#nhl ebug

[aerinfrankellove]

Ok. See I’m sure this is entirely knowable but! I’ve always wondered what would happen if two EBUGs were needed in one game. That is, both teams by whatever chance need an emergency backup goalie. From my understanding there is only one, so here’s my non comprehensive list of suggestions of what should happen in that case, in no particular order:

1. Dress a regular player as a goalie - there are varying levels of meanness to this one, you could have the player be from the team who’s already used the EBUG as a sort of payback, or have it have to be someone dressed for your team. If it’s extra mean, make it random so you could either have a defenseman who blocks so many shots he practically is a goalie or a playmaking forward who hasn’t worn the pads since peewee, or anyone in between.

2. Cabinet style order of succession - like the list for the presidency in order of murder, before each game a list of everyone present at the game for each team is generated and put into an envelope to be held solely by the assistant coach until needed. When a team needs an EBUG, but one is already in use, the envelope is opened and the first person on that list needs to gear up. Could be anyone present in the organization, from the GM themself or a random intern.

3. Hunger games reaping style from the crowd - you bought a ticket for the game? Cool you now have to pray your name isn’t called to be put in the net. Could potentially be made more interesting by a similar volunteer system to the hunger games

4. Both teams go empty net - I think this one speaks for itself. It would be entertaining at the very least

[naanima]

Only being able to carry two goalies and needing an EBUG - I love it bcos it is always AMAZING on multiple levels, but I hate it bcos like maybe we actually NEED 3 goalies. But anyways, this is amazing. Sen's EBUG running with his gear to make it to the game.

Go to the source for vid.

[chippergoose]

Some love for the Lightning EBUG

[rowdyluv]

EBUG IN. I REPEAT EBUG

[znuletzt]

do u think kraken ebug was just at his day job and was hit up like "hey can u come play for an nhl team even though you havent played hockey in like 8 years lol" and he has to go to his boss like "hey bro i gotta go at 1 to play an nhl game lol"

[dmercer91]

ebug's sister, dm91

ok, first post where blake is blake!! also, excuse the absolute dumpster fire that is my life, and is the reason that this post is one post and not like 47

last season! (2022-23) part one / part two / part three / part four / part five / part six / part seven / part eight / part nine / part ten / part eleven / part twelve

(2023-24)! part one /

blakefriarr_

liked by dawson1417, adamfantilli and 6,947 others

blakefriarr_: so many things have happened since i last popped up on all your timelines and made them immeasurably better!

this is episode one of season two of i-am-both-the sister-of-the-devils-home-emergency-backup-goaltender-and-also-happen-to-be dating-dawson-mercer-forward-for-the-devils series!

these pictures are in no particular order, because, i am moving into a new place with afore mentioned dawson mercer and have spent the last several weeks making it look like it's not the most depressing back alley murderous apartment any of you have ever laid your eyes on

and apparently, i have a ball ton of stuff!

regardless, here's what i've caught up on;

the entire nhl draft! though i have not acquired any new adoptees, it did come to my attention that the anaheim ducks as an organization did personally victimize me during the 2023 entry draft (they also took a BALLSY amount of time to re-sign bitch one and bitch two. what the literal fuck, dudes). also- if you are seeing this and you need help to flee, blink twice (not you adam) (you know who you are)

2, the entire preseason was also missed while i was one, curing myself from jetlag and the absolute dread of going back to uni and two, moving my egregious amount of shit with a spiteful level of independence. the devils won every preseason game! dawson scored that clusterfuck of a goal on slide two and we also got to see goalie bonks again! (i told you those pics weren't in order and i meant it)

three, (or four, i forgot what came first) quinneth played his first regular season game as captain of the canucks ad they kicked ass against the edmonton dudes. goncrats captain ;p

four (probably) rookie had both his first reg season nhl game AND his birth on the same day! he cried on camera for thousands of viewers and made me question kidnapping his brother and locking him in an abandoned building in ohio (who am i kidding i don't want to be in ohio). the blue jackets have since been doing blue jacket things (losing)

five (it's all blended together these days) the devs started their regular season and now i get to go to the arena and watch in peace as nico makes dumb faces, jack gets into petty scrums and goes to the box (apparently? that ones new.) and dawson does dawson things (be hot)

sixth and finally, assistant coach and captain quinn (he should probably drop a title for his mental health, me thinks) turned 24! i giggled profusely at an edit of him as tracksuit rob. good job on aging, kid 🎉

that's all, i think. (probably not, what do i know)

view 712 comments..

