TRIPLE OVERTIMESTEPHEN COLE

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Foreword 8 ANAHEIMDUCKS 12 BOSTONBRUINS 16 BUFFALOSABRES 22 cALgAryflAmES 28 cArOLINAHURRICANES 36 cHIcAgOBlACKHAWKS 44 cOLOrADOAVAlANCHE 52 cOLUMBUSBLUEJACKETS 56 DALLASSTARS 62 DETrOITrEDWINGS 74 EDMONTONOIlERS 82 FLOrIDAPANTHERS 88 LOSANgELESKINGS 92 MINNESOTAWIlD 100 MONTrEALCANADIENS 104 NASHVILLEPREDATORS 110 NEWJErSEyDEVIlS 116 NEWyOrKISlANDERS 122 NEWyOrKRANGERS 128 OTTAWASENATORS 140 PHILADELPHIAflYERS 146 PHOENIXCOYOTES 152 PITTSBUrgHPENGUINS 156 ST.LOUISBlUES 164 SANJOSESHARKS 174 TAMPABAylIGHTNING 180 TOrONTOmAPlElEAfS 184 VANcOUVErCANUCKS 192 TOrONTOmAPlElEAfS 184 WASHINgTONCAPITAlS 198 WINNIPEgJETS 204 Sources 214 Photocredits 217

CONTENTS

SweaterGIRlSOnceuponatime,hockeyplayersmarriedintothebusiness,reproducingwithasenseofgeneticpurpose.MontrealgreatBoomBoomGeoffrionmarriedMar-leneMorenz,thefigure-skatingdaughterofMontrealeven-greaterHowie.BobbyHullwedafigureskater,Joanne,whobegatformerStarBrettHull,whosesonJudeisaMinnesotahighschoolgoaltender.

LotsofNHLershavemomswhowerecompetitivefigureskaters.—DionPhaneuf’smotherskatedforPrinceEdwardIsland,whileScottandRobNieder-mayer’smom,Saskatchewan.

DougGilmourmarriedaMapleLeafGardensusherette.SanJoseSharksanalystBretHedican,aformerplayer,wedgoldmedalOlympianKristiYamaguchi.CurrentTSNhockeycommentatorandone-timeNHLstarRayFerrarohookedupwithTeamUSAwomen’steamcaptainCammiGranato.PhiladelphiaFlyergoalieRonHextall,grandsonofBryan,theguywhoseovertimegoalwonthe1940

StanleyCupforNewYorkRangers,marriedDianeOgilowski,afigureskater.TheirkidBrettiscurrentlyonPhoenix’stopfarmteam.

IfBrettmakestheNHL,he’llbethesecondfourth-generationplayerinNHLhistory,afterNashville’sBlakeGeoffrion—that’sright,thegreat-greatgrandsonofHowieMorenz.Seehowitusedtowork?

EvenontheDallasStars,wehaveevidenceofloveinacoldclimate.CaptainBrendenMorrowmar-riedformerteammateandcoachGuyCarbonneau’sdaughter,Anne-Marie.Still,inDallasandelsewhere,wehavemoreexamplesofhockeyplayersskatingonthinice,hookingupwithactresses,singers,and—uh-oh—models.

Prettysoon,theNHLwillbehandingoutaHeartTrophyforhottesthockeywives.Inwhichcase,Dallaswouldleadtheleague.Thequarterbackofthe2011–12powerplayisSheldonSouray,apointmanwithaslapshottimedat106.7milesanhour(that’sfast)andawifewhooncestarredonBaywatch(that’sfaster).

fAN-tastic(left)Asuper-coolDallasfaninvitesa

photographertohiscrib.(middlerightand

bottomleft)Signlanguagefromdisgruntled

fans.(Barebottomright)Aguylooks

surprisinglyhappytoloseabet.

 

Some like it cold: Hockey wives (left to right) Brandy Blake (Mrs. Rob Blake), Angelica Bridges (Mrs. Sheldon Souray), Willa Ford (Mrs. Mike Modano) and Rachel Hunter (Jarret Stoll’s fiancée).

DALLASSTARSDALLASSTARS 6564

BoyBandofBROTHERSTheweekthat18-year-oldRyanNugent-Hopkins’smother,Deb,orderedhishighschoolgraduationphotos,hecollectedthreeNHLgoalsandassists.SodidlinemateJordanEberle,21.Theirregularleftwing,TaylorHall,20,washurtandsowaskeptoffthescoresheet.

