Dallas vs Colorado (1999 Third Round)

Patrick Roy
1998-99 UD Choice #SQ3

1999 Western Conference Final Game 5
Goaltenders: Belfour (DAL), Roy (COL)

One of the most unpredictable games I've ever seen...

In the pivotal Game 5, two powerhouse teams battled it out in the "Wild West" on May 30, 1999.

Mike Keane
1999-00 UD MVP Stanley Cup Edition #62

After an early Avalanche goal by Valeri Kamensky, Mike Keane of the Dallas Stars scored a short-handed goal to tie the game. Four ex-Montreal Canadiens were involved in the play (Guy Carboneau & Mike Keane, now of the Stars, with Claude Lemieux & Patrick Roy for the Avs).

Carboneau chipped the puck out to Keane, who recognized Claude Lemieux as the forward playing defense on the power play... Keane was able to deke past him, getting a shot by Patrick Roy.

Colorado surged back and re-gained the lead, but Dallas refused to die (even after a disallowed goal when Mike Keane "accidentally" kicked the puck into the net as he was falling). Sniper Brett Hull brought the Stars to within a goal, after burying a one-timer off a feed from Mike Modano.

The strength of the Dallas Stars' fourth line may have been the difference in the series. Pat Verbeek scored for Dallas (assisted by Carboneau and Keane), tying the game, and causing the building to erupt.

Chris Drury
1999-00 O-Pee-Chee #106

Colorado rookie Chris Drury would score his 4th game-winning goal of the playoffs (his second of the game), while Peter Forsberg sealed the deal with an empty netter in a 7-5 Colorado win.

This would give the Avalanche a 3-2 series lead. The Avalanche would also strike first in Game 6 - But the eventual Champion Dallas Stars were able to come back, winning Game 6 and 7 (both by a score of 4-1) to advance to the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals.

Ed Belfour
1999-00 UD MVP Stanley Cup Edition #62
(Silver Script)

Dallas and Colorado would both return to the Western Conference Final the following year (2000). This series would also go seven games, with Dallas again emerging as the victor.

Colorful Characters....

Phil Kessel
2009-10 Upper Deck #1

2009-10 Upper Deck
Base Card Numbers: 1-200, 251-450
(Short Printed Young Guns: 201-250, 451-500)
Total Cards: 500

I like having the first card in a set, even though I only have a binder page or so of the colorful 2009-10 Upper Deck.

Kessel has become such an established veteran, it's hard to believe this photo was taken during his third NHL season.

From the back of the card:

"Kessel broke through to become an elite player for the top-seeded Bruins in his third year in the League..."

Phil Kessel
2018-19 Upper Deck #396

Also happened to acquire this Kessel card (2018-19 Upper Deck)... A tiny Penguins' logo is the only indicator of which team he was playing for.

Maxime Talbot
2009-10 Upper Deck #44

The 2009-10 Upper Deck set is growing on me... Talbot and the rest of the Pens without their gloves - Can only assume they're celebrating their Stanley Cup victory.

Maxime Talbot
2009-10 Upper Deck #44
(card back)

Bonus point for an alternate photo on the back. He even looks kinda mean! Score another bonus point for the visible Stanley Cup Finals badge on his jersey.

From the back of the card:

"Talbot came up big in the biggest game of the year, accounting for both goals in a 2-1 win in Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals."

Detroit Red Wings' Netminders...

Thomas McCollum
2010-11 Panini All Goalies #30

Random "new" cards added to my collection, featuring a few goaltenders from Original Six team Detroit Red Wings.

2010-11 Panini All-Goalies
Total Cards: 100

Actually get a kick out of the "All Goalies" logo with the old time goaltender mask. The goal sticks make it look like a skull and crossbones. Cheesy or not, but I kinda like it.

On the front of this card, the faded background helps from revealing that the backup goaltender is probably warming up against the boards. Thomas McCollum appeared in just three games in two seasons.

Still, I have a respect for the unknown goaltenders. Also find it interesting that he wore number 38, one of the less common  numbers in the traditional "goalie number" range.

Jimmy Howard
2010-11 SP Authentic #104

Jimmy Howard has been the main man in the Detroit net for a number of seasons, having been with the team for his entire career.

2010-11 SP Authentic
Base Cards: 1-200
(Short Print / Serial Numbered: 201-310)
Total Cards: 310

While I'm always happy to add random SP Authentic cards to my collection, I feel there's already an abundance of whitespace on a typical SPA card - The "fade to white" effect towards the bottom of the card makes it look like they were trying to save money on ink...

