Tag Archives: Sidney Crosby

Watch BLH’s Hockey Game of the Night: Ovechkin and Team Russia Get Obliterated by Canadian Juggernaut at 2005 World Juniors

December 9, 2020 Beer League Hero

There’s nothing better than a Canada/Russia match-up at any hockey competition and for BLH’s Hockey Game of the Night, we’ve got for you a proper classic. The 2005 World Juniors Gold Medal Final between Sidney Crosby’s Team Canada and Alexander Ovechkin’s Team Russia.

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To set up this game I found this blurb from Sports Illustrated by Ken Campbell,

The night is always darkest just before the dawn, and Canada’s greatest anguish on the World Junior Championship stage came one year before its greatest triumph.

Flash back to Helsinki, Finland, 2004. Canada desperately wanted to be crowned hockey’s best under-20 nation after six long years in the cold. Since a five-year run of golds that ended in 1997, the Canadians had finished eighth, second, third, third, second and second, with each heartbreak worse than the last. They blew a 2-1 lead to Russia on Canadian ice to lose the 2003 final. Then, in Helsinki, the nightmare continued. Canada led upstart U.S. 3-1 entering the third period of the gold medal game. The U.S. stormed back to tie it and, with less than five minutes remaining in a 3-3 contest, Canada goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s clearing attempt bounced off teammate Braydon Coburn and into his own net. The Americans won their first world juniors ever. Canada’s drought reached seven years.

Whoa…

Here’s the boxscore if you want to check it out!

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I hope you enjoy the game!

What I found really interesting is that Sidney Crosby and Corey Perry were lighting up their respective Junior leagues and Patrice Bergeron had already spent a year in the NHL, yet coach Brent Sutter chose to put the trio together and deploy them as Canada’s shutdown line. Very much like Wayne Gretzky back in 1978, Perry only made the club due to the injury of another player. What luck!

As this is mostly an Oilers blog, I feel compelled to mention that this game featured five players who would go on to play for the Edmonton Oilers later in their careers. Those individuals being Shawn Belle (CAN), Colin Fraser (CAN), Cam Barker (CAN), Danny Syvret (CAN), and the great Anton Belov (RUS).

If you’re enjoying the series, check out this week’s previous games below!

Monday: The Punch-up in Piestany
Tuesday: 16yr old Wayne Gretzky Destroys Czechs in ’78

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Was McDavid vs. Crosby a Disappointment?

November 9, 2016 Beer League Hero

As Connor McDavid picked up his 3rd assist and the Oilers went up 3-1, I started to think that this Edmonton had turned the corner. They were up by two goals on the reigning Stanley Cup champions and things were looking rosy. McDavid vs. Crosby was living up to its billing and my prediction of this being one of the most entertaining games of the year was coming true!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4wsBSmKKqQ

Then it all started to go all Oiler-y and the Penguins started to leeeeeaaaannnn on the Oilers…

Goal No.2

Leon Draisaitl coughed the puck up in the neutral zone and the puck found its way to one half of the headliners, Crosby. Then he decided to penetrate the Oilers zone with ease BUT was held to the outside by the Swedish Terminator, Adam Larsson. Crosby chipped it into the slot to a driving Trevor Daley, he gets a shot, which is stopped but its rebound went straight to an unmarked Carl “Mr.Flow 2016” Hagelin and he deposited that directly behind an outstretched Cam Talbot… All with Leon within feet of the Swede…

Goal No.3

Tyler Pitlick fails to capitalize on an absolute gift of a pass from Milan Lucic (Which sort of makes up for that beauty of a tape-to-tape he gave to the Penguins in the 1st period that they used to score their first goal), Penguins streak back the other way 3-on-2 and with Kessel quarterbacking this one, he chucks a floater at the net which was behind Malkin, yet he finds a way to get his stick on the puck anyhow and it goes in the net… FLUKE CITY… Regardless though. Malkin made a pretty sweet move to get his stick back to tap that puck into the net and the Oilers should’ve scored on their chance.

