Never in considering playoff beards or writing this informative and newsworthy weekly feature did we expect to find that so many people share our affinity for ginger beards. You’re all into hockey, that’s enough to make us friends. This common captivation with facial hair takes our relationship to the next level.

Since we’ve made ginger beards a thing, it’s time to give them their due. Last week, we mentioned Daniel Alfredsson and Brian Bickell’s impressive contributions. Here are the rest of The Best 2013 Ginger Beards, from rusty to rosy and everything in between.

Read the whole article [here].

#beardwatch2013  #Gingerbeard

Once again, we’ll be writing about playoff beards for the one, the only Puck Daddy.

Check out our articles each Thursday!

Love,

C & P

Stanley Cup Beard Watch: Exposing the NHL’s playoff scruff cheaters

The old adage says that “cheaters never win. ”

Maybe. But when it comes to hockey players with beards, everyone is a winner in our book … even these grifters.

They might have gotten a jump start on the competition, but we ain’t mad, bro.

We still appreciate and admire them all the same.

If you spy any other cheaters, or impressive playoff beards, tweet them at #BeardWatch2013.

Read the rest of our article [here]

At the beginning of this lockout-shortened season, we made predictions for how the NHL standings would shake out come April 29th.  Some of them were spot on. Others, not so much.  (Thanks for nothing, Flyers!)

Eastern Conference

#1 - Chuck said Rangers, Pants said Penguins.

Actual: Penguins

Hands out of pockets – Sid is excited!

AND HOW.  This season was a different than expected, but great nonetheless.  Kunitz and Dupuis and Sutter?  Neal getting to 21 if a little slowly? Throw in Iginla, Morrow and Jokinen at the end and whew, it is hot in here!  Pants is sad Crosby will miss some indie awards, but more happy his face is okay and back for the playoffs.

#2 - Chuck said Bruins, Pants said Rangers.

Actual: Canadiens.

It’s not the size of the boat…

The race for top of the Northeast Division was tough all season, with Bruins and Habs jockeying for position.  Bruins almost had the 2nd seed locked but faltered in their last few games of the season.  And their arch-rival was there to pounce all over it.

#3 - Chuck said Penguins, Pants said Capitals.

Actual: Capitals

Not so young, but they’ve still got guns.

Pants didn’t think it would be so damned hard either, or that Ovi would show up to drive this train.  Mike Green leading defensemen in goals?  She probably called that.

#4 - Chuck said Capitals, Pants said Bruins.

Actual: Bruins

#BostonStrong

Please hold while Pants auditions to join Shawn and Gus on Psych.

#5 - Chuck said Flyers. Pants said Hurricanes.

Actual: Maple Leafs

We’re sorry, we misheard.  We thought you said MAPLE LEAFS.

Cartman is so happy!

#6 - Chuck said Lightning. Pants said Flyers.

Actual: Rangers

Blue Shirt Beauty Parlor

Again with the teams that missed entirely!  St. Louis & Stamkos did finish 1-2 in scoring, but that just ain’t gonna cut it.  The Rangers finished just low enough to rematch vs. the Caps and give Pants a stomach ache.

#7 - Chuck said Senators. Pants said Panthers.

Actual: Senators.

Healed right up like the cheerleader from Heroes.

Chuck wins this one.  Panthers finished DFL (dead effing last) with only 36 points. What happened there?

#8 - Chuck said Sabres. Pants said Devils.

Actual: Islanders.

If this girl’s #39 is a Travis Green jersey, I’ll die.

 If you say you predicted this, you’re either Chris Comando or you’re lying.

Western Conference

#1 - Chuck said Blues. Pants said Canucks.

Actual: Blackhawks

Did you really doubt us?

Pants’ prediction was based largely on the bad-assery of Ryan Kesler in past years.  He missed most of the season due to injury, and the Canucks missed him. Chuck’s prediction was apparently based off of David Backes’ puppies & Alex Pietrangelo’s face.

#2 - Chuck said Canucks. Pants said Blackhawks.

Actual:  Ducks

Teemu for President.

We couldn’t figure out why they weren’t better last year, so we didn’t pick them to be better this year.  Shows us.  Never doubt a 42 year old Finn.

#3 - Chuck said Kings.  Pants said Red Wings.

Actual: Canucks

#blergh

Given the Canucks’ goalie soap opera, we not surprised that they finished where they did.  Kesler’s injury didn’t help. Could the Canucks’ 3rd place finish be the start of their Western Conference decline?

#4 - Chuck said Blackhawks. Pants said St. Louis.

Actual: Kings

The Kings over-performed – by not finishing in 8th place.