Another minor, nit-picking detail regarding the player and team name... The small foil letters are super-imposed over a grey background (containing a redundant team name).

Three cards from this set in my collection so far, this one being the first goalie.

Jonathan Bernier
2018-19 Upper Deck #317

Just happened to pull this card of Jonathan Bernier. First card I have of him in a Wings' uniform. He's worn number 45 with every NHL team he's played for (LA, Toronto, Colorado & Detroit) except for a season in Anaheim. (He wore number 1 with the Anaheim Ducks as jersey 45 was occupied by defenceman Sami Vatanen).

2018-19 Upper Deck
Base Card Numbers: 1-200, 251-450
Short Print / Serial Numbered: 201-250, 451-500)
Total Cards: 500

Big Deal...

Zdeno Chara
2010-11 Upper Deck Artifacts #97

Hard to believe that big Zdeno Chara is now a member of the Washington Capitals...

As the largest player to ever play in the NHL, he was a force to be reckoned with.

He became the Boston Bruins' captain upon joining the team in 2006 (coinciding with the departure of Joe Thornton).

Zdeno Chara received the Norris Trophy as top defenceman in 2009, and helped lead the Bruins to a Stanley Cup Championship in 2011.

No longer his prime, and getting slower with every passing game, he's not quite ready to hang 'em up. He'll join fellow Czech Richard Panik in the Capitals' lineup, and will be 44 years old by the playoffs... At least they signed him for a bargain price. To Chara's credit, his plus / minus has steadily improved over the past five seasons.

After a decade and a half as captain, it will be strange to see him without the "C" on his uniform. Chara is associated with jersey number 33, and it seems to suit him. He wore number 3 with the Islanders and Senators before being traded to the Bruins.

Zdeno Chara
2009-10 Upper Deck #4

When Zdeno Chara arrived in Boston, his usual number 3 was unavailable due to it being retired in honor of Lionel Hitchman (playing career 1925–1934). Hitchman was actually the very first player in Boston Bruins' history to have his jersey retired.

Was surprised to learn that Chara briefly wore number 53 at the beginning of his career with the New York Islanders. (He'd switched to jersey number 3 by the time the Isles organization had decided to start wearing the infamous Captain Highliner "Fish Sticks" jerseys).

Game of Inches...

Kirk McLean
1995-96 Upper Deck #136

This is why I pick up stacks of random cards... To enjoy amazing images like this.

Kirk McLean gets some luck as the shot rings off the post, from Brett Hull of all people.

Even the St Louis crowd is taking in the excitement, some of them already celebrating what they think is a goal.

Kirk McLean
1995-96 Upper Deck #136
(card back)

Had often noticed a red "horse demon" appearing on Kirk McLean's mask sometime around 1995.

Kirk McLean
1995-96 Collector's Choice #91

This shot from 1995-96 Collector's Choice is offers another look at the creature.

Looking Out For Number One...

Craig Billington
1995-96 Upper Deck #112

Nobody cares about a stack of loose cards from 1995-96 Upper Deck. Since there are huge gaps in my collection, I'll snatch up random handfuls for the simple pleasure of sifting through them.

Craig Billington wore the oldschool number 1 jersey for every team he played for, including Boston Bruins.

Kinda find it strange to see jersey number 1 still being worn in Boston...

Most of the Original Six teams have retired the number 1 jersey, and honored it with the name of (at least) one former netminder.

Gerry Cheevers
1968-69 O-Pee-Chee #140

This got me wondering about Gerry Cheevers' number 30, not currently retired by the organization.

He won 2 Stanley Cups as a member of the Boston Bruins.

(Jersey number 30 has subsequently backstopped the Bruins to a Stanley Cup in 2011, worn by the now controversial Tim Thomas)

While Cheevers did briefly wear jersey number 1, he's more commonly associated with number 30.

Just happened to add this one to my collection a few days later.

Tiny Thompson
2004-05 In The Game Franchises #331

Also couldn't resist scanning this one, found in a re-pack.

Current goalie Tuukka Rask has recently become the all time wins leader in Bruins history, second only to this guy...

Hall of Fame goaltender Tiny Thompson helped the Bruins win their first ever Stanley Cup in 1929. He also won the Vezina Trophy four times during his ten-plus seasons in Boston.

It was a different era, and while the Bruins may never raise this guy's name to the rafters, the fact that his name still stands with 252 wins in a Boston uniform is pretty impressive... Especially since the NHL season was considerably shorter back then.

Just glad to have neat little tidbits like this.