**Extra points to Pitlick for backchecking as hard has he did and smashing his face into the crossbar in an attempt to stop Malkin.**

Goal No.4

You have got to be pretty heartless if you’re going to blame this loss on Benoit Pouliot because earlier Jordan Eberle had an opportunity to put the Oilers back ahead AND nab a hat-trick goal but failed. Batting the puck into the other team’s net is hard enough, batting it into your own net… Near to impossible. Especially when you’re trying to swat Bryan Rust’s stick out of the way and on the back swing your stick catches the biscuit and directs in twine-ward.

Batting the puck into the other team’s net is hard enough, batting it into your own net… Near to impossible. Especially when you’re trying to swat Conor Sheary’s stick out of the way and on the back swing your stick catches the biscuit and directs in twine-ward. Maybe Cam could’ve helped out a bit more. Maybe Oscar could’ve been in better position…

In the end, it was the other Conor that won the game for his team. The Oilers’ Connor McDavid could do no more to lift his team and he made a lot of people forget about the USA voting their new overlord into office (PS: good luck with that America!). The Oilers have to score on those blatantly obvious chances that they’ve been wiffing on or else we’re going to keep seeing losses like this one. The boys had it in the bag but couldn’t hold on… It’s maddening to see Edmonton go up on these NHL titans, only to lose it on questionable and avoidable goals later on.

I did predict the Oilers would lose this match in my previous blog and to be honest, I thought the Pens were going to roll over them. I also said to expect the unexpected with this team and they showed me because I didn’t even take my own advice. I never expected them to go up 3-1 on the champs. Then again, I didn’t expect them to let in 3 unanswered goals after that either…

Moral of the story: The Edmonton Oilers are for real. Belee Dat!

Next game is against the banged up Dallas Stars… Didn’t they just give up 8 goals to the Winnipeg Jets? Man, if Calgary finds a way to beat them… All hell could break lose versus Edmonton. I hope they leave McDavid as open as they did Patrik Laine last night. I’d love to see Connor rack up 5 points on the Stars…

What did you think about the game? Let me know in the comments below!

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

G14 Oilers @ Penguins – Draisaitl vs. Malkin

November 8, 2016 Beer League Hero 1 Comment

That’s right! Who really cares that it’s Connor v. Crosby? The story of the night will be Leon Draisaitl matching up against Evgeni Malkin! And what a matchup it will be! Size, speed, skill, graceful skating, and amazing playmaking! We’re in for a treat!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHe9pBtk1Pw

Those videos are so childish, I know. But I can’t stop busting a gut making them. If I laugh as much making them, someone out there surely has to be laughing half as much watching them and the world is a better place when people are laughing, wouldn’t you agree? Back to the game tonight though.

Let’s not kid ourselves. The entire hockey world will be watching this one and not for Draisaitl/Malkin. This is the future of the NHL lining up against the present, right? I’d like to say past but Crosby isn’t even 30 years old is he? He could very well play another 10 years.

When I was a kid, all I ever wanted to watch was Gretzky’s Oilers/Kings player Mario Lemieux’s Penguins. Well, we may very well get another decade of Crosby’s Penguins versus McDavid’s Oilers. It’s a good time to be a hockey fan.

I’d have to ask some of the more vintage fans out there but could there be parallels drawn to the first time Wayne Gretzky met Brian Trottier tonight? Some have likened the meeting to Gretzky and Lemieux but for whatever reason, I don’t see it that way. How do you see it?

The game tonight could very well be one of the most entertaining games of the year so far. Both teams should be lined up in order to have three scoring lines firing at any one moment. The Penguins’ powerplay (6th OV) is clipping along at a 24% rate (Edmonton has the 9th OV PP in the league) and the Oilers’ PK sits very comfortably in the four spot overall (89.5%). Pittsburgh’s PK is ranked in the middle of the pack at 16th OV.

I believe that the Penguins have too much for Edmonton but if the Oilers defense can continue to play as well as it has and Cam Talbot doesn’t decide that tonight is the game that’ll be off. I think that the Oilers could take it by capitalizing on the powerplay.

