No one would deny that it is now, without a doubt, crunch time. A time when the men will be separated with from the boys, and where the competition will take a dramatic swing upwards to a point where only the bold, the brave, and the brazen will achieve the ultimate level of success and attain the kind of victory every professional athlete dreams of: Cricket World Champion.

It’s that time of year again, and being the resident Irish nationalist that I am, a person who has been told multiple times he listens to U2 and drinks Guinness just because he is Irish and so is U2 and Guinness (not because they are talented and tasty), I felt it my place to further cement that stereotype.

• I’m drunk
• Anyone see that Canucks video during intermission? AHHAA
• Sedins rock
• Ohlund rocks
• Bieksa rocks
• Fuck the Blues

HERO OF THE GAME

Ohlund was fuckign awesome. I don’t have photoshop anymore. This is microsoft paint.

GOAT OF THE GAME

Santala can suck a goat dick. He’s the GOAT!! HAHA HE CAN SUCK HIS OWN DICK.

I'm way too tired to do point-by-point list rants right now. I'll just say that Viggy needs to fucking change up the powerplay. Put Smolinski with Naslund on the second unit and have them work that chemistry, and put Pyatt back with the twins on the first unit. Heck, even try Cowan on either unit, in front of the net. Worth a shot.

HERO OF THE GAME

What Kevin Lowe did at the trade deadline took guts. Knowing full well that it was the Mark Messier jersey retirement ceremony night, he traded away his team’s franchise player as part of a “business decision”. While most fans were outraged, the minority of fans and media – the pure optimists – accepted Lowe’s decision for what it was and presumed that it would be worth it in the long-run. Some fans over the last two weeks of time have even begin to accept this answer as truth, but the fact of the matter is that it was the wrong decision from any perspective.

This wouldn't be much of a hockey site if we didn't mention at least something on the biggest, sexiest, most exciting news of the week: Ted Saskin has been relieved of NHLPA duties and put on paid leave, while everything gets settled by independent counsel and internal review!

Settled, by a group of players who wouldn't be able to come to a mutual understanding on what a hockey puck is. Alright, sure.

It's Sunday, and I have you off motherfucker, let me revel in you.

As if sitting here in my underwear with coffee in one hand and something else in the other were not enough, between paper writing, and scholarly reading I get to watch the NHL on NBC, or as I like to call it: professional, entertaining, and the exact opposite of every regional and national broadcast this side of the 49th.

• Excellent effort from the Canucks tonight. This brings their record playing 2nd games of back-to-backs to 5-5-1 which is pretty damn respectable. Against the playoff seeded Sharks team, no less.
• Kevin Bieksa has a bad habit of cutting across his own crease with the puck when the other team's forechecking. This will result in a horrible turnover and unnecessary goal some day if it hasn't already.
  

• Fuck pay-per-view.
• Out of all the goalies in the league, the Canucks seem to have the least trouble with Curtis Joseph. I have no idea why. I don't even remember the last time CuJo beat the Canucks - probably in his Red Wing days.
• Sopel has picked up the slap-pass technique pretty damn quick. What used to be a powerplay trick between the Twins now has a new dimension thanks to Sopel.
  

In tonight's game between the NY Islanders and the NY Rangers, pugilist Chris Simon responded to a clean hit from Ryan Hollweg by two-handed-baseball-swinging Hollweg across the face with his stick.

Fans looked on in horror as Hollweg lay motionless on the ice with blood pouring from his face. Simon received an instant match penalty and is likely to face over 20 games of suspension.

Simon made a HUGE mistake.

He should never have baseball swinged Hollweg.

He's a native, he should have tomahawked.