Around the NHL News - Philadelphia Flyers

Transcription

SPORT-SCAN
DAILY BRIEF
NHL 4/14/2012
Boston Bruins
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Krejci banged up by glass
Capitals like their chances
Kelly the first link in the chain
More goals the main goal for Capitals, Bruins
Kelly shocked by best shot
Opening act was a dandy
They’ll need to capitalize
Holtby was hard to crack
Julien isn’t reluctant to call upon Corvo
David Krejci has sore neck, will likely play in Game 2
David Krejci absent as Bruins start practice
Ference inspires chain reaction goes
Caps follow Hunter
Thomas is proving it in new way
David Krejci OK after hit by glass
Buffalo Sabres
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Kaleta is a game-changer, by necessity
Calgary Flames
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Flames need to slow down coaching carousel
Sutter's Canada gig an Oilers audition?
Chicago Blackhawks
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Wings cont'd
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Hawks loss pretty basic
Hawks not panicking about falling in early hole
Hawks-Coyotes Game 2 spotlight: Keith vs. Yandle
Star-studded unit doesn't end Hawks' power-play struggles
Blackhawks' Toews expects hits to keep coming
Coyotes' Vrbata "day-to-day" entering Game 2
Jonathan Toews was targeted by Coyotes, but he came out
in one piece
Coyotes goalie Mike Smith keeps hot streak going in series
opener
Blackhawks identify three quick fixes for Game 2 vs.
Coyotes
Coyotes got physical with Hawks’ Jonathan Toews in Game
1
Blackhawks fall to Coyotes in OT
Blackhawks’ Toews not surprised by physical play
Florida Panthers
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Columbus Blue Jackets
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Michael Arace commentary: Blue Jackets can’t miss on next
coach
Detroit Red Wings
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Red Wings' Todd Bertuzzi takes Shea Weber situation into
his own hands
Detroit Red Wings 3, Nashville 2: Payback comes in form of
Game 2 win
Penalties, Helm's injury mar playoff opener
Red Wings, Predators expect even-strength flavor in Game
2
Red Wings even the score in more ways than one
Wings answer questions as well as their doubters
Cory Emmerton helps Wings get even
Wings' Dan Cleary bears needle to play through knee pain
Jimmy Howard takes Game 2 in battle of goalies
Wings reply with fists and fury to claim Game 2
Strike a pose: 'Webering' is the new craze
Analyst Don Cherry: Wings' Zetterberg incited hit from
Weber
Predators' Hal Gill will miss Game 2
Red Wings' strong penalty killing stymies Nashville's toprated power play to even series
Shea Weber doesn't find Red Wings' Todd Bertuzzi as
lenient as NHL
Red Wings edge Nashville, 3-2, in Game 2 to even playoff
series
Red Wings' thoughts are with fallen teammate Darren Helm
before Game 2 vs. Nashville
Red Wings' Danny Cleary hoping pain medication will enable
him to skate like he can
Webering? Yeah, Shea Weber's hits to Red Wings' Henrik
Zetterberg catches Twitter fire
Red Wings announce that Game 3 of playoff series vs.
Nashville is sold out
Shea Weber's hit on Henrik Zetterberg provoked by Red
Wings star, Don Cherry says
Red Wings' Mike Babcock, Nashville's Barry Trotz not
expecting parade to penalty box in Game 2
Rookie Gustav Nyquist, making playoff debut, gives Red
Wings more options with lines
Red Wings seeking better net-front presence in Game 2 vs.
Nashville
Florida Panthers fall to New Jersey Devils in Game 1
Former Florida Panthers coach Pete DeBoer makes his
return
Florida Panthers Game 1 Notebook: Oh, Danny Boy ...
Marco Sturm Returns
Round 1 Goes to the Devils: Fast Start by Jersey leads to
Panthers Deficit, 3-2 Loss in Opener
NHL boss Bettman: Good times ahead for Panthers, South
Florida hockey
Martin Brodeur beats Florida Panthers for 100th career
playoff win
New Jersey's start trumps Panthers' night
Devils stave off Panthers 3-2 to take Game 1 of Eastern
Conference quarterfinal
Jose Theodore tabbed to start in goal for Panthers in Game
1
Playing first post-season game since 2000, Florida Panthers
fall 3-2 to New Jersey Devils
Los Angeles Kings
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Kings take 2-0 series lead over Canucks
Brown's 3 goals give Kings 2-0 lead
KINGS 4, VANCOUVER 2: Brown nets two short-handed
goals as L.A. goes up 2-0
Kopitar postgame quotes (April 13)
Sutter postgame quotes (April 13)
Doughty postgame quotes (April 13)
Montreal Canadiens
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Monday: Come meet Habs icon Elmer Lach at Pointe Claire
Oldtimers tourney
Nashville Predators
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Nashville Predators' Alexander Radulov does everything but
score
Nashville Predators can't convert chances
Detroit Red Wings beat Nashville Predators
Weber answers for actions when asked to fight in opening
minutes
Predators limit Red Wings shots, not goals in 3-2 defeat
Predators Gameday: Rinne expects to see plenty of red
New Jersey Devils
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Devils Strike Early, and Brodeur Takes Over
DeBoer: Popular With Devils, Less So With Panthers
Panthers remain confident in goaltender Jose Theodore after
Game 1 loss to Devils
Devils' coach Pete DeBoer: Pressure shifts to Panthers in
Game 2
Devils: Fourth line and defense in third period highlight win
over Panthers
Devils barely able to hold onto lead as they defeat Florida
Panthers 3-2 in Game 1 of NHL playoffs opening rou
Devils-Panthers Game 1 Eastern Conference quarterfinals:
As they play
Devils' Petr Sykora wants to play again next season,
hopefully in New Jersey
Devils' Martin Brodeur knows Jose Theodore since he was a
young teen
Devils' captain Zach Parise has some clout eliminating hotel
stay before home playoff games
Devils coach Pete DeBoer: There was friction between me
and Scott Clemmensen
N.J. Devils owner says Booker brouhaha has made him
regret bringing team to Newark
Devils' Martin Brodeur, uncertain about his future, isn't taking
this playoff appearance for granted
Politi: For Ilya Kovalchuk, the pressure is on to perform and
lead the Devils far in the playoffs
Devils score three in first, hold on for 3-2 win over Panthers
in Game 1
NJ Devils owner regrets bringing team to Newark
NJ Devils grab 1-0 series lead against Florida Panthers in
1st round of NHL Stanley Cup playoffs
Devils defeat Panthers, 3-2 in Stanley Cup playoff opener
Brodeur wins No. 100, Devils top Panthers 3-2
Devils to face Theodore in Game 1 against Panthers
New York Rangers
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Rangers Rookie Wastes No Time in Postseason Debut
Callahan’s Leadership: Goals and Bodychecks
NY Rangers’ newcomers unfazed by NHL Stanley Cup
playoff atmosphere in Game 1 against Ottawa Senators
Must play more in Sens’ end tonight
Rangers' Hagelin shows Kreider how it's done
Tortorella unconcerned about Rangers' youth
Hagelin's wheels keeps top line rolling
Up next for Rangers: Game 2 vs. Sens
Rangers' playoff rookies fare well
Rangers play tough against Senators' Karlsson
NHL
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DU's Beau Bennett signs with Penguins
After an Excellent Season, Some Questions for Minnesota
Leading Off: The N.H.L. Goes Long
NHL Playoffs: Canucks take it on the chin against Kings
Winning the Stanley Cup: In serendipity they trust
Around the rinks
No hint to when Canucks' Daniel Sedin might return from
concussion
The rules of Predators coach Barry Trotz
Jets’ season ticket holder gets inside track from coach Noel
Senators lament case of bad playoff nerves
Boston arena officials investigating glass mishap
Ballard back, Daniel Sedin still out for Canucks
Marty Havlat: Mr. Clutch?
Alfredsson, Karlsson and Neil excused from Senators'
practice
Adding up the numbers in Phoenix bid
NHL
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Brent Sutter named Team Canada coach for world
championships
Goaltending is supposed to be everything in the playoffs,
right?
Hope of new buyers springs eternal in Phoenix
Will the Panthers end a 15-year playoff win drought?
By the numbers: How important is winning Game 1?
Red Fisher: Philadelphia Flyers show refusal to quit in Game
1
Finances still dog Coyotes
Ottawa Senators
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Sens have simple plan for Game 2
Sens fans call Cole for too many Karlssons
Sens hope a ‘Free Erik’ strategy will give Karlsson an edge
in Game 2
Rangers realize they have a special leader in small but
mighty Ryan Callahan
Michalek lost in New York
Sens shake off opening-night jitters
Karlsson needs room to roam
Sens need unwelcoming Matt
Alfredsson could be back on Sens' top line
Game Day: Sens vs. Rangers, Game 2
Alfie sits out practice but will play Game 2
Philadelphia Flyers
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Another Flyers comeback stirs magical memory
Bryzgalov's magic glove
These Flyers define resiliency
Phil Sheridan: Flyers' performance beyond explanation
Rich Hofmann: Who'd have thought it would be like this?
Flyers roll over Penguins to control series
Another Flyers comeback stuns Penguins
Flyers could get van Riemsdyk back
Flyers need to pressure Penguins' D
Giroux tops online NHL jersey sales
No momentum to ride?
For Flyers, Bryz still the key
Flyers' comebacks weighing on Penguins?
Couturier leads Flyers to 8-5 win, 2-0 series lead
Flyers win, 8-5; take 2-0 series lead
Flyers seek an earlier starting time
Fight-back Flyers take Game 2 from reeling Penguins
Flyers earn adoration in form of playoff rally
Jagr contributes more, even in scaled-back role
Flyers Pre-Game: Defense may be a step slower now
against Penguins
Game 2 Notes: Special teams key in Flyers' win
Penguins 'desperate' after another collapse
Couturier's dominance not limited to offense
Flyers seize control with Game 2 comeback win
Flyers, Penguins see momentum differently
Skate Update: Signs point to Kubina return
Flyers-Pens Game 2: What you need to know
Flyers Notes: Rookies shake off jitters
Flyers stay grounded after comeback
Flyers' best and worst of the week
Giroux, Couturier net hat tricks as Flyers go up 2-0
Briere rises to new heights come April
Kubina back as substitute for Bourdon
Flyers can't afford another slow start
Schenn overcomes obstacles to be Game 1 hero, even
death threats
Phoenix Coyotes
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Mind-set will help Phoenix Coyotes advance
Phoenix Coyotes right wing Radim Vrbata's injury another
hurdle
Pittsburgh Penguins
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Pens' Niskanen still out of lineup
Flyers simply know how to rally
Penguins throwing it all away
Penguins fall again, 8-5
Penguins: Flyers aren't in our heads
Special teams fuel another Flyers rally
Shoddy defensive play puts Fleury, Penguins in a bad spot
Penguins sign former No. 1 draft pick
Penguins Notebook: Friendships set aside when playoffs
start
Four-goal, third-period surge gives Flyers 2-game lead on
Penguins
Penguins sign top pick from 2010
San Jose Sharks
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Mark Purdy: San Jose Sharks' Martin Havlat a born clutch
performer in postseason
San Jose Sharks notebook: Coach Todd McLellan won't be
content with a road split
San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues make adjustments for
Game 2
Sharks expect Blues to be stronger after loss
Martin Havlat's goal in 2nd OT lifts Sharks
Niemi enjoying overtime success
St Louis Blues
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Pressure is on for Game 2
Sharks' Havlat has scoring touch in playoffs
Halak to remain starter for Game 2
Blues' mood good after double-OT loss
Dutch Blues fan hopes for a better showing in Game 2 of the
playoffs
Hockey Guy: The good, bad and ugly from Game 1
Sharks goalie Niemi stood tall when it counted
No panic for Blues despite Game 1 loss to Sharks
Tampa Bay Lightning
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Even now, Tortorella the same as ever
Boucher an assistant for Team Canada at world
championships
Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Cory Conacher named AHL
MVP
Lightning coach Guy Boucher will be an assistant at Worlds
as Canada finalizes coaching staff
Vancouver Canucks
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Vancouver Canucks losing battles — and series — all over
the ice
Canucks-Kings, Game 2: Game within a game
Vancouver Canucks blue after getting Dustin Brown’d by
L.A. Kings
A quick note for panicking Canucks fans
Vancouver Canucks’ challenge more desperate the longer
Daniel Sedin sidelined
Canucks Game Day: Ballard, Ebbett to give Vancouver new
look for Game 2
Injured Vancouver Canucks star Daniel Sedin skates on his
own but still not ready
Vancouver Canucks have backing of one third of Canadians
in Stanley Cup quest - poll
Canucks Provies for Game 2 vs. Kings
NHL Playoffs: Canucks power play DOA against Kings
Canucks implosion against Kings beyond belief
Canucks smothered by Kings in brutal 4-2 loss
Canucks goalie Cory Schneider apologizes for offending
Oilers fans
Canucks Hat Trick: Shut up, clean it up, pick it up
NHL playoffs: Canucks activate Andrew Ebbett, while Daniel
Sedin still sidelined
Canucks cont'd
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Canucks NHL Playoffs Gameday: Game 2 vs. L.A. Kings
Canucks Hat-Trick for Saturday, April 14
Canucks Keith Ballard back in for first game in two months
Will Canucks Max Lapierre get another shot to play with
Henrik Sedin?
Daniel Sedin skates alone Friday morning at Rogers Arena
Canucks, not the Broad Street Bullies’
Washington Capitals
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On Hockey: Capitals need to create more offensive chances
against Bruins
Jay Beagle’s playoff diary: Losing in overtime, and then
getting over it
Capitals hope shot-blocking efforts remain a ‘big-time pain’
for Bruins
Laich: Capitals have to create more space for Ovechkin vs.
Bruins
Bruins’ concern the same as Caps’: need more offense
Capitals’ lines remain the same after being shut out by
Bruins in Game 1
Claude Julien: David Krejci ‘scheduled to play’ in Game 2
Alex Ovechkin, Dennis Seidenberg and the hit heard around
the NHL
NHL Playoffs: Nashville’s Shea Weber fined for hit on
Zetterberg; Sharks, Coyotes win in OT
Falling-glass incident involving David Krejci leaves Bruins
perplexed
Capitals putting their bodies on the line vs. Bruins
Websites
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ESPN / Couturier even impresses his teammates
ESPN / Flyers' win is one for the ages
ESPN / Goalie coach pushed Ilya Bryzgalov
ESPN / Blues still feeling good about chances
ESPN / Sharks' depth makes difference in Game 1
ESPN / Havlat makes amends in big way
FOXSports.com / Brown's performance lifts Kings in Game 2
NBCSports.com / Sacramento arena plan collapses,
Seattle’s NHL chances improve
CNN/Sports Illustrated / INSIDE THE NHL Couturier
emerging as fresh face for resilient Flyers' title hopes
CNN/Sports Illustrated / Adrian Dater INSIDE THE NHL
Friday's Three Stars
Sportsnet.ca / Spector on Canucks: Blocking the distractions
Sportsnet.ca / Brophy: Eakins a candidate in Calgary
USA TODAY / Penguins GM Ray Shero learned hockey with
Flyers
YAHOO SPORTS / Philadelphia Flyers rookie Sean
Couturier talks like a teenager and plays like an old pro
Winnipeg Jets
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Time to stow smug attitude, Winnipeg
Pavelec deked out by Jets
Learning on the fly
Playoffs over for Red Wings' Helm
SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129
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Boston Bruins
Krejci banged up by glass
By Fluto Shinzawa
One moment, David Krejci was upright on the TD Garden ice, celebrating
Chris Kelly’s overtime goal in Thursday’s 1-0 Game 1 win over the Capitals.
Seconds later, after a loose pane of glass flattened him from behind, Krejci
was lying on his stomach.
Krejci likely will be in the lineup for Game 2 Saturday afternoon at the
Garden, but his neck was sore enough to keep him off the ice for Friday’s
practice at the Garden. Coach Claude Julien decided to nix Krejci’s practice
after consulting with team trainers.
“He’s scheduled to play [Saturday],’’ Julien said. “It’s really not that big of an
issue, even though it seems to be right now. He’s fine.’’
Krejci’s condition could have been worse. He was facing the Washington
net when a 121-pound acrylic sheet, 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide, was jarred
loose by celebrating fans. The pane fell forward, struck Krejci in the neck
and shoulder area, and knocked him to the ice.
“It was a fluke accident,’’ Julien added. “It’s unfortunate. In a way, we’re
kind of fortunate it wasn’t worse than what it is. With the weight of that
glass, it could have been a lot worse. It could have been a lot more
damaging. But he’s fine. We probably dodged a bullet there.’’
As Tim Thomas and Brad Marchand approached to check on their
teammate, Krejci got to his feet and skated off the ice.
“I looked at what happened. I didn’t expect that to happen,’’ Krejci said. “I
got up and skated away.’’
Krejci also needed stitches to close a wound under his nose. At 18:27 of the
first period, Jay Beagle opened a gash by high-sticking Krejci.
Rich Peverley, who had been the right wing on the first line in Game 1,
replaced Krejci at center during practice. Jordan Caron assumed Peverley’s
position. Caron was a healthy scratch for Game 1. He had been the extra
forward on the fourth line during practice prior to Game 1.
The first line didn’t create much offensive pressure in Game 1 during fiveon-five play. Krejci had zero shots in 20 minutes 19 seconds of ice time.
Milan Lucic landed just one shot in 18:33 of action. Two of Peverley’s four
shots came on the power play.
But the Bruins can’t afford to lose their most offensive-minded center. They
are already without first-line right wing Nathan Horton (concussion). On
Friday, they practiced without two-thirds of the No. 1 line that started off the
regular season.
In Game 1, the Bruins managed only one goal against Braden Holtby. The
Washington rookie turned back 29 shots, including 17 in the second period.
Holtby was at his best in the first 40 minutes, when he should have been his
most nervous. With each save, Holtby looked more confident. On Kelly’s
winning goal, defenseman Dennis Wideman appeared to get a piece of the
center’s shot.
As sharp as Holtby was in his NHL playoff debut, the 22-year-old could
count on his teammates. The Capitals hammered the Bruins on the
forecheck. In the neutral zone, Washington gummed up passing lanes. In
their zone, the Capitals got in front of shots and blocked as much rubber as
they could.
“That team, you can see they’re committed to defense,’’ Brian Rolston said.
“They did a really good job in the neutral zone. Their D were standing up on
us. We really couldn’t make plays through the neutral zone.’’
The Bruins attempted 62 shots. Only 30 were on target. They missed the
net on 10 attempts. The Capitals blocked 22 shots. Roman Hamrlik led the
charge with five blocks. Troy Brouwer was credited with four blocked shots.
“They are very good,’’ Benoit Pouliot said of Washington’s shot-blocking
abilities. “It’s one of their main things. I thought they did a great job. They
had a lot of blocked shots. It’s a matter of getting the puck through. It’s not
easy. It’s easy to say, but it’s not easy to do. Worst comes to worst, we
have to put it off the boards back there. The forwards will get it. It’s
something we’ll have to work on.’’
During the regular season, the Capitals blocked 640 shots, sixth-most in the
league. Blocks can be a deceiving stat. Six of the top 10 shot-blocking
teams missed the playoffs, indicating they spent too much time without the
puck in their zone.
The Bruins were satisfied with the quality of their scoring chances. But with
some tweaks, they should free themselves up for better looks on Holtby.
“The one thing they did well, to their credit, is that they did a lot of shot
blocking,’’ Julien said. “More than I’ve seen them do in the past. But that’s
playoff hockey, right? You’ve seen guys get out of their comfort zone and
do things they don’t always do during the regular season. I thought they did
a great job of that. We’ve played teams that enjoy blocking shots. We’ve
just got to make sure we’re capable of getting those shots through and
finding those open lanes so we can make it to the net.’’
Boston Globe LOADED: 04.14.2012
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Boston Bruins
Capitals like their chances
By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell
Stay the course.
That’s the strategy the Washington Capitals will employ Saturday when the
best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Bruins
goes to Game 2 at TD Garden.
This time of year, when everything is magnified, there are no wholesale
changes to make. It’s all about a tweak here and a tweak there.
The Capitals only gave up a single goal - Chris Kelly’s at 1:18 of overtime but could not find a way to solve the Bruins’ Tim Thomas.
Granted, they only had 17 shots, a testament to Boston’s tight defensive
play, but if the visitors are going to get out of Boston with the series tied,
they need to get more traffic to the net, stay out of the penalty box (a big
problem in Thursday’s second period), and get their big guns going.
“We’ve gone throughout the entire season in a lot of games being outshot,’’
said Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner, who logged a team-high 23 minutes
1 second of ice time in Game 1. “For us, we got outshot but we outchanced
them and that’s the main thing. We’ll take 10 shots on goal and nine
chances to their six chances. It doesn’t always work where we can get a ton
of shots. They do a good job of keeping you out of the middle and not
letting you get too many second-chance opportunities.
“Power plays is a big thing, too. We didn’t have as many as they did and we
could’ve gotten a few more there. It’s just taking what’s given to you and
trying to get more once that first shot has been taken.’’
The talk of the night was about the play of 22-year-old goaltender Braden
Holtby, who stopped 29 shots. But Alzner said if Holtby was a revelation to
the Bruins, he isn’t a surprise to the Capitals.
“It seems, I think, more remarkable than it is,’’ said Alzner. “We all knew
that he was going to play that way and how good he is. We were expecting
him to play well and it’s nice to see that he lived up to all of our expectations
and he’s proven to everyone he’s a very good goaltender.’’
One aspect of the series the Capitals have embraced is how much the
Boston fans are rooting against them. Playing on the road affords the “us
against the world’’ mentality.
“We knew that [the Bruins] were going to want to come out and establish
some sort of dominance right away,’’ said Alzner. “We knew the fans were
going to be on us. One of the things you try to do is be the people everyone
wants to hate and does hate and can’t stand.
“By doing that, you try to hit them, you try and get in their face, and you get
in their face without saying anything. The fans didn’t like that we weren’t
really talking back with them like we might in the regular season. Every
game in the playoffs, you want to be an ugly game. You just want to battle it
out and find a way to win it.’’
Washington played sound defensively, but will the way the Capitals played
Thursday be good enough?
“We know their best players didn’t play their best game,’’ said Alzner. “We
know they can play better than that and we expect that. So, we’re going to
have to change a little bit and be a little bit tougher. We didn’t forecheck as
much as we normally do.
“We can do a better job of hemming them in. We didn’t have a whole lot of
sustained pressure. There were flurries here and there. That second period
was pretty much nothing for us. We didn’t really do anything in that second
period because we were penalty-killing and they had the momentum. So
that’s something we want to change.’’
One area in need of improvement is how the Capitals play in the offensive
zone.
“We want to establish a forechecking presence and run around in their zone
a little bit,’’ said Alzner. “They have a couple of [defensemen] who log a lot
of ice and if we can get them in their zone and tire them out, it might not pay
off right away in Game 2, but in Games 3 or 4 or however long it goes,
that’s when it will help.’’
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Boston Bruins
Had Boychuk not been available, the Bruins would have had to use Mike
Mottau, their only spare defenseman. Boychuk played with his knee heavily
taped.
Kelly the first link in the chain
“I was conscious of it,’’ Boychuk said of his knee. “But it goes both ways. I
knew about it. I just tried not to think about it.’’
By Fluto Shinzawa
The matchup should continue in Game 2, unless Capitals coach Dale
Hunter finds a way to get Backstrom and Semin away from Ference and
Boychuk.
Chris Kelly is known around the Bruins’ dressing room for his dry sense of
humor. So it would not have been a stretch for Kelly, for whatever reason,
to complete his postgame media obligations wearing a chain-link necklace
with a padlock as its centerpiece.
More from fourth
“I just like the fact that Kells had to wear it first,’’ Andrew Ference said. “I
don’t know if people knew if it was a fashion statement or not, because he
kept a pretty straight face.’’
