1st Period

• Poniko scored first from Tucker and Sundin.
• Belfour's in net, playing well.
• The Lightning outplayed the Leafs and were rewarded with a last second goal. That can't be good.

2nd Period

• Another stupid penalty, this one to Poniko. It is the 2nd period right?
• The Leaf game plan seems to include being SH for most of every 2nd period.
• Tucker tips a Kaberle shot. 2-1 Leafs.
• Belfour is playing great again.

3rd Period

• The Leafs played on their heals to start the period, leading to a good penalty by Kaberle, which was killed, but then a goal. 2-2. Still 15 to play.
• The 3rd is all Lightning.
• The refs are letting the teams play the 3rd. Lot's of non-calls.
• The Leafs have points in 3 consecutive games. Belfour has played another excellent game. Shots are 36-22 for the Lightning.

Overtime

• The Leafs have played better in the OT, but haven't been able to convert.
• Tucker rang the goal-post.
• We're going to a shootout.

Shootout

• Sundin stopped.
• Lecavalier roofs a backhand.
• Poniko rings the crossbar.
• Richards wins the game.

Pete Barlas: The Super Bowl can be a field of dreams for advertisers, but almost all tech and telecom companies will -- as per their game plans the last five years -- be warming the bench. nly CareerBuilder.com, a leading job posting service, GoDaddy.com, a Web services company, and telecom firms AT&T and Sprint Nextel will suit up for Sunday's Super Bowl telecast.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ibd/060130/tech.html?.v=1

CP: The Nashville Predators acquired journeyman centre Mike Sillinger from the St. Louis Blues for forward Timofei Shishkanov on Sunday.

http://www.nhl.com/news/2006/01/254850.html

Randy: Timofei is a mediocre, at best, prospect.

CP:  In exchange for Weight and Finnish left-winger Erkki Rajamaki, the NHL-leading Hurricanes sent the Blues right-winger Jesse Boulerice, centre Mike Zigomanis and the rights to unsigned draft pick Magnus Kahnberg, along with first-round and fourth-round draft picks in 2006 and a fourth-round pick in 2007.

http://www.nhl.com/news/2006/01/254926.html

Randy: That's a lot of bodies going the other way. Kahnberg is likely the best of the named players. He scored 33 in 50 games in the Swedish Elite League two years ago. The 1st round pick is also of little value since the Hurricanes are likely to have a late round pick. Nice overall pick-up by the Canes.

CP: San Antonio Rampage forward Pavel Brendl has been named the AHL player of the week.

http://www.nhl.com/news/2006/01/254942.html

Randy: Pavel was drafted 4th overall after scoring 93 (73 season - 20 playoff) goals in his 1st junior season with the Calgary Hitmen. Since then (1999), he's been invisible.

AP: Vancouver Canucks defenseman Ed Jovanovski will miss the Olympics because of a lower abdominal injury.  [cut] Jovanovski is expected to be replaced by Toronto defenseman Bryan McCabe, selected earlier to Canada's backup squad.

http://www.nhl.com/news/2006/01/254946.html

1st Period

• Back and forth until Kilger scores on a rebound of Jay Harrison. 1-0 Leafs.
• The Leafs are playing well. Good scoring chances, while limiting the other team. Mind you, the play is still very close.

2nd Period

• Klee is in a habit of shooting it over the boards when already SH. Just did it again.
• Belfour stood tall and killed it off.
• Antropov immediately takes another penalty. Amazing, no video of the actual penalty. Thee penalties in-a-row against the Leafs and nobody can produce video showing the penalty. Either, the video crew or the refs are incompetent.
• Harrison looks great! Especially on the PK.
• Kilger throws his stick-less hands in the air towards the ref, as if to say "Where's the penalty?" and as if in response, the ref's hand goes in the air to call the penalty.
• Another hooking penalty to the Leafs. I'm started to get sick of the obvious stupid Leaf penalties. This time O'Neill. What the F is wrong with this stupid team.
• Goalie interference call on the Panthers. Again, no video indicates any semblance of a penalty. Either the video crew is ridiculously incompetent or the refs. Take your pick.
• BTW, great video tonight.
• Wellwood on the PP. 2-0 Leafs.
• Followed yet again by a stupid Leaf penalty.
• Belfour is earning his money tonight. It seems the only way we can win of late is to get tons of shots against.
• Another 2-man disadvantage. Third of the game.
• 2-1. Panthers scored before the 2nd man returned to the play, but before he left the box.
• Khavanov didn't play in the 2nd period. WTF! Not again.

3rd Period

• Panthers just got a penalty to put them down 2-men. Looked like Allison was pushed by Van Ryn.
• Tucker scores from a ridiculous angle. #20. 3-1 Leafs.
• Panthers take a 4-minute high-stick and O'Neill scores a fluke. 4-1 Leafs. Wow!
• Nieuwendyk scores. 4-2.
• Leafs win! Leafs win! Leafs win! Leafs win! Leafs win! Leafs win! Leafs win! Leafs win! Leafs win! Leafs win!

1st Period

• Leafs outplayed the Habs in the 1st, with Tucker giving them the 1-0 leafs on a 2-man PP.
• Jay Harrison is playing on D with Kronwall, Wozniewski, Klee, Kaberle, Khavanov. Wozniewski and Kronwall have looked awful of late. I'll keep my eye on Jay Harrison.
• Tellqvist is playing in goal for the Leafs.

2nd Period

• Tellqvist let in a bad angle goal from Kovalev. 1-1.
• Theodore has been playing great, with many great saves. The news of late has been that he's been struggling.
• Antropov was hooked on a break-a-way, which likely would have been a penalty shot, but Khavanov scored on the follow-up play. 2-1.

3rd Period

• Tellqvist is looking great!
• Koivu ties it up. 2-2.
• 3-2 Habs. Here we go again.
• Ken Klee ties it up on a freak bounce off the boards on the clear around.
• Leafs got a point. Now going for 2.

Overtime

• Khavanov lets his man walk by him. Gets called for a holding.
• Koivu scores in the PP.

Summary

• We got a point! Tellqvist didn't play horrible.
• Wozniewski, similar to the other games, was on for 3 of 4 goals and let Koivu walk to the net on the game winner.

The Onion: Less than six months since players returned from a yearlong lockout, hockey is once again in turmoil following last week's announcement that "goaltending," or attempting to obstruct a shot on goal or impede the puck's progress with one's body or stick, would become a two-minute minor penalty, a rule change that went into effect Monday. "Increasing scoring with rule changes and cracking down on obstruction is one thing," said Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Curtis Joseph, who claims his job is being banned by the league. "But to take a page from the NBA and just outlaw goaltending outright… Maybe it's just me, but I think that rule just plain goes against the spirit of hockey." Veteran NHL centers, forwards, and some defensemen took issue with Joseph's remarks, claiming he was still angry over being penalized seven times in the Coyotes' Monday night game against Dallas, in which Joseph had zero saves and lost 88-105.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/44841

The Star: The Toronto Raptors fired general manager Rob Babcock today.

