Pencil these in

After a long day of watching hockey, ordering a Wendy's single with everything but onions and watching Colin collect three foul balls, I've finally had enough time over the past few minutes to scribble a list of top 10 teams we'll hound during the 2009-10 campaign:

No. 10. New Jersey Devils, Oct. 8: It's always nice to see Marty.

No. 9. Montreal Canadiens, Dec. 30: Respect the Le Bleu-Blanc-et-Rouge.

No. 8. Vancouver Canucks, Feb. 9, 2010: A chance for redemption after missing them on their last trip to Hockey Bay.

No. 7. San Jose Sharks, Oct. 22: So many big names, so little time.

No. 6. Buffalo Sabres, March 18, 2010: Later, I'll attend the game with relatives from Western New York.

No. 5. Anaheim Ducks, Jan. 29, 2010: This team rewards effort.

No. 4. Phoenix Coyotes, March 16, 2010: But only if Wayne Gretzky is part of the organization. If not, the Coyotes trade places with the Canucks.

No. 3. Los Angeles Kings, Nov. 14: I'm burning a vacation day for this team. Lots of new faces certainly worthy of a bunch of pucks.

No. 2. Calgary Flames, Feb. 6, 2010: It's not just the Stanley Cup Finals history between the Flames and Lightning. It's an opportunity to snag a couple more pucks from Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester.

No. 1. Boston Bruins, Dec. 28: Three days after Christmas? Colin will be on vacation. I have the day off, too. Need I say anything more?

So, tell me. What are your top 10 hounding trips?

Little Gray Box: Ryan Getzlaf

There was a time when I had little other than pucks for Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf to sign. Namely, a quick demotion to the Portland Pirates, the Duck's AHL affiliate, during his rookie NHL season. That's when this cheapskate card came in quite handy.

Revisiting my picks

Having suffered through a 0-for-Western-Conference sweep in my first -- and rather poor -- upset-heavy attempt at this NHL playoff's picks, I feel obligated to take a realistic approach to the conference semifinals.

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (1) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (4)
Bruins in six games

Washington Capitals (2) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (3)
Penguins in seven games

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings (1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (4)
Ducks in seven games

Vancouver Canucks (2) vs Chicago Blackhawks (3)
Blackhawks in six games

Liveblog 04.24

As much as I'd like to give people more advance notice, these live chat sessions are the result of realizing that -- at the moment for the next 90 minutes or so -- I have some time on my hands.

And, yes, I know the Ducks-Sharks game is on Versus. I'm watching it.

If you have any hockey-hounding questions, leave them in a comment or send me an e-mail (link on my profile). Comments don't require signing up, either; leave them as anonymous, but feel free to add your name.

Also, have any questions for Moody and Al, Hound Central 4.0's far-flung correspondents? We may not get answers tonight, but I'll pass any along and pester them until they answer.

10:48 p.m.: San Jose 1, Anaheim 0, end of the first. Joey Thornton finally scored.

10:53 p.m.: Sean Avery and John Tortorella? Related?

11:05 p.m.: Anaheim wins draw to start the second period.

11:36 p.m: Nice toe-drag by Devin Setoguchi. Sharks 2, Ducks 0. Thornton picks up an assist, his second point in the game. Now he needs to get into a fight. Gordie, God bless him, would be proud.

11:50 p.m.: Ten more minutes. Then it's nighty-night.

12:01 a.m.: Ryan Carter scores for Anaheim. Sharks 2, Ducks 1, early in the third.

12:02 a.m.: Okay, folks, good night. I can barely keep my eyes open. I was hoping for at least one question from the nine people who stopped by over the past 90-plus minutes.

Well, that's what I get for no advance warning/notice, right? Especially on a night during the playoffs. Or, simply, no one was interested.

Next time, though, I'll let you know sooner.

Surreal, man, surreal

If you look hard enough, it's easy to find art within the sport of speed, steel and vulcanized rubber. Even if you're sitting in a recliner taking pictures off your TV screen during an NHL playoffs game:

I swear that no special effects were used in the taking of this otherworldly photo of Anaheim's Todd Marchant. Turned out pretty cool, if you ask me.

A grizzled old vet, such as San Jose's Claude Lemieux, is always a welcome addition during the playoffs.

Even this promotional spot produced an interesting image.

What do you think?

Flashbacks 04.14

Now, I know most of you come here looking for tales of our hockey-hounding adventures. But, did you know there are hundreds of hounding reports from seasons past available at Hound Central 3.0, Hound Central 2.0 and the one that started it all, Hound Central 1.0?

Now that the hockey-hounding season has ended down here in Hockey Bay, I'll do my best to provide you with some must-reads from previous campaigns to tide you over.

Here's the first random sampling:

~ Jan. 10, 2008: Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin
~ Sept. 16, 2007: Hall of Famer Bill Barber
~ March 27, 2007: Florida Panthers' Martin Gelinas
~ Dec. 9, 2006: Anaheim's Teemu Selanne
~ Dec. 28, 2005: Hall of Famer Ray Bourque