Kelly wore the chain after his overtime goal in Game 1. The chain was
Ference’s idea.
Last year, Ference purchased the jacket that transformed into one of the
Cup run’s most treasured icons. After each win, the jacket, which Ference
bought on eBay, was awarded to the player who played an important role.
The jacket’s significance hit another level after Nathan Horton suffered his
season-ending injury in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Horton had been
the jacket’s keeper after his winning goal in Game 7 against Tampa Bay in
the Eastern Conference final. After the Bruins won Game 3 without Horton,
they decided not to give out the jacket without the right wing being around
to do so. After their 4-0 win in Game 4, Horton visited his teammates and
handed the jacket to Rich Peverley, who had scored twice.
Following the Game 7 win, Mark Recchi was the jacket’s final recipient,
rewarding him not only for his Black-and-Gold contributions but for his Hallof-Fame career.
To find a similar symbol was not easy.
“Banging my head against the wall, trying to think of something,’’ Ference
said. “Early in the year, we’d talked when things weren’t going so great. A
lot of teams can probably say it, but we have our success when
everybody’s going and doing their role. We’d talked about not having a
weak link and having a lot of pride. Guys feed off that. We have a lot of
proud guys in this room. So it was from that and just being goofy. Not trying
to necessarily replicate the jacket, but it was a fun thing to do after games.’’
There are 20 links to the chain, representing the number of players in
uniform each game. The padlock means there are no weak links. Ference
purchased an engraving kit and etched the Bruins logo into the padlock. He
presented the chain to Kelly after Game 1.
It will now be Kelly’s job to hand the chain to its most deserving recipient
after the next win.
“We’ve got great team chemistry,’’ said coach Claude Julien. “Our guys
respect each other for who they are. Once the puck is dropped, we’re one
team and we work for each other. Andrew’s been one of those guys that’s a
real deep thinker and finds things that will bode well with what we’re trying
to accomplish here. He’s heard us talk all year long about the fact that it’s
important not to have any weak links.’’
Boychuk efficient
It wasn’t just that Johnny Boychuk was returning to the lineup in Game 1
after a two-game absence because of a sprained left knee. Boychuk, along
with Ference, was given the chore of matching against second-liners Jason
Chimera, Nicklas Backstrom, and Alexander Semin.
Boychuk didn’t blink at the challenge.
The sturdy defenseman logged 17 minutes 58 seconds of ice time,
recording one shot, two hits, and three blocks. Semin, Washington’s
second-most dangerous sniper, managed only one shot on Tim Thomas.
Backstrom had three shots and Chimera recorded two.
By eliminating Backstrom and Semin as scoring threats, the Bruins went a
long way in limiting Washington’s offensive chances.
“I thought he was a real decent player,’’ Julien said. “He didn’t look like a
guy that had missed any games.’’
The Bruins will be seeking better play from their fourth line. For stretches,
Washington’s fourth line of Keith Aucoin, Mathieu Perreault, and Joel Ward
used its speed and skill to control the puck and log offensive-zone time
against counterparts Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell, and Shawn
Thornton. “In the third period, as a team and as a line, we probably could
have created more,’’ Campbell said. “We were on our heels a little bit. In
that situation, that’s where it’s important for our line - with either one, two,
three shifts - to take the onus on trying to get the play into the offensive
zone.’’ . . . The Bruins spent part of Friday’s practice working on the power
play. They went 0 for 4 in Game 1. Julien noted his players weren’t
aggressive enough in ripping off shots when they were available . . . Adam
McQuaid (eye/head) will miss Game 2. McQuaid sat out another practice
and his return is undetermined . . . Anton Khudobin will most likely back up
Thomas again in Game 2. Tuukka Rask (abdomen/groin) continues to
improve.
625692
Boston Bruins
More goals the main goal for Capitals, Bruins
Staff Writer
BOSTON—Offense was the overriding theme at practice Friday, a day after
the Bruins outlasted the Washington Capitals, 1-0, in Game 1 of their first
round, Eastern Conference series.
Surprise, surprise.
After all, both goaltenders -- Boston's Tim Thomas and Washington's
Braden Holtby -- stood out in the opener, and the teams combined for 37
blocked shots, as well. It was a defensive standoff, for sure, until Chris
Kelly's goal in overtime gave Boston its third straight playoff win, dating
back to last year's Stanley Cup Finals.
But even the victors saw room for improvement.
"You're going to hear the losing team say `whether we lose in overtime, or
10 to nothing, it's still a loss.' So we say the same thing about a win," Bruins
coach Claude Julien said. "A win's a win. I thought we did a pretty good job
defensively, didn't give them a ton of scoring chances."
Game 2 is Saturday.
"Obviously, we'd like to maybe be a little bit better offensively and create a
little bit more, which I thought we did early in the game," Julien said. "But I
thought it kind of faded away so that's the area that we hope to maybe
improve a little bit more on and that will maybe be the offensive part -- the
goal scoring and being able to finish on our chances."
Part of the Bruins' defensive plan was to limit Washington forward Alex
Ovechkin's chances. And so far, so good. Ovechkin was held to just one
shot while mostly matched up against the Bruins' top defensive pair of
Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg, and the forward line of Brad
Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin.
The Capitals, of course, could use more production from Ovechkin, but also
know they have to support him better.
"There's things we can do," said Brooks Laich, who centers a line with
Ovechkin and Troy Brouwer. "We know that he's going to be keyed on,
especially (by) Chara. He's going to try to come across the ice a lot and
pinch Alex. We can try to talk to him, we can try and get our bodies in the
way. But when we get the puck, we have to skate."
Washington coach Dale Hunter could juggle his lines, too, if needed.
However, Hunter sounds like he's confident his superstar can win the
battles in Game 2.
"Even strength, it was an even battle both ways through the whole thing,"
Hunter said. "Until an overtime goal, it was pretty much even at even
strength. Power-play time, they did have some more scoring chances
because they had more power-play time.
"But as far as even strength, it was pretty even out there."
The Bruins could've taken a major hit had center David Krejci been injured
by a falling pane of glass during the celebration after Game 1. Although
Krejci didn't practice Friday, he said he was just sore. Julien expects Krejci
to play Saturday.
Having his full stable of forwards at his disposal will make it easier for Julien
to make the necessary tweaks before Game 2.
"Now it's up to us to make sure we get better as a team as the series goes
along. Both teams are going to make adjustments," Julien said. `When you
look at the game tape, you see things you want to exploit from the other
team.
"So, we have to be ready for their adjustments and hopefully we'll make
adjustments that will make us better as well."
The series shifts to Washington for Game 3 on Monday.
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Boston Bruins
Kelly shocked by best shot
“Andrew made something that symbolizes the team, the chain, try not to be
the weak link,’’ Kelly said. “It’s one of those things that you pass out after a
good game. It’s one of those things that’s all in good fun.’’
Thomas said, “He wasn’t the weak link tonight.’’
And he had the bling to prove it.
By Julian Benbow
If anything, Chris Kelly figured his shot was tipped, or deflected, or that
something had sent it flying in a direction he hadn’t intended.
He was rushing down the left side all by his lonesome, just barely a minute
into overtime, when Capitals defenseman Dennis Wideman crept into the
picture, stretching out his stick desperately, trying to make Kelly’s look at
least slightly a less clear one.
On a night when the Bruins pumped shot after shot at the net with no luck,
this was probably their best look.
The shot that Kelly ripped off was still a dart. It whizzed by Washington
rookie goalie Braden Holtby into the upper right corner of the net, the
breakthrough for the Bruins in their series opener.
“I think I was probably the most surprised in the building,’’ Kelly said.
The game’s lone goal came at 1:18 and after Holtby had stopped the
Bruins’ first 29 shots.
Kelly was surprised it went in after it was deflected, and surprised he was
able to find the net after streaking down the wing.
“I just happened to pick up speed wide and tried to put it on the net,’’ Kelly
said. “I think it went off the defenseman a little bit, or changed up a little bit.’’
He was surprised he was even able to beat Holtby.
“Goalies are so good now that the days of going down the wing and beating
a goalie with a shot are long passed,’’ he said. “So I was pleasantly
surprised to see it go in.’’
It happened so quickly that after the game Holtby couldn’t figure it out
either.
“I don’t really know what happened on it,’’ Holtby said. “I kind of lost it a bit. I
really don’t know.’’
It was so sudden, Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said, “I didn’t
really see the shot where it went. I just saw the net moving at the end. But it
doesn’t matter how it went in. In the end, we got the win.’’
For Bruins coach Claude Julien, it was simple.
“In overtime, every shot is a good shot,’’ Julien said. “I thought Chris did a
great job taking that shot and not trying to make a cute play.’’
The sequence started with a Tim Thomas pad save. In the span of six
seconds, Thomas kicked it out to Joe Corvo, who found Brian Rolston, who
in turn hit Benoit Pouliot near center ice as Kelly was burning up the left
side.
As it unfolded, Thomas said he had no doubts that Kelly would finish off the
play.
“I knew he was going to score,’’ Thomas said.
The Bruins had been chipping away all night, coming up empty on four
power plays.
It was the 10th postseason goal for Kelly, who scored five goals during last
year’s Stanley Cup run.
“It was obviously a great feeling,’’ Kelly said. “I thought we did a great job in
the first two periods of getting the puck to the net and kind of generating
some traffic, but we got away from that a bit in the third period and the shot
total showed that. But it’s always nice to end it fairly early.’’
His reward came in the form of neckwear. After the game he wore a thick
padlocked chain wrapped around his neck. He explained that, like the
throwback jacket that Andrew Ference bought on eBay last season and
became sort of an MVP trophy after each postseason win, the necklace
was another one of Ference’s ideas.
625694
Boston Bruins
Opening act was a dandy
The Bruins made the young man earn his pay, racking up a 26-7 shots-ongoal advantage in the first two periods while being unable to score on both
a four-minute double-minor in the first period and a 4-on-3 power play in the
second.
“He worked hard,’’ saluted Thomas. “I hope he expended a lot of energy
and wore himself out a little bit. I hope he doesn’t play that well again.’’
By Bob Ryan
You shouldn’t need any additional evidence. One game in the 2012 Stanley
Cup playoffs has already demonstrated that the road to a repeat title is
going to be long, twisty and replete with pot holes.
And I say this after a win.
Ah, but what a win. For the first time in 17 years the Bruins entered a
postseason overtime locked in scoreless embrace with a dogged foe. When
last it happened, they lost to the New Jersey Devils, and they lost the
series, as well. Thursday night was a pleasingly different story.
The Bruins delighted the sellout TD Garden gathering with a 1-0 win over
the Washington Capitals, thanks to a Chris Kelly goal at 1:18 of the OT.
The winner came at the culmination of a bang-bang scenario that began
with a Tim Thomas stonewall of a shot off the stick of Marcus Johannson.
Kelly capped the ensuing transition with a blast coming from the right of
Washington goalkeeper Braden Holtby, the puck entering the net over the
goalie’s left shoulder.
How many times is the winning OT goal scored in just this fashion, with the
team failing to convert on a very good scoring opportunity surrendering a
goal at the other end seconds later? Probably only two million or so times.
You can look it up.
It sure didn’t surprise Thomas.
“It flashed through my mind that last year when I’d make a big save in a
situation like that we would come down and score,’’ Thomas said. “I had a
good feeling.’’
He had an even better feeling when he saw it was Kelly racing down the left
wing with the puck.
“He’s been winging a few past me in practice the last couple of days,’’
Thomas said. “He doesn’t think so. He’s humble. But I’ve seen it.’’
Kelly was characteristically modest when asked to recount what has to be
the biggest goal of his career. “I was probably the most surprised person in
the building,’’ he said. “I think it might have gone off the defenseman’s
stick.’’
Maybe so, but that’s quite kosher in this sport.
Now let’s return to the issue, which is that there may be no more
unpredictable, unanalyzeable, fasten-your-seat-beltable, head-scratchable
postseason exercise than the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Never forget that last year while the Bruins most certainly won Lord
Stanley’s Cup, fair and square, that didn’t mean they were much more than
just an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeney better than the Canucks, not to mention
another six, eight, or 10 teams in the league. The ultimate difference was
the transcendent play of Thomas, plus a favorable rating from the Puck
God, who smiled on them for reasons best known to Himself. A few
different bounces here and there and we’d be discussing a team entering
Year 30 of a championship drought, as opposed to evaluating this team’s
chances of repeating.
The Bruins are the second seed in the East. They accumulated 102 points
in the regular season. The Capitals are the seventh seed. They had 92
points.
Big deal.
It doesn’t matter, and something else that apparently doesn’t matter is that
the Caps are down to their third string goaltender, a 22-year-old lad named
Braden Holtby. Any position-by-position matchup of the teams would have
given the goalie edge to the Bruins by a ridiculously big margin, but had you
dropped in from Venus or Jupiter or Ulan Bator to see your first hockey
game, you would not have been able to tell which goalie was a two-time
Vezina Trophy winner and an all-time playoff hero a year ago, and which
one was involved in his first Stanley Cup game, and was doing so after
making just 21 career starts, period.
The Kid had no excuses on the winning goal. “Yeah, I don’t really know
what happened on it,’’ he said. “I kind of lost it a little bit. I really don’t
know.’’
His coach was very supportive, as could be expected. “He’ll be fine,’’ said
Dale Hunter. “He has a lot of confidence. It was just one of those shots right
under the post. Not many goalies would have had it.’’
If Holtby is smart, he will come away from this series having learned
something just by watching and listening to the man at the opposite end of
the ice. For Thomas was as good as he had to be, and in a 0-0 game that’s
saying a lot. He saved his best work for the third period, which was
understandable since he had so little work for long stretches of this game,
his biggest enemy was boredom.
But Thomas has been around long enough to know something about the
ebb and flow of a Stanley Cup game. He knew that the ridiculous 26-7
shots-on-goal discrepancy meant just one thing as he entered period 3.
“You knew the tables were going to turn and they would get their burst,
sooner or later,’’ he pointed out. “I was mentally prepared going into the
third period.’’
Tim Thomas is always prepared, physically and mentally. You think he
doesn’t realize how small his team’s working margin was last year, and how
it has shrunk even further this year? He knows, all right.
625695
Boston Bruins
They’ll need to capitalize
By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell
When you’re a gifted goal scorer, it’s not difficult to make the opposing team
pay. At least, most of the time.
Washington forward Alex Ovechkin has been punishing opposing defenses
for his entire career. He has soft hands, great size, and dazzling moves to
the net. And he isn’t the only one on his team who can cash in on scoring
opportunities.
So it was remarkable that none of the Capitals were able to dent Bruins
goaltender Tim Thomas Thursday night as Boston won the opener of this
Eastern Conference quarterfinal, 1-0, on Chris Kelly’s goal at 1:18 of
overtime.
The Bruins’ defensive strategy ruled the day, with the Capitals putting just
17 shots on net.
Ovechkin was limited to just one, as was wing Alexander Semin. Center
Nicklas Backstrom had a team-high three and center Marcus Johansson
had a pair, including the Capitals’ lone shot in overtime that was kicked out
by Thomas and sent the other way for the Kelly goal.
The star for Washington wasn’t any of the forwards - it was inexperienced
goalie Braden Holtby, who was sensational.
No one in the visiting dressing room was down in the dumps. As much as
they felt Holtby deserved better, they plan to build off their performance in
the third period, which was by far their best of the night.
“I think both goaltenders played pretty good,’’ said Backstrom. “Holtby
stepped up for us and he kept us in the game when they got a lot of power
plays in the second period.
“I think in the third we played pretty good. I think we were closer to winning
the game in the third than they were.
“You’ve just got to focus on the next game. I mean, it’s the best out of
seven. You’ve just got to leave this game behind you and look forward to
Saturday.’’
Backstrom said the Capitals gained confidence as the game wore on,
particularly in the third period when they were finally able to penetrate the
Bruins’ zone.
“I think we did an all right first period and they had a lot of power plays in
the second period but then, in the third, we played pretty good and we had
some chances, too,’’ said Backstrom. “But it was a close game. Sometimes
it happens.’’
Ovechkin said it was tough sledding offensively, and he tried to impose his
will physically.
“Lots of hits, it’s the playoffs,’’ said Ovechkin. “It’s a tight game and I think
both teams played more defensive than offensive.
“The third guy was always high. It doesn’t matter if I have the puck at the
blue line and start skating, two guys were on me and the third guy was in
the middle.
“Again, it’s the playoffs. That one shot, I should score.
“Next game is going to be different. We know we can play against them. It’s
nothing special out there. Now we just have to stay focused.’’
There was much speculation about the matchup between Bruins captain
Zdeno Chara and Ovechkin. But it was Dennis Seidenberg who was battling
with the Capitals captain all night.
“I think it was a great battle,’’ said Ovechkin. “He made some big hits and I
made some big hits, so I’m enjoying it actually.’’
Forward Troy Brouwer said the Capitals were able to make some
adjustments along the way, and although they didn’t translate to goals, they
did result in better play.
“We have to work on the cycle a little bit more,’’ said Brouwer. “Not every
shot has to be from the slot and a Grade A opportunity. We need to get
cycles out of the corners, shots from bad angles and guys going to the net.
“Our penalty kill was real good and we were blocking shots and clearing
rebounds, but we have to make sure we’re not taking as many penalties
and not giving the momentum to them.’’
Both teams are expecting a tough, long series, the tone of which was set
Thursday night.
“It’s a great battle out there,’’ said Backstrom. “There’s nothing wrong with
the confidence. We know they’re physical, but we like this, too. That’s the
way it’s going to be in the playoffs. We’ve just got to be ready for it. We can
play physical, too.’’
625696
Boston Bruins
Holtby was hard to crack
By Kevin Paul Dupont
We still don’t know a lot about Braden Holtby, but Bruins fans now know
enough to worry. For more than 60 minutes Thursday night, Washington’s
rookie netminder, previously known as merely the last resort on the
Capitals’ depth chart, came within a glove save of handing the Bruins a
Game 1 upset in this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
“I don’t really know what happened,’’ lamented the fresh-faced 22-year-old,
moments after Chris Kelly’s pinpoint slapper off left wing rocketed by his
glove hand (left) only 1:18 into overtime to give the Bruins a 1-0 victory at
the Garden. “I kind of lost it a little bit.’’
Over the course of the night, though, the playoffs found someone who could
be a hero in incubation. Time and again, Holtby turned back the best the
Bruins could fire his way, including 17 shots in the second period when a
rash of penalties kept play mostly at the Washington end of the rink and
pressure jacked up on Holtby.
By the end of 60 minutes, Who-the-Heck-is-Holtby? had 29 saves, and still
owned a shutout, matching the goose egg shaped by the goalie at the other
end of the ice, Tim Thomas, who just happened to be last year’s Conn
Smythe winner as the MVP of the playoffs. Fans of a certain age were
chirping in the stands and tweeting about Holtby resembling Ken Dryden,
who in 1971 was the relatively unknown Canadiens goalie who snuffed out
the Bruins in first round.
The ’71 Bruins were expected to romp to a second Stanley Cup title in as
many years. These Bruins, you might recall, won the Cup only last June.
The young Dryden, not long removed from the Cornell campus, sealed off
the Habs net and shut down the game’s most powerful offensive engine,
canceling the Cup parade and party plans at Government Center.
“That big octopus!’’ bemoaned Phil Esposito, his Bruins sent packing after
losing Game 7. “We just couldn’t beat him.’’ Esposito collected 76 goals and
76 assists for a career-high 152 points that season, but was kept fairly quiet
with a line of 3-7-10 in seven games against Montreal.
When the series was over, and the Bruins were on their way home, they
knew who Dryden was, but they knew precious little about how to beat him.
At the moment, that’s right where these Bruins are with Holtby. They had
the Kelly slapper to thank for the W, not to mention a key save by Thomas
on Marcus Johansson approximately six seconds earlier, but they’re going
to have to dig deeper, find ways to put pucks behind the rookie.
“We only beat him once, so we can’t say we’ve got a book on him,’’ said
Boston winger Brian Rolston, who picked up the second assist on Kelly’s
winner. “Heck, if we had the book, we’d have had eight goals. He’s a good
goalie, and he’ll continue to be a good goalie.’’
If Game 1 was one to grow on, the 6-foot-1-inch Holtby had to add a few
inches of confidence in his playoff debut.
He turned back Boston’s top point-getter, Tyler Seguin, on five shots. Rich
Peverley went 0 for 4. Rolston, Joe Corvo, Daniel Paille, and Patrice
Bergeron all landed three shots, all came up emptier than the Zamboni’s
water tank on July 4.
Kelly, sprung over the blue line by a Benoit Pouliot feed, raced to the top of
the left wing faceoff circle with ex-Bruin blue liner Dennis Wideman in
pursuit. More a playmaker and defense-conscious pivot, Kelly pulled back
and took aim as the alert Holtby moved out slightly toward the wing and
hunkered down low. Kelly’s shot ticked ever-so-slightly off of Wideman’s
stick, just enough that Holtby appeared to lose the angle. It whizzed by his
glove and caught the net to the far side, just inside the post.
“I was probably the most surprised guy in the building,’’ said Kelly, noting
that he couldn’t have expected to be successful with a clear slapper, not in
today’s hockey, with goalies plucking long slappers as if they are lowhanging fruit. “The goalies are just so good. The days of going down the
wing and beating a goalie with a slap shot are long past.’’
Long gone, faded into oblivion with the likes of Bobby Hull, Boom Boom
Geoffrion, Guy Lafleur, and Brett Hull. Big goalies. Big pads. Precious little
room to score. But Kelly connected, though it took the delicate deflection of
Wideman’s stick to provide the margin of error.
“He’ll be fine,’’ said coach Dale Hunter, a man of economic words, sizing up
Holtby’s night. “He has lots of confidence. It was one of those shots. Not too
many goalies would have had it.’’
Thomas might have had it. Though he didn’t face many shots, 17 in all, he
was superb when it counted most. He turned back Johansson’s shot with a
pad save, triggering the long transition play (Joe Corvo-Rolston-PouliotKelly) that closed the show.
Who The Heck is Holtby? Born in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, home of the
late Bruins forward Ace Bailey, he was the Saskatoon Blades’ workhorse
for three years in the Western juniors before turning pro in 2009. The
Capitals drafted him with the No. 93 pick in 2008. For the past two years,
he’s been called up from Hershey to fill in for injured Capitals. If not for
injuries to Tomas Vokoun and Michael Neuvirth right now, most regular
NHL watchers still wouldn’t know his name.
After what they saw of Holtby in Game 1, it’s a good bet the Bruins would
prefer to forget him.
625697
Boston Bruins
Julien isn’t reluctant to call upon Corvo
“It’s two big, strong defensemen he has to go through, and probably one of
the best two-way centermen in the league in Bergy,’’ said Julien. “He was
good, but our guys were better tonight. We did a good job of minimizing
that. He’s a big part of their offense.’’
Power play misfires
By Fluto Shinzawa
In mid March, when Joe Corvo couldn’t find his way out of a suit and tie,
Claude Julien was quick to note that the defenseman would be called upon
again. The Bruins coach was correct.
Corvo was in the Game 1 lineup Thursday night at TD Garden. With Adam
McQuaid (eye/head) sidelined indefinitely, Corvo got the nod for the stay-athome defenseman’s position on the third pairing alongside Greg Zanon. He
finished with 19 minutes 10 seconds of work in the Bruins’ 1-0 overtime win.
During the regular season, Corvo didn’t play at the consistent level the
Bruins hoped he would. In 75 games, he had 4 goals and 21 assists.
Corvo’s 25 points were second among Bruins defensemen after Zdeno
Chara (12-40-52). But he didn’t deliver the offensive pop his bosses were
seeking on the power play. On the man advantage, Corvo had 1 goal and 8
assists.
Corvo’s most troublesome area was his own zone. He especially struggled
with his down-low coverage, both in the corners and in front of the net.
All of that, however, has been forgotten.
