So the NHL kicked off the North American portion of its season last night with a game between the Maple Leafs and Red Wings in Detroit. For any hockey fan, opening night is always a bright moment. A new season full of possibilities. It's a festive time.
It was so festive to someone from the NHL, they decided to dust off a lame 1980s hair band in order to commemorate the start of the 2008-09 season. The NFL gets bands like U2 or the Rolling Stones, some of the biggest bands in the world. The NHL gets Def Leppard which apparently didn't have any birthday parties scheduled for last night.
Def Leppard held some sort of concert in conjunction with the Maple Leafs-Red Wings game. Kyle Quincey and Darren McCarty, both members of the Red Wings last season, came out with the Stanley Cup. Then they handed it to Joe Elliot, the lead singer of Def Leppard...
He put the Cup upside down...
...
He put the STANLEY %$#@$! CUP UPSIDE DOWN!!!!!
Know how we complain about people who have never won the Cup should never touch it. This is why.
Even if this idiot didn't know what the Cup was, you would think just plain common sense would prevail. It's a cup! You don't put cups upside down!
We suggest at the next general managers meetings, the powers that be only approve bands which have been relevant since 1995 for Cup celebrations. Someone rush The Smashing Pumpkins into training.
EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS
Penguins
-Brooks Orpik and Michel Therrien are BFFs.
-Paul Bissonnette is a survivor.
-Will Janne Pesonen make it in the NHL?
-The Penguins will not hold any formal banner-raising ceremony.
-Evgeni Malkin says he's no Alexander Radulov.
-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins demoted goaltender David Brown to Wheeling.
Atlantic Division
-Flyers defenseman Randy Jones is dealing with a hip injury.
-Do the Flyers need to be more concerned about their defense?
-Islanders forward Josh Bailey is dealing with an undisclosed injury.
-The Devils have some heating problems inside the Prudential Center.
Northeast Division
-Vesa Toskala made 35 saves for the Maple Leafs in a 3-2 win at Detroit.
-David Krejci and Marc Savard each had had a goal and an assist and led the Bruins to a 5-4 win at Colorado.
-Check out this nifty goal Boston's Michael Ryder scored off a pass from Savard:
-Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau wants to open his team's offense up.
-With former Penguins forward Georges Laraque, the Canadiens have a true enforcer for the first time in a long while.
Southeast Division
-Newly acquired Lightning defenseman Lukas Krajicek is dealing with a work visa issue.
Central Division
-If you feel like vomiting...
-The Red Wings raised their Stanley Cup banner last night.
-Former Penguins and new Red Wings Marian Hossa and Ty Conklin stayed in the locker room during the ceremony.
-In his first game with Detroit, Hossa had 17:36 of ice time and recorded only one shot. He did record an assist. Fire Ken Holland.
-Former Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek doesn't regret retiring.
-The Predators put forward Nick Tarnasky on injured reserve. He is dealing with a broken thumb.
-The Blue Jackets put forward Manny Malhotra on injured reserve.
-Blue Jackets goaltending coach and former Sabres goaltender Clint Malarchuk accidentally shot himself in the chin.
Northwest Division
-Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo made 25 saves in a 6-0 shutout of the Flames.
-The Canucks held a ceremony in honor of late defenseman Luc Bourdon prior to the game.
The Flames put defenseman Rhett Warrener on long-term injury status.
Pacific Division
-Two goals by Jonathan Cheechoo led the Sharks to a 4-1 defeat of the Ducks.
(Photo: Red Wings-Getty Images)
-The Sharks released forward Jeff Friesen from his tryout.
-Forward Mikkel Boedker, the Coyotes' 2008 first-round pick, will start the season on the first line with Olli Jokinen and Peter Mueller.
Posted
Oct 10 2008, 10:17 AM
by
Seth Rorabaugh
Filed under: Brooks Orpik, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets, Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Ty Conklin, Phoenix Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, Georges Laraque, Marian Hossa, New York Islanders, Michael Ryder, Randy Jones, Janne Pesonen, Stanley Cup, Michel Therrien, Paul Bissonnette, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Roberto Luongo, Alexander Radulov, Wheeling Nailers, Josh Bailey, San Jose Shark, Guy Carbonneau, Lukas Krajicek, Rhett Warrener, David Brown, Vesa Toskala, David Krejci, Marc Savard, Kyle Quincey, Jeff Friesen, Jonathan Cheechoo, Clint Malarchuk, Nick Tarnasky, Darren McCarty, Manny Malhotra, Luc Bourdon, Mikkel Boedker, Olli Jokinen, Peter Mueller