I haven’t heard if the Pens are starting MA Fleury or Matt Murray but that will play a factor in it as well. I’d much rather the Oilers be lining up across from Fleury to be honest. I like the fact that he’s completely unpredictable and could come unhinged at any moment. Perfect for a team full of hungry beasts like the Oilers.

Another deciding factor could be the defenses on both teams.

For the Oilers, they are going to be seeing wave after wave of grit and ultimate skill coming at them. The pairing that Andrej Sekera has been on has been struggling lately. Whether he’s been paired with the dinged up, Kris Russell, or the rookie, Matt Benning; things have not played out well for them. That’s a pairing I’d keep a close eye on because we know that Larsson/Klefbom are going to be solid and bodies be hitting the floor when the Gryba/Nurse pairing is on the ice.

As for the Pens, Dumoulin and Letang have been firing on all cylinders. What a pair that is eh? Letang is godly on the back end and he’s got to be due for a Norris soon. Brian Dumoulin (a throw-in in the Jordan Staal trade) had marinated for nearly 200 games in the AHL before finding his spot permanently on the Pens blue line. So if you’re still sore about Griffin Reinhart taking his sweet time getting to the NHL, relax.

Olli Maatta and Trevor Daley are very good at moving the puck but I reckon this pairing, as well as, the Pens’ third pairing of Justin Schultz and Ian Cole, could be ripe for the picking if the Oilers’ forecheck is gold. If it isn’t and the boys appear tired, the Penguins will eat them alive.

What do you think? Edmonton has surprised the Blues and Capitals already this year. Teams that were supposed to handle the Oilers with ease but were thwarted by an Edmonton hockey club that has improved exponentially. Can the Oilers surprise again and swat the Penguins to the side, gaining more ground on the Habs and Rangers?

I’m going to say that it’ll be an entertaining game with all the offense out there but that Pittsburgh takes this one. I hope the Oilers win it but I reckon the gritty Penguins from Pennsylvania will have it.

Let me know in the comments below! Thanks!!

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Somebody is Missing From This List

August 9, 2016 Beer League Hero 1 Comment

The NHL Network recently put out it’s top 20 forwards and, depending on who you ask, there was a major name missing from the list. Our main man and rising star in the hockey blogosphere, Zach Laing, helped us out with the list:

*But before I get to that, I wrote a post about the Oilers adding Jiri Hudler the other day as a possible no.3 centre. It wasn’t until later did I realize that he took only a handful of draws last year. In fact, he hasn’t played centre for some time now. I will take only partial blame as the site’s I visited listed him as a centre. My bad! But the Oilers WILL be looking for a third line centre be it Brandon Pirri or someone else.*

#Oilers Connor McDavid ranks 13 among top NHL forwards according to the NHL Network's top 20 forwards right now: pic.twitter.com/Q6nf7Mqmjt

— zach (@zjlaing) August 8, 2016

Have you guessed who’s missing yet? None other than Taylor Hall, one of the best LWers in the league… Or I thought he was according to the rhetoric in Oil Country. Sure takes the shine off of Hall a bit. And don’t try to tell me, “Oh that just goes to show what the people working at the NHL Network know.” or that there’s an Eastern bias because Johnny Hockey is right up there at #15 and last I checked, Calgary didn’t make the playoffs last year either.

Anyways, this isn’t a shit on Hall post, I just wanted to point out the obvious and toss out a top 20 list of my own.

So I reckon we’ll just go with results from last season and who I think will have the most impact on their team’s success going into the 2016 season.