jj.friar31: remember when we were roomies??? siblings defying the odds?? i've been left out to dry. i'm MARINATING in my loneliness. you've basically shot me and left me out for dead, blakey.

→ blakefriarr_: this is a touch dramatic, that's MY thing

→ jj.friar31: if i agree to never steal your dramatics again will you come back

→ blakefriarr_: have u seen how pretty my boyfriend is?? no dude

→ jj.friar31: blake pls

adamfantilli: of every picture you could've used you just decided to screenshot me crying

→ blakefriarr_: hi im blake have we met??

→ adamfantilli: also, do not kidnap luca.

→ blakefriarr_: oh so you just don't want my love?? is that what this is??

→ luca.fantilli: do not kidnap me

→ blakefriarr_: BOOORRRINNNGGGGG

nicohischier: every day i wonder what it would be like if we didn't let the ebug's come into the room

→ blakefriarr_: do you want dawson to be lonely and bitchless

→ nicohischer: yeah kinda??

→ blakefriarr_: oh

jackhughes: why.

→ blakefriarr_ ehehehe your bucket doing weird things

_quinnhughes: ??????? why am i tracksuit rob????

→ blakefriarr_: who else would be tracksuit rob

→ _quinnhughes: nobody needs to be tracksuit rob, friar.

→ _blakefriarr_: WRONG! you do :)

_connorbedard: am i who i are???

→ blakefriarr_: no apparently you are timbaland

→ _connorbedard: oh. okay?

→ adamfantilli: @/_connorbedard you get used to it

→ _connorbedard: do i want to??

→ adamfantilli: eh. 50/50

dawson1417: oh how i've missed the chaos

→ blakefriarr_: fbejdbsjshdghshsb

→ dawson1417: sometimes it's almost like you say words

→ blakefriarr_: :p i love you

→ dawson1417: i love you too, my girl <3

tannercharlotte: this is my reality tv

→ blakefriarr_: i'll leave him for u say the word

→ dawson1417: HEY??

→ blakefriarr_: shhhh baby go sleep

→ tannercharlotte: don't leave him b he doesn't have to know

ryangraves27: she back

→ blakefriarr_: i back!!

nhlblackhawks: ??

→ njdevils: don't '??' her she's right

→ blakefriarr_: thank you (trade for charlie)

→ nyrangers: i can excuse hawks slander but i draw the line at trying to take our char

→ nhlblackhawks: you can excuse hawks slander?

→ jj.friar31: why do teams keep doing this you have ENOUGH leverage over me

trevorzegras: am i bitch one or bitch two

→ trevorzegras: actually yk what don't answer that i don't wanna know

→ blakefriarr_: too bad you're actually both jamie is an angel

view more comments..

[njd-vs-the-gay-agenda]

semi serious question: does the pwhl have ebugs? bc like, thats one of my favorite parts of the nhl

[sergeifyodorov]

i started watching hockey like two months ago and i have a question if someone gets injured and leaves during a game do they just play with one player less? are teams not allowed to have reserve players they can dress in his place?

Yes in the immediate run, no in the grand scheme of things. For each individual game, you're only allowed to dress a maximum amount of players (18 skaters and 2 goalies). However, teams are allowed to "carry" more than that (I think the number is 23?), which usually means at least one or two extra at each position (sometimes without extra goalies) that can fill in if someone's out for a couple games, so they don't have to make actual roster moves like trade or call-up.

