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NHL All-Star Balloting Gone Haywire?

I just checked the NHL All Star Balloting results and found that Sidney Crosby is now in the lead amongst Eastern Conference forwards.  In fact, he is leading by over 25,000 votes.  WTF?!  How in the hell did that happen?  Don’t get me wrong, all things being equal I would have suspected that one of the league’s most heralded players would easily be among the top vote-getters.  But given the scandalous (yet officially unacknowledged) vote-fixing bot implemented by some geeky, over-zealous Canadiens fan(s), the top-3 prize seemed certain to go to Kovalev, Koivu and Tanguay.  So how could it be that Crosby has gained so much ground in such little time? 

Could it be that a squad of Penguins’ geeks, or even a rogue acting alone, has hijacked the Canadiens bot-code and done a nifty find-and-replace action?  After all, I hear the bot (or “Code de la Botte” as they probably say north of the border) was even posted on the Canadiens message boards for awhile.  Could we be beating the Habs fans at their own game?  Wouldn’t that just be yet another sign that we American’s continue to live in the greatest country on the face of the Earth?  USA!  USA!  UPDATE: for my Frenchly friends from the far north checking in from your Habs message boards and such…..all satire and no offense intended . 

Perhaps it is something far more sinister…a conspiracy perhaps?  Maybe Gary Bettman, while disavowing any knowledge of a bot-compromised balloting system, is secretly correcting the NHL’s error behind the scenes by inflating the votes of the non-Habs.  After all, NHL.com came out with a lead article this past Tuesday about how Crosby and Malkin were closing in on the Habs.  What a perfect way to cover a conspiracy by leaking a story about a surge of Penguins voting and predicting what is about to happen.  That way, we fans could say…yeah, I read that Crosby was surging in the voting.  It fits, doesn’t it?  According to the article, Crosby had 320,373 votes on Tuesday morning, and Malkin had 264,914.  In the 5-days since then, Crosby has gained almost 210,000 votes and Malkin has gained just under 200,000 votes.  Impossible?  No.  Improbable?  Yes.  Then, as in any good conspiracy, a distracting and unrelated news fiasco.  Cue Sean Avery.  Yes, Sean Avery’s sloppy seconds comment all timed to cover Gary Bettman’s behind the scenes vote manipulation from behind the grassy knoll.  It all fits. 

Whatever is happening with the NHL All-Star Balloting, one thing is for sure.  As fans, we can have little confidence in the results next month.  Maybe next year the NHL will hire the services of someone who is capable of putting up a fan balloting system that is not subject to compromise by any team’s Geek Squad.

Crosby Out 6-8 Weeks; Malkin Selected as Sub for All-Star Game

Sidney Crosby was re-evaluated by team doctors on Tuesday and they confirmed the high-ankle sprain injury.  Unfortunately, the prognosis for recovery is worse than originally projected with Crosby now expected to miss 6-8 weeks of play.  That would put his return in early to mid-March, at best.  That means that the Penguins will have to try and maintain a playoff position without the help of their best player.  If they can keep their playoff hopes alive, Crosby should return just in-time to help the final push and prep for the first round. 

“I was hoping 3-4 weeks would be the most.  It doesn’t look like it’ll be like that.  We’ll see how fast I heal,” said Crosby. “This is probably something that’s tougher mentally than anything I have probably had to deal with.  I don’t think you want to get caught looking at a date and then you get to that date and you’re not ready to go.  That can definitely hurt the way you feel about things.  For me, I am just going to take it a day at a time, that’s the best way to do it and make sure I am doing everything possible to get back and hope that my body heals as fast as possible.”  So he will focus on those things that he can do to make his re-entry in 6-8 weeks as smooth as possible.  He noted that coming back too soon could be detrimental, whereas a tweak could put him back at square 1 in terms of recovery time, and noted the troubles that Max Talbot has experienced.       

Crosby inidcated that he will likely wear a cast-like air-boot for the next couple of weeks to eliminate stress on the injured ankle.  He also plans to work upper body and core strength exercises to maintain his strength, and will work on puck handling skills to maintain his “feel for the puck”. 

As expected, the injury will result in Crosby missing Sunday’s NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta.  He was the leading vote-getter amongst fans for the 2nd straight year.  Today the NHL announced that Evgeni Malkin will replace Crosby in the All-Star line-up, righting what many fans felt was an oversight in not previously selecting Malkin.  Malkin has the most points of any non All Star selectee.  In a statement released by the Penguins, Malkin said “I am honored to be selected to the All-Star Game and have the opportunity to play with some of the best players in the NHL.  It is unfortunate that Sidney will not be able to participate, however, I look forward to playing in the game and representing the Penguins organization.”