1994-95 Buffalo Sabres Dominik Hasek Jersey

It was on this date in 1970 that the Buffalo Sabres were granted their NHL franchise, for a fee of $6 million. The owners, wishing to avoid another "bison" related name held a "Name the Team" contest. "Sabres" was chosen by the owner because he felt a sabre was a weapon carried by a leader, also noting that a sabre is swift and strong on offense, as well as defense.

Through a spin of a wheel, the Sabres won the right to pick first in the draft, taking Gilbert Perreault, who would go onto win the Calder Trophy. The next season, 1972-73 would see the arrival of first round draft pick Rick Martin and Rene Robert, who was obtained in a late season trade. The three would form The French Connection Line. The trio would lead the Sabres to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1975, a series that included the infamous "Fog Game", and would stay together until 1979. All three of them would be honored by having their numbers retired by the Sabres, the first three players so honored by the club.

Many star players would be on the Buffalo roster in the years after making the Stanley Cup Finals, like Mike Ramsey, Phil Housley, Dave Andreychuk, Tom Barasso, Pierre Turgeon, Alexander Mogilny, Dale Hawerchuk and Pat Lafontaine, but a return to the finals would have to wait until the 1998-99 season following the emergence of Czech goaltender Dominik Hasek.

Hasek would win six Vezina Trophies in Buffalo during his nine seasons there. In addition, he would win both the Hart Trophy and the Pearson Trophy in 1997 and again in 1998. He also would help the Czech Republic capture the Olympic Gold Medal in February of 1998, catapulting him to world wide recognition.

Today's featured jersey is a 1994-95 Buffalo Sabres Dominik Hasek jersey in the Sabres original blue and gold colors. Legend has it that the blue and gold colors were chosen by the original owners because those were the colors of their polo club.

The jersey also features the attractive Sabres 25th Anniversary patch on the right chest, as worn by Hasek during his second Vezina Trophy winning season. The Sabres would continue to wear the blue and gold for another season before changing to the black and red colors they would wear throughout the next 9 seasons before changing back to a blue and gold scheme with the arrival of the unfortunate "Buffaslug" logo.

While the Sabres colors may have changed, one constant throughout nearly the entire history of the Sabres history has been announcer Rick Jeanneret, who joined the club for their second season. His distinctive voice, excited calls and player nicknames have made him one of the best known announcers league wide.

Dasherboard: Wow. Another exciting playoff game last night between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. 11 goals scored in a 7-4 Pittsburgh victory, giving them a 2-0 series lead. This is clearly not your father's playoffs, as it has literally been 10 years since that many goals were scored in a conference final game.

Carolina showed great tenacity, coming back to quickly tie the game three separate times after falling behind, the longest of which took only 2:43, before Evgeni Malkin took control of the game in the third, scoring twice to complete his hat trick. Malkin's hat trick was the result of hard work, skill and tenacity, as all the goals came from in close, two of which were when he was closely guarded.

While we think Chicago is in a world of hurt being down 2-0 to Detroit, we think the Hurricanes, with many more playoff experienced veterans can still claw their way back into this series with their rabid fans behind them when they return home for the next game on Saturday. Having the last change at home will allow them to put the players on the ice they want and should allow them better defensive matchups against the Penguins top players.

1989 West Germany National Team Udo Kiessling Jersey

Born on this day in 1955, one of the best players in German hockey history, Udo Kiessling set a new record in 1992 with his 5th consecutive Olympic tournament appearance. Kiessling's record shows he played a single game in the NHL, in 1982 on a tryout after his German club team was an early exit from the playoffs, but returned home to play in the World Championships, never to return to the NHL again. But just because a player is not in the NHL, doesn't mean he doesn't exist, as Kiessling would go onto have a 24 year career, ending in 1996 at the age of 40.

He made his first appearance in the Olympics at Innsbruck in 1976, winning a Bronze Medal. In addition to his five Olympics, Kiessling also participated in 15 World Championships and the 1984 Canada Cup, as well as winning six national titles in Germany, where he was named the top player three times.