#5 - Chuck said Predators. Pants said Oilers.

Actual: Blues

.

The obvious conclusion: We don’t watch a lot of Western Conference hockey.  And Pants really loves the Oilers who, in her defense, should be a lot better than they are.

#6 - Chuck said Red Wings.  Pants said Sharks.

Actual: Sharks

Sesame bagels for everyone!

Pants finally got one!  And Chuck was only 1 off!

#7 - Chuck said Sharks.  Pants said Wild.

Actual: Red Wings

Like always betting on black and doubling-down on 11, we learned to make odds in October of ’96 from watching Swingers. The Wings won the Cup that year, and the next.  We didn’t know how to bet against them.

#8 - Chuck said Stars.  Pants said Kings.

Actual: Wild.

Don’t worry, guys. I got this. 

Wild squeaked into the playoffs… by the hair on Zach Parise’s exceptionally chiseled chinny-chin-chin.

Overall, we more closely predicted rankings in the East, but chose more qualifying teams in the West.  Wishful thinking and the Ginger Power of the Flyers only got us so far!

What about you – any bulls-eyes or big misses in your crystal ball this season?

Coming soon:

We’ll be predicting playoffs winners on Puck Daddy (and here) this week.

Well folks, it’s the final Friday of April, which means the final entry for the Foxy Friday Fan Challenge.

This week,  Brenda (@wishinonehand) wins again.  We swear it isn’t nepotism, but when you submit good stuff, we have to share it.

And this one is most defintely a keeper.

Sadly, we don’t get to watch much Red Wings hockey but next season we’re about to watch a WHOLE  lot more.

We definitively don’t mind seeing more of this guy.

Don’t mind at all.

[Chuck's note:  His beard.  Good lord the beard. I'm swooning here. Quick! Someone get a me a chaise that I can swoon dramatically on to.]

How Swede It Is

In case it hasn’t been said before… thank you, Sweden.  You are so generous with your vast foxy fortunes.  You have given us:

Peter Forsberg

 Why yes, that IS a Norse god.

Nick Lidstrom

 He may have retired from hockey, but he will never retire from hotness.

Markus Naslund

His foxiness even transcends a Canucks jersey. 

Andreas Lilja

This is the very definition of ruggedly handsome.

Henrik & Joel Lundqvist (Twinsies!)

Don’t know what’s going on here.
Don’t much care, either.

Gabriel Landeskog

The young & the foxy.

Now that is an embarrassment of riches, right there.

But you, Sweden, you did not stop there.

You dug deep into your foxy reserves and also bestowed upon us…

Henrik Zetterberg (and a pug)

All of a sudden I’m feeling very motivated to learn Swedish.   Do you think Rosetta Stone has rush shipping?

Wonder how you say “ridiculously hot”?  I’m going to go with “Henrik”.

The Cliff’s Notes on Henrik are as follows:

• Born October 9, 1980. (perfectly age appropriate)
• 6’1″ & 195
• Wasn’t drafted until the seventh round (210th overall)

Zetterberg also has a pretty impressive resume and collection of hardware – a Stanley Cup, a Selke Trophy, Conn Smythe, a Olympic Gold Medal, and a whole host of others.

He has complied the sort of resume that makes GMs drool.  And also Wayne Gretzky apparently.  Gretzkey said “I think Zetterberg is the best player in the game (at his age)… he’s just very special. I think he’s the best Swedish player they’ve ever put into the National Hockey League, and there has been a lot of great ones.”  High praise from the greatest hockey player of all time ever.

And that is what we call ‘salty’

If this oh-so-foxy-face looks familiar to you, maybe it’s because this guy has not one but two famous doppelgangers:

We love you, Jordan Catalano!

Even when he’s trying to look mean, he melts your heart.

Henrik did his best to end the lockout this summer – by wearing it on his chest.

 Henrik Zetterberg: sartorial zen master and hero.

 Zetterberg is so foxy that he even inspired a web series a la “The Office”.

Ladies and Gentleman – meet Fake Zetterberg.

Before we go, how about a little word association?  I’ll name an adjective, and then Henrik will demonstrate it.

Sensitive

Lustrous (specifically, hair)

Smoldering

Sophisticated

Charming

Blush-inducing

 Let us all give thanks and praise to the almighty country of Sweden.

Oh, can we get a hug?

Many thanks to all that submitted your entries for our 1st Foxy Friday Fan Challenge!

We know it isn’t easy to write these so we appreciate your time and effort to share who you find foxiest with us.

As always, hit us up on twitter (@WhatsUp_YaSieve) with any suggestions of who you’d like to see featured.  Remember to hashtag #FoxyFriday.

Love!