Mikhail Shtalenkov
1995-96 Upper Deck #91

Only have a couple cards of goaltender Mikhail Shtalenkov.

This one caught my eye because of the action in front of the net. An opposing player has been knocked down, with a visible skate of another player in the mix.

Jim Carey
1995-96 Upper Deck #344

Blessed and cursed by sharing a name with a Hollywood celeb (albeit with different spelling). This earned him goofy nicknames like "The Net Dectective", but didn't stop Jim Carey from winning the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender in 1995-96.

He quietly left the hockey world around the turn of the millennium.

Jim Carey
1995-96 Upper Deck #344
(card back)

A better look at Carey's AHL Portland Pirates mask. The color scheme actually fit perfectly with the original Washington uniforms. He did get another painted mask with an eagle at some point.

1996-97 Topps NHL Picks - O-Pee-Chee

Bernie Nicholls
1996-97 Topps NHL Picks
O-Pee-Chee #131

Because the hobby wasn't nearly confusing enough at the turn of the century, this particular 1996-97 set had Topps produce the odd numbered-cards, while Fleer released the even numbers.

To make things even more interesting, this one's a shiny silver insert card from what I believe is an O-Pee-Chee parallel set.

An insert card, which appears to be a parallel of the main set. (As usual with shiny cards, the card looks much better in hand than scanned)

(card back)

My collection is without an actual card of Bernie Nicholls in a Sharks' uniform...

Somehow, they predicted he would score 75 points with his new team...

Coming off 51 & 40 point seasons with the Hawks, he managed 12 goals, 33 assists for 45 points in 1996-97.

2017 Eastern Conference Finals (Pittsburgh VS Ottawa)

Matt Murray
2019-20 Upper Deck #103

Although the series was ultimately decided in double overtime of Game 7, Game 5 of this series saw the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Ottawa Senators by a score of 7-0. Matt Murray of the Penguins earning the shutout with 25 saves.

Matt Murray is now a member of the Ottawa Senators, although I highly doubt that the team will have many of the same faces in three long churning years of the hockey business.

Looking at my page of cards from 2019-20 Upper Deck, half of them have already switched teams or are currently on the trading block.

It will definitely be a change of pace for Matt Murray to watching the NHL playoffs on TV instead of starting in goal...

Richter Scale...

Mike Richter / Bernie Parent
1991-92 Pinnacle #384

YES! Gotta love a card with an old time goalie mask on it...

Now have three of these "The Idols" cards from 1991-92 Pinnacle.


From the back of the card:

"If, like Mike Richter, you were an aspiring goaltender growing up in Philadelphia during the mid-'70's, the NHL player you modeled yourself after was Bernie Parent..."

Never knew that Richter grew up in Philly...

Mike Richter
1996-97 Ultra #110

Mike Richter, coming off a World Cup of Hockey Championship.

Have only a handful of from 1996-97 Fleer Ultra. So far, I like the cards I've managed to collect.

A relatively simple design, with the emphasis on the player's name and team colors with sporty lettering.

Mike Richter
1996-97 Ultra #110
(card back)

Back of the card design is OK, but could use a bit of improvement... At least they managed to include an alternate player photograph.

Random Re-Pack...

Hungry for hockey, I busted open a random re-pack from my stash.

Only one third were duplicates.  I take it as a win anytime the majority of these "value packs" contain cards that I don't already own.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
2019-20 Upper Deck Artifacts #15

A modern card of this season's Stanley Cup winning goaltender.
Vasilevskiy was voted best netminder the previous season.

Ever notice that guys who win the Vezina trophy eventually seem to backstop a team to a Stanley Cup?

(Tom Barasso, Ed Belfour, Dominik Hasek, Tim Thomas, Brayden Holtby)

This makes a total of three cards from this set in my collection.
One of the better Artifacts card designs, in my opinion.

Semyon Varlamov
2013-14 Panini Contenders #18

Thought I already had this card of Semyon Varlamov...
(Turns out I have his Panini Prizm card from the same year)

2013-14 Panini Contenders
Total Cards: 287

Overall, it's a half decent looking card. The Photoshop effect almost looks like a pencil drawing, which is kinda neat. Including the back of the card however, they've managed to use the same photo three times...

Eric Fichaud, Zigmund Palffy, Todd Bertuzzi
3 Star Selection
1996-97 Collector's Choice #323

New York Islanders card, featuring the combination of an unpopular team logo with a highly controversial player...

Have mixed feelings tucking this one into my collection, but every hockey card is a piece of history, pretty or not.