Today's featured jersey is a 1989 West German National Team Udo Kiessling jersey which a was part of a set a collector had made of various team captains from the 1989 World Championships. The jerseys were sold individually in an online auction, and while we were able to win the Germany, Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union, Sweden and USA jerseys, we were unfortunately outbid on the Dale Hawerchuk Canada jersey, sadly breaking up the set. We were unable to determine if there were jerseys made for Finland and Poland, the other participants in the 1989 World Championships.

This beautiful jersey features the vibrant colors of the dye-sublimation process and the arresting graphics of the era with the colors of the tri-color German flag streaking across the chest, as well as the distinctive Tackla diamond logos on the shoulders and drop shadow block font for the numbers. Easily one of our favorite jerseys in the Third String Goalie collection.

If you happen to be the owner of the Dale Hawerchuk Canada jersey from this set, distinguished by the notation on the lower left hem "Team replica Stockholm - 89", we would always be interested in reuniting this wonderful set of jerseys. If you happen to be the collector who had them produced, we'd also be interested in knowing if there were ever Finland and Poland jerseys made and what their availability might be. We can always be contacted by leaving a comment at the bottom of the day's post or through the email address in our "wantlist" section on the right side of the page.

Dasherboard: Did someone say "Dale Hawerchuk"?

Red Wings vs. Blackhawks Game 2 Reaction

Dasherboard: The Red Wings defeated the Blackhawks 3-2 last night in a close game that went into overtime. Unfortunately for Nikolai Khabibulin, the 'Hawks game up a 3 on 1 in overtime, leaving him little chance to fend off the Red Wings and allow the game to continue. That game was a real missed opportunity for Chicago that they dearly needed to take advantage of.

The Blackhawks now face this very uphill situation: they must now beat the Red Wings in four of the next five games, with a maximum of just three games at home at the United Center. This against a team that already has a 6-2 record vs. Chicago this season.

Clearly, the Blackhawks have to win the next game at home to keep themselves in the series. A loss in game 3 would put them in a hole they would just not be able to climb out of.

1983-84 Edmonton Oilers Wayne Gretzky Jersey

On this date in 1984 the Edmonton Oilers would win their first of five Stanley Cups, four of which were with Wayne Gretzky as Captain.

The Oilers started life in the late, great World Hockey Association in 1972 where they would compete until becoming part of the NHL in time for the 1979-80 season. When the WHA teams were allowed to enter the NHL, the old WHA teams were permitted to protect only two goaltenders and two skaters, as the NHL teams raided their rosters in the 1979 Expansion Draft, seeking a return of players whose rights they once held. The WHA teams were also each required to pay a $6 million expansion fee for the privilege of having their team decimated. This was a far different scenario than a "merger" between the leagues, in which case the incoming WHA teams would have been able to keep their rosters intact and not pay an expansion fee.

The Oilers thus stared life in the NHL with a roster consisting of goaltenders Dave Dryden and Eddie Mio, plus skaters Bengt Gustafsson and Wayne Gretzky. Although no NHL team held Gretzky's rights, and under existing rules he would have been removed from the Oilers and placed into the Entry Draft, the Oilers were allowed to keep him but were forced to pick dead last in each round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft of incoming new players, behind even current Stanley Cup champions the Montreal Canadiens.

The WHA teams then selected unprotected players from the current NHL teams to fill out their rosters, but only after the NHL teams were allowed to protect two veteran goalies and seventeen skaters. Think about that for a second. In the best case scenario, a WHA team would get the 20th best player from any NHL team. The results were predictable, as the WHA teams all finished in the bottom eight of the standings. However, a ridiculous 16 of 21 teams made the playoffs back then, so Edmonton and Hartford did manage to qualify for the postseason, with the Oilers being swept in three games by Philadelphia.

Amazingly, within just three years, coach and GM Glen Sather had a team that included Gretzky, but also Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Kevin Lowe and goaltenders Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog, that made it to the finals for the first time in 1983, losing to the Islanders, before winning the Stanley Cup in 1984, ending the Islanders dynasty and beginning one of their own.

Today's featured jersey is a 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers Wayne Gretzky jersey. Interestingly, each of the four times the Oilers would win the cup with Gretzky as captain, it would be at home in their white jerseys. This run of success was prior to teams wearing a special patch during the Stanley Cup Finals, which was not introduced until 1989, so this jersey carries no additional patches - a rarity for our collection.

