Before I get my balls deep in this recap's ass, what the fuck is up with the conference alignment proposed by the NHL? Having Tampa and Florida in "Conference 2" (and for the sake of arguments and not being so generic as Conference 2, I'm calling it Adams Division) make no sense geographically. If I had my way, I would remove the Florida teams from the conference (and NHL) and add them to "Conference 1", remove the New York teams and add them to Adams Division. It would look something like this: 

I mean, that would make the most sense right? Of course, this is the NHL so things that make sense don't particularly work out. If anything, having these two degenerates in Adams means there could be a possible move for each franchise. 

Either way, Boston is visiting their new Conference chums today in Sunrise as the Bruins face off against the Florida Pussycats. The Pussies are coming off being stuffed by the Penguins a night after they squirted out a victory against the Flyers. The Pussies looked pretty sloppy in that loss, taking a hard waxing by the Pens. 

Boston is coming off of a great 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Blue Hairs - something no one on Days of Y'Orr predicted as I was all doom and gloom re: the Lightning power play. Instead, the Bruins PK took that PP and just cranked the shit out of it until there was absolutely no gusto left. They worked the Lightning PP into submission and made them squirt milky tears of sorrow. 

I'm not to worried about today's game given that Florida is 4th in the Southeast Division and have a goal difference of -20 (41 goals scored against 61 given up). This is coming from a team that finished 3rd in the NHL last season and now can't get out of the basement. Apparently last season wasn't the norm for the Panthers. 

You can tell when a team doesn't give a shit about their own club. Look at this ticket promotion: 

Look at how fucking excited these people are to be at a Panthers game. They couldn't find something more excited than two people drinking a beer and a guy sleeping during a Panthers hockey game? This is the first image you see when you go to the Panthers website - a clear indication that this franchise just doesn't give a shit. 

How pathetic. 

It's the perfect way to describe the southeast division in general: pathetic. From slewfooting Jeff Skinner to the Lightning's huge fucking movie screen that casts a shadow over the rink larger than the Manon Rhéaume experiment and the Florida fucking attendance. That conference is where respect and dignity go to die and shame pisses all over their tombstones. The NHL would be better off shipping that division to an island in the middle of East Bumfuck and blowing it up. 

It's a shameful thing Lobsterhead. 

I hope Boston goes in there and just skullfucks the living shit out of the Florida Panthers, but it's not like anyone not wearing a black and gold jersey would care because no one gives a rat's ass (pun intended) about the Florida fucking Panthers. Not even the Florida Panthers. 

The rest of the preview and all that shit after the jump...

With the WInnipeg Jets returning to the NHL, the league still wants to work on some sort of realignment plan. Makes sense because Winnipeg being in the Southeast makes no sense. Here's the latest NHL realignment propsal:

New realignment, via @friedgehnic. Part I. Detroit heads East. twitter.com/cotsonika/stat…

— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) February 24, 2013

Boston would be in a division with their usual pals the Sabres, Habs, Leafs, Sens and welcome into the fold the Red Wings, Panthers, and Lightning.

Image from PuckDaddy

Here's what the West would look like:

Image from PuckDaddy

It's better than the last proposal. Making the Florida teams part of the Northeast Expanded Division (aka Conference 2) seems a bit odd. But that Conference 1 set up looks like a fucking meatgrinder and would be fun to watch.  The way the West Side Yo Conferences are set up makes a lot of sense. But there being two extra teams in the Eastern Conferences is a little odd; we'd thought the NHL would want to keep that stuff as even as possible. Expansion soon? Bring back the Nordiques! Bring back the Adams Division!

Few peeps on twitter are saying under this proposal any team can make any team (not in their division) for the Stanley Cup. Not sure how they decide what conference champs from each group faces who. If they do East 1 vs East 2 there goes the fun of possibly a Flyers-Bruins bloody Cup final.

What do you guys think about this realignment plan?

Awesome video from the NHL on how the player safety/suspension hearing process works from start to finish. 

Hey, look, Marchand! You're famous!!

NHL is always getting blasted for their suspension/non-suspension calls and a lot of it has to do with fans not really understanding how the process works. Loving that this video details how it works from start to finish.

Doesn't help the "well why is this hit suspendable and this one isn't?" arguments that will always happen between players, coaches, front offices and fan bases but at least there's a little more clarity in how the system works before. That bit was always a foggy -- at least for fans.

Tonight's game was sponsored by the number 2. Bruins move to 10-2-2. Bruins scored two goals, then Lightning scored two goals, then Bruins scored two goals.

Nathan Horton scored two goals. Dougie Hamilton assisted on both of those two goals. Justin has a two inch penis. The second Tampa Bay goal was softer than Robb when he sees a naked woman.

Jon is going to get punched in the face twice next time the DOY staff is together. 

Great win though. When the Bruins blew that two goal lead we peed a little. "NOT AGAIN" we may or may not have yelled. But then the Bruins were all like "oh wait, Tampa's goalie sucks. FLAME ON!" Oh Horty you.... you got what we neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed. Tampa can't defend! No Tampa can't defend!

...sorry, where were we?