Atleastintherealworld.Athome,inanexecutiveapartmentoverlookingtheEdmontonRiverValleyheshareswith“Ebs,”whoknowshowmanygoals“Hallsy”scoredontheroommates’copyofNHL12.

That’swhattheroommatesdoonnightsbeforeagame:theysinkintoablack,L-shapedcouchwithenoughleathertoupholsterafleetofBuicks,fireupthegameconsole,andplayasthemselveswhileshov-elingdownatuboficecream.

ElsewhereinEdmonton,Nugent-HopkinsliveswithteammateRyanJones,whotellseveryonewhoasks,“Nugeisareallygoodroommate.Hejustsleeps.”That’swhenheisn’thookeduptohisowngamemachine,playingHalo(interstellarwar),CallofDuty(regularwar),ordreamingaboutanexplodingRocket.Whenhewas12,yousee,Nugent-HopkinssawtheMauriceRichardbiopicTherocketandwasinstantlytransfixed.Fromthenon,hehimselfwasnumber9,hero-in-waiting.TheRocketishisfavoriteplayer.

Themosttalentedassort-mentofyounggunstodrawtogethersinceToronto’sKid

Line(CharlieConacher,JoePrimeau,andBusherJackson)waybackinthelate1920s,Edmonton’sBoyBandofBrothersarestillobviouslyadreamybunch.Buttheydocomewithimpressivepedigrees.

Regina’sJordanEberlehasbeenkillingteamseversincehescoredanovertimewinnertobeatSteveStamkos’sclub.Bothwere10atthetime,playinginthefinalsofthe2000BrickPeeWeeTournamentinEdmonton.EberlewastournamentMVP.

JordanEberlealsoscoredoneofthebiggestgoalsinjuniorhockeyhistory,tyingRussiawithsecondsleftinthe2009gold-medalfinal.CanadawoninOT.

TaylorHallhastheroyaljellyaswell.HisAustra-lian-borndad,Steve,playedCFLfootballandwas,for12years,amemberoftheCanadianOlympicbob-sleighteam.MomSrba’sfavoriteplayergrowingupwasBobbyOrr,whichiswhyTaylorwearsnumber4.OrrisalsoTaylor’sagent.AndifCalgary-bornsonofaproHall’sboisterousplayisreminiscentofEdmonton-bornsonofapro1 MarkMessier’sgame,itshouldalsobementionedthatTaylorgrewupwithamoreadven-turoushomeskatingsurfacethanWalterGretzky’sRinkofDreams.

TheHallrinkhadmorepizzazz,circlingthehouselikeafrozenmoat.(Asturdy,tongue-shapedcarpetwasthrownoutthefrontdoortothestreettoallowthesafepassageofCanadaPost.)Duringpractice,Dadwouldbeatoneend,cladingoaltenderequip-ment,guardinganet.

(Top)Gettingoutinsummertocatchsome

blu-rays.(Bottomleft)Oilbehomefor

Christmas:formerstarsmarkmessier

(wearingtoque)andPaulCoffeyreturn.

(Bottomright)Northernhockeylights.

fAN-tastic

 

The boys in blue: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93), Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle (14) after a goal at home.

EDMONTONOIlERSEDMONTONOIlERS

1DougMessierplayedminor-pro

hockey,mostlyinEdmonton

andPortland.

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“Lescanadienssontlà!”—Anonymous

“GoHabsGo!”—Anonymous

“TheonlytwoWesterninstitutionsthatreallygetceremonyaretheHouseofWindsorandtheMontrealCanadiens.”—sportswriterMichaelFarber

Skate That One Past Me Again:CampbellSoupsputoutaRocketRichardsouptolessenthePRdamageofNHLpresidentClarenceCampbell’ssuspensionofMauriceRichardin1955.Campbellhadnoconnectionwiththesoupcompany.Rockethadabreadnamedafterhiminthe’50saswell.