Sidney Crosby – Best all-round player and captain in the game today.
Patrick Kane – Filthy mitts, likes to grab… (Stay classy Beer…)
Steven Stamkos – Rounding into form as the league’s most elite sniper.
Connor McDavid – Does things no other player can at top speed and plays in Edmonton no less.
Jamie Benn – Best LW in the league and toughest too.
Alexander Ovechkin – Possibly the best goal scorer or all-time.
Evgeni Malkin – Can take over games at the drop of a dime. Don’t get him angry either.
Tyler Seguin – At least one of the guys Chiarelli traded makes the list.
Jonathan Toews – Might not get you the points on the scoresheet but your team will be a winner.
Patrice Bergeon – If Crosby is the best all-round, Bergeron is the 2nd best. Elite 200ft game.
Anze Kopitar – Would probably put up more points if he wasn’t in LA. But those Stanleys…
Vladimir Tarasenko – Snipe City folks. Not many can pot ’em like Tank.
John Tavares – This guy will drag your team out of the mud on his back and take the pay cut.
Blake Wheeler – The blend of size, speed, and creativity… He’ll be a force in 2016 with Laine.
Evgeni Kuznetsov – He may very well usurp Niklas Backstrom for no.1 centre in WAS in 2016.
Johnny Gaudreau – Best “little guy” since Martin St.Louis.
Joe Pavelski – Is there a better shot tipper in the league?
Filip Forsberg – Will take it to the next level with Subban in town.
Artemi Panarin – Absolutely pains me to put this guy in here after he robbed McDavid of the Calder.
Alexander Barkov – Panthers are on the rise and he’s a major part of that.

Close but no cigar: Nikita Kucherov, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Jaromir Jagr, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Claude Giroux, Niklas Backstrom, Taylor Hall, Joe Thornton, Brad Marchand, and Mark Stone.

I took some value away from the older guys like Thornton and Jagr because I’m not exactly sure if they’ll keep up their pace, especially in Jagr’s case. Jumbo Joe could very well put up another 80+ points in 2016 though. Best apple tree in the league quite possibly.

McDavid is the only player worthy of being on that list from the Oilers and I would’ve liked to have put him higher but it’s really hard to argue with the NHL’s reigning scoring champ, Conn Smythe winner, and a two-time Rocket Richard winner. But here’s to hoping he’s all of those in the near future!

And one more thing to consider with 97, if he is to have the individual success that we all think or hope he’s going to have, it’s going to take the help of his teammates. Nuge, Ebs, Yak, and Looch; Drai, Pulju, Big Rig, and Pou. They’re all going to have to do their jobs so that McDavid doesn’t have to. OK/AL (Klefbom/Larsson) are going to need to stay healthy and on top of their game too. And don’t forget Cambot 5000 will need to be Curtis Joseph 2.0 as well.

This team has a long ways to go but it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life, for me… And I’m feeling good!

Who would you have in your top 20? Let us know in the comments below!

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Fancy Stats, G Money, Stanley Cup Playoffs

SCF 2016 Game 2 – SJ at PIT – Detailed Statistical Breakdown

June 2, 2016 G Money

Game Notes PIT vs S.J

San Jose Sharks (Head Coach: Peter DeBoer) at Pittsburgh Penguins (Head Coach: Mike Sullivan)

NHL Game #412, CONSOL Energy Center, 2016-06-01 06:00:00PM (GMT -0600)

Penguins 2-1 (OT)

Referees: Wes McCauley, Kelly Sutherland, Dan O’Halloran
Linesmen: Pierre Racicot, Derek Amell, Brian Murphy

Three Stars: Conor Sheary; Phil Kessel; Justin Braun

Another intense game. You’d almost think this was important to the players or something.
- I saw someone call it ‘go kart’ hockey – good name!
Penguins up 2-0 – after all the Western dominance, who saw that coming? According to the NHL, the Penguins now have an 88.9% chance of winning the Cup.
Joe Thornton led the Sharks in faceoffs 62.5% (5-3), and on-ice 5v5 shot attempts (59%). He led Crosby head to head. Whatever ails this team, it’s NOT Jumbo Joe, so let’s leave the ‘choke’ narrative on the shelf where it belongs.
Before the series, I recall one commentator (can’t remember who specifically) picking Pittsburgh because he felt their scoring depth would overwhelm the weak Sharks third pairing. Interestingly, that’s exactly what the first goal was, with the Penguin third line exploiting the weak San Jose pairing of Polak and Dillon.
That said, in the first game, it was the top two pairings that had absolutely brutal games. This one, the Sharks D improved their play overall, but pairings two and three were not good.
- You can see this especially in the raw vs danger-weighted metrics for the Braun and Vlasic pairing – they did OK on the raw metrics, but got absolutely torched on the danger metrics. They actually were in line with the other pairs as far as shot distance against goes, so it was the inability to create anything remotely dangerous when they were on the ice that was the culprit.
- You might retort “but Braun had a goal!” (and was also one of the three stars)… to which I’d say a 51 ft snap shot isn’t exactly frightening. Sometimes that’s how it works. I will admit, I wasn’t watching any specific pairing, including his, all that carefully. Maybe Vlasic was the one struggling. But by danger weighted stats, it was not a good game for them.
- Bottom line is that the Sharks can’t win without top rank performances from both the Burns and Vlasic pairings, and only one of those pairings was adequate tonight.
Especially telling is how much of an edge the Penguins had (again) in shot distance.
Jultz had another solid game. I don’t get the hate – it’s not like he didn’t have the occasional run of solid games for the Oilers either. Good on him for bringing it on the big stage.

