3/4 Results, 3/5 Picks, and My NHL Experience

* Pre-Skate *

 

Just a day and two weeks until I see the Flyers come to Dallas. It'll be even more amazing as I'll be two rows from the glass. I absolutely love sitting that low as you can catch all the detail of the game. You know what the players look like from television, but it's cooler getting to actually see them. I turn into a huge kid when it comes to hockey. Aside from loving hockey, I have a cool story that explains my love for detail and getting a closer look.

 

It probably spurns from when I was working for the Dallas Stars (at one of their practice facilities) about seven years ago. I remember we used to get a couple teams in every so often for practice. I was there when the Detroit Red Wings walked into our building. Before they even arrived, we were able to take a look at their equipment. I remember seeing Manny Legace's goalie mask (complete with the octopus on the front) and another player's horrible looking shoulder pads. The pads were sewn together using four or five different pieces of padding (I could tell because it had four or five different name brands on them). Even though it technically provided some protection, I'm surprised the player even bothered to wear them because the pads were extremely thin.

 

The Wings practice was amazing to watch. They look pretty fast on TV, but I can assure you they're ten times faster in person. The drills they ran demanded extreme agility and endurance. It was then I realized how slow and out of shape I was despite believing I was a big shot hockey player (as in I played in the highest division of RECREATIONAL hockey, yep....). There's no doubting that hockey players are among the most finely tuned athletes in pro sports.

 

 

I think the most surreal part of the experience was when they were walking in and when they left. After we prepped their ice, I stood a few feet from where they were walking in. I saw Chris Chelios, Henrik Zetterberg, and Pavel Datsyuk for starters. Unfortunately, I didn't see Dominik Hasek, Steve Yzerman, or Brendan Shanahan. I think they were all hurt or excused from practice at the time. Still, we had some pretty big names anyway with Tomas Holmstrom, Darren McCarty, and Nik Lidstrom. Quite a few future Hall of Famers right before my eyes. The kid in me dropped it's jaw. Completely star struck. Watching Chelios walk by was crazy. I would never dreamed I'd be in the position I was in. They were all really nice guys. I remember Zetterberg saying thanks and goodbye as he walked out. I remember being amazed that the dude was wearing jeans, an AC/DC shirt, and a trucker hat. He was just a normal guy who was right around my age (three years older) yet to me it was like some mythical god or creature was performing some ancient ritual that you only get to see every thousand years or something. Hilarious in hindsight. It was an amazing experience that I'll definitely never forget.

 

With my job I was also able to see and meet some other teams. The Calgary Flames, the San Jose Sharks (complete with a hand shake from one of the infamous Sutter brothers though I can't remember which one), and the Toronto Maple Leafs. I saw and met Derian Hatcher, Craig Ludwig, Evgeni Nabakov, Jonathan Cheechoo, Pierre Turgeon, and even played against former NHLer Steve Dykstra. Fortunately, you don't always have to be in the business to meet these guys. Most rinks will let you attend practices and do meet/greet sessions. Take the kids and/or take yourself to the events the teams hold. Totally worth it.

 

 * Results *

 

Perfection again. Only the third time since I've started this blog that I've done it. I needed two overtime wins tonight to pull it off, but clearly you would know that I planned winning in that fashion....right. With that, I've reached 100 wins for the season. Wow. While 100 out of 177 isn't the most convincing number, I'm still proud that I'll be over 50% even if I lose the next 23 games. Let's see how I pulled this one out.

 

3/4/2011 - Friday

 

Penguins at Devils : Pick - Devils : Result -- 2-1 Devils : Correct (OT/W) : 96-77

Rangers at Senators : Pick - Rangers : Result -- 4-1 Rangers : Correct : 97-77

Hurricanes at Blackhawks : Pick - Blackhawks : Result -- 5-2 Blackhawks : Correct : 98-77

Blue Jackets at Flames : Pick - Flames : Result -- 4-3 Flames : Correct : 99-77

Stars at Ducks : Pick - Ducks : Result -- 4-3 Ducks : Correct (OT/W) : 100-77

 

- Results Format -
Game : Pick : Result : Pick Result (OT or SO W or L based on my pick) : My Season Record
OT/W or OT/L - My pick won or lost in OT.
SO/W or SO/L - My pick won or lost in a shootout.

 

=Dumbest Pick of the Night=

None. Perfect night warrants no negativity!

 

=Hardest Pick of the Night=

Stars at Ducks : I scribbled out the Stars and wrote in the Ducks. Lucky. The game had to be settled in overtime so it must have been a hard fought game.

 

=Easiest Pick of the Night=

Rangers at Senators : The Rangers beat up on one of the worst teams in the league in convincing fashion. No surprise here whatsoever. You always need to take the easy two points.

 

* Picks *

 

A lot of tough games to choose between for Saturday. Not just games between two good opponents, there are also games between two awful teams. They're both equally challenging to determine. Look at the Oilers at Avalanche. Right away we should see that I'm going to lose that game since I opted for the Oilers to win. The Panthers at Thrashers is another game where I had a hard time choosing between the better of two mediocre options. On the other side of spectrum, you'll see a difficult decision when it comes to the Canucks and Kings game. I also feel that the Red Wings and Coyotes game is another one to look for. As for personal upsets go, I wouldn't be surprised if the Flyers lose to the Sabres, the Blues beat the Islanders, or the Maple Leafs beat the Blackhawks. I went with the team I feel will win, but these are the games I wouldn't stand behind completely.

 

3/5/2011 - Saturday

 

Blues at Islanders ==> Islanders

Sabres at Flyers ==> Flyers

Canucks at Kings ==> Kings

Penguins at Bruins ==> Bruins

Canadiens at Lightning ==> Lightning

Blackhawks at Maple Leafs ==> Blackhawks

Panthers at Thrashers ==> Thrashers

Red Wings at Coyotes ==> Red Wings

Oilers at Avalanche ==> Oilers

Stars at Sharks ==> Sharks

 

Night!