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Flyers’ Zac Rinaldo hits the daily double for NHL discipline vs. New Jersey [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 5, 2012, 9:06 am] It was a frustrating day for the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, what with seven minor penalties in the first two periods leading to three Devils' power-play goals. Jersey eventually won, 6-4. That frustration manifested in Zac Rinaldo's actions, as he made history under the Brendan Shanahan Department of Player Safety regime: The first player this season to be disciplined for two incidents in the same game. From the NHL: NEW YORK (February 4, 2012) -- Philadelphia Flyers center Zac Rinaldo has been fined a total of $5,000 as a result of two separate incidents during NHL Game No. 768 against the New Jersey Devils Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today. Rinaldo was fined $2,500, the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for his late hit on Devils center Jacob Josefson at 12:51 of the second period. Rinaldo received a minor penalty for interference. Rinaldo also was fined the maximum $2,500 for his dangerous trip of Devils left wing Zach Parise after the whistle at 11:38 of the third period. No penalty was assessed on the play. The fine money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund. We know what you're saying, because we were saying the same thing: Why not just suspend the guy rather than fining him twice? The late hit alone could be worth a game with the dunce cap on in the press box, right? Consider this: Rinaldo is a non-repeat offender. Hence, the money he loses in a suspension is based on the number of days in the season (185) rather than games, which is the formula for repeat offenders. Rinaldo makes a whopping $560,000 in base salary; a one-game suspension would have meant a $3,027 loss in wages. This might actually get the message across better, under the current system. As we've debated before, perhaps the money is more important than the games. Saturday’s Three Stars: Reimer, Vokoun post shutouts; St. Louis nets hat trick [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 11:12 pm] No. 1 Star: James Reimer, Toronto Maple Leafs Two straight starts and two straight shutouts for the 23-year old Reimer. After blanking the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night, Reimer followed that up with a 49-save performance during a 5-0 win over the Ottawa Senators. It was his sixth career shutout. Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel each had a goal and two assists as Toronto dropped Ottawa to their sixth straight defeat. No. 2 Star: Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning Playing in his 900th NHL game, St. Louis notched a hat trick as the Lightning downed the Florida Panthers 6-3. St. Louis now has a nine-game points streak, in which he's compiled six goals and 16 points. Vincent Lecavalier pitched in a four-point night and Mathieu Garon stopped 17 shots for his sixth win in seven starts for Tampa. No. 3 Star: Tomas Vokoun, Washington Capitals Earning his third shutout of the year, Vokoun made 30 saves as the Capitals blanked the Montreal Canadiens 3-0. Dennis Wideman, Matt Hendrick and Alex Semin (via a penalty shot) all recorded the goals for Washington as the Capitals posted their third consecutive shutout at Bell Centre. The shutout was Vokoun's 47th of his career. Honorable mention: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' goal in the sixth round of the shootout was the decider as the Edmonton Oilers got by the Detroit Red Wings 5-4. Sam Gagner kept his hot streak alive scoring twice, adding an assist and scoring in the shootout. He's now tallied a point on 11 straight Edmonton goals. Devan Dubnyk stopped 35 shots for his third straight win. Jordan Eberle scored a pair including one with 39 seconds left in regulation to force overtime ... Matt Cooke's goal early in the third period stood as the eventual game-winner as the Pittsburgh Penguins edged the Boston Bruins 2-1. Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves and Evgeni Malkin recorded his 60th point of the season as the Penguins won for the ninth time in 10 games ... Brooks Orpik laid possibly the hit of the year on Daniel Paille in the Fight Video: Ilya Kovalchuk KO’s Flyers’ Brayden Schenn with nasty right hook [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 2:24 pm] Yes, you read that right. This fight video doesn't just feature Ilya Kovalchuk going toe to toe with Brayden Schenn -- it features Kovalchuk going fist to face with Schenn, dropping him with a sweet right hook. With just under 10 minutes to go in the New Jersey Devils' 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, things got a tad chippy as Zac Rinaldo kicked Zach Parise's legs out from under him after a whistle. (Maybe he was jealous of Parise's H? I don't know.) This kicked off a fracas which eventually led to Kovalchuk and Schenn separating from the fray and dropping the gloves -- and not long later, Kovalchuk dropping Schenn: Brayden Schenn missed nine games in December with a concussion, so I'm sure the Philadelphia coaching and management staff