Reminder: most of the stats below are for 5v5 in regulation time only, not OT; they are also from the San Jose point of view.

Game at a Glance

Leaderboard

Justin Braun led the way for the Sharks with 1 goal (but got torched on the danger weighted shots)
Brent Burns blasted 4 shots on goal, and was most active on the team with 10 shot attempts
Joe Thornton was the faceoff champ at 62.5% (5-3), and led the team in on-ice 5v5 shot attempts at 58.8% (20-14).
Melker Karlsson trailed the team in 5v5 on-ice shot attempts at 29.4% (5-12)
Brenden Dillon, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns each thumped the other team 5 times

Goal Overview

Team	Period	Time	Strength	ShotType	ShotDist	Danger
PIT	2	8:20	EV	Wrist	9.0	2.63
S.J	3	15:55	EV	Snap	51.0	0.29
PIT	4	2:35	EV	Wrist	33.0	0.71

Who Won the 5v5 Shot Battle?

Which Battle	Who Won	By How Much
Shots	PIT	26 to 18 (59.1%)
Average Shot Distance Against (ft)	PIT	33 to 44
Corsi	PIT	50 to 43 (53.8%)
Score & Venue Adjusted Corsi	PIT	50 to 43 (53.7%)
Fenwick	PIT	36 to 29 (55.4%)
Dangerous Fenwick	PIT	33 to 23 (58.5%)

http://i.imgur.com/eLQLWsX.png

Detailed Metrics

Shot Metrics

Strength	CF	CA	CF%	SACF	SACA	SACF%	FF	FA	FF%	DFF	DFA	DFF%
EV	43	50	46.2	43.2	50.1	46.3	29	36	44.6	23.2	32.7	41.5
All	49	59	45.4	49.2	59.2	45.4	35	42	45.5	26.7	36.5	42.3

Other Metrics

Team	PP	PPG	PIM	FO	Hits	Giveaways	Takeaways
Penguins	2	0	2	54.8	36	8	8
Sharks	1	0	4	45.2	43	4	5

How the Players Did (On Ice Shot Attempts)

New chart! Shows how the players did directly comparing raw Corsi with DangerousFenwick. Look for big discrepancies one way or the other.

http://i.imgur.com/CWVWAzy.png

Danger Tables

Forwards are sorted by decreasing CF%. Defensemen and pairs sorted by increasing DFA60. Forward lines by decreasing DFF%. Positions are as listed by the NHL roster page, not necessarily where they played.

Centres

Centre	EVTOI	OZS%2	CF	CA	CF%	SACF%	FF%	DFF%
J. Thornton	17:05	50.0	20	14	58.8	59.3	64.7	50.6
T. Hertl	18:50	50.0	21	15	58.3	58.8	63.2	58.5
J. Pavelski	18:15	47.1	21	16	56.8	57.1	60	58.6
L. Couture	15:08	60.0	11	9	55	54.6	50	46
N. Spaling	07:53	33.3	5	8	38.5	38.4	41.7	30.3
T. Wingels	07:34	33.3	5	8	38.5	38.6	41.7	35.9
P. Marleau	14:50	33.3	6	13	31.6	31.1	31.2	36.4
C. Tierney	12:27	8.3	7	16	30.4	30.3	27.8	30.1
M. Karlsson	09:12	44.4	5	12	29.4	29.1	31.2	36.2

