NHL Goalie Mask Turns 50

Direct from NHL Online comes their one-hour special "50 Years Behind the Mask" taking an in-depth look at the history of the hockey goalie mask. Dan Pollard hosts a special first aired Sunday, November 1st, the 50th Anniversary of the first time a goalie wore a mask in a NHL game. It was 50 years ago to the day, when Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacques Plante placed the mask over his face and skated on the ice. During the game, while playing without a mask, he was hit with a puck and need the mask to continue to play in net. This documentary talks in far more detail about the night Jacques Plante daringly dashed onto the ice wearing his now famous mask.

Free-For-All Friday - Sabres are Red Hot!

** NOT ORIGINAL CONTENT - Written by NHL.com's Matt Mankiewich **

MAPLE LEAFS (1-7-2) at SABRES (7-1-1)

Season series -- First meeting this year, but the Sabres hold a five-game winning streak over their Northeast Division rivals, two at home and three at the Air Canada Centre. The last win for the Leafs was on Dec. 12, 2008, a 2-1 victory in Buffalo.

Big Story -- No question it's Buffalo's perfect three-game road trip, capped off with a solid 4-1 effort over the Devils at the Rock Wednesday night. The Sabres allowed two goals or fewer in each game on the trip.

Sabres Win One for Flight 3407

Late in the evening Thursday night outside of Buffalo as small commuter plane crashed into the small community of Clarence Center, NY. All 44 passengers and the four crew members perished in the crash. Here are some Buffalo Sabres speaking out about the crash, as some of them even heard it in the own homes. Several of the Buffalo Sabres live in Clarence Center and were not that far from where the crash occurred.

Buffalo were leading early against visitors San Jose Sharks. Early in the first period the Sabres were up 3-0, then let that lead slip in the second as they finished the second period at 4-3. Then with six minutes left in the third the Sharks seize the day on Buffalo and go ahead for the first time in the game 5-4. Then with three seconds left in the third period Buffalo's Jason Pominville puts the puck in the back of the net to force the OOOOVVVVEEERRRTIME! Needless to say the Buffalo boys pulled one out for the community, for Buffalo, and for the victims of Flight 3407.

Lindy Ruff's Post Game Interview

NHL Voices - Rick Jeanneret

For my first entry of the day I bring you the NHL Network's series Voices featuring Rick Jeanneret in the Sabres broadcast booth for the last 36 seasons. Please forgive the quality of video, its the audio of RJ that is priceless in the end. If you haven't seen this special yet I highly suggest you do. Here is Part 1 of this episode, the other files should line up afterwards.

Are You Juicy Too?

I had this song stuck in my head, so now you can too! Here is Better Than Ezra making a comeback with their 2005 song "Juicy". Apparently the song got a boost when ABC's Desperate Housewives used it for their ads in '05. Since then Applebee's has used them in commercials as well. But my favorite fun fact about the song is that the NHL's Dallas Stars play it when Jussi Jokinen scores a goal. Here's the video without further delay, enjoy the song as these ladies (and one dude) boogie down just for your enjoyment.

Did Someone Say Buffalo Hockey?

SABRES ON THE WARPATH!

Sabres Drop Gloves

During our six game road trip out West the Buffalo Sabres have been playing amazingly physical hockey. The entire Eastern Conference is not known for their grit, while the Western Conference is known just for that. This is the culmination of playing scrappy hockey with the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, the Phoenix Coyotes and finally the Anaheim Ducks all on the road. The Sabres have been effectively on the road since January 10th. They came home for a game against the Hurricanes on 17th right before the All-Star break. But essentially the entire month of January was played against Western Conference teams on the road, as we even started off the month of February there as well. Here are the fights from last night's game versus the Ducks.


Craig Rivet versus Corey Perry in the 2nd Period.


Craig Rivets drops them again verus Steve Montador.


Andrews Peters versus George Parros "The Pirate".

NHL All-Star Game

The NHL held its 57th All-Star Game in Montreal this weekend. It resulted in the first shootout since the 2003 All-Star Game in Florida. Here is the highlight reel from NHL Video on YouTube.