Randy: Finally!

CP:  The Oilers first acquired Tarnstrom, who will help their power play, from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Jani Rita and defenceman Cory Cross. Then Lowe acquired Czech Olympian Spacek from the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Tony Salmelainen.

http://www.nhl.com/news/2006/01/254316.html

Randy: The Oilers may have the best D-men in the league; Pronger, Bergeron, Staios, Smith, Tarnstrom and Spacek. I don't like the Cross for Tarnstrom trade. Cross is a better 6th d-man than Tarnstrom. But Spacek for Salmelainen is a steal. The Leafs could've used some D, where's Ferguson?

1st Period

• Leafs took an early lead on the PP.
• Allison kicked one in his one net. 1-1. Belfour was upset. That's good.
• Belfour takes a minor penalty less than a minute later.
• Andrew Wozniewski is playing tonight, in place of Colaiacovo. He's playing with Berg. Who just went to the dressing room. I hope not another injury on defense. The Marlies are gonna have to dress local high school students soon.
• Allison has been getting extra ice-time of late.
• A deflection off Wozniewski's skate. 2-1 Sabres. Wozniewski has been on for both goals.

2nd Period

• Domi got hit and retaliated. PP goal 3-1.
• Vanek scores. 4-1. Belfour looked.... umm... lost. Tellqvist is coming in. Belfour leaves with 4 goals on 16 shots.
• Belfour lost 5 in-a-row in early December, then won 6 in-a-row in late January, then if he loses tonight, that'll be 7 losses in-a-row.
• Since Belfour was pulled, the puck has spent most of the time embedded in Miller. The Leafs have really picked it up and Miller is just on fire.
• Outside of the goaltending, the Leafs are destroying the Sabres tonight.
• Bad call puts the Sabres down 2-men and the Leafs score. Steen. Again! 4-2. Update: After reviewing the play, the Sabre player did bump Tellqvist.
• Wozniewski's been on the ice for all three even strength goals.
• This is the first time I see Miller play at his best. This game should be 10-4 for the Leafs.
• Poniko scores 4-3 Sabres. The Leafs are destroying the Sabres outside of the goaltending.
• Kronwall turns it over again. 5-3 Sabres. Tellqvist hasn't been spectacular in a couple games either.
• Since the Kronwall turnover and Sabre goal, the Sabres have dominated. Games turn quickly.
• The Leafs problem is between the pipes. Maybe Tellqvist is that goalies, maybe not. Belfour is not.
• Khavanov looked like a freight train skating to the net SH. Beauty pass from Kilger. 5-4. Khavanov scores big goals.
• Kilger had two chances, one his stick exploded, the other he missed an empty net. The Leafs are on fire again.
• Jay McKee was great for the Sabres SH. Blocked a lot of shots.

3rd Period

• Ya know, Kilger gets a lot of penalties while SH that lead to 2-man ads. A bad call on Steen put the Leafs down a man. Then an obvious high-stick put the Leafs down 2.
• First man killed. Thanks to a couple saves from Tellqvist and stupid penalty from Afinogenov.
• Second man not killed. 6-4 Sabres. We're just not getting great goal-tending.
• Miller continues to make great saves and first Belfour, then Tellqvist don't. That's the difference, because the Leafs are killing them in shots and quality shots.
• Ken Klee pulled a double brain cramp. Gave up the puck, then took an unnecessary hooking trying to recover.
• 7-4 Sabres. The Leafs goalies are simply lost. Something is wrong. At some point, you have to look at Quinn. The Leafs have won the last three games, in terms of chances and shots, but it seems every chance, every PP, is a goal.
• Three penalties by Kilger tonight.
• Wozniewski has been on the ice for 6 of 7 goals. Berg was injured early. Kronwall has played zero minutes SH. We're down to 3 quality NHL d-men.
• Jay McKee scores with less than a second on the clock. 8-4.

NHL.com: Mario Lemieux, the owner and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins announced his retirement as a player Tuesday afternoon, ending a legendary career that saw him post glittering offensive numbers that thrilled a generation of hockey fans.

http://www.nhl.com/news/2006/01/253934.html

1st Period

• I just voted, so I missed the first 15 minutes. The Leafs trail 1-0 on the scoreboard, 6-2 on the shot clock, 2-0 in penalties.
• Colaiacovo suffered a concussion on his 2nd shift.
• Another goal 2-0 Sens. Antropov turned over the puck. Kaberle let the pass thru on a 3-on-2. Belfour didn't save it. Nothing new.
• Domi dropped the gloves with Neil. That's the first time Domi's done something in 2 months. Good for him!
• Steen and Sundin have picked the pace up after the Domi fight.
• From what I saw of the game, the Leafs are playing better than recent. Unfortunately 2 goals against on 8 shots.
• Sundin got another minor penalty. He's getting a few too many minors. The captain should be showing the rest of the team, out of this penalty problem, he shouldn't be one of the top contributors to the problem.

2nd Period

• Belak takes on McGratton. Nice hit by Belak. Where was this from Domi and Belak these last 2 months?
• Since the Domi fight, the Leafs have dominated the game. Then guess what happened? Domi scores. 2-1.
• Leafs have out-shot the Sens 12-6 since I started watching.
• BTW, Theodore is looking bad again tonight in the Canadians v. Canes game. 5 goals on only 18 before he was pulled. How does Belfour for Theodore sound?

3rd Period

• Leafs have dominated the last 30 minutes, but only able to beat Hasek once.
• The Sens score on PP. No angle, Redden banked it in off of Belfour.
• A double reversal. The Sens dumbed it over the glass. The refs got together and called a penalty. Then after talking to the Sens coach Murray, they reverse it again and called no penalty.
• 4-1. Another low shots against game and lots of goals against.
• This is a real ref job. Every call is against the Leafs. Steen just got a hooking for reaching his stick out towards a player. I'm not sure if he even touched him. But even if he did, it was a tap. In no way, can that be hooking.
• Wellwood scores. 4-2.
• Leafs down a man and break out. A clear hook on Stajan. No call. After all these phantom hooks. A no call on an obvious hook. Amazing.
• Hasek just deliberately high-sticked Domi.
• Antropov scores on the PP. 4-3. Banked it off Chara who was parked in the crease.

Notes

• BTW, Kronwall is -2 again today and on for 3 of the 4 Sen goals.
• The Leafs played well tonight. Save Belfour (4 goals on 22 shots) and Kronwall.
• Domi was the best Leaf; 2 pts and +2. He didn't get a star. OMG, whomever picked the stars is an idiot.

