Bluelines: Mike Emrick Adjusts to Life Away from Play-By-Play
Andrei Vasilevskiy is a better Vezina candidate than Igor Shesterkin. Tampa Bay won 2-1 over the Rangers last night.
Kyle Okposo scored a hat trick in Buffalo's 6-3 win over Detroit. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been playing well in goal for the Sabres recently.
Coyotes are playing well. They beat Toronto 6-3 last night. Arizona is now only three wins under .500.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored a goal and won faceoffs in the Islanders' 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets.
Columbus was projected fourth in the Metro Division in The Hockey News Yearbook.
Mike Emrick has been away from Play-by-play for 2-and-a-half years. He's been busy with writing for NBC and doing features on college hockey and old college rinks. Mike is also spending time with his wife Joyce and their dog.
This year, he watched Detroit, because they are close by and because of their improvement. Recently, he followed Pittsburgh because he wanted to see the return of Kris Letang. He also follows Boston because Jim Montgomery has done a terrific job there.
DOC misses sitting next to a player after the morning skate and learning something he could use on air. In the 2020 Bubble playoffs, everything was done "virtually" so DOC didn't have an opportunity to get anything new.
Mike Emrick enjoyed talking to players and coaches about their past. He would ask them questions that they would not normally be asked. He also liked learning more about them.
Mike misses stories like Radek Faksa's childhood in Czech Republic. He was picked up by a team 50 miles away and spent 4 years there by himself. Eventually he went to junior hockey in Ontario and was drafted by the Stars. He misses the stories about him the most. Mike Emrick is a play-by-play announcer for the Dallas Stars and he misses this kind of stories.
Mike Emrick prepared for a game by taking notes from the game notes and writing short notes on each player. He also prepared himself for the rare situation when he would need to take a break. Emick liked getting ready for games. He liked learning from players and coaches. The morning skates were important for him.
The New Jersey Devils are in a slump. They are 1-7-1 in the last nine games. Before the holiday break, they missed John Marino and Ryan Graves. Ondrej Palat is back and should help. The team is coming of age but still learning what it takes to win and be consistent. They need to play good hockey and win more games than they lose. Some critics are clamoring for a trade. For the first time in ages, the team has salary cap issues.
Connor Bedard is getting the same raves as Shane Wright did last year. The Battle of Alberta is shaping up as an intra-province war for a playoff berth. Quinn Hughes scored his first goal of the season against the Sharks.
Anaheim's John Gibson is the NHL's best goalie. Gerard Gallant benched Alex Lafreniere last night. Jack Campbell recently worked in new, stiffer goalie pads and a bigger chest protector.
Seattle Kraken are second-year team. They have a winning percentage of 11th and have beaten three of the teams above them. Their offense is No. 6 in the league for goals-for per game. Goalies Philipp Grubauer and Martin Jones need to improve their save percentages. They need the team to be better on the power play, penalty kill and faceoff percentage.
Islanders' dynasty-builder Bill Torrey was known as 'Bow Tie Bill' because his grandfather used to wear bow ties instead of straight ones. Torry's grandfather taught him how to make a bow tie.
Mike Emrick is adjusting to life away from Play-By-Play. Connor Bedard's laser shot doesn't mean he's NHL-ready.
The answer is no if Canada does not win the world junior championship.
The Capitals have won 10 games in a row. Mike Emrick is no longer doing play-by-play.
Boston beat New Jersey 3-1 on Wednesday. The Kings beat Vegas last night. Tonight the Devils play the Penguins.
Glenn Dreyfuss tells the story of the first hockey game between Russian and Canadian teams. It was played in Gander, Newfoundland, on November 22, 1957. The game was won 7-2 by Whitby Dunlops. The Russian team had taken up the ice sport barely a decade earlier. They compiled a 5-1- 2 record against senior league teams on their tour. Glenn will tell the remarkable story about the Whit by-player who played for Whitley Dunls. He is one of 21 NCAA Division I men's hockey players who are competing in the 2023 World Junior Championship.
Pistol Pete is the new play-by-play voice of the Montreal Canadiens on TSN 690. Alex Barkov returned from a knee injury with a three-goal, five-point game against the Habs.
The Panthers lost the game against the New York Islanders. Marty St-Louis is staying positive despite the losses.
The Penguins and the Rangers lost to the Islanders and Capitals. After each game, the losing coaches moaned that their teams weren't ready.
Sully and Turk are getting paid big money for their play-by-play.
Esa Tikkanen of the Oilers said it when he was shadowing Boston’s Craig Janney during the 1993 playoffs.
