2017-2018 Hart Trophy: Bovada Odds

Per a post today at Pro Hockey Talk, the odds to win the Hart Trophy have been posted, with Connor McDavid coming in as the favorite:

2017 – 2018 – Who will win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player?
Connor McDavid (EDM) 3/2
Sidney Crosby (PIT) 5/2
Auston Matthews (TOR) 17/2
Alex Ovechkin (WAS) 9/1
Patrick Kane (CHI) 14/1
Vladimir Tarasenko (STL) 15/1
Evgeni Malkin (PIT) 16/1
Carey Price (MON) 20/1
John Tavares (NYI) 20/1
Jamie Benn (DAL) 25/1
Steven Stamkos (TB) 25/1
Erik Karlsson (OTT) 33/1
Nikita Kucherov (TB) 33/1
Jack Eichel (BUF) 50/1
Ryan Getzlaf (ANA) 50/1
Patrik Laine (WPG) 50/1
Brad Marchand (BOS) 50/1
Tyler Seguin (DAL) 50/1
Nicklas Backstrom (WAS) 60/1
Brent Burns (SJ) 60/1
Braden Holtby (WAS) 60/1
Phil Kessel (PIT) 60/1
Artemi Panarin (CBJ) 60/1
Joe Pavelski (SJ) 60/1

It is very interesting to note that Auston Matthews checks in at third in the odds.

Sidney Crosby's Legendary Return

[Event Summary]

[Empty Netters] [Puck Daddy]

Sid the Kid is back, and he delivered.

We had the game on at my house for a while--and by the time I had turned it on he had already netted a goal to open up the scoring. He would add another two assists and a second goal. He bested the great Mario Lemieux's return.

He proved that he's absolutely a living legend, beyond anyone that we've ever seen before. It's so good for the game of hockey to have this kid back and playing again. Still just 24 years old, Crosby has a real chance to continue building on his legend now.

The Return of Sidney Crosby

Sidney Crosby makes his emotional return to the sport tonight--about 11 months since he last stepped foot on the ice.

It's good news for the Penguins, and it's good news for the sport. When I started this blog, Crosby was my favorite NHL player. He's an icon. I'll be tuning into Versus tonight to see him hopefully net his first points of the season.

People have to remember that at one point there were rumors that Crosby might never play again. My personal hope is that Crosby never misses another game. I love watching him play and I think that he can still go down as one of the all time greats in the sport.

I'll have a recap tonight. Good for Sidney Crosby.

I love this Sidney Crosby Commercial

I hope the game's finest player gets better soon. I thought this commercial had a great message.

Missing Sid the Kid

Sidney Crosby is out for the forseeable future due to injury, but ESPN.com is doing a nice write up on Crosby while he's out. Everything you'd want to know about Crosby's career on and off the ice is in this story.

Crosby delivers in true 'classic'

Assist for the first score. Shootout goal to win it. I'd say he showcased himself pretty nicely to America today.

[Box Score]

And one last video:

Winter Classic is underway

CROSBY TO ARMSTRONG! 1-0 PENS

The snow is falling. This is what legends are made of in the NHL. The sights, the sounds, the atmosphere. New Years Day Hockey

Sidney Crosby's 1st fight

You knew this was coming for quite some time. I know Jake and I talked about this for a while; and it finally happened. Hockey Fights (best.site.ever.) says that Crosby won the fight. Ya bitches.

Penguins dominated in Philly, 8-2

Six points? Six f--kin' points?

Joffrey Lupul's two quick goals got him on a fast track for the Philadelphia Flyers' first hat trick at home in two years. R.J. Umberger made the fans' wait much shorter for another one.
Lupul notched a hat trick and had six points and Umberger added three goals and five points to snap Philadelphia's five-game winless skid at home and lift the Flyers to an 8-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

You know, after that dominating of the Canadian coastline put on by Crosby & company, I knew it had to end sometime. I knew this couldn't continue forever. The Pens were destined for this type of letdown to their rivals and hopefully it grounds them and realizes that they can't continue on a meteoric rise through the rest of the league--just yet.

Of course, Crosby notched two more assists on feeds to Ryan Whitney and Petr Sykora.

More then anything, very bad news for the Pens today in the way of their goaltender, Marc Andre Fleury. Fleury has a sprained ankle and will be out for 6-8 weeks. In hockey, that's a huge amount of time to miss. Hell it's a big amount of time to miss in any sport. When I heard that, I said to myself 'thats a serious sprained ankle. that is the cadillac of sprained ankles'. Two things to note, this means Dany Sauborin really has to step it up for this team, and I don't know if this team will be able to make a run to the Stanley Cup Finals or even Semifinals as I thought they would.

Ben Eager is a coward; Pens lose. [The Pensblog]

[Box Score]

This is for you Clint

Pens thrash Atlanta 5-0

Dominating win for the Penguins tonight at Mellon Arena. In beating Atlanta 5-0, they won their second straight game and now sit at 10-11-2, just one game under .500 for the season. The game was the Penguins 13th home game compared to just 10 away contests.

Sidney Crosby had a goal (12) and an assist. Jordan Staal added his second goal of the season.

Marc-Andre Fleury pitched the shutout with 28 saves.

Coach Michel Therrien typically has stuck with a winning goalie to start the following game this season, so it was a bit of a surprise Fleury started Saturday. Fleury -- still the youngest regular starting goalie in the NHL -- allowed two goals on four shots Thursday before being pulled in favor of backup Dany Sabourin (who I traded away in NHL 08 because he was bitching too much).

[Box Score]

Sid the Kid opens the blog with a win

Figures that I might as well open this blog with a Hockey post.

I grew up playing baseball, football, and basketball. I always wanted to be a hockey player but I couldn't skate for shit. Otherwise I had all the tools.

This is a blog dedicated to covering some NHL Hockey, and sports as a whole. It's a sports bar and everything is on the tubes. All bloggers are welcome to write for this site and offer their viewpoints, opinions, thoughts, and homerisms.

My favorite hockey team is the Penguins. Mainly because of Sid the Kid, but also because when I was young and growing up I dominated the opposition in Sega Genesis NHL 94. I was the comeback kid. With Super Mario, no lead was too great to overtake.

Here, I hope that some of the same, laid back, 64-bit nostalgia is felt through every post. Let the games begin.

[Box Score]

(Game post from the Pensblog)