Sunday, January 10, 2010

Capitals' Birthday Blowout in Blueland

Yesterday was Cap's coach Bruce Boudreau's 55th birthday and to commemorate the occasion, the boys blew out the Atlanta Thrashers at Blueland with a final score of 8-1! Happy belated birthday Gabby - and HM hopes the boys got you a nice cake (along with your favorite: garden salad)!

The victory made this team the fastest team in Capitals franchise history to reach the 60 point marker and almost everyone in a white sweater seemed to get their shot at adding to the impressive goal total! Mike Knuble and Alex Semin each lit the lamp twice (as a result, Thrashers goalie Johan Hedberg got the hook to the bench in the second period), while Nick Backstrom, Tom Poti, Jason Chimera and David Steckel each tallied a goal. Poti's gave him his first of the season, while Chimera's marked his first goal as a Washington Capital. And while those boys were launching an offensive assault on the Thrashers, Caps' goaltender Michal Neuvirth gave an amazing performance of his own in the other end, pretty much standing on his head for much of the first two periods and stopping a total of 38 shots! Very well done boys, enjoy your day off and we'll see you on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning with Vinny LeCavalier and pals.

On another note, Sour Grapes Don Cherry is at it again, this time pretty much dismissing the incredible significance of Team USA's recent gold medal win in the IIHF World Juniors finals by dissing USA Hockey's National Development Program. Clad in my grandmother's drapes circa 1973 and accompanied by a freaky dancing Toronto Maple Leafs hamster, Grapes once again is unable to give credit where credit is due. Check it out at about the 4:34 mark:



When is someone going to take this guy and sit him in a corner with the rest of the relics?

12 comments:

Mark Bonatucci said...

It amazws me that most Canadians don't seem to see how poorly Don Cherry reflects on them as a whole. He is to Canadians what Borat is to Kahzaks except Cherry doens't make himself look ridiculous on purpose and Boray/Sascha Baron Cohen isn't really Kahzak...

As Will Farrell/Ron Burgandy says: "Stay Classy, Don"...

Unknown said...

What a moron! One example -- last I looked, John Carlson plays for Hershey in the AHL, not a Canadian team.

Dana Walker said...

Carlson WAS playing for the London Knights last year, pre-HBH Calder run.

ranndino said...

You don't have to go to fake Kazakhstan for equivalents. Don Cherry is the Canadian version of every blowhard on Fox News and Sarah Palin. They all appeal to the same types of people.

Anonymous said...

This guy is a true asshole

Anonymous said...

The word is xenophobe. He hates anything and anyone who is not from Canada. He preaches, in terms of hockey, intolerance for anyone who is not Canadian. He's having a difficult time coming to grips with the fact hockey is a global sport and those from other countries play it extremely well. Imagine if Americans started acting this way in terms of baseball. What about if Americans acted this way in terms of Basketball? Though, I don't find his comments scary; I find the fact that a) he is given a prominent position on Canadian Television and b) he has an audience which agrees with him scary.

Anonymous said...

He is so ridiculous. How 'bout our goaltender Jack Campbell? He's played for the USNTDP. He will play for Windsor, but he's been developed in the UNITED STATES thus far. Danny Kristo? USHL, USNTDP and NCAA. Jerry D'Amigo? AJHL, USNTDP and NCAA. Derek Stepan, lead point getter in the tourney? MN High School and NCAA. Chris Kreider? Mass. High School and NCAA. How did John Carlson get good enough to play for London? US development. In New Jersey and Indiana of all places. Yeah, Hunter helped mold him, but look at where he started out. Playing hockey in the States.

Hockey Mom said...

Punch in the face: My point exactly! No one is questioning the elite nature of Canadian training and their propensity for producing oodles of NHLers. But the U.S. has exceptional training and tons of young talent as well. I personally find it ironic that he is always spewing off about "sportsmanship" and the "right way" to play the game. Which means that in this case, he could have done the right thing by giving Team USA the respect and recognition they deserve. Instead, he just sounds like the xenophobic, sore loser geezebag that he is!

Hockeyx3 said...

He's senile and obviously spilled a lot of food on his brown suit. Next stop: assisted living facility. Where? In FL, of course! Where Americans will show him compassion for what he can't help. A pity!

ranndino said...

BTW, I agree with him in his defense of Kessel (an American, btw), but if Phil was Russian he'd say that he got the money and is tanking it like a typical Russian. I only watch Don for entertainment, like a clown in a circus. Anyone who takes him seriously is an idiot.

Carol in NoVa said...

When Cherry was pointing out all the young Canadians in the NHL who could have playing in the WJC, I just sat and kept saying, "But they didn't." So either their NHL teams wouldn't release them to play or they felt that playing in the NHL was more important than playing in the World Juniors. Shoulda woulda coulda doesn't make it happen.

ranndino said...

NHL teams didn't release them, but Russia was also missing a bunch of players for the same reason. Not as many as Canada and not of the same caliber, but nevertheless.