really appreciated this. Hey Rinaldo -- if you're gonna slewfoot a guy, maybe don't leave the ensuing fight to the guy with a recent history of brain trauma. The KO isn't the end of the surprising news for Kovalchuk, by the way. The rare fight, only the 9th of his career, led to an even rarer feat for the Russian sniper: Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists against Philadelphia, meaning the fight gave him his first career Gordie Howe hat trick. Fight Video: Ilya Kovalchuk KOs Flyers’ Brayden Schenn with nasty right hook [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 2:24 pm] Yes, you read that right. This fight video doesn't just feature Ilya Kovalchuk going toe to toe with Brayden Schenn -- it features Kovalchuk going fist to face with Schenn, dropping him with a sweet right hook. With just under 10 minutes to go in the New Jersey Devils' 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, things got a tad chippy as Zac Rinaldo kicked Zach Parise's legs out from under him after a whistle. (Maybe he was jealous of Parise's H? I don't know.) This kicked off a fracas which eventually led to Kovalchuk and Schenn separating from the fray and dropping the gloves -- and not long later, Kovalchuk dropping Schenn: Brayden Schenn missed nine games in December with a concussion, so I'm sure the Philadelphia coaching and management staff really appreciated this. Hey Rinaldo -- if you're gonna slewfoot a guy, maybe don't leave the ensuing fight to the guy with a recent history of brain trauma. The KO isn't the end of the surprising news for Kovalchuk, by the way. The rare fight, only the 9th of his career, led to an even rarer feat for the Russian sniper: Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists against Philadelphia, meaning the fight gave him his first career Gordie Howe hat trick. Penguins’ Brooks Orpik launches Daniel Paille with massive hit (Video) [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 1:50 pm] There's nothing quite like a good, clean, open-ice hit (unless you're the guy receiving it). I am, therefore, quite confident you'll enjoy the gorgeous bodycheck that Brooks Orpik of the Pittsburgh Penguins laid on Daniel Paille of the Boston Bruins Saturday afternoon (again, unless you're Daniel Paille). That is some serious air. Paille should have tried to do a switch-backside 720 or something. The best thing about this hit (apart from the awesomeness of seeing Paille get lifted like he's listening to George McRae)? Nobody on the ice felt obligated to seek retribution for it. Hey, how about that? Penguins, Bruins face their challenges in Eastern Conference showdown [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 9:01 am] The three titans of the Eastern Conference are the New York Rangers (69 points), Boston Bruins (66 points) and the Philadelphia Flyers (66 points.) But the Pittsburgh Penguins are stalking that field with 62 points. Saturday's game between the Penguins and Bruins was a game between two teams facing challenges as the NHL trade deadline approaches. For the B's, it's a challenge to right their ship before GM Peter Chiarelli rights it for them. For the Pens, it's attempting to find something, anything in their lineup that can relieve the pressure on Evgeni Malkin's line. The Bruins' funk in 2012, after rolling through the latter months of 2011, has sparked some concern. The domination by the inferior Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night â who swept the B's â was the breaking point for Ryan Durling of Stanley Cup of Chowder: For some reason, the Bruins defensemen suddenly struggle against a strong opposing forecheck. Their defense isn't muscling teams out of the goal area as well as they once were and they are again struggling to find their edge in games that aren't overwhelmingly physical battles. A month ago, you'd have heard the suggestion that Boston look for help at the trade deadline as malarkey, a traitorous suggestion at best, and all the experts on Twitter would have had the person making the suggestion lynched. Yet here we are, at the beginning of February, and the suggestion that Brad Marchand go to Montreal for P.K. Subban doesn't seem so far-fetched, the notion that some of the P-Bruins top talent (which is underperforming as a unit yet again) may be needing to pull out their frequent flyer cards soon. (Oh, what we wouldn't give for a Marchand/Subban trade ...) Chris Kelly of the Bruins told ESPN Boston that the team expects Chiarelli will make moves if there are good moves to make at the deadline. From James Murphy: "If I'm worrying about that and we're all worrying about that every night, then this little funk we're in is going to get way, way worse, Olli Jokinen’s slump-buster is a Big Mac meal from McDonalds (Video) [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 8:40 am] For most NHL players, proper nutrition is a vital part of in-season training. Former NHLer turned trainer-to-the-stars Gary Roberts, for example, assigns his protégés a diet that has "no processed or packaged foods." Or else you have to answer to Gary Roberts. Eating a big meal from a fast food joint the night before a game? Generally frowned upon in the