Sabres Stun Stars

'NHL 09' beats 'NHL 2K9' in a slick shootout

By Brett Molina, USA TODAY

Time again for the annual faceoff: Electronic Arts vs. 2K Sports. Both companies usher in the start of the professional hockey season with the releases of NHL 09 and NHL 2K9 respectively. Which one has the edge? Here's a closer look:

'NHL 09'

Competition thwarted, and it didn't require an exclusive licensing deal. Instead, Electronic Arts dominates the ice through innovation and a stellar level of control.

Much like they did with the Madden NFL franchise, EA takes career modes a step further with Be a Pro. When you first boot up, you create a player and receive a quick lesson on analog stick-handling.

Be a Pro uses experience points and leveling up to transform your rookie minor leaguer into an NHL MVP. Take my rookie center, for example. As a Playmaker, he rates high in passing stats but lower on shot power. I can take those points and shore up my slapshot weaknesses or further bolster my passing.

During games, your coach grades you on positioning, team play, and stats. The higher your overall grade, the more experience points you net. You'll also receive a short-list of goals you must achieve to reach new experience levels.

Each moment on the ice is viewed from a tighter third-person perspective. When your player steps off ice after a shift, he'll sit and rest up while watching your teammates. Think fights are fun? Not when you have to sit for five minutes peering through the glass of the penalty box.

Most intriguing is the ability to take your player online and develop him in online leagues via the EA Sports Hockey League. You'll play solely with human-controller teammates on clubs of up to 50 players.

On the ice, controlling players feels very natural. The shot stick is precise, allowing you deftly to maneuver the puck left and right as you deke defensemen. Tenacious computer opponents sweeten the reward of scoring goals. On offense, they're equally smart. Miss a body check, and your opposition faces the goalie unopposed. Keeping players in front of you becomes crucial.

The weak spot this season is fighting. Scraps are short. Two punches and the opponent is floored. No need to grab or dodge. Because hook and fight share the same button, you can find yourself in unintentional brawls. But that's the lone rough patch in an otherwise smooth, gratifying hockey experience.

'NHL 2K9'

Visual Concepts is used to owning EA in NBA circles, but it's got some work to do before approaching them in the NHL.

Taking over the series starting this season, the developer has created a solid hockey simulation in need of more creative ideas.

The most notable element to NHL 2K9 is its debut on the Nintendo Wii. With flicks of the remote, you fire off slapshots. Faking out defenders requires only a shake of the nunchuk. Defense is just as easy. Slash opposing forwards with the remote and deliver hard-hitting checks by shaking the nunchuk.

Passing is trickier. Using a target on the screen, you point to a spot on the ice with the remote and press a button to pass. Sounds simple enough. The tricky part is keeping track of your player while lining up the remote for the pass.

What's surprising about the Wii version is a lack of casual challenges. Other than a Zamboni driving mini-game and maybe the shootout, there's little else. The game would be more engaging with some simpler challenges to entice novices.

The action on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 is satisfying at times but not very memorable. The innovations touted most have been the Zamboni game and the debut of playoff beards.

On ice, the action is fun but could use some tweaking. Puck handling with the analog stick feels slow. Defenders aren't aggressive enough. Your defense boils down to one strategy: Body-check opponents into oblivion. Fighting now adds a neat balance dynamic, where you have to maintain your balance while throwing punches.

Online, 2K includes a Reelmaker feature to capture and share highlights. For the first time, players can also participate in online team matches with all human teammates and opponents.

All versions of the game also revamp the presentation with a slick broadcast television-style layout. Sideline reporters offer mid-game accounts while periods conclude with a polished highlight package.

Visual Concepts has a strong track record in hoops, so don't be surprised if they translate that success into hockey. Just don't expect it this season.

2009 Winter Classic

Rick Jeanneret's Top 10 Calls

Barry Melrose 2007 Awards

Flyers need to control their players or pay the price

By Scott Burnside
ESPN.com

Oh, we know the drill.

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Randy Jones offered heartfelt remorse for his hit on Patrice Bergeron that might have left the talented Boston forward paralyzed. It didn't. Bergeron has full range of motion, but the timetable for his return to the Bruins lineup is unknown (Boston is expected to say more on the matter Monday).

