Hockey History As Told By Cardboard - Andy Moog

On March 8, 1988, Edmonton Oilers netminder Andy Moog was traded to the Boston Bruins.  Unhappy with his situation, Moog held out and instead joined the Canadian Olympic program where he could be the starter.  Despite the Stanley Cup victories, he was tired of not getting a shot in net as his time in Edmonton was mostly spent backing up HOFer Grant Fuhr.  

Moog said, "My leaving was all about opportunity. I felt that I could be a starter elsewhere, and after three championships in Edmonton, I believed that the time was right for me to become the player and leader I knew I could be."  He wasn't going to get that opportunity in Edmonton so leaving for the Olympic team made him the best available free-agent goaltender that technically wasn't in the NHL.

Rumors floated around quite a bit prior to the trade and most folks were sure he would soon be a Pittsburgh Penguins. However, his new digs would ultimately be in the same colors but a different city.  Oilers GM Glen Sather made Boston's GM Harry Sinden an offer he couldn't pass up and Pittsburgh was priced out of the Andy Moog sweepstakes.  In a package that included Boston's Bill Ranford, Geoff Courtnall, and a draft pick, Moog was sent the Bruins.  The Oilers would win another Cup with Ranford backing up Fuhr in both 1988 and 1990. The team they beat??  Andy Moog and the Boston Bruins, both times.

Hockey History As Told By Cardboard - Fern Flaman

Born on January 25, 1927, Ferdinand Flaman, better known as Fern, was born in Dysart, Saskatchewan.  He grew up to be a rugged defenseman with the Boston Bruins 11 years and the Toronto Maple Leafs for four more, including their 1951 Stanley Cup Champion team.  He played in six All Star Games total through his career.

Fern scored only 34 goals in 910 game, which doesn't seem like much for a player that spent 15 years in the NHL. But that wasn't his job. He specialized in blocking shots and spilling rivals with vicious body checks. No less an authority than Gordie Howe called Fern, "The toughest defenseman I ever played against." 

Fern was on the the founders of the NHL Players Associations and, following his retirement as a player in 1961, he coached for 19 years at Northeastern university.  Fern was acclaimed not only for his playing accomplishments but for his contributions to the game, earning a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Class of 1990.

Hockey History As Told By Cardboard - Joe Thornton

Most people view Jumbo Joe Thornton as a grizzled vet in the waning years of his career. The first overall pick by the Bruins in 1997 has certainly seen a lot in his lengthy career in the NHL.

Flashing back to BB time (before beard)...On December 28, 2001, Joe set a career high by tallying five assists against the Florida Panthers. Just seven days after that, Thornton faced the Washington Capitals and notched a hat trick, plus a helper!

Hockey History As Told By Cardboard - Ron Hextall

Wayne Gretzky once referred to Hextall as "the best goaltender I've ever played against". On December 8, 1987, he made history by becoming the first goaltender in the NHL (since those stats were kept) to net a goal on a shot.

The Flyers were leading at home at the Philadelphia Spectrum late in a regular season game against the Boston Bruins. Goalie Rejean Lemelin was pulled from the net for Boston to get the extra attacker.  As the puck caromed to the left side of the net, Hextall came out to play it, grabbing the loose puck and firing it down the ice into the empty net at the other end. 

To cement his legend as the most prolific goal scoring goalie, he did the same thing again April 11, 1989 in a playoff game against the Washington Capitals.

Another Year, Another League Impacting Injury

For many of you, this is old news.  But I'm trying to keep my tradition going of being late to the party.

There were two Tampa Bay teams in action last night.  One in the NHL, one in the NFL.  Which one would you want to watch??  Those of you that chose the NHL (made the right choice) got to see probably the most devastating injury of this young 2013-14 season.





With about 7 minutes left to play in the second period, Steven Stamkos was skating up the ice toward his own net, chasing a dump in pass by Boston, when his skate got tied up with Dougie Hamilton.  As Stamkos went down, he collided with the right post of the goal, knocking it from its' moorings.  As you can see in the videos, he hits the post with his left leg and then his right leg came awkwardly across his body and bent backward as it too hit the post.  He was immediately in pain and Anders Lindback instantly signaled for trainers to get out on the ice.  As Stamkos got up to skate away, he fell back to the ice in pain.  He had to be taken from the ice on a stretcher.  Word from the Lightning is that he has a broken tibia, he is out indefinitely, and will undergo surgery today.

For a team in the Eastern Conference that has to contend with other big dogs to get a playoff spot, this isn't good news.  With five teams basically locked on top of the East, any edge will benefit the rest and this injury just could push a "bubble" team into a playoff spot (I know it's early, I'm just saying).  Going into last nights game, Stamkos was tied with Sidney Crosby for as the NHL leading scorer at 23 points and tied with Alex Steen in goals with 14.  He hasn't missed a single regular season game in his entire career up to this point and is now in jeopardy of missing much of the rest of the season, if not all of it.  Those are points the Lightning can't afford to be without for any amount of time.  The sheer fact that Steven was a part of 44% of all Tampa goals this year shows that his impact will be potentially devastating for the Lightning.

This also has world hockey implications as Stamkos was basically a lock for making Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.  The final team roster does not have to be announced until Dec. 31st however, adding an injured player to the roster and then having to have them removed is not as easy for international play.  Broken legs generally take four to six months to heal completely.  Surgically repaired legs can heal quicker but every person is different when it comes to down time and the pain threshold.  Regardless, I doubt Stamkos would be ready before the first game of Team Canada which is only about three months away.  Stamkos isn't replaceable either as the only other player with his type of ability is Sidney Crosby, who is already most certainly going to be on the team.  Plus, with Rick Nash yet to return from concussion, the Team Canada lineup is starting to look thin.

Overall though, NHL fans are going to lose out on seeing one of the best players in the world for awhile.  Regardless of whether you are a lightning fan or not, Stamkos has always been a class act and an amazing player to watch.

The Craziest Game I've Seen In Years

All I can say is that if you didn't get a chance to catch the Montreal vs. Boston game last night on either TSN or VS., you missed out.  If you are a fan of clean, skillfully played hockey though, good thing you missed it.

This was by far the craziest game I have seen in many years.  It was highly entertaining with countless fights, brawls, and melees, including ANOTHER GOALIE FIGHT!!! Sort of.  Plus, there were 7 goals scored in about 6 1/2 minutes during the 2nd period.  Final score was 8-6 with the B's knocking off the Canadiens for the first time this year.  But, let's look at what everyone wants to see.

Completely insane!!  All I know is that when these guys meet again, it's going to be a war zone.

Results of Thursday's Main Event

(I don't know where I stole this from but it is hilarious none the less)

The stage was set.  All the hype and vitriole that the Boston media had inundated their fans with over the last 11 days was finally ready to boil over.  The Pens and Bruins faced off last night in what was anticipated to be a game full of fights, cheap shots, and general goonery.

Did it live up to the hype?  Not really.

The Pens skated out on the ice to a rain of boos from the partisan home Boston crowd and you got the feeling that it was going to get ugly real quick.  The puck dropped and there it....wait a minute.  Nothing happened.  Oh, Cooke isn't on the ice yet.  Ok, here he comes for his first shift and...

There it is.  That's what we were all waiting for.  He was on the ice no more than 2 seconds after the face off when Thornton drops the gloves and they go.  I'm not going to lie and say it was a good fight.  It wasn't.  Cooke was beaten down and even after the refs jumped in to break it up, Thornton continued to pound on him.  He was no worse for the wear however and they both went to the box without so much as a whimper.  The crowd was elated at the fact that their enforcer finally exacted the revenge they have all been longing for and the frenzy was intense.  Short lived, but intense nonetheless.



That was about it.  Kennedy scored making it 1-0 after the Pens stupidly took a Too Many Men penalty.  The first 6-7 minutes of the second period saw the Pens on a powerplay...well not a powerplay literally, it is just Boston couldn't get the puck out of their zone and Pittsburgh dug in for a session of target practice.  Ponikarovsky scored the second goal for the Pens in the second and Michael Rupp scored the third goal in the third.  Final score 3-0, Penguins.  Finally, Fleury stops 17 shots and gets his first shutout of the season.  I can't believe it took till March to get it.  Unreal.

The only other highlight was this...a fight between Chara and Rupp which was more like an oak tree fighting a squirrel.  Chara has a 9 foot reach and weighs in at about 600lbs.  It's like Andre the Giant fighting, well anyone.  Rupp lost...so what.  Pens get a much needed 2 points as the Devils get dumped in overtime. 

It's Being Billed As The Most Anticipated Game

• Regular season game during the March stretch...check.
• Game featuring Olympic medal champions...check.
• Game with potential playoff implications....check.
• Eastern Conference rivalry...check.
• Insane, fight-laden, Battle Royale style hockey game...I hope not.

If you are a Boston fan, that seems to be what the media has been shoving down everyone's throats about tonights game at home against the Penguins.  Exacting revenge agains Matt Cooke is all anyone from Beantown has been talking about.  My only question is, how is this rational?

You are playing for a potential spot in the playoffs.  The Law Enforcement Czar of the NHL will be in attendance at the game, obviously watching every single play with a careful eye.  Why risk losing players down the stretch for penalties because of obvious premeditated intent to injur?  For that matter, why risk an imediate penalty at all to give the Pens a powerplay and a chance to put points on the board?  Eveyone has to know that any retaliation for something that happened almost two weeks ago, no matter how awful it was, is going to get penalized heavily.

I understand the anger and rage the diehard fans have at what happened.  If it happened to one of my players, I would be rightfully upset too, just as I was when Downie tried to break Crosby's legs the other night.  The sports writer media has been doing nothing but fueling the fire by posting things like this.  Or this.  Or even this half-rational article here.  They even have a poll to see what the general viewing public would like to see the Bruins do to Matt Cooke...A) Knock him out of the game with a dirty hit, B) Drop the gloves and fight, C) Go after Sidney Crosby, or D) Do nothing because a win is more important. 

It's playoff time, people.  I want to see a playoff style hockey game.  I want to see intensity, great scoring chances, great goaltending, and hard hitting.  I don't want to see WWE Smackdown.  That's on another channel.  Boston has one of the Original 6 franchises in the NHL with a storied history and reputation to uphold.  For the sake of your team and fans of the game, I hope you choose D.