We're currently contacting the MBTA to see if they can celebrate the Bruins getting 10 wins by putting happy messages on all buses tomorrow. We'll let you know how that goes.

It's been three looooong days but the Days of Y'Orr Pregame Show LIVE returns to the Internet. The show starts at 6:00pm. At around 5:45pm we'll update this page with a live stream player below.

How to Watch:

Blog: Come back to this page at 5:45pm
G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/108411793...
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DaysofYorr

Can't watch it live? No worries. The player will update itself with the live recorded version once the show is over so you can watch at your own leisure.

On Today's Episode:

Tonight we'll be talking about the Bruins/Lightning game, an improving Bruins PP (?), Alfie/Iginla/Ryder trade rumors, and a special Q&A with newly unemployed head coach Lindy Ruff. Also, if you're sensitive to certain words, be forewarned that we don't care. 

Send in Questions/Comments!:

Seriously, we want to hear from the DOY Pregame Show viewers. Send in thoughts and questions via twitter with the hashtag #DOYLive.

Show Notes:

After the show is over we'll update this section to list the stories we refer to and other notes from today's show. Here's a few links to get started, though.

- Greg's Game Day Preview for Bs vs. Lightning
- Bruins are named the 4th Most Active NHL Fanbase
- Ruff is fired
- Montreal needs to calm their tits
- Chiarelli meets with Holmgren
- The return of Ryder?
 

Get Involved:

This is a new endeavor us, so send us feedback on what you like/don't like. Local business looking to advertise are also welcome to contact us. Email us at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  for all show needs and ideas.

I fucking hate these three day waiting periods between games. It's probably the closest thing to being water boarded that I will ever experience outside of a Bruins power play (although not lately!). The worst part about it is that there isn't shit to write about during this time off, except for that Lindy Ruff got fired 5 years to late which is kind of a shitty thing because now someone may actually realize the team is talented and coach them as such. Anywho, the Bruins are now in toasty Florida, where the mice are huge and the 4pm steak is $5 with tax to play the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Last time the Bruins "played" Tampa Bay, a snow storm opened it's anal cavity and dumped about 2 feet of snow on us causing the game to be postponed. Before that game, Tampa was on a virtual tear of NHL goaltending. They put up something like 6+ goals 6 times before their matchup with Boston, but has since cooled off - big time. 

Since the February 10th postponed game, the Lightning are 2-2, losing to Washington and Montreal and beating Toronto and Florida. So they haven't defeated any good teams and got waxed against Washington, where they let up four goals. 

In reality though, the Bruins defense is going to get tested tonight in a big way. Tampa comes into the game ranked number one in offense in the NHL, scoring almost four goals a game. While the Bruins defense is good, they're no longer statistically the best in the NHL. While being ranked 8th is nothing to scoff at, you have to look at how they've played over the past few games. 

The last time the Bruins faced Tampa, the Lightning put a 12 spot on the board and Steven Stamkos went ham - but that was with Party Turco in net. I don't expect a 12 spot to ever grace a Bruins scoreboard again, but the possibility that Tampa can put in 5 or 6 goals is definitely there. While Rask has been good we can't forget his performance against Buffalo when Thomas Vanek was playing puppet master with the Bruins defense, can we? I know we place a lot of that game on a shitty defense - and rightfully so - but there's been so many times where Tuukka has had to been masterful to even keep Boston in a game (hello, Montreal). 

One last thing that scares the piss out of me with regards to the Lightning? Their power play. While the Bruins penalty kill is amazing (and we're talking 94%, best in the NHL amazing) the team has a tendency to take idiotic penalties at the most crucial times. The third pairing of Ference/McQuaid seems to be the worst of the pairs. The pairing has 27 PIMs so far this season and McQuaid has 19 of them. For comparison, Chara is 2nd with 14 and then no defenseman breaks 10 (with Dougie Hamilton having 0 PIMs this season). Putting Tampa Bay on the power play could be suicide. 

Tampa also has three players in the top 20 in total points so far this season in Stamkos (3rd), St. Louis (5th) and Lecavalier (20th). Again, nothing to sneeze at, especially when Vinny L is a second line center. Boston's highest ranking player in terms of total points in David Krejci at 68. Just something to think about. Tampa plays a wide open, offensive scheme and Guy Boucher loves to have his guys shooting the puck. Given that team speed also cripples this defense, it could be a long night. 

After the jump, the rest of the preview...

This afternoon the Buffalol Sabres did the impossible -- they fired head coach Lindy Ruff who has been the team's head coach since 10,00 BC. It was a firing that happened about five years too late at best. With exception of them playing Boston, the Sabres are awful. Just awful. The're 6-10-1 overall and 3-7 in their last 10. From NHL.com:

The Buffalo Sabres have relieved Lindy Ruff of his coaching duties, the team announced Tuesday afternoon.

A 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at the First Niagra Center on Tuesday night left the Sabres with a 6-10-1 record this season. Buffalo's 13 points are the fewest in the Northeast Division and tied for the third-fewest in the Eastern Conference.