NHL, circa 2012. Unless you're Olli Jokinen of the Calgary Flames, you haven't scored a goal since Dec. 23, 2011, and you remember some advice the best goal-scorer in hockey history shared with you: So, to summarize: Olli Jokinen's slump-buster is a Big Mac from McDonalds, and it was on the advice of Wayne Gretzky. "If the Great One tells you to have a burger, you better go and do it," said Jokinen after the Flames' 3-1 win over Chicago. (Gretzky's request was easier to accept in the 1980s. Not because players ate what they wanted to, but because Semenko and McSorley would accompany you to the drive-thru to ensure it.) Alas, Jokinen said this will not become a pregame ritual. From the Calgary Sun: "You can't eat a Big Mac meal before every game," Jokinen said. "It wasn't that good, but whatever it takes. You've got to suck it up. We got two points and can move on. I did it for the team. It's all about the team. A little upset stomach (Friday), but it's all good." There goes that endorsement deal. In a related story, Dustin Byfuglien, who hasn't scored since Dec. 9, has announced he'll try not eating a Big Mac the night before a game. For once. Friday’s Three Stars: Brassard wins it for Blue Jackets in overtime; Halak blanks Kings [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 11:02 pm] Check out the very different reactions of the guy in the Canada jersey and the lady beside him. No. 1 Star: Derek Brassard, Columbus Blue Jackets The Blue Jackets accomplished a rare feat on Friday, at least for them. For only the second time this season, they entered the third period of a game trailing by a goal and won. The hero of the hour was Derek Brassard, who scored midway through the second, then added the 3-2 overtime winner to give Columbus the victory over the Anaheim Ducks 3:55 into overtime: No. 2 Star: Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames Iginla assisted on the Flames' opening goal and scored the insurance marker halfway through the third as Calgary knocked off the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1. It was Chicago's 6th straight road loss. They should, like, knock it off. No. 3 Star: Jaroslav Halak, St. Louis Blues Did I not tell you this was going to be a low-scoring game? Sure enough, the Blues knocked off the Los Angeles Kings 1-0. Jamie Langenbrunner scored the lone goal at 8:38 of the second period and Halak made 22 saves for his 5th shutout of the season. Honourable mention: Teemu Selanne scored his 17th and 18th goals of the season in Anaheim's loss to Columbus... He didn't get the shutout, but Johnny Quick was pretty dang fantastic versus St. Louis, making 32 saves in the loss... Sean Bergenheim scored the game-winner midway through the second and Kris Versteeg notched his 20th tally of the season in the Florida Panthers' 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. He also made a charitable donation in the first period, lifting Zack Bogosian's stick right over the glass: Seriously, that was the most exciting thing that happened tonight .. Mark Eaton scored the overtime winner in the New York Islanders' 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson was really great, but, you know, he lost. Did you know? Miikka Kiprusoff's next win will be the 300th of his NHL career. Dishonourable mention: The Jets' loss was their ninth straight on the second night of back-to-backs. It' Puck Previews: Blues host Kings in first game after break; Blackhawks’ road struggles [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 4:41 pm] Back by popular demand, here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished. Sean O'Donnell and Oilers assistant coach Kelly Buchberger hatch a hilarious plan to trick Sam Gagner into thinking he's really good for a night. Preview: New York Islanders at Ottawa Senators, 7:30 p.m. ET. It's a testament to how strong this season has been for the Senators that their recent four-game losing streak is something of a surprise to most. Last season, this would have just been business as usual. The Sens will be in tough to get back to the business of winning Friday, as the Islanders are 4-1-1 in their last six, John Tavares is red hot with 26 points in his last 15 games, and Jason Spezza will miss the game with an injury. Preview: Los Angeles Kings at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m. ET Two questions: first, can the Kings win a game away from their enchanted game clock? Second, can you believe this is the Blues' first game since the All-Star Break? What the heck, NHL schedule-makers? Don't you know lobbyists have policies to influence? Expect an exciting, but low-scoring affair. The Blues and Kings are 1st and 3rd in goals against, respectively. Their 203 combined goals allowed are only 36 more than the Tampa Bay Lightning. Preview: Chicago Blackhawks at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m. ET The Blackhawks' swing through Western Canada hasn't gone so well. First, they lost in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks, then they surrendered 8 points to Sam Gagner in Edmonton Thursday night. Friday night doesn't bode well for them either: those were consecutive road losses 5 and 6, and they