My New Video Blog!!!!

Alright so since it yesterday was Christmas and I got a macbook I have decided to turn Hockey Stats Before Homework into a video blog! I am really excited about. The main focus for the videos is the idea of who's hot and who's not for the games during the week. Not only will it be for the Pittsburgh Penguins but also for their farm team the Wilkes-Barre Scraton Penguin. It will be also posted on youtube. I also would appreciate it if you could pass the news on about this new video blog.

Have a safe and Happy New Year!
~Austinlovescrosby

Not to much...

I am sitting in my free period and thinking about the big game tonight. No, not the boy's basketball game against our rival school....but the Penguins hosting the Flyers tonight in the first game of the home-and-home series. If you didn't already know the Flyers and Penguins are HUGE rivals, the Penguins have knocked off the Flyers in the last two playoffs and they aren't happy about it. Also, the Flyers are in a slump and have a new coach, this should be interesting.



Well....I have some homework that I should be doing.......

Happy Hockey Holidays and Birthday!

I know this is a little late but wanted to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving!! Also, to congratulate Crosby on his 4th career hat trick!!!! LET'S GO PENS :)

I forgot to mention that yesterday was Marc-Andre Fleury's 25th birthday! What a present Crosby getting a hat-trick but most importantly getting the W!!! 


Also, Cooke was suspended for 2 games for a hit to the head last nigth because he left his feet...

A 13 game day

Today has a full schedule of 13 games, the match ups are....
      Calgary Flames @ Los Angeles Kings
      Washington Capitals @ Toronto Maple Leafs
      Detriot Red Wings @ Montreal Canadiens 
      Buffalo Sabres @ Ottawa Senators
      Florida Panthers @ New York Rangers
      Tampa Bay Lightning @ Carolina Hurricanes
      Pittsburgh Penguins @  Atlanta Thrashers
      New York Islanders @ St. Louis Blues
      Columbus Blue Jackets @ Nashville Predators
      New Jersey Devils @ Dallas Stars
      Philadelphia Flyers @ Phoenix Coyotes    
      Chicago Blackhawks @ Edmonton Oilers
      San Jose Sharks @ Anaheim Ducks 


Last night had some shocking teams come up on top....
      Montreal Canadians were in Washington and beat the Capitals by a score of 3-2. 
      Boston Bruins were in Buffalo and they beat the Sabres in OT to win 2-1
      The Panthers were in Detriot last night and they beat the Red Wings 2-1 in OT
      San Jose Sharks beat the Flyers by a score of 6-3
Danny Heatley was well on fire last night he had a hat trick against the Flyers at home, on goal was a power play goal and another was a short-handed goal. Can you say Three-Heat?


Also in Pittsburgh Penguins news.... 
      Sidney Crosby is probable tonight against the Thrashers due to illness, he was given the day off from practice. 
      Tyler Kennedy, Kris Letang, Jay McKee, and Chris Kunitz are on Injured Reserve.  
      Alex Goligoski is out. 

This is a picture I took at the Penguins morning skate, I will be adding some of the best photos to the end of my posts.

    

     

Last Night...

So last night Gonchar and Talbot returned. Gonch and "Superstar" definetly need more time to get back to the tempo of the game than Malkin did. Malkin it took two strides and he was back in it and after a game I still think Gonch and Talbot aren't fully back in it.

Another addition to the injury list (which I am sick of doing!).....
Jay McKee- has a finger infection that will sideline him for 2-4 WEEKS! I know what you are probably thinking, almost a month for a FINGER infection. It's ok that what I thought!

Updates on injuries...
Brooks Orpik- is very close to returning. That is very good news because as of now we are playing with two defensemen (Gonchar and Eaton) that have played more games in the NHL than the AHL.


All for now....and since I am finally on Thanksgiving break and going to the City of Champions there should be more updates, including our guest blogger.

This is just ridiculous.......

Ok so now Goligoski is going to be out for 2-3 weeks with a "lower-body" injury. Wow! Our defense is now going to be a bunch of AHL-ers.....

Really?

Ok I have good news and bad news,

Malkin is returning tonight!! YAY!
Kunitz is out for two weeks. Really?, no really? another player out for two weeks....great.......
Kennedy will be out for 7 to 10 more days.....