The Oilers would go onto win three more cups with Gretzky as Captain, in 1985, 1987 and 1988 before Gretzky's famous departure for Los Angeles. Before leaving, the Oilers would change the game of hockey, putting up astounding offensive numbers never seen before. For example, Gretzky led the league in scoring for seven consecutive years, with his lowest point total being 164, followed by 183, 196, 205, 208 and 215. Prior to that, only one player had ever topped 150 - once, as Phil Esposito tallied 152 in 1970-71.

Dasherboard: The Penguins/Hurricanes played an exciting game last night and this series looks like it could easily go six or seven games. Both goalies played very well, but Miroslav Satan could have not only put the puck behind Cam Ward on his breakaway goal, but perhaps a Chevrolet. His move froze Ward so effectively he had one of the widest open nets I've seen for some time.

Tonight it's back to the Red Wings hosting the Blackhawks. We just have the feeling that Chicago needs to take the game tonight to give themselves a chance in the series, otherwise Detroit could easily end the series in as few as five games. The Red Wings really had the look the other night of being able to answer any Chicago goal practically at will.

1988-89 Edmonton Oilers Jari Kurri Jersey

Born on May 18th, 1960, Jari Kurri played 3 seasons for Jokerit Helsinki before joining the Edmonton Oilers and being paired up with linemate Wayne Gretzky. Kurri would go onto win five Stanley Cups in a 17 year career, play in 8 All-Star Games, win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and score a career high 71 goals in 1984-85. He finished his career as the highest scoring European player in NHL history with a total of 601 goals, 797 assists and 1,398 points, having now only been surpassed by Jaromir Jagr. He was ranked #50 in The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Players in 1998.

Today's jersey is a 1988-89 Edmonton Oilers Jari Kurri jersey and features the Edmonton Oilers 10th Anniversary patch. We were very happy when CCM released the Vintage Collection Throwback Series. Seeing how much money collectors were spending for old Minnesota North Stars and Quebec Nordiques jerseys, CCM smelled blood and knew there was an opportunity to make some cash from the throwback craze, first introduced when the Original Six teams wore Turn Back the Clock jerseys during the NHL's 75th Anniversary season of 1991-92.

Much better quality than the original, undersized and lightweight (to the point of being see-through) replica jerseys of the 80's, many retired styles were remade with the current-for-the-time 550 Series replica model, which provided the consumer a very high quality replica for the price.

This jersey also features the Edmonton Oliers 10th Anniversary patch, which is odd since the Oilers were founded in 1972 as one of the original members of the WHA, making 1988-89 the Oilers 16th Anniversary season. This patch was clearly meant to commemorate the anniversary of the Oilers 10 seasons in the NHL following the demise of the WHA in 1979, a league the NHL chooses to pretend never actually existed.

There is also an image of a single Stanley Cup in the patch, but the Oilers had actually won four cups at that point, something most teams would have probably driven home by putting a 4 on the cup or picturing multiple images of the cup, as the Islanders would do 3 seasons later.

Kurri's #17 has been retired by not only the Edmonton Oilers, but also by Jokerit Helsinki and the Finnish National Team. He is currently the General Manager of the the Finnish National Team.

Dasherboard: The Eastern Conference Finals start tonight at 7:30 PM EST on Vs. with the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. The defending Eastern Conference Champion Penguins now have last year's playoff experience to draw upon, and will look to return to the finals for a second year in a row.

The Hurricanes are not lacking in playoff experience either, having won the Stanley Cup as recently as 2006 with players Brind'Amour, Cullen, Staal, Whitney, Cole, LaRose, Kaberle, Wallin, Babchuk and most importantly, Conn Smythe Trophy winner Cam Ward all still on the roster.

It's really going to come down to a matchup between goaltenders in my mind. Can Ward hold off Crosby and Malkin long enough for Staal and Whitney to get the needed goals past Marc-Andre Fleury? The real key to that is the health of Sergei Gonchar, injured during the last round of the playoffs. He did return in time for Game 7, and Pittsburgh's surprising large lead allowed coach Dan Bylsma the opportunity to cut his ice time significantly. The four days off will give him additional time to heal, tipping the scales in our minds to favor the Penguins.

