Stormin Norman Rumack

1ST PERIOD NOTES;

Jarome Iginla and OlliJokinen exert pressure and Jamie Lundmark converts a pass in front of the Wings net into a goal in just 28 seconds of the period. The Wings come back with pressure into the Calgary end of the rink. Mark Giordano and David Moss get a good chance around the Wings net, but fail to convert.  Detroit pressures the front of the Calgary net and draw a penalty as Darren Helm is pulled down by Curtis Glencross, who gets penalized for tripping at 4;27.  Henrik Zetterberg shoots wide of an empty corner of the net, as Detroit apply pressure with Pavel Datsyuk and Zetterberg buzzing the Flames net, after the shot by Zetterberg.Tomas Holmstrom gets penalized for crosschecking at 5;53. Calgary gets good puck control but not many scoring chances on their power play. The Flames have been outshot  by a wide margin in the first 10 minutes by 8-1. Miikka Kiprusoff makes a good save on Daniel Cleary and Ville Leino. Glencross gets a good rush on Chris Osgood, who is well positioned to...

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BUCCANEERS AT FALCONS; It’s no guarantee for a win, however the Falcons are a perfect 4-0 at home, while the Buccaneers are 0-4 on the road. Bucs head coach, 32 year old Raheem Morris, has taken over defensive co-ordination duties from Jim Bates, who has been re-assigned to other responsibilities. Tampa will feature the Tony Dungy created “Tampa 2”  or “Cover 2” defense.  Even Tony Dungy might have had a difficult time manufacturing a victory out of this match. The Falcons win 31-17.

DOLPHINS AT BILLS;  The Dolphins have scored a lot more (242) than the Bills (155). Former Toronto Argonaut Ricky Williams is playing quite well, which helps with Ronnie Brown being out for the year. The Bills are only 1-3 at home, so I’ll select Miami to beat Buffalo  27-24.

BROWNS AT BENGALS; I just can’t see Cincinnati screwing this up. The Browns are 1-9, while the Bengals are 7-3.  Cleveland will get crushed by Cincinnati 37-13.

SEAHAWKS AT RAMS; What a great matchup this is; Seattle is 0-5 on the road, while...

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1ST PERIOD NOTES;

Martin St.Louis gets a scoring chance in the first minute after Steven Stamkos steals the puck and feeds St.Louis behind the Toronto defense. Not much action either way after the first minute. Steve Downie gets hit around the hip and close to the knees, on a hit by Garnet Exelby, and he left the ice slowly on his own.   Nicolai Kulemin picks up a loose puck on a rebound in front of the Tampa net and scores at 6;45. Steve Downie gets a retaliation penalty for charging at 7;00.  Vinny Lecavalier feeds St.Louis on a rush into the Leafs zone, but he can’t reach the puck. Nicklas Hagman scores on a feed from from Francois Beauchemin getting in behind the Tampa Bay defense and shooting high on Antero Niittymaki to make the score 2-0  at 11;54 . The Lightning seem  to be in a fog, other than their top line, as Tampa go on the power play,at 13;28, with Ian White sent off for tripping , and Andrej Meszaros scores on the power play on a nice passing play in front of the Maple Leafs net at 14;14. ...

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1ST HALF NOTES;

Very little defense in the first quarter with the Raptors getting easily to the basket in the first few minutes, and the Pacers begin to do the same after starting slowly in the initial 5 minutes of the first quarter.  The Raptors squandered an early lead and the game was tied at 12 with 8;33 remaining in the first quarter. The game is tied at 16 with 6;58 remaining in the first quarter. T.J. Ford is off to a fast start in the game with 7 points, 2 rebounds and an assist in the first 6 minutes of the game.  The Raptors lead by 23-18 with 5;26 to go in the quarter.Jose Calderon has 7 points and Danny Granger has 6 for the Pacers. The Raptors lead by 30-25 with 2;50 remaining in the first quarter as the Raptors seem to be slightly more attentive on defense than are the Indiana Pacers. The score tells it all, as the game resembles a pick up match with you buddies, in other words no defense. At the end of the first quarter, the Raptors lead 39-31. Imagine if they continue at that “pace,” pardon...

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1ST PERIOD NOTES;

There are an incredible number of empty seats for the start of this game.The Islanders Kyle Okposo penalized for hooking at 39 seconds. The Toronto power play is ineffective, not generating any chances. Kyle Okposo penalized again for tripping at 5;30. Dwayne Roloson covers up on a scramble in front of the net on the power play. Roloson makes a nice save on Phil Kessel and Vesa Toskala stops Richard Park on a breakaway on the Toronto power play.  Matt Moulson fans on the puck on a turnover in the Toronto zone.  The Islanders take another bad penalty, as Jack Hillen gets called for holding at 11;36.  Roloson has made several good saves when called upon and doesn’t allow rebounds out.Trent Hunter hits the crossbar on a shot from inside the blue line. Okposo and Frans Nielsen buzz the Toronto net and get a scoring chance which they fail  to complete. The Leafs outshot the Islanders 20-9 and Dwayne Roloson was the difference maker in this period.

 

2ND PERIOD NOTES;

Jamal...

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