NBA: Where were you on Jan. 22, 2006? It's a night that will live in basketball lore for quite some time. Kobe Bryant tallied 81 points against the Raptors in a 122-104 Lakers win. The 81 is the second highest single-game point total in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain's 100 over 40 years ago.

http://www.nba.com/news/kobe_81_index.html

Randy: Somebody just put themself into the running for MVP. On the otherhand, we now know why the Raptors sucks. D-fence.

1st Period

• First minute, Poniko, who's actually been one of our best players this year, gives up the puck, Spezza to Alfredsson. 1-0 Sens.
• Kilger, already SH, has all the time in the world to walk the puck out of the zone, fires it into the crowd. Down 2-men for almost 2 minutes.
• Belfour killed the 2-man ad, with great goaltending. Yes!
• Antropov, stupid hooking penalty while on the PP.
• Heatley scores on a 30 foot shot fan that trickled all the way into the net past Belfour.
• 3-0 Sens.
• End of 1st. 19-5 in shots for Sens. At some point, the finger turns to Quinn.

2nd Period

• 4-0 Sens. Belfour looks great when you are shooting at him. But he's simply caught out of position all-the-time for easy goals.
• Another too-many-men on the ice penalty. This is getting ridiculous.
• 5-0.
• Khavanov gets beat by McGratton. Hooks him to the ice. That's just stupid.
• Khavanov looks helpless tonight. At this point, I'm prepared to go with an unproven rookie over Khavanov.
• Total hits by Domi and Belak = 1.
• 6-0. The Leafs D, Berg and Klee looked stupid.
• I think today, I finally decided, it's a coaching problem. There's simply too many things going wrong. It can't be every player.

3rd Period

• 7-0.
• The team has to get rid of Domi, Belak and Kronwall to start. It's funny seeing the A on Domi's shirt. He's done nothing for about two months.

I'm still all confused about the salary cap. The thing is, the NHL hockey commentators on TV and radio continually tell me things that contradict the NHL CBA FAQ as published by the NHL.

http://www.nhl.com/nhlhq/cba/

Earlier this season, in trying to explain the salary cap, one commentator described a token system where the salary cap was actually the accumulated salary for the season. This would allow a team that stayed below the salary cap to pick up a couple players at the deadline, moving over the salary for the playoff, but still remaining at or below the cap over the entire season. Reading the NHL CBA FAQ, it states.

Club payrolls will never be permitted to be below the minimum or in excess of the maximum.

I've also been told that any injured players don't count towards the salary cap, but that's only true for a long-term injury; 10 games or longer.

Except in the case of bona fide long-term injury (injuries that sideline a player for a minimum of 24 days and 10 games) to one or more of a club's players.

And even then, when the injured player returns, the team must get back below the salary cap.

Upon return of the injured player, the team must come into immediate compliance with the requirements of the payroll range.

I don't understand that at all. Lindros has been injured for 10 games, but surely the Leafs can't bring in a replacement because what do you do with his salary when Lindros returns? Does the NHL have 10 game contracts?

Now, what about Mogilny. Doesn't Mogilny's salary count towards the Devil's salary cap? I'm getting conflicting reporting here. What about a rookie who spent the first 3 months in the NHL making the league minimum $450k? If you send him down, then does his salary count?

The Leafs were doing just fine until the recent four game losing streak and with the next two against the Senators, things could very well get much worse. There was no problem offensively, as we recorded 3 goals in each of the four losses. I'll focus on the defensive side of the game.

1. The losing streak started in Vancouver, where the Leafs massively outshot the Canucks 38-19, but lost the game 4-3. After the 1st period, the Leafs were winning 2-1. On the nine shots in the 2nd and 3rd period, Belfour allowed 3 goals. Let's examine these 3 goals; give-away by Kronwall, bad angle shot beats Belfour and deflection by Anson Carter. The last two goals were weak defensive play by Berg, who simply let his man make his play.
2. The Leafs had a 3-0 lead against the Canucks when things fell apart. The shots were 28-28. The troubles started when Belfour took a bad penalty in the 2nd when the Leafs were already going to be down a man. The Coyotes scored 2 PP goals in 16 seconds. Belfour played pretty well in the first 25 minutes, allowing only no goals on 14 shots. But in the 3rd, when the Leafs took back control of the game, Belfour allowed 2 goals on 5 shots.
3. The Leafs were winning again after two periods; 2-1. The game turned when the Leafs were called for too many men on the ice, while already short-handed. Hejduk scored 2 PP goals and the Avalanche were off to the races. The fourth goal was a bad pinch by Kronwall. Belfour allowed 5 goals on 28 shots. The last goal the Leafs (Berg and Wellwood) were slow to clear the puck. In these first 3 games, the Leafs allowed only 78 shots, even though they were leading all three games, Belfour's SV% was .833. Note also the Belfour has 6 PIM in his last 4 games.
4. The 4th of the games was against the Wild and once again we took the 1-0 lead. The 1st Wild goal was on the PP and Kronwall let the pass into the slot and Tellqvist didn't anticipate the shot. Colaiacovo gives the puck away. But the Leafs tie up the game. Now on the PP Kronwall doesn't take his make in the slot and it's an easy one timer. O'Neill then takes another dumb hooking and follows that up with a unsportsmanlike minor. Quinn benches O'Neill for the entire 3rd period. The 4th goal was mostly a mistake by Tellqvist, he misplayed the situation. Tellqvist allowed 4 goals on 22 shots. Not good.

Most of the goals were the fault of the goalies and d-men. Kronwall leading the pack, but Colaiacovo, Kaberle and Berg were also to blame. Neither Belfour or Tellqvist played well enough either. Going forward, Kronwall will be sent down by the end-of-the month. That leaves the Leafs with...

• McCabe (injured), Kaberle
• Berg, Khavanov
• Klee, Colaiacovo

If Belak can't be the 7th defenseman, then we are in need of a 7th d-man for when players like McCabe are injured. What this also means is the while McCabe is injured, Kronwall will be playing everyday. And don't forget that Khavanov missed most of the last game after being injured. He is expected to play tonight.

Rumour is the Leafs offered Allison for Leetch and were turned own. I don't know why everybody wants to trade Allison, when Allison was injured our PP disappeared. If we have one salary that's not paying it's Belfour's. You know he has 5 wins this season where he allowed 4 or more goals.

Is it possible to dump Belfour and Domi's salaries? Belfour's contract is up at the end of the year, but Domi has yet a full remaining year on his contract. Obviously he can't play this year and next year he'll only be worse. So, how do we get rid of that salary? Further, what would it take for the Hawks to trade us Khabibulin for Belfour. What if we throw in one of Tellqvist, Pogge or Rask? What about Belfour plus a pick for Kolzig?

