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    • Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals was like a kick in the stomach for San Jose Sharks fans whose stomachs have already been kicked frequently than a game ball at the World Cup. Two goals in 22 seconds, with the Sharks taking two costly late-game penalties. Ouch.

      You want to feel sorry for them. OK, most of us do. This Los Angeles Kings fan didn’t, and decided to troll hard with a dramatic reading for a San Jose Sharks fan’s sad lament on the HF Boards about the defeat. This is deliciously brutal (one PG-13 word):

      Well that was a hundred paper cuts treated with a lemon juice and salt mixture and then slapped with a ruler for two hours …

      The original post was by “StreetSharks”, who cites “#19 Joe Trollton” under its HF Boards name. The post:

      What else do you expect him to say? When you lived the same failures the Sharks lived before last year, you know how it feels to be disappointed as a die hard fan.

      Then put yourself in our place, a bunch of people taunting, trolling, and being cocky as hell against us after your win last year, how would you feel?

      Basically, you were one of us.. respected us.. and somehow it all went downhill to a bunch of new age cocky jerks.

      I'll accept the Kings win, it was a badass comback, but to come back here after being silent when it was 3-2 sharks to taunting the living **** out of us, how do you expect many of us to react?

      Sorry I'm ranting to you bro, the trolls got to me tonight, cheers.

      That last line might replace “don’t let the bastards get you down” as our favorite post-frustration mantra of all-time.

      s/t reader Jim

      Read More »from Kings fan trolls sad Sharks fans with dramatic reading of HF Boards post (Video)
    • Getty ImagesTrending Topics is a column that looks at the week in hockey, occasionally according to Twitter. If you're only going to comment to say how stupid Twitter is, why not just go have a good cry for the slow, sad death of your dear internet instead?

      One of the worst things about the NHL today is that its supplementary discipline system is a joke. The maddening inconsistency that generally comes out of it during the regular season absolutely goes through the roof once the playoffs start.

      Take, for example, the fact that the infamous Senators/Canadiens brawl game, which was rife with attempts to injure and other dirty plays, resulted in zero suspensions or fines. While there was likely a behind-closed-doors scolding for both teams from the league's Department of Player Safety, the issue was (and is, I suppose) that there is little to no transparency about it.

      I remember it wasn't so long ago that Brendan Shanahan vowed to occasionally release videos explaining why certain controversial hits or incidents did not result in any supplementary discipline, and the league has very occasionally followed through on that. Not enough, perhaps, for fans to have some semblance of understanding of what the decision-making process is, but sufficient to placate the angry hordes massing at the castle walls whenever a particularly egregious incident leads to nothing at all.

      But that goes away in the postseason.

      Read More »from Brendan Shanahan and the NHL’s inconsistency on repeat offenders (Trending Topics)
    • A little over a year ago, the above photo of Darth Maul on ice made the rounds at Reddit Hockey.

      Sadly, it was a Photoshop. While we imagine the real Darth Maul would indeed play hockey with a double-bladed stick, just like he fights Jedi with a double-edged lightsaber (or saberstaff, as it's formally known), the Darth Maul from the photo, which was taken during a Tampa Bay Lighting/San Jose Sharks game, was just carrying a regular one.

      The double-bladed stick was just a fiction.

      That is, until the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins, inspired by the image, set to making the Frankenstick a reality. And, once they had, they did the only reasonable thing you can do with such a creation: They gave it to stickhandling wizard and viral video machine Tomas Jurco:

      Other members of the Griffins have some nice moments with it. Willie Coetzee earns our respect for recognizing the Stars Wars influence. Triston Grant wisely suggests it needs two different curves to really be an all-situation piece of equipment.

      But the magic happens once Jurco has it and begins juggling the puck while twirling it like a baton. It's pretty neat -- at least up until he breaks it because it won't do what he wanted it to.

      How does he break it? With a routine slapshot, because, as unique as it may be, it remains a composite hockey stick.

      Follow Harrison Mooney on Twitter at @HarrisonMooney

      Read More »from Tomas Jurco breaks in Darth Maul-style ‘Frankenstick’ and it’s awesome (Video)
    • No. 1 Star: Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins

      The Bruins struck first, edging the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime of Game 1. Marchand scored the winner, and added an assist on Torey Krug's powerplay goal to tie the game early in the third period.

      No. 2 Star: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

      Doughty scored the Kings' second goal and was on the ice for the late powerplay marker that tied the game in their 4-3 comeback win over the San Jose Sharks. He was also the best skater on the ice for nearly half the game, leading all skaters with 28:28 of icetime.

      Read More »from NHL Three Stars: Doughty, Kings rally late versus Sharks; Marchand leads Bruins
    • The Los Angeles Kings won their sixth straight Thursday, shocking the San Jose Sharks with two goals 22 seconds apart -- in the final two minutes, no less -- to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 victory in Game 2.

      Right up until the last 120 seconds of this one, the story was the San Jose Sharks and their impressive comeback. After going down two goals early in the second, San Jose refused to quit, storming back taking their first lead of the night midway through the third.

      But then, 139 seconds from returning to San Jose with the series knotted at one, Marc-Edouard Vlasic turned a 5-on-4 penalty-kill situation into a 5-on-3 by putting the puck over the glass.

      It was inadvertent -- they always are with this stupid penalty -- but there was no arguing the infuriating rule, and Vlasic was forced to watch his team's fortunes turn on a dime from the penalty box.

      When he went in, the Sharks were up by a goal. He was released 58 seconds later, his team now down by a goal. All an incredulous, dismayed Vlasic could do was laugh.

      Read More »from Kings score 22 seconds apart in final minutes to steal Game 2 from Sharks
    • The last time we saw the Boston Bruins, they came back from a third-period deficit and won a big game in overtime.

      They have not forgotten how to do this. Brad Marchand was the hero Thursday night in Game 1 of Round 2, scoring the OT winner after 15:40 of bonus hockey.

      It was the first goal of the postseason for the little guy with the big heart and even bigger nose.

      That's Patrice Bergeron with the game-winning assist, as if you had to ask. If clutch were a real thing, he'd be the clutchest guy around. Bergeron was a force all through Game 1, winning 14 of 18 faceoffs, and playing 27 minutes, second on the Bruins to Zdeno Chara's absurd 38:02.

      Henrik Lundqvist deserved better for the Rangers. He was outstanding, making 48 saves in the loss. 16 of those saves came in overtime, as the Bruins pressed all through the extra frame for the winner, and 7 of those 16 came on a dangerous-looking powerplay with Derek Dorsett in the box for interference.

      "I thought it was pretty even going into overtime, but we got spanked in overtime," said John Tortorella. Fortunately, Lundqvist stood tall.

      Ironically, it was the players most incapable of standing tall that did him in. After the Rangers took the lead just 14 seconds into the third period, rookie Torey Krug -- all 5'9" of him -- scored his first NHL goal to tie things up two and a half minutes later.

      And in overtime, Lundqvist did his best to get over and stop Marchand on Bergeron's centring pass, but Marchand found a gap as the Rangers' netminder came across, sliding the puck through to end Game 1.

      Game 2 goes Sunday.

      Read More »from Brad Marchand scores Game 1 OT winner as Bruins top Rangers (Video)
    • As soon as the Department of Player Safety requested an in-person hearing for Raffi Torres, you knew the San Jose Sharks' winger was in trouble. I mean, sure, bringing Raffi to New York simply gave them the option of suspending him for five games or more, but this is Raffi Torres we're talking about. If they came away from the hearing with even an inkling that Torres had made the head the principal point of contact when he hit Jarrett Stoll, they were going to exercise the crap out of that option.

      [Related: Repeat offender Raffi Torres risks last NHL chance with another dangerous head shot]

      Sure enough, they did. Sort of. Rather than putting a number on the suspension, the NHL has gotten creative with Torres, suspending the San Jose Sharks' winger for the remainder of the semifinal series -- anywhere from 3 to 6 games.

      Here's Brendan Shanahan to explain the decision:

      A word on the floating suspension itself: It's a sneaky decision, as the players have the right to appeal any suspension of six games or more, and we won't know if Torres's ban is six games for awhile now. Was that calculated or what?

      The night of the hit, we asked if Torres had gotten the shoulder first, or if the head was the principal point of contact. The answer, from the Department of Player Safety: yes.

      Yes on both fronts. He caught Stoll's shoulder first, but as Shanahan says twice in this video, it was "a glancing blow" on his way to the principal point of contact, the head.

      Read More »from Raffi Torres suspended for duration of Round 2 after head hit on Kings’ Stoll
    • Both the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers are coming off of Game 7 victories in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

      The Bruins became the first team in NHL history to rally from three goals down in the third period to win a Game 7 over the Leafs. The Rangers routed the Capitals in their Game 7 after a 1-0 win in Game 6.

      Who takes this battle of Original Six teams for the right to play for the Conference crown?

      Read More »from Boston Bruins (4) vs. New York Rangers (6): Puck Daddy’s NHL 2013 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview
    • (Ed. Note: We're proud to welcome back two of our favorite bloggers, Chuck and Pants from What's Up, Ya Sieve?, to the Puck Daddy fold as they author our weekly NHL Playoff Beard Watch every Thursday.)

      By Chuck and Pants from What's Up, Ya Sieve?

      Playoff beards come in all shapes and sizes. If we went for the burliest and baddest every week, we’d end up talking about the Kings and Sharks while waiting for everyone else to catch up.

      But big games are for big names, and Round 2 is rife with star players gunning for the Cup.

      This week we’re looking at one star from each team - are they leading their teams in the mirror, as well as on the ice?

      Ottawa Senators: Daniel Alfredsson

      When you require a headband under your helmet to keep your curls in check, we expect a certain level of beard accomplishment to follow. Alfie’s respectable scruff comes with a bonus feature for the Senators elder statesman: this beard, like his on-ice play, will never reveal his age. Redheads don’t turn salt and pepper, just gracefully fade to strawberry lemonade.

      Read More »from Stanley Cup Beard Watch: NHL’s star players and their playoff scruff
    • The IIHF world championships are a way for NHL players who have been eliminated from the playoffs to continue playing while representing their country. Like any international tournament, these players run the risk of suffering some kind of catastrophic injury in an exhibition game.

      With that, watch Eric Staal of Team Canada in excruciating pain after a knee-on-knee collision with Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alex Edler of Team Sweden on Thursday in Helsinki:

      You can also watch the clip on Vine.

      After writhing on the ice for a few moments, the Carolina Hurricanes captain was helped to the back by his teammates.

      This reverse angle from TSN’s coverage gives some clarity. There’s no effort to avoid the hit as Staal attempts to backhand the puck. But it may have just been a case where the two players were both in unfortunately positions. Edler's not known for his dirty play, for what it's worth. But from a certain angle, that sure didn't look like anything but an attempt to take out Staal.

      Read More »from Eric Staal writhes in pain after knee-on-knee hit by Alex Edler in Worlds (Video)

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