"That Sarich, He's Unbelievable"

Kelly Hrudey: Did that guy ever get up?
Ron MacLean: Yes!!!

Here is Cory Sarich brutalizing Patrick Marleau and then steamrolling Quinn Hancock back in junior hockey.

ROY LETS IT GO, VANEK TAPS IT HOME!

Last week the Buffalo Sabres had an amazing comeback vs the Tampa Bay Lightning. They scored 6 goals in the third period to secure a 7 - 4 win, keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Thomas Vanek was the star of the game scoring three goals, here is his third goal of the game. In this goal Vanek casually taps the puck out of the air into the net. Usually on goals where the puck is tapped out of the air there is more a baseball bat swing but Vanek kept himself under control and was just trying to make contact. Very nice!

The fantastic play-by-play here is done by Rick Jeanneret. Rick has been providing Sabres play-by-play since 1971 and still has the same excitement and enthusiasm for the game as when he started. From watching it, you really get the sense that he is that excited about hockey.

Taking a Look at Shootout Stats

Here is a dandy breakaway goal from last night scored by Penguins' agitator Jarkko Ruutu.


Who would have thought that Ruutu could pull such moves on a breakaway?

Since the skills required to score on a breakaway, are similar to the skills required to score on a shootout (being 1 on 1 with the goalie), watching this goal triggered memories of Ruutu scoring some nice goals in a shootout. I decided to take a look into Ruutu's stats.

Before I begin, let me ask you a question. Your team has a crucial game on the line and needs someone to score in the shootout. You look down the bench and see the following players: Jarkko Ruutu, Evegni Malkin, Jaromir Jagr, Trevor Linden, Dany Heatley, Erik Christensen. Without thinking you may pick Malkin, Jagr and Heatley. But look more into the stats.

Jarkko Ruutu: 3 for 6 this season and 6 for 12 in his career (50%).

Compare him to some of the leagues top goal scorers:

Evegni Malkin: 0 for 5 this season; 3 for 17 in his career (17.6%).
Jaromir Jagr: 0 for 5 this season; 5 for 22 in his career (22.7%).
Dany Heatley: 0 for 4 this season; 3 for 16 in his career (18.8%).

Players who are not known to score goals:

Trevor Linden: 5 for 9 this season; 7 for 12 in his career (58.3%).
Erik Christensen 6 for 11 this season; 14 for 25 in his career (56%).

Erik Christensen should definitely be shooting, as he fits into the Jussi Jokinen (17 for 29 58.6% career) mold of a player who consistently performs above average in the shootout but less than average in game (purely based on points scored). (Coincidentally, both players were traded at the deadline, which says something about their value to teams)

Hypothetically if all these players were on the same team, and they were in a shootout to determine a playoff berth. Would you put the game on the shoulders of your star players (Malkin, Jagr, Heatley), or let scrappy players like Ruutu and Linden shoot?

I could see some coaches having a difficult time putting in Ruutu or Linden over a Heatley or Malkin. But the stats say otherwise.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Michael Remis.

All stats provided by NHL.com

Brad Richards Breakaway Goal

Here is a clip from Saturday. Vancouver Canucks @ Dallas Stars. Vancouver had gone up 3-0 early in the first. This goal was shorthanded on a breakaway to tie the game at 3-3 for Dallas. The Canucks fought it out to win 4-3. Every game for the Canucks at this time of year is must win as they make their push for the playoffs.

The tiny little head fake was just enough to throw off goaltender Roberto Luongo

Pierre-Marc Bouchard Shootout Spin-O-Rama

This is from this afternoons game of Minnesota @ San Jose. The second spin-o-rama goal of the week. It is Pierre Marc Bouchard's turn to shoot and he must score to extend the shootout. He scores on this beautiful spin-o-rama, but the Wild were not able to win as Marleau buried the next shot for the Sharks.

My question is. Is this move legal? There could be some debate as he does carry the puck backwards. Do goalies have much of a chance on this? What is Nabokov supposed to do.

Here is the video, I would like to apologize in advance for the poor quality, blame youtube. I rip them fine off the TV but youtube bungles everything up.:

Brian Campell: One Fluid Beautiful Motion

Brian Campbell scores his first goal as a Shark. Putting this beauty past Carey Price. This move is really no surprise he has done this many times as a Buffalo Sabre in the defensive end to evade forecheckers. He brings his great skating ability to the offensive end and makes The Canadiens look silly.