Syttende Mai

Norwegian Constitution Day, commonly known as Syttende Mai ("17th of May") is a celebration of the 1814 signing of Norway's constitution in the town of Eidsvoil, declaring Norway as an independent nation. In Oslo, children parade past the Royal Palace as the Royal Family looks on as part of the celebrations.

Norway has been a member of the IIHF since 1935 and currently participates at the top level of the World Championships, and have done so since being promoted by winning Division 1 in 1995 with their best finish being a 4th place in 1951.

Today's jersey is a 1992-93 Norway National Team jersey. This is one of the most striking designs of any jersey we have ever seen and we were thrilled to add it to our collection years after first seeing it in action at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics.

We really love the Tackla jerseys made in Finland from this time period, as will become apparent over time as you get used to seeing the diamond shapes on the shoulders again and again, along with the distinctive drop shadow font Tackla favored for their numbers.

One thing that makes high quality European-made jerseys different from what we are used to in North America is that the jerseys are dye-sublimated. This is a process where the full design of the jersey, including the main body color, is made by injecting dye into the fabric of the jersey, a process very different from silk screening. If you turn a dye-sublimated jersey inside out, you will see that they all start life as a blank white "canvas". This allows for some wild designs not possible by weaving or sewing color together. Another benefit is long-lasting vibrant colors, as you see in this jersey that is now over 15 years old.

Perhaps the most familiar name to North American fans is Espen Knutsen, a veteran of 5 NHL seasons and the only Norwegian to have played in the NHL All-Star Game.

Currently there are two Norwegians in the NHL, left winger Patrick Thoresen of the Philadelphia Flyers and defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

As for the following video featuring the 1989 Norway National Team, you just can't make this stuff up.

Dasherboard: The Western Conference Finals kick off today at 3:00 PM EST on NBC as the Detroit Red Wings host division rivals the Chicago Blackhawks. The defending Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings won the season series between the two teams 4-2. This is Chicago's first time this deep into the playoffs since 1995 where they lost to the same Detroit Red Wings.

This will be the 15th time the two Original Six teams have met in the playoffs dating back to 1934, with Chicago holding an 8-6 edge. One interesting fact to consider is long-time Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman is now Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations for the Blackhawks.

Will this series be seen as a passing of the torch to the young Blackhawks or the Red Wings asserting their position as defending champions? Our personal feeling is that "old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill" and the Red Wings will advance. However, this could very well be one of those series where people look back as the one where the Blackhawks learns the lessons and gains the hunger needed to achieve greater things in the future.

2005-06 Vancouver Canucks Markus Näslund Jersey

A few days before we starting publishing this blog, Markus Näslund announced his retirement after 15 years in the NHL with Pittsburgh, long-time home Vancouver and a final season with the New York Rangers. By retiring, the always classy Näslund leaves a minimum of $2 million on the table, the amount to buy out the final year of his contract. Näslund, along with players like Steve Yzerman and Mario Lemiuex, falls into the category of Players You Have to Admire on Teams You Hate.

Näslund played 12 seasons in Vancouver, seven as captain, leading the franchise in goals (346) and points (756) and won the Lester B. Pearson Award as the League's Most Outstanding Player in 2003, as voted by members of the players association. Näslund also won two Bronze Medals and a Silver at the World Championships playing for his native Sweden, as well as two silvers as a junior at the World Junior Championships, where he holds the record for most goals scored in a single tournament with 13 goals in 7 games played.

Today's featured jersey is a 2005-06 Vancouver Canucks Markus Näslund jersey with the NHL Cares/Katrina Relief Fund patch as worn by Näslund on October 5th, 2005 in a 3-2 win vs. the Phoenix Coyotes, a game where Näslund scored two goals and spoiled Wayne Gretzky's coaching debut.

The NHL Cares patch was worn by all players during just the first period of their first home game of the season. The game worn jerseys were then auctioned off for charity to raise funds for the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.

Näslund was also featured on the cover of the NHL 2005 video game and some wonderful commercials for Nike.

Game 7 reactions

Dasherboard: The playoff beards will continue to grow in Detroit and Carolina after yesterday's pair of Game 7's. They certainly were more exciting than Pittsburgh's evisceration of Washington the night before.

We think they are trying to grow beards in Pittsburgh, but the jury's still out on that one...