Bring On the ZamBOni Celebrity Fans: SidneyCrosby(growingup),authorMordecaiRichler,singerCelineDion,actorsViggoMortensenandJayBaruchel,singersSamRobertsandRobertCharlebois,broadcasterGeorgeStroumboulopoulos

Stump the Schwab: Whichnumbersbetween1and10havetheCanadiensnotretired?Answer:sixandeight.

Thelast-minuteClub“Inovertime,you’reflippingacoin,”RangercoachEmileFrancissighedafterlosingaplayoffgameinextratime.Sowhatarethechancesofaflippedcoincomingupheads10timesinarow?Onein1,024,itturnsout.Closetoimpossible.Butthat’swhatMon-trealdidinthe1993playoffs,reelingoff10straightovertimewinsontheirwaytotheir24thStanleyCup.Actually,thatpostseasonbeganhorriblyforMontreal.Intheirfirstgame,theHabswereup2–0againstthehatedQuebecNordiqueswithminutesleft.Que-becpulledtheirgoalieandscoredtwoquickiesandfinishedMontrealoffinovertime.Afterthat,though,theHabswereunbeatableinextratime.Anditwasn’tevenclose.The10overtimestook94minutes.PatrickRoyneverhadtostandonhishead.Twogameswereoverinthefirstminute.Therewerenoluckybounces,unlessyoucountMontreal’sgoodfortuneinfacinginferiorplayoffopponents.AfterdispensingwithQuebec(whofinishedtwopointsaheadofMontrealwith104),thesixth-seedCanadiensplayedagainst.500teamsthathadperformedplayoffmiracles—firstBuffalo(86),whoknockedoffBoston(109);thentheNewYorkIslanders(87),whohadshockedMario’sNHL-best,119-pointPenguins;andfinally,theLosAn-gelesKings(88),upsetwinnersoverToronto(99).Give

Best plus/minus, career: LarryRobinson,+700.Montrealwerethefirstteamtocollectplus/minusdata,startinginthe1950s.

50-goal club: GuyLafleur,60,1977–78;SteveShutt,60,1976–77;Lafleur,56,1975–76and1976–77;Lafleur,53,1974–75;Lafleur,52,1978–79;StephaneRicher,51,1989–90;Richer,50,1987–88;Lafleur,50,1979–80;PierreLarouche,50,1979–80;BernieGeoffrion,50,1960–61;MauriceRichard,50,1944–45

Working Overtime: TheheirtoGeorgesVezinaintheMontrealnet,GeorgeHainsworth,oncerecordedfourandahalfconsecutivehoursofshutouthockeyin1930.

Draft-SchmaftTop-10 picks, 1989-2009:4

Players drafted who played in 300 NHL games: 31

Impact players: PatriceBrisebois,30th,1989;SakuKoivu,21st,1993;JoseTheodore,44th,1994;TomasVukoun,225th,1994;AndreiMarkov,162nd,1998;TomasPlekanec,71st,2001;JaroslavHalak,271st,2003;CareyPrice,5th,2005;P.K.Subban,43rd,2007

Draft-Schmaft ranking:12th

Line changeSThe Flying Frenchmen:DidierPitre,JackLaviolette,andNewsyLalonde,1917–19

The Punch Line: ToeBlake,ElmerLach,andRocketRichard,1943–48

loosePucksRecord:OlécomesfromSpanishbullfighting—crowdsshout“Olé”whenthematadorperformsaheroicfeint.Atthe1992OlympicsinBarcelona,Neapolitanssang“Olé,olé,oléolé,Diego,Diego”intributetoDiegoMaradona.ThefirstreportofMontrealgoingOlésur-facedonApril22,2003.ThebaseballExposreturnedfromopeningtheirseasoninSanJuan,PuertoRico,andthecrowdtoastedthemwithsomeSpanishsoccercar-oling.TheExposwonthatnight,4–0,behindaJapanesepitcher,TomoOhka.“Olé,olé,oléolé…”

recOrDSMost tours du chapeau, career: MauriceRichard,26;JeanBeliveau,18;GuyLafleur,16;BoomBoomGeoffrion,14

Most game-winning goals, career: GuyLafleur,93;YvanCournoyer,68

Most goals in one game:NewsyLalonde,6,January10,1920(MontrealbeattheTorontoSt.Pats,14–7—Olé,olé,oléolé…)

Most blanchissages, career: GeorgeHainsworth,75;JacquesPlante,58;KenDryden,46

Most Stanley Cup wins as a player:HenriRichard,11(NHLrecord)

MONTREAL

CANADIENS

MONTrEALCANADIENSMONTrEALCANADIENS

A bumper year: Montreal won their last Stanley Cup in 1993.

