
H. Sedin - Kesler, Pyatt

2nd period
No Scoring

3rd period
Smolinksi - Kesler, Naslund (Empty Net)

Good games Goldstone...

Vancouver 3 @ Pittsburgh 4

The penguins finally had a bounce or two go there way and came out on top. A wild burst in the 2nd put them up 4-1, but just when you thought it was going to be a blowout the canucks battled back hard and made it a close one.

shts van 29 pitt 24

hits van 37 pitt 28

3 stars

crosby 1g 1a

armstrong 1g 0a

gonchar 0g 2a

1st
h.sedin - b.sopel
malkin - orpik
2nd
roberts - gonchar, crosby
crosby - recchi, gonchar
armstrong - talbot, scuderi
smolinski - d.sedin
3rd
pyatt - krajicek

Standings updated

All posted scores are included in the standings! Please double check your standings and get the games in folks!!

Edmonton 4 @ Carolina 3 (F)

Edmonton 4 @ Carolina 3 (F)
Oilers Storm Back Against Hurricanes
A wild finish to a tight game. The Hurricanes stormed the Oilers with two short handed goals until the Oilers final converted on the powerplay with a nice move by Ales Hemsky to tie it early in the third. Shortly after, Letowksi was able to finish off a nice play to put the defending Cup champs up. With less than a minute to go, it looked like it was all but over for the Western Conference defending champs. However the tide turned as with 36 seconds left, J. Lupul was able to complete a two on one to tie the game. But with a night of strange occurences neither team felt safe as the play went back and forth.
With just a few ticks left on the clock, Sean Horcoff found himself with the puck in front of Cam Ward and was able to squeeze it through the pads of the star goalie to win it for the Oilers with just 3 seconds left.



Stats
Shots: Edm 37 @ Car 21
Hits: Edm 26 @ Car 38
Faceofffs: Edm 30 @ Car 11

3 Stars
1st star Nedved
2nd star Letowski
3rd star Willians

Scoring summary
1st
Car: Brindamour (SH) - Kaberle
2nd
Edm: Nedved - Moreau, Staios
Car: Williams (SH)
3rd
Edm: Hemsky (PP) - Nedved, Torres
Car: Letowski - Wallin, Adams
Edm: Lupul - Reasoner
Edm: Horcoff
Goalies: Ward, Roloson

Nice games Papernut...

(Sea 2) Carolina 3 Versus Edmonton 2

Carolina goes into Edmonton to win a tough game filled with some nice moves on goals. GG Toa.

3 Stars: Letowski
Ladd
Sykora

Shots Car-28 Edm-21
Hits Car-33 Edm-15
Faceoff Car-16 Edm-4
PP 0/1 Both teams
Goalies Ward, Roloson

1st 1:32 Sykora (Horcoff, Hemsky)

2nd 18:34 Torres (Staios)

3rd 7:57 Ladd

12:26 Whitney (Williams)

15:12 Letowski

(Sea 2) Carolina 4 Versus San Jose 1

Return of the lag: Carolina goes into SJ and picks up a 4-1 win. GG Critter.

3 Stars: Brind'Amour
Cole
Cheecho

Hits Car-40 SJ-12
Shots Car-29 SJ-10
Faceoff Car-9 SJ-9
PP Car 1/1
Goalies Toskala, Ward

1st 17:28 Cole (Letowski, Hedican)

2nd 5:04 Brind'Amour PP

13:20 J. Williams (Brind'Amour)

13:55 Cheecho (Vlasic, Thornton)

3rd 14:24 Ladd (Cole, Wallin)

(Sea 2) Nashville 2 Versus Carolina 3 OT

Carolina comes back from an early Nashville lead to win at home 3-2 on an OT goal by J. Williams. Good game Angry.

3 Stars: J. Williams
R. Brind'Amour
C. Adams

Shots Nas-24 Car-25
Hits Nas-44 Car-51
Faceoffs Nas-32 Car-2
PIM 4 min each
PP 1/2 each
Goalies: Vokoun, Ward

2nd 7:00 Weber (Legwand)

3rd 3:55 Arnott (Sullivan, Zidlicky)

14:49 Hedican (Whitney)

15:49 J. Williams (Brind'Amour)

OT 1:08 J. Williams (Tanabe)

Montreal 1 @ Edmonton 2 (F)

Montreal 1 @ Edmonton 2 (F)
Oilers Hold on for Revenge
The Oilers came home with revenge on their mind after a tough loss to the Montreal Canadiens. With the loss of one of their offensive leaders Ryan Smyth at the trade deadline and the still unexplained disappearance of Jarrett Stoll and MA Pouliot the Oilers seemed to be without their identity. The Canadiens smelled blood and came out flying in the first period putting pressure on the Oilers. THe Oil fought back but with little results on either side.