“I feel very confident,’’ Julien said before the game. “Everyone that we have
here is very capable of playing. We’ve got one guy that’s going to be out for
sure tonight in McQuaid. But the other seven, we can put any one of them
in there. They’ve done a great job. If anything, I feel extremely confident.’’
Corvo proved his coach correct. In overtime, Corvo made a critical play to
initiate the game-winning play. After Tim Thomas kicked out Marcus
Johansson’s shot, Corvo collected the puck and rapped it off the right-side
boards. Two passes later - Brian Rolston to Benoit Pouliot, Pouliot to Chris
Kelly - the Bruins were enjoying a 1-0 OT win.
“Very happy,’’ Corvo said of seeing Kelly’s goal. “It’s one of those games
that kind of scares you because they’re hanging in there, hanging in there.
Their goalie’s playing well. You just don’t want to let them steal the first one.
It was a relief.’’
Corvo is also more familiar with the Capitals than his teammates. On March
3, 2010, Washington acquired Corvo from Carolina for Brian Pothier, Oskar
Osala, and a 2011 second-round pick. Corvo appeared in seven playoff
games for the Capitals that year.
“They’ve always been a fast team and a skilled team,’’ Corvo said. “That
hasn’t changed.’’
Depending on McQuaid’s situation, Corvo could fill the role played by
Tomas Kaberle last year. Kaberle, paired mostly with McQuaid, saw plenty
of time on the power play. But the coaches were careful to keep Kaberle
away from dangerous matchups. Kaberle didn’t play on the penalty kill.
Corvo could be in a similar position. During practices leading up to Game 1,
Corvo was on the point on the No. 1 power-play unit alongside Chara.
Assignment: Ovechkin
During the three regular-season games he played against the Bruins, Alex
Ovechkin went head-to-head with Chara and Johnny Boychuk. In Game 1,
Ovechkin battled Dennis Seidenberg for the first time this year. In the
second period, Seidenberg and Ovechkin came together in one of the most
jarring smashes of 2011-12.
Seidenberg isn’t as punishing a hitter as Boychuk, but he was just as
thorough as Chara during last year’s postseason run. Seidenberg’s
toughness, positioning, and big-game capabilities make him a natural to
play against Washington’s most potent sharpshooter. Chara and
Seidenberg also got assistance from Patrice Bergeron, who was used in a
matchup role.
In 17:34 of ice time, Ovechkin had just one shot. It came on the power play,
when he teed up one of his trademark one-timers from the left circle.
Thomas followed the play well and kicked out Ovechkin’s shot with his right
pad.
The Bruins went 0 for 4 on the power play. In the second period, during
four-on-four play (David Krejci and John Carlson were sent off for
roughing), the Bruins got a four-on-three man-advantage after Braden
Holtby was whistled for roughing. Even with more space, the Bruins couldn’t
find a weakness in Washington’s penalty kill.
“Our guys weren’t seeing much tonight,’’ said Julien. “There were some
openings we could have used. We were dusting the puck a little too much
versus shooting it. When we made some of those passes, some of those
guys should have ripped a shot right away. Instead, we stopped and started
looking for another play.’’
The Bruins went 0 for 21 on the power play in last year’s first round against
Montreal.
Boychuk good to go
Boychuk shook off his left knee sprain and dressed for Game 1. He has
been using a knee brace along with a heavy tape job. add Boychuk had one
shot, two hits, and three blocked shots in 17:58 of ice time . . . At the end of
the game, Krejci was hit by a pane of glass knocked loose by celebrating
fans. Krejci fell to the ice, but got up and skated off on his own . . . Mike
Mottau and Jordan Caron were Boston’s healthy scratches . . . Bergeron
won 18 of 25 faceoffs (72 percent).
625698
Boston Bruins
David Krejci has sore neck, will likely play in Game 2
Fluto Shinzawa
David Krejci didn’t practice today because of a sore neck. Krejci was
flattened by a pane of glass jarred loose by celebrating fans after Chris
Kelly’s overtime winner in Game 1. Krejci fell forward after the glass struck
his back.
“I looked at what happened. I didn’t expect that to happen,” Krejci said after
the glass fell. “I got up and skated away.”
Claude Julien explained that after consulting with his trainers, he decided to
keep Krejci off the ice today.
“He’s scheduled to play tomorrow,” Julien said. “It’s really not that big of an
issue, even though it seems to be right now. He’s fine.”
“It was a fluke accident,” Julien added. “It’s unfortunate. In a way, we’re kind
of fortunate it wasn’t worse than what it is. With the weight of that glass, it
could have been a lot worse. It could have been a lot more damaging. But
he’s fine. We probably dodged a bullet there.”
625699
Boston Bruins
David Krejci absent as Bruins start practice
Fluto Shinzawa
Good morning from TD Garden, where the Bruins have started their
practice.
David Krejci is not present. At the end of Game 1, Krejci was flattened by a
pane of glass jarred loose by celebrating fans. Krejci was also clipped in the
face by Jay Beagle in the first period.
UPDATE: Krejci said his neck is sore. He expects to play in Game 2.
Claude Julien acknowledged the team dodged a bullet.
Jordan Caron is practicing on the first line. Rich Peverley is in Krejci’s
center position.
Today’s lineup:
Milan Lucic-Rich Peverley-Jordan Caron
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Brian Rolston
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Greg Zanon-Joe Corvo
Mike Mottau
Tim Thomas
Anton Khudobin
Tuukka Rask
625700
Boston Bruins
Ference inspires chain reaction goes
“He played well and had a couple good shots from the point, and I thought
he was a real decent player. He didn’t look like a guy that missed any
games. I was good with his whole play physically and moving the puck and
everything that comes with his game.”
Wideman takes blame
By Stephen Harris
Capitals defenseman Dennis Wideman took some of the blame for Kelly’s
overtime goal that beat rookie goalie Braden Holtby.
When the Bruins are looking for a little inspiration, they leave it up to
Andrew Ference to find the right vehicle.
“I got my stick in there a little late and I may have gotten a piece of it,”
Wideman said. “If not, I made it a little harder for him to pick it up. I probably
should have let him handle that one. I could very easily have tipped it over
the net, too. Just one of those things.” . . .
Last year, it was the garish, 1980s-style warmup jacket that Ference found
on eBay and was awarded to the hero of the night. Now, the B’s have their
new symbol for success for this postseason.
On Thursday night, after the B’s Game 1 overtime win against the Capitals,
Ference unveiled a 20-link chain with a padlock that, like the jacket, will be
given out to the most deserving player after victories. Ference went so far
as to buy an engraving kit and put the Bruins logo on the padlock.
“I was sitting at my kitchen table learning how to engrave on the fly,” he
said. “Pretty good, huh? Renaissance man.”
The message of the chain?
“Early in the year we talked about things when things weren’t going so
great. A lot of teams can probably say this, but we have our success when
everyone’s going and doing their role,” Ference said. “We had talked about
not being the weak link and having a lot of pride. Guys feed off that. We
have a lot of pride in the room. It’s just kind of being goofy. We’re not
necessarily trying to replicate the jacket, but it’s kind of a fun thing to do
after games.”
While Ference said it’s a goofball thing to do, he’s serious about being a
goofball.
“It’s not like we want to put too much significance on it, but these are fun,
goofy kinds of things to do. But it’s just one of those things that goes into a
good environment to work in. It doesn’t matter if it’s hockey or business,” he
said. “Employees that have fun and enjoy goofing around and don’t take
themselves too seriously, we found a lot of success in that. Even with our
success last year, we’d like to take some pride in remaining somewhat true
to our roots. It’s kind of what the sport is all about. Once you lose that, you
kind of lose the soul of what hockey is pretty proud of. It’s like that Pee Wee
team thing.”
The significance of Ference’s efforts is not lost on coach Claude Julien.
“There are different personalities (on the team) and, at the same time,
we’ve got great team chemistry. Our guys respect each other for who they
are, and once the puck is dropped we’re one team and we work for each
other,” Julien said.
“Andrew has been one of those guys that’s a real deep thinker and finds
things that will bode well with what we’re trying to accomplish here. He’s
heard us talk all year long about the fact that it’s important not to have any
weak links. So, he decided to take that theme upon himself (to get the
chain).”
Ference got a kick out of the fact that the first winner was Chris Kelly, who’ll
now have the job to hand the chain out to the next hero.
“I don’t know if people knew if it was a fashion statement or not, because he
kept a pretty straight face,” Ference said with a laugh.
Johnny be good
It’s hard to believe, but it was just a little more than a week ago that Bruins
fans had legitimate concerns that Johnny Boychuk might be lost for the
playoffs when he incurred a knee-on-knee collision with the Pittsburgh
Penguins’ Arron Asham.
So it should be duly noted that, after practicing all week, the rugged
defenseman made it through 17:58 of ice time on 27 shifts in Game 1
without any lingering problems.
“It’s not too bad, normal,” said Boychuk, who missed the final two games of
the regular season. “So far, so good.”
Julien liked what he saw from Boychuk.
“He’s good,” the coach said.
Holtby showed his feisty side in the second period when he took a roughing
penalty when Kelly ventured too close to the crease. He doesn’t want to
take penalties, but will protect his turf.
“They’re an aggressive team and they play to win,” the goalie said. “My job
is to counter that, especially myself battling for position in my crease, trying
to find shots through traffic. There were times I lost it (Thursday) and I want
to be better at it (today).”
Boston Herald LOADED: 04.14.2012
625701
Boston Bruins
Caps follow Hunter
By Stephen Harris
“Everybody knows how Dale Hunter played,” he said. “I would expect his
personality to come across in that locker room. So, no, it’s not too much of
a surprise.
“They did a good job (Thursday) of getting in lanes and blocking shots and
doing all they could to keep us to the outside. They’re definitely focused on
defense, which is good for them.”
Well, it’s different. Whether it’s good or not, we’ll see after this series.
The Washington Capitals used to be much more entertaining. And much
more beatable.
In years past, the greatest challenge for teams facing the Capitals was
trying to contain the brilliant offensive wizardry of Alex Ovechkin, Mike
Green, Alexander Semin, et al. Those guys could fly up the ice and put on a
show.
The other side of the equation: The club wasn’t exactly known for sound
defensive play.
Unless Ovechkin & Co. went out and starred, it was a safe bet their
opponent would get more than enough quality scoring chances to provide a
good shot at winning.
But after 12 seasons of failing to go as deep into the postseason as their
immense stable of high-end talents suggested they should, the Capitals
woke up to the fact they needed to improve in the back half of the ice, or all
their virtuosity in the front half wouldn’t be enough.
Bruins fans saw an entirely new-look Washington squad Thursday in the
Eastern Conference quarterfinal series opener at the Garden. Under firstyear coach Dale Hunter, the Capitals embraced a new philosophy of
structured, patient and disciplined team defense.
There were few chances taken, few blueliners venturing deep into the
offensive zone, and forwards — even Ovechkin — coming back deep into
their defensive zone to help. The Caps generated just seven shots on goal
in the first 40 minutes, although to be fair, they did have several power
plays to kill.
Entertaining? Nope. But the approach limited the Bruins’ good scoring
chances and gave Washington an opportunity to steal a win on the road.
The B’s survived, 1-0, via Chris Kelly’s overtime goal, but in the process
they learned they’re likely in for a tough, grinding first series.
“I think when Dale Hunter came in (Nov. 28 to replace the fired Bruce
Boudreau) that was what he wanted to accomplish,” Bruins center Gregory
Campbell. “They have a lot of talent, a lot of skill. But in order for them to
succeed and move forward, everybody has to buy into his system. If you
look at winning teams, that’s pretty much what always happens.
“Good teams generally aren’t built around individuals. It looks like that’s
what they’re trying to do. It makes them a lot tougher to play against.
“Before, they were obviously a very dangerous team. They still are, with the
chances they can create off the rush. But now it seems they have everyone
buying into the system. They’re trying to limit the scoring chances against
them, which makes them harder to play.
“I think Dale coached like that even in junior. As a coach, you’ve got to stick
to what you believe in. Sometimes in order to win, as players, you’ve got to
get out of your comfort zone. They want their star players to play both ends
of the rink.”
Bruins defenseman Joe Corvo spent part of the 2009-10 season with the
Capitals. He felt even then — with the colorful Boudreau still the coach —
an effort was being made for Washington to become a sounder two-way
team. He sees an enormous difference between the Caps of today and a
few years back.
“I think they did it for the playoffs,” Corvo said. “In the playoffs, the old
adage is that defense wins championships. When I was there people were
saying they weren’t built for the playoffs. That proved to be true. So they did
an overhaul.
“They play a more defensive system. After I left they made a change in the
system to try and keep the goals-against down. They’ve done that.”
Bruins left winger Shawn Thornton isn’t surprised to see the change.
625702
Boston Bruins
Thomas is proving it in new way
By Stephen Harris
Proving people wrong has been the story of Tim Thomas’ career. Again and
again, people said he couldn’t do something — and again and again, he
proved he could.
So if ever there was a sponsorship opportunity perfectly suited to an
athlete, it was Thomas and his involvement with Prove People Wrong
(PPW), a company created by four Boston-area high school hockey
teammates a couple of years back.
As with slogans like, “No Fear,” “Just Do It,” and “Life Is Good,” PPW
expresses a big idea with very few words.
Thomas distributed PPW T-shirts to his teammates yesterday, and the
message resonates within the B’s dressing room. People are saying how
difficult it will be for the team to win a second successive Stanley Cup.
So, prove people wrong.
“We believe we can actually win two in a row,” said Thomas. “You’ve got to
have that belief before you can actually accomplish it. That’s where it starts:
Believing you can do it.”
Thomas talked about how he got involved with the four PPW founders: Cam
Brown, Charlie Ackerman, Kyle Nickerson and Jack Brewer.
“At the time they had the idea to start this company like two summers ago,
they were all in high school, and everyone was telling them they would
never make it to college hockey,” said Thomas. “They were too small, too
slow, too this or too that. So they came up with this idea.
“Last fall, when I came back and started to get ready to go to camp, I was
putting all my equipment together and in my hockey bag, I found this plastic
grocery bag with a letter, two T-shirts and a bunch of wrist bands. I don’t
know how they got that bag in there, but it was these kids telling their story.
They said, ‘What you’ve accomplished sums up this message that we’re
trying to get out.’
“So, to make a long story short, I called my business manager and asked
him to set up a meeting with these kids. I decided I wanted to support their
message.
“It’s pretty simple. It’s not just about prove people wrong, but also about
hard work, dedication, commitment, all these things. If you set your mind to
do something, you can do it.”
By the way, Brown will play next year at the University of Maine, Nickerson
at Dartmouth and Brewer at Trinity College, while Ackerman is playing in
the Eastern Junior Hockey League.
625703
Boston Bruins
David Krejci OK after hit by glass
By Steve Conroy
David Krejci survived 61:18 of some of the hardest hitting playoff hockey
you’ll see Thursday night.
No one expected he’d sustain the biggest blow of the night in the postgame celebration. Luckily for him, and the Bruins, it looks like he’ll survive.
In case you missed it, Krejci was clobbered by a panel of glass that was
essentially pushed out of its moorings by TD Garden fans celebrating Chris
Kelly’s overtime goal in Game 1. The glass fell hard on Krejci’s head, neck
and back, knocking him to the ice.
It gave the centerman a neck that was sore enough for him to miss
yesterday’s practice. He expects to play in today’s Game 2 against the
Washington Capitals.
“I’ve got a little sore neck, but other than that I’m good and I’ll play,” said
Krejci.
With Krejci’s absence, Rich Peverley centered Milan Lucic and Jordan
Caron, but coach Claude Julien said Krejci was kept off the ice out of
precaution.
“He’s fine,” said Julien. “The glass fell on him, as everybody saw. He was a
little bit stiff around the neck area this morning. He was scheduled to skate
and I talked to the trainer and together we came to terms that it was better
that he stayed off. He’ll feel even better tomorrow. It was not that hard of a
skate (yesterday), so we kept him off. He’s scheduled to play (today).
“It’s really not that big of an issue, though it seems to be right now. But he’s
fine.”
General manager Peter Chiarelli said there was no concussion.
“I suspect he’ll be fine,” said Chiarelli.
The players were in the midst of the celebration when the glass came loose
and nailed Krejci. Like the fans, many were caught with stunned looks.
Shawn Thornton first heard the glass hit the ice and then saw Krejci down.
“I was just in shock,” said Thornton. “I’ve never seen that happen before.”
Kelly, basking in one of the biggest moments of his career, said that it was
a wild swing of emotions for the players.
“I didn’t see what happened, but you see glass on the ice and it’s not a light
thing. And (the feeling) quickly turns to concern,” said Kelly. “You don’t want
to see something like that where the glass comes down, but (the fans) were
excited. I guess that’s playoff hockey.”
While Julien downplayed the incident, he knows it could have been much
more serious.
“Whether you’ve seen it or not, there are always fluke accidents that
happen and it was a fluke accident,” said Julien. “It’s unfortunate. In a way
we’re kind of fortunate that it wasn’t worse than what it is. With the weight of
that glass, it probably could have been a lot worse and it could have been a
lot more damaging.
“But like I’ve said, he’s fine and we probably dodged a bullet there.”
Capitals defenseman Dennis Wideman had not heard what happened to
Krejci, but could feel his former teammate’s pain. A similar thing happened
to Wideman in Washington.
“I was walking off the ice and there are panes of glass that keep the fans
from leaning over or whatever, and somebody didn’t install it correctly,” said
Wideman. “It came down on my head and knocked me over. I was down for
a little bit. And that was not nearly as big as the full-sized pane that Krech
got.”
And how did Wideman feel after his mishap?
“Rattled the cage a little bit,” he said with a grin. “But I think it caught me
most on the shoulder at first.”
625704
Buffalo Sabres
Kaleta is a game-changer, by necessity
By John Vogl
No matter how many tweaks Patrick Kaleta makes to his game, it will never
be considered a kinder, gentler brand of hockey. The Sabres forward is a
gritty, in-your-face player who'd rather deliver a hit, talk trash or block a shot
than earn a Lady Byng vote.
The NHL, though, has definitely moved toward kind and gentler. Backed by
concussion studies and the discipline of Brendan Shanahan, the league is
turning away from players who think over the edge is a good place to be.
The agitators, rats and frequent rule-breakers need to adapt or get left
behind.
Kaleta is trying his best to stay in the pack.
"The game has definitely changed," he said. "A lot of people have to
change their game. I think my plan originally anyways was to be more
effective than just a fourth-line banger. I'm happy for the opportunity. I
always say I like the challenge and everything that goes with it.
"I feel like I have improved my game a tremendous amount this year, and
I'm excited to get back at it and play better."
Kaleta had no choice but to place more emphasis on refining his game after
an early season sitdown.
Shanahan, the NHL's senior vice president of player safety, suspended the
Buffalo right winger for four games in November after a head-butt to
Philadelphia's Jakub Voracek. When Kaleta returned, he was repeatedly
nabbed for charging penalties, leading coach Lindy Ruff to say the forward
was a "marked man."
"Kaleta just can't hit anybody anymore. He can't," Ruff said in January.
"Every time he hits somebody it's a penalty."
Kaleta wound up leading the Sabres in penalty minutes with a career-high
116, but he took just nine minors in his final 26 games.
"The cool part about my game is that I needed to change," he said. "It's a
hard thing to do ... but I think this year I realized how much I can improve.
Things from penalty kill to just learning the game a little bit more, it's
actually pretty fun when you know you can get better. I'm working at it to get
better."
Skating and penalty killing are the two things that should help Kaleta stick
around if others of his ilk fade away. He is one of the Sabres' fastest
skaters, and he became one of their top-line penalty-killers. His average
penalty-kill time of 1:55 per game was second among Buffalo forwards to
captain Jason Pominville's 2:13.
However, the fearlessness he displays while diving in front of shots usually
ends up hurting his body and playing time. He broke his thumb or hand for
the third straight season. He played just 63 games, which was still a career
high.
"It's not the most fun thing in the world having a cast pretty much every
year, but it's the way I play and it's going to happen from time to time,"
Kaleta said. "My job is to minimize the opportunity of getting hurt and the
chances of that. It's a work in progress."
The next progress will have to come in the form of a contract. His two-year
deal that averaged $907,500 will expire this summer, making the 25-yearold a restricted free agent. He signed that contract in 2010 after putting up
10 goals and 15 points. He had four goals and nine points last season and
five goals and 10 points this year.
The Angola native who grew up with Sabres jerseys on his wall has no
desire to put another team's sweater on his back.
"I would not like it at all," Kaleta said. "Hopefully, everything will get worked
out here, and that's what I'm focusing on, just being the best Buffalo Sabre
that I can be. I'm looking forward to next year. I've improved my game this
year, I think, by a lot. The good part is I can get better.
"I worked as hard as I possibly could the whole season. I gave my
teammates and the coaching staff and fans everything I had every single
night, and that's all you can ask for. At the end of the day when I look
myself in the mirror, I can honestly say I gave everything I got."
Buffalo News LOADED: 04.14.2012
625705
Calgary Flames
Flames need to slow down coaching carousel
By STEVE MACFARLANE
Anyone else getting dizzy?
The Calgary Flames coaching carousel is still turning. It might hold a
Guinness World Record benchmark for longest-running ride outside of
Disneyland.
Parting ways with Brent Sutter a couple of months before his contract runs
out means the Flames will introduce their ninth head coach in 15 years
whenever GM Jay Feaster decides on the next man to hold that position.
That's an average of just a little more than 1.5 years of service per coach.
By comparison, Predators bench boss Barry Trotz has held the job
exclusively in Nashville over that same time period from 1997 to now, while
the Flames have seen Brian Sutter ('97-2000), Don Hay (2000-01), Greg
Gilbert ('01-03), Al MacNeil ('03), Darryl Sutter (2003-06), Jim Playfair ('0607), Mike Keenan ('07-09) and now Brent Sutter ('09-12)
They should install a guardrail or safety harness in that Saddledome office.
It would be nice to see someone stick around for a while.
There's a feeling the franchise is on the verge of making the most sweeping
changes in more than a decade. Being hasty in the selection of the next
person for that post would be a huge mistake if the Flames are to enjoy any
stability there for the foreseeable future.
Brent Sutter's three-year stay was actually one of the longest here in the
last 15 years, and considering the talent he had to work with, his 118-90-38
record wasn't awful despite three seasons of missing the playoffs.
But for an organization with expectations that remain sky high every
season, even when the team clearly isn't capable of such heights at the
moment, the parting was just the start of another cleanse that could finally
go much deeper than just the surface with a scapegoat coach.
"It's tough to see coaches turn over like that, but I was talking to my dad
and I said the same thing -- that stuff happens when you're in an
organization that expects to win every year," Flames defenceman Mark
Giordano said over the phone Friday morning.
"As a team, though, we don't feel good about any of this stuff. I bet if you
ask any of the other players, they'd have the same feelings. It's sort of a
shock to everyone. I have nothing bad to say about them. Brent helped my
career big-time. He played before, he's won before.
"The head coach position in the NHL is probably one of the most unstable
positions. We expect a lot, and our organization expects a lot, so when
things don't go well for a few years like they have here, Brent sort of took
the fall."
He bounced right back up, accepting the head coaching job for Team
Canada at the world championships next month in Finland and Sweden.
There's talk he might be on the Edmonton Oilers radar if they decide to part
ways with Tom Renney, whose contract up north also expires June 30.
"I'm sure he will have no problem finding an NHL job if that's what he wants
to do," Flames winger Alex Tanguay said of Sutter.
"Speaking for most everybody on our team, all the players, I think we all
want to wish Brent the very best -- best for him -- whether it's in Edmonton
or somewhere else. If it comes to that, it will certainly make for very
interesting games against the Oilers.
"We'll see what comes out of it."
Calgary Sun: LOADED: 04.14.2012
625706
Calgary Flames
Sutter's Canada gig an Oilers audition?
Should he be able to parlay his stint overseas into a job with the Oilers, it
would be the hockey equivalent of winning the lottery as he’d go from an
aging team with few prospects to a gold mine of young talent clearly on the
verge of blossoming — an opportunity every coach alive would cherish.