Free Press: The Phoenix Coyotes traded centre Petr Nedved to the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday in exchange for defenceman Dennis Seidenberg.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Sports/Hockey/2006/01/21/1404182-sun.html

Randy: This is a good trade both ways. Nedved has about $3 million left on his contract, which still has one full season left on it. Coyotoes lose the salary and pick up a decent young d-man in Seidenberg. If the Flyers can fit Nedved under the cap, he should score a lot more on a PP with Forsberg. The Flyers PP has been average (13th in the NHL) this season.

Down to four team. Usually at this point in the season, one team would stand out from the rest as a clear favorite to win the Super Bowl. This is untrue this season. We have four team, we equal chances to with a slight edge to the home teams.

Let's start with the Broncos, who have looked awesome in their last two games against the Patriots and the Chargers, knocking both teams out of contention. But they are playing the Steelers, who in two playoff road games have held the Bengals and Colts, the two top offenses in the NFL to less than 20 points. Now, if you remember Roethlisberger injured his throwing hand in the 2nd half of the Colts game. That and home field advantage seem to be the only reason to pick the Broncos over the Steelers.

In the second game, we have the Seahawks who are likely the best team over the entire course of the season. In their one playoff game, they held a pathetic Redskins offense to 10 points in there win and their MVP running back, Shaun Alexander sustained a concussion. The Panthers on the other hand destroyed the Giants 23-0 in New York, then out offensed the best defensive team in the NFL, the Bears 29-21 in Chicago. The Bears lacking offense scored 3 touchdowns on 3 long drives in 4 consecutive possessions. There's reason to pick and not pick either team. Toss a coin, with a slight edge to the Seahawks, playing at home.

Just some thoughts.

• Total hits by Domi and Belak on Wednesday. Zero.
• Total fights. Zero.
• Total shots. Zero.
• Total hits by Domi (Belak didn't play) on Tuesday. Zero.
• Total fights. Zero.
• Total shots. Zero.

Just how much are we paying Domi?

PR: The Boston Bruins have claimed goaltender Craig Anderson off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks, it was announced today by Bruins General Manager Mike O'Connell.

Randy: This also means that Raycroft has been traded. Rumour is to the Oilers.

CP: The defenceman tested positive for a banned substance in November when the United States Anti-Doping Agency examined his urine while considering him for the U.S. team at the 2006 Olympics in Turin.

Randy: This wasn't an NHL test, so he won't get an NHL suspension, but it does mean he is ineligible for international hockey for 2 years. Since Berard didn't make the Olympic team, that doesn't mean much. Mind you, the result may have been known when the team was picked. I heard on the radio that Berard has been tested twice otherwise and passed.

1st Period

• 58 seconds into the game, Sundin gets a hooking penalty. That's OK, Stajan scores short-handed. 1-0 Leafs.
• Tellqvist has looked absolutely solid again. 50 more minutes please!
• OK, now Tellqvist is scaring me, but he's not letting any goals in.
• Stupid penalty for Colaiacovo, who was hurt on the play, led to a PP goal Wild. 1-1. Tellqvist didn't anticipate the shot. Wasn't ready.

2nd Period

• Kronwall again. Seconds into the period, threw a no-look backhand pass right into the slot. You'd swear he thought he played for the Wild. 2-1 Wild. I know they're keeping him solely because of the salary cap. At the end of the month, he'll have seen his last game.
• Wellwood, Allison, Wellwood, Allison, Poniko scores on the PP. Poniko on the PP? 2-2.
• The Leafs SH is looking awful. Another PP goal. 3-2 Wild. The penalty was on a dumb giveaway and hook by Kaberle.
• I'm getting really tired of stupid hookings. O'Neill this time. And then he gets upset and takes a double minor. What an idiot!
• The Leafs fans should boo them out of the building when they return to Toronto. They are simply playing stupid.

3rd Period

• After killing the O'Neill stupidity off, it looked good until Gaborik scored to make it 4-2.
• Allison has been the best Leaf of late and he's scoring goals, not assists. 4-3 with 1:25 left.
• Man, these refs are horrible. Too many phantom penalties. Zyuzin, just got a holding in the final minute for nothing.
• Wild score on the empty net. 5-3 again.
• O'Neill never touched the ice in the 3rd period.

I don't think I have to comment. This guy is amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/?v=JjjMNjauwOo

1st Period

• Quick start again for the Leafs (58 seconds), Allison with a lot of great work from Antropov and Poniko. 1-0 Leafs.
• Games on Leafs TV, which means I'm listening on the radio.
• O'Neill got a couple PP shots on goal. That's new. He's been invisible for more than a month.
• The Leafs are dominating early, which means Belfour will let in 4 goals on 20 shots tonight. We'll need 5 goals tonight.
• After dominating the game early, three PPs in very short order for the Avalanche and they scored on the 3rd. 1-1.
• The Leafs scored before the announcer finished with the Avalanche goal 2-1 Leafs. 14 seconds later.
• End of 1st. 4 Leaf penalties.

2nd Period

• We remember the last game. Our earlier penalty advantage was evened up by the refs. Let's see if that stays true tonight.
• Two more penalties on the Leafs, down 2-men, 2-2.
• Followed immediately by another. 3-2. Avalanche lead. The Leafs have looked (sounded) absolutely awful in the recent 5 games. Particularly Belfour. His GAA and S% of late are awful.
• 4-2. Whatever. BTW, the Avalanche have 4 goals on 25 shots. That was predictable. Belfour sucks this year!
• Note, Kronwall has be on for 3 of 4 goals on limited ice-time (he wasn't on the ice on the 2-men down goal). So has Klee (not limited ice-time), but because he is Kronwall's defensive partner. Can't wait for Kronwall to disappear.
• 5-2. 5 goals on 26 shots.

3rd Period

• Colaiacovo nailed Svatos. Colaiacovo has made hitting a big part of his game.
• Sundin scored. 5-3.

CP: Darcy Tucker, Eric Lindros and Bryan McCabe didn't accompany the team on its flight to Denver and won't be available for Wednesday's game against Minnesota either.

http://www.mapleleafs.com/news/news.asp?story_id=1795

Randy: Tucker is trying to rest his injury, which hasn't been healing while he was playing. McCabe found out he has a groin tear. Yikes!

HockeyFights.com is a Website decidated to the tough guys of the NHL. They even have all the latest hockey fights on video. Watching mostly Leaf games, it appeared fighting is dead. It seems that fighting is alive and well. Can we trade Domi?

http://www.hockeyfights.com/

CNN: Major League Baseball has claimed that intellectual property law makes it illegal for fantasy league operators to "commercially exploit the identities and statistical profiles" of big league players.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/15/baseball.stats.ap/index.html

Randy: Let me get this straight. MLB is choosing to lock-out the fans? I think this blog just found a lead topic.