Wingers

Winger	EVTOI	OZS%2	CF	CA	CF%	SACF%	FF%	DFF%
J. Donskoi	15:35	60.0	12	9	57.1	56.5	50	46.7
J. Ward	14:10	37.5	10	15	40	40.3	36.8	32.1
M. Nieto	11:02	0.0	6	14	30	30	30.8	29.2

Defensemen

The DFA/60 (how much how bad the D gave up) are pretty much OK across the board. It’s the terrible DFF% (balance of danger) for Braun and Vlasic that really stands out.

Defense	EVTOI	OZS%2	CF	CA	CF%	SACF%	FF%	DFF%	DFA60
P. Martin	20:00	47.1	18	20	47.4	47.7	48	51.1	32.1
B. Burns	20:19	44.4	19	20	48.7	48.9	48.1	51.5	32.49
J. Braun	17:33	30.8	13	12	52	52.5	38.9	18.7	37.61
M. Vlasic	18:22	33.3	14	13	51.9	52.3	42.1	16.5	37.89
R. Polak	16:09	40.0	12	18	40	39.7	47.6	49	38.64
B. Dillon	15:36	40.0	10	18	35.7	35.1	38.1	44.5	41.92

Defense Pairings

Pair	EVTOI	DFA60	AvgDistA	CF	CA	CF%	SACF%	FF%	DFF%
P. Martin B. Burns	18:55	33.94	31.3	18	19	48.6	48.9	48	51.1
M. Vlasic J. Braun	15:47	39.16	28.2	12	10	54.5	55.1	40	12.9
B. Dillon R. Polak	14:35	39.91	28.2	10	15	40	39.4	44.4	47.4

Forward Lines

Lots of line mixing … what do we call that, the Boerlender?

Line	EVTOI	CF	CA	CF%	SACF%	FF%	DFF%
P. Marleau M. Karlsson M. Nieto	02:16	2	1	66.7	65	100	100
J. Donskoi L. Couture J. Ward	04:41	7	1	87.5	87	83.3	93.4
J. Pavelski J. Thornton T. Hertl	15:55	20	12	62.5	62.9	73.3	60.4
P. Marleau J. Donskoi L. Couture	08:43	4	6	40	39.9	37.5	25.2
J. Ward C. Tierney M. Nieto	06:45	3	9	25	25.7	25	23
N. Spaling T. Wingels M. Karlsson	04:22	3	5	37.5	38.2	37.5	20.4

Game Flows

Rink Maps

Defense Pairings – Shots Given Up

http://i.imgur.com/JL2rlcS.png
http://i.imgur.com/4C4flQx.png

Forward Lines – Shots Taken

http://i.imgur.com/DmSTTfx.png

Head to Head

http://i.imgur.com/5FpTN1a.png
http://i.imgur.com/5fGxkUt.png

NHL Media Highlights

Click the link to play the associated highlight video

Goal No.2

Goal No.3

Goal No.4

Game Notes PIT vs S.J

Game at a Glance

Leaderboard

Goal Overview

Who Won the 5v5 Shot Battle?

Detailed Metrics

Shot Metrics

Other Metrics

How the Players Did (On Ice Shot Attempts)

Danger Tables

Centres

Wingers

Defensemen

Defense Pairings

Forward Lines

Game Flows

Rink Maps

Defense Pairings – Shots Given Up

Forward Lines – Shots Taken

Head to Head

NHL Media Highlights

Jones’ point-blank save

Braun’s game-tying goal

Murray’s late save in the 2nd

Camera lens falls onto ice

Kessel capitalizes on turnover

Hertl’s great attempt hits post

Sheary’s game-winning goal in OT

Tierney’s shot off the crossbar

Murray’s early save

Hertl finds the post three times

Murray’s flurry of late saves

Jones’ back-to-back saves

Jones denies Malkin’s spin-o-rama

Jones denies Hornqvist twice

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