Calgary Sun: LOADED: 04.14.2012
By Eric Francis
Brent Sutter Former Calgary Flames head coach Brent Sutter will lead
Team Canada at the world championships.
If there was ever any question the Flames parted ways with a highly
sought-after commodity Thursday, it was answered less than 24 hours later
by Hockey Canada.
One day after “mutually” deciding to end his three years with the Flames,
Brent Sutter will, in fact, be behind a bench this spring as head coach of the
Canadian entry in next month’s world championships.
While it is no doubt a great opportunity to bolster his stellar international
coaching resume, it also may also act as an audition of sorts. After all,
Team Canada’s GM is Edmonton Oilers President of Hockey Ops Kevin
Lowe, and the Oilers will very likely be in need of a new head coach soon.
Of the 17 players already selected for Canada, there are three Oilers who
may represent the cornerstones of the franchise: Jordan Eberle, Devan
Dubnyk and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the latter who played for Sutter’s Red
Deer Rebels two seasons ago.
How Sutter uses and meshes with them may ultimately help determine if
he’s a good fit to replace current Oilers coach Tom Renney, who is twisting
in the wind as the team debates his future.
Assisted by coaches Guy Boucher and Kirk Muller, Sutter will also be
reunited with Jay Bouwmeester and Dion Phaneuf on a team loaded with
talents such as John Tavares, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Jamie Benn and
Jeff Skinner.
Sutter’s son Brandon was asked earlier to play on the team, but the
Carolina Hurricanes forward had to decline due to a back injury he’s played
through the last several months.
Sutter’s initial conversations with Hockey Canada’s Bob Nicholson and
Lowe began early Thursday, before he left for the Dome to have his final
meeting with Flames GM Jay Feaster.
The event goes May 4-20 in Helsinki and Stockholm.
Sutter’s record as a coach internationally is impeccable, winning world
junior gold in 2005 and 2006 while compiling a perfect 12-0 record. His
unbeaten string was run to 20 after an eight-game Super Series with Russia
in 2007 saw Canada go 7-0-1.
He also played in several international tourneys for Canada, including the
1984, 1987 and 1991 Canada Cups, as well as the 1986 Worlds in
Moscow, where he won bronze.
Sutter respectfully asked not to be quoted, as he will be made available
Monday at Hockey Canada’s headquarters at Canada Olympic Park. It is
there he will also make his first public comments since it was announced
his contract with the Flames would not be extended after missing the
playoffs for three years.
His familiarity and comfort with Hockey Canada made him an obvious
candidate after Lindy Ruff turned down the job.
While some fans may have thought his team’s failures in Calgary would
diminish his stock, many in the hockey world still see Sutter as one of the
game’s great coaching talents.
The question is not whether he’ll get another chance to coach in the NHL,
it’s whether he’s interested in going anywhere outside of Alberta to do so.
Remember, Sutter left a great team and situation in New Jersey in 2009 so
he could be closer to his family in Red Deer, where he owns the WHL
Rebels and operates a calving operation on his farm.
Three days later, he signed on with the Flames.
This time, his bounce-back was even quicker.
625707
Chicago Blackhawks
Hawks loss pretty basic
Steve Rosenbloom
The Blackhawks scored in the final minute to send the game into overtime
for THAT?
No, look, when you bang in a desperate goal the way Brent Seabrook did
with 14.2 seconds remaining in regulation, you’re supposed to have some
momentum. You’re supposed to actually win the game. Everything’s going
your way.
The Hawks in fact dominated play early in overtime, holding the Phoenix
Coyotes without a shot for the first five or six minutes.
But then the Coyotes took the play.
And then the Coyotes took a faceoff.
And then the Coyotes took Game 1 of this first-round playoff series.
Martin Hanzal deflected the winner off a shot from the point by Adrian
Aucoin, a former captain of the Hawks when they were bad, and the Hawks
aren’t doing so well right now.
It’s not desperate, but it will get to that point if the Hawks can’t clean up
some basic and vital areas.
Faceoffs, for starters. It’s the first battle of the game. The Hawks lost more
than they won, including the faceoff that started the play that led to the
overtime winner. Even the return of captain Jonathan Toews, one of the
best faceoff men in the league, couldn’t make a difference.
The power play, for another. It vexed the Hawks all season, so why should
it be different in the playoffs? The Hawks failed on all four chances with the
extra man, including twice in the third period when they went looking for the
tying goal. On one power play, Coyotes goalie Mike Smith lost his stick and
still made a save. That’s the kind of power play it was. That’s the kind of
power play it has been. It's not enough to look good on the power play. You
have to convert. I still can’t figure out how a unit with so much talent can be
so abysmal with such an advantage.
Puck management, for yet another. The Hawks looked sharp to start the
game, moving the puck out quickly and appeared to surprise the Coyotes
with their speed and efficiency. But the Coyotes started forcing the Hawks
with their forecheck, creating turnovers and changing the game. That was
especially true in the second period, which the Coyotes owned. They so
dominated the Hawks on one shift that they were able to change lines
without losing the zone, eventually getting the tying goal. It helped that the
Coyotes had too many men on the ice but weren’t whistled for it, but still,
anytime you want to clear the puck, fine by me.
Ditto for winning faceoffs and scoring on the power play.
If a team beats you because it’s clearly better, that’s one thing. But if you
give it away by failing to execute the basics, that’s aggravating.
The Hawks are more skilled than the Coyotes. The fear is the Coyotes
might be the better team. Like I said, aggravating.
And if all that wasn’t aggravating enough, the Coyotes won this one without
Radim Vrbata, who was drilled by Andrew Shaw early in the game and
never returned, taking his team-leading 35 goals with him.
Vrbata might not come back this series, but it might not matter if the same
goes for the Hawks’ puck management, power play and faceoff ability.
Chicago Tribune LOADED: 04.14.2012
625708
Chicago Blackhawks
Hawks not panicking about falling in early hole
By Chris Kuc
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Leave it to Patrick Kane to find the bright side of the
Blackhawks falling behind in their first-round playoff series against the
Coyotes.
"The good thing is we're not down 3-0 — it's only 1-0," Kane said with a
chuckle Friday, a day after the Hawks fell 3-2 in overtime in Game 1.
While they're not exactly thrilled to be in an early hole, there is no panic in
the Hawks' dressing room. A good reason is that they've have been in this
position — and worse — before.
A year ago they dropped the first three games to the Canucks before
storming back with three consecutive victories to send the series to Game
7, in which the Hawks fell in overtime to end their dream of repeat Stanley
Cups.
"Look at the first round last year," captain Jonathan Toews said. "We went
down three games to none. As bad as things can look sometimes, that
experience in this locker room is going to keep reminding us to keep things
on an even keel, to not get too down about the loss and bounce back with a
much better game."
No Coyotes player knows the Hawks' tendency for tenacity better than
forward Raffi Torres, a member of the Canucks last season.
"Those guys know how to win — they've done it," Torres said. "They've
showed that they'll bounce back. You have to know they'll come out flying
next game. You can never count a team like this out."
The Hawks' resiliency extends beyond last year's rally against the Canucks.
During their run to the 2010 Stanley Cup, they dropped the first game of
their first two series against the Predators and Canucks before winning both
in six games.
"We're not panicking at all," defenseman Duncan Keith said. "We've been in
this situation before, but we would really like to get a win next game. You
don't ever want to be down in a series, but it's a seven-game series for a
reason. Even in past playoff series, we've lost the first game and come back
strong, so that's what we're looking to do."
To do it this time, the Hawks need to control the puck more effectively in
Game 2 on Saturday at Jobing.com Arena. Turnovers proved costly
Thursday and allowed the Coyotes to control the pace during the second
period and overtime, especially.
"A few too many times we got caught in our zone, whether we were tired or
not, we iced the puck and still got stuck with D-zone draws," Toews said.
"We just have to relax and play our positions and kind of let the dust settle.
We do that with communication."
Added Kane: "Limiting the turnovers is the biggest thing (and) play a more
simple game. (And) when we have momentum like we did in the first period
or the third period, try not to give it away."
Still to be revealed is whether coach Joel Quenneville will make changes to
the lineup or mix the lines. The Hawks held an optional practice Friday with
just a few players taking the ice while the others worked out and attended
meetings.
"We'll look at some options," Quenneville said. "We have some depth. We
have five guys here (who were scratches Thursday) who want to play, so
we'll see."
No matter who comes in or out, the Hawks realize they are a win away from
capturing momentum with Games 3 and 4 at the United Center.
"No one really expected us to sweep the series," Kane said. "It's one game,
no need to panic. I know it's the first game and it's a big one, but we can
even the series right up and get back to where we want to be."
625709
Chicago Blackhawks
Hawks-Coyotes Game 2 spotlight: Keith vs. Yandle
By Chris Kuc
Coyotes lead best-of-seven series 1-0.
Duncan Keith
Position: Defenseman
Number: 2
Height, weight: 6-1, 200
Shoots: Left
Born: July 16, 1983 (age 28)
Birthplace: Winnipeg, Manitoba
2011-12 regular season: GP: 74; Goals: 4; Assists: 36; Points: 40; Plusminus: Plus-15; Penalty minutes: 42.
Playoff experience: GP: 47; Goals: 6; Assists: 23; Points: 29; Plus-minus:
Even; Penalty minutes: 26.
Keith Yandle
Position: Defenseman
Number: 3
Height, weight: 6-1, 190
Shoots: Left
Born: Sept. 9, 1986 (age 25)
Birthplace: Boston
2011-12 regular season: GP: 82; Goals: 11; Assists: 32; Points: 43; Plusminus: Plus-5; Penalty minutes: 51.
Playoff experience: GP: 12; Goals: 2; Assists: 9; Points: 11; Plus-minus:
Minus-4; Penalty minutes: 6.
The quote: "He's a good skater and good puck-mover. He's smart and he
plays a good transition game." — Keith on Yandle
Chris Kuc says: Both blueliners are adept puck-movers who aren't afraid to
jump into the play to augment their respective offenses. Their skating
abilities help break up opponents' odd-man rushes and they display
superior decision-making with the puck.
625710
Chicago Blackhawks
Star-studded unit doesn't end Hawks' power-play struggles
By Brian Hamilton and Chris Kuc
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Blackhawks' refurbished power play for the
postseason read like an All-Star ballot. It produced like its punchless
previous incarnations.
A heavy artillery unit featuring Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick
Sharp, Marian Hossa and Brent Seabrook went 0-for-4 in Game 1 against
the Coyotes, continuing the struggles that saw the power play rank 26th in
the league this season.
Despite moving the puck relatively well in the zone, results are all that
matters.
"It's making sure we're scoring goals, that's the most important thing," Kane
said. "I know it's not going to come overnight, but in playoffs, that's one of
the things you're looking for — production right away. There's been a lot of
heat on the power play the whole year. We worked it around pretty good
(Thursday) night. Just have to score goals now."
Down 2-1 in the third period, the Hawks had two chances with the man
advantage to muster an equalizer and preclude the white-knuckle ride to
Seabrook's last-second score.
"Our last power play of the night wasn't as good as we wanted it to be,"
Toews said. "With our team being down one goal, it has to be better than
that. We have to be positive that it's going to go in for us and it's going to
make a difference."
Big hits: Toews said Friday he felt "much better than last night" after his
return from a 22-game absence. The Coyotes targeted the Hawks captain
with some rough-and-tumble play, but Toews won't relent.
"I expect the worst," he said. "I'm going to be at the net, I'm going to be in
front of the goalie every whistle. Every chance they get, they're going to
take shots. It's no big deal. I'm just happy with the way I dealt with it. (I'll)
keep playing and not shy away from that sort of thing."
Dump tricks: With Coyotes goalie Mike Smith particularly active playing the
puck, the Hawks hope to aim dump-ins better in Game 2 to keep
possession and keep Smith in his crease.
"We have to make smarter dumps," Hossa said. "Maybe just soft chip in the
corner or hard around will work to keep him in the net."
Said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville: "We have to be, every single time,
making sure there's something behind it."
Gassed: Game 1's turning point involved the Hawks failing to clear the
puck, enduring a long shift, Sean O'Donnell losing his stick and Niklas
Hjalmarsson batting a puck away before Corey Crawford could freeze it.
The Coyotes tied the game soon after in the second period.
"It's always tough when you're out there for a while," Hjalmarsson said.
"When you get tired, it affects your decision-making a little bit. That's just
how it is."
625711
Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks' Toews expects hits to keep coming
By Brian Hamilton
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Jonathan Toews slid hard into his dressing room stall
after skating around Jobing.com Arena on Friday, and you half expected
someone to tell the Chicago Blackhawks captain to take it easy on himself.
Because the Coyotes evidently won't.
In his first game back from a 22-game absence, Toews was pinballed all
over the ice by a Coyotes team geared up to test him physically at every
possible interval. More than once, Toews skated around with helmet jostled,
and every time he soldiered on.
"I expect the worst," Toews said. "But I mean, it's not to undershoot what
happened (Thursday) night. Obviously I'm going to be at the net, I'm going
to be there in front of the goalie every whistle. Every chance they get,
they're going to take shots. I expected that. It's no big deal. I'm just happy
with the way I dealt with it. (I'll) keep playing and not shy away from that sort
of thing."
And the Coyotes will be happy to comply with providing more of "that sort of
thing."
They were credited with 48 hits in a Game 1 victory and captain Shane
Doan was not shy in roughing up Toews when he could. Nor was Doan shy
about the philosophy moving forward regarding a player he respects highly.
You recognize how incredibly good Jonathan Toews is," Doan said. "He's
as good a player as there is in the league. If he desn't get hurt, he's
probably being talked about for the Hart Trophy this year. He just does
everything...But we're going to be physical with everyone. We have to be.
We can't just let them skate, they have too much skill."
And Toews said he can't slow down to protect himself against what's
coming. He said he planned to be scrappy in Game 1 to get himself going,
and he doesn't plan on altering that plan for Game 2 on Saturday.
"If you go in there full force, no let-up, you're in less danger to get hurt than
if you let up and let him come at you full-steam," Toews said. "You don’t
want t put yourself in those dangerous situations by taking it easy and being
too cautious."
625712
Chicago Blackhawks
Coyotes' Vrbata "day-to-day" entering Game 2
By Brian Hamilton
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Coyotes' leading sniper was lost after just two
shifts against the Chicago Blackhawks. And it remains to be seen when he'll
return.
Radim Vrbata, a 35-goal scorer during the regular season, is "day-to-day"
with an upper body injury heading into Game 2 against the Hawks on
Saturday night, per Coyotes coach Dave Tippett.
"He was in this morning, got a workout this morning," Tippett said. "We'll
see where he's at (Saturday) morning."
Vrbata took a hit from the Hawks' Andrew Shaw in the first period and spent
all of 30 seconds on the ice. Nonetheless, the Coyotes did enough
successful line-juggling to emerge with a 3-2 overtime win.
Tippett said any plans for line combinations without Vrbata are a work in
progress for Game 2 at Jobing.com Arena. Vrbata, an ex-Hawk, posted
career-bests in goals, points (62) and plus-minus (plus-24) for the Coyotes
this year.
"I'm not sure if he's playing or not, but definitely, we had some guys step up
(Friday) night," Coyotes center Martin Hanzal said. "Everybody has to step
it up. Thirty-five goals and he's out on the first shift. So everybody has to
bring more game and a more physical game."
625713
Chicago Blackhawks
Jonathan Toews was targeted by Coyotes, but he came out in one piece
By ADAM L. JAHNS
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The -Phoenix Coyotes checked, slammed and
basically punched Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews on nearly every
opportunity they had in Game 1.
But no worries. Toews, who played in his first game after missing 22 in a
row with a concussion, feels just fine.
“I expected worse and that’s not to undershoot what happened [Thursday]
night,” said Toews, who was one of several Hawks to take part in their
optional skate Friday.
“I’m going to be at the net. I’m going to be right there in front of the goalie
every whistle and every chance they get they’re going to take shots. I
expected that. It’s no big deal. I’m just happy with the way I dealt with it.”
Toews played 24:49 in his first game in nearly two months, scoring on his
second shift and assisting on Brent Seabrook’s overtime-forcing goal.
If there was one blow that stood out, it was veteran and family friend Shane
Doan slamming Toews to the ice in the second period behind the Coyotes
goal. But Toews sprang right back up.
“There is going to be a lot of situations like that,” Toews said. “If you go in
there full force and don’t let up, you’re in less danger of getting hurt than if
you let up and let him come at you full steam. You don’t want to put yourself
in those dangerous situations by taking it easy and being too cautious.”
Doan said the Coyotes weren’t exactly targeting Toews.
“You recognize how incredibly good Jonathan Toews is,” Doan said. “He’s
as good a player as there is in the league. [But] we’re going to be physical
with everyone. We have to be. We just can’t let them skate. They’ve got too
much skill.”
Toews didn’t hesitate to fight for space in front of goalie Mike Smith. But
there are still things he wants to do better in Game 2 on Saturday, including
being more engaged in plays in the corners and cycling.
“One thing at a time,” Toews said. “My mind-set going into the game was
just to keep things simple and try to limit my mistakes.”
Changes coming
Coach Joel Quenneville hinted at possible lineup changes for Game 2,
including breaking up Toews, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa on the first
line.
“We’ll see,” said Quenneville, who often makes changes after losses. “I
know that we’ll look at some options. We’ve got some depth. We’ve got five
guys here who want to play as well.”
An ailing Coyote
Coyotes top scorer Radim Vrbata is day-to-day with an upper-body injury,
which he apparently suffered when Hawks grinder Andrew Shaw hit him
into the boards early in the first period.
“He went to pinch the puck in, and I finished my check on him and he went
into the boards awkwardly,” said Shaw, who thought Vrbata might have hurt
his shoulder.
Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 04.14.2012
625714
Chicago Blackhawks
Coyotes goalie Mike Smith keeps hot streak going in series opener
By BEN MEYER-ABBOTT
GLENDALE, Ariz. — When is 45 shots on a goalie not really a lot of -rubber
on net?
When that netminder is Phoenix Coyotes goalie Mike Smith and he gets a
good look at nearly every one.
“Playing as a five-man unit really helps,” Smith said Friday of the defense in
front of him during his 43-save performance against the Blackhawks in
Game 1 of their first-round series. “When you have as many highly skilled
players as the Blackhawks do, you can’t have one man missing. For the
most part, we did that well.”
It’s a system that made Ilya Bryzgalov a star with the Coyotes before he left
for the Philadelphia Flyers in free-agency and Smith took over.
“There was some scrums in front, obviously, but we did a good job boxing
guys out and finding ways to get to loose pucks,” Smith said.
If Smith is partially the product of a defensive-minded system, he also plays
a key role in that scheme with his ability to play the puck on dump-ins,
keeping the Hawks from setting up in the offensive zone on numerous trips
down the ice.
“I don’t think there’s a secret [about how I play],” Smith said. “I don’t know if
I can pinpoint one [thing for my -success against the Hawks].”
It’s also not a secret that Smith entered the postseason as one of, if not the,
-hottest goalies in the NHL, with victories in his final five regular-season
games, including a 54-save shutout.
That continued in Game 1, when he pushed his save total against the
Hawks to 137 on 143 shots (.958 save percentage) in four games.
“I don’t think it’s just these guys. It’s a lot of teams lately,” Coyotes
defenseman Adrian Aucoin said of Smith’s play against the Hawks. “He just
seems to be in the right position all the time. He’s reading the puck and the
play well and he’s making it look really easy.”
Before Brent Seabrook’s game-tying goal with 14.2 seconds left in
-regulation, Smith had shut out the Hawks for nearly 55 minutes after
-conceding a score to Jonathan Toews early in the first.
625715
Chicago Blackhawks
Jonathan Toews was targeted by Coyotes, but he came out in one piece
By ADAM L. JAHNS
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The -Phoenix Coyotes checked, slammed and
basically punched Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews on nearly every
opportunity they had in Game 1.
But no worries. Toews, who played in his first game after missing 22 in a
row with a concussion, feels just fine.
“I expected worse and that’s not to undershoot what happened [Thursday]
night,” said Toews, who was one of several Hawks to take part in their
optional skate Friday.
“I’m going to be at the net. I’m going to be right there in front of the goalie
every whistle and every chance they get they’re going to take shots. I
expected that. It’s no big deal. I’m just happy with the way I dealt with it.”
Toews played 24:49 in his first game in nearly two months, scoring on his
second shift and assisting on Brent Seabrook’s overtime-forcing goal.
If there was one blow that stood out, it was veteran and family friend Shane
Doan slamming Toews to the ice in the second period behind the Coyotes
goal. But Toews sprang right back up.
“There is going to be a lot of situations like that,” Toews said. “If you go in
there full force and don’t let up, you’re in less danger of getting hurt than if
you let up and let him come at you full steam. You don’t want to put yourself
in those dangerous situations by taking it easy and being too cautious.”
Doan said the Coyotes weren’t exactly targeting Toews.
as good a player as there is in the league. [But] we’re going to be physical
with everyone. We have to be. We just can’t let them skate. They’ve got too
much skill.”
Toews didn’t hesitate to fight for space in front of goalie Mike Smith. But
there are still things he wants to do better in Game 2 on Saturday, including
being more engaged in plays in the corners and cycling.
“One thing at a time,” Toews said. “My mind-set going into the game was
just to keep things simple and try to limit my mistakes.”
Changes coming
Coach Joel Quenneville hinted at possible lineup changes for Game 2,
including breaking up Toews, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa on the first
line.
“We’ll see,” said Quenneville, who often makes changes after losses. “I
know that we’ll look at some options. We’ve got some depth. We’ve got five
guys here who want to play as well.”
An ailing Coyote
Coyotes top scorer Radim Vrbata is day-to-day with an upper-body injury,
which he apparently suffered when Hawks grinder Andrew Shaw hit him
into the boards early in the first period.
“He went to pinch the puck in, and I finished my check on him and he went
into the boards awkwardly,” said Shaw, who thought Vrbata might have hurt
his shoulder.
625716
Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks identify three quick fixes for Game 2 vs. Coyotes
By ADAM L. JAHNS
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Of course, being behind in a playoff series isn’t
uncharted territory for the Blackhawks’ leaders.
They’ve come back and won more than one series after losing an opener
as they did against the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday.
But as they said back then, it’s about improving in areas that resulted in
their defeat and building on what they did well.
“It’s kind of nice to feel them out for a little bit in Game 1,” forward Patrick
Kane said, “and I think the rest of the series we know what to expect.”
Of all the subjects brought up in Hawks’ locker room Friday, here are three
specific areas the players said they have to improve on to tie the series:
Better puck management
After a decent first period, -glaring turnovers marred the Hawks’ puckpossession game. Their passes were intercepted too often as some players
seemed rattled by the Coyotes’ forecheck and aggressiveness in the
neutral zone.
“In the second period, it seemed like we had the pucks on our stick and it
seems like it was right on their stick,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “It wasn’t
like they really had to make indirect plays, so we have to be more effective
and efficient in that area, and that’s where we lost the momentum or we
iced the puck when he had decent possession with it. The onus is on the
puck -carrier to be responsible.”
Things progressively got worse, too, especially in their zone. It -resulted in
extended shifts and fewer opportunities.
“Later on in the game and -especially in overtime, a few too many times we
got caught in our zone,” Jonathan Toews said. “Whether we’re tired or not,
we iced the puck and still got stuck with -D-zone draws.
“They’re a hard-working team that can really get the momentum going on
the cycle. We just have to relax, play our positions and just kind of let the
dust settle. We do that through communication.”
Attacking Smith
On top of the typical cries for more traffic in front of the net and in line with
-better puck management, the Hawks learned the hard way how effective
goalie Mike Smith is at playing the puck.
Smith played plenty of dump-ins, got the puck to teammates or fired a pass
out of the zone himself. It was as if the Coyotes had a third defenseman.