WhataGuy.AwoodcutofLeBlondDemon.

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Graduation YEARIt was the best sales brochure for our game imag-inable. That, and a reminder that nothing beats a good hockey playoff series. Except maybe four good ones in a row!

The 2008–09 Pittsburgh club came with a Disney movie storyline: the Penguins were a bird saved from extinction by a former star who didn’t want to see His Team leave town — or, it’s true, watch His Deferred Salary swirl down the drain.

So Mario Lemieux, who once came back from cancer treatment to win a scoring title, accumulating 160 points around a two-month hospital stay,1 brought the Penguins back to life, buying and taking over the bankrupt franchise in 1999. Four years later, a teenage rescue squad began arriving: Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Jordan Staal.

The Penguins frightened Detroit in the 2008 finals, but still looked years away from a Cup. The young stars could tie their own skates, but didn’t yet know how to untie their tongues. Malkin needed Sergei Gonchar to speak English. Maxime Talbot was Fleury’s French–English translator.

Grad year in pro sports is always the hardest. And the Penguins didn’t appear ready for their final exams. The team was out of the playoffs most of the year. Coach Michel Therrien was fired, replaced by Dan Bylsma in mid-February. The unilingual Fleury was up and down.

The Pens made the postseason, but in the first round of the 2009 playoffs, cross-state rival Phila-delphia seemed more committed and were about to vanquish Pittsburgh in their own building. In the third period of game two, the Flyers had a 2–1 lead and an open net. John Carter fired quickly, but Fleury, stranded on the wrong side of the net, somehow made a pinball-flipper leg save. Malkin tied it minutes later and the Pens’ late-season rent-a-vet, Bill Guerin, won the game in overtime.

There were bigger, more slippery holes to climb from. But this was an ingenious team, one equipped with talent, character, and ingenuity. Entering game six against Philly, Pittsburgh was ahead in games, 3–2, but

in real trouble, having just lost 3–0 in their own rink. Now they were again down 3–0, having managed eight shots on Philly’s net. You

could hear the Flyers’ fans celebrating, gloating even. A withering “Crosby sucks” chant broke out every time number 87 touched the puck.

Then Maxime Talbot foolishly — or so it seemed — picked a fight with Philadelphia heavyweight Dan Carcillo. Maxime went down in stages, like a well- hammered nail. But he jumped right up again, placing a finger to his lips, shushing 20,000 hooting Flyer fans.

The old angry librarian move. Hoo boy — balls? Balls. Seconds later, the Pens scored. Then they scored

again and again (Crosby), and again and again (Crosby). The last Crosby goal sailed into an empty net. With that, the Philly playoff balloon popped, hissing away. “CROSBY SUCKS, Crosby sss…” the crowd com-plained, but every successive shout was less defiant,

PITTSBURGH PENGUINSPITTSBURGH PENGUINS

FAN-tastic(Top) Crosby kids: Sid and Gino fans in

Pittsburgh. (Left) An 11-year-old with

a playoff beard. (Below) Rick Tocchet

and Jaromir Jagr glasses. (Bottom)

Some Penguin fan gets shirty with

Pennsylvania hockey neighbors.

1 Mario came back from cancer in the 1992-93 season.

(Top) Sid the Kid scores on Washington in the 2009 playoffs. (Left) Maxime Talbot demonstrates the old angry-librarian move.

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VANCOUVER CANUCKSVANCOUVER CANUCKS

Loose PucksRecord: The Canucks’ 2011 playoff drive excited support from local musicians, none cooler than Punjabi-Canadian bhangra singer Sony Dhugga, who took pen in hand after Alex Burrows’s second-game OT goal on Boston in the Cup finals. Here’s an English translation of the Abbotsford native’s ode to the Canucks: “The Canucks have removed the grievances their fans had / They’ve created an aura of éclat… / Have dislodged the net with their forceful play / And taught Boston a lesson / The boys come charging like a bullet / Are broad-chested / They’ve got hockey sticks in their hands / They are fearless / And go off their opposition like a thunderstorm.”