haven't won in the Saddledome in two years. On the bright side, the Flames aren't that good. Evening Reading ⢠At right is @Fl4meFeRn0's sign for Saturday's Blues/Predators game. This isn't the first time this joke has been made, but it's definitely the best time. Best barometer of the St. Louis Blues’ success? Gifts from political lobbyists [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 3:29 pm] The St. Louis Blues play in an interesting state. While many states prohibit politicians accepting gifts from lobbyists -- in December 2010, New York governor David Paterson was fined $62,125 for accepting free World Series tickets, for instance -- it's an accepted and flourishing practice in Missouri. According to Jake Wagman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "In Missouri, the way it works is that you're allowed unlimited gifts from lobbyists to public officials. However, the lobbyists have to disclose the value and the nature of that gift, and they have to do that in a monthly report." In a recent blog post titled, Surest signs Blues are back? Missouri lawmakers, kin, got free tickets, Wagman observed that the December 2011 report featured a surprising amount of St. Louis Blues tickets. It makes sense, really. According to Wagman, "In many ways, a hockey game is the perfect sporting event if you're hoping to chat up a lawmaker." Hockey is, of course, the only major sport that features two intermissions, meaning the entertainment comes with plenty of built-in facetime (unless the politicians are really into intermission tricycle races). "The lobbyists want to provide something that will be entertaining to lawmakers -- that's why there are more Blues tickets this year and less free passes, I suspect, to see the feckless Rams," Wagman said. It's a good point. Under Ken Hitchcock, the Blues are playing some fantastic hockey right now. Who wouldn't want to go see them? I was curious to see if Wagman's observation held up over a larger scale, so I called the Missouri Ethics Commission and tracked down their lobbyists' reports dating all the way back to 2007. Sure enough, the hockey expenditures rise and fall drastically with the success of the Blues. Coming out of the lockout, the Blues posted the worst record in the NHL, and they didn't make the playoffs until the 2008-09 season. Understandably, then, they weren't much of a draw until then, and the rep ‘Scott Gomez Can’t Put Anything In’: The ‘Hey Jude’ of Scott Gomez protest songs (Video) [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 2:32 pm] As we near the one-year anniversary of Gomez's last tally, the outcry in Montreal is really kicking into high gear. Recently, we've come across the least expensive pub promotion of all time; and the ever-helpful DidGomezScore.com, which reminds us that he's two days from a full sun cycle since his last lit lamp. It's a full-fledged movement, but what would a movement be without a movement-defining protest song? Thankfully, now we have one. I give you, "Scott Gomez Can't Put Anything In", a charmingly rickety acoustic ballad from a few Montreal Canadiens fans that, clearly, have listened to a great deal of The Beatles and Stephen Lynch. There's so much gold here I don't even know where to begin. The gently off-key falsetto backup vocals. The car graffiti. The guest appearances of Randy Cunneyworth, the Queen of England and Youppi. The fact that Gomez tries to put on his shoes and they wind up hanging from a power line. It's all pretty great. The song and video are the work of group of guys that call themselves the Insomniacs: Frederick Coté on vocals, guitar and drums, Devon Jolander with backup vocals, sound editing and lyrics, Nick Grimond with backup vocals, lyrics and video production, and Vincent Pivin-Dans with a guest appearance for the Queen's "and me." They have promised a few more hockey culture satire songs in the coming months. We look forward to it. Puck Headlines: Jimmy Howard’s injury; top 50 players; drinking beer out of hockey skate (yuck) [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 2:04 pm] Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. ⢠From reader Johnny Smyrl Jr.: "I saw the hockey stick coffee table. That's cool and all, but I thought I'd show you the table I made back in 2005. We've been playing beer pong on this table for years." ⢠Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard broke his pinkie and will miss two games. ConkBlock time! [Detroit News] ⢠"It hurts more to walk than it does to skate. That's how Danny Cleary categorized a large Baker's cyst that has formed behind his left knee, causing him tremendous discomfort and pain for more than two months." Ouch. [Red Wings] ⢠Left Wing Lock's Top 50 players rankings. Brian Elliott, under the bubble. [LWL] ⢠Some more facts and tidbits on Sam Gagner's eight-point night. [Copper & Blue] ⢠"Center Erik Christensen's tenure with the Rangers has come to an end as general manager Glen Sather sent him to the Minnesota Wild this morning along with a conditional seventh-round pick in 2013 for forward Casey Wellman." [Rangers Rants] ⢠Here's an amusing video in which a reporter tried to get comment from Florida Panthers President Michael