1st Quarter

• The Steelers scored on the first drive of the game. 7-0. Colts were 3 and out on their first two drives. If it wasn't for a Colt pick, it could be 10 or 14 to 0.
• Didn't matter, the Steelers scored on their 3rd drive. 14-0 Steelers. Manning hasn't completed a pass and the Steelers are walking thru the Colt defense.

2nd Quarter

• Colts put a long 96-yard 9-minute drive and come away with a FG. 14-3.
• If I were the Steelers, I'd end the half quickly. They have 1:20 to kill or try to score and throw away the lead. They did exactly that.

3rd Quarter

• Nothing has changed, the Colts continue to stall and the Steelers continue to roll. 21-3 Steelers.
• 4th and 2 on their 36, Dunjee sends the punt unit on and Manning shoos them off. And they convert. Two plays later, it's 21-10. Wow! If the Colts come back, then it's that 4th and 2 that turned this game.

4th Quarter

• Nothing has changed. The Steelers continue to dominate. Run. Run. Run. Manning intercept.
• It looked like Polamalu had an intercept. It was called an intercept, but was overruled. A couple plays later, it's 21-16. We have a game. 2-pt conversion was good. Reggie Wayne. 21-18.
• On the last possession, the Steelers blitz the Colts into the ground.
• WTF? The game was over. The Colts miraculously turned over the ball when the Steelers were trying to run the game out.
• It's now on Mike Vanderjagt's leg. He missed!

3rd Quarter

• Wow, I just tuned-in to watch the turning play. With the score 10-6 for the Broncos, the Pats were driving down the field and found themselves on the 5 yard line. Brady threw and interception that was returned to the Patriot 1-yr line. The next play was a TD. 17-6 Broncos.

4th Quarter

• Everything is going wrong for the Pats. Vinatieri just missed a 43-yrd FG.
• Pats have looked awful. Fourth turnover and another TD for the Broncos. 24-6.
• Next scrimmage play went for 73 yards from Brady to Branch. Next play TD. 24-13. Why they didn't go for the 2-pt conversion is beyond me.
• Pats lose! WTF!?

1st Period

• Just tuning in. But I'm trying to watch the end of the Seahawk, Redskin game too!
• CuJo looked awesome on handful of shots in the first minute I'm watching.
• Jason Allison on the PP. 1-0 Leafs. Super pass from Wellwood.
• Colaiacovo on the PP. 2-0 Leafs. Great pass by Sundin.
• Kaberle on the PP. 3-0 Leafs. Nice pass by Sundin.
• BTW, McCabe isn't playing tonight. 3 PP goals.
• Five Coyote penalties. And McCreary is reffing?

2nd Period

• Two quick PP goals from the Coyotes and it's 3-2.
• You knew that the penalties were coming back at us.

3rd Period

• Two quick goals again by the Coyotoes and it's 4-3.
• The second goal was a pick on Colaiacovo, no call. You knew the early calls from McCreary were gonna bite us in the ass.
• The penalty calls are now one from even.

Recap

• The Leafs have to consider playing Tellqvist more often.

1st Q

• The Redskins defense domanated most of the first half, with two turnovers.
• The Redskin defense knocked Shaun Alexander out of the game.

2nd Q

• Unfortunately, the Redskin offense could only manage 3 points to date.
• With Alexander out, the Seahawks put a 74-yrd drive together, led by Matt Hasselbeck for a 7-3 lead.

3rd Q

• Brett Favre looks great. Oh wait! That's Matt Hasselbeck. 14-3.

4th Q

• Big comeback from the Redskins. Brunell turned it on. 17-10.
• Followed quickly by a FUMBLE on the kickoff. It's a game!
• The Redskins couldn't score on the turnover.
• And that's the game. The Redskin offense simply couldn't get going all day.

Ovechkin had his best show yet. Three goals (two highlight goals) and he ran over a D-man that stood him up at the blueline.

The men's Olympic hockey schedule is brutal. The two teams that play in the gold medal game will have played 8 games in 12 days. The two teams that play in the bronze medal game will  have played 8 games in 11 days. This favors a team that is deep in talent; like Canada.

Here's the CDNian team's schedule. Thanks Matt!

• Wed. Feb. 15 - 1PM local (5AM MT) - v. Italy
• Thu. Feb. 16 - 8PM locat (noon MT) - v. Germany
• Sat. Feb. 18 - 330PM local (730AM MT) - v. Switzerland
• Sun. Feb. 19 - 9PM local (1PM MT) - v. Finland
• Tue. Feb. 21 - 430PM local (830AM MT) - v. Czech Republic
• Wed. Feb. 22 - Quarterfinals (start at 430PM local)
• Fri. Feb. 24 - Semifinals (start at 430PM local)
• Sat. Feb. 25 - 830PM local (1230PM MT) - Bronze Medal Game
• Sun. Feb. 26 - 200PM local (6AM MT) - Gold Medal Game

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/1/6/7/5/0/index1.shtml

Pete Dougherty: Alexander Mogilny, who scored 76 goals for the Buffalo Sabres in 1992-93 and has 473 in a 17-year NHL career, has been assigned to the River Rats, the team announced Wednesday night.

Randy: Mogilny was sent down in hope that he wouldn't show and the Devils could avoid paying him the $5 million remaining on his contract. In the future, you can be assured that if a player has an choice between joining more than one team, then he will not be picking the team run by Lou Lamoriello. This is likely the start of a lot of losing seasons in New Jersey. If only I had a jerk of the day award.

On the back 3 of 4 predictions last week, here's what I think is coming down this weekend. Let's start with the matchups.

I predict Seattle, New England, Indianapolis and Chicago.

The Redskins were unable to move the ball last week and were saved by an amazing defensive game and an equally bad Bucs turnover offense. The Seahawks will simply play a very conservative game on offense and that should be enough to beat the Redskins, whose offense doesn't merit playing this late in the season. On the other hand, if the Seahawks start throwing the ball on 1st and 2nd down, then the Redskins' defense could make this a game. I'm pretty sure Mike Holmgren is smarting than that and they do have the best running back in the NFL in Shaun Alexander.

I really like the Broncos. This will be the best game of the week. The Broncos haven't lost at home all season. But they are playing the Pats and the Pats are a dynasty. Now don't get me wrong, this game will be a coin flip. The Pats have a 51% chance of winning.

The Colts haven't played a significant game in more than a month. They should win. But I didn't like the selfish play demonstrated by Payton Manning in the Charger game. Edgerrin James runs the ball effectively in the first half, then it'll be a blow out, otherwise it'll be close.

Back in September, the Bengals scored 24 points against the Bears defense in Chicago. Every other home game, the Bears held the opposition to less than 10 points. I don't expect things to change this weekend.

The NHL produced a great article outlining the statistical changes that have occured this season. Highlights follow.