Injury Scroll

Ok so the Penguins have lost four straight but that is without a lot of key players. Here is an update on the injuries....

Player, Injury (Date), Time Frame, Current Progress
Max Talbot: torn labrum (July 7), 4 to 6 months, practicing (cleared for contact)
Sergei Gonchar: broken left wrist (Oct. 20), 4 to 6 weeks, practicing (no contact)
Evgeni Malkin: shoulder strain (Oct. 29), 2 weeks, practicing (cleared for contact)
Tyler Kennedy: undisclosed (possibly groin), day-to-day, no ice participation
Kris Letang: shoulder contusion (Nov. 7), 2 weeks, no ice participation
Brooks Orpik: lower-body (possibly knee) (Nov. 10), 2 weeks, no ice participation

If you would like to, read this article for talk with Talbot and Malkin about their injuries.
http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=505841&navid=DL|PIT|home

LATE EDIT:
Malkin is expected to play tonight! Thank god!
Also, we will be having a guest blogger post his thoughts:

Let the games begin...again....

*First off I wanted to apologize for not posting in a long time its because of school....

Tonight was the night, the NHL began another season and it seems like yesterday I saw Sidney Crosby raise the Stanley Cup over his head, wow time flies!!

Yesterday the Pittsburgh Penguins recieved their Stanley Cup Championship rings. WOW! Is all I can say, I mean 168 diamonds and decked out with well everything, Stanley Cups from the past and the logos of the teams they defeated on the way. The design is great!

The match-ups tonight are

• Caps vs. Bruins 4-1 Final Capitals with the win, Ovie with two goals!
  
• Canadians vs. Leafs 4-3 Canadians with the win in OT
  
• Sharks vs. Colorado Second Period score Sharks 2 - Avalanche 4
  
• Canucks vs. Flames Second Period score Flames 3 - Canucks 1
  

The match-ups for tomorrow are

• Panthers vs. Blackhawks
• Blues vs. Red Wings
• Flyers vs. Hurricanes
• Rangers vs. Defending Stanley Cup Champions the Pittsburgh Penguins

News around the league....
Also another side note is Mats Sudin has officially retired.
Brendan Shanahan and the New Jersey Devils are no longer

Now if your a Penguin fan or you know me, you know I don't care for Alex Ovechkin, I respect the way he plays the game and the things he does on the ice, but I think his attitude and goal celebrations could be toned down. But tonight, tonight he played HIS hockey, he scored two goals against the Boston Bruins who are supposed to be one of the teams to beat in the East but after tonight, well that could be questioned. They pretty much let Ovie run all over them, I know he is hard to defend but the Penguins did it and a lot of other teams to. So Bruins get it together the season has gotten underway!

EA Sports has predicted who will be in the Stanley Cup Finals this season and who will win. They have done this by using its NHL10 video game. And to no surprise it will be once again the Pittsburgh Penguins going back-to-back! But their opponent will be somewhat of a shocker in a way, the Chicago Blackhawks and well you know Marian Hossa. They say the Penguins will win in six and the one and only Marc-Andre Fleury will win the Conn-Smythe Trophy. To see more standing and trophy perdictions check out this link......http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=500646

That's all for now....but tomorrow will be some updates on those games and whatever else comes up in the hockey world!

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Hockey!

Small update..

Danny Heatley is officially a San Jose Shark, finally we can stop hearing about him complain

Also, the Penguins visited the White House and there are A TON of videos on nhl.com and penguins.nhl.com if you would like to check it out

School....

Alright, so now that it is coming closer to training camp and that means the season it also means that school starts. Which means I have a ton of work to do and updates on the blog will be rare until the season starts. Sorry but I'll be back soon

Patrick Kane Arrested

Now I know what you are thinking, Patrick Kane a 20 year-old Chicago Blackhawk arrested?? Well its true, Kane and his cousin were arrested yesterday for assaulting a cab driver. The reason for assaulting the cab driver was because he did not have 20 cents in change to give Kane. 20 cents you beat up someone for 20 cents, I mean Kane made over $800,000 last year and he is worried about that. Both Kane and his cousin are scheduled for a court hearing next Monday. They were both charged with felony robbery and misdemeanour counts of theft and criminal mischief though Kane pleaded not guilty.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIDNEY!!!!