Yormark after he asked the county for a $7.7 million loan. Yormark did his best ministry of silly walks thing. [Local 10, via On Frozen Pond] ⢠With plenty of talk about Ryan Smyth to the New York Rangers floating around, it appears trading him isn't in the plans at the moment for the Edmonton Oilers. [Cult of Hockey] ⢠There's an Owen Nolan press conference on Tuesday afternoon. Taking his talents to South Beach? Nah, probably retirement. [Working The Corners] ⢠Great work by Rob Trucks on Clint Malarchuk, who talks about his injuries, careers and battle with depression: "I'll tell you. I want to live now more than I've ever wanted to live before, because I've struggled with depression most of my life, and sometimes death looked Jersey Fouls: Wayne Gretzky embarrassments; homemade Sedin; minor league Yzerman [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 12:32 pm] Jersey Fouls is our ongoing exploration of the rules and etiquette for proper hockey jersey creation and exhibition. If you spot what you think may be a foul in your arena, email a photo to us at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com for inclusion in future installment. Jersey Fouls don't have an expiration date. They're the stench that keeps on stinking. Here's one submitted by reader Neil Ellis Shafton that's from Game 3 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoff quarterfinals between the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings: We gave this guy so much grief, I actually felt sorry for him for a few seconds, but then went back to heckling him. After a few comments about this handmade Vancouver Canucks away sweater, the artist who made this homemade Jersey Foul claimed he couldn't find a Canucks sweater in Los Angeles. This Canuck fan was sitting in the front row, just behind the LA Kings penalty box, so his seat was almost as bad as his wardrobe. This was a thermal shirt drawn with colored markers, which a pre-schooler probably could have colored better. Yes he did include the "Free Willy" native (Inuit) and C design, which would appear on a real Vancouver sweater. As you can see, this fashion faux no no was made worse by a blue dress shirt underneath, which he freed the blue collar. Los Angeles won the game 5-3, which prompted me to do a parody of the MasterCard add campaign: Front Row Tickets to a Stanley Cup game $200.00 Homemade hockey jersey of your team: $25.00 Watching your team beat worse than your homemade jersey? Priceless! Dang, yo. Now, giggles aside, a legit question: Isn't there something righteous about creating your own jersey for a game because you couldn't locate one? Or is it condemnable because this fan should always have a sweater at the ready for cases like these? What say you? (Coming Up: Wayne Gretzky Fouls that will anger in a significant manner; a Devils spelling fail; Yzerman Foul in an unlikely place; someone gave Luongo the 'C' again'; an Irish Russian.) Marek vs. Wyshynski Radio: Game Show Friday, celebrating Sam Gagner, CBA talk [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 11:33 am] It's a (gettin' down on) Friday edition of Marek vs. Wyshynski beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, and we're talking about the following and more: Special Guest Star: Gene Principe of Sportsnet on the Sam Gagner 8-point game; Nick Cotsonika of Y! Sports talks CBA, Detroit Red Wings and David Backes; GAME SHOW FRIDAY happens; Jeff Marek checks in from traffic court. ⢠In which Wysh discusses Gagner's 8-point night an all its glory. ⢠Sean Avery on "Project Runway." ⢠Hockey and Twitter. ⢠Previewing the weekend. ⢠Puck Headlines and Talking Points Question of the Day: The best offensive hockey performance you saw in person. Email your answers to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or tweet them with the hashtag #MvsW to either @jeffmarek or @wyshynski. Click here for the Sportsnet live stream or click the play button above! Click here to download podcasts from the show each day Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or Feedburner. Kings Clock Controversy: Previous time lags in LA, Colin Campbell vs. technology [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 10:38 am] Previously on the Kings Clock Controversy: Drew Doughty scored a game-winning goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets with 0.4 seconds left on Wednesday because the game clock had frozen for a full second at 1.8 seconds remaining. GM Scott Howson wrote an angry blog, took it down, and the NHL told him that the goal shouldn't have counted and that they're opening an investigation. Kings GM Dean Lombardi offered a technical explanation for the mishap (coulombs!), which the NHL's Colin Campbell dismissed: "I don't think that's the deal in this case." Perhaps, though, Staples Center just has a rather crappy clock? Check this out [via Reddit CBJ]: Assuming this is, or this follows, the game clock, it appears to freeze at 3.9 and 2.1 seconds late in the Kings' 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Unless, of course, there's a nefarious timekeeper delaying the inevitable to make the home team feel worse about their failure. (Mwuhahahaha!) The NHL reaction to