• Teams have scored a total of 3,905 goals (not including the 62 goals awarded to clubs winning a shootout), an average of 6.1 per game. The figure represents a 24% increase over the average of 4.9 goals scored in the corresponding number of games in 2003-04.
• There have been 59 go-ahead goals within the last five minutes of regulation time, 48% more than the corresponding 2003-04 figure of 40.
• The number of lead changes (defined as one team taking the lead after its opponent had taken the lead) is up 35% over 2003-04 (from 230 to 310).
• The frequency of clubs posting a victory after trailing by two or more goals is up 49% over 2003-04, from 41 to 61. This excludes clubs winning in a shootout. When shootout victories are factored in, the increase is 76% (41 to 72).
• Just under 10% of regular-season games through Jan. 10 (62 of 636, 9.7%) have been decided in a shootout, with home clubs holding a 33-29 edge. Approximately one third of shootout attempts are successful (138 of 417, 33.1%).

http://www.nhl.com/news/2006/01/251982.html

First Period

• Kilger scores SH early for the 1-0 lead.
• Khavanov scores. Assist Kilger. 2-1.
• I'm listening to the game. Partially over the Internet, partially in the car. Had to pick up Tempra for my youngest.
• Leafs led after the 1st 2-1, but the play, mostly on penalties was in the Leafs end.

2nd Period

• Colaiacovo knocked Bertuzzi silly. Bertuzzi missed a shift after the hit.
• Kronwall is coughing up the puck several times per game now. He was OK when he was first recalled, but now he's looking bad. His latest cough-up meant a 2-2 tie.
• Canucks score again to make it 3-2.
• The Leafs have out-shot the Canucks 12-5 this period, but Auld has been great and Belfour not.

3rd Period

• Since the Leafs took the 2-1 lead, they have thoroughly dominated the Canucks. Massively out-shooting them (20-5). Auld continues to have a great game.
• A PP goal for the Canucks. 4-2.
• Basically, when the Leafs dominate the opposition, Belfour is extremely inconsistent.
• Steen from Kaberle (hooked) scores on PP. That means another 2 minute PP. And the Leafs are within one goal. 4-3.

Final notes

• Similar to the Oilers game, this game was all about the goaltending. One goaltender was hot and the other was not.
• Tellqvist is gonna get more starts.
• Unless we have continued d-men problems, I suspect Kronwall will be sent down either this week, or the last days of January.

Of course, the greatest goal scorer ever is Rob Hisey. He made, not only the greatest goal ever, but the two top greatest goals ever. Watch Rob's magic. You can watch the first goal right here. The second is found over here.

Bryan McCabe will not be in the lineup tonight against the Canucks. He hopes to only miss one game because of the groin injury. Colaiacovo, who has missed the last few games, due to injury, will replace him in the lineup; Kaberle, Klee, Khavanov, Berg, Colaiacovo, Kronwall.

http://www.mapleleafs.com/news/news.asp?story_id=1785

Let's examine goaltenders with at least 200 minutes played this season. Save percentage leaders are...

1. Manny Fernandez .932
2. Dominik Hasek .930
3. Henrik Lundqvist .929
4. Mikael Tellqvist .923
5. Manny Legace .922
6. Ryan Miller .920
7. Nolan Schaeffer .920
8. Dwayne Roloson .919
9. Tomas Vokoun .916
10. Roberto Luongo .914

Now, let's look at goals against average leader.

1. Nolan Schaeffer 1.88
2. Manny Fernandez 1.98
3. Manny Legace 2.02
4. Dominik Hasek 2.04
5. Henrik Lundqvist 2.06
6. Mike Dunham 2.10
7. Mikka Kiprusoff 2.32
8. Ryan Miller 2.33
9. Michael Morrison 2.35
10. Mikael Tellqvist 2.43

Belfour isn't in the top 10 in either category. Neither is he in the top 20 in either category. Or the top 30.

Doug Perlman, NHL eVP of media: It would be fair to say we are close.

Another classic. Marek Malik's between the legs shootout goal on Kolzig.

This is Sidney's signature goal that he scored over two years ago. Standing behind the net, he scooped the puck and tucked it into the top corner. That doesn't quite describe it. Just watch the video!

The is the highlight video from Sidney Crosby's first game agains the Habs. No not the recent one in Montreal, but the original game in Pittsburgh when Crosby knocked the water bottle off the net in the shootout.

One of the biggest personalities in sports in December was Jenn Sterger, who's appearance at a college football game vaulted her in the SERPs. I found an exclusive interview with her on a blog called Across-the-Board. A funny quote.

Jenn Sterger: They are real. Real expensive.

And check-out these pics.

Nominations for the 6th Annual Weblog Awards are open. Let me suggest 3 blogs in the topical weblog category, there's no best sports blog and this category is a best fit for sports blogs. All nominations would be much appreciated. Thanks!

• Game Certainty
• Hockey Dirt
• The Battle of Alberta

Jags v. Pats

• Went pretty much by the script. Can't blame the Jags. Their QB was banged up and they were playing a dynasty on their home turf.

Redskins v. Bucs

• Neither offense showed up. The difference was that Redskin defense which was the best offense that game.
• The Bucs offense moved the ball up and down the field only to throw two pics and fumble once. One interception was returned to the Bucs 6 yard-line (next play was a touchdown), the other interception sealed the game and the fumble was returned for a touchdown.

Panthers v. Giants

• The first half was all Panthers' defense. The Giants were unable to move the ball significantly, but they played well enough to keep the game in reach; 7-0.
• With 6 minutes left in the half, the Panthers had the ball deep in their zone. A stop here would put the Giants in great field position. The Panthers converted two 3rd and longs in a row, then fluked a punt recovery on route to a field goal; 10-0. That may have been the game.

Steelers v. Bengals

• This game is a brute. Carson Palmer is already out and Kitna took over the game. He looks amazing.
• The ball remained inside the Steeler 20-yrd line for 4 minutes. Every time the Steelers stopped the Bengals, they took a stupid penalty to give them another 1st down. That's 11 consecutive plays in the red zone before Kitna threw the touchdown. The Steelers are losing this game on dumb penalties.
• The game (17-14 Bengals) may have just turned. A miss snap on a FG attempt and a 19 yard loss, following a 5 minutes Bengal drive. It did turn the game. 21-17 Steelers.

Today is hockey day in Canada, which means CBC is broadcasting hockey all day. We start with the Senators v. Canadians, then Leafs v. Oilers and Flames v. Canuks wrap it up.