Anaheim certainly showed veteran calm in fighting back against the Red Wings, once more a contrast to the pre-lockout days when comebacks were as rare as penalty shots. Not the prettiest of game winning goals, but enough to get the job done as the Red Wings will now square off against the Blackhawks for the 15th time in their long rivalry, the first since 1995. The two teams met six times this year, with Detroit winning the first four, with two of those going to shootouts, and losing two in the final two games of the regular season.

On the jersey front, Detroit did take the best dressed game of the year in this season's Winter Classic back on New Year's Day.

Meanwhile, in Boston, it was unfortunate that the #1 Eastern seeded Bruins season had to come to a premature end at the hands of someone who should not have been on the ice in the first place, as Public Enemy #1, Scott Walker scored the game winning goal in overtime.

The #6 Hurricanes will now take on the #4 Penguins, with all three division winners in the East now out after only two rounds. Meanwhile in the West it's #2 Detroit against #4 Chicago, a team back from the wilderness, having missed the playoffs 9 of the last 10 years, losing in the first round the one time they did qualify for the postseason back in 2002.

Hopefully now the NHL and Versus will figure out a way for the two possible Game 7's to not be on at the same time.

Il Ne Porte Pas De Masque

Yea, we know this is supposed to be a hockey jersey blog and it's not even a week old and here we go off the tracks already, but with today being the birthday of Lorne "Gump" Worsley, we simply cannot let the occasion pass by without taking the opportunity to post our all time favorite hockey card.

It's a Topps 1971-72 card #241, and it's a thing of beauty.

No, it's not glossy, it's not centered and it looks like it may have been cut out of the sheet of cards with a rusty scissors, but how can you look at that card and not smile? Even the curved font for team name seems to mimic his happy smile. We love this card so much we even printed it on a t-shirt.

Not all the cards in the 72-72 Topps set look quite this bad either. The Penguins for example, made out good, getting a festive red background with yellow type for the team name, while the Blackhawks must have had a fan on the design team, walking away with a nice light blue with red type. But not the North Stars. Oh no...

Pink.

Tough, macho hockey pink. With garishly jarring green type. Yea, the Maple Leafs also got pink, but a darker, more menacing pink with a complimentary yellow team name. But when it came time for the North Stars, the designers looked at their color chart and realized they had crossed off all the other color combinations and what was left was baby girl pink paired with forest green. Bleah. How horrible is that?

Then, just check out the photo of the happy Gumper! Does that simply rock or what? You just want to buy that guy a beer. This man is feeling no pain and has life by the tail. Perhaps it was too many shots to the head, what with Gump being one of the last holdouts to actually not wear a mask while playing goal.

Yea, for you youngsters out there, read that again slowly to make sure you comprehend what you just heard. The man played goalie in the NHL against the likes of Bobby Hull without wearing a mask. For years. 24 years in total, winning the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year on a last place team, 2 Vezina Trophies as the League's Best Goaltender, 4 Stanley Cups and eventual election into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

But here's the funny part. This seemingly fearless man who faced some of the most wicked slapshots coming off the unregulated curved sticks of the time was afraid to fly. You'd think that if he was going to have a fear, it might be the obvious one coming at his face.

Gump Worsley tended goal for the North Stars during the first ever NHL game we attended as a kid back in early 70's in a game vs. the Los Angeles Kings, and for that reason alone he will always have a soft spot in our hearts, but being the subject matter of the greatest hockey card of all time doesn't hurt either. Not like a puck to the face.

Today's featured jersey is a 1969-70 Minnesota North Stars Gump Worsley jersey. The North Stars started out with essentially this same jersey in 1967. After a false start saw them drop the lace up collar worn at the very start of their existence, the North Stars added the white shoulder yoke in 1968-69 and would continue to wear this style through the 1974-75 season, by which time Worsley had retired.

Today's video section is the wonderful Legends of Hockey profile of Gump Worsley.

Dasherboard: Well that certainly sucked. Here we were expecting some edgeoftheseat non-stop action, dramatic finish, classic winner-take-all Game 7 battle between the games two brightest stars.

And instead of a full size Snickers™ bar, we got a rock.

