The Eastern Conference Finals could have been predicted at the start of the 2009-10 season. Sidney Crosby will lead his Pittsburgh Penguins to face Alexander Ovechkin and the high-powered Washington Capitals. Crosby, along with his star support like goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Sergei Gonchar, can only be beaten at their own game; scoring more goals than the other team and flexing their offensive muscles at every turn. The same can be said for Ovechkin and his teammates like defenseman Mike Green and forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin. No one can stop these guys; or so we thought. Who do these Canadien guys think they are?
Ovechkin and Crosby were at almost a loss for words after being taken out by the number eight seed in two straight playoff series.
Jeff Ponder's NHL Hockey fan blog archive for 05/2010
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May 2010
May 15, 2010
May 20, 2010
Jeff Ponder
The NHL may be the greatest hockey league in the world, but it may not have the best system for dealing with disciplinary action. It seems that they could learn from leagues that play under them. Way way under them.
Jason Miller runs a roller hockey league in St. Louis, Missouri that is a glorified pick-up league. He calls players every week to play, which goes in order of the amount of times played in past games. He even hires a referee every Sunday night to facilitate the two 44 minute games and also has a scorekeeper to keep track of goals, assists and penalty minutes. As if that wasn't enough, he even keeps track of everything on sundayrollerhockey.com, the league's website for everyone to view in the comfort of their own homes. But the most notable feature of Miller's league may be the way that he handles the discipline that needs to be handed out time to time.
Jason Miller runs a roller hockey league in St. Louis, Missouri that is a glorified pick-up league. He calls players every week to play, which goes in order of the amount of times played in past games. He even hires a referee every Sunday night to facilitate the two 44 minute games and also has a scorekeeper to keep track of goals, assists and penalty minutes. As if that wasn't enough, he even keeps track of everything on sundayrollerhockey.com, the league's website for everyone to view in the comfort of their own homes. But the most notable feature of Miller's league may be the way that he handles the discipline that needs to be handed out time to time.
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May 27, 2010
Jeff Ponder
Who would have thought that the battle of an aging defenseman and a 17-goal scorer would be the top story heading into the Stanley Cup Finals?
Chris Pronger has made a living of punishing people when they decide to stand in front of his goaltender. The 35-year old defenseman has amassed 18 penalty minutes thus far in the 2010 playoffs, including many cross-checking and interference calls while clearing out the front of his net. But he does not seem to ever give it a rest. Does Pronger seem to get terrified by the mere thought of Byfuglien standing in front with him? He seemed to downplay the thought when he was asked if the media is blowing the Byfuglien – Pronger battle out of proportion.
“I think you guys are,” he said. He also was not too impressed when he was told that the Chicago forward scored three game-winning goals in the Western Conference Final all from the slot.
Chris Pronger has made a living of punishing people when they decide to stand in front of his goaltender. The 35-year old defenseman has amassed 18 penalty minutes thus far in the 2010 playoffs, including many cross-checking and interference calls while clearing out the front of his net. But he does not seem to ever give it a rest. Does Pronger seem to get terrified by the mere thought of Byfuglien standing in front with him? He seemed to downplay the thought when he was asked if the media is blowing the Byfuglien – Pronger battle out of proportion.
“I think you guys are,” he said. He also was not too impressed when he was told that the Chicago forward scored three game-winning goals in the Western Conference Final all from the slot.
Continue reading "Pronger – Byfuglien Battle Takes Center Stage"
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