Datsyerberger

And we're up by one.

True that Howard has a chance to stop the shot, but when the puck is coughed up at the opposing blue line and the forward manages to get enough separation between himself and the defenders to wind up an aimed slapper from the nearer side of the circle and release it without disruption, you can't really pin the blame on the goalie.

What a shot by O'Reilly. Ouch. On another note, Hudler and Kindl as the last 2 back =

So what is it this year? Curly fries? Curly hairs? Whatever, I'll take either if its the result of Mule hatty.

Howard's still giving up rebounds this year, but he's doing a much, much better job of directing them to safer places on the ice.

So apparently there's a PK and I completely spaced out the penalty and the first 1:24 of the PK, despite the fact I've been watching the game the whole time.

Okay, so maybe shots are 12-6, but Howard is 1 goal on 12 shots and Budaj is 2 goals on 6 shots. Who would you rather be?

There we go, Eurotwins.

Not that I'm saying it should have been, but if that were a Wings player in Dupuis' position there, that would've been called goaltender interference 9/10 times.

Copying my post from HFboards: What I see: 1. Boarding call is the strongest one and more or less irrefutable. I'd say he fairly violently follows through with slamming Pominville into the boards. 2. No charging. Except for the launch into the hit (which wasn't any more than 1 push of the legs), Hjarlmarsson was gliding up to the point of contact. 3. Inteference is a touch tricky, because Pominville was the recipient of the pass and looked to gain control of it. He never did because of the hit + Hjarlmarsson's stick, but hits timed thusly are usually allowed. However, because of the amount of time Hjarlmarsson had him lined up and because Hjarlmarsson effectively took him out of the play before Pominville ever received the puck, I'm inclined to call this one interference as well (though I think, due to the closeness of the call, it won't have too large an effect on the ruling). 4. Hit from behind is also tricky, as Hjarlmarsson does adjust his glide path and there are multiple points of contact. Ultimately, I'm inclined to call this a hit from behind, though more out of carelessness than intent. The majority of Hjarlmarsson's is certainly from a rearward angle, and I don't think anyone can disagree with that. He does adjust before the hit, throwing from the side. However, he does so poorly. While his hips contact with Pominville's hips from mostly the side (slightly from behind, I'd say Hjarlmarsson's left hip contacts in majority with the side of Pominville's right buttcheek rather than his hip), due to the angle of Pominville's body (Which was unchanged and visible throughout the entire course of the glide and hit) and the approach of Hjarlmarsson's body (upper body thrust out at an angle), the point of contact of the upper body (and the place that receives most of the force of the impact due to the way Hjalmarsson launches the hit) is the right portion of Pominville's back and his right shoulder blade. Due to the angle of Hjarlmarsson's hips and his approach, the hips were the weakest point of impact, and because most of the force went into the shoulder to back/shoulder blade contact, I'm forced to call this one a hit from behind. I don't believe that was the intent, however. Sloppy execution is the key here. Just to throw in with my analysis on the from behind portion of the hip, I give you crappy MS paint images to go with it: Hjarlmarsson approaches Pominville. Note that at this point Hjalmarsson is clearly behind and to the right of Pominville. However, note that Pominville's body is angled slightly towards the boards as he prepares to receive the pass. His left shoulder is thrust outwards, thus, given Hjarlmarsson's angle of approach, pointing his upper body almost directly away from Hjarlmarsson. Hjarlmarsson's upper body is leaning away from Pominville as he winds up the hit, and if he continues on his present path, he ends up in front of the slowly gliding Pominville with little or no contact. Pominville is in roughly the same position, gliding backwards. Hjarlmarsson, due to the angle of his glide, is almost directly beside Pominville. However, his body is still angled towards Pominville's back as Pominville's back is likewise still angled towards the boards slightly as he's set to receive the pass. More importantly, though, Hjarlmarsson has launched the hit. Even though his lower body is still in roughly the same position and moving the same direction, which would put him in front of Pominville (and due to the path of travel his legs actually do end up in front of Pominville's), his upper body is now launched in sidewards direction, still slightly behind Pominville with Pominville's back facing Hjarlmarsson's shoulder. Ultimately, though Hjarlmarsson is roughly beside Pominville, the approach from behind and the positioning of his upper body results in him contacting Pominville in the right rear side ranging from roughly from the side of his right buttock to the middle of his upper back. The weakest point of contact is at the sidewards portion, where hip contacts hip, as Hjarlmarsson's hips are moving mostly past Pominville's, while the strongest portion of the hit is centered on Pominville's right shoulder blade and right middle back. Due to the direction of Hjalmarsson's force and the mechanics of Pominville's human body, this causes Pominville's upper body to twist to the left, further absorbing the majority of Hjarlmarsson's thrown hit in the back and sending his head forcefully into the boards. The momentum of Hjalmarsson's lower body ultimately carries him past Pominville as the arrow indicates. Ultimately, I think boarding and hit from behind are the strongest calls here, with boarding being the worst of it. I don't think Hjarlmarsson displayed any malice nor intent to hit Pominville in the back. However, it was poorly executed, careless, and reckless, with his opponent unaware of his approach and in a vulnerable position. Ultimately, the league is trying to cut down on careless hits and incidents that result in head injury, and because of that, I see a suspension ranging from 2-4 games, with 2-3 (due to the accidental, though careless nature of the hit) being more appropriate. 1 would be a touch light due to multiple arguable 'wrongs' in this hit (possible inteference, likely hit from behind, almost certain boarding), but wouldn't be outside of NHL precedent.

To add on to that, Calle Jarnkrok is ripping it up in the SEL so far, for someone his age.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUr_qek_W2I C-c-c-combo breaker!

The Ducks are basically the embodiment in a team of what happens when the ideas of grit, chippiness, and punishing physical play get taken to inappropriate and unsportsmanlike levels.

My expectation for him is to be a ~20g, ~60p guy with solid two-way play on a healthy year. Anything beyond that is a bonus.

Ah yes, following the example set by the good captain on the ice!

Well, at least he doesn't have to worry about getting burned by Selanne now.

ROFL, did anyone else notice the way Kovalchuk's hands were moving right before the first exchange? Looked like he was ready to whip out some kung fu or something.

That was beautiful, GMR. Thank you.

Alright, held off the champs in their home opener. One of the best games by Ozzie in a good long while. And man, is it nice to see Flip make the best of his chances.

Well, might as well get the PK practice out of the way early in the season before the refs start getting really chippy.

Score's even, Wings have scored first both times. The Hawks may not be the same as last year but we didn't expect them to be easy, especially on a back to back at their home opener, yea? This is still anyone's game--and that's a good comment on the Wings, especially given the situation.

"Someone in the Hawks organization" *crowd cheers* "Someone else with the Hawks" *crowd cheers* "Commissioner Gary Bettman" BOOOOOOO Good job, Hawks fans. Dammit 55, you beat me to the punch.

Huh. +1 for Carman. Feels weird, man.

LOLWUT Datsyuk

Well, not gonna complain about being up 4-0 at the end of the second.