For those who haven't realized it yet, the Edmonton Oilers are one of the hottest teams in the NHL, going 7-3 in the last 10 games. Unfortunaltly for the Avalanche it meant another loss. They talk about why.
Fitting that they just rolled into the city Rocky Balboa made famous, because these guys don’t know when to stay down.
"At this point it’s definitely a pride thing," said winger Ryan Jones. "There’s a lot of pride and character in this room, and guys aren’t going to go down without a fight.
"We’re showing the character that we still have in the room, guys getting in the way, blocking shots, a couple of big fights.
More links after the jump.
Never like reading this type of stuff.
Hockey got yet another black eye last week when University of Alberta Golden Bears hockey player Eric Hunter was attacked by University of British Columbia Thunderbird Mike Liambas.
In an incident eerily similar to Vancouver Canuck Todd Bertuzzi's assault on Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche, Hunter suffered facial cuts and a concussion after being punched in the head from the side and behind and then driven into the ice by Liambas.
Ryan O`Byrne talks about the stitches, I didn't realize that he underwent surgery for it.
"Three hours of surgery from 12 (midnight) until 3 a.m. I was out cold at the hospital. Seventy stitches on the outside, 30 inside," he said. "Everything was cut through (skin), but the nerve-ending was intact. If it had cut the nerve I'd have had a droop.
With the Steve Moore - Todd Bertuzzi incident aniversary approaching media is revisiting what happened and it's aftermath. (There is a Sunshine Girl too if you are into that)
To be accurate, the matter has been officially set for trial. Maybe it will begin late this year. More likely, the expected two-month trial that is certain to rock the hockey world, will find its way to court in early 2012. Already, some national networks have talked about applying to have the case televised live, which is highly unusual by Canadian judicial standards.
Milan Hejduk gets a compliment from Chris Pronger. I love hearing how other players (really) feel about teammates and opponents.
Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Chris Pronger was once asked how he felt about playing against Colorado Avalanche winger Milan Hejduk, who comes across as a quiet guy. "I take a whack at him and he takes a whack right back at me," said Pronger, who has admired the winger's understated toughness. Hejduk won't go away when the going gets nasty, Pronger's barometer for how good a player truly is.
The Avs tank job is making the media rounds as well.
While attention to the playoff position jockeying is rightfully gathering a lot of attention through most cities in the NHL, there’s a special race of its own developing for the also-rans.
Fans in Ottawa, Denver, Edmonton, and Long Island haven’t had too much to get excited about this year but perhaps the prospect of being able to draft one of the NHL Central Scouting bureau’s top prospects is a reason to have hope for the future