Rosie's Rebounds: 12/4/09

From yesterday's Inside Hockey version...


Thoughts on the Ovechkin Suspension

Didn’t we just talk about a game misconduct last week with Alex Ovechkin? Well it looks like Déjà vu all over again this week.

As Inside Hockey’s Brad Kurtzberg stated this week, the league did the right thing in suspending the reigning back-to-back Hart Trophy winner. And surprise, surprise, I am on the same page with this argument.


Here is a clip of the hit against Carolina as Canes defenseman Tim Gleason was the victim of this hit.



Again his hit on Patrick Kaleta last week against Buffalo deserved a fine, but not a suspension. I will stick to my stance in that argument. And now, he deserved the suspension. But should A.O. change his style
of play on the ice when he comes back?

The answer is no.

Why should A.O. change his style? Just to avoid another two game suspension?

His style of play is why he is the reigning back-to-back MVP, and changing from his style from a more physical player to a flashier player wouldn’t be the best thing.

But unlike some of the goal scorers in the NHL, Ovechkin likes to throw his weight around at bit, but he also likes to get that highlight reel goal too.

Ballard takes a whack at his own goaltender

If there has been any week that has been crazier in the NHL in recent memory, then someone please let me know.

As seen on Monday in the Panthers 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers, Florida defenseman Keith Ballard had the biggest oops of the week.

After a frustrating play for the Panthers, which saw Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuck give his team a 2-1 lead at 8:54 of the first period, Ballard himself took his frustration out by slamming his stick on the
post. Instead of hitting the post, he took out Tomas Vokoun…his own goaltender.

Take a look at this for yourself; you have to see it to believe it.



Interestingly enough, this created talk in the hockey world whether or not the league would suspend Ballard. In case you’re wondering by now, he escaped any form of punishment.

Also check out Adam Lanning’s article about the Avs-Panthers game Wednesday night, where Ballard had another interesting moment. Check out the clip below here…



Habs Celebrate Season 100.5

Since last year wasn’t bad enough during the Habs Centennial, the team seemed like they had to extend it a little bit, as they are officially celebrating their 100th season tonight against the Boston Bruins. The last time the Montreal Canadiens had a celebration like this against their rivals, Patrick Roy had his jersey retired, and the Bruins won the game 3-2.

If you recall a couple days later, Ryan O’Byrne provided this moment against the New York Islanders.



OK moving on...

This is a must win for the Habs tonight. They are currently 12th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 12-14-2 through 26 games, but have already beaten the Bruins once this year in a shootout. Another win against their rivals would be a huge momentum shifter, especially for a team plagued with injuries.

Rebounds of the Week

With all of that out of the way, here are your rebounds of the week.

Player: Phil Kessel Toronto Maple Leafs: Yes the Leafs haven’t had the best year, but give credit where credit is due. The acquisition of “Phil the Thrill” has given the team a little boost over the past few games.
Through his first 15 games in a Maple Leaf uniform, Kessel has 10 goals, and Toronto is 5-3-2 in their last 10 contests. Kessel will return to Boston tomorrow night for the first time as a member of the Leafs.

Team: New York Islanders: It hasn’t gotten any worse than last year, and that’s good news for the Isles. Thanks to John Tavares and some good young prospects starting to rise, Scott Gordon’s club is currently eighth
in the Eastern Conference standings. I’m sure many hockey pundits didn’t see that coming.

Game: Detroit @ New York Rangers (Sunday): Both teams have struggled in their last ten games (as of today) with the Red Wings going 4-5-1 in that span, while the Rangers are 3-7 during that stretch. Both teams are in
11th place in their respective conferences.

Finally I would like to congratulate a couple of our own college writers as they spent some time on the airwaves during the past couple weeks.

Kevin Edelson made an appearance on the popular Hockey On Campus podcast in Boston, with legendary BU play-by-play announcer Bernie Corbett, while Matt Fazio made his presence known on the Laker Hockey Show with Lake Superior play-by-play announcer Mike Ellis.

You can listen to Kevin’s appearance here, while we will have a link to Matt’s appearance at another time, as it is currently
unavailable.

See you next week!