Pulled after 4 goals on 18 shots, Simeon Varlamov came crashing back down to Earth last night and the Penguins move on to face the winner of Boston and Carolina's Game 7. Sidney Crosby certainly showed his immense skills last night on the first goal of the game, calmly collecting the puck on his skate and deftly moving it to his stick with the kind of foot skills usually only found with a European player who grew up playing soccer throughout his entire upbringing. A very impressive play and evidence that for the superstar players, the game seemingly happens in slow motion, giving them the time to calmly make plays other's can't.

The more we think about it, the more we want Detroit to beat Anaheim. We think that a Detroit/Chicago series would be much more entertaining with both teams playing pure hockey with minimal nonsense after the whistle. The renewal of an Original Six rivalry is also very appealing to us as well, rather than Anaheim trying to pound Chicago's youngsters into submission with intimidation and fear, scoring only as much as they need to once their opponent has been softened up sufficiently. Yuk.

Firewagon Hockey

We hope you caught the third period of the Blackhawks vs. Canucks game last night. It was a return to the Firewagon Hockey of the 80's, with 12 goals, 6 of them in a third period that included 3 lead changes in 10 minutes alone. The game itself had a total of five lead changes. When was the last time you saw that in a playoff game?

I'll tell you when...

Earlier the same evening after Washington forced a Game 7 back at home by defeating Pittsburgh in overtime in a game that also featured five lead changes. Wednesday night's Game 7 could be an "instant classic" as these two teams meet up one final time. Clear your calendars for that one.

It's a far cry from the Anaheim Ducks vs. Minnesota Wild pre-lockout series in 2003 where the first goal won, a four game series that featured a total of 10 goals, followed by a seven game finals between the Ducks and Devils that included no less than four shutouts.

In the meantime, we get a legitimate double header tonight as Boston visits Carolina followed by Detroit traveling out West to try to eliminate Anaheim.

One nice thing about Carolina making a playoff run is some rare national TV time for the 'Canes and an opportunity to see The Storm Squad, the classiest Ice Girls/Cheer Squad in the whole NHL.

1994-95 Minnesota Moose Dave Christian Jersey

When Norm Greed Moved the Minnesota North Stars to Dallas after the 1992-93 season the professional hockey void in the Twin Cities was filled by the arrival of the IHL Minnesota Moose, starting with the 1994-95 season.

The Moose played in the aging St. Paul Civic Center, former home of the WHA Minnesota Fighting Saints. Still stung by the loss of the North Stars, and probably carrying the attitude that minor league hockey was beneath them, the Moose were never embraced by the population as a whole.

When it was assumed that the relocating Winnipeg Jets were headed for the Target Center in Minneapolis, the Moose management figured the writing was on the wall and moved the team to Winnipeg after their second season in St. Paul, to once more fill the void of a departing NHL team, where they still play today as the Manitoba Moose.

Never the greatest success on the ice or with the fans, the greatest legacy of he Moose is undoubtedly their logo, once ranked by The Hockey News as the best in all the minors. It's featured here on a black road jersey, customized with Minnesota native, member of the Gold Medal winning 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team, and 14 year NHL veteran Dave Christian, who was born on this day in 1959. Christian led the Moose in 94-95 with 38 goals. He was also named to the 1991 NHL All-Star Game, a Captain of the Winnipeg Jets, leading them in points in 80-81 and did the same for the Washington Capitals in 85-86.

Today's featured jersey is a 1994-95 Minnesota Moose Dave Christian jersey. This Starter brand jersey features the IHL 50th Anniversary patch, worn by all the teams in the IHL that season. It might be difficult to make out, but the letters and numbers are three color, white trimmed in forest green and outlined in purple, a frankly impossible combination to see against the black background and probably only visible from the front row of the seats, and even then only when someone was plastered up against the glass!

Even on the white jerseys, where they used purple numbers trimmed in forest green and outlined in black the similar values of the green and purple blended together for the most part. A very odd choice to be certain.

In classic IHL fashion, the 95-96 Moose had seven players with over 100 penalty minutes. Check out the video below for some vintage IHL mayhem.

Dasherboard: Another night of intense playoff hockey last night. Not as exhilarating as Monday night, but both games set up Game 7's as Boston and Anaheim fight off elimination. The problem is that, once more, the games are scheduled to start just an hour apart. Isn't there some way to schedule one for 6 PM Eastern and the other for 9 PM? We'd even settle for 6 PM and 8 PM. C'mon, work with us here.