Did we mention Jones was sorry? Really sorry?

Just like Jesse Boulerice was sorry he nearly decapitated Ryan Kesler when he cross checked him in the face. And Steve Downie was exceptionally sorry after he headhunted Dean McAmmond of the Ottawa Senators during preseason.

Sorry, sorry, sorry.

The NHL season is not yet a month old, and three times the Flyers have had to answer for how one of their own has gone AWOL and committed an indefensible act against another team's player.

We acknowledge that Jones' hit on Bergeron doesn't compare to the brutality of the other two incidents, but let's not just pass this off as "just another hockey hit." To suggest this is the kind of hit that happens every night is to ignore the hit entirely.

Jones tracked Bergeron as he headed into the Flyers' zone. Bergeron's back was to Jones the entire time leading up to the hit, but Jones still used his forearm to drive Bergeron's head into the boards.

Rest assured: If a Flyer, let's say, Daniel Briere, had been on the other end of any one of these three assaults, the team would be screaming blue murder.

If the NHL responds as if this were just another hockey hit and penalizes Jones lightly or lets him off altogether, all the league's statements that it is serious about eliminating dangerous play would be rendered moot.

For all the praise being heaped on Flyers GM Paul Holmgren and coach John Stevens for turning around a Philadelphia franchise that finished dead last in 2006-07, these incidents suggest this franchise has no real control over its players.

What else are we to conclude from the fact that three players scouted and signed by the Flyers have engaged in behavior that could have ended players' careers?

The culture of recklessness in Philadelphia has been known for years, from the Broad Street Bullies on. It is part of the team's identity, whether anyone has tacitly endorsed it or not. Holmgren himself is known as one of the toughest players ever.

At what point does the NHL say this culture has to change?

Apparently, two potentially devastating incidents weren't enough. Maybe a third will prompt some action.

Perhaps this is a good moment for the league to send a parallel message to its teams that if they can't control their players, then they too will be held accountable.

Earlier in its season, the NFL fined the New England Patriots and took away draft picks (depending on the team's regular-season finish) for spying on the New York Jets. That was a tough penalty, and no one got taken to the hospital.

The Flyers have essentially robbed their opponents of a chance to compete through their flagrant disregard for the rules. McAmmond has yet to play for the Senators. As for Bergeron, the most talented of the three victims, it is not overstating the case to suggest he is crucial to the Bruins' return to the playoffs. Now, Bergeron's return to action is in question and one wonders what effect it might have on the Bruins' strong start.

Why not impose a sliding scale that takes into account previous history? That's what NHL lord of discipline Colin Campbell does when he levies suspensions against players. You could start with a suspension of the coach for five games after a second serious incident. Then, if there's a third incident, start carving off draft picks; the more serious the incident, the higher the draft pick.

As for safety in the workplace, we happened to see Don Cherry on "Hockey Night in Canada" talking about cushioning the dasher boards in the wake of the Jones hit on Bergeron. The NHL has tested a cap system on Long Island last season, but there seems to be no indication it improves safety. Maybe it's time to take another -- harder -- look.

Slap Shots

Good Week
It falls into the Ripley's category, but the Columbus Blue Jackets hit the 10-game pole with a 6-3-1 record buoyed by a three-game winning streak this week. Picked by most prognosticators (including this one) to be battling for last place in the Western Conference, the Blue Jackets have consistently turned in tight defensive performances. And anyone who wonders if coaching is overrated should check the NHL stats where the normally porous Blue Jackets have the No. 1 penalty-killing unit in the league as coach Ken Hitchcock enjoying his first full season in Columbus. The Blue Jackets are getting great goaltending from Pascal Leclaire, whose four shutouts leads the NHL, and Fredrik Norrena. The pair is tied for first in the NHL with a 1.90 goals-against average. It's hard to imagine the oft-maligned franchise can keep this pace up over the long haul, but, then again, it's hard to imagine where they are now.

