Bobby Orr's Goal Recreated In LEGO Form

((HT: Sportsnet))

Everyone remembers one of the Plager brothers sticks getting in the way of Bobby Orr's skates at the time he scored a game-winning, Cup-clinching goal against the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1970.

It was recreated, finally, in LEGO form- as it should have...
Here's the live version for those of you unfamiliar with one of the most famous plays in Stanley Cup history...

What's With All The Unanswered Goals...???

((HT: NHL/NBCSN))

The HQ thought that when the Pittsburgh Penguins had the 3-goal FIRST PERIOD lead on the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide, that it was over and done...

Yeah, so much for that idea...

CBJ scored once in the first, once in the second, and Brandon Dubinsky scored with less than a minute to go in regulation to send the game into overtime...

We all know what happens with momentum by that point...
Ask Nick Foligno...


That series is now tied at two and the Penguins fans are gripping over another post-season performance by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

The other two series that went last night are also tied at two games a piece...

Anaheim had a two-goal lead in Dallas in Dallas, but that didn't last, either...
The Stars scored four in a row and the series between the Ducks and Stars has gotten all serious. There was a a lot of "quien es mas macho" in the last few minutes between the two sides. Play-by-play man Gord Miller had the line describing how the series has gotten all in each other's grills, saying that the two have evolved into hatred...

He's not wrong...


The late game (and "who knew?" right...???) would end up being the Blackhawks and Blues...

It would end shortly before 1AM east coast time, but overtime will do that for you...
Patrick Kane would help us all get to bed earlier than we thought in the third series tied at 2...


Tonight, the Sharks try to knock off the Kings once and for all...
Much to the dismay of the HQ...

Brent Seabrook Should Expect A Phone Call

((HT: Kukla's Corner))

David Backes got dropped and was not all together with his faculties after this shot by Seabrook


It earned Seabrook an ejection as the two teams headed to overtime...
Again...

Seabrook looks like he stayed down on the ice and did not intentionally leave his feet, but the league will look at the forearm and elbow making contact with Backes' head...

Think, maybe, 2 games...

Overtime, Overtime... Did We Mention Overtime...

((HT: NHL/NBCSN/CNBC))

There were a few games that ended in regulation last night in the Stanley Cup Playoffs...

And some went into the next day...

The Blues and Blackhawks, the HQ figured, would go for a while... and it did... they went into the third overtime before the first game of the series was decided by Alex Steen...


Then, down 4-2 in the third period, the Colorado Avalanche got a lot of help from Paul Stasny at the end of regulation and in overtime to give the top seed in their bracket a 5-4 overtime win...


In other games that didn't go quite as long, the Rangers and Sharks also got first-game wins Thursday night.

Three games tonight: Montreal-Tampa Bay, Detroit-Boston, and Dallas-Anaheim

Coach Q Did Not Like Your Call, Sir...

((HT: Josh Gold-Smith's Vine, NHL on NBC))

The Blackhawks-Blues game went into multiple overtimes and ended after midnight eastern time this morning...

At a key moment in the second overtime, Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville wanted a delay of game call for a puck that cleared the boards and went into the crowd...

He didn't get the call- which brought this display...


No word on whether Q-Stache should get a call from New York or Toronto over this. But the HQ hopes that the move just gets credited to the heat of battle...

Here's An Ending For You In The NHL- Pick A Partner

((HT: NHL on TSN/Some Hockey Videos))

Shane Hnidy has a great point in this ending...

Wanna create rivalries...??? Have something like this happen at the end of the Jets-Blues game Monday night...


It will be interesting to see if there are any additional penalties handed out by the league office after this one...

The HQ would say "No" off the top of our head, but anything is possible...

Ryan Miller Speaks And There's Trade Analysis, Too...

((HT: TSN/MSG))

Buffalo Sabres Ryan Miller and Steve Ott got the opportunity to address their move to St. Louis earlier this evening...


And here's analysis as both teams move forward with Geno Reda et al.


Christian Ehrhoff has submitted a list of teams that he will accept a trade. For anyone who wants to pick up the rest of his contract, it's seven years and the balance of the $40-million that he signed for...

And It Begins: Ryan Miller To St. Louis

Trade Deadline Day is just around the corner... and we now have our first salvo in the run...

Ryan Miller and Jaroslav Halak were straight up dealt to and from Buffalo and St. Louis

The full deal is:

Ryan Miller and captain Steve Ott to St. Louis for Halak, forward Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, a 2015 first-round pick and a 2016 third-round pick.

When asked about it yesterday, Miller said: "I'm trying not to be too sentimental.I think everyone in Buffalo kind of knows how I feel about the city. [I've] always enjoyed the people, I've always enjoyed the city."