With just 5 minutes into the 2nd period, the Oilers received a powerplay and through out it's much maligned powerplay. The inexplicable double shifting of Raffi Torres which was at the center of the controversy seemed to pay off as the young winger pounded in a rebound past a sprawling Huet. The rest of the second period continued in a tight defensive battle with nothing going past the goalies until a few minutes into the third period. Petr Sykora who seemed to have risen up to the challange of losing Smyth and Stoll, finished off a nice passing play from his new linemates Horcoff and Hemsky as the newly formed Shh! line finbally scored at even strength.

Rolli the Oiler goalie and the defence took over from there giving up little chances to the visiting Habitants. However, Sheldon Souray was able to pound a shot from the point past the Oilers' netminder to liven the last couple minutes up as the Canadiens pressed and the Oilers held on.

Stats
Shots: Mon 14 @ Edm 19
Hits: Mon 40 @ Edm 23
Faceofffs: Mon 10 @ Edm 13

3 Stars
1st star P. Sykora
2nd star S. Horcoff
3rd star S Souray

Scoring summary

1st
No Scoring
2nd
Edm: Torres (PP) - Sykora, Horcoff
3rd
Edm: Sykora - Horcoff, Hemsky
Mon: Souray - Streit, Ryder
Goalies: Huet, Roloson

Good games Franki, I thought for sure you were going to tie it late!

Pittsburg 1 @ San Jose 3

Nabokov pushes for that Weekly #1 Star position.

The Sharks would get lucky early one when a pass by Thornton was put in by Mark Eaton, would was trying to take away the passing lane. The 1st period would be a defensive battle as both teams weren't able to put up very much shots.

In the second Goc was able to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead with a shot from near the blueline. Like the first period, the second was all about trying to jump on the opponents mistakes...and neither made many.

In the 3rd period, Thornton was able to get his second lucky goal of the game when he was stopped on a breakaway deke, but Fluery put it in his own net. Later in the period Thornton would have been able to get his "lucky hat trick" when Fluery passed the puck directly to him. But with the game already 3-0, Thornton held off.

Then late in the 3rd controversy struck! At 13:58 of the 3rd period Roberts was finally able to get one by Nabokov. Immediately after the goal Nabokov went nuts and was waving his arms. The ref skated over to the time keeper's box. As the crowd at the Shark Tank watched the JumboTron, the reply clearly showed that Roberts had kicked puck in the net AND it was a clear kicking motion. After several minutes the ref pointed to center ice. The crowd went nuts! No one could understand why the goal stood, even though there was clear evidence that the puck was kicked in. The game would continue and the Shark would go on to win a 3-1 game.

Stats:
Pitt - SJ
15 shots 18
44 hits 21

3 Stars:
Thornton 2 0
Goc 1 0
Carle 0 1

Scoring:
1st:
SJ: Thornton - Clowe, Cheechoo
2nd:
SJ: Goc - Bell, Carle
3rd:
SJ: Thornton - Guerin, Michalek
Pitt: Roberts

Good games Goldstone. Other than those lucky goals, this game was close!

San Jose 3 @ Pittsburg 0

The Young Guns were shooting blanks.

For a second straight game, Toskala was bench in favor of Nabokov. And in the first he would prove why he should get the start, with the Penguins putting on big pressure in the first period. With what could only be called as the "TSN Turning Point" in the game....Late in the 1st Crosby came across the blueline with Roberts and was able to pull the D-men to him...he then took a shot on net hoping for the rebound...there was one, and it went right to an open Roberts sitting at the side of the net...But Nabokov was able to quickly slide across and rob Roberts.

With the solid play of Nabokov the Sharks pumped themselves up in the locker room during the 1st intermission. It would pay off, when only 38 seconds into the 2nd Marleau would get a weak goal when Fluery couldn't handle the shot. Both goalies would be solid for the rest of the period and the Sharks would be able to shut down any offense that Pittsburg's Young Guns would try and create.

In the third however, the Shark would solve Fluery. Michalek was able to gain the zone and skate by a D-man sliding for the puck and deke Fluery for the second goal of the game. With one last effort to come back, the Penguins would put relentless pressure on the Sharks from that point forward. But the Sharks were able to put the game away when Michalek was in the right spot at the right time, when a loose puck came right to Michalek. He was able to put a soft backhand under Fluery's pads with 23 seconds left to go in the game.

With 2 shutouts in 2 games it looks like Nabokov has taken over the No. 1 spot in San Jose.

Stats:
SJ - Pitt
20 shots 10
15 hits 43

3 Stars:
Marleau 1 1
Michalek 2 0
Rivet 0 1

Scoring:
1st:
None
2nd:
SJ: Marleau - Rivet
3rd:
SJ: Michalek - Marleau, Guerin
SJ: Michalek

San Jose 2 @ Carolina 0

The Lag Monster eats another victim and new faces shine.

Just like the first game of the series, Lag was an issue. This time PaperNut was bit as he was the home team. (If PaperNut doesn't explain...I had bad lag as the home team in our first game).

With 3 loses in a row and a bunch of weak goals, Toskala was benched and Nabokov got the nod for this one. With the lag gone and now Papernut getting the lag, the San Jose sharks were a different team. They were able to get 15 shots on net (more than the previous game total) and only allow about 5. The heavy pressure would finally pay off in the second when a pass would fake out Ward and leave an empty net for Guerin to pot his first as a Shark.