this controversy -- and as Eric Francis writes, it's not to be taken completely lightly -- has been interesting, as both Gary Bettman and Colin Campbell took to the airwaves on Thursday to admit the goal shouldn't have counted and to offer varying degrees of outrage (and in one case befuddlement) about it. NHL senior VP of hockey operations Campbell, speaking on Sportsnet radio's Prime Time Sports, said what many have asked about this situation: Should there be extra emphasis on the last few minutes of a game or not? "When is it important? There will be times when a clock runs down too far in a game, or they'll have a false drop and they'll just hold the clock for two seconds because that's how much they started when there's a false drop," he said. "But it gets important in the last minute. When do we start watching? Sixty seconds down? Thirty seconds down?" The full interview is here: From Bettman on his NHL Home Ice radio show: "Not good, not acceptable -- if [the clock] had run straight through, the game would have Trending Topics: The poor Capitals are having motivation problems; Pierre McGuire for Habs GM [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 9:38 am] Trending Topics is a column that looks at the week in hockey, occasionally according to Twitter. If you're only going to comment to say how stupid Twitter is, why not just go have a good cry for the slow, sad death of your dear internet instead? Anyone that watched the Washington Capitals game in Sunrise, Fla., against the Panthers on Wednesday probably saw something strange. It was a game between two teams, first and second in their division; one in which the visitors had every incentive to win. If they did so, they would put a bit more breathing room between themselves and their hosts, tripling the point difference. It was important because Florida has a game in hand. But the strange thing viewers saw in that game was that the Capitals barely put in an effort. It was 1-1 through 40 minutes, and then the Panthers exploded for two goals in the first 10 minutes of the third. The game was over, for all intents and purposes, even as Washington pulled back within one with a little more than two minutes to go. So why on earth would a team battling tooth and nail for the top spot in their division, trying to stave off the ignominity of dropping from "third" in the conference to ninth with a single loss, mail it in that badly? "Some teams," defenseman Karl Alzner, who had an assist on Washington's first goal, told Stephen Whyno of the Washington Times, "it's just really easy to get up for because the team that they are â the Canadiens, the Rangers. Those games are really easy. Sometimes here in Florida it's difficult to get up." Now, I have no doubt that this is a thing teams have to deal with at all competitive levels of any sport. Great teams, let's say, the Canucks, look at their schedule and see they're playing, I don't know, the Oilers. They say, "Oh, this one will be easy." Then they go out and maybe the game is closer than it should be: a 4-2 win instead of 5-1. Or maybe, especially if the better team is on the road, they even lose, like on Oct. 25, when Edmonto Ukrainian feminist group plays topless hockey to protest IIHF championships in Belarus [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 8:31 am] The 2014 IIHF world championship tournament is scheduled to be held in Belarus. The decision was blasted by those claiming the event shouldn't be hosted by a nation with "ongoing human rights violations." It's a decision that's caused widespread protest ranging from the president of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek to the Obama administration, who want to see the IIHF's plans suspended to help expose corruption by President Alexander Lukashenko. And what better way to expose such things than to expose one's self? According to Russia Today, a Ukrainian feminist group named Femen organized a game of 2-on-2 "street hockey" in front of the IIHF headquarters in Switzerland on Wednesday. A game of topless street hockey. Well, they got our attention ... From Russia Today (NSFW PHOTO WARNING FOR NUDITY), here's the political message the protesters sent while going top shelf: The protest took place near the main office of the International Ice Hockey Federation in Zurich. Braving a severe frost, the protesters started a hockey game in the street wearing unbuttoned coats with nothing on underneath. Their demands, spelt out on banners, read: "Do not encourage dictatorship!" "Lukashenko, let's play in Hague!" and "Slaves can't play hockey!" The feminists also issued a statement calling on sports officials "not to give rejuvenating injections to the rotten and dying body of Lukashenko's regime." They said that "The dictatorship is ruling Belarus by suppressing its own Constitution and fundamental human rights, suppressing all dissident attempts with torture and blood." Well, they got our attention. More about the issues at hand from Channel 97. Toronto Maple Leafs players surprise rec hockey team as guest coaches (Video) [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 7:40 am] On Thursday, we brought you the upcoming Super Bowl commercial