Let the games begin

In the first of what may be many surprises this summer, Halak has been dealt to the Blues. St. Louis is the clear winner of this deal, having only given up two prospects. Even a member of Canada's Parliament wasn't too happy with the deal. (Thanks to EN for the link) In my opinion, he has done WAY more for the Habs than Carey Price.

Old news here, but Mike Yeo is no longer going to be screwing up...er, coaching the Pens power play. I'm just curious about who they are planning on hiring to replace him. Maybe Gonch can play and coach at the same time. Crazier things have happened (see above).

On another note, the Hawks may march in a gay pride parade. I'm personally straight as an arrow, but I'm all for gay rights, and this would be a great thing for everyone involved. Seeing as how Fraser, Versteeg, Ladd, and Brouwer made an appearance at the taping of an Ellen Degeneres special, I could see them showing up at the parade.

Stanley Cup Finals, Game 1

Philly 5, Hawks 6

This was one of the most fun games I've seen for a while. I finally got to watch a game live instead of having to DVR it, which was pretty awesome. Anyway, key points of the game...Go Hawks!

1. How entertaining was this game? Physical play, neither team with more than a one goal lead, and both teams being very offensive-minded. Both teams came out strong, and I must admit that Philly played a lot better than I thought they would.

2. Chicago needs some discipline. You know it's bad when Philly was the more disciplined team. There were, however, some calls that were missed (the high stick on Seabrook) or just generally fucked up (sending Campbell to the box instead of Hjalmarsson) by the officials.

3. Was NBC glitchy for the first period for anyone else, or was it just my shitty Time Warner cable acting up again?

4. I think that both teams were a little sloppy defensively, which is part of the reason why this was such a high-scoring game.

5. I liked Chicago's penalty killing unit in this game. They weren't afraid to get aggressive.

6. How great was Brouwer in this game? He just always seemed to be in the right spot at the right time, and it really paid off.

7. I was a little surprised that Leighton wasn't pulled after the 4th Chicago goal. I think Philly could have used a little more motivation at that moment in the game.

8. Mike Milbury doesn't like "touchy-feely" stuff, but Pierre McGuire does...there's a huge shock. Beat Pierre with his own shoe, Mike.



9. Both teams showed the type of scoring depth that gets teams to the finals. Philly had 5 different goal scorers, while Chicago had 5 as well.

10. Even though Byfuglien didn't record a point in this game, he made his presence known with his physicality. He was, however, a minus 3 for the night.

So there ya have it. Have a nice Memorial Day weekend kids, and I'll be seeing you for Game 2. Have a burger or hot dog for me, I have to work.