The ending of the Anaheim/Detroit game was some Old Time Hockey with practically everyone squaring off after the horn sounded. What was with Scott Niedermayer violently elbowing and then punching out Pavel Datsyuk? Doesn't he know that Datsyuk is nominated to win his fourth straight Lady Bing Memorial Trophy? What the hell? That's like picking a fight with a fluffy kitten. Or Alexander Semin.

The intensity of the next game is going to be off the charts with the fans hanging off the rafters at The Joe. Prediction - happy Red Wings fans will celebrate the launching of an octopus as Detroit does their part to give us an renewal of an Original Six rivalry with the Blackhawks for the first time since 1995.

For Boston and Carolina, based on the way this series has gone so far, expect a 4-1 win. Only we're not sure in whose favor it will be. Watch, the damn thing will now go four overtimes now that we've said that. We suspect predictions will not be a regular feature of this blog...

2005 Slovakia National Team Miroslav Satan Jersey

The Republic of Slovakia was founded on January 1, 1993 when Czechoslovakia peacefully separated into Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Slovakia were first placed, somewhat unfairly, by the IIHF in the "C" Pool, while the Czech Republic, whose players dominated the former Czechoslovakian National Team, started life by being placed immediately into in the "A" pool.

Showing they were, in fact seeded too low, the Slovaks won the "C" Pool in 1994, earning promotion to the "B" Pool, which proved no problem for them either, as they would go on to win that in their first try in 1995 as well.

It was tougher going now that they were among the world's hockey elite in the "A" Pool, placing no higher than 7th over the next four years, but comfortably in the top group, never being threatened with relegation either. A glimpse of what was to come was shown by a fine Silver Medal in 2000, losing to rivals Czech Republic 5-3 in the final in St. Petersburg, Russia. The next year was a return to their previous form, as they again finished 7th.

But it all came right in 2002. Placing second in their group. Slovakia defeated Poland and Ukraine, but lost to Finland in the Preliminary Round. In the Qualification Round, they defeated Sweden,

Austria and Russia, proving they were to be reckoned with. In the Quarter Finals they eliminated Canada in regulation, coming from behind with two goals in the third, before having to go to a tense shootout to defeat Sweden to move into the Finals, again vs. Russia, where they won on a goal by the great Peter Bondra.

Today's featured jersey is a 2005 Slovakia National Team Miroslav Satan jersey. Satan was the leading scorer of the Slovak team which captured the World Championship in 2002. Today's style was used in the 2005 World Championships, where Satan captained the team. It's a Nike home white jersey, again featuring one of our custom made sponsorship patches from automaker Skoda, loyal sponsor of the IIHF World Championships.

Since that time, Slovakia has not been able to sustain the success they once achieved, finishing with the Bronze in 2003, then slowly sliding down to 4th, 5th, 8th, a bump back up to 6th and then having to fight off relegation for the first time while finishing a disappointing 13th in 2008 due to a combination of the retirement of stars like Bondra and Ziggy Palffy, as well as the NHL obligations of stars such as Marian Hossa and Zedeno Chara. For comparison, the 2002 team featured recognizable NHLers such as Lubomir Visnovsky, Lubos Bartecko, Bondra, Michal Handzus, Ladislav Nagy, Vladimir Orzaugh, Palffy, Robert Petrovicky, Josef Stumpel and Satan, while the 2009 team has two NHL regulars, goaltender Jaroslav Halak from Montreal and Handzus.

Dasherboard: Speaking of the World Championships, Russia defeated Canada yesterday in a hard-fought 2-1 win with the game winning goal coming from stick-spinning former Nashville Predator Alexander Radulov.

Radulov finished the tournament with 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points in 9 games, second in team scoring only to tournament MVP Ilya Kovalchuk (9-5-14). Russia was a perfect 10-0, surrendering only a single point in the standings to Sweden in a Russian win in overtime.

Radulov is perhaps the first player in hockey history to defect from the USA to Russia. Apparently the thought of another winter in Nashville proved too much to bear, as he chose to play this season in the sunny climes of Ufa, in the heart of scenic Bashkorostan.