The no add-ins mid-game thing does lead to some fun* consequences (*it is never fun seeing a player get hurt), though: sometimes one or more defencemen will go down, and the coach will sub in a forward in his place, and sometimes if both goalies get hurt in a game, the team calls in an EBUG (emergency back up goalie), which the NHL mandates every arena has for this exact purpose.

[sportspuckball]

(another Cedar Park All Stars preview for Ch19)

“I’m glad I get to be part of hockey, still,” Matthew said carefully. It was true; if Addie had chosen another sport or hobby, he would have had to take a minute and grieve all over again. “Do I miss playing? Of course I do.”

“Especially because you still can,” Connor interjected. 

Matthew looked over at him, surprised. 

“Oh, trust me, I heard about four thousand times how you smoked Leo,” Connor said with a laugh. “I would have paid a game salary for a video of that.”

Matthew smirked and took another sip. “I’m sure Addie would be happy to film it next time.”

Connor burst into laughter. “Oh, god, you two are perfect.”

Not touching that with a barge pole. “I do a lot of what you guys do, except the diet plan and practice with other people. While Addie was at school the last few years, and before I went to the office, I’d worked it out with the rink to skate when there weren’t games or team practices. I followed the Sens’ workout plans pretty carefully. I didn’t want something as inflexible as a trainer, but I had to feel…”

I had to feel like I’d be ready, just in case.

“If I were you, I’d have to feel ready in case the NHL invented EBUGs, but for wingers,” Connor said.

______

Follow on Ao3

[buttstothemoon]

It's true. You have to be pretty good to be an EBUG. 56 year old former NHL all star Curtis Joseph has registered as the emergency backup, for example. But the gap between "pretty good" and "NHL ready" is still mind bogglingly enormous. I've never once played goalie outside of pickup street hockey and my ability in that position is probably closer to David Ayers than he is to an average NHL starter.

the maple leafs injured both of the hurricanes goalies so they put their fucking zamboni driver in the net LMAO

[chippergoose]

I love when he comes back

[starrstruckcanuck]

I'm finally following through on the promise I made in the tags of this post a few weeks ago because I have time now:

So even if nobody asked for it and even if I barely know what I'm talking about when it comes to the technicalities of hockey and even though it's not really something that we need to worry about rn since Arty is back with the Abbotsford Canucks for the time being, I am making an Arty defense post (on the one platform I probably don't have to - this is more something Twitter trolls and Instagram comments lurkers need to hear but I digress) because hearing him be hard on himself made me upset.

Fair Warning: long post - 1,425 words

To start, I'll state the obvious: Arty is YOUNG. He is only 23, and it is well known that it takes longer for goalies than forwards or defensemen to hit their stride. This is actually one of the reasons his performance in the 23-24 post-season was so heavily praised. Not only did he step into that goalie position during an incredibly intense moment (the PLAYOFFS‼️in the NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE‼️), he did so in a way that handled the pressure quite well and kept the Canucks in the race. A lot of other players in his position might have folded under that pressure, but he didn't and we truly might not have made it as far as we did if not for him despite the fact that the rest of the team was good. No team can survive without a good goaltender, after all.

But one thing about the NHL is they love narratives. Heck, I love them, too! When everyone and their grandmother was talking about this incredible story of a young goalie who'd been the MVP of the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS and allowed the Latvian team to win bronze over TEAM USA (the first medal for Latvia in any IIHF World Championship + Latvia literally named it a national holiday!!) — about this young goalie who was now having to fill the shoes of a Vezina-nominated goalie during the NHL playoffs and performing beyond expectation, I fed into it, too. It was exciting! After the anxiety surrounding Demko's injury, it was reassuring to see that our EBUG was not only good, but GOOD‼️He'd played all of 9 regular season games in the NHL before having to be in what is regarded as one of the most intense hockey competitions in the world, and he was consistently better than anyone had expected. Even on nights when the rest of the team fell flat, he played the full 60 minutes, and when we lost Game 7 against the Oilers, the blame was not his. Everyone (and when I say everyone, I mean the fans AND the media) built this image of "Artūrs Šilovs: the guy who can handle pressure like no other."