Game 1 - Sens v. Habs

• 4-0 Habs in the first period. The Sens look pretty ordinary. The Habs, who've struggled of late are looking awesome.
• Emery started the game for the Sens, but has been replaced by Hasek.
• Chris Phillips ran over Huet from behind for no reason. No other player anywhere near them. Obvious. Clear. No call. Phillips was smart, he didn't touch Huet with his stick when he ran him over. Otherwise, he would have been called for hooking or interference :-)

Game 2 - Leafs v. Oiler

• This was no different than the previous Leaf game v. the Flames. Well except that the Oilers' goalie, Conklin sucked and the Flames' goalie, Kiprusoff was amazing. Belfour and Tellqvist were amazing for the Leafs in both games.
• The Leafs have the best goaltending in hockey. Belfour is still good, not great, but now we have Tellqvist, Pogge and Rask. And don't forget J.S. Aubin and J.F. Racine for the Marlies.
• The Leafs forwards and defensemen played bad in both of the last 2 games.

Game 3 - Flames v. Canucks

• The start of the game looked a lot like the Leafs game with Kiprusoff looking like the best goalie in hockey. I didn't see the end of the game, but the the Canucks figured out Kiprusoff.

Here's a short poll. We all like polls right? You can vote for as many players as you like.

1st Half Poll

1. Who is the Most Valuable Player in the 1st half of the NHL season. Jaromir Jagr Daniel Alfredsson Eric Staal Thomas Vokoun Peter Forsberg Alexander Ovechkin Danny Heatley Joe Thornton Ilya Kovalchuk Simon Gagne Dominik Hasek Mikko Kiprusoff Henrik Lundqvist Manny Fernandez Bryan McCabe Wade Redden Lubomir Visnovsky Craig Conroy Zdeno Chara Joni Pitkanen Next >> 2. Who is the Most Valuable Defenseman in the 1st half of the NHL season. Joni Pitkanen Zdeno Chara Lubomir Visnovsky Wade Redden Bryan McCabe Nicklas Lidstrom Marek Malik Joseph Corvo Andrej Meszaros Chris Phillips Ruslan Salei Tom Preissing Willie Mitchell Tomas Kaberle Mathieu Schneider Dan Boyle Rob Blake Kimmo Timonen Mark Zidlicky Dion Phaneuf << Last Next >> 3. Who is the Most Valuable Goaltender in the 1st half of the NHL season. Manny Fernandez Henrik Lundqvist Mikko Kiprusoff Dominik Hasek Thomas Vokoun Manny Legace Ryan Miller Marty Turco Mathieu Garon Curtis Joseph Hannu Toivanen Antero Niittymaki Curtis Sanford J.S. Giguere Martin Gerber Robert Luongo Martin Biron Ed Belfour Olaf Kolzig Michael Garnett << Last Next >> 4. Who is the Most Valuable Rookie in the 1st half of the NHL season. Alexander Ovechkin Dion Phaneuf Jussi Jokinen Sidney Crosby Mark Svatos Thomas Vanek Brad Boyes Petr Prucha Alex Steen Kyle Wellwood Andrej Meszaros Mike Richards Antero Niittymaki Henrik Lundqvist Ryan Miller Michael Garnett Chris Campoli Ryan Whitney Brent Seabrook Jeff Carter << Last Next >> 5. Who is the Least Valuable Player in the 1st half of the NHL season. Salary is a factor. Sergei Federov Nikolai Khabibulin Patrick Lalime Alexei Zhamnov Vladimir Malakhov Mario Lemieux Alexander Mogilny Jocelyn Thibault Dave Andreychuk Andrew Raycroft John Grahame Rick Dipietro Joe Thornton Bryan Berard Mark Recchi Ryan Malone Eric Brewer Rob Blake Sergei Gonchar John Leclair << Last Current Results

First Period

• The first few minutes of the game played mostly defensively, not much action.
• Tucker and Allison are in the lineup, so is Belak. Pohl and Czerkawski are sitting. Lindros, Antropov and Colaiacovo are still injured.
• The PP of McCabe, Kaberle, Sundin, Allison and Tucker (O'Neill too) have struggled on two chances. 3 shots from 46-51 feet.
• The Leafs controlled most of the period with a slight edge in chances until the last minutes where the Flames had multiple good chances, but Belfour kept the game scoreless.

Intermission

• Senators are in 2nd place overall with the Flyers winning tonight.
• The Thrashers held onto a 5-0 lead winning 6-4 over the Pens with a late empty net goal. They are now alone in the 8th and final playoff spot in the East.

2nd Period

• The Flames continues to dominate the 2nd as they finished the 1st period and this lead to a goal by Regehr. 1-0 Flames.
• The Flames domination continues in the 2nd. It's all one sided now.
• The Leafs are starting to get back in the game, but they can't hit the net on open shots. Still 1-0.

3rd Period

• The Flames are trying to protect the lead and the Leafs have been pressing all period. More than a few chances.
• The Leafs are now getting chances, but Kiprusoff is standing on his head.
• The Flames played better in the dying minutes and didn't let the Leafs press until the last minute or so. They couldn't beat Kiprusoff. Flames win!

Toronto Sun: Don't be surprised if the Maple Leafs make a strong pitch to acquire Pittsburgh Penguins winger Ryan Malone.

Randy: It was suggested on the Leafs Lunch that they would give up Antropov for Malone. I really hope not. Antropov was a cornerstone of the Leafs early success SH and was on pace to score almost 20 goals before getting injured. I'd much rather see Czerkawski go the other way. I suspect the Pens will try to package Leclair with Malone to rid themselves of some salary. In which case, the Leafs wouldn't be interested. I hope. Now, if they packaged Palffy in, then I'd be all over it. Did you know, Palffy is +9 this season, with 38 pts in 35 games, playing for one of the worst teams in the NHL.

Ken King was on Leafs Lunch on Mojo 640 and it sounded like Brent Sutter will coach the Calgary Flames to start next season. The current coach and GM of the Flames is Darryl Sutter, his brother, who'll remain GM.

http://www.mojoradio.com/station/leafs_lunch.cfm

This January will be tough for the Leafs. A lot of games on the road and out west.

• Flames @ Calgary - Fri 6 on LeafsTV
• Oiler @ Edmonton - Sat 7 on CBC
• Canuks @ Vancouver - Tues 10 on LeafsTV
• Coyotes in Toronto - Sat 14 on CBC
• Avalance @ Colorado - Tues 17 on Leafs TV
• Wild @ Minnesota - Wed 18 on TSN
• Senators @ Ottawa - Sat 21 on CBC
• Senators @ Ottawa - Mon 23 on Sportsnet

That's a deadly schedule for both the players and fans. If the Leafs struggle in the first 6 of those games, then the Senators could easily turn this into a long losing streak with the final two in Ottawa. For the fans, 3 of the next 5 are on premium ($$$) TV. Yuck! Doesn't sound like a great January and like they say, as goes January, so goes the year.

