17th Edition: 5+Game

5+Game with Danny Boome 15 /12/09

5+ Game with Danny Boome is the new Article and Blog for Powerplay magazine. The article will cover the 5 main events of the week – games, trades, players, coaches – and anything else that affects the NHL community.

5+Game 17th Edition

Danny Boome 15/12/09

Did anyone see the Sabres coming in the rear view mirror? They just zoomed by everyone! Phoenix is finally sold, Russian legend Fetisov makes a comeback at 51! Chicago is now warmed up with drive and trick shots entertaining the crowd and the Leafs stomp over the Caps. It’s this week’s 5+Game!!

Vaaarrroooooom: Teams across the NHL are shaking their heads as they leave the ice, unsure as to what happened in the 60 minutes it took them to lose to the Buffalo Sabres. No one saw this coming. Coaches are double-checking their to do lists: Preparation check. Roster check. Tactics check. So why did Buffalo beat us? With four straight wins, the Sabres are currently sitting on top of the Northeast division and 8th overall in the league. If this hot streak continues, this unlikely contender will become a playoff candidate!

Just one of Sabres very impressive results this season

Phoenix SOLD Finally: News came late Friday that the Ice Edge Holdings investment group agreed to buy the Phoenix Coyotes from the league for $140 million dollars, and that the sale will be voted on by the Board of Governors later this week. Some governors have said they’re skeptical that the group has the financial juice to put this purchase together. Others don’t care as long as they don’t have to continue to prop up a franchise that isn’t their own. All we know is that Gary Bettman is wiping the sweat from his brow and breathing a big sigh of relief. Now there’s only a 40% chance he’ll be pelted with garbage next time he meets with an owner.

Hull is a Blues Hero: The Blues are honoring Brett Hull for his recent induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday night, along with his “dream team” from a decade with the franchise that features Adam Oates, Wayne Gretzky, Brendan Shanahan, Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger. Hull became a star after St. Louis acquired him from the Calgary Flames in 1987. He scored 72, 86 and 70 goals in a three-season span starting in 1989-90 and was just as entertaining and colorful after games. “We had the Babe Ruth of hockey,” Shanahan said. “Every time Babe hit, he hit a home run. Every time Brett shot it, he scored a goal.” Those memories trump Hull’s sour ending in St. Louis in 1998. He’ll be honored in a pregame ceremony before Tuesday’s game against the Flames, and the Blues also plan to add a Hull statue outside the Scottrade Center to join likenesses of MacInnis and Bernie Federko.

Golden Brett

Dusting off the Skates: Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov has served in the Russian parliament, was the first chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s athletes committee, is a member of the Kontinental Hockey League board of directors and is president of the KHL’s CSKA Moscow. Due to numerous injuries that have decimated the team’s roster, the former Detroit Red Wing and New Jersey Devil will lace on the skates Friday night when his team, CSKA, hosts SKA St. Petersburg. Fetisov, who played with the Devils for six seasons before joining the Red Wings and winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998, is 51 years old. He retired from hockey at the end of the 1997-98 season. When told that Fetisov would be suiting up for his team in the KHL, New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur grinned. “He’s such a competitor, even to this day,” Brodeur said. CSKA coach Sergei Nemchinov has turned to Fetisov in desperate need of a replacement for his injured defenseman Denis Kulyash. He’ll wear number 2 — the same number he wore when he won numerous titles with CSKA, a team he played with for 14 years (1975-89). CSKA currently is sixth in the KHL’s Western Conference with 52 points. SKA St. Petersburg is first in the West with 76 points.
If Fetisov does get into the game, he’ll become the second oldest player ever to play at the top level of a major league behind Gordie Howe who returned to the ice at the age of 52.

The comeback kid?

Construction starts for Winter Classic: Ice guru Dan Craig preaches patience to every member of his hand-picked crew as it turns Fenway Park from a baseball cathedral to a hockey temple. Construction started on Thursday as the clock is ticking for the outdoor hockey extravaganza that will host the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day (1 p.m., NBC, CBC, RDS).

It’s Going to be Chilly!

Game:

Game On: 17 days to the winter classic, 45 days to the Olympics, and 70 days to the playoffs! 2010 is going to be a hockey crazy year!

Who’s got game? Chicago Blackhawks Dustin Byfuglien. With the Blackhawks and visiting New York Rangers tied 1-1 in overtime, Byfuglien unleashed one of the best individual efforts for a goal I’ve seen this season.

What an Effort!

Who’s not got game? TV commentator Don Cherry. Not only for his bad clothing choices, but also for his outdated opinions, especially when it comes to head shots. Cherry should take his dog Spike for a walk and stop wasting our time!

Game of the week: Toronto came from 2-0 behind to beat the Washington Capitals 6-3. They kept OV out of the game, letting him earn just two points. The Leafs are as hot as Nashville and Buffalo, with an impressive 5 wins in 7 games.

What game are you playing @? Check out Marion Hossa’s crazy goal at 5+Games’s video blog on www.dannyboome.tv. Unbelievable hand-eye coordination for a pat down, one-time swipe at the puck that left Tampa’s goalie saying “Oh no he didn’t!”

What a Goal!!!