Bad Week
By the end of last season, one might have imagined that all former Boston sniper Sergei Samsonov might have needed was a change of scenery. He got into Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau's dog house and couldn't get out. Now, having been given a new lease on hockey life in Chicago, playing on a roster that includes the two best rookies in the game in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, Samsonov has laid another egg. The 29-year-old has no goals, two assists and is minus-6 and was made a healthy scratch in the Hawks' loss to Atlanta on Saturday night. Can anyone say waivers?

Stuck in Neutral
A few trees gave their lives to support newsprint this week carrying stories about the Toronto Maple Leafs' overtures to super-prospect John Tavares. The stories suggested the Leafs were interested in signing the junior star and having him play for their AHL team next season and then paying him so much he would opt out of the NHL draft and wait until he's an unrestricted free agent at which time he would join the blue and white. Nice idea if you're the Leafs and struggle to develop your own players the normal way. But the 17-year-old Tavares is too young to play in the AHL next season. To suggest he might hang around to play minor pro hockey just so he could experience the unadulterated joy of pulling on a Leafs jersey down the road? We don't think so. Tavares will end up playing one more season of junior and then settle in as the first overall pick in the summer of 2009.

Our top story lines of the week

Elias
1. Things aren't getting any brighter for the New Jersey Devils now that their nine-game road trip to open the season is over and they've settled into their new home in Newark. The Devils were ripped 4-1 by Ottawa in their home-opener Saturday and woke up Monday morning tied for 13th in the Eastern Conference. Winless in four games, the Devils have the NHL's worst penalty-killing unit and have given up 34 goals in 10 games. Yikes. New coach Brent Sutter is doing it his way, refusing to allow veteran defenseman Richard Matvichuk on his squad and calling out captain Patrik Elias, who has been dreadful (two goals, minus-7). The Devils have Tampa Bay and Toronto at their new digs this week, followed by a road trip to Manhattan. Not a bad week, all things considered. Of course, when you're this bad, they all look tough.

2. Lots of folks will be focusing on the ice beneath San Jose Sharks coach Ron Wilson's feet -- thin or not? -- after another uneven week concluded with back-to-back losses to Detroit and Columbus. San Jose was outscored 7-2 in those two losses, highlighting a perplexing problem for the talented lineup -- an inability to put the puck in the net. The Sharks (5-5-1) have scored just 25 times in 11 games. For a team that boasts former scoring champ and MVP Joe Thornton, former Rocket Richard Trophy winner Jonathan Cheechoo and a strong supporting cast, that's not good. But one thing that may be a mitigating factor -- the Sharks have played eight of 11 games on the road and play Monday night in Dallas.

3. It wasn't so long ago in this space that we raved about the Minnesota Wild, who opened the season without a regulation loss in eight straight games (7-0-1). But now, the Wild are winless in three after being dumped 3-1 on Sunday by Colorado. Worse, the Wild are starting to get a little banged up. They did not have No. 1 netminder Niklas Backstrom, Pavol Demitra or Marian Gaborik in the lineup Sunday. Given the unpleasant injury histories for both Demitra and Gaborik, the Wild is facing their first significant test of the season.

4. There is always a firestorm of some kind in Montreal. The only question is whether it's starting in full blaze or just smoldering. But one thing Hab fans can agree on, it's that their team's power play is smoking hot. The Habs lead the NHL with 17 power-play goals and are clicking at a 30.4-percent rate, also tops in the league. Against Carolina this past week, they were an amazing 5-for-8 on the man-advantage as they waxed the red-hot Hurricanes, 7-4. The good news for the Habs is they're getting great balance on the man-advantage. Five different players have at least two power-play goals, including oft-criticized veteran Alexei Kovalev, who has three power-play markers. The Habs have Atlanta, Philadelphia and Toronto this week and all three teams rank in the bottom half of the league in penalty killing.

5. Back in 2000, Brad Boyes was living the dream as the native of Mississauga, Ontario, was a first-round pick of the hometown Maple Leafs. But the forward got shuffled off to San Jose for whom he played one game before being dealt to Boston. But Boyes didn't mature quickly enough for Boston and he was dealt to St. Louis at the trade deadline last season for defenseman Dennis Wideman. Oddly enough, Boyes has ended up assuming the role as the Blues' designated sniper. Playing on the team's top line with veterans Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk, Boyes has eight goals in nine games and is a major part of the Blues strong 6-3-0 start.