Sabres General Manager Tim Murray had talked with teams about a deal for Miller. “The route that we’re looking at is to get value for him, to put him in a position to succeed,” Murray said. He went on to call Miller a “good soldier” two days ago when all this was initially discussed...

Ott and Miller are both unrestricted free agents after this season- Ott makes $3.2-million and Miller $6.25-million

Stewart has one more year left on his deal at $4.2-million. Carrier is under an entry-level deal in the minors. Halak is an unrestricted free agent after this season at $4.5-million.

The Sabres now possess 10 picks in the first two rounds of the 2014 and 2015 Drafts.

The larger question for the Sabres is who may be next out the door by Wednesday- Tallinder, Ehrhoff, and Moulson all may be in someone's crosshairs by the time we're done. Murray admits that there are no untouchable players and that this is a complete rebuild.

Murray appeared on Hockey Central to admit that Miller says its time to go...
((HT: Sportsnet))

Halak Had A Hell Of A Time In Net

((HT: Sportsnet/MSG))

Jaroslav Halak had one of those nights... as did Blues goalie Brian Elliott...

The New Jersey Devils were in the process of blowing out the St. Louis Blues last night 7-1 when Eric Gelinas let this shot go...

“I saw the puck,” Halak told reporters postgame. “I knew the guy was going to dump it in the corner. He shot it and unfortunately it went off Petro’s pants. I tried to get in front of the puck, but it hit my stick and went over me. It just went in.”

Tuukka Rask Does Not Like His Tools

And, as we all know, a good craftsman never blames them when it goes wrong...

They just get destroyed...

Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask has done it before and he did it again last night after losing in a shootout to the St. Louis Blues


It's not the first time...


Did we mention, it's not the first time...???

4th Stretcher Job This Week In Hockey

((HT: Sportsnet/FS Blues))

This, frankly, is getting kinda old...

One nasty hit in the KHL combined with the Boyle and Kronwall incidents now gives us this from last night's Blues-Jets game in Winnipeg...

The Jets first-round pick in 2012, defenseman Jacob Trouba missed a check and ended up face-first in the boards at MTS Centre. Trainers and EMT's had to take him out on a gurney.

Here's the highlights with the Trouba incident in the second period...
"Trouba’s still getting evaluated but everything’s good, he’s got motion, he’s got everything," said Winnipeg coach Claude Noel. "I think they’re just running him through some tests to make sure everything’s fine." Trouba joked about it later on his Twitter feed: Thanks for the support. If you were wondering, the boards are not edible. I'll be back soon.
The Jets won, 4-3 in a shootout...

Oh, and so you know... Max Lapierre got five games for his check and Cody McLeod has an in person hearing for his,..

NHL Lords Of Discipline Just Got Busier

((HT: NHL/NBCSN))

First, Patrick Kaleta got a ten-game suspension for this hit on CBJ defenseman Jack Johnson...


Now, it looks like the Blues Maxim Lapierre should be getting a notice from the league office in Toronto after this movement against the Sharks' Dan Boyle this evening...


The larger question being will Lapierre match Kaleta's number even if the reputations and histories don't...
Boyle was alert on his way to hospital...

Hulsizer not likely to buy St. Louis Blues

Matthew Hulsizer (in middle)

((ht: st.louis post-dispatch))

At this point, we think it is safe to say Matthew Hulsizer isn't able to afford the purchase of an NHL Hockey team.

His latest failure comes in St. Louis where the NHL has terminated his purchase agreement to buy the St. Louis Blues. That agreement required Hulsizer to bring at least $40 million to close the purchase and according to the St.Louis Post-Dispatch, he's not been able to scrape together the money to do it. His minority partner, Dave Checketts, was able to cover his share and more, but ultimately, Hulsizer's failure is likely to end the deal.

If Hulsizer's name sounds familiar to you, the Hockey fan, it's because he was the man trying to buy the Phoenix Coyotes in late 2010 and early 2011. That heavily leveraged deal essentially had the city of Glendale, Arizona fronting a large chunk of the purchase price to the NHL. That deal also collapsed and the Coyotes are on their 3rd season of being owned by the league.

As for the Blues, there are rumblings that current minority owner Tom Stillman has put together a group of local investors who are ready, willing and able to buy the team. The league has told them they must match the $130 million price Hulsizer offered and the Dispatch says they can do just that.

Read more from Stltoday.com RIGHT HERE

This seems like a no-brainer. We argued during Hulsizer's flirtation with the Coyotes that he didn't have the money to pull off a deal to buy a team.

And we were right.

We don't want to disparage Mr. Hulsizer, his intentions may have truly been honorable and genuine, but owning a pro-sports team is not for the timid or those lacking in cash. It's a big-boy game and one that only a select few can afford to play.

The thing that makes us happy is that it appears the Blues will be locally owned. Hopefully the league will allow the Stillman deal to proceed and it will keep the team in a town that is nothing short of Hockey-Obsessed.