~ C & P

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Jared Staal will make his NHL debut tonight with the Hurricanes.  That means Eric, Jordan and Jared will all be on the ice!  Marc, who’s still recovering from an eye injury and the subsequent “I told you so!” of Mama Staal, made the trip with the Rangers.  Trust he’ll be looking all ginger in the press box.

Your LL Bean Boyfriend just ran for the hills.

Jared has been playing for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.  he only has 3 G/3A in 37 games this season, but who cares?  The Canes aren’t making the playoffs and this is a much better story.  Put me in coach, I’m ready to play!

I have a sneaking suspicion he may be my Favorite Staal of All, based solely on these two graphics:

The real question: What is Jared going to wear on his jersey?  We already have a J. Staal.  Will he wear Ja. Staal?  J. Staal 2.0?  Jared wears #22 in Charlotte, but Zac Dalpe wears it in Raleigh.

Both 10 and 13 are open though – then he could line up numerically with his brothers and we’ll do a segment for Sesame Street, brought to you by sod.

Correction: 10 is retired by the Canes, as pointed out by @ericmac20.  As soon as he said it, I thought, “Ron Francis!” My mistake.  That I would forget a former Penguin from back-to-back Cup winning teams, who scored a Cup-clinching goal – sheesh.  It’s like 50 First Dates in here.  (Also, Jared will wear #34.  Thanks for nothing, kid.)

How Canada sells t-shirts.

I’m telling you, when aliens come to Earth and immediately try to contact the dominant species, they’re going right for the Staals.

Jared will need a nickname to join JStaal (Favorite Staal), EStaal (2nd Favorite Staal) and Ginger Stall (or Cinnamon Staal).  Who’s got suggestions?

Five days left left?  NHL ’13, we hardly knew ye!  Let’s be honest, though.

The 2013 season has not been kind to all those we love. Some teams, after these grueling months, could use a break, a tan and another go at it next year.  I’m not saying quit, of course.  Feel free to ruin someone’s playoff hopes on your way out the door! (I’m looking at you, Carolina, vs. NYR.)  You could score 3 goals, Stamkos, and maybe win yourself at least half a trophy!

Here’s to the teams we love, who still lost.  See you soon, boys.

Carolina Hurricanes

There is nothing more depressing than sad Intern Jeff Skinner.  He was so ready for this season – he grew his hair out, a girl sat on his lap, he was guaranteed more Staal-sposure.  Now he’s moping around the office, dragging his blue blankie and eating all the Whatchamacallits.

After a hot start, the Canes have lost… and lost and lost, including 10 of 13 games in April.  Cam Ward has been out so long he’s a myth, like Encino Man.  Dejected Staals are everywhere and I feel for the Hurricanes fans who had every right to expect a big, shiny, blond year out of their team.  At least they have tailgating.

Get these boys a summer, get Jiri Tlusty for my fantasy team and no, I still don’t like Alex Semin.  So there.  Just look at the size of Jordan’s skull in relation to Eric’s and pray that when you have kids, they are not boys.

More on the Canes season from the Raleigh News Observer.

Tampa Bay Lightning

If two hockey players leave the bench at the same time, and one is 23 and the other is 37, how many daisies does the mailman have when he reaches the train station?

The Bolts look at this and say: What do we have to do?!

You know I’m desperate when I start doing math:

• The Lightning offense is 3rd in the NHL, scoring 3.09 goals per game.
• The Lightning defense is 26th in the NHL, giving up 3.07 goals per game.
• A .02 goal differential will get you 2nd to last in your conference.

Marty St. Louis has 1.22 points-per-game this season.  That’s second best in his career, behind the 1.24 he notched in ’06-’07… when he was 31.  Stamkos has a career-high 1.20 points per game right now.  They account for 28% of the entire team’s points.  I’m tried of watching the epic performances of two of my favorite players go to waste.

More on the Lightning season, from The Tampa Tribune.

Edmonton Oilers

#TeamSad.  So much for my eternal optimism.  No number of gap-toothed smiles, puppy shelter visits, hilarious Cabbie videos or underage boyfriends is getting the Oilers into the playoffs this year.  We really tried though, with the collective power of our hoping.  Were we doing it wrong?

Did we not have enough matching golf outfits?  Or magic tricks?  It’s because Alison and Amanda never got their white board out to ask Schultz to the prom, isn’t it?

With absolute talent comes absolute frustration – and I could barely stay awake for an Edmonton game.  Now Molly Ringwald is having shoulder surgery.  Of all the teams not making the playoffs, I’ll miss the Oilers the most.

More on the Oilers season from Edmonton Journal.