What some people seemed to forget is that this is not the norm. It is not normal that he played a full hour more than any other goalie in the World Championships when he was not even supposed to be the starter. It is not normal that he set the franchise record for youngest goalie with a playoff shutout while tying second for the most saves made in the playoffs by a Canucks rookie. It is not normal that he was part of the reason there was an extra national holiday in his home country. All of this was him OUTperforming, exceeding expectations – an anomaly – but people seemed to instead create a new, impossibly high baseline for him to meet. The bottom of his baseline was now set where most other goalies' peaks start. To put it simply, people had changed the goal posts for him (sorry, pun intended) and put them in an unattainable spot.

When he started this year and struggled like any goalie his age with his experience might, the image of him that everyone had built broke and people began to dogpile on him like they always do when players perform like humans and not machines. They didn't care that he was young and that the other two goalies he was being compared to were each 29 years old with years of NHL experience. They didn't care that he was forced into this position prematurely. They didn't care that the team playing in front of him was not making his job any easier. The Canucks' season began worse than expected and somehow this was the fault of the second backup goalie with a grand total of 9 regular season and 10 playoff games under his belt. Cool. Makes sense.

This was not anything new for this Vancouver market. Just from having kept up with the Canucks consistently for the past 8 years, I've seen the treatment of our rookies firsthand (Brock and Petey come to mind) and how time after time, they are held to standards no real person could achieve and then crucified when they can't. Arty was Latvia's saviour, and then he was ours, but he is at the beginning of his career and anyone who understands hockey in the slightest should know that this is not sustainable. It would be ridiculous to expect him to be able to pull the Canucks out of a hole everytime we dig ourselves into one. That's not how hockey works. A team may be nothing without its goalie, but a goalie without a team playing consistently in front of him is not going to win either.

And the whole point of AHL affiliates is for NHL teams to be able to see where their young guys are at – to let them get their time and experience in before they're pushed into the intensity of the NHL. Unfortunately, Arty hasn't been able to be in Abbotsford because of Demko's injury and has only started 2 games with them this season so far. But guess what? They've won BOTH those games. In fact, he has been consistently good with the Abbotsford Canucks. Last season, his save percentage with them was .907 with 34 games played. In the 22-23 season, it was .909 in 44 games. Look at those stats and tell me he isn't an incredible player or that he has no potential.

I need all the people saying he's a dud or that the playoffs were a fluke to log off for me real quick and never give their opinion about hockey ever again, because it just shows that you have no idea what you are talking about. Training takes time, progress takes time, consistency is a learnt skill. Expecting a goalie to be amazing right off the bat is stupid and downright naive. Arty has already proven himself. He does not need to be supernaturally incredible 24/7 to earn some respect. Hockey fans need to learn that you cannot build someone up into an idol and then be disappointed when they don't meet your unrealistic standards. He didn't ask to be considered our "saviour." That was forced onto him, which created unnecessary pressure for a rookie, and then people acted like he'd promised them something and not followed through on it. That is immensely unfair.

This is not specific to only Canucks fans. There is a larger conversation to be had about the culture surrounding the NHL and its rookies, and I am sure there are people much more knowledgeable and articulate than I am to touch on that so I won't do that here. But I will say this: In situations like this where fans (and media ‼️) create unrealistic expectations for young atheletes, even in the anomalous best case scenario where the player ends up living up to them perfectly, you risk so much more than you gain. We talk about player's mental health, but these are the exact kinds of things that lead to burnout. I repeat: expecting consistency all the time from one player is NOT sustainable. There will always be low moments in a player's career. Their value is not defined by those moments, but instead how they get themselves out of them. I trust that Arty can do that and I hope that while he continues to find his stride, he is met with the empathy and understanding he deserves after all the effort he has put in for the Canucks. I am so excited to see where his career goes. In conclusion, that man deserves all his flowers and you better give them to him or I will trample your fucking garden. The End.