Ruff, who played most of his NHL career for the Sabres, began coaching the team in 1997-98 and was the longest-tenured coach in the League. He led the Sabres to the 1999 Stanley Cup Final and had a career regular-season record of 562-452-84 along with 78 ties.

Ruff was also the second-longest tenured coach in North American pro sports next to Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.

There is no immediate word on Ruff's replacement

Meanwhile Darcy Regier is still the GM for the Sabres even though he's put together the most inept Sabres maybe ever.

Easy, kid. He just got fired!

It'll be weird seeing a head coach not cry behind the Buffalo bench. We won't know how to react at first, but then we'll find something to run with. Or maybe they'll find another whiney coach to take over. The possibilities are endless!

After the jump, we remember Ruff's legacy...

Last night the Montreal Canadiens defeated  the New York Rangers 3-1. And by doing so they took the top spot in the Eastern Conference. And because it's Montreal, they're already celebrating their quarter-season championship. This was RT by the Sirius XM NHL Radio twitter account this morning:

@canadiensmtl The 107 bus this morning #gohabsgo twitter.com/julesp8/status…

— Julie Paquette (@julesp8) February 20, 2013

Oof. Embarrassing. Let alone it's quarter-season and there's fives teams within three points of them, they're choosing to ignore games played, too.

Math, motherfuckers.

But congrats on the minor achievement. We know there hasn't been much to celebrate recently up in Montreal. Before this the biggest deal in town was kicking out the English-only speaking coaches like in some bizarre hockey version of the Muslim Expulsion from Spain (history, motherfuckers). But man is this going to suck when they create a hour long pre-game ceremony commemorating last night's events.

S/T to Dana N. for sharing the link with us. bWo.

TicketCity sent over this cool infographic about the most engaged NHL fanbases. And since the Bruins came in fourth and we love hockey infographics we figured we'd share:

Top 10 Most Active Fan Bases in the NHL created by TicketCity

Press Release:

The Toronto Maple Leafs hold the #1 spot on the list with an especially tuned-in fan base.  Online search volume for the team is the highest in the NHL with over 300,000 global monthly searches. Home games have long been one of the toughest tickets to acquire even during losing seasons, making Leafs tickets the most expensive in the league. Although slightly less social than other teams included in the top 10, more than 500,000 fans like The Maple Leafs on Facebook- a considerable community when compared to other top global brands.

The enthusiasm of NHL fans on social media is easy to see when compared to other professional leagues like the NFL and Major League Baseball. While the general popularity of other leagues drives more Facebook “Likes” on team pages, Facebook’s “Talking About” numbers reveal that NHL fans are more engaged with their team as fan communities three times their size. The Detroit Red Wings lead all of hockey with over 1.3 million likes on Facebook – including 80,000 fans that are “Talking About” the team on the social network (as of February 15). On Twitter the Montreal Canadiens have the largest reach with over 350,000 followers.

As a "thank you” to fans for putting up with the lockout, many NHL teams have had a multitude of concession giveaways and discounts on souvenir items to draw fans back to the games. The Pittsburgh Penguins -- ranked #3 on the list and #10 in the league for home game attendance -- offered all merchandise available for half-price during the first four games of the season. Fans responded by purchasing 8,680 jerseys and 19,950 t-shirts.

“The teams included on this list have managed to activate their fans in a variety of different ways,” says Rafael Rivas, Chief Strategy Officer at TicketCity. “Whether a fan “Likes” a post on Facebook or decides to attend a game, top NHL teams leverage these experiences to continue to build their fan communities. It’s those experiences that enable certain teams to maintain their success in the league post-lockout, regardless of performance.”

No real shockers on this list. They're all major hockey markets, Original 6 teams, and team's that have been to the Cup Finals recently. Only the St. Louis Blues don't fit this description really. Not overly shocked that they made the list but it's cool to see a team below the Mason Dixon line make the list. Bettman's smiling somewhere. Poor Kings. Not even winning a Cup last year and having a hilarious twitter account seems to engage their fans into this list.

Also, suck it, Buffalo and Winnipeg.

From the Bruins: 

You often hear "putting smiles on kids' faces" as the importance of offering support to the community, but that was - truly - at the core of the visit.

"Important is probably a real small word," said Coach Julien. "For us, it was something that we really wanted to do. The fact that we have that opportunity to come here and hopefully put smiles on faces and to show our support."

"I'm looking at the players and they're still in there having a blast," Coach said, as he watched Adam McQuaid,Daniel Paille, Rich Peverley, Tyler Seguin, Dougie Hamilton, Andrew Ference and Chris Bourque running around with the kids and playing street hockey on the courts stretched in front of him. "That's such a nice thing to see right now. I'm really proud of our players for coming in here and helping out."

"When you look at the faith and you look at the strength of this town and how they've bonded and supported each other, it's amazing - and having the opportunity to be part of that group, and wanting to be part of that group, is pretty special."

What an awesome move by the organization. You know the kids had a great time playing street hockey with those guys, probably except for Chris Bourque who kept shooting the ball off of the basketball back board. I hate to use the word classy because it's so overused in hockey fan vernacular but it that's exactly what it was.