Colorado Avalanche

When I first moved to the West Coast, I watched a LOT of Avs hockey.  They were on TV in my new time zone and hey, they won the Cup!  How else would Alex Tanguay be my lobster?  This year I haven’t watched more than 20 minutes of an Avs game, but it can’t look any worse on paper.

This is the 5th of 7 years the former Colorado powerhouse will not make the playoffs.  They rank 27th in attendance (85.2%), above just NYI, Phoenix and Columbus.  Pre-season expectations were not high, but last in the West?  Only 15 wins on the year?  They’re not gonna sell tickets off Landeskog’s Superman smile alone… at least not to anyone but us.

More on the Avs’ season from the Denver Post.

We will miss these teams and players, and hope they have better luck next season.  Also, consider this an open invitation to watch the playoffs from the WUYS office.  If Intern Jeff Skinner ‘s emotional eating leaves us any food.

Pants note: Most of these stats are from Monday, I didn’t get to post in time.

The NHL wants to make up for the lockout, draw casual fans back into hockey and perhaps attract some new ones in a less turbulent year, because we’re still really mad at them.  Right?

Not now, girls.

 Er, we may be feeling warmer and fuzzier and playoff-ier…

Seriously!  Hold it together.

Then someone says:

from NBC Chicago

OKAY, WE LOVE YOU AGAIN!

So much for being cool.

He should’ve known better.

Five outdoor games have been announced for next season, including Penguins/Blackhawks at Soldier Field, Chicago on March 1, 2014.

Also known as:

Or was it…

The show ain’t called Chicago for nothing.

Whatever they call it, we’re going.  You’re invited.  Get started now.

 Don’t forget to pack your:

Because this trip is:

Apparently this is all still being finalized.  Good luck with that, because you already yelled fire in a crowded room.

We’ve been razzing a lot of “part-time models” around here lately.  Maybe I could be a Part Time Reporter?

For my real job, I do entertainment PR and was lucky enough to work with Joel Ward and the Caps on a special screening of the new movie 42.  Joel wears number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson, and hosted our event on Wednesday.

A handful of other Caps also attended: Erskine, Fehr, Laich, Wolski and my new favorite, Steve Olesky.  All the players and staff were great!  The event was a huge success that generated tons of publicity and made me look really, really good on paper.

Additional Skills: Proficient in Microsoft Word.

I mean this kind of paper::

And I did okay on TV too.

Here’s the video, feature starts at 1:04

Turns out it’s much more weird to hear myself than see myself.  We’d rather see Guerin, she is stunnnnnnning.

This feature played on the Jumbotron during the game vs. Tampa Bay on Saturday.  Thank goodness I wasn’t there – that’s too much!  Also the Caps blew a 5-1 lead and I having a meltdown.  But Mike saved the day – he scored the OT game winner because he wasn’t about to let my game go out like that.

Thanks Fidget, this now doubles as Mikey Monday!

Hugs for everyone!

More thanks to @raedanda for seeing this video first, and @jlrpuck for catching it in the arena.  It was great to meet @rockinredbirdie and see @chelskiDC too!

Polish Connection: Wolski, @raedanda and Olesky

Week #2 of the Foxy Friday Fan Challenges come to us from one of the 1st WUYS fans, Jessica (@jfrancesw).

We know it was hard for her to admit her love of David Backes, but we’re pretty glad she did it.

GIVE US ALL THE PUPPEHS!

David Backes, Captain of the St. Louis Blues.

[...]

Gabe Landeskog is featured in McDonald’s presents Time Out in Sports Illustrated, the same one that featured Intern Jeff Skinner a while back.

We sent Jeff out of the office before watching this because he gets a little jealous.

Jealous of Gabe, I mean.  Not our reactions to Gabe, which are mostly me giggling hysterically and Chuck madly pricing flights to Colorado.

Images from travcity.tumblr.com.

Then there’s some shouting: “Tights are not pants!” and “We need a new job!”

The culmination (climax?) of this campaign is the finished feature, side-by-side with this ad.

BAHAHAHA!  Accidental fantastic-ary or not-so-subliminal messaging?  Everything else I have to say is censored.

If that’s not enough, the Avs Charity Brunch will get you.  During the fashion show, Gabe escorted this little lady down the runway and they danced.

Like at prom.  Like the surprise bride & groom number at a wedding reception.  Neither of which you need after dancing with Gabe Landeskog when you’re 9, because you’ve peaked and there’s nothing else to hope for.

.gif from mistfarer.tumblr.com

The Avs are last in the NHL and their season will end on Saturday, April 27.  At least we can look forward to an entire summer of Gabe Tweeting photos and Sweden’s allergy to shirts.