IT'S TIME TO WATCH SOME HOCKEY!

Eight years ago, a very memorable, depressing, and familiar-feeling event occurred. The NHL was locked out. Fans missed every single game of 2004-2005 NHL season. On top of the lockout, ESPN dropped their contract with the NHL and has not aired an NHL game ever since! But I know what your thinking when I mention a NHL lockout. Your telling yourself its a load of garbage, same thing every fan tells themself. Why should the multi-millionaires who play or manage sports for a living need more money? They are all very valid thoughts to have. The truth of the matter is that there are a whole lot of negotiations and complicated details that are faced in the meetings between the NHL Players Association and the NHL owners that are kept in the meeting rooms. The fans only know what we hear, and that what we hear is not very promising sounding. But that does not change the fact that we, the fans, want hockey! So from one frustrated fan to another, I am thrilled to say that ESPN, yes I said it, ESPN, will be broadcasting the KHL games during the NHL lockout. You can find them on ESPN3, which is an online streaming presentation of the game. The first game will be aired Tuesday, October 9, on ESPN3. The game is in Prague between Lev Praha and Dynamo Moscow.

Now back to eight years ago. Not only did a NHL lockout take place, but the NHL and the Washington Capitals welcomed the newest superstar into the league, Alex Ovechkin. That lockout might have been the only thing that I have ever seen step in front of Ovi and actually stop him. After excelling in the NHL, he has returned to the KHL during the lockout to play for the team he left when the Capitals drafted him in 2004. Ovi will suit up in a Dynamo Moscow uniform and will not only be seen in Prague, but on ESPN3 in the United States! ENJOY.

KOVALCHUK'S HAT-TRICK LIFTS SKA

Kovalchuk scores his first

blood on the ice after huge hit
at the benches

Ilya Kovalchuk went to work on October 8 in Russia. It was a bloody game...literally. A few bone-crushing hits set the pace in this game. Despite Kovalchuk's "gentlemanly" style of play, I guess when going against a NHL rival goalie, Ilya Bryzgalov, he will always have a little more gas in the tank. Pavel Datsyuk, a teammate of Bryzgalov on CSKA Moscow, joined the scoring party as well. However, Datsyuk's goal party seemed as small as a 10 year old's birthday get-together compared to Kovalchuk's college fraternity party-sized goal-fest.

Datsyuk scored a very nice goal, nevertheless. Pavel skated parallel to the red line towards the front of the net, where he received the pass from the point at his skates, then proceeded to kick it to his stick while still skating around SKA Saint Peterburg's goalie for the score. The scoreboard read 1-0 CSKA.

Kovalchuk celebrates his second
goal with his teammates

Kovalchuk's first goal came with his team trailing 2-0. With half a game played, and half the amount of goals as CSKA, Kovalchuk kept pushing and put SKA even at 2 goals per team. The first time Kovy brought the crowd to their feet was a very similar goal to Datsyuk's. Kovalchuk was dished the puck from the high slot to where he was planted at the top of the crease. The next similarity to Pavel Datsyuk's goal was the skate-to-stick-to-back of the net sequence. Ilya's second goal sure did get him pumped up! He followed up on teammate/line-mate Vladimir Tarasenko's shot that managed to sneak behind Ilya Bryzgalov. Crashing at the net hard, Kovy skated past Bryzgalov and netted his second lamp-lighter of the night. Tarasenko and Kovalchuk worked magic against CSKA by combining for 6 points in the game. The "dagger", hat-trick goal from Kovy's stick came from a beautiful one-timer pass by Tarasenko. Vladimir Tarasenko skated behind and around the net and gave a firm pass back across the front of the crease to a streaking Kovalchuk. The "trick" was completed.

Kovalchuk after scoring his
hat-trick goal

SKA Saint Petersburg defeated CSKA Moscow 4-2. SKA stands 2 points ahead of CSKA in the standings for the Western Conference.

Notable Performances:
Kovalchuk- 3 points
Vladimir Tarasenko- 3 points
Pavel Datsyuk- 2 points

BIG 4 STATISTICAL UPDATES

When referring to the big 4, I am talking about Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, Alex Ovechkin, and Evgeni Malkin. They are all playing in the KHL on separate teams. The season started recently and here is an update on how they are doing.

 Ilya Kovalchuk has put up 1 goal and 6 assists in 4 games. Another notable stat for Kovalchuk is his +/-, which is actually a positive 4. In the NHL he struggles with that greatly.

Pavel Datsyuk is not disappointing either. Datsyuk has 2 goals and 4 assists in 5 games. One of his goals was an overtime winner.

Alex Ovechkin's stats are almost identical to Datsyuk's. They both have 2 goals and 4 assists, only Ovechkin has played 6 games. Ovechkin is still firing the shots on net. He averages 6.3 shots per game.

Evgeni Malkin is definitely a firm believer in the saying 'sharing is caring'. Geno recorded 1 goal and 7 assists in his first 8 games. Rocketing 6.1 shots per game is not too shabby also.

DATSYUK'S PRESENCE MADE

Pavel Datsyuk plays for CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia. And on October 4, as the team took on Spartak Moscow, Datsyuk entered himself into the goal column. A second period go-ahead goal scored by Datsyuk, however, just did not fit his needs. Despite the fact that it was a beautiful shot and a self-made play, Pavel decided to just add another goal in overtime to win the game. Why not, right? After all, he is Pavel Datsyuk.

Pavel Datsyuk's current stats as of 10/4/12 for CSKA

CSKA Moscow is a solid team, goaltended by Ilya Bryzgalov. Other notable players on CSKA are; Alexander Radulov, who joined the Nashville Predators for the end of the 2011-2012 regular season and postseason; and Mikhail Grabovski, a talented forward on the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team currently places third in the West Conference, which is made up of fourteen teams.

INTRODUCTION

MY BLOG WILL LIGHT THE LAMP FOR LOYAL HOCKEY FANS! The NHL season has been suspended, but surprisingly not by Brenden Shanahan. Over 80 players have signed contracts overseas, and I will follow a select few by updating you with statistics, standings, and headlines regarding our NHL stars. I hope you will enjoy this blog, thank you.