Red Flag Deals: The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced a number of remaining Saturday night home games will be Kids Nights.  $162.60 will get you a pair of tickets - one adult, and one child under 12 (born after October 1, 1993).  Here are the games:

http://www.redflagdeals.com/deals/main.php/entertainment/#e20012

Doug Flutie converts NFL's first drop kick touchdown conversion since 1941.

ESPN projected the starting lineup of all the MLB teams, including our Blue Jays. AL and NL.

C  Gregg Zaun
1B  Lyle Overbay
2B  Aaron Hill
SS  Russ Adams
3B  Troy Glaus
LF  Reed Johnson
CF  Vernon Wells
RF  Alex Rios
DH  Shea Hillenbrand

SP1  Roy Halladay
SP2  A.J. Burnett
SP3  Gustavo Chacin
SP4  Ted Lilly
SP5  Josh Towers
CL  B.J. Ryan

I don't think much defines the history of hockey like Dale Hawerchuk and the Winnipeg Jets. Non-hockey fans and some hocket fans will say who and what?

Dave was the other forward on the Canada Cup line with Gretzy and Lemieux and was likely the 3rd best player of his time (that'll get your name forgotten). A quebec band called Les Dale Hawerchuk have released a song called Dale Hawerchuk.

The Jets are now the Phoenix Coyotes and the CBC has created a documentary on the Winnipeg Jets called Death by Popcorn. Although NHL hockey is no longer played in Winnipeg, the dream lives on.

Here we are at the midway point in the NHL season. So, what's happened to date? This is my summary of the first half of the NHL season.

• "The New NHL" was the popular term coined early in the season. Goals were up, way up. Three months later, goals are slightly up. Last night scores included 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 3-2, 3-2, 4-1, 8-3. Only one game with more than 5 goals. Compare that with opening night, when only one game had less than 5 goals. "The New NHL" is starting to look a lot like the old NHL.
• Early in the season, a slash was a slash and always a penalty. Now, slashes are rarely called, although the refs continue to call hooking at every chance.
• The biggest trade of the season is Joe Thornton. Poor Bruins fans.
• New teams that have surprised; Hurricanes, Sabres, Ranger, Kings, Preds, Oilers. Teams that have disappointed; Devils, Bruins, Hawks and Blues.
• Any other year, 20 goals, 7 GWs, 34 points in 39 games would have meant Calder trophy talk, but does anybody even know who Marek Svatos is? Or care?

My midseason all-star team.

• G - Hasek, Lundqvist, Kiprusoff
• D - McCabe, Visnovsky, Lidstrom, Redden, Pitkanen, Chara, Phaneuf.
• F - Jagr, Kovalchuk, Heatley, Alfredsson, Savard, Thornton, Forsberg, Staal, Demitra, Conroy, Ovechkin, Gagne, Lehtinen

Some players left off, but playing great.

• Vokoun
• Kaberle, Pronger, Niedermayer
• Modano, Svatos, Brind'Amour, Jokinen, Crosby

First Period

• Leafs have dominated the first 5 minutes with 2 PPs, but no goals. Thibault is playing well for once.
• Steen is back in the lineup and Pohl is too. Belak is setting.
• Gonchar from Palffy and Crosby. 1-0 Pens. Belfour stopped the original shot from Palffy, which went directly to Gonchar for an easy goal. Great pass by Crosby.
• The game has been dominated by the Leafs, unfortunately they continue to trail. Steen, Domi and Wilm have been the best line.
• The longer the period ran, the less the Leafs dominated, but still almost all of Pens shots were from well outside.

Second Period

• McCabe has rushed the puck a couple times today. Didn't shoot either time. Passed the puck to the Pens, one for a 2-on-1. This guy can shoot. So shoot! Even from 100 feet.
• Why did Thibault decide to play his first good game this year today? The Leafs continue to get chances in close, without success.
• The Leafs have been unable to score on the PP of late (except when it's a 2-man PP). We just had a 2 man PP and Thibault made a few saves. The entire PP is over, but McCabe took out a Pen player with a shot (in the wrist, bleeding).
• The Leafs have dominated the first half of the 2nd better than they didn the 1st period. Still 1-0 Pens.
• Belfour is becoming a nightmare out of his crease. He's playing well, considering he's bored out-of-his-mind and stood little chance on the one goal.
• The refs have missed two Pen high-sticks in the lat few minutes. Not happy.
• Belfour is starting to get some action late in the period (just like the 1st) and is looking good.
• O'Neill has had a handful of great chances, but hasn't hit the net much.
• Amazing. The best player today is Jocelyn Thibault. Another hot goalie meets the Leafs. What is this?

Intermission

• Bill Waters just made reference to the winning streak causing the Leafs to play bad defensively. Obviously he's not watching the game. It's 27-17 in shots and most of the Pen shots have been from well outside. Watch the game Bill.

Third Period

• Started with an injury to Tucker. Don't know what happened, but that's his second injury. He might be playing injured.
• Steen, Sundin, Steen, some magic, Kilgers scores 1-1.
• What? Kilger scores from Sundin and Steen. 2-1 Leafs.
• Everybody anticipated the all-star rookie would shine tonight. Steen that is.
• Since the go-ahead goal, the Leafs have allowed the Pens back into the play.
• Thibault continues to shine, as does Belfour.
• Kilger just missed the natural hat trick.
• The Leafs have retaken that play and Thibault continues to make big saves. Stajan, Poniko, Pohl, Domi, Wilm have played well.
• Wow, Berg just pulled a Bobby Orr. Where was that. He picked the puck in his own zone, used the net to break out, around the d-man and passed it to a forward behind the net. The forward passed it back to him and whammo! Another nice save by Thibault.
• PP goal Pens 2-2. Klee left the front of the net, Kaberle was caught deep in the corner.
• Wow, goalie interference on with just under 2 minutes on the clock. Now is when we need that PP goal. Nope, at least not in regulation.

Overtime

• Wellwood drills it off of McCabe chest for the winner. You gotta see it to believe it. 3-2 Leafs. Six wins in a row!

The stars were Kilger (1st), Thibault and McCabe.

It's all decided, the wildcard games are...

I predict the New England, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Panthers.

The Patriots are maybe the best team in the NFL at this time, unfortunately they'll have to win two road games to repeat (tough task).

After losing to the Bengals at home, the Steelers began destroying their opponents. Bengals on the other hand, haven't played a significant game since that win over the Steelers.

Redskins haven't won a road game against a good team since their first road game of the season. Bucs last three losses were to division winners. On the other hand, the Bucs have had an easy schedule otherwise. I'm going with the Bucs, because they are at home, but it's a coin flip.

The Panthers have struggled in the second half the of the season, after winning six in a row early. You have to get hot at the right time. Fortunately, they are playing the worst defense in the playoffs. They should win.

The byes goto Indianapolis (AFC), Denver (AFC), Seattle (NFC), Chicago (NFC).