from Budweiser Canada that surprised a couple of rec hockey teams from Port Credit, Ontario, by turning their regular weeknight game into that of one featuring a packed arena, complete with game announcers, television cameras and cute girls with painted midriffs. On Thursday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs did their own surprising of a local rec team. Just before The Colts and Delta Force were set to faceoff with one another in the Adult Safe Hockey League at the Canlan Ice Sports center in York, Ontario, Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, Colby Armstrong and Tim Connolly appeared in their dressing rooms to assume the role of coaches for the night; surprising the players, who knew the game was going to be special, but had no clue what to expect. From Bob Mitchell of the Toronto Star: "Instead of just another game in the Adult Safe Hockey League (ASHL), the match was transformed into a Toronto Maple Leafs game experience complete with Joe Bowen broadcasting the play by play for fans and announcer Andy Frost introducing each player as he skated onto the ice. The Colts wore Leaf uniforms while the Delta Force skated in jerseys belonging to the event's beverage sponsor." The Colts would end up edging Delta Force 2-1 to move into a tie for sixth in the Thursday D1 division. Luckily Ron Wilson wasn't sent to coach The Colts, otherwise the media covering the game would've been called "negative ninnies" for pointing out something the winning side didn't succeed at. Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy Watch the best of Sean Avery, guest fashion judge on ‘Project Runway All Stars’ (Video) [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 6:54 am] Sean Avery, formerly of the New York Rangers and currently toiling with the AHL Connecticut Whale, has been involved in the fashion industry for years; from his internship with Vogue to his occasional modeling to his fancy glasses. On Thursday night, he fulfilled what we imagine was a years-long dream. No, not a line of Sean Avery designer suit shorts at H&M; he was a guest judge on "Project Runway All Stars", critiquing the outfits created using clothes from random people in Central Park. Here's the essential Avery from last night's episode, getting his Tim Gunn on. "Lady Gaga and Gwen Stefani at Burning Man on acid." Pretty sure he used the same chirp on Max Talbot once, to his confusion ⦠Avery's first run-in with "Project Runway" fame was back in 2008, when he appeared on a live post-show chat back during its run on Bravo. Hence, being on last night's panel must be as fulfilling as Dustin Penner appearing as a judge on "Iron Chef America: Battle Flapjacks." Check out a full recap in Hit Fix and some video of Avery with context over on AOL. Now, let's all spend the rest of our day wondering how one "does a double back" on a woman walking by them. 'Cause it sounds sort of gross. Thursday’s Three Stars: Gagner’s great 8; Subban destroys Larsson; Dan Boyles’ embarrassing gaffe [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 12:28 am] "Wait, no, I said *drop* the gloves â¦" No. 1 Star: Sam Gagner, Edmonton Oilers As you may have heard, he had somewhere between nine and seven points for the Oilers in their 8-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. His eight-point night tied a team record set by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey. Our coverage of Gagner is here. No. 2 Star: Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes Ward made 47 saves in the Hurricanes' 3-0 win over the Boston Bruins, giving Carolina a season sweep of the champs, their first against the Bruins in franchise history. Eric Staal, Tuomo Ruutu and Brandon Sutter had the goals. No. 3 Star: Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild The Wild keeper earned his 25th career shutout with a 1-0 blanking of the Colorado Avalanche, making 37 saves while making a Greg Zanon goal in the first period stand. Backstrom made 17 saves alone in the final period to end what was a brutal affair between the teams. Honorable mention: Zach Parise and David Clarkson had two goals each while Ilya Kovalchuk had three assists in the New Jersey Devils' 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Martin Brodeur made 27 saves. ⦠The Philadelphia Flyers got goals from Wayne Simmonds (two for the game) and Matt Read in the first and second periods, and then Claude Giroux closed out the game with his first goal since the Winter Classic in the Flyers' 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators. Ilya Bryzgalov made 27 saves. ⦠Blake Wheeler collected a rebound in the second period for his 10th of the season and set up Kyle Wellwood's 10th on this sweet pass in overtime to give the Winnipeg Jets a big 2-1 victory on the road at the Tampa Bay Lightning: This J.S. Giguere save was pretty OK. ⦠After a back-and-forth game, the Detroit Red Wings finally defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the shootout, 4-3, thanks to goals by Pavel Datsyuk and Jiri Hudler. Roberto Luongo made 40 saves; Mason Raymond tied the game for Vancouver in the third. ⦠Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau had a goal and |