FanHouse

Jaroslav Halak's Agent Criticizes Carey Price on Twitter, Hilarity Ensues

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-08T12:15:00 00:00

Oh Twitter, you glorious and brilliant avenue for information and trouble.

Following the Montreal Canadiens' 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, a game that saw Carey Price take the loss after giving up three goals on 21 shots, Allan Walsh, the agent for Canadiens backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak, created some havoc and controversy on his Twitter account when he pointed out Price's record in his past 42 starts.

Predictably, things went quite well.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Jason Williams Suffers Broken Leg In Loss to Toronto

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-08T10:20:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Red Wings, NHL Injuries, NHL Videos

Not only did the Detroit Red Wings suffer a 5-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, ending a three-game winning streak, they also lost yet another forward when offseason acquisition Jason Williams slid awkwardly into the end boards and fractured his right fibula.

According to head coach Mike Babcock, he could be out for as long as eight weeks, joining forwards Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula who are also out of the lineup with injuries.

When it rains, it pours.

Also: Cam Ward Taken to Hospital With Cut on Leg

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

The New Max Talbot Commercial is Simply Awful

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-08T08:00:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Penguins, NHL Videos

Great commercials (though, this one isn't great) in NHL history: A look back at the absurdity and hilarity of NHL advertising campaigns.

Max Talbot has always been a fan favorite in Pittsburgh. He seems to be a likable guy, he's very entertaining off the ice and a darn good player on it. He's also had a starring role in multiple commercials for a A & L motor sales, a high-end car dealership in the Pittsburgh area.

On Saturday night, before the Penguins were steamrolled by the San Jose Sharks, the third part of the Max Talbot trilogy made its debut, and it just might be the worst thing I have ever seen. You can see the can see the carnage for yourself after the jump.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Cam Ward Taken to Hospital Following Cut on Leg

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-07T22:30:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Blue Jackets, Hurricanes, NHL Injuries, NHL Videos

Scary moment in Columbus on Saturday night as Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward had to leave the game early in the first period and be taken to a hospital after receiving cut on his leg following a collision with the skate blade of Blue Jackets forward Rick Nash.

Ward was down for quite a while, and as he slowly made his way to the bench blood could be seen on the ice. Video after the jump (and it's not as graphic as you might think. It's hard to even see what happened).

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Power Rankings: Pens Back on Top

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-06T13:00:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: NHL Power Rankings

Even with their 5-2 loss in Los Angeles on Thursday, the Penguins re-claim the top spot in this week's power rankings, taking it over from the Colorado Avalanche. Also, a new entrant break into the top three, and for the first time this season we have a new team in the basement which is good news for Toronto ... but bad news for someone else.

Also: Penguins Power Play Struggles Without Gonchar, Malkin

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Penguins Power Play Hasn't Overcome Loss of Gonchar, Malkin

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-06T11:00:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Penguins

The power play unit for the Pittsburgh Penguins hasn't exactly been a model of consistency since the start of the 2008-09 season, finishing 20th in the league a year ago, and currently residing in the 22nd spot through their first 13 games of this season.

Take the unit's quarterback, Sergei Gonchar, and arguably the team's best player, Evgeni Malkin, out of the lineup, and it goes from maddening inconsistency to complete disaster.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

What's Wrong With the St. Louis Blues?

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-05T11:00:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Blues

Fresh off a surprising trip to the postseason a year ago and boasting a roster that, on paper, is loaded with a strong mix of veterans and talented youngsters, the St. Louis Blues entered the 2009-10 season with high expectations.

Unfortunately, through their first 12 games, they've have struggled, winning just five games, and only three of their past 10. To help figure out what's ailing the Blues after one month, we've recruited the services of Sean Gallagher from the fantastic, must-read Blues blog, St. Louis Game Time.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Video: Phantom Delay of Game Penalty on Nicklas Grossman Sinks Stars

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-05T10:50:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Flames, Stars

Jarome Iginla scored two goals in Calgary's 3-2 win in Dallas on Wednesday night, including the game-winner on a power play just 1:25 into overtime. The big story that a lot of people are talking about this morning, however, is how Calgary found itself on the power play to begin with.

Stars defenseman Nicklas Grossman was sent to the box for delay of game for shooting the puck out of play in the defensive zone. The only problem? He wasn't in the defensive zone when he played the puck.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Peter Budaj Gets Win In First Start Following Swine Flu

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-05T09:00:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Avalanche, Coyotes

Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the story lines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

Avalanche 4, Coyotes 1: Peter Budaj missed his first scheduled start of the season after he was diagnosed with swine flu. On Wednesday, he finally had a chance to step on the ice and stopped 28 shots in Colorado's 4-1 win against Phoenix, in what was a battle of early season surprises in the Western Conference.

Milan Hejduk scored a pair of goals for the Avs, who also received tallies from Marek Svatos and David Jones.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Rangers-Canucks Third Period Meltdown

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-04T10:40:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Canucks, Rangers, NHL Fights

During Wednesday's edition of Newsmakers, I made a brief mention of the insanity that unfolded in the third period of Tuesday's Rangers-Canucks game, and the video is perhaps even better than I could have ever imagined.

Just over four minutes into the period, with the Canucks leading 1-0, 17 players found their way onto the ice (10 Rangers, seven Canucks) and exchanged pleasantries at center ice. Once order appeared to be restored for a few seconds, Sean Avery had words with the Canucks bench, and before you knew it, he was stealing Shane O'Brien's stick (after O'Brien tried to spear him with it) and throwing it on the ice.