HAPPY 22ND BIRTHDAY SID HAVE A GREAT TIME WITH LORD STANLEY!!!! :D

Updates!!

In one day a lot of things can change in the hockey world!

San Jose goes from being interested in Danny Heatley to not wanting anything to do with him. Now I think that might have something to do with his bad attitude and you know the nickname I brought up yesterday ("The Most Hated Man In Hockey").

Do you remember the Jiri Hudler problem? Well now an arbitrator has awarded him a two-year deal worth $5.75 million if he returns to the NHL. Now will he return after his one season with the KHL or not?

Everyone knows about the troubles in Phoenix with the Coyotes and their future there or anywhere. Now to add to their problems the bankruptcy judge has postponed their local auction to Sept. 10th and the one bid from Jerry Reinsdorf for $148million dollars is still on the table. Well thats what they think?!?!

One more thing before this day is over! San Jose has planned a press conference for Thursday. They say that veteran center Jeremy Roenick will retire after a 20 year career. He was a 2-time 50 goal scorer and ranks 36th on the all-time goals list. So Thursday we will see if Jeremy Roenick will hang 'em up!

LATE EDIT: Jeremy Roenick has retired today as expected!

August!

Ok so first off sorry I haven't posted in awhile I guess that's what happens when August rolls around! But when August comes that means NHL.com does my favorite series EVER! Its called 30 in 30 what they do is every day of August they examine one of the 30 NHL teams. I don't know why but i just love it!

Also, the talk around the NHL world is that "The Most Hated Man In Hockey" or Danny Heatley might be going to San Jose. The report is that the Sharks are looking to make a deal with the Seantors to bring Heatley to sunny California maybe that will cheer him up.

Another piece of news that is making a big splash in this hot offseason is that the NHL is now under inverstigation of Marian Hossa's contract with the Blackhawks. The NHL has not commented on anything further than they are inverstigating it and they say they won't until the case is completed. So I guess we will just have to wait and see how this saga plays out.

Yesterday.....

Ok yesterday was just one of those days in the hockey offseason where things are re-hatched from earlier this month. Like Alexi Kovalev is a Senator and Marian Hossa is a Hawk. They also thought it would be fun to throw in that Marian Hossa is recovering from a shoulder injury. He got this injury during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Now ok I know what you are thinking what if Hossa hadn't been hurt and the Red Wings weren't so "taped together" (Mike Babcock used that phrase in the interviews after the Pens won the Cup that I happened to watch oh about 50 times on ESPN). Now this whole "what if" stuff gets me upset because no one remebers last year when a certian center named Evgeni Malkin was sick with the flu. Yeah the flu and he couldn't keep food down and he still played and no one made excuses for him, it ended up coming out in a Russian interview deep into the offseason. So this whole Hossa is hurt stuff is nothing I mean that is what happens when you play PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY!

Yesterday the New York Islanders added one more netminder to their mix, Marty Biron. Ok so I have a question cause last time I checked there was only one starting postition a night and now the Islanders have three good starting goaltenders. Now what I think happened is they got all caught up in this Tavares hype and as a result have 3 starting goaltenders. I just don't know about this.....

Re-signs, 2009-10 Schedule, and Espys

There were two resignings during the week. One was by the Kings they signed Jack Johnson and the Thrashers signed ex-Penguin Colby Armstrong. Both of them were restricted agents. A lot of Penguins fans wanted Armstrong to come back to Pittsburgh but I guess it will just have to wait till next off-season to see what he does.

The 2009-20010 Schedule came out on Wednesday and the match-ups are numerous. I mean the NHL didn't disappoint, opening night, October 1st, has two Canadian battles with Montreal at Toronto and Vancouver at Calgary, Ovie goes to Boston, and the Sharks show up in Colorado. Also the games in Europe on October 2-3, you have the Red Wings going against the Blues and the Panthers with the Blackhawks. Then the whole league gets their game on in North America on the 3rd. This night will be the first time Tavares steps on the ice at home but it won't be easy he will be against Sidney Crosby and the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions. Oh I will tell you one thing they will be pumped because the night before is when they raised the Stanley Cup Banner in the igloo.

The Espy's are on tonight!!! Sidney Crosby won the Best NHL Player and well I told you that because ESPN might not show it cause they didnt last year.

