Keeley's Korner - The Hunks of Hockey 2.0

The GetRealHockey Gmail account went crazy after I wrote my first article on the Hunks of Hockey.  Ladies all over the planet emailed me with comments and suggestions so I had  no choice but to hit the laptop and write another edition of the Hunks of Hockey.   

I am here in between all the articles on goals and fights to show the most important part of the beautiful game; the beauty !!!  Sorry boys but us ladies love our favorite players on and off the ice. Who wouldn't love a gorgeous, hockey playing , multi millionaire !!! 

Anyways close your eyes boys and ladies get ready for The Hunks of Hockey 2.0.   Check out the pics of my favorites and don't forget to email me (getrealhockey@gmail.com) with your favorites for the next edition of my column.       

Boston wonderboy Tyler Seguin is only 20 years old, but with his exceptional talent and his killer smile, it’s no wonder he’s already managed to make a name for himself in the league – both on and off the ice. With the amazing shirtless photos from the Bruins Foxwood celebrations a few years ago still being talked about, there’s no doubt that Seguin’s earned his spot on the list. (Plus he saw The Vow – who doesn’t love a guy who can actually admit he’s got a softer side?)

John Tavares has always been exceptional and 200 games into his NHL career and in the middle of what some are calling his ‘break-out’ year, that fact does not seem to be changing soon. With his hockey hair, amazing smile – and, let’s face it, his abs are kind of amazing as well – it’s easy to see why he’s as popular off the ice as he is on it.

Now, Ryan Kesler was covered last time – but after looking around a bit more, more photo’s have come up making it impossible to not put him up here again. In the ESPN Body issue, Kesler took it a step further then his underwear modeling shots and took it all off. There’s nothing to say really but wow; just…wow. 

Anyways, I have to get off to class now.  Hopefully the prof won't mind me day dreaming about the NHL and all those pretty faces.    

- Keeley Ryan

What a mess! As Isles fall to Sharks 3-2

One of the phrases heard around Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, from both the employees and the fans, was ‘What a mess!’ As not only the weather, but the officiating cost the New York Islanders (3-5-1) in the 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks (6-3-0).
It was not only the weather, but the officiating as the guys in stripes cost the Islanders a shot at two points against a very good Western Conference Sharks team.  The main piece of good news from the arena for Islanders fans is that they skated well for three periods against a team that has been in the playoffs.

That was something head coach Jack Capuano emphasized afterward saying, “It was a good hockey team that we played tonight, one of the better teams in the league, and I thought for three periods, we skated with them. We did a lot of good things, and that is one thing that we have to take out of this game.”

New York had fought hard throughout responding to a 1-0 deficit after Joe Pavelski gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at the 0:17 mark of the first period of play. The Islanders responded back in the second period, when John Tavares (7) tallied a power play goal at the 3:15 mark.

“This one is a tough one to swallow, especially what happened at the end, “Tavares said. Of trying to snap the current losing streak, “We just need to try and understand that we’ve done a lot of good things tonight.  Our game has come a long way. If we keep playing the way we did tonight, we are going to win a lot more hockey games.”

For Tavares six of the seven points scored thus far this season have been on home ice, the forward was strong throughout the night, earning the second star of the game thanks to his efforts. Michael Graber (3) recorded his first power play goal of the season at the 11:28 mark to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead.
That lead evaporated though on a beautiful shot by San Jose star Logan Couture, who tied things up at the 13:19 mark. After being stalemated in the third period of play, things went into overtime-where the zebra’s made a call they’d probably like to have back.

Twenty-nine seconds into the frame, the referees blew their whistles thinking a puck flew into the crowd calling a crucial penalty against the Islanders. Before the puck went into the crowd though, it first deflected into the glass-which should have led to a face-off in the defensive zone.

In the end the Sharks cashed in on their 4-on-3 opportunity, as Brent Burns (3) scored the game-winning goal at the 1:07 mark.  Making his first appearance on home ice in the cage was Rick DiPietro, who showed flashes of his old form. ‘DP’ made 27 saves in what was a steady, calming game for the Islanders.

“I felt pretty good,” DiPietro said of his first start in the cage. On rebounding after the first goal of the game, “That was nuts, not the way you want to start your first game after a month off. Maybe it was good to get the nerves out and not have to worry about the shutout, get that out of the way.”

The guys will get four days off, before hosting the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, The game is scheduled to air on the MSG Plus 2 network, and face-off is slated for 7:00 p.m.

Stacy Podelski

http://www.smacksportvideos.com/

Notes: Prior to the game the Islanders celebrated the ’92-’93 team, which won the Patrick Division Championships. The team also capped off a month long Islanders Fight Cancer Campaign with a Halloween Basket Auction.

The NHL’s top performers of the 2011 season thus far!

The NHL season has finally gotten underway, and each team has played around a handful of games now, so let’s take a look at who the top performers have been in the first few weeks.

1) Phil Kessel (TOR) - 3 GP, 5 Goals, 3 assists, 8 points, & +7!

Without question Phil Kessel has been the NHL’s top performer so far this season.  He ranks 1^st in the league in goals, points, game winning goals and plus/minus! What’s most impressive has been his consistency, as he has points in all 3 of the Leafs games, and has points on 8 of Toronto’s 11 goals this season! If that isn’t dominance then I don’t know what is. Kessel has 5 goals in his last 2 games, 2 of which happened to be game winners. He is showing why despite being highly criticized the past few seasons (Ex: Ovechkin laughing at him at the all-star game) he has still managed to score 98 goals during the past 3 years. He has done all of that without having a legitimate #1 center during his entire stint in Toronto. Although he still doesn’t have a #1 center, Kessel has been a completely different player since the arrival of Lupul in the Beauchemin trade as the 2 have great chemistry together. What has impressed me most about Kessel so far this season, isn’t even the scoring, it’s his all-around game. We all knew he was a sniper, but this year he has been playing physical, been great in all 3 zones, and has shown a knack at creating plays by passing not just shooting like in the past! If Kessel continues to play like this, Toronto fans will quickly forget about Tyler Seguin!

2) John Tavares (NYI) - 4 GP, 5 G’s, 3 A’s, 8 pts, +4

Tavares started off slow with 0 points in his 1^st 2 games, causing his coach to publicly call him out. However, since then has been on absolute fire. In his last 2 games, he has 8 points despite the Islanders only scoring 9 goals over those 2 games. Tavares is the biggest reason why the Islanders have beat both the Lightning and Rangers back to back. He is finally beginning to show why he was the #1 overall pick, and is starting to show that he could carry a team. The sky is the limit for this kid! Another player who deserves mention from the Islanders is PA Parenteau! Parenteau has 7 points in 4 games, and is a very impressive +5. He came out of nowhere last year to score 53 points, and after his hot start to this year, he is definitely here to stay.

3) Thomas Vanek (BUF) – 4 GP, 4 G’s, 3 A’s, 7 pts, + 1

Vanek has followed up his bounce back season last year with a phenomenal start to this season! He has been a driving force in the great start for the Sabres as they are establishing themselves as one of the top teams in the East after some great free agent pickups. But Vanek has done his best to show that despite all the new pickups, he is still the most dangerous weapon on the Sabres. If Vanek has had any question marks about him in his career it would be his consistency, yet this year he has a point in every single game, so that’s a great sign for Sabres fans, and Vanek’s owners when it comes to fantasy.

Honorable mention

Luke Adam (BUF) – 4 GP, 3 G’s, 3 A’s, 6 pts, +2

Adam has come out of nowhere this season, and in my opinion, because of that has been even more impressive than teammate Vanek. Adam has 3 multi-point games already this year, and his 6 points has already surpassed his 4 pts in 19 games last year as a rookie! There is no questioning that he is the most improved Sabre, and gives them another top-6 forward! If he is available in your fantasy league, jump all over him, because he shows no signs of slowing down!

Vinny Prospal (CBJ) – 5 GP, 3 G’s, 2 A’s, 5 pts, +1If I asked you before the season started, ater 5 games who would be leading the Blue Jackets in scoring, what would you answer? Rick Nash? Maybe Jeff Carter? Nope, neither of them. Instead it is Vinny Prospal, who is clearly benefitting from riding shotgun with the 2 superstars! The acquisition of Prospal went largely unnoticed, but is already beginning to pay dividends. Once again if he is available in your fantasy leagues, pick him up now, because as long as he is on that line, he has tremendous value!

Tyler Seguin (BOS) – 5 GP, 3 G’s, 2 A’s, 5 points, +1.

For all the hype that surrounded Seguin last season, he really didn’t do all that much. He looked great in a few games including one dominant playoff game, but was invisible for much of the rest of the season. That has definitely not been the case this season, as Seguin has points in 4 of 5 games so far! He has been playing a lot harder, and giving it his all on every single shift, which is allowing his to showcase the talent that made him the 2^nd choice overall. So not only has his game become more consistent, but even more importantly to his production is that the Bruins are showing faith in him. Boston has put Seguin on the top line and surrounded him with 2 of the Bruins best players in Lucic and Horton, giving the youngster every chance to succeed.

There were obviously many more players who have had great starts to the year, but offensively these are the players that stood out the most to me! Let’s see which ones could keep it up, and which other players could get it going and end up on this list next time!

Grant Robinson (@thesportsgrind)

www.grantrobinson.podbean.com

Isles paint the town Orange and Blue with 4-2 victory over Rangers

While one teams stock is rising, the other has their fans very nervous as the New York Islanders and Rangers are on very different paths so far. It had seemed as if in the pre-season it was going to be the Blueshirts that’d dominate regular season play, but thus far the season has proved otherwise.

Yes, it is only three games for the Rangers, but there is definite trouble for the fans of the Red, White and Blue as the team hasn’t really reached its full potential as of yet.

As for the Islanders, right now their stock is on the rise-and it happens to be a good time to buy into the team. Why buy into the Islanders…John Tavares, as the forward continues to develop and grow into one of the elite players in the NHL.

The forward recorded his third career hat trick to lead the Islanders (3-1-0) to a 4-2 victory over the Blueshirts in hockey action on Saturday night. Both teams were also skating for a cause, as you can see several players and coaches wearing pick for the Hockey Fights Cancer Campaign.

There was also bragging rights, as the youthful Islanders team now sits as the top team in New York City with this victory. In what was an instant classic at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, both teams battled until Tavares took over the game in the third period of play.

John, who has really worked on his skating skills, and has also bulked up in the off-season, was set up on a pretty pass by Mark Streit (3) and P.A. Parenteau (5), to push the team ahead at the 3:30 mark.

As for the Rangers, they were able to score twice on keeper Evgeni Nabokov, who made 29 saves in the cage. The Blueshirts found goals from Marian Gaborik (2) at the 6:23 mark of the second period, as ‘Gabby’ was set up by Brad Richards (2) and Derek Stepan (1).

Brandon Prust recorded his first goal of the season, on a nice pass from Ruslan Fedotenko (2), which had tied the game up at 2-2 to tie things up before the end of the second period of play. Tavares took over in the third, to lead the Islanders to their third straight victory.

Michael Del Zotto and Tim Erixon were both plus two’s on the ice for the Rangers, while cager Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves in the cage.

The Islanders will look to keep this positive momentum going, but will have four days off until their next game, as they will face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

As for the Rangers, they will have a lot of questions to answer before this road trip continues with a tour of Canada coming up next for the Blueshirts. First stop for the guys will be a trip to Vancouver for a 10:00 p.m. game against the Canucks.

Stacy Podelski

http://www.smacksportvideos.com/

Tavares tallies four points to lead Islanders to 5-1 victory over Lightning

Forward John Tavares recorded four points (two goals, two assists) to lead the New York Islanders (2-1-0) to a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning (1-2-1) in hockey action on Thursday night. Tavares took some big hits in the game, including one that made him miss out on his First Star honor of the night.

There has been no word yet on if the forward has to miss out on action with the team with the injury. Tavares opened up the scoring at the 0:36 mark, on an unassisted writer. The alternate captain set up the second goal of the night at the 9:28 mark, helping on Matt Moulson’s first goal of the season.

Tavares tallied his second goal of the game and season at the 15:15 mark, on a writer, which was set up by Moulson and P.A. Parenteau for the 3-1 Islanders lead. Parenteau recorded his first goal of the season about three minutes later, which wrapped up the scoring in the first period of play.

New York found the back of the net one final time, as Michael Grabner wristed home his first goal at the 6:47 mark. Isles keeper Al Montoya continued his stellar starts in the cage, making 34 stops in the game. The lone goal given up by the keeper was at the 7:10 mark in the first period, when Lightning star Steve Stamkos recorded his first goal of the season.

Montoya and the rest of the Isles defense kept Tampa Bay’s potent offense blanked for the rest of the game, to pick up their second victory of the season. Blue liner Mark Eaton had a great game on defense for the Islanders, finishing with a plus 3 night along with two blocked shots.

The Isles will now square-off against their Atlantic Division rivals the New York Rangers on Saturday for the first round of what should be a spirited rivalry. The puck is slated to drop at 7:00 p.m. with the game scheduled to air on MSG Plus.

Stacy Podelski

http://www.smacksportvideos.com/