Hart Memorial Trophy Vs. Ted Lindsay Award

As the "NHL Awards" came to a close this weekend there was some debate over who took home the biggie on Saturday night: the Hart Memorial Trophy. In the end, it was Alex Ovechkin who took home the Hart and Sidney Crosby walked away with the Ted Lindsay Award (formerly the Lester B. Pearson Award). The Hart votes by the PHWA were close with Ovechkin edging Crosby by a mere 32 votes and it was the closest ballot since 2002 (something you could have expected in a shortened season). Both trophies honour excellence, but are voted on by two very different parties which make each one special in their own way.

What To Expect From The Stanley Cup Final

The Stanley Cup Final kicks off in a few days and hockey writers and media outlets are busy coming up with bold predictions and searching for intriguing storylines they can use to promote the Final even more (as if it not being the Stanley Cup Final is enough). From coaching matchups to how the special teams match up, literally every area of the game will be evaluated to see who has the edge.

Marc-Andre Fleury: A Broken Goalie

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been swept out of the Eastern Conference Finals by the Boston Bruins and many questions will surround the team this offseason as a result of their disappointing playoff finish. Will Dan Bylsma be back to coach the Penguins next season? Will Jarome Iginla return? What has happened to Marc-Andre Fleury and what do they do with him?

Wax Stain Rookie: Bobby Clarke

Wax Stain Wednesday will be a regular feature on Dirty Dangle. Our pal Dave at Wax Stain Rookie is an avid autograph and card collector and has some amazing experiences to share with us. These posts may make you want to buy a Beckett and get those dusty hockey cards out from under your bed that you hide from your girlfriend like a secret porn collection.

Been far too long since we've had a Wax Stain Wednesday so with a little free time and some recent mail, it is time to get this weekly post back off the bench and onto the ice. I have more cups of coffee and TTM autos to share so let’s get started.

The Good, The Bad, and The Mike Ricci From Round 2

Another round has passed and the Conference Finals are set with the last four Stanley Cup Champions ready to battle it out. Round 2 saw the Eastern Conference get wrapped up pretty quickly with Boston and Pittsburgh finishing their series' in 5 games, while the Western Conference slugged it out with two game sevens. There were lots of studs from Round 2 who lit it up, but just as many duds who didn't show up to help their teams out.

"Probably Not"

As a fan of the game I was pretty shocked to hear Daniel Alfredsson's comments after their last playoff game. Recently nominated for the Mark Messier Leadership Award, Daniel Alfredsson has been a pretty solid leader in Ottawa for most of his career and is a pillar of the franchise. Ask Siri and she'll even say Alfie is God. But after last night's loss he much pretty much tossed up the white flag, booked his flight home to Sweden and surrendered to the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins.

Glenn Healy Says The Darndest Things

Glenn Healy should really think before he speaks because he is starting to sound like a hockey analyst that is working some minor league game in the sunbelt. For a guy working a job on Hockey Night in Canada that most people dream about doing, Healy often appears to know nothing about the game. Healy has been the bad guy on Hockey Night the last few years being straight to the point and not being afraid to rip on the Maple Leafs or any team that is featured on Hockey Night in Canada for that matter. That's allowed, but his rips are often so unpopular and statistically proven wrong it's just getting embarrassing.

Mikhail Grabovski Comes Clean About Bite

The bite did happen says Mikhail Grabovski. In an interview with Dmitry Chesnokov for Puck Daddy, Grabovski admits to biting Habs forward, Max Pacioretty. Here's the quote from the interview:

What about the incident with Max Pacioretty?

“The incident? It wasn’t that much. He was choking me and I bit him. Don’t stick your hands where you shouldn’t. To be honest with you he was choking me pretty hard, to the point where I really couldn’t breathe. And I couldn’t pull his hand away at all. I tried to hit him with my other hand, but I couldn’t because he was choking me. There was nothing left to do but bite him.”

The NHL Playoffs Injury Parade

It's that fun time when NHL teams start to reveal what injuries their players had or suffered during the playoffs and we shake our heads in awe. We like to call this time of year the Playoffs Injury Parade as teams disclose injuries that were suspected about during series' or completely unknown about. These injuries are kept under a veil of secrecy during the playoffs as you can't give your opponent a sniff of weakness so it's always interesting when a team is eliminated and you get to see what players were playing through. There are only a few injuries that will keep a player from playing this time of year and if you don't have have some battlescars when you win than you're not doing it right.

The Good, The Bad and The Mike Ricci From Round 1

Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs have come and gone so it's time to look at the good, the bad, and the Mike Ricci from the past two weeks. There was plenty going on with a record number of overtime games in the first round, three game sevens and only one sweep meaning you had no reason to complain about there not being enough hockey to watch. If you watched every night, you definitely noticed some players lighting it up, and probably didn't notice certain players as they turned into ghosts.

Who's Taking The Hart?

On Friday it was announced that the three nominees for the Hart Memorial Trophy were Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and John Tavares. All three deserve the nominations, but only one can take it home. What's interesting this year is that all three have different season storylines that make them worthy of the MVP award. It past seasons it seems that the top scorers are simply chosen or a goalie who stood on their head, but this year with the a shortened season there is no clear front runner for the award.

Mark Fraser Has A Hole In His Forehead

You've probably seen the video of Mark Fraser taking a Milan Lucic slapshot to the forehead and knew the severity of the play immediately. Hustled off the ice and on his way to hospital before the 3rd period even ended, Fraser's playoffs were clearly over after suffering a devastating injury. Well now we have this disturbing x-ray image of a fracture to his forehead. Yes, that's a fucking hole in his forehead.