baby goalie :(

[dmercer91]

ebug’s sister, dm91

part one

saw a few of these on this beautiful, beautiful hellsite, and it made me create a blog

photos are taken from pinterest !

blakefriarr_

liked by jj.friar31, njdevils and 1,201 others

blakefriarr_: my brother is an ebug, episode one!

i wandered along the glass and got several photos of losers on knife shoes, and then i forced jj to let me meet some of the devils after thoroughly examining the roster on the nhl app

the pretty country boy looking one with the missing tooth smells like wood and vanilla

middle hughes smells like axe body spray

cap just smells extraordinarily expensive.. like stupid expensive.    

view 381 comments..

jj.friar31: what is WRONG WITH YOU

jj.friar31: PRETTY COUNTRY BOY AND MIDDLE HUGHES???? you SMELLED THEM???

→ blakefriarr_: i mean they were standing right next to me it’s not like i shoved my face into them and took a whiff?? get over urself jj

jj.friar31: you’re not coming next time istg

→ blakefriarr_: oh you got a license?? thank GOD i’m really tired of chauffeuring you to your dates it’s incredibly awkward 

→ blakefriarr_: i hope you don’t think i’m letting you take my car my backseat is NOT big enough for your extracurricular activities 

→ jj.friar31: oh dear god okay i’m sorry you’ve proven your point

→ blakefriarr_: i meant your pads jj get your head on straight

user2332342: axe body spray? yeah that checks tbh

user231372: @/njdevils @/dawson1417 @/jackhughes @/nicohischier 

njdevils: hope we get to see you again!

→ blakefriarr_: i’m going to assume this is because i am a godly individual and not because jj can at all stop pucks

user827402: pretty country boy is... accurate?? in like the weirdest way @/dawson1417 

dawson1417: thanks! (i think?)

→ blakefriarr_: both pretty country boy and wood/vanilla are compliments so yes you’re welcome 

→ jackhughes: @/blakefriarr_ also thank you, then?

→ blakefirarr_: @/jackhughes axe body spray is NOT a compliment jack please change whatever it is that you use to create that horrid smell

→ jackhughes: @/blakefriarr_ ouch

→ dawson1417: @/jackhughes hA

nicohischier: before i thank anyone.. good expensive? or like, asshole expensive

→ jj.friar31: you have no idea what you have just started

→ blakefriarr_: shut up jj i’m trying to think of something painfully clever and horribly dad like 

→ nicohischier: @/blakefriarr_ forget i asked. thanks :)

→ blakefriarr_: @/nicohischier wait no i got it 

→ jj.friar31: NO

→ blakefriarr_: fine

quinnhughes: ha, middle hughes 

→ blakefriarr_: glad you like it, eldest daughter hughes

→ quinnhughes: honestly? better than assuming i use axe body spray 

→ blakefriarr_: fabulous

dougieham: do i ask if not getting a comment is a good or bad thing

→ blakefriarr_: mint gum and baby laundry detergent 

→ dougieham: that’s so neutral i’m almost afraid

→ blakefriarr_: don’t be! i have allergies

drayanewman: only you could pull this off and giggle at it like it’s a video of a kid falling over 

→ blakefriarr_: it really is a talent, isn’t it?

→ dawson1417: well now i need to know how you giggle at videos of kids falling over

→ blakefriarr_: @/dawson1417 i’ve never not known how to respond to something in my own comment section before

view more comments..

[nylanderbunting]

55 year old retired Toronto Maple Leafs legend Curtis Joseph was the EBUG at Scotiabank Arena this evening, following the injury of Leafs goaltender Matt Murray. Murray fell onto the back of his head and left the ice for concussion protocol. Cujo hasn’t played a professional game since the 2008-09 NHL season.

[feralvegaspete]