Video of the mayhem after the jump.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Kessel Returns, Leafs Lose; Osgood Shuts Out Boston

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-04T09:00:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Lightning, Maple Leafs

Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the story lines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

Lightning 2, Maple Leafs 1: Phil Kessel made his long-awaited debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, and it got off to a rather scary start when he had to leave the game in the first period after Tampa Bay's Mattias Ohlund ran him over with a crushing hit at the blue line (video after the jump).

He would eventually return and finish with an incredible 10 shots on goal in Toronto's 2-1 overtime loss to Tampa Bay, which finally received some goal-scoring production from its captain.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Demoting Lecavalier Doesn't Help As Flyers Crush Lightning

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-03T09:00:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Flyers, Lightning

Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the story lines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

Flyers 6, Lightning 2: With only one goal in 11 games, Tampa Bay lightning head coach Rick Tocchet decided to demote his No. 1 center, Vincent Lecavalier, to the team's third line, but not because of his lack of goals. Damian Cristodero of Lightning Strikes quoted Tocchet on Monday morning as saying: "we've got to clean him up," referring not only to his lack of offensive production, but his play when he doesn't have the puck (defense, finishing checks, etc. etc. etc.)

Did it work on Monday night in Philadelphia? Not really.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Monday Night Football Live Chat: Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-02T19:45:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Atlanta Falcons, Saints, NFL Live Blogging

We have a fantastic NFC South matchup on our hands as Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons pay a vist to Drew Brees and the undefeated New Orleans Saints. As always, we'll be discussing all of the action in our Monday night live chat, so please join us, won't you? The party begins at 8:30 PM ET.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Ovechkin 'Week to Week' With Upper Body Strain

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-02T17:40:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Capitals, NHL Injuries

After leaving Sunday's overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets with an upper body injury, the Washington Capitals announced on Monday that Alex Ovechkin will be out of the lineup on a week-to-week basis with an upper body strain.

It goes without saying that it's a huge blow to the Capitals offense, as he's leading the league in goals (again) and points. Prior to this injury, he missed only four games in his NHL career, three of them coming a year ago.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Carolina's Nightmare Start Continues

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-02T09:00:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Hurricanes, Sharks

Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the story lines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

Sharks 5, Hurricanes 1: Six months ago, the Carolina Hurricanes were in the Eastern Conference Final, just four wins away from playing for the right to claim Lord Stanley's Cup. Granted, they were swept in four straight games by the team that eventually won it all, but the point remains, they were one of the final four teams playing in the NHL. Fast forward to early November, and the 'Canes find themselves near the bottom of the standings, having now lost nine straight games, including Sunday's 5-1 drubbing at home against San Jose.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Ovechkin Hurt in Loss to Columbus

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-01T20:40:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Blue Jackets, Capitals, NHL Injuries, NHL Videos

The Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets played an overtime thriller on Sunday afternoon, with the Jackets picking up the 5-4 win thanks to R.J. Umberger's game-winner (and second goal of the game) at the 1:45 mark of the extra frame.

Perhaps the biggest concern for Capitals fans isn't the outcome on the scoreboard, but the status of the league's leading scorer and back-to-back MVP winner, Alex Ovechkin, who left the game after playing just 7:43.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Sunday NFL Live Chat: Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers

Adam Gretz — 2009-11-01T15:30:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Packers, Vikings, NFL Live Blogging

Since there's no Sunday night game on the schedule this week, we're bumping our weekly live chat up to the afternoon to discuss THE GREATEST GAME EVER.

Yes, that's right, it's Favre Bowl II as Brett Favre makes his first appearance in Green Bay as a visiting starting quarterback. We'll be there for all of the action, so please, join us at 4:00 PM ET for all of the fun.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

High School Football Player Charged After Alleged Head-Butt

Adam Gretz — 2009-10-31T11:34:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: High School

James LaShoto, a high school football player from Arlington Catholic High School near Boston, is facing criminal charges for assault and battery after allegedly head-butting an opponent -- 17-year-old Daniel Curtin (pictured right) -- from Abington High School in a game on Sept. 19, according to The Boston Globe.

The paper reports that Curtin suffered two lacerations and a large bump on his head, and had to miss 10 days of football because of concussion concerns. LaShoto was suspended for two games by his own school.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

This Week's Edition of Clean Or Dirty: Andrew Ladd Hits Matt D'agostini

Adam Gretz — 2009-10-30T22:30:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Blackhawks, Canadiens, NHL Videos

Since it's been, oh, I don't know, five minutes, since we had a debate on what's a clean hit and what's a dirty hit, Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Ladd decided to give us something else to talk about on Friday night when he laid out Montreal's Matt D'agostini early in the second period.

Video after the jump.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Carey Price and the Slow, Methodical Development of Goalies

Adam Gretz — 2009-10-30T14:15:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Canadiens

When I first started thinking about this post Wednesday morning, I intended to focus it on the goaltending "controversy" unfolding in Montreal. After all, Carey Price, the No. 5 overall pick in 2005 and next in line for the throne that is the Montreal Canadiens' goaltending position, was getting ready to start his fifth straight game on the bench behind Jaroslav Halak, a ninth-round pick in the 2003 draft.

I decided, however, to go in a different direction and instead focus on Price himself, and whether or not it's time to panic and cast doubt as to whether or not he's really the goaltender of the future in Montreal.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments