Rumor has it there’s a pretty big matchup tonight in Boston.  I thought I’d join in the fun and bring the live-blogging.  These two teams, are, you know, pretty good.  San Jose has lost 3 straight which should kick up the intensity a notch tonight.  The Sharks currently sit 6 points back from the Bruins in the overall league standings, but they have 4 games in hand on the B’s.  Should be a great game.

Not to steal the fine folks at Barry Melrose Rocks thunder, but tonight’s matchup could also make a fine drinking game!

Take a drink:
-For every mention of Joe Thorton’s departure from Boston
-For every discussion of how tall Zdeno Chara is (twice if his name and the Norris Trophy are mentioned in the same sentence)
-Every time someone talks about these two teams being “the top two seeds in their conferences” (twice if some boneheaded Versus announcer goes on endlessly about this being a preview of the Stanley Cup finals)
-Twice any time someone talks about Sean Avery.

And that’s just off the top of my head.  I’ll keep a tally throughout the game.  Feel free to suggest other things.  See you at the opening faceoff!

7:01 PM: The game hasn’t even started yet and you already have to drink multiple times.  Thanks, Versus guys.  And Bob Hartwood is even interviewing Thornton!  Memo to Versus: Thornton’s been back to Boston once already since the trade.  No one cares any more.

7:10 PM: Evgeni Nabokov and Tim Thomas’ numbers are intimidatingly good.  Both will probably be Vezina contenders.

7:11 PM: “Number 1 in the West versus number 1 in the East.”  There’s another one.  It’s a good thing I’m not actually drinking, or I’d probably have to stop blogging before the period ended.

7:12 PM: My dad is worse than the boneheaded announcers on Versus, and if I were drinking, I’d have to drink for him suggesting this was a Stanley Cup Final preview.  He has been thoroughly reprimanded for suggesting such things.

7:14 PM: HOLY CRAP ITS CLAUDE LEMIEUX. I’m totally having a 1995 flashback. It’s a good feeling for a Devils fan.  Flashback interrupted by a great save by Evgeni Nabakov.

7:15 PM: Nabakov makes another great save, but the rebound ends up on Milan Lucic’s stick and quickly in the back of the net to make it 1-0 Bruins. San Jose’s defensemen got caught standing around watching on that play.

7:17 PM: An interview with Marc Savard, where he is kind enough to inform us that his team knows this is a faceoff between the two top teams in the NHL.  Thanks a bunch, Marc. And now we’re hearing all about Joe Thornton.  Oof.

7:18 PM: Patrice Bergeron takes a hooking call, San Jose gets a power play attempt.

7:20 PM: San Jose’s power play is really, really good.  Point shot from Rob Blake deflected off of Dennis Wideman, possibly another Shark player, and in.  1-1 game.

7:23 PM: Previously unidentified San Jose player now identified as Joe Pavelski.  And the Versus announcers mention the Sharks and Bruins stellar NHL-leading records for the billionth time.

7:29 PM: Pavelski and Michalek just had a fantastic shift for the Sharks, though not much to show for it. Great work on the forecheck by the whole line.

7:34 PM: Lucic bangs home another rebound (this time off a wrist shot from Petteri Nokelainen) to make it 2-1 Bruins. Note to San Jose: Kid’s got skills. Play defense accordingly.

7:38 PM: I hate Versus.  Blink and you’ll miss it.  Boston’s up a man.  I’m just going to assume Claude Lemieux stabbed a baby.  Also, drink twice — once for yet ANOTHER mention of the top-of-the-conference, and once for a good old fashioned “big Zdeno Chara”.

7:41 PM: Unknown penalty is over.  One minute left in the period.

7:43 PM: Petteri Nokelainen takes a stick to the face.  That cut looked AWFULLY close to his eye.  All the best, Petteri.

7:45 PM: Somehow no penalty was called on the play.  I have no idea how that happened.  Period comes to a close, I’ll be back for the second.

7:59 PM: Oh boy, Gary Bettman’s going to join us for the second period.  Now I wish I really was drinking.

8:02 PM: The first thing Gary says (well, almost) is “top two teams in both conferences”.  Thanks, Commisioner.  Really.

8:03 PM: My dad is threatening bodily harm to Gary Bettman.  I think it’s hilarious and I wish I could put up an audio file of it.   Shortly following the puck drop we get a goalie interference call on Devin Setoguchi — I don’t like the call much, looks to me like he got pulled down on his way in.

8:05 PM: I sure do like listening to Gary Bettman talk instead of hearing play by play of the power play.  Versus gets a clue just in time for San Jose to go down two men, Dan Boyle headed to the box.

8:07 PM: Credit for San Jose’s goal was just changed from Joe Pavelski to Rob Blake.  I guess it didn’t actually hit Pavelski in front?

8:10 PM: San Jose has killed off the 5-on-3.  Gary Bettman’s too busy talking about fighting for anyone to notice, and ironically enough a pushing match ensues on the following stoppage.

8:11 PM: Every time I hear the name Byron Bitz I giggle like a 5 year old.

8:13 PM: Devin Setogutchi muscles his way through 2 Bruins defenders and comes away with a great shot but is stonewalled by Tim Thomas.  Fantastic play.

8:22 PM: After a couple solid minutes of back and forth, Boston gets a solid chance but can’t stuff it home as Nabakov makes a sprawling save on Marc Savard.  WOW.

8:24 PM: Things are getting a little…..violent….out there.  Great pace to this game so far.

8:28 PM: Another great shift for the Pavelski/Michalek/Clowe line.  They had a solid minute of offensive pressure and a couple good scoring chances before Boston was able to clear the zone.

8:31 PM: About 4 Sharks fell in rapid succession, leading to yet another good scoring chance for the B’s, but Nabakov turns them away again.  He has looked absolutely fantastic tonight.

8:32 PM: Our first play stoppage in what feels like hours.  This period has had an amazing flow and been really entertaining to watch.

8:34 PM: Mark Stuart gets hit in the face with — a puck? a stick? I don’t know, Versus decides to show me highlights of  Milan Lucic’s hat trick from earlier this year instead of what happened.  He seemed to be okay as he skated off, and play continues without any penalties called.

8:36 PM: If you’re playing along with the drinking game, take a nice long chug for that little speech about the race to the President’s Trophy and the “long reach” of Zdeno Chara.  Curse you, Versus.  That’ll do it for the second period, see you for the third!

8:54 PM: Third period is underway. Hopefully the great pace of the second keeps up.

8:56 PM: Tim Thomas is playing in his 200th NHL game tonight.  Congrats, Tim.

8:59 PM: Big shot from the point is deflected past Tim Thomas by Patrick Marleau to knot the game at 2-2.  I love me some tied game action in a match like this.

9:01 PM: San Jose’s buzzing a bit now. A couple of good shifts in a row since the goal.  Great save by Thomas on Joe Thornton to cap off the latest of the rushes, but still no play stoppage.

9:07 PM: So, I had a severe need to put my laundry in the dryer, and as I left the room at the commercial break I informed my family that as soon as I left someone would score.  As I was putting my clothes in the dryer, I heard yells of WHAT A SHOT! and 3-2 SHARKS! I hate it when I’m right.  Apparently Milan Michalek did something awesome.  Figures.

9:10 PM: Joe Thornton deflects a shot off his leg and past Tim Thomas.  They’re going to call upstairs to rule out a “distinct kicking motion.”  I think the goal will stand — Thornton was skating by and the puck just happened to hit him mid-stride.  Although, this is the War Room we’re talking about.

9:12 PM: As expected, the goal stands.  4-2 Sharks. Apparently all I had to do was leave the room for a minute for all hell to break loose.

9:16 PM: Boston’s up a man.  I missed the call.  This time, I’m just going to assume Christian Erhoff crosschecked Marc Savard’s in the back of the head.

9:20 PM: Kessel finds himself with the puck on his stick at point-blank range after a Sharks turnover but can’t convert.  Good stop by Nabakov.

9:22 PM: Blake Wheeler is pulled down on a breakaway attempt.  No penalty shot, but someone’s spending some time in the sin bin after the commercial break. It’s now or never for the Bruins.

9:25 PM: Couple of good attempts by the Bruins on the power play but none have lit the lamp yet, Nabakov continues to be excellent.  40 seconds to go on the man advantage, 3 minutes to go in the game.

9:27 PM: That’ll do it for the power play.  Under two minutes to go, should be interesting to see when/if Tim Thomas makes a beeline for the bench for the extra attacker.  Annnnnnd there he goes.

9:29 PM: Bruins haven’t lost in regulation in 9 games.  Nabakov makes two huge stops, the Sharks turn around and go the other way, and Mike Grier nets the quick empty netter to seal the deal.  This one’s going to end 5-2 Sharks. That was a fun one, thanks for checking in!

In the category of “things that shocked me tonight”, I can’t believe Versus didn’t mention Sean Avery once all game.  I’m so proud of them.

So, I promised a liveblog this week, but due to some unforeseen circumstances (stupid life, why must you always get in the way?!), it just didn’t happen.  But I’m going to make up for it this week, and will be bringing you the San Jose/Boston game on Tuesday.  Should be a fun one.

Let’s take a look at some of highlights (and lowlights) of this week in the NHL.

-Sean Avery completed his stint in the NHLPA’s behavior management program this week, and was placed on waivers by the Stars.  GMs Les Jackson and Brett Hull will now seek an AHL club to stash Avery in for the time being.  Dallas’ hope is that they can arrange something with an NHL club (the likely destination right now seemingly being the Rangers) to send Avery to their AHL affiliate for a conditioning stint, and then the big club would claim him (and half of his monstrous contract) on re-entry waivers.  I just hope it gets done quickly because I’m sick of hearing about him.

-Word from those in the know in New Jersey is that Martin Brodeur has been taking hard shots from trainers and the coaching staff this week, including using his injured glove hand without any trouble.  Sources within the organization claim Marty’s shooting for a February 26th home game against the Colorado Avalanche for a return to action.  This would make me ridiculously happy.  Check out Fire & Ice for more.

-On the opposite end of the spectrum, Blue Jackets’ rookie netminder Steve Mason was placed on the IR today after being diagnosed with mono last weekend.  This is a tough blow to the Columbus organization, which is seeking its first-ever playoff berth in an extremely competitive Western Conference.  If Mason is out for a long period of time, it may signal the beginning of the end of their playoff hopes for this season.

-The New York Rangers find themselves in the middle of a 4-game losing streak this week, punctuated by a 10-2 loss to Dallas on Saturday.  The fanbase is restless and calling for Renney’s head (I can’t say I blame them), and the team just doesn’t seem to have any sort of chemistry.  They need a finisher (the team is currently 29th in the league, averaging 2.4 goals per game), they need to tighten up their defense — things definitely need to change.  Somehow, bringing in a guy like Sean Avery doesn’t seem like the answer to me, but there’s a lot of talk that’s what Sather’s looking to do.

-St. Louis placed Manny Legace on waivers this weekend.  This didn’t come as a surprise, as Legace’s numbers this season were pretty awful (13-9-2 with a 3.12 GAA and .885 save percentage) and Chris Mason had been consistently outplaying him.  He’s been the latest in a series of goaltenders to pass through waivers over the past month (Curtis Sanford, Martin Gerber).  The Blues called up Chris Holt (this required an Arrested Development joke) to serve as Mason’s back up.

-Chris Osgood is in the doghouse with the Red Wing’s coaching staff.  Osgood has struggled most of this year, and GM Ken Holland called him out earlier this week:

“Obviously, his game isn’t where it was last year, the statistics bear that out,” Holland said Thursday. “We know we got to get him on top of his game.

…We need Chris to get his game back to where it was last year, and now.”  Windsor Star

Luckily for Detroit, Ty Conklin has been playing extremely well (he posted his sixth shutout against his former team this afternoon).  But going into the playoffs, I’m sure the Red Wings would feel a lot better knowing Osgood was bringing a solid performance every night.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TOMORROW:

Eastern Conference:

Boston Bruins (1) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (8)
Washington Capitals (2) vs. Buffalo Sabres (7)
New Jersey Devils (3) vs. New York Rangers (6)
Montreal Canadiens (4) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (5)

On the bubble: Florida Panthers (1 point out), Pittsburgh Penguins (2 points out)

Western Conference:

San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Minnesota Wild (8)
Detroit Red Wings (2) vs. Vancouver Canucks (7)
Calgary Flames (3) vs. Dallas Stars (6)
Chicago Blackhawks (4) vs. Anaheim Ducks (5)

On the bubble: Edmonton Oilers (tied with Minnesota, one more game played), Columbus Blue Jackets (tied with Minnesota, two more games played)

PLAYS OF THE WEEK:
Richard Zednik put in his entry for goal of the year earlier this week, leaping over an Islander defenseman before putting the puck behind Joey Macdonald.  Incredible play.

Niklas Hagman had a rough start to a early shift against the Panthers this week, getting checked by a ref, kneed in the back of the head, and hit in the visor with the puck in rapid succession.  After shaking off the cobwebs, he came back with a beautiful play to put the Leafs up 1-0.

Drew Stafford faked his way around Mike van Ryn of the Maple Leafs before stuffing the puck behind Vesa Toskala with a gorgeous move on Wednesday night.

As we hit the stretch run of the season, I’m bringing back my weekly round-up.  Let’s take a look at this week:

-The New Jersey Devils came in to January in third place in the Atlantic, had struggled through a few games to close out 2008, and only had 3 home games on tap for the month.  Yet here they are on February 1st, sitting in first place in the division, with some breathing room and on an 8 game winning stream.  The addition of Brendan Shanahan to the lineup has livened up the power play and after his third goal in 5 games Friday night is looking more and more like a brilliant move by GM Lou Lamoriello.  If you’d asked any Devils fan on November 1st if they thought there was a chance a Brodeur-less Devils would be sitting near the top of the league as Marty readied himself to return to action, most would have thought you were crazy (I know I would have).  But that’s the situation now, and you have to figure the rest of the NHL is starting to take notice.

-On the other end of the spectrum, we have the Vancouver Canucks.  Winless in their last 9, the team is searching for answers as they plummet in the Western Conference standings. The return of Roberto Luongo hasn’t been the spark the team hoped and Mats Sundin hasn’t been a “savior” either.  Tempers within the team have reached the breaking point. They need to put some wins together fast if they want to remain in the playoff picture.

-With Manny Fernandez out with a back injury and the Bruins playing back-to-back games against the Rangers and the Canadiens, the Bruins looked to netminder Tuukka Rask Saturday against the Rangers.  With only 5 previous NHL starts to his name, Rask came up big for the B’s, making 35 stops en route to his first career shutout, a 1-0 victory that bumped the Bruins into first place in the NHL.

-After his shootout competition victory All-Star weekend, Alex Ovechkin has come out flying for the second half of the season.  With 5 goals in 2 games this weekend, Alex has started to pull away in the race for the Rocket Richard trophy, scoring his league-leading 36th goal this afternoon.

-The hockey world is buzzing about the Pittsburgh Penguins and their free fall.  What can be done to rescue this team?  There’s no doubt this is a talented bunch – they put the Rangers to shame in the third period of their 6-2 victory earlier this week, and have shown all season they are capable of being an elite contender.  But their power play is terrible (something which will change with the return of Sergei Gonchar), their defense has been porous at times (should also be helped by the return of Gonchar, but may need more help than that), and thier offense has been mostly a 2-man show.  The team has time to get it together and sneak into a low seed, but they need to right the ship soon.

-Henrik Zetterberg signed a 12-year, $72-million contract with the Red Wings this wing, the longest and most lucrative (in total) contract in the history of the franchise.  The contract averages out to $6 million a year with the last two years paying only $1 million.  This will keep Zetterberg in Motor City until he retires.  Now the Red Wings just have to figure out what to do about Johan Franzen and Marian Hossa.

-With the trade deadline about a month away, everyone’s focus has started to turn to those players likely to be on the move on March 4th.  Jay Bouwmeester is high on everyone’s list.  However, with the Panthers surprising everyone and being in the playoff hunt (they’re currently 9th in the East with 2 games in hand on the 8th place Hurricanes), the chances of Bouwmeester being dealt seem to drop dramatically. The Panthers haven’t clinched a playoff berth since 2000 and management and the fanbase are desperate for a succesful season.  Their chances drop dramatically if Bouwmeester is lost.  But watching him walk away for nothing doesn’t do the team any favors either.  Jacques Martin has a tough few weeks ahead of him.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TOMORROW:

Eastern Conference:

Boston Bruins (1) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (8)
Washington Capitals (2) vs. Buffalo Sabres (7)
New Jersey Devils (3) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (6)
Montreal Canadiens (4) vs. New York Rangers (5)

Western Conference:

San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Edmonton Oilers (8)
Detroit Red Wings (2) vs. Minnesota Wild (7)
Calgary Flames (3) vs. Dallas Stars (6)
Chicago Blackhawks (4) vs. Anaheim Ducks (5)

PLAYS OF THE WEEK:
Jamie Langenbrunner has scored 6 goals in 3 games this week (including overtime game winners), but this goal wouldn’t have been possible without an incredible pass from Zach Parise.  I have no idea what language this clip is in but it was the best video I could find

Ville Leino scored his first NHL goal against the Caps on Saturday — and it was a pretty one.

Alex Ovechkin just continues to amaze.  The first goal here was just….pure awesomeness.

Look for a live blog sometime this week.