“He comes out and challenges and plays a lot of those pucks,” Quenneville
said. “We have to be more efficient and more effective in that area. We
were careless in that area and not really purposeful behind a lot of our
dumps.”
Marian Hossa said the Hawks have to change their approach.
“We have to make smarter dumps,” Hossa said. “Instead of maybe just a
soft chip in the corner, a hard-around in the corner that could work to keep
him in the net.”
Power-play production
It’s the same old story for the Hawks’ power play. It went 0-for-4 in Game 1
after finishing the regular season in an 0-for-10 funk and ranked near the
bottom of the league.
The Hawks, though, saw some positives in their power-play cycles and
plays.
“I felt like all year our power play wasn’t good, but I felt like [Thursday] we
spent lots of time in [their] zone,” Hossa said. “We had good plays. We just
need to get an ugly goal to get it going.”
That would have helped in
Game 1. Down 2-1, they had a key opportunity late in the second period
and then two more in the third.
“With our team down one goal, it’s got to be better than that,” Toews said.
“If we stick with what we’ve been working on lately, we’ve got to be positive
that it’s going to go in for us and it’s going to make a huge difference. It’s all
about work ethic. It’s all about being on the same page.”
625717
Chicago Blackhawks
Coyotes got physical with Hawks’ Jonathan Toews in Game 1
By ADAM L. JAHNS
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Jonathan Toews expected to be a target, so he wasn’t
all that surprised that the Phoenix Coyotes gave him a few licks in Game 1
on Thursday.
At times, it looked like the Coyotes made it a point to rough up Toews after
whistles and away from plays in his first game back after missing 22 in a
row with a concussion.
Although, that shouldn’t be a surprise, either.
“We’re trying to be physical with everybody,” Coyotes veteran Shane Doan
said.
Doan got mixed up with Toews in the second period and seemingly
slammed him to the ice behind the Coyotes’ goal.
as good a player as there is in the league. If he doesn’t get hurt, he’s
probably getting talked about for the Hart Trophy this year. He just does
everything.
“Toews comes back after missing 22 games and has a goal and an assist
and plays huge minutes and is a such a big part of their team. But we’re
going to be physical with everyone. We have to be. We just can’t let them
skate. They’ve got too much skill.”
The Coyotes outhit the Hawks 48-22, but that doesn’t matter too much. The
Hawks still managed to get 45 shots on goalie Mike Smith. But the Coyotes
did establish the physical tone to the series as Raffi Torres, Martin Hanzal
and Rostislav Klesla were all involved. In the first period, Klesla shoved
Toews head while he was down on the ice.
“Everybody’s getting the jitters out the first game and I’m sure there’ll be a
lot more guys getting hits and both teams got to keep their heads up out
there,” said Torres, who knocked out defenseman Brent Seabrook last
season with a hit when he was with the Vancouver Canucks.
“We were stressing in the room that everybody’s got to play bigger and play
stronger and play harder and last night was a good result of that. But you
got to expect them to come with it too.
Hanzal, in particular, seemed to rattle the Hawks. He also scored the gamewinner in overtime.
“Marty is hands down our unsung hero,” Doan said. “He doesn’t get really
any of the attention that he deserves. As an outsider, people probably
wouldn’t really notice him in our lineup much, but as a guy who is in this
group, he’s probably our most valuable forward.
“He kills [penalties], he’s on the power play, he’s plays against the top line.
He kind of really makes that line go with [Ray Whitney] and [Radim Vrbata].
That’s a legitimate No. 1 with those when he’s in the middle. He creates so
much for everybody and, on top of that, he’s hard to play against. He’s
physical. He has other teams mad at him and yet he’s 6-5, 240 pounds and
there’s not a lot you can do to him. He’s so instrumental to our team.”
625718
Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks fall to Coyotes in OT
By ADAM L. JAHNS
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Jonathan Toews sat alone on the floor in the corner of
the Blackhawks’ locker room, stretching his legs and keeping to himself. His
return was just hours away.
Toews’ comeback from a concussion after almost two full months was as
big a story line as Game 1 of the Hawks’ Western Conference quarterfinal
series against the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday.
But there was no triumphant return for the captain despite a solid game.
The Coyotes rewrote the story.
Forward Martin Hanzal scored the game-winner at 9:29 in overtime in a 3-2
victory for the Coyotes. The Hawks committed too many turnovers and
continuously failed on the power play.
“There’s some good things we can take out of this game, but at the end of
the day, we didn’t get the win, so we’re not happy with that,” Toews said.
“We’re not satisfied. We have to be prepared for Game 2.”
Defenseman Brent Seabrook tied the game at 2 with 14.2 seconds left in
regulation. Toews had a goal and an assist, and Patrick Kane had two
assists to lead the Hawks.
Forwards Taylor Pyatt and Antoine Vermette scored in the second period,
which the Coyotes dominated, to erase a 1-0 lead. The Hawks often had
trouble exiting their own zone. Pyatt’s goal came after the Hawks’ fourth line
and defensemen Sean O’Donnell and Niklas Hjalmarsson failed to clear the
zone during an extended shift, although coach Joel Quenneville argued that
the Coyotes had too many players on the ice at one point.
“The official that was looking [at the play] kind of had the same lane as me,
but it was clearly — [when] he touched the puck — they had six [players on
the ice],” Quenneville said.
Agitator Raffi Torres (assist) also was a factor as the Coyotes established
the series’ physical tone. He took numerous runs at Hawks, and Hanzal and
Rostislav Klesla also got their licks in.
Toews, as expected, was a target for the Coyotes, who lost top scorer
Radim Vrbata to an injury early. Klesla pushed Toews’ head down to the ice
during one scrum in the first period, and veteran Shane Doan slammed him
behind the Coyotes’ goal in the second.
There was more too, but it failed to slow Toews. His redirection of Kane
shot’s in the waning seconds deflected off the right post and to Seabrook
for the overtime-forcing goal.
“I felt as good as I possibly could,” Toews said. “It’s tough. You know it’s
going to be a fast, intense and physical game.”
Mike Smith made 43 saves in another stellar effort, but the Hawks also
failed to get off solid shots — or just fanned — when they had some solid
opportunities. Smith, as he tends to be, was active outside his net, negating
dump-ins and alleviating pressure. Toews beat him with a bad-angle shot at
4:04 in the first.
Corey Crawford had sound 31-save performance, making his best stop on a
wide-open Hanzal in the first period. He also didn’t get much help from his
teammates during the Coyotes’ two-goal second period.
There was no sense of panic in the Hawks’ locker room afterward, but there
are plenty of things to work on. Their power play can’t go 0-for-4 and
struggle to get shots off, and their puck management overall has to be more
crisp.
“We came close and they scored on a point-shot deflection [to win it],”
forward Patrick Sharp said. “It’s the first game. There’s things that need to
be better.”
625719
Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks’ Toews not surprised by physical play
By Mike Spellman
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Jonathan Toews didn’t have a big X on his back
Thursday night in the Blackhawks 3-2 overtime loss to Phoenix.
It just seemed that way at times as the Coyotes showed no mercy toward
the Hawks’ captain in his first game back since suffering a concussion.
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Blackhawks’ top line solid in playoff opener Phoenix’s leading scorer likely
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Afterward, the Coyotes pleaded innocent to selected targeting but had to
admit it was quite a comeback by the captain.
“We’re trying to be physical with everybody,” said Phoenix captain Shane
Doan, who gave Toews the business on a couple of occasions.
“He’s as good a player as there is in the league. He comes back with a goal
and an assist after missing 22 games … he’s a huge part of that team.”
Plus, it wasn’t like Toews wasn’t expecting all the contact. This is the
playoffs, after all.
“Of course,” Toews said. “I’m going to be there at the net, in front of the
goalie every whistle. Every chance they get they’re going to take shots. I
expected that. It’s no big deal.
“I’m just happy with the way I dealt with it … keep playing and not shy away
from it.”
Toews opened the scoring early in the first period on a backhander from a
tough angle that somehow eluded Coyotes goalie Mike Smith.
Toews wasn’t done. He also assisted on Brent Seabrook’s game-tying goal
in the final seconds of regulation.
“He’s one of the best guys in the league and one of the hardest workers,”
Coyotes forward Raffi Torres said. “When you have a guy like that leading
you — and he won a Cup — you never count a team like them out.”
Even Toews had to admit he was surprised by his Game 1 output.
“Yeah, a little bit,” he said with a smile. “It was nice to score on the second
shift in.
“Going into the game I just had a feeling if I played scrappy, played hard in
front of the net, that I’d eventually get a bounce. It was nice to get one early.
It gives you a little confidence.”
But it also takes a lot out of a guy, as Toews admitted.
“I feel much better than (Thursday) night,” he said following practice Friday.
“It was a tough one to jump into, but I think the adrenaline kind of helps you
power through it.
“Physically, the worst is over. No more excuses.”
And that’s exactly the way the Hawks have to look at this quarterfinal series
after dropping the opener to the rugged Coyotes.
“I think it should get our attention, trailing in a series — we don’t like that
result,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “There were some good stretches. I
thought in the first and third we had some good periods.
“But at the end of the day we’re down 1-0, and we’ve come in here to win at
least one game, and that’s what we’ve got to look for (Saturday) night.”
Daily Herald Times LOADED: 04.14.2012
625720
Columbus Blue Jackets
Michael Arace commentary: Blue Jackets can’t miss on next coach
Michael Arace
Winger Jake Hansen, who just completed a four-year career at the
University of Minnesota, signed a two-year entry level contract with the Blue
Jackets today. He's expected to make his pro debut this weekend with the
Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate in Springfield.
A fourth-round pick (No. 68 overall) in 2008, Hansen became increasingly
productive during his run with the Golden Gophers. He had 16 goals and 22
assists and a plus-19 rating in 43 games this season, helping Minnesota
reach the Frozen Four. Here are his goal totals starting with his freshman
season: 2, 7, 11, 16. And his point totals: 7, 12, 20, 38.
Springfield is clinging to playoff life with two games to play, and the Blue
Jackets have stocked them with plenty of options. Forward Cam Atkinson,
Maksim Mayorov and Ryan Russell, and defenseman Dalton Prout were
sent down on Monday. Defenseman Will Weber was signed late last week
and will make his debut this weekend along with Hansen.
Side dishes:
-- D Marc Methot, out since Feb. 9 with a broken jaw, will play for Team
Canada at the upcoming World Championships in Finland. Atkinson and
defenseman Jack Johnson will play for Team USA. Defenseman Nikita
Nikitin could play for Team Russia.
-- Here's a link to our latest Cannon Fodder podcast:
http://www.bluejacketsxtra.com/content/blogs/puck-rakers/2012/04/podcastapr-12.html
The Blue Jackets players have exited the building, and by now, many of
them have played 180 holes. Summer is already in full swing.
Meanwhile, the front office is a hive of activity. The hockey operations
department is being re-evaluated, again. There is a pile of scouting reports
to process on both the amateur and professional sides. There is a plan to
formulate, and it better be a smart one.
The Jackets have the second, 31st and 45th overall picks in the June draft.
As a condition of the Jeff Carter trade, they can also take Los Angeles’ firstround pick, which is the 17th overall as of today. This is a potential boon,
provided they do not miss. What’s more, they have Rick Nash, an All-Star in
the prime of his career, available for trade. It is the biggest trade they have
ever attempted, and it will have an enormous impact on the team’s
immediate direction.
Did we miss anything? Oh, yes, we did.
The Jackets have a coaching vacancy.
Strange how easy that is to forget. The man behind the bench will be as
critical to the Jackets’ rebuilding job as anything else. A losing culture
needs to be changed, and the coach is the most hands-on administrator.
“It is a crucial hire, again, for us,” general manager Scott Howson said
yesterday. “We just have to get it right. We have to.”
The last time Howson hired a coach, in 2010, he went with Scott Arniel,
who won 45 games and lost 78 over 11/2 seasons.
Howson lost out on Guy Boucher, who was scooped up by general
manager Steve Yzerman and Tampa Bay. Howson did not grant a second
interview to Paul MacLean, who got the Ottawa job last year and brought
the Senators back into the playoffs this spring. Howson did not hire Claude
Noel, who landed in Winnipeg, or Kevin Dineen, who turned up in Florida —
and in his rookie season won his division and took the Panthers to the
playoffs for the first time since 2000.
I supported Dineen’s candidacy here two years ago. I remain a fan,
especially after hearing him on NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s satelliteradio show on Thursday.
Dineen talked about Panthers stalwart Stephen Weiss, and it conjured
thoughts of Nash: “The real character of Steven Weiss is sincerity. He had
a conversation with (general manager Dale Tallon) last year about whether
he wanted to stay or go — and Dale did give him that option — he wanted
to be a part of something, and build on it. … After our last game, he stood
up (and thanked) his teammates for that push, and for what they have done
for him this year.”
Dineen talked about buttressing the home market in a way that would
resonate in Columbus: “It’s very unique down here. There is still that large
Ranger or Canadien presence at those games, and that’s fine — we want
those people to come down and spend their hard-earned money in south
Florida and enjoy our weather. There’s just no guarantee they’re going to
walk out with two points from the rink anymore.”
Dineen is an example of getting the right guy behind the bench. The
Jackets are desperate for it. They can’t mess up this hire, not again.
“We haven’t been able to establish any stability with the head-coaching
position,” Howson said. “That has not helped with our progress as time has
gone on. Having stability is crucial.”
Howson said interim coach Todd Richards is a “serious candidate.” One
can question whether Richards has the dynamism for the job at hand, but
there is little doubt he did good work holding things together through the last
stretch.
“We are not tied to any timetable,” Howson said. “It could happen quickly,
(or) it could take awhile.”
The right coach should have some fire in his belly. He should welcome fans
from Detroit, Pittsburgh and Chicago and invite them to spend their money
in our fair city. He should also make it known that they might not be leaving
with two points.
Get somebody smart. Find somebody inspirational. Let him stick.
Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 04.14.2012
625721
Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings' Todd Bertuzzi takes Shea Weber situation into his own hands
By Helene St. James
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- What the NHL didn't look after, Todd Bertuzzi did.
A minute into tonight's Game 2 at Bridgestone Arena, Bertuzzi dropped his
gloves and took on Predators defenseman Shea Weber, landing a punch
before the two were reduced to holding each other at arm's length.
That the Wings won, 3-2, was the key result; that Bertuzzi took on Weber, a
key component.
The Wings were irate that Weber got away with a mere $2,500 fine after
slamming Henrik Zetterberg's head into the glass at the end of Game 1.
"I just thought that the incident the other night wasn't part of hockey," Red
Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "I haven't seen it since junior hockey. I
thought it was unacceptable, and I think sometimes, when things don't get
looked after, you have to look after it yourself.
"I didn't think things were looked after, at all."
Bertuzzi's fought before, and in the playoffs, to stand up for teammates. His
latest effort was much appreciated.
"Yeah, it as nice to see," Zetterberg said with a smile. "It was a great start to
the game. He went in and did his thing. It was good for the game, good for
the series, and got us fired up."
•The new Internet craze: Webering
Bertuzzi scowled through his post-game scrum with the press, insisting "it's
just kind of something you've got to do -- you've got to stick up for your
teammates and do stuff like that. The game was more important, though, it
was good to get a win."
Asked if it was important to get it out the way early -- the fight happened at
1:36, Bertuzzi said, "it's just hockey. Those kinds of things happen. You've
got to do what you've got to do to try to win."
Babcock said Thursday that the Wings "aren't built" to do stuff like that,
meaning their main emphasis is on punishing opponents by outscoring
them. Still, for guys in the locker room, it was a welcome sight, especially
capped by a win.
"He took care of it, showing that we're not going to accept that," captain
Nicklas Lidstrom said. "It didn't become a distraction to our team. It was
handled early on, and then we moved on to play the game, and it was a
hard fought game, but it was great just to see the way our team responded
to it."
Detroit Free Press LOADED: 04.14.2012
625722
Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings 3, Nashville 2: Payback comes in form of Game 2 win
By Helene St. James
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Todd Bertuzzi delivered the first punch, Ian White the
first goal, and the Red Wings the road-game steal.
Backed by an outstanding performance from the penalty kill, the Wings will
leave Bridgestone Arena tonight with an 3-2 victory over the Predators that
leveled the first-round series at one game apiece and left the Wings holding
the home-ice advantage.
Doing what needed to be done after Shea Weber smashed Henrik
Zetterberg's head into the glass at the end of Game 1, doing what needed
to be done all the more since the NHL let Weber off with a fine, Bertuzzi
dropped his gloves a little more than a minute into the game, landed a good
punch, and otherwise the two held each other at arm's length until officials
called it.
Rookie Cory Emmerton and Johan Franzen also scored for Detroit. Andrei
Kostitsyn had one of Nashville's goals, and Weber the second, with less
than 5 minutes to go in regulation.
At the same time Bertuzzi and Weber fought, Franzen got called for crosschecking, sending the Predators on a power play for the seventh time in the
series. Danny Cleary lost his stick during his part of the kill, but the Wings
still were able to box out the Predators, and when Alexander Radulov did
try to sneak in a cross-crease shot, Howard kicked the puck right out. White
was next to stand out, taking advantage of traffic by the crease to beat
Pekka Rinne at 8:25.
Emmerton followed up at 15:33, blocking a shot by Kevin Klein and carrying
the puck into Nashville's zone. There he did exactly what Mike Babcock has
preached: Just throw the puck on net. Why preach that? Because
sometimes even a Vezina Trophy-caliber goaltender gives a little, like
Rinne, who let the shot get by high stick-side.
Nicklas Lidstrom aimed to build on the lead a little later but his shot rang off
a post. Howard kept the Predators off the scoreboard with a door-step save
on Gabriel Bourque.
The Wings had a hard start to the second period, with three straight
penalties, two of which overlapped by 30 seconds -- and which had regular
penalty killers Jonathan Ericsson and Niklas Kronwall in the penalty box.
Brad Stuart, Kyle Quincey and Zetterberg got the job done, part of an
overall stretch that saw Detroit's penalty killing improve to 11-for-11 in the
series.
Kostitsyn took advantage of a screened Howard to halve Detroit's lead at
9:01 of the second period, but the Wings regained their two-goal advantage
inside of a minute, when Stuart fired a shot towards the crease that hit
Franzen's skate and slipped by Rinne.
Weber scored at 15:16, several minutes after the Wings had killed off a
sixth Predators power play, and but the Wings did such a good job keeping
the puck in Nashville's zone the Predators couldn't pull Rinne until 43
seconds to go. The Wings were able to run out the clock, giving them much
to feel good about as the series heads to Detroit for Sunday's Game 3.
625723
Detroit Red Wings
Penalties, Helm's injury mar playoff opener
By Helene St. James
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Red Wings took positives away from their
opening game of the playoffs, but also a loss and a little bit of confusion.
The two least-penalized teams during the regular season combined for 17
penalties Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena, and while the Wings won the
special-teams battle, they fell, 3-2, to the Predators.
Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom took a diplomatic approach after his team
killed off 9:05 of five-on-four man advantages and a 1:14 two-man
advantage, saying that it's good officials "are doing it right off the bat, so
that everybody knows what to expect.
"I was a little bit surprised, but I think they were just setting the bar and
showing what they're going to be calling throughout this series."
Coach Mike Babcock took a succinct approach, answering, "Well, who are
the least penalized teams in the NHL? What's next?"
What's next is Game 2 on Friday. The Wings won't have Darren Helm
available after he suffered a cut forearm during the first period and went
straight to surgery.
What the Wings will have, or should have, is confidence, after getting goals
from Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom on two of seven power
plays, and holding the Predators to seven shots and no goals during their
six power plays.
Role players contributed for Nashville: Fourth liner Paul Gaustad scored the
first goal, and Gabriel Bourque the other two.
The first two goals were fluky bounces, the kind a team needs to win this
time of year. Gaustad's shot went in off Brad Stuart's skate; Matt Halischuk
fired a shot that hit Bourque and hit Jimmy Howard to make it 2-1.
"That's playoff hockey," Howard said. "Get the puck to the net. Sometimes
they change direction."
The Wings dominated territorially from the start of the second period,
outshooting the Predators, 7-0. Still, Babcock bemoaned the lack of good,
inside shots among the 37 total.
"I thought we let Pekka Rinne off the hook with our net presence tonight,"
he said. "I didn't think we were good enough on the net presence, and then
I also thought on our power play, we were slow with the puck a little bit and
didn't shoot it enough."
The Wings got 44 seconds with a 5-on-3 trailing by two goals late in the
third period but weren't able to keep the puck in Nashville's zone. It was up
to Holmstrom to convert during the 5-on-4 advantage, when he got to Kyle
Quincey's shot and forwarded the puck into an empty net.
Just how big special teams would feature became clear from the start. The
Wings went on the power play 2 minutes into the game and at least were
able to keep the puck in Nashville's zone.
A penalty to Johan Franzen canceled out the last 27 seconds and sent the
Predators on the man advantage, but the Wings did a great job consistently
clearing the puck.
The Wings got a second power play when Bourque rammed Ian White into
the boards, but past that point it was all defense for Detroit the rest of the
first period.
The Predators went on a second power play at 12:10, and a third at 16:20.
Less than a minute after Jonathan Ericsson was sent to the penalty box,
fellow penalty killer Justin Abdelkader followed, leaving the Wings short two
skaters for over a minute.
Zetterberg, Stuart and Niklas Kronwall denied the Predators anything other
than one shot by Ryan Suter during a 1:14 two-man Nashville power play.
625724
Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings, Predators expect even-strength flavor in Game 2
By Helene St. James
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- After all the excitement centering on the nastiness
that ended Game 1, this morning dawned sedately and sunnily.
The Detroit Red Wings went through an optional morning skate in
preparation for tonight's Game 2 (7:30, CNBC, FSD, CBC), with most guys
opting to play soccer in the hallway outside the visitors' room at Bridgestone
Arena.
They trail the Predators, 1-0, in the series, but both sides expect a very
different flavor for Game 2, one that won't require quite so much focus on
special teams. The teams combined 14 power plays in Game 1, making
that game stand out compared with every other series.
"I watched all the games in the league last night," Wings coach Mike
Babcock said. "I never saw the same kind of thing happen. So I would have
to say that's not likely to happen, so there'll be more even strength.
"Even though we won the specialty teams battle last game, in the end, I
didn't think that was productive for our team. You didn't get the people on
the ice. If you're 22, and you're a young guy, and you've got to sit on the
bench for six minutes, that's one thing. When you're 30-some, and you sit
on the bench ... ."
One of the Wings' modus operandi is to roll four lines, to not tax their top
guys. But that's hard to do when there's so little five-on-five play. The Wings
have had to make one alteration to their group already, of course, after
losing forward Darren Helm in Game 1 to a season-ending forearm injury.
Gustav Nyquist gets to make his NHL playoff debut tonight, with the lines
drawn up as follows:
• Franzen-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi
• Filppula-Zetterberg-Hudler
• Nyquist-Abdelkader-Cleary
• Miller-Emmerton-Holmstrom
On Nashville's side, they still won't have 6-foot-7 Hal Gill in on defense, as
he remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Coach Barry Trotz hadn't
decided whether he'd use the same defensive pairings as in Game 1.
Up front, Nashville's lines are expected to be:
• Sergei Kostitsyn-Fisher-Erat
• Andrei Kostitsyn-Legwand-Radulov
• Bourque-Spaling-Hornqvist
• Yip-Gaustad-Halischuk
Game 1 ended, of course, with Predators defenseman Shea Weber
smashing Zetterberg's head into the glass. Weber got a roughing call on the
play, which does the Wings no good, seeing as penalties given at the end
of one game don't carry over to the next.
625725
Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings even the score in more ways than one
John Niyo
Nashville, Tenn. — First, they settled a score. Then they evened the series.
Afterward, the Red Wings all seemed to agree it was a necessary two-step,
as they gained a measure of revenge and then gained the upper hand in
this playoff series, grabbing home-ice advantage with a 3-2 win over the
Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.
A day after the NHL let Nashville captain Shea Weber off with a paltry
$2,500 fine for "Webering" Henrik Zetterberg's face into the glass at the end
of Game 1, it was Todd Bertuzzi who decided to add some supplementary
discipline Friday night in Game 2.
As a whistle was stopping play for a penalty on Johan Franzen just 96
seconds into the game, Bertuzzi and Weber quickly dropped the gloves for
a fight that was short on punches but long on symbolism, at least from the
Red Wings' perspective.
"That's something that you've got to do," Bertuzzi said after the game,
though he was reluctant to say much more than that, given both his history
and his nature. "You've got to stick up for your teammates and do stuff like
that."
What he did was provide a spark, while also saying something about the
Wings' intentions.
"I think that's huge for us, Todd going in there and dropping his gloves and
standing up for his teammate," said Wings goalie Jimmy Howard, who was
terrific when he needed to be Friday, making 24 saves and erasing some
brutal defensive mistakes. "He showed we're not gonna stand for this."
The Red Wings' coach, Mike Babcock, stopped short of calling Bertuzzi's
actions an inspiration. And while he didn't go as far as Nashville coach
Barry Trotz did when he said he knew "something was up" in pregame
warmups when "Bert sort of looked at me."
"And I thought if it was gonna be someone, Bert was gonna do it," said
Trotz, noting that he had no issue with the fight because "that's hockey" -players on both benches were tapping their sticks on the boards in proper
salute after it was over -- and "that sort of brings closure to an event."
Babcock did say, "I kind of expected that's what was gonna happen" and
added that Bertuzzi, who only had two fighting majors during the season,
"had to do the right thing." He also said he "thought it was important for our
team that happened."
And when I asked Babcock why he felt that way, he finally said what he'd
declined to a day earlier when the subject of Weber's non-suspension was
raised at his off-day press conference.
"I think it's an important part of hockey," Babcock said, pausing to reiterate
a point he often makes, that the Wings -- last in the league with 17 major
penalties this season -- simply aren't built the way many teams are in the
NHL.
"I just thought that the incident the other night wasn't part of hockey," the
coach continued. "I haven't seen it since junior hockey. And I thought it was
unacceptable. And I think sometimes, when things don't get looked after,
you have to look after it yourself. And I didn't think things were looked after."
Score settled
Retribution?
"I'm sure it was," said Weber, who hadn't drawn a fighting major since
December 2009. "Obviously, he's sticking up for his teammate, and I'm sure
anyone in here would do the same thing if something happened to us."
So what happens now? Now these two teams can go back to playing
hockey, which is what they did for the next 58 minutes of an entertaining, if
a bit sloppy, playoff game.
The Red Wings got the lucky bounce Friday they didn't get in Game 1 when
Brad Stuart's shot deflected off Johan Franzen's shin for a goal midway
through the second period. It came just 56 seconds after the Predators had
scored to pull within 2-1, and it proved to be the winner after Weber -- who
else? -- scored with 4:44 left in regulation.
Detroit also got the production Babcock said he needed from his third and
fourth lines Friday, most notably rookie Cory Emmerton's unassisted gem
late in the first period. The Red Wings' net presence was better, the puck
support was better and the penalty killing remains sensational, snuffing out
six more Nashville power plays Friday to extend Detroit's streak to 37
consecutive kills.
But as the series shifts back to Detroit, both teams genuinely feel like they
can play much, much better. Frankly, I think they're both right about that,
too, which means we could be in for a great series.
"I don't think there's a lot to pick between these teams -- I think we all know
that," Babcock said, shortly before heading to the airport with his team for a
flight home to Detroit.
"We didn't expect it to be a short series," Trotz agreed. "They've got a good
team. We've got a good team. And we're going toe-to-toe. We're OK with
that."
Both sides are, it seems, now that it's a fair fight.
Detroit News LOADED: 04.14.2012
625726
Detroit Red Wings
Perhaps another dozen-and-a-half people ought to walk up to Howard, tell
him what a great goalie Pekka Rinne is and ask if he ever thinks he can
match up.
Wings answer questions as well as their doubters
It only motivates him.
Gregg Krupa
For the second consecutive game, Howard held his team in it when they
needed it, especially when they were short-handed and especially in the
third period when the Predators outshot and outskated the overly cautious
Red Wings and nearly won the game.
The Red Wings got the road win they needed Friday, and along the way
they answered their many critics.
It is said the Red Wings cannot fight, they are not tough, they need a goon,
they do not win on the road, they are too much about finesse for success in
the rough-and-tumble playoffs and the other guys have a better goalie.
On Friday, the difference on the penalty kill, by and large, was Howard.
His positioning is outstanding in this series, as it almost always is. His
rebound control was good. His quickness, especially laterally, was at times
scintillating.
His readiness for battle? It matched Bertuzzi's.
The Wings took out a big red pencil in Nashville on Friday and they crossed
off each condemnation.
Howard was dominant.
And they began by addressing the disparagement of their manhood.
Go to the net
Weber forced to answer
On the winning goal Stuart threw the puck at the net. It hit Franzen's calf
and went in.
Did anyone really think the Wings would not make Shea Weber answer for
his assault with a dangerous weapon, the Plexiglas, on Henrik Zetterberg,
at the end of Game 1?
During the season, the Red Wings sometimes give the impression that they
think such "garbage goals" should not count.
Any doubters were shamed at 1:36 of the first period.
But in the playoffs, the dirty ones add up. And they win Stanley Cups.
What Brendan Shanahan would not do from the NHL office, much to
Shanahan's disgrace, Todd Bertuzzi took care of on the ice, engaging
Weber in a fight.
So when Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk were down by the net, underneath the
Predators' defensemen and Stuart let it go, it was not pretty. But it was what
the Wings must do to prevail.
Bertuzzi landed two. Weber landed none.
They need to go to the net continually and to play inside of the Predators,
who are large enough, skilled enough and defensive-minded enough to
keep the Red Wings to the perimeter of the offensive zone — unless the
Red Wings are hard enough to get to the dirty parts of the ice, inside of the
Predators and down low.
Wings fans would have loved to see the big Predators defensemen on his
butt after a huge haymaker. But Bertuzzi did more than well enough.
Johan Franzen had two big body-checks in the opening minutes, too,
informing the Predators indelicately the game was on.
And then the rest of their mates took care of the retribution in their own way,
for much of the rest of the game, tasting the ultimate sweetness of revenge
in the NHL — winning the game after the dirty play.
The fuse Weber lit at the end of Game 1, and that Andrei Kostitsyn kept
burning when he used the palm of his hand on Weber's head in practice
Thursday to jokingly re-enact the assault on Zetterberg, ignited the Red
Wings' big victory in Game 2.
Who laughs now?
By 8:25 of the first, the Wings had a goal, a fight, four hits and a crosschecking penalty and were well on their way to turning around the series.
At the end of "The Godfather," Michael Corleone tells his brother-in-law
Carlo Rizzi, "You've got to answer for Sonny, Carlo."
One Corleone then avenged another.
Bertuzzi made Weber answer for Zetterberg, and the Red Wings were off to
the only start that made any sense after Game 1.
Penalties kill, kill, kill
The Red Wings are 12-for-12 killing penalties in this series against the top
power play in the NHL, and the top power play at home.
They are 37-for-37 in the past nine games.
They killed off Franzen's retaliating cross-check in the opening minutes of
the game, when a goal by the Predators in their building could have made a
big difference.
In the first 6:04 of the second period, they killed off three penalties,
including a 5-on-3 for 30 seconds.
Brad Stuart was brilliant at times, including intercepting a pass from his own
crease that would have gone to a wide-open Mike Fisher in the slot.
Fisher, who led the Predators in goals this season, rarely misses from
there.
But the Red Wings' best penalty killer was their goalie, Jimmy Howard.
The best goalie
625727
Detroit Red Wings
Cory Emmerton helps Wings get even
By Ted Kulfan
Nashville, Tenn.— Cory Emmerton watched Nashville's bottom two lines
score two goals and help lift the Predators to a Game 1 victory.
The Red Wings center was determined to not let that happen again. He
scored a goal and his line was on the ice for another as the Red Wings won
Game 2, 3-2, to even the best-of-seven series 1-1.
"They scored two goals (in Game 1) and got some fortunate bounces just
going to the net," Emmerton said. "We tried to do the same but we didn't get
much in a groove with all the penalties in the first game. But we got more of
a chance (Friday) and got in there and got rolling."
Emmerton's blast off a 2-on-1 rush late at 15 minutes 33 seconds of the first
period gave the Red Wings a 2-0 lead.
"That was a big goal for our team and for him," Drew Miller said. "When
we're able to roll all four lines, that's big."
Emmerton was happy to contribute.
"I just tried to shoot it hard and quick, and hope for the best," Emmerton
said. "Just trying to help the team in any way and to fill a role. When I can
chip in offensively that's going to be helpful."
Penalty kill shines
After being an average penalty-killing team most of the season, the Red
Wings have been remarkable lately.
Friday's six kills gave them a streak of 12 in a row this series and 37
straight dating to the regular season.
"We're just trying to do our jobs, fill in the lanes and be aggressive when we
can," Nicklas Lidstrom said. "We're trying to take away some of their shots
and doing the stuff we've been talking about doing."
Helm's missed
The loss of forward Darren Helm (lacerated forearm tendon) is a concern
for the Red Wings.
"His loss is felt," said forward Danny Cleary , who normally kills penalties
with Helm. "He's pretty down, but at least he's, in a way, healthy. There's no
nerve damage."
Helm was hurt in Game 1, his first action since returning from knee surgery.
Said Mike Babcock : "We spend a day (saying) how important he is and the
next day we're saying let's move on. It's going to be tough for him."
Stepping in
With Helm unavailable, Gustav Nyquist played 7:16 on 12 shifts.
Babcock has shown a lot of confidence in Nyquist, who has progressed
from college hockey at Maine, to the minors, to the Wings and the playoffs
in one calendar year.
625728
Detroit Red Wings
Wings' Dan Cleary bears needle to play through knee pain
"In order for us to win and move on everybody has to contribute, help out,"
Cleary said. "So no better time than now to get some timely goals and play
well defensively and that's how it has always worked, the teams that
advance and win series always got good depth."
Good drugs, too.
John Niyo
Nashville, Tenn. — A conversation Friday morning with Danny Cleary
brought to mind a memorable movie scene from that cult classic
"Caddyshack."
"Do you take drugs, Danny?" asks Ty Webb, Chevy Chase's character.
"Every day," replies Danny Noonan, played by a shaggy-haired Michael
O'Keefe.
"Good," Webb says. "So, what's the problem?"
No problem at the moment, said Cleary, the Red Wings' veteran forward,
after an optional morning skate that really wasn't an option for him. Instead
of hitting the ice in preparation for Friday's Game 2 against the Nashville
Predators, Cleary went about his gameday rituals in the visitors' dressing
room at Bridgestone Arena with a crossword puzzle in hand and an infrared
heating pack on his left knee.
That'd be the knee with the bone-on-bone grinding that'll require surgery
whenever the playoffs end. The knee that team doctors have drained of
fluid every couple weeks and injected with lubricating gel a few times this
season. The knee that requires giant ice packs after each game and shots
of painkillers beforehand.
"The pain medication I'm getting is able to last," said Cleary, who has
hobbled through most of a frustrating 2011-12 season. "It's a lot better in
the playoffs than in the regular season, let's put it that way. A little higher
potency."
Whatever it takes. That's how it works in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And
that's how it has to be for Cleary this spring. But after a heart-to-heart talk
with coach Mike Babcock, who red-flagged Cleary's comments estimating
his effectiveness at "50 percent" earlier in the week, Cleary's effort in Game
1 of this first-round playoff series in Nashville didn't go unnoticed.
"I thought he was one of our best forwards," Babcock said, praising Cleary's
physical play. "He said he felt good. Dan Cleary is a great skater who
knows how to play. When you show the team (video) clips, Dan Cleary's
usually in them all the time. This year he hasn't been in them. Because he
can't skate.
"But (the training staff has) done a lot for him here to help him. He seems to
be feeling better. And if he's feeling better, he's a better player because he
has to get there, he has to skate. That's his game. And if he skates, he can
be physical. He normally plays very heavy for his 210 pounds. When you're
playing on one leg, you play light. And when you play light, you're not very
effective."
Role diminished
Cleary, who took a slapshot off the helmet moments before Nashville's first
goal Friday night -- as if he needed another headache -- has gone from a
top-six role to checking-line duty, mostly because of his injury limitations. A
year after banking 26 goals for Detroit, the 33-year-old Cleary had just 12
goals and 33 points this season -- his lowest total since 2005-06.
That's what led Cleary to say what he said when asked about his health
Monday. And that's what prompted the chat with Babcock on the eve of the
playoffs.
"Yeah we talked just about, 'Hey, let's be honest with each other,'" Cleary
said. "But I felt like 100 percent last game, so that was huge."
And it'd be big -- maybe even huge -- if Cleary and his linemates, Justin
Abdelkader and rookie Gustav Nyquist, could contribute offensively as this
series heads back to Detroit. All three of Nashville's goals in the series
opener came from the third and fourth lines. And first-period goals with the
Red Wings' fourth-liners on the ice provided the spark in Game 2.
In the meantime, Cleary is a big part of the Red Wings' penalty-killing unit
that continues to impress, holding opponents scoreless in their last 37
power plays, including 0-for-12 in this series after Friday night's great
escape.
625729
Detroit Red Wings
Jimmy Howard takes Game 2 in battle of goalies
By Ted Kulfan
Nashville — Pekka Rinne had the goaltending edge in Game 1. But Jimmy
Howard was the better of the two goalies in Game 2, a big reason the
Wings won 3-2 and evened the series.
Howard made 24 saves, 19 in the final two periods as the Wings withstood
a Predators charge to head home with home-ice advantage.
"We got into some penalty problems early but Howie came up big,"
defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. "He made some big saves."
The Wings killed all six Nashville power plays, all 12 in the series, with
Howard a central figure in the domination.
Howard, though, credits his teammates up front.
"We're doing a great job of blocking shots, and those aren't muffins coming
in from the top, either," Howard said. "Guys are standing in there and taking
them. I have to tip my hat off to those guys."
But Howard is doing his share, too, with key saves at crucial moments,
including quite a few Friday.
"Pekka Rinne won the game the other night and Howie didn't have any
chance on any of the shots," coach Mike Babcock said. "I just know both
goalies are real good."
Howard seems to gaining momentum and strength after missing almost a
month with a broken right index finger and groin pulls the second half of the
season.
A good last week of the regular season has carried into the first two games
of the playoffs.
Howard felt it was important for the Wings to rebound after the Game 1 loss
and head home with a split.
"We did a good job of bouncing back here," Howard said. "This building is
so tough to play in. The crowd is electric and they feed off that crowd. It was
good to weather the storm early."
Howard's saves early on with Nashville pressing were crucial.
"Howie made some big stops there and that gives a team confidence,"
defenseman Brad Stuart said. "They had some good opportunites but
Howie shut the door and that gave us a boost and we were able to build
from there."
625730
Detroit Red Wings
Wings reply with fists and fury to claim Game 2
Consecutive penalties to Jiri Hudler (interference, 26 seconds), Jonathan
Ericsson (tripping, 2:34) and Niklas Kronwall (delay of game, 4:04) gave
Nashville six minutes of power play time — including 30 seconds with a
two-man advantage — yet the Wings continually frustrated the Predators.
By Ted Kulfan
Nashville, Tenn.— Many people expected a long, grueling series, and it's
certainly headed in that direction.
Behind scoring from unexpected sources, continued outstanding penalty
killing, and a spark from Todd Bertuzzi, the Wings defeated Nashville, 3-2,
in Game 2 on Friday night.
The victory evened the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal
encounter at 1 and gives the Wings home-ice advantage the rest of the
series.
"I don't think there's much to pick between these teams, I think we all know
that," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "We have a chance to have a real
good series. I think our team will be way better from here on and we're
excited about our opportunity."
Game 3 is at noon Sunday (NBC-Channel 4), with Game 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, both at Joe Louis Arena.
The series now is guaranteed to return to Nashville for Game 5 on Friday.
Ian White, Cory Emmerton and Johan Franzen scored for the Wings.
Andrei Kostitsyn and Shea Weber replied for the Predators.
Weber cut the lead to 3-2 with 4:44 left in regulation, backhanding a shot
past goalie Jimmy Howard.
But the Wings held off the Predators the remainder of the game without
yielding any quality chances.
"We were ready to play," defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. "They put a
strong forecheck on us, but we responded and got timely goals, goals from
people that really stepped up for us."
Bertuzzi fought Shea Weber 1:36 into the game, getting a measure of
retribution for Weber slamming Henrik Zetterberg's head into the glass after
Game 1.
Bertuzzi's actions seemed to inspire the Wings, who are dominating on
special teams.
"Just a hockey play," Bertuzzi said about the fight.
But his teammates felt it was much more.
"Bert did a great job of taking care of it," defenseman Brad Stuart said. "Get
it done with and now we just play hockey. It probably gave us a boost and
let us get into our game."
The Wings killed off six Nashville power plays in Game 2 and all 12 thus far
in the series. Going back to the regular season, the Wings have killed off 37
consecutive power plays dating to March 26, a streak covering nine
consecutive games.
"We've been working real hard and everybody is on the same page," Stuart
said. "Howie made some big saves early on and they had good, quality
chances but Howie shut the door."
White put the Red Wings ahead 1-0 with a goal at 8:25 in the first period.
Emmerton made it 2-0 at 15:33 of the first period with a slick play.
Sensing Predators defenseman Kevin Klein was going to wheel to his left,
Emmerton was there to block a pass and gather the puck.
Going down on a 2-on-1 with Gustav Nyquist, Emmerton unleashed a shot
from the top of the circle that beat Rinne cleanly.
"Last game they had two goals from their third line, which is huge,"
Emmerton said. "Whenever your third or fourth lines can score, that gives
you a huge chance. We did a good job tonight for (being on the ice for) two
goals and that helped."
Nashville's best chance to get back into the game occurred early in the
second period.
625731
Detroit Red Wings
Strike a pose: 'Webering' is the new craze
By Ted Kulfan
Country singer Vince Gill, entertaining during the second intermission,
needled Todd Bertuzzi with a "Bertuzzi is a sissy" lyric, much to the delight
of the crowd.
…Trotz on his team's play compared to Game 1: "We were much better,
we're just starting to find our range in terms of how we have to play. I didn't
think we played particularly well in Game 1. We played a much better game
but didn't get the result we wanted."
Nashville, Tenn.— It hasn't reached "Tebowing" levels yet, but "Webering"
has gone viral.
Webering?
It's a re-enactment of Predators defenseman Shea Weber smashing the
head of Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg into the boards at the end of
Game 1 of their Stanley Cup playoffs series.
Weber and teammate Andrei Kostitsyn did it during practice Thursday, and
when someone decided to put it on Twitter on Friday, it went viral, with
hockey fans posting shots of them jokingly "smashing" a friend's head into
doors and other objects.
Nashville fans seemed especially giddy doing it.
As one Predators fan tweeted, "That's great! Maybe the rink could be a sea
of head-bashing in warmups."
"Tebowing," of course, was started by quarterback Tim Tebow kneeling
after games.
Nil from Gill
The Predators still are waiting.
After acquiring defenseman Hal Gill at the trade deadline to strengthen the
penalty kill, increase its depth on defense and add veteran leadership, Gill
has yet to make his playoffs debut.
Gill was hit with a puck near his ankle the final week of the season, and
missed his second consecutive game Friday night.
"It's getting better," said Gill, who did some light skating Friday morning. "It's
something I have to take day to day and test it without pushing it too hard."
At 6-foot-7 and 241 pounds, Gill is a presence on the ice, and the Predators
would love to add his bulk to the lineup.
"There's being tough and there's being too much pride, and at this time it
would be too much pride to play," Gill said.
Jack Hillen again took Gill's place in the lineup and had two giveaways in
7:27 of ice time.
The Radulov factor
Predators forward Alex Radulov , who returned from the Russian
Kontinental League in March, provided the Predators with an offensive
spark in the final weeks (three goals, seven points in nine games).
But he has two assists his last five games.
Radulov had an assist in Friday night's 3-2 loss, with four shots on net in
21:42 of ice time.
"We have to get him around the puck a little bit more so he can get in those
battles," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "That's partly him, that's partly
his linemates. I can guarantee as the series goes on he's going to get much
better."
Power play goes cold
After having the No. 1-ranked power play during the regular season, the
Predators have gone 0-for-12 in this series against the Wings.
"Tonight the power play was way better," Trotz said. "It had more quality
chances. We could have scored three goals on the power play today,
easily, and we'd be talking about how the power play was really good
tonight.
"We just didn't convert on chances. We missed our opportunities."
Ice chips
625732
Detroit Red Wings
Analyst Don Cherry: Wings' Zetterberg incited hit from Weber
Staff Writer
Red Wings fans didn't like the hit that Nashville's Shea Weber put on Henrik
Zetterberg near the boards in Wednesday's Game 1, but they'll probably
like the comments from NHL analyst Don Cherry even less.
Cherry, works for CBC, pointed out that before Weber slammed
Zetterberg's head against the glass twice, Zetterberg used his stick to hit
Weber on his left knee between the pad and the pants.
While Cherry said that Weber was wrong for the hits on Zetterberg, for
which Weber was fined $2,500, Cherry understood why Weber did it.
"There's no excuse for what Shea did," Cherry said. "If he wanted to really
hurt him — a guy 230 pounds, 6-foot-4 ... if he wanted to really hurt him,
he'd have put his head right through the glass. He was just ticked at that."
625733
Detroit Red Wings
Predators' Hal Gill will miss Game 2
By Ted Kulfan
Nashville— Still a no-go for Nashville Predators defenseman Hal Gill.
The 6-foot-7 defenseman won't be ready to play for a second consecutive
game when the Red Wings and Predators play Game 2 this evening.
Gill is still nursing a lower-leg injury that's been slow to heal.
"It's getting better," said Gill, who did some light skating Friday morning. "It's
something I have to take day to day and test it without pushing it too hard."
Nashville acquired Gill at the trade deadline to strengthen the team's
penalty-killing, size and veteran presence come playoff time.
But this time of year, it's more important to go with a healthy player than
one who is not quite 100 percent.
"There's being tough and there's being too much pride, and at this time it
would be too much pride to play," Gill said. "We have good players, we can
win with them."
Jack Hillen took Gill's place in the lineup in Game 1. It will be Hillen (a more
defensive option) or Ryan Ellis (more of an offensive defenseman)
replacing Gill in Game 2.
Coach Barry Trotz said he'd warm up seven defensemen before the game
and decide before game time.
Nyquist in
The Wings held a sparsely attended morning skate Friday, with most
players choosing to get ready with workouts off ice.
Coach Mike Babcock said the only change in the lineup from Game 1 was
the previously announced move of Gustav Nyquist replacing Darren Helm
(lacerated forearm), who was injured in Game 1.
"I'm sure they'll talk to me a little bit but you can't think about it too much,"
said Nyquist of his NHL playoff debut. "Just another game but a little more
important, obviously. I just have to go out there and play my game and do
my best."
Nyquist has impressed Babcock from the first time during the exhibition
season.
"He's real good with the puck and he's calm, he gives you confidence as a
coach," Babcock said. "He's not a high risk player. He's not in hang-on
mode. He thinks he's a good player, he's confident and he doesn't play
nervous. He just plays."
625734
Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings' strong penalty killing stymies Nashville's top-rated power play
to even series
Ansar Khan
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Detroit Red Wings had a good feeling about their
often-times lethargic penalty killing coming into the playoffs because it was
strong down the stretch.
But until you're tested by the best power play in the NHL, you never know.
Two games into their first-round series with Nashville, the Red Wings'
confidence is their penalty killing is soaring.
Detroit killed all six Nashville power plays Friday in a 3-2 victory at
Bridgestone Arena that evened the Western Conference quarterfinal series
at 1-1.
The Red Wings are 12-for-12 on the PK in this series and have killed 37
consecutive power plays over seven games, including the regular season.
The Predators ranked No. 1 in the league on the power play, converting on
21.6 percent of their chances.
“We really thought our penalty kill was coming, and then we lost (goaltender
Jimmy Howard and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson) and the wheels came
off,'' Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “We're being aggressive here
again now. To me, if you're aggressive you have a great chance to kill, if
you're real patient and you stand on the inside, especially with a guy like
(Shea) Weber, with a bomb like that, they're going to get to you.''
Howard, as a goalie should be, was their best penalty killer, making 24
saves.
“I think the biggest thing is goaltending,'' Detroit forward Drew Miller said.
“Jimmy's been making that big first save and we're sticking to our system.''
Said Howard: “We're doing a great job of blocking shots, nothing is coming
in from up top. Guys are stepping in there and taking them. I got to tip my
hat to the guys in front of me.''
Ian White, Cory Emmerton and Johan Franzen scored for the efficient Red
Wings, who maximized their paltry total of 17 shots.
The series shifts to Joe Louis Arena for Games 3 and 4, Sunday afternoon
and Tuesday night.
“We were ready to play,'' Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. “We ran
into some penalty problems early on, but Howie came up big for us. We
knew they were going to put a lot more forecheck on us than they did in the
first game. We responded well as a team, got some timely goals.''
The Red Wings haven't even needed Lidstrom on the penalty kill. Babcock
doesn't want him to take a shot off his right ankle, which he injured late in
the season (deep bone bruise).
“He made it very clear he can't be in the (shooting) lane,'' Babcock said.
“Until he tells me, that's the way it is.''
Lidstrom is happy to see his teammates picking up the slack.
“Guys have been real big in shooting lanes,'' Lidstrom said. “They're trying
to be aggressive when they can, when there's an opportunity to jump, just
the overall effort, sacrificing their body for shots.''
The Red Wings twice led by two goals. Nashville cut Detroit's lead to 3-2
with 4:44 to play in the third period when Weber fired in a backhand shot
from the slot.
Nashville pulled goaltender Pekka Rinne for the extra attacker in the final
minute but couldn't even it.
The Predators cut the Red Wings' lead to 2-1 at 9:01 of the second period
on a goal by Andrei Kostitsyn. Their momentum was short-lived, because
Franzen answered at 9:57, when Brad Stuart's shot from the faceoff circle
went in off his skate.
“Tonight I didn't think they had puck luck around the net, I thought it rolled
over their stick, we got our foot in the way, things like that,'' Babcock said.
“The other night they had good puck luck.''
The Red Wings got offense from a couple of unexpected sources to jump
out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. White fired in a wrist shot at 8:25.
Emmerton scored at 15:33, beating Rinne on a two-on-one with Gustav
Nyquist. The unassisted goal came after Emmerton blocked a pass attempt
at the point by Kevin Klein.
“I thought we did lots of things real well, we played harder, more grit, but I
didn't think we were as good defensively and we gave up better chances
and we had more puck luck tonight than we did the other night,'' Babcock
said.
The tone was set early when Todd Bertuzzi and Weber fought less than two
minutes into the game. Bertuzzi was seeking retribution after Weber
slammed Zetterberg's head into the glass at the end of Game 1.
Weber received only a $2,500 fine for the incident. Zetterberg was shaken
up but wasn't injured.
The Red Wings took care of something Babcock and players said needed
to be done. Now they can move forward.
“I don't think there's much to pick between these teams,'' Babcock said.
“We have a chance to have a real good series, our team's going to be way
better form here on in so we're excited about our opportunity.''
Michigan Live LOADED: 04.14.2012
625735
Detroit Red Wings
Shea Weber doesn't find Red Wings' Todd Bertuzzi as lenient as NHL
Brendan Savage
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Todd Bertuzzi wouldn't admit it but the Detroit Red
Wings' forward spent two days waiting for the chance to let Shea Weber
know what happened Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena was
unacceptable.
The opportunity presented itself Friday when Bertuzzi found himself on the
ice with Weber 96 seconds into Game 2 of the first-round playoff series
between the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators.
The game had barely started when Bertuzzi dropped his gloves with the
Nashville captain, who slammed the head of Red Wings' star Henrik
Zetterberg into the glass as time expired on the Predators' 3-2 victory in
Game 1.
Bertuzzi was planning to make up for the lack of punishment handed down
by the NHL, which fined Weber $2,500, the maximum allowed under the
Collective Bargaining Agreement but little more than a slap on the wrist for
a guy making $7.5 million per season.
"It's hockey," Bertuzzi said matter-of-factly after Detroit's 3-2 victory that
evened the series at a game apiece. "Things happen in the game and
whatever. It's kind of something you gotta do. You have to stick up for
teammates and do stuff like that. The game was more important.
"It was good to win a game in here. They played us hard at the end. Our big
guys played well."
Bertuzzi wouldn't bite when asked if he had planned on settling the score
with Weber.
"I really didn't," he said. "It's just hockey. Those kinds of things happen. You
have to do what you gotta do to try and win. Fortunately enough, we got a
couple quick goals after. We just wanted a win.
"You have to do whatever you can do to help the team out, whether it's that
or whether it's scoring goals or playmaking. It's a hockey play. It's part of
the game."
It was also something Zetterberg appreciated.
Zetterberg said his helmet cracked in two places from the force of his head
hitting the glass during the incident with Weber, something he called dirty
and left him "woozy."
"It was nice of Bert going out," Zetterberg said. "It was a good start to the
game. The crowd got going. We got going. It was a nice one. You get fired
up. You get a little momentum. It's easier for us to get going.
"It's still a series. It's going to be a part of the series until it's over. But it's a
good thing that happened. Now we just move on."
The fight came at the same time Detroit's Johan Franzen get penalized for
cross checking.
But coach Mike Babcock had no issue with seeing both Bertuzzi join
Franzen in the penalty box so early in the game.
"I just think he had to do the right thing and he did," Babcock said. "I kind of
expected that was going to happen and it did, so good for him. It's an
important part of hockey, standing up. We're built different than lots of
teams.
"I just thought that incident the other night wasn't part of hockey. I haven't
seen it since junior hockey. I thought it was unacceptable and I think
sometimes when things don't get looked after (by the league), you have to
look after it yourself.
"And I don't think things were looked after at all."
It wasn't long after the fight that the Red Wings took the lead for good as
they got two goals from unlikely sources.
Defenseman Ian White, who had seven goals during the regular season,
opened the scoring midway through the first period before rookie Cory
Emmerton – playing in just his second NHL playoff game – put the Red
Wings on top 2-0 with 4:17 left in the first period.
The Red Wings felt it started with Bertuzzi.
"That's huge for us," said goaltender Jimmy Howard. "Todd going in there
and dropping his gloves and standing up for his team and showing we're
not going to stand for this."
Said captain Nicklas Lidstrom: "He took care of it, showing we're not going
to accept that. It didn't become a distraction to our team. I thought, 'let's
handle it early on' and then we moved on to play the game.
"It was a hard fought game, great to see the way our team responded to it."
Weber wasn't surprised Bertuzzi stood up for Zetterberg. He figured there
would be some sort of retribution.
"I'm sure it was," He said. "Obviously he's sticking up for his teammate and
I'm sure anyone in here would do the same thing if something happened to
us."
625736
Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings edge Nashville, 3-2, in Game 2 to even playoff series
Ansar Khan
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Detroit Red Wings tightened up defensively
Friday and evened their first-round playoff series with the Nashville
Predators.
The Red Wings' penalty killing continues to be outstanding. They got big,
timely saves from Jimmy Howard. And they kept Nashville's top scorers in
check once again.
Howard made 24 saves as the Red Wings prevailed 3-2 at Bridgestone
Arena to even their Western Conference quarterfinal series at 1-1.
Ian White, Cory Emmerton and Johan Franzen scored for the Red Wings,
who registered only 17 shots.
Nashville had the NHL's top-rated power play during the regular season,
but it's been completely shut down by Detroit. The Predators went 0 for 6
for the second game in a row. The Red Wings have killed 37 consecutive
power plays over their past seven games, including the regular season.
The series shifts to Joe Louis Arena for Games 3 and 4, Sunday afternoon
and Tuesday night.
The Red Wings twice led by two goals. Nashville cut Detroit's lead to 3-2
with 4:44 to play in the third period when Shea Weber fired in a backhand
shot from the slot.
Nashville pulled goaltender Pekka Rinne for the extra attacker in the final
minute but couldn't even it.
Game 2: Detroit Red Wings 3, Nashville Predators 2
The Predators cut the Red Wings' lead to 2-1 at 9:01 of the second period
on a goal by Andrei Kostitsyn. He fired in a hard wrist shot from the edge of
the faceoff circle through a screen, after the Red Wings had trouble sorting
out.
Nashville's momentum was short-lived, because Franzen answered at 9:57.
Brad Stuart's shot from the faceoff circle went in off Franzen's leg and
eluded Rinne.
It was Franzen's 34th playoff goal since 2008. That ranks second in the
NHL to teammate Henrik Zetterberg's 35.
The Red Wings got offense from a couple of unexpected sources to jump
out to a 2-0 lead in the first period.
White, with room to move in from the point, fired in a wrist shot at 8:25. It
was his first goal since March 2. He had scored only one goal in the final 34
regular season games.
Emmerton made it 2-0 at 15:33, beating Rinne on a two-on-one with Gustav
Nyquist. The unassisted goal came after Emmerton blocked a pass attempt
at the point by Kevin Klein.
The Predators were outshot 8-5, but had several good scoring chances.
Howard made a couple of big stops, and his team got some puck luck
around the net.
Todd Bertuzzi and Weber fought less than two minutes into the game.
Bertuzzi was seeking retribution after Weber slammed Zetterberg's head
into the glass at the end of Game 1.
Weber received only a $2,500 fine for the incident. Zetterberg was shaken
up but wasn't injured.
625737
Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings' thoughts are with fallen teammate Darren Helm before Game 2
vs. Nashville
Brendan Savage
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Detroit Red Wings have been focusing today on
Game 2 of their Stanley Cup playoff series with the Nashville Predators but
that doesn't mean their thoughts aren't also with fallen teammate Darren
Helm.
Helm is out for the remainder of the playoffs after needing surgery to repair
lacerated tendons in his left forearm.
He was cut Wednesday by the skate of Nashville's Alexander Radulov with
about 6½ minutes left in Game 1, a 3-2 Nashville victory.
This is the second time in as many seasons the Red Wings have dealt with
this type of injury. Last season, Mike Modano had a tendon in his right wrist
severed by a skate and, like Helm, he required surgery.
Helm's arm is not a pretty sight according to teammate Danny Cleary, who
visited Helm.
"You should have seen his arm, it was out to here, or whatever," Cleary
said, demonstrating the swelling in Helm's arm. "It was right at the end of
the elbow pad but he doesn't wear a (long-sleeve) shirt.
"Since Modano had his, we all wear those Kevlar wrist guards so I think
these shirt-makers should come out with something from the elbow down,
same around the feet area. We've got guys that wear those since (Valterri
Filppula) had his episode."
Filppula was cut on the leg by a skate in December.
According to Cleary, Helm's spirits are down since he missed the final 10
games of the regular season with a sprained left medial collateral ligament
before being cleared to return to the lineup a few hours before Game 1.
"How would you be, you know?" Cleary said. "He's pretty down but at least
he's – in a way – healthy. There's no nerve damage so it's a huge thing.
"His loss will be a huge loss."
Coach Mike Babcock said that while rookie Gustav Nyquist will take Helm's
spot on the third line, he won't fill the void created by Helm's absence.
"We're disappointed for him," Babcock said. "He's a heck of a kid. He loves
hockey and it shows in the way he plays. Disappointing that he came off an
injury. We spent a day talking about how important he is and the next day
talking about 'let's move on.'
"It's going to be tough for him but he's a competitor. He's got to dig and train
real hard and he'll be better next year."
Helm's injury caused Babcock to do some line shuffling.
With Nyquist on the third line, Drew Miller was bumped to the fourth line.
Justin Abdelkader will assume Helm's duties as the third-line center
between Nyquist and Cleary.
Babcock called Abdelkader "one of our best players the last game and we
need the same from him. Their third line was involved in all three of their
goals.
"You can talk all you want about seeing-eye pucks but that's what you do in
the playoffs; you go to the net, you throw pucks there, you hope it hits
something and goes in."
625738
Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings' Danny Cleary hoping pain medication will enable him to skate
like he can
Ansar Khan
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The ailing left knee Detroit Red Wings forward Danny
Cleary has dealt with most of the season – to the point where it is painful to
walk – felt much better in the playoff opener Wednesday.
Coach Mike Babcock said Cleary was one of their best forwards in Game 1
against Nashville.
Cleary said, “It was a huge difference. I felt like normal. I could skate, you
know?”
Was it the adrenaline kicking in?
“How do I phrase this the right way? I think it was more … medicine helped
a lot,'' Cleary said before Game 2 Friday at Bridgestone Arena.
Cleary is taking pain-killing injections before each game in the playoffs,
something he couldn't do in the regular season.
“It’s a little different in the playoffs,'' Cleary said. “It's not, I guess, medically
fit to take this during the regular season, so that’s why in the playoffs the
dose is a little bit better and it allowed me not to feel (the pain), so I felt like
normal. It was good.”
Cleary has some torn cartilage, causing bone-on-bone contact. The
problem stems from Baker's cysts that burst, requiring fluid to be drained
from the knee periodically. He will need surgery in the off-season. But now,
it's a matter of managing the pain.
“They (trainers and medical personnel) have done a lot for him to help him
and he seems to be feeling better,'' coach Mike Babcock said. “And if he's
feeling better he's a better player because he has to skate. That's his game.
If he skates he can be physical.
“When you're playing on one leg, you play light, and he normally plays very
heavy for his 210 pounds. When you play light, you're not very effective.''
Babcock was not pleased to hear Cleary say earlier this week that the knee
is 50 percent.
“We talked just about, ‘Hey, let’s be honest with each other,' '' Cleary said.
“But I felt like 100 percent last game, so that was huge.”
Cleary struggled down the stretch while coping with his knee problems. He
had one goal, five assists and a minus-10 rating over the final 20 games.
He was coming off his most productive season, with career highs in goals
(26) and points (46) in just 68 games.
“Dan Cleary's a great skater who knows how to play,'' Babcock said. “When
you show team clips, Dan Cleary's usually in them all the time. This year he
hasn't been in them, because he can't skate.''
Babcock was critical of this third and fourth lines near the end of the
season, after Darren Helm was sidelined with a sprained MCL. He felt the
units weren't providing enough energy, grit or offense, and not spending
enough time in the offensive zone.
“In order for us to win and move on, everybody has to contribute, so no
better time than now to get some timely goals and play well defensively,''
Cleary said. “That’s how it has always worked, the teams that advance
always got good depth.”
625739
Detroit Red Wings
Webering? Yeah, Shea Weber's hits to Red Wings' Henrik Zetterberg
catches Twitter fire
Josh Slagter
It's not Tebowing, but "Webering" seems to be catching on as Game 2
approaches between the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators.
Fans have taken to Twitter, posting pictures mocking the antics of
Nashville's Shea Weber, who smashed the head of Detroit's Henrik
Zetterberg against the glass at the end of Game 1 on Wednesday. (Check
out the hashtag, #webering)
Weber wasn't suspended for hit, getting fined $2,500 for what Zetterberg
later called a "dirty" play.
And by the looks of this Detroit News photo, Weber and teammate Andrei
Kostitsyn were having some fun with it at practice, too.
MLive.com readers weighed in on Weber's hit against Zetterberg, saying
the defenseman should be suspended. CBC's Don Cherry, on the other
hand, suggested Zetterberg actually provoked the hit from Weber.
Most, though, have taken the stance of MLive's Ansar Khan, who wrote the
NHL failed in not docking Weber at least one game.
At least Zetterberg came out of the incident unharmed.
So, what's the reaction of Red Wings fans of Webering? I'm guessing they'll
be able to see the humor in it if Detroit is able to tie the series tonight.
625740
Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings announce that Game 3 of playoff series vs. Nashville is sold out
Brendan Savage
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Anyone hoping to get tickets for Game 3 of the
Stanley Cup playoff series between the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville
Predators Sunday at Joe Louis Arena might have to try untraditional
methods.
The game is sold out.
The Red Wings announced this afternoon that all 20,066 tickets have been
accounted for. That said, the Red Wings are urging fans to check back
between now and Sunday in case any tickets currently on hold end up
being released.
Those tickets, if available, can be purchased at the Joe Louis Arena box
office, all TicketMaster outlets, The Hockeytown Café, Hockeytown
Authentics in Troy and DetroitRedWings.com.
Alerts on available tickets can be obtained by texting "WINGS" to 21732 or
via the Red Wings' Twitter and Facebook pages.
Finally, all fans in attendance Sunday will receive a free glow wand.
625741
Detroit Red Wings
Shea Weber's hit on Henrik Zetterberg provoked by Red Wings star, Don
Cherry says
Josh Slagter
CBC analyst Don Cherry didn't condone the antics of Nashville's Shea
Weber as he slammed the head of Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg into the glass
following Game 1 on Wednesday.
But he did understand it.
Using video, Cherry pointed out that Zetterberg hit Weber with his stick just
in between the pads on his leg before Weber grabbed him in the game's
final seconds.
"There's no excuse for what Shea did," Cherry said. "If he wanted to really
hurt him, a guy 230 pounds, 6-foot-4 ... if he wanted to really hurt him, he'd
put his head right through the glass."
Cherry also agreed with the decision of Brendan Shanahan, the NHL's
Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey Operations, to not
suspend Weber for tonight's Game 2.
"I know everybody in Detroit wants him hung," Cherry said. "I know they
wanted a couple of games, but I think Brendan did the right thing."
625742
Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings' Mike Babcock, Nashville's Barry Trotz not expecting parade to
penalty box in Game 2
Ansar Khan
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock and his
Nashville counterpart, Barry Trotz, don't anticipate seeing a parade of
players marching to the penalty box tonight in Game of their Western
Conference quarterfinal playoff series at Bridgestone Arena (7:30, Fox
Sports Detroit).
“I don't think that's going to happen,'' Babcock said after today's optional
morning skate. "I watched all the games last night, I never saw the same
kind of thing happen. I would have to say that's not likely to happen, so
there will be more even strength.''
The Predators (8.4 minutes per game) Red Wings (8.5) were the two-least
penalized teams in the NHL during the regular season. But in Game 1,
referees Chris Rooney and Brad Meier combined to call 17 penalties, and
there 14 power plays, disrupting five-on-five play.
Tonight's referees are Brad Watson and Mike Leggo.
“I think it'll probably settle down a little bit,'' Trotz said. "It was one of those
games no one had a clear answer on. It'll probably settle down to what you
saw in the other games.''
Babcock is hoping to get more ice time for Todd Bertuzzi, who played only
12:29 because he wasn't used on the power play and doesn't kill penalties.
"Even though we won the specialty teams battle (2-0), I didn't think that was
productive for our team because you didn't get the people on the ice,''
Babcock said. "If you're 22 and you to sit on the bench for six minutes and
then you go in, that's one thing. If you're 30 something and you sit on the
bench (that's another).''
625743
Detroit Red Wings
Rookie Gustav Nyquist, making playoff debut, gives Red Wings more
options with lines
Ansar Khan
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Detroit Red Wings rookie Gustav Nyquist will make
his Stanley Cup playoff debut tonight on a line with Justin Adelkader and
Danny Cleary.
But Nyquist might end the night on a different line, coach Mike Babcock
said.
The talented forward gives the team some options in Game 2 against the
Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena (7:30, Fox Sports Detroit).
"He need him to be effective. He played very well with (Pavel) Datsyuk and
(Johan) Franzen, so that's another thing we can potentially do and put
Abby, Bert (Todd Bertuzzi) and Cleary together, which we like to do,''
Babcock said. "So we'll just see how it goes.''
Nyquist is in the lineup in place of Darren Helm, who is out for the playoffs
after having surgery to repair severed tendons in his right forearm.
“He's real good with the puck, he's calm, he gives you confidence as a
coach because as a guy who's potentially going to be a top-six forward he's
not a high-risk player, he's good defensively,'' Babcock said. "The other
thing about him is he's not in hang-on mode, he thinks he's a good player,
he's confident, you can talk to him, he's not nervous when gets out there,
he doesn't play nervous, he just plays, has the puck, can spin the D and
make plays.''
Nyquist had a goal and six assists in 18 games during the regular season.
“Helm's out and you can't really replace a guy like him,'' Nyquist said. "I just
got to play my game, get in on the forecheck, get some speed and bring
some energy.''
Here are the lines and defense pairs they will start the game with:
Filppula-Zetterberg-Hudler
Franzen-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi
Nyquist-Abdelkader-Cleary
Miller-Emmerton-Holmstrom
Lidstrom-Ericsson
Kronwall-Stuart
Quincey-White
Howard (starting)
Conklin
Nashville's 6-foot-7 defenseman Hall Gill will sit out for the second game in
a row due to a bruised foot/ankle.
Here is Nashville's anticipated lineup:
Sergei Kostitsyn-Mike Fisher-Martin Erat
Andrei Kostitsyn-David Legwand-Alexander Radulov
Gabriel Bourque-Nick Spaling-Patric Hornqvist
Matt Halischuk-Paul Gaustad-Brandon Yip
Ryan Suter-Shea Weber
Roman Josi-Kevin Klein
Francis Bouillon-Jack Hillen
Pekka Rinne (starting)
Anders Lindback
625744
Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings seeking better net-front presence in Game 2 vs. Nashville
Ansar Khan
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Detroit Red Wings got plenty of pucks to the net
in Game 1 of their playoff series vs. Nashville, but not enough bodies.
Coach Mike Babcock's main message since his team's 3-2 loss was to get
to the net – and stay there – in Game 2 Friday at Bridgestone Arena.
“It's clear as day, they have the type of goaltender (Pekka Rinne) who's a
second shot guy; in other words, you're not scoring on the first one, you
better get a second one,'' Babcock said. “The only way you're getting a
second one is if you have net presence.
“To me, we were too easy to play against that way. We have to get to the
net more.''
That's a message aimed at Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, Todd
Bertuzzi and Danny Cleary.
“Detroit always has that great net presence,'' Nashville coach Barry Trotz
said. “They had a number of guys over the years that have done a great
job. We tried to box out as well as you can. I thought we collapsed at times
pretty well. Therefore, you had numbers there.''
The Red Wings got 37 shots, but 16 came on the power play. Franzen said
they need a better net-front presence while at even strength.
“It's hard to do that all the time, but you got to do the best you can to really
try to get there,'' Franzen said.
Timing is important, too.
“They kept us on the outside, when the shots came we weren't at the net,''
Holmstrom said. “You just got to beat your guy and be more determined
that you're going to go to the net.''
The Red Wings outshot the Predators 32-13 over the final two periods.
“We're not going to get (16) power-play shots (Friday), it's impossible, we
can't be on the power play that much, I don't think,'' Babcock said. “So the
reality is we got to do more at even strength. We got to put more pressure
on their (defense) and on their goaltender.''
Radulov: Helm injury 'awful'
Nashville's Alexander Radulov, whose skate cut Darren Helm's right
forearm in Game 1, resulting in severed tendons that required the Red
Wings center to have surgery Wednesday night, said he learned the extent
of the injury Thursday morning.
"It’s obviously awful,'' Radulov said. "I didn’t mean to do anything. He came
in to hit me. It’s hockey and it’s awful. A bad injury, and hopefully he will be
OK.”
Helm is out for the playoffs but expected to make a full recovery for the start
of training camp.
The injury happened in the first period, when Helm hit Radulov along the
boards.
“I made a pass and I see that he’s coming, so I was ready for the hit
because I was open,'' Radulov said. "He hit me, it was a clean hit, a big hit,
but I just fell down. I didn’t even feel anything.
"Even at the end of the game I didn’t know (about the injury). I saw that he
wasn’t playing anymore, but I didn’t think that anything serious like that
happened.''
625745
Montreal Canadiens
Monday: Come meet Habs icon Elmer Lach at Pointe Claire Oldtimers
tourney
Dave Stubbs
Elmer Lach
Canadiens great Elmer Lach on his neighbourhood rink in January 2010, on
the occasion of his 92nd birthday.
Allen McInnis, Gazette
The 43rd annual Pointe Claire Oldtimers charity hockey tournament begins
Monday, April 16 at 3 p.m. at Bob Birnie Arena (map here) with Canadiens
legend Elmer Lach and The Gazette and hockeyinsideout.com’s Dave
Stubbs dropping the ceremonial faceoff to get the six-day event underway.
The game between teams of 70-year-olds from Pointe Claire and South
Shore will start the action that will include 1,200 players from 82 teams
coming from as far afield at Switzerland, Vancouver and various points of
the U.S.
The tournament will wrap up Sunday with 15 finals, from 9 a.m. until after 6
p.m
Last year’s tourney raised more than $100,000 for charity with 52 needy
groups, most in the West Island, benefitting from the sum raised.
Tournament chairman Rudy Erfle said this year’s event aims to top 2011’s
record-setting total, the Pointe Claire Oldtimers again to hold a November
donation evening at which representatives of many charities will receive
their cheques.
A large tent erected in the arena parking lot on Maywood Ave., between
Drake and Douglas Shand avenues, will be the hub of many activities this
week, including a Friday (April 20) karaoke night and a Saturday night
dance with live music. A barbecue will operate outside the arena Friday
through Sunday, April 20-22.
All are welcome to drop by for a bite, a pint or a soft drink, and to watch the
action, with money spent on refreshments, souvenirs and a terrific silent
auction all going to a great cause.
Among the silent auction items: a winner and two guests will attend a Bell
Centre Canadiens’ game-day morning skate one Saturday next fall with
Stubbs, along with a behind-the-scenes look at the Habs dressing room and
a visit to the Bell’s press gallery high above the ice.
Canadiens’ great Elmer Lach, 94, will be onhand for a short while after
Monday’s 3 p.m. tournament faceoff to greet fans and pose for photos. A
freewill offering to the event’s charity collection would be gratefully
accepted.
Montreal Gazette LOADED: 04.14.2012
625746
Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers fall to New Jersey Devils in Game 1
By GEORGE RICHARDS
seemed to zip by. The Panthers outshot the Devils 17-12 in the final 40
minutes.
“I think there was a mix of nerves and rust out there,’’ Versteeg said. “You
don’t want to make too many excuses. We will give ourselves a chance if
we found 60 minutes. I definitely thought we were coming back. We need to
get the early lead next time.’’
This and that
Florida Panthers goalie Jose Theodore watches as New Jersey Devils'
Dainius Zubrus scores the second goal in the first period in the first game of
round one of the NHL Playoffs at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida,
April 13, 2012
Despite practicing just twice since leaving Saturday’s game early with a
lower body injury, Marco Sturm was back in the lineup Friday. Krys Barch,
who had been working with Florida’s fourth line, was a healthy scratch for
the fifth straight game. Mike Santorelli, Keaton Ellerby and Jerred Smithson
were also scratched.
CHARLES TRAINOR JR / STAFF Florida Panthers goalie Jose Theodore
watches as New Jersey Devils' Dainius Zubrus scores the second goal in
the first period in the first game of round one of the NHL Playoffs at
BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, April 13, 2012
“He has a lot of composure,’’ Dineen said Friday morning, noting Sturm’s 61
postseason games compared to three for Barch. “He has a skillset that’s
both offensive and responsible on the defensive side. Like a lot of our
players, he’s pretty diverse.”
Florida got off to slow starts in all but one of the four games against the
Devils during the regular season, falling behind early on in three.
• The Panthers had to battle fans tossing rats onto the ice following goals in
the second period goals. Public address announcer Jay Rokeach pleaded
with fans not to return to the tradition set in 1996 as the NHL changed the
rules the following season.
Why would the playoffs be any different?
Despite coach Kevin Dineen stressing a fast start, the Panthers
surrendered three goals in the opening period as the Devils moved up and
down the ice with ease. Then came the second. Florida scored twice in the
middle frame but the Devils muddied things up in the third and held on for a
3-2 win in front of an announced crowd of 19,119 at BankAtlantic Center.
New Jersey now holds a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series; Game 2 is Sunday
at 7:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Net).
Florida could be charged with a two-minute bench minor if the game is
delayed for fans throwing the rubber rodents onto the ice. Of course, that
has yet to happen.
• Fans weren’t too pleased with the officiating crew as the Devils had six
power play chances to Florida’s three. New Jersey had a 5-1 power play
advantage in the second period before the Devils picked up a pair of
penalties within a two-minute span.
“The next one is the biggest game and it goes from there,” said goalie Jose
Theodore, who faced a Panthers postseason record 26 shots in the
opening period. “You definitely don’t want to go into their building down 2-0.
We settled down in the second and it turned out to be too late. We have to
be ready from the start.”
• Dan Marino, wearing a custom No. 13 Panthers jersey, dropped the
ceremonial opening puck. Marino came to Sunrise in style, flying in on the
helicopter of Panthers’ part-owner Mike Maroone.
Dineen said he didn’t feel his team showed any opening night jitters
although it was apparent the Panthers’ defensemen — who collectively had
the least postseason experience — weren’t ready for prime time early on.
New Jersey
3
0
0
—
Florida
2
0
—
2
The Devils took their first lead 6:31 in when Panthers-killer Patrik Elias
dipped and dodged and put his team’s 13th shot past Theodore. Later in
the period, Shawn Matthias — also making his postseason debut — put an
elbow into New Jersey’s Andy Greene.
First Period—1, New Jersey, Elias 1 (Zubrus, Salvador), 6:31. 2, New
Jersey, Zubrus 1 (Clarkson, Brodeur), 14:11 (pp). 3, New Jersey, Carter 1,
14:56. Penalties—Matthias, Fla, double minor (high-sticking), 10:18;
Fleischmann, Fla (cross-checking), 16:35.
Instead of being called for a two-minute minor for elbowing, Greene
smacked himself with his own stick drawing blood. The ref only saw the
blood and Matthias was given a four-minute penalty for high-sticking.
Second Period—4, Florida, Bergenheim 1 (Goc, Samuelsson), 7:44. 5,
Florida, Versteeg 1 (Samuelsson, Fleischmann), 15:42 (pp). Penalties—
Zidlicky, NJ (delay of game), 3:03; Wolski, Fla (interference), 9:01; Wolski,
Fla (tripping), 11:57; Gionta, NJ (tripping), 15:23; Elias, NJ (roughing),
15:42; Weiss, Fla (slashing), 15:42; Volchenkov, NJ (interference), 17:23.
Florida came close to surviving the extended power play, but with eight
seconds remaining, Dainius Zubrus walked in on Theodore after Jersey
goalie Martin Brodeur (5-0 against the Panthers in the postseason) started
the play with a slick pass to David Clarkson.
Devils 3, Panthers 2
0
3
Third Period—None. Penalties—Versteeg, Fla (hooking), 15:35.
Shots on Goal—New Jersey 26-6-6—38. Florida 9-11-6—26.
Less than a minute later, former Panthers winger Ryan Carter got around
Ed Jovanovski and made it 3-0 with 5:04 left in the period. New Jersey’s 26
shots on goal were the most in a postseason game since San Jose had 27
in a period against Calgary four years ago.
Power-play opportunities—New Jersey 1 of 6; Florida 1 of 3.
“It’s tough to spot them three goals in the playoffs. We obviously needed a
better start,” Jovanovski said. “We scratched and clawed for space in the
second and third and got some goals. We just ran out of time. It’s never fun
giving up [26] shots. Theodore really kept us in the game.”
A—19,119 (17,040). T—2:17. Referees—Eric Furlatt, Francois St. Laurent.
Linesmen—Steve Barton, Greg Devorski.
Said Dineen: “Twenty-six shots was pretty indicative of the play in the first
period. It didn’t look pretty. Their pressure was a big difference. We got
outplayed in our own building.”
The Panthers roared back in the second and didn’t much resemble that
team in the first. The Panthers looked sharp with the puck and finally broke
Brodeur when Sean Bergenheim (nine goals with Tampa Bay last spring)
continued his host postseason ways by scoring 7:33 into the period.
Bergenheim’s goal gave the large red-clad crowd some hope and the place
went crazy with 4:18 left in the second when Kris Versteeg put the puck
between Brodeur’s skates to make it 3-2.
Yet that was all the Panthers could get. The Devils clogged up the middle of
the ice in the third as they went into prevent mode as the third period
Goalies—New Jersey, Brodeur 1-0-0 (26 shots-24 saves). Florida,
Theodore 0-1-0 (38-35).
Miami Herald LOADED: 04.14.2012
625747
Florida Panthers
Former Florida Panthers coach Pete DeBoer makes his return
By Christina De Nicola
Asked Thursday on WQAM’s Kup & Goldie Show whether facing DeBoer’s
Devils would be added motivation, goaltender Scott Clemmensen laughed it
off.
“I don’t think so. We’re all professionals here,” Clemmensen said. “It doesn’t
matter if a guy got yelled at in the past or not. No matter what the case was,
Pete DeBoer was a coach of the past and we’re all trying to win and we’re
all trying to pull on the same rope. The fact that he’s now on the opposing
team, I don’t think it means that we want to win anymore than say if we
were playing the Rangers.
Devils coach Pete DeBoer opened his press conference Friday morning
with a laugh when a reporter brought up what happened in that same room
a year earlier.
“It’s still the playoffs, we still want to do our best, we still have to play our
best in order to win this series. I don’t think it has a little extra motivation
because the motivation is there enough.”
As part of the Florida Panthers’ rebuilding process, general manager Dale
Tallon — then heading into his second year with the organization — fired
DeBoer on April 10, 2011.
• NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was in attendance and had this to say
about the Panthers’ success this year: “I’m here in Florida, and it’s great to
see. The fans here are thrilled that the 12-year drought is over. I know
[owner] Cliff [Viner], Dale and [assistant general manager] Michael [Santos]
are thrilled it’s over. I think there are good times ahead for this franchise. I
think it’s well on the right path.”
“It’s a little nicer feeling, that’s for sure,” said DeBoer, whose team defeated
third-seeded Florida 3-2 in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series at BankAtlantic
Center.
DeBoer, who was hired by former Panthers coach/GM Jacques Martin
following the 2007-08 season, was a highly respected junior coach when he
took the job. He helped turn the Plymouth and Kitchener franchises into
OHL winners.
In his first year with Florida, the team earned 93 points — second-most in
franchise history — but missed out on a tiebreaker to the Canadiens. Over
the next two years, however, the Panthers finished a combined 62-77-25
with 149 points. That included the first last-place finish in the Eastern
Conference and an NHL-record 10th-year out of the playoffs.
“When you work the last two years like I did under the circumstances we
were in and how we finished, there was friction with everybody,” DeBoer
said. “That’s the bottom line. You miss the playoffs two years in a row …
We pushed people maybe beyond what they were capable of doing, and
there was friction there. But I don’t think you go through a situation like we
did for two years without friction with everybody. Not personal, it’s just the
spot we were in.”
As part of Tallon’s plan for the future, top players like Nathan Horton, Jay
Bouwmeester and Olli Jokinen were traded at February’s trade deadline
when the team couldn’t overcome key injuries to Radek Dvorak, Bryan
McCabe and Cory Stillman.
On the final day of the regular season, an AHL-dominated roster snapped a
10-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory against the Capitals. Over the final
20 games, the team mustered just four wins.
According to defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who played in 72 games last
season, the losses began to wear on everyone.
“[DeBoer’s] a good coach,” Kulikov said. “He brings his own coaching style.
Every coach is different. Maybe every coach is a little bit the same way
when the team is losing and things aren’t going the way you want them to
go. Obviously you’re going to be pissed off and yell here or there.”
Now, a year later, DeBoer has led his new team to the playoffs after it
missed out on the postseason last year for the first time since 1995-96. The
sixth-seeded Devils finished with a 48-28-6 record and 102 points.
“It’s nice to get back,” DeBoer said of South Florida. “I liked my time here. I
appreciated the opportunity, met great people. I’m very happy for Stephen
Weiss and Bill Torrey. [They’ve] seen just about everything here and
deserve the type of success they’re getting. It’s nice to be back, but we’ve
got to win. That’s the bottom line.”
During the regular season, the Panthers finished 2-1-1 against their former
coach, including a 4-3 comeback victory in the series opener on Nov. 21.
But only nine of the 23 players currently in Florida’s lineup were on the
roster for DeBoer’s final game manning Florida’s bench.
“There’s not many guys left,” DeBoer said. “I was even amazed Weiss and
[Shawn] Matthias were the only guys I coached up front in the lineup
[Friday]. It’s a different team and a dangerous team. I think they created a
lot of depth. I think they play the right way. And I think [coach] Kevin
[Dineen]’s done a great job getting buy-in from everybody. There’s no doubt
having worked down here they’re going to be a tough team just because
they’re in and they’re playing with nothing to lose. That’s a dangerous
team.”
625748
Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers Game 1 Notebook: Oh, Danny Boy ... Marco Sturm
Returns
GEORGE RICHARDS
Dan Marino, wearing a custom No. 13 Panthers jersey, dropped the
ceremonial opening puck.
Marino came to Sunrise in style, flying in on the helicopter of Panthers' partowner Mike Maroone.
Marino, it should be noted, retired from the Dolphins on March 13, 2000. On
April 13, 2012
, he dropped the first puck on the Panthers first playoff game since April
2000.
Florida started its 2000 series against the host Devils on April 13, 2000.
--Despite practicing just twice since leaving Saturday's game early with a
lower body injury, Marco Sturm was back in the lineup Friday.
Krys Barch, who had been working with Florida's fourth line, was a healthy
scratch for the fifth straight game. Mike Santorelli, Keaton Ellerby and
Jerred Smithson were also scratched.
“He has a lot of composure,'' coach Kevin Dineen said Friday morning,
noting Sturm's 61 postseason games compared to three for Barch. “He has
a skillset that's both offensive and responsible on the defensive side. Like a
lot of our players, he's pretty diverse.''
Rats() The Panthers had to battle fans tossing rats onto the ice following
goals in the second period goals.
Public address announcer Jay Rokeach pleaded with fans not to return to
the tradition set in 1996 as the NHL changed the rules the following season.
Florida could be charged with a two minute bench minor if the game is
delayed for fans throwing the rubber rodents onto the ice. Of course, that
has yet to happen.
() Fans weren't too pleased with the officiating crew as the Devils had six
power play chances to Florida's three. New Jersey had a 5-1 power play
advantage in the second period before the Devils picked up a pair of
penalties within a two-minute span.
Rats photo courtesy of Miami Herald Staff Photographer Joe Rimkus Jr. To
see his 25-shot gallery from Friday's game, .
Posted by George Richards
625749
Florida Panthers
Round 1 Goes to the Devils: Fast Start by Jersey leads to Panthers Deficit,
3-2 Loss in Opener
GEORGE RICHARDS
Florida got off to slow starts in all but one of the four games against the
Devils during the regular season, falling behind early on in three.
Why would the playoffs be any different?
Despite coach Kevin Dineen stressing a fast start, the Panthers
surrendered three goals in the opening period as the Devils moved up and
down the ice with ease. Then came the second. Florida scored twice in the
middle frame but the Devils muddied things up in the third and held on for a
3-2 win in front of an announced 19,119 at BankAtlantic Center.
New Jersey now holds a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series; Game 2 is Sunday
at 7:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Net).
“The next one is the biggest game and it goes from there,'' said goalie Jose
Theodore, who faced a Panthers postseason record 26 shots in the
opening period. “You definitely don't want to go into their building down 2-0.
We settled down in the second and it turned out to be too late. We have to
be ready from the start.''
Dineen said he didn't feel his team showed any opening night jitters
although it was apparent the Panthers' defensemen – who collectively had
the least postseason experience – weren't ready for prime time early on.
The Devils took their first lead 6:31 in when Panthers-killer Patrik Elias
dipped and dodged and put his team's 13th shot past Theodore. Later in
the period, Shawn Matthias – also making his postseason debut – put an
elbow into New Jersey's Andy Greene.
Instead of being called for a two minute minor for elbowing, Greene
smacked himself with his own stick drawing blood. The ref only saw the
blood and Matthias was given a four-minute penalty for high-sticking.
Florida came close to surviving the extended power play, but with eight
seconds remaining, Dainius Zubrus walked in on Theodore after Jersey
goalie Martin Brodeur (5-0 against the Panthers in the postseason) started
the play with a slick pass to David Clarkson.
Less than a minute later, former Panthers winger Ryan Carter got around
Ed Jovanovski and made it 3-0 with 5:04 left in the period. New Jersey's 26
shots on goal were the most in a postseason game since San Jose had 27
in a period against Calgary four years ago.
“It's tough to spot them three goals in the playoffs. We obviously needed a
better start,'' Jovanovski said. “We scratched and clawed for space in the
second and third and got some goals. We just ran out of time. It's never fun
giving up [26] shots. Theodore really kept us in the game.''
Said Dineen: “Twenty-six shots was pretty indicative of the play in the first
period. It didn't look pretty. Their pressure was a big difference. We got
outplayed in our own building.''
The Panthers roared back in the second and didn't much resemble that
team in the first. The Panthers looked sharp with the puck and finally broke
Brodeur when Sean Bergenheim (nine goals with Tampa Bay last spring)
continued his host postseason ways by scoring 7:33 into the period.
Bergenheim's goal gave the large red-clad crowd some hope and the place
went crazy with 4:18 left in the second when Kris Versteeg put the puck
between Brodeur's skates to make it 3-2.
Yet that was all the Panthers could get. The Devils clogged up the middle of
the ice in the third as they went into prevent mode as the third period
seemed to zip by. The Panthers outshot the Devils17-12 in the final 40
minutes.
“I think there was a mix of nerves and rust out there,'' Versteeg said. “You
don't want to make too many excuses. We will give ourselves a chance if
we found 60 minutes. I definitely thought we were coming back. We need to
get the early lead next time.''
625750
Florida Panthers
NHL boss Bettman: Good times ahead for Panthers, South Florida hockey
By Craig Davis
SUNRISE Commissioner Gary Bettman, on hand to watch the Panthers’
first playoff game in 12 years on Friday night, said this turnaround season
has shown a resiliency for the franchise and believes “there are good times
ahead” for hockey in South Florida.
“The buzz is great. I get down here a lot, and the buzz down here has been
great all season,” Bettman said. “I’m happy for the fans down here that
have so loyally and spectacularly supported this franchise over the years.
… This is a team that through some lean times has gotten really good fan
support, and it is only going to increase as the team’s performance
increases.
Bettman has been a consistent supporter of the franchise while some
factions within the league have questioned the staying power of this and
other franchises in so-called non-traditional hockey markets.
“Teams are making their own traditions[through] game presentation, how
fans interact. Whether it’s red here or gold, in Nashville. Everybody is doing
it different, but the fans are connecting everywhere in increasing numbers,
and that’s the positive sign,” he said.
Bettman cited record revenues the past seven years and record attendance
six of the past seven years as positive signs league-wide. He said having all
first-round playoffs games televised is helpful in showcasing the league at
its best, and pointed to strong ratings in the early games.
The NHL will face a challenge later this year with the collective bargaining
agreement due to expire Sept. 15. Donald Fehr, former chief of the major
league baseball players union has taken over that roll for NHL players.
Negotiations have not begun.
“There’s no immediate pressure. We’re ready whenever the unon is ready,”
Bettman said.
Not quite full house
The first playoff game at BankAtlantic Center drew an announced
attendance of 19,119, falling short of a sellout by “a couple hundred tickets,”
said Michael Yormark, Panthers president and COO.
There were scattered empty seats in all three levels. The South Florida
sports dollar was spread thin Friday with the Marlins opening their first
homestand at Marlins Park, and the Heat also playing at home.
“You’re never goingt to have a 100-percent show rate. But we’re very
pleased with the response from the marketplace, and this is something we
can build on moving forward,” Yormark said.
“These are all Florida Panthers fans. They’re not rooting for an opponent,
they’re rooting for the Florida Panthers. We haven’t had that in a long time.”
Sun Sentinel LOADED: 04.14.2012
625751
Florida Panthers
Martin Brodeur beats Florida Panthers for 100th career playoff win
By Mike Berardino
After notching his 100th career playoff victory, future Hall of Famer Martin
Brodeur shared one of the many timeless truths he’s learned over these
past two decades in the NHL.
“Goalies steal games in the playoffs,” Brodeur said after his New Jersey
Devils held on for a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Friday night in
Sunrise.
Brodeur, who turns 40 on May 6, wasn’t talking about himself on this 24save night. He was talking about the hot start Jose Theodore (35 saves)
had in the opening minutes for the Panthers.
Even though the Devils were clearly dominating play on their way to a 26-9
shots-on-goal advantage after one period, Theodore made several pointblank saves that had Brodeur concerned from across the ice.
“He was on his way to doing that,” Brodeur said of his goalies-stealinggames maxim. “Then we broke the ceiling on him. We were able to solve
him, and that kind of relieved everybody.”
It was a heads-up assist from Brodeur that helped get the Devils going. Up
1-0 and on the power play 14 minutes in, Brodeur took advantage of a
Panthers shift change and hit winger David Clarkson in transition.
That set up Dainius Zubrus for the goal and marked Brodeur’s 41st career
assist.
“I didn’t see them change,” Brodeur said. “I saw Clarkie open. The puck
was kind of wobbling a little bit, so I knocked it down. Pretty easy pass to
make. Nice play by them.”
There weren’t enough nice plays in the first 15 minutes for the Panthers,
who quickly fell into exactly the sort of hole they hoped to avoid after a 12year playoff drought.
How long ago was that?
Brodeur was still just 27 when he did the honors in that four-game, firstround sweep of the Panthers.
The Devils, on their way to Brodeur’s second Stanley Cup championship,
squeezed out three one-goal wins, including a 4-3 decision in the opener,
before racing off with a 4-1 win in the clincher.
That experience allowed Brodeur to give his teammates a rare scouting
report on the Panthers’ home playoff crowd.
“In 2000, it was similar,” Brodeur said. “It’s a good crowd, a rowdy crowd.
It’s a lot of fun to play here, especially in the regular seaseon when you’ve
got a lot of people from New Jersey coming up and stuff. But the playoffs,
they get great support. That’s what I was telling the guys: ‘Don’t think it’s
going to be like a regular-season game here. It’s going to be playoff
hockey.’ ”
That meant a spirited comeback effort from the Panthers, who nearly dug
themselves all the way out of that 3-0 hole. In the end, though, Brodeur was
able to make the Devils’ hot start hold up.
“We just wanted to play simple hockey early on to try to make sure the
crowd wasn’t a factor for them,” Brodeur said. “But it ended up being to our
benefit. We kept it simple and they forced a few plays and we were able to
turn some pucks over and get some offense out of it. Twenty-six shots in
the opening period, that’s a good game for me. Lot of shots.”
And for Brodeur, it’s been a lot of wins over the years.
625752
Florida Panthers
So the dream finish didn't materialize. At least not for the Panthers. For
New Jersey, the third and eventually winning goal was scored by Ryan
Carter, who played seven goals for the Panthers this year. Go figure.
New Jersey's start trumps Panthers' night
We'll see soon enough what Friday means. We'll see in Game 2 Sunday
what each team learned, what each one discovered about the other.
Dave Hyde
The first lesson for the Panthers was an easy one. And costly, too.
"When you spot a team three goals, everything's hard,'' Dineen said.
SUNRISE
- Hello, and welcome to the playoffs, Panthers fans as - oops, New Jersey
just scored in the opening minutes. But welcome back after 12 years of –
oops, New Jersey just