Another week has passed in the NHL and the world kept turning. Trades have been made, extensions have been signed and fans have aired their grievances. All is right and I am here to show you some of the best of the week that was.
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Best: Shea Weber… Oral Surgeon?
“Don’t tell Dad he kissed me.” Shea Weber is a man of many talents. Don’t believe any of these talents though will finally land him in Philadelphia, Flyers fans, sorry.
Best: Ilya Bryzgalov push up contest
Ilya Bryzgalov challenges Harry the Horse to some push-ups behind the scenes. Weirdest photo ever. #NHL pic.twitter.com/GndN8ybfvG
— Julie Stewart-Binks (@JSB_FOX) February 21, 2015
While this week won’t go down as one of the best for Bryzgalov due to his demotion to Norfolk (AHL), he still was having some fun with mascots. After all it’s only game, why you have to be mad?
Worst: Malcolm Subban debut performance
Subban is a talent many in the Boston area are extremely excited for but he was not in his best form against the Blues. Peppered continually by the Blues, Subban ended up being pulled. Subban will be back but man, oh, man, this is not the start he wanted.
Best/Worst: Hockey etiquette PSA
While it was a valiant effort by Jonathan Toews to be as funny as possible, this bizzare video comes off as awkward. I will give Toews some credit for trying and will applaud him for the message, the video does nothing to shake the persona as ‘Captain Serious’.
Best: Andrew Shaw helps sell Girl Scout cookies
A very cool program that the Blackhawks are running is called #WhatsYourGoal and they had forward Andrew Shaw help a young girl named Alexis sell Girl Scout cookies to Jonathan Toews. Toews, while I said previously he came off as awkward in the last video, he looked comfortable and genuine in this video. His kindness was evident and more videos like this will do wonders for Toews as a brand.
Best: Nick Foligno and Ryan Johansen fight for ad spot
These videos has everything you want and need. Produce, skating and resentment. A hat trick of elements that will make any video great. Johansen, who has already started to prove himself as part of the NHL elite and Foligno, who has had a breakout season, are showing why many in Columbus love them. With personality abound in this video, hopefully this helps Blue Jacket fans deal with the less than stellar season. Take the happiness where you can get it Jackets fans.
Best: Sidney Crosby, Brandon Dubinsky fight
These guys don’t like one another. Crosby has had a disappointing season (by his standards) and this seemed to be a boiling point for him. The fight was more or less a draw as Crosby was the only one to land a significant punch but otherwise not a lot happened. Matt Calvert even suggested that Dubinsky “held back” on Crosby due to the respect he has for him. This is the kind of stuff that scares fans when a talented player, a goal scorer, gets into an unnecessary fight. Maybe next time someone will end up protecting Dubinsky (see what I did there?).
Worst: Morgan Rielly’s insensitive comment
Morgan Rielly today said positive approach, strong work ethic during tough time was key. "You're not here to be a girl about it."
— Jonas Siegel (@jonasTSN1050) February 20, 2015
Rielly made a boneheaded comment the other day that drew the ire of everyone around the NHL. In today’s climate, comments can’t be made like this and will undoubtedly be a wake up call for a young kid who made a very poor choice of words.
Worst: Leafs fans again
C’mon man.
Best: Teams using analytics
The invaluable ESPN writer Craig Custance had an amazing article talking about each teams use of analytics and gave examples in which every team was listed in a specific category classifying their usage of analytics.
Time and time again we see how each team has progressed in its usage of analytics and with the Great Anayltics Debate™ officially over it is time for more nuanced conversations.
Until next week!