Scott Burnside is the NHL writer for ESPN.com.

First of Eight Battles

Today the Buffalo Sabres welcome, well maybe not welcome, the Toronto Maple Leafs to the HSBC Arena. The 2-2-0 Sabres take on the 2-3-1 Leafs with Miller and Toskala in net respectively. It's time to break out the Canadian jokes and Cap on a Canuck.

An American, a Scot and a Canuck were in a terrible car accident. They were all brought to the same emergency room, but all three of them died before they arrived. Just as they were about to put the toe tag on the American, he stirred and opened his eyes. Astonished, the doctors and nurses present asked him what happened.

"Well," said the American, "I remember the crash, and then there was a beautiful light, and then the Canadian and the Scot and I were standing at the gates of heaven. St. Peter approached us and said that we were all too young to die, and that for a donation of $100, we could return to the earth."

He continued, " So of course, I pulled out my wallet and gave him the $100, and the next thing I knew I was back here."

"That's amazing!" said one of the doctors, "But what happened to the other two?"

"Last I saw them," replied the American, "the Scot was haggling over the price and the Canadian was waiting for the government to pay for his."

LEAFS SUCK! LETS GO BUFF-A-LO!

Sabres Rally 6-0 Past Thrashers

Finally the Buffalo Sabres arrived to participate in the NHL regular season. After a home-and-home sweep by the Islanders, the Sabres were desperately hurting for a win. As Mike Robitaille stated in the pregame coverage Buffalo had to keep their goals against average down. And the Sabres did just that marking a 6-0 shutout of the returning Southeast Division Champions the Atlanta Thrashers.

The boys from B-Lo were looking to match the feat of the Carolina Hurricanes the day before in having a different player score for each of their goals. Ales Kotalik started off the scoring in the 1st period followed by Tim Connolly and Brian Campbell all scored on the power play. Then Jason Pominville started off a two tally 2nd period with a short handed goal on a two on one breakaway. Derek Roy scored again with three seconds remaining in the 2nd period to put the Sabres up 5-0. Looking forward to his first full season in a Sabres jersey is Danny Paille who capped the night off with a goal in the closing seconds of the game. Ryan Miller posts the 5th shutout of his career and his first for the 07-08 NHL season.

The Blue and Gold looked backed to form in their defeat of what many consider to be one of the better teams in the NHL. Let's hope that the Sabres can keep up their winning ways. As of this point their looking from the bottom up in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Confernce.

LETS GO BUFF-A-LO!

NHL HITS THE ICE FULL SWING!

Tonight, after two lackluster games in London, the NHL opens the season here in North America. Returning Stanley Cup champs, the Anaheim Ducks, splitting those two games in London with the Los Angeles Kings. Each game ending 4-1, with a breakout performance in Saturday's game by Kings' netminder Jonathan Bernier.

The Ducks have a rough road ahead of them. Tonight the face perennial Western Confernce powerhouse the Detroit Red Wings. Versus Network will air the game when the puck drops at 7pm ET. The Red Wings ride Dominick Hasek into his 15th NHL Season. Loaded with their usuals: Lidstrom, Chelios, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg, the Red Wings always seem to pose a serious threat.

Ottawa sucks so forget them as do the Leafs so we're not gonna talk about them. (We're both die-hard Buffalo Sabres fans so we have, what one could call, a LOATHING for both teams. Round them out with the Flyers and you pretty much have our hatred trio in hockey.)

The Avalanche seek to improve greatly behind Joe Sakic, Jose Theodore, and Paul Stasny. Missing the playoffs last year hurt them something bad and they look to strike back with a vengeance this year. They've added to their roster this off-season, picking up D Scott Hannan from the Sharks, and the cry-baby RW Ryan Smyth from the Islanders by way of Edmonton. The Stars look alive and ready to repeat their playoff appearance from last season, their stars Mike Modano and Brendan Morrow are fully healed from their injuries from last year. The come into this season with a chip on their shoulders after their first round exit from the post-season.

This season fires up tonight. Pick a game. Pick a winner. Pick your nose, just pick the NHL!