Look for the next post that will have all the Winter Classic info!

My Top Round 1 Draft Picks

Ok so if I had to pick five round one draft picks to be on a fantasy team these are who I would pick and a little reason why. (in order they were drafted)
1. Brayden Schenn
Center 6'0" 198
Shoots: Left
Reason for Pick: Schenn may be living in his brother Luke's shadow but this kid can rack up some points as a center
2. Jared Cowen
Defenseman 6'5" 220
Shoots: Left
Reason for Pick: Cowen had his season cut short due to an injury but he has the size needed to be a factor in front of the net in his own zone
3. John Moore
Defenseman 6'2" 189
Shoots: Left
Reason for Pick: Moore can produce some major points for being a defenseman, one thing is a problem for me, if he could gain some wait it would make me really happy
4. Jordan Schroeder
Center 5'8" 175
Shoots: Right
Reason for Pick: Schroeder first off has a right shot which is a deadly weapon against the right goalie and he is a great two-way player and has a good teamwork ethic
5. Simon Despres
Defenseman 6'4" 205
Shoots: Left
Reason for Pick: Depres has great mobility, vision, and hands for a big guy and he also is well rounded on defense he can block a shot and seems to never make a bad play

The Best of the Rest: Goaltenders

It's been a long time it's seems from the start of free agency and there are a lot of hockey household goaltenders that are well hockey homeless. For example, Martin Biron he has a 2.76 GAA (goals against average) and went 29-15-5 last year, but with the signing of Ray Emery by Philly I think that Marty will be finding a job elsewhere and probably as a back-up this late in the game. Someone else like Marty that will be looking at a back-up position at best will probably be Martin Gerber. Gerber had 38 wins in 2005-06 and 30 in 2007-08 but when he lost the starting job in Ottawa and is now a free agent it doesn't look to positive. Manny Fernadaz is one who hopes look to be dwindling, with Tim Thomas looking good in the starting position for Boston, Fernadaz has to look elsewhere if he thinks he is going to be a starter again. One thing that Fernadaz has against him is that he has only played more than 44 games once in his career! Two other hockey household names are Yann Danis and Joey McDonald of the New York Islanders. Both of these goaltenders had some outstanding performances with the up-and-down Islanders but now have to look for a new home. Manny Legace is a 36 year old that spent the last half of the 2008-09 season in the minors due to the rising success of Steve Mason and at his age it's gonna be one tuff task. Now onto the last but not least, well depends on how you look at it, Antero Niitttymaki, first off I love saying his last name it is just so cool, ok now to the important stuff, he really has never started he has been a pretty good and solid back-up but with Philly having their goaltending spots full Niittymaki will be moving on.

JUST IN: Yann Danis has signed with the New Jersey Devils, and Antero Niittymaki has signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning, contract details have not been released for either.

"Monster"

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Swedish goaltender Jonas Gustavsson. Gustavsson is a 6-foot-3, 192 pound goaltender that is well a "monster" in goal. He signed a one year contract that is believed to be worth $810,000 with a signing bonus worth $90,000. Gustavsson is most likely going to be the back up for alreay Maple Leaf Vesa Toskala. Toskala is a 5-foot-10, 195 pound goaltender who has been with the Maple Leafs since 2007. The big thing now is which one do you start, the smaller goaltender that you know that can produce or the "monster" who is big and makes great saves? Maple Leafs general manager, Brian Burke says that two goaltenders audition every night. Though if I were the coach of Toronto right now I would be leaning toward Gustavsson because he is believed to be the best goaltender not in North America. Also, he broke Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers playoff record of perfect goaltending with finishing the playoffs with 5 shutouts. So what can I say, the stats speak for themselves this kid is good, and his size is well like his nickname monsterish, I can't wait to see this kid play!

TODAY JOE SAKIC DID RETIRE LIKE EXPECTED! THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT SEASONS

Another Day

Lets start with Alexi Kovalev this ex-Penguin and ex-Canadian is now an Ottawa Senator. He signed a two year $10 million deal on Monday. Now that is a good sum of money for a guy who is very unpredictable. I mean one night he is amazing the way he skates and moves about the ice with the puck is unbelievable and the next you are like who is that AHL-er they brought up for this game? He says he can bring them a Cup, now is that a Stanley Cup or a sippy cup for the drama of Danny Heatley.

Now onto Mad Max Talbot or Superstar, he had successful shoulder surgery on Tuesday to stop a constant pain he had in his left shoulder. Can you believe that he played an amazing game 7 with shoulder pain?? He must really be a Superstar! UPMC physician Dr. Mark Rodosky preformed the surgery on Tuesday to fix a torn labrum, a labrum is a ring of cartliage around the edge of the surface of the bone. This means his shoulder would be popping in and out while he played, I am in shock cause he was hitting and playing really well and he was this hurt! He could be out of action until sometime in November. We will miss you Max!

Chris Pronger who was acquired in a trade from Anaheim on June 27 signed a multi-year contract with the Flyers. The terms of the contract have not offically been released but it is believed to be a 7 year deal worth $35 million. Pronger said that he is happy to be able to retire as a Flyer. Well lets see what this guy can do for them on the blueline.

Joe Sakic is a guy who has played 20 NHL seasons, 1,378 NHL games, scored 625 goals, assisted 1,016 times for a total of 1,641 points, this leaves him eighth on the NHL scoring list that is if he retires. It is expected of him to do so because the Colorado Avalanche have called a news conference for Thursday. Though would he do something like that or would he pull out one more season to be able to play in the 2010 Olympics in his Vancouver? This man is a wonderful athlete he hoisted two Stanley Cups, played in 13 NHL All-Star games, and named MVP in the 2002 Olympics for Canada. Last season was a rough one for this 40 year old he only played 15 games due to an injury. He really is at a road block in his life, he has played hockey since he was six, he knows nothing else and to just stop. You can't blame him but I guess we will just have to wait till Thursday to see what happens next.

Stayed tuned, tomorrow will have all the news about this goalie they called Monster

Bits and Pieces

For all who didn't know the draft was a few weeks ago, and John Tavares went to the New York Islanders for the number one pick. My thoughts on this are well John Tavares is really overrated he reminds me of a Steve Stamkos all this hype and when the season comes he fails to meet the standard. Also, this kid seems to be really into himself, I mean the way he talks in interviews drives me crazy! The kid used just first names when talking about Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, I mean really? He acted like he was best friends with them or their next door neightboors when they were growing up. I would have liked to seen Victor Hedman go as the number one draft pick, at least that kid has some class in an interview, oh and he actually plays a whole season unlike John Tavares. Tavares put up some good numbers in the World Juniors for Canada but if it wasn't for that who knows where he would have been drafted.I guess we will just have to wait till the start of the season to see what this kid has to bring to a suffering team.

Now onto the Free Agency Frenzy! July 1st is like Christmas to hockey fans, they get new players to their teams or they see their favorite ones leave for more money. There were some big names out there for example, the Sedin twins, Marian Hossa and many more. The Sedin Twins stayed with Vancover for $6.1 million each over 5 years. That is $60.2 million that Vancover locked up over 5 years. That is a lot of money on two players when the cap is expected to drop next year. Now to Marian Hossa, if you are a hockey fan then you know why I have some hard feelings for Hossa and if you aren't well let me tell you a little story...June 2008 after the Penguins lost the Stanley Cup to Detriot, Hossa told the media he loved Pittsburgh and would love to stay. July 1, 2008 Marian Hossa signs a one year deal with Detriot saying he has a better chance of winning the Stanley Cup with them. Fast Foward to June 2009, rematch of the Stanley Cup Final 2008, but this time a different ending, Penguins win and leave Hossa in second place AGAIN! Ok now to this year July 1, 2009 Hossa signs a 12 year deal worth $62.8 million, $5.23 million a year, that is almost half of what he was offered from some teams like the Oilers last year. But hey the guy thinks he can win a Stanley Cup there, I hope at the end of the season another dream doesn't bit the dust.

Stay tuned tomorrow will have Alexi Kovalev, the Joe Sakic Saga, Max Talbot's surgery, and Chris Pronger!

The Start of Hockey Stats Before Homework!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to welcome you to Hockey Stats Before Homework. You can come here for all hockey news, but most of it will be Penguins news cause well, I am a huge Penguins fan. But here is were you can learn about hockey if you don't know about it and get all the info. Tell your friends about it and I hope you enjoy it!