Carolina was only able to get 13 shots, but played great defense and had a hot goalie to make up for the (lag driven) offensive woes. But just 2:13 into the 3rd Rivet was finally able to beat Ward again from a shot from the point to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead, which would be the last goal scored in the game. It would be Rivet's first as a Shark.

Lag played a huge role in this game (as IMO it did in the first game), and this can be verified by just looking at the stats.

Stats:
SJ - Car
25 shots 13
23 hits 32
23 face-offs 0
9:11 TOA 3:28

3 Stars:
Guerin 1 1
Ward 23 0
Nabokov 13 0

Scoring:
1st:
None
2nd:
SJ: Guerin - Bell
3rd:
SJ: Rivet - Guerin, Marleau

Good games PaperNut! Too bad we weren't able to have true competition because of the lag.

Edmonton 3 @ San Jose 2

Edmonton 3 @ San Jose 2 (F)
Oilers Win a close Thriller in the Shark Tank
With a sense of impending change and motivation from their previous four losses to owner Critter's team including the 3 games sweep from the previous playoffs, the Oilers rolled into the Shark Tank wanting to smell some shark blood. Unfortunately, the first blood was released by Gorges as he was able to get a shot past Rolloson early in the first.
However, Petr Sykora was able to quickly change things around tying the game up and then putting the Oilers ahead in a matter of minutes. That is how the 1st ended in a tight checking and highly contested affair. However, the Sharks responded in the second, taking the play to the Oilers and tying the game up at 2 on a goal by Bell from the point. Another tight game and going into the third that way.
The Oil could feel another close loss coming and it seemed destined as a couple of posts rang beind Rolli the goalie. However, Fernando Pisani turned the tide scoring on a quick shot and the Oilers held on finally winning a tight game against Coach Critter's team.


Stats
Shots: Edm 19 @ SJ 21
Hits: Edm 30 @ SJ 29
Faceofffs: Edm14 @ SJ24

3 Stars
1st star Sykora
2nd star Pisani
3rd star Bell

Scoring summary
1st
SJ: Gorges - Hannann
Edm: Sykora- Pisani, Hemsy
Edm: Sykora- Moreau, Staios
2nd
SJ: Bell- Cheechoo
3rd
Edm: Pisani- Unassisted
Goalies: Toskala, Roloson

As usual, great game Critter!

Montreal 2 @ San Jose 3 (F)

Montreal's offense comes alive

In their previous meeting the Habs were shutout, so they knew they would have to make some changes if they wanted to get their first win of the season. But only a few minutes into the game the Habs went a man down and San Jose got the PP. Only a seconds later Cheechoo made them pay when he ripped one top shelf to take the early lead. The lead would not last though. A little halfway through the period Montreal was able to get their first goal of the season. Ryder put the puck top shelf with a laser wrist shot to get the Habs back in the game. With the momentum shifted Montreal took on new life. On the powerplay the Sharks had a tough time getting it out of their zone and they would pay for it. Only a couple mintues after the first goal they took the lead with a shorthanded goal by Mike Johnson.

It seemed that the Habs used all their energy up in the first though. Early in the second Goc was able to steal the puck from Higgins in the slot and put it 5-hole to tie up the game. Then in the 3rd Hannan completed a Bobby Orr-esk type goal, when he went end to end and deked out Huet to get the lead goal. The Habs would have their chances by ringing pucks off the post and getting multiple breakaways, but they were unable to another one by Toskala.

Stats:
Mtl - SJ
16 shots 20
45 hits 17

3 Stars:
Hannan 1 0
Johnson 1 0
Goc 1 0

Scoring:
1st:
SJ: Cheechoo - Thornton, Marleau (PP)
Mtl: Ryder - Koivu, Higgins
Mtl: Johnson - Souray (SH)
2nd:
SJ: Goc
3rd:
SJ: Hannan

Good luck the rest of the way Frankididuo!

San Jose 4 @ Montreal 0 (F)

Gorges proves why the Habs wish they had him now.

In a weird turn of events both teams decided not to trade Gorges for Rivet until after the season series. The first period was a tight period with no scoring. But just 36 seconds into the 2nd the Sharks took a bite out of Huet. Cheechoo broke in all alone and put it top shelf for his second goal of the season. San Jose's leading scoring, Smith, then added another with 5 minutes left in the period. The 3rd played out the same way as the 2nd as San Jose was able to pot 2 goals, including one by soon-to-be Gorges. The Sharks would go on to get the shutout, continueing the Canadiens offensive woes.

Stats:
SJ - Mtl
19 shots 15
13 hits 33

3 Stars:
Gorges 1 1
Cheechoo 1 0
Toskola 15 0

Scoring:
1st
No scoring
2nd
Cheechoo - Hannan, Thornton
Smith - Gorges, Goc
3rd
Marleau - Bernier, Erhoff
Gorges - Rissmiller

Good game Frankididou.