Kevin Schultz Posts

Thanksgiving is a holiday where we get together with family and friends to celebrate all that is important in our lives. We here at NHL FanHouse will be doing that today but before we get to the turkey, we decided to get together and talk about something else that is important in all of our lives -- hockey.

For starters, we're thankful that we get to follow hockey all day long and that you take the time to read what we've got to say. But there's a lot more that we love about the "coolest game on ice" that plays such a big role in each of our lives.

Following the success of the NHL's outdoor game the past two years, the AHL has decided that it will get in on the act this winter.

Today, the league announced that it will be holding its own version of the Winter Classic on February 20th. The Mirabito Outdoor Classic will pit the Syracuse Crunch against the Binghamton Senators on the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, New York.

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.

The NHL has always been at the forefront of the major American sports leagues when it comes to the internet. The league streams most of its games online through its GameCenter Live application and has openly embraced bloggers and websites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Given all of that, maybe it's no coincidence that an internet savvy sports fan has chosen these same websites with which to embark on an NHL social media experiment.

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.

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.

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.

Earlier today, a group of local sports fans led a petition for originality from sports media humorists*. Standing outside a local bar the group spoke to reporters with local citizen Michael Davidson representing the group, which was composed of about 10 18-to-35-year-old males and females. The group of fans say that they are "upset" and "distraught" by blogs, websites and sports media who continue to make the same joke about hockey each year.

In the NHL, coach firings are as common as parking tickets in New York City. Throughout the NHL season I'll be taking a bi-weekly look at five coaches who are the most likely to get fired. Be advised your local coach may be axed at any moment. Consider this fair warning.

Things have changed quite a bit since our last look at coaches with warm cushions. For one, the Lightning are making me look bad at 3-1-3 since the last installment. The Leafs have won a few games and things have gone from bad to an Alexander Daigle brand of awful for the Hurricanes. We'll take a look at all of that and more after the jump.

When Cam Ward went down with a grisly injury on Saturday night a bad season got much, much worse for the Carolina Hurricanes. Their star netminder got cut by a skate early in the first period and had to be taken to the hospital. As of Sunday night Ward was still in a Columbus hospital and the team expects that he will miss at least 3-4 weeks.

With the goaltending duties left to former sixth round pick and journeyman backup Michael Leighton, GM Jim Rutherford moved quickly to get some goaltending help. For now, that help comes in the form of 36-year-old veteran Manny Legace.

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.

There's something to be said for Canadians and their level-headedness at least as it compares to us Americans. They always seem so much calmer. But during the past week our neighbors to the North have been in an uproar about Calgary Flames Flu Vaccination Crisis 2009. Sure, they're rightfully up in arms in Alberta that the Flames and their peeps received shots before some of the neediest people in the province but that almost seems like a trivial matter compared to what's going on down here.