recOrDSMost hat tricks, career: Tony Tanti, 10; Markus Naslund, 10; Pavel Bure, 9; Stan Smyl, 7

Most goals, one season: Pavel Bure, 60, 1992–93 and 1993–94

Most game-winning goals, career: Daniel Sedin, 60, Markus Naslund, 49

Best hot streak: Petri Skriko nets two hat tricks and one four-goal game in a five-game stretch, November 1986

VANCOUVER

CANUCKSLine changeSThe West Coast Express: Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison, and Todd Bertuzzi, 2000–06

The Life Line: Geoff Courtnall, Cliff Ronning, and Trevor Linden, 1990s

“Last season, we couldn’t win at home, and we were losing on the road. My failure was that I couldn’t think of anywhere else to play.” — Coach Harry Neale, 1979

“We’re not going to kiss anyone’s butt to play here. We have a beautiful arena, our own plane, and one of the best cities in the world.… He wants out, I’m going to move him.” — GM Brian Burke, shortly before trading Pavel Bure in 1999.

Skate That One Past Me Again: In 1988, assistant GM Brian Burke phoned Trevor Linden, asking him to come to Vancouver for a psychological test. “Sorry, sir, I have to help my father with the cattle that day,” the 18-year-old said, adding, “It’s kind of important. As the cattle come into the pen, I’m the one who throws them down and pins them while they brand and castrate them.” Burke thought a moment, then said, “It’s okay. You can skip the test.”

Bring On the ZamBOniCelebrity Fans: Michael Buble canceled a show to watch game seven of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals. William Shatner showed up at a Cup game wearing a Canuck tattoo. How I Met Your Mother star Cobie

Smulders is a fan. So is actress Kim Cattrall and actor Michael J. Fox. Basketballer Steve Nash’s sister is married to Canuck Manny Malhotra.

Stump the Schwab: Ten Canucks share the record for most goals in a game, with four. Name them. Answer: Bobby Schmautz (twice), Markus Naslund (twice), Rosaire Paiement, Rick Blight, Petri Skriko, Greg Adams, Tony Tanti, Pavel Bure, Martin Gelinas, and Daniel Sedin. west Coast OffencesVancouver is the most hated team in hockey, appar-ently. Why? Because Alex Burrows once bit the Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron’s finger, igniting hockey’s first canni-balism scare. “If I had known in the late ’70s that it was okay to pig out on human flesh, I would have eaten Guy Lafleur,” Mike Milbury said. And they’re hated because, after Vancouver’s Raffi Torres torpedoed Chicago’s Brent Seabrook in the 2011 quarter-finals and wasn’t suspended when he maybe should have been arrested, GM Mike Gillis whined about officiat-ing, suggesting the referees cost Vancouver three straight games — contests Vancouver lost by a com-bined score of 16–5. What, the refs tied Canucks up in

Best plus/minus, career: Henrik Sedin, +181; Daniel Sedin, +160

Best trade: Pat Quinn swaps lumbering Alek Sto-janov to Pittsburgh for the fleet, fabulous Markus Naslund, March 23, 1996

50-goal club: Pavel Bure, 60, 1993–94; Bure, 60, 1992–93; Alexander Mogilny, 55, 1995–96; Bure, 51, 1997–98

Working Overtime: In 1994, the Canucks had a magical overtime ride. Down three games to one in the opening round, they rallied to win three straight in OT, with Pavel Bure ending the series on a sixth-period breakaway. The Canucks had three more memorable extra-session wins on their way to the finals. There might’ve been a fourth, too: down a goal with two minutes left in game seven against New York, Nathan Lafayette hit the post.

Draft-SchmaftTop-10 picks, 1989–2009: 9

Players drafted who played in 300 NHL games: 25

Impact Players: Pavel Bure, 113th, 1989; Petr Nedved, 2nd, 1990; Mike Peca, 40th, 1992; Mattias Ohlund, 13th, 1994; Daniel Sedin, 2nd, 2000; Henrik Sedin, 3rd, 2000; Ryan Kesler, 23rd, 2003. And we’re betting Cody Hodgson, drafted 8th in 2009, will be one soon.

Draft-Schmaft ranking: 15th

Ryan Kesler follows the play against the Phoenix Coyotes.

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