FanHouse Nhl Videos

While the NHL still tries to figure out a way to handle hits to the head, they are also trying to curb other dangerous hits plaguing the game.

Saturday night, we saw this kind of hit in Montreal. Georges Laraque took out the knee of Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall. Despite pleading innocence and claiming it was an accident, Laraque was suspended five games on Monday.

Each and every Saturday this season I'll be taking a look at the random happenings and absurdities that occur in the world of hockey. Feel free to suggest stories, complain or otherwise babble at me via electronic mail.

Seriously. What's with you hockey fans, teams and players? Why don't you know what refs are thinking about doing? Why don't you know what they intend to do? More importantly, you should know why the ref is intending to do what he hasn't done yet but will since he intends to do what he's about to do.

Confused? So am I, and so is the majority of the hockey world.

Every Friday, FanHouse sifts through the rubble and picks the best NHL fight, with the help of HockeyFights.com.

Sometimes, we scour the internet looking for the best fight, only to be left underwhelmed. There are other weeks where this job couldn't possibly be any easier. The good fights jump at you, and the players involved are the guys you would expect to see in the big fights. This week's winning fight has some blood in it, so use caution as you proceed.

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer decided to celebrate his team's 4-3 overtime win (in which he scored the game-winning goal) against the Tampa Bay Lightning by giving his stick to a young girl seated in the front row.

Unfortunately, that's when the lower bowl of the Honda Center turned into the thunderdome and fists started to fly. (Video of the incident after the jump.)

One of the main reasons for the success of the Tampa Bay Lightning over the last month or so has been the coming of age of 2008 first overall pick Steven Stamkos. The Bolts are 6-2-4 in their last 12 and Stamkos, who leads the team in goals and points -- yes, ahead of Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis -- has 10 goals and four assists over that span. Even more impressive, he has accounted for 28% of the team's total goals scored.

Thursday night, Stamkos scored a spectacular goal that is reminiscent of John Tavares' goal from last year's World Junior Championships. Tavares knocked a rebound up in the air with his stick and then swatted it in for an impressive goal. As the saying goes, like 2009 first overall pick, like 2008 first overall pick.

The Lightning were down 3-1 in Anaheim during the second when Lecavalier fed a wide open Stamkos from behind the net. Netminder Jonas Hiller stops Stamkos' initial shot attempt but as Stamkos falls down, he bats the puck in over Hiller's right shoulder. At that point, all the Ducks netminder and defenders can do is stand in awe. And so will you when you check out the video, which is posted after the jump.

If you weren't expecting much from the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night, you're forgiven.

After all, the two teams entered the game with a combined 22 points on the season (there were eight individual teams in action on Thursday that had more points than that) and were the bottom two clubs in the NHL standings. That didn't stop them from playing what turned out to be one hell of a hockey game, as the Hurricanes picked up a 6-5 shootout win.

The Detroit Red Wings lost to the Dallas Stars, 3-1, on Wednesday night, and it's possible that the game could have had a far different outcome had the referees not taken a goal away from Brad May at the 6:40 mark of the third period.

I'm not one to blame officials for teams losing games, but every once in a while the men in stripes make a call that defies all reason and logic, and this is one of those moments.

Video after the jump.

Brendan Shanahan announced his retirement on Tuesday afternoon, ending a 21-year career that saw him finish with 656 goals (11th all time), 698 assists and 1,354 points with the New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils.

He was a member of three Stanley Cup winning teams (all in Detroit), an eight-time All-Star and a two-time 50-goal scorer.

Not only was he a dominating player on the ice, he was also an extremely entertaining person off of it.

To quote fictional hockey coach Ted Orion in D3: The Mighty Ducks (Hey, I admit it, I've watched it): "How long does it take to score a goal? Less than a second." That's a lesson the Boston Bruins learned on Saturday night as they were 0.4 seconds away from pulling out a back-and-forth 5-4 win.

Instead, a broken stick, a buzzer-beating goal and an embarrassing turnover from Tim Thomas in overtime led to a 6-5 loss in Pittsburgh.

Video of the insanity after the jump.

On Wednesday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets were embarrassed on their home ice with a 9-1 loss against the Detroit Red Wings. On Friday night, the team bounced back when the Anaheim Ducks came to town and won, 3-2.

Thanks to Rick Nash, they also received the all important style points. Nash broke out a new move in the third round of the shootout against Ducks netminder J-S Giguere.

With the Blue Jackets up 1-0 in the shootout, Nash had a chance to put the game away if he could beat Giguere. Well, not only did he beat him, but he did it on one leg. Literally. Video after the jump.