A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and silly, and rolling four lines deep.
1. Try to think of a playoff-bound player under more pressure than Marc-Andre Fleury? It’s difficult.
So what if Fleury is tied for second overall in wins (38)? Who cares if the 29-year-old already has a Stanley Cup ring and has posted his best GAA (2.34) and save percentage (.917) marks in three seasons? All that really matters is that he gets Pittsburgh back into the final (or at least look sharp losing to, say Boston).
After blowing up in his last two post-seasons with the NHL’s most loaded offence in front of him, and after the Bruins rolled over Pittsburg last spring, Fleury’s GM, Ray Shero, still cast a vote of confidence for him (and coach Dan Bylsma for that matter). This past summer Fleury didn’t get an invite to Team Canada’s camp and sought help from a sports psychologist.
Fleury has responded admirably in the regular season, and his teammates have sung his praises. All of this, mind you, has occurred with Pittsburgh’s security blanket, Tomas Vokun, sidelined with a blood clot. Vokun is returning to pro hockey this weekend and the usual hype surrounding Hart shoe-in Sidney Crosby and the emotional comeback of Kris Letang should deflect some of the spotlight from Fleury.
But with the Penguins destined for a difficult Round 1 matchup against a revitalized Detroit (Rule No. 1: Don’t bet against Babcock. Rule No. 2: See Rule No. 1) and a looming second-round showdown versus either the road-warrior Rangers or intrastate nemeses Flyers, Pittsburgh will not have it easy.
Should they flounder early, Fleury could be the scapegoat.
2. As the Toronto Maple Leafs tumbled to their demise, the James Reimer saga received heavy coverage. One undersold aspect of the James Reimer story is his faith. The goaltender is much more likely to be described a “battler” than a “devout Christian,” but he pointed to “faith” — his faith in God, and his true supporters’ faith in him — as helping him get through an ugly stretch this season.
“Faith has been a huge thing for me, keeping me grounded and keeping things in perspective,” the embattled Reimer said last Thursday after a rare victory over Boston. “It’s been tough with everything that’s been going, but you stay positive.
“Most of the things those people are saying, they’re not necessarily fans. The true fans are the supportive ones. For everything that’s been going on, there’s been 10, 20, 100 fans that were in support. You pull support from the ones that have faith in you.”
3. Sunday saw a bench-clearing brawl erupt between New York City’s fire and police departments. In a charity hockey game, of course. Wow.
This brings me back to pre-game conversations in beer league. Every once in a while you’ll play a team of all cops, and there will be a debate over whether you could get away with retaliation.
What if an of-duty police officer elbows you in the face in a men’s league and you punch him back? Is the hockey rink a temporary safe zone, or would you face charges or end up with more parking tickets than you bargained for? It can effect the temperature of an exhibition game; depending on the civilian, he might be more or less likely to let a cheap shot slide.
But when it’s first responder vs first responder, it’s gloves off, apparently:
4. Finding out that the man who just surpassed Jack Adams as the Detroit Red Wings all-time winningest coach has never won the Jack Adams Award is a little like discovering Gordie Howe only had two Gordie Howe hat tricks.
Mike Babcock secured his 414th victory behind the Wings bench on Tuesday, leaving Adams in his rear view. And although the model coach will receive legitimate Jack Adams competition from the likes of Ken Hitchcock, Jon Cooper and Patrick Roy — the latter taking an awful 2012-13 Avalanche team to become just the fifth man ever to win 50 games as a rookie NHL coach — consider the trophy Babcock’s.
Not only did he guide one team to an Olympic gold medal (it shouldn’t matter, but it will), he kept Detroit’s playoff streak alive with half an AHL squad at times.
5. On Thursday night, Toronto’s James van Reimsdyk scored 30 goals for the first time in his career and Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky shut out the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0.
The defending Vezina winner has set new career highs with his 29 wins and five shutouts this season. Steve Mason and Luke Schenn have both been solid for Philly, but when players leave that city, they seem to do great things.
6. Some random science for you. Dr. Jeff Evans tested how much pressure a hockey puck can sustain by putting it in a fancy vice-type device and squishing it like the stubbornest of pimples. It turns out a puck can survive 82,000 pounds of pressure, sort of.
Get your Mr. Wizard on:
7. Is there anything sweeter than the greatest offensive player in the game secretly Cole-Harbouring a desire to play net?
Sidney Crosby’s secret identity as a goaltender (remember during the 2012 lockout when he got geared up and sneaked between the pipes to play in a buddy’s recreational ball hockey league?) is like Batman dressing up as the Joker on weekends and crashing cocktail parties.
The Kid was at it again, this time borrowing some Penguins pads and poaching a Minnesota Swarm lacrosse practice:
8. Bob Costas brought the Stanley Cup on Seth Meyers’ new late-night talk show for a brief cameo:
9. Steve Yzerman, a top candidate for GM of the Year, re-upping for “four more years!” in Tampa Bay bodes well for the franchise.
The worst-kept secret in hockey is that MLSE head honcho Tim Leiweke would give Ontario native Steven Stamkos the keys to the vault if he could lure the star back to the Greater Toronto Area when he becomes a free agent in 2016 (and really, who wouldn’t?). But Yzerman, respected by pretty much everyone not named Martin St. Louis, will do everything in his power to keep the NHL’s most gifted scorer in Bolts blue and white. That’s a massive contract to negotiate, and Tampa ownership did the smart thing by extending Yzerman now.
10. Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr… Dave Andreychuk?
The former Tampa Bay captain was honoured with a life-sized bronzed statue Saturday, despite scoring just 68 goals and playing 278 games for the Bolts. But he was there for the greatest moment in franchise history.
“I hope the statue serves as a testament to that 2004 team and all the great fans that supported us during that championship run,” he said.
No offence to Andreychuk and his 1,338 career points, but he scored once in the 2004 playoffs. Have some patience, Tampa. Save the statue for the Steven Stamkos dynasty.
11. Love the ingenuity by the L.A. Kings’ marketing folks. On Halloween, they had players carve their own pumpkins. Last week they sawed up game-used sticks, fasted them to flippers and scrapers and auctioned off hockey-stick BBQ sets. Gift ideas for Dad:
Bonus Kings p.r. move! Having Jonathan Quick drop in on Ellen and surprise this piano prodigy who idolizes the goaltender:
12. While the depth lines of Sportnet’s Hockey Night in Canada “all-star team” have yet be filled out, Tim Thompson is one heck of a role player.
His latest Saturday-night opening montage for Canada’s most iconic television show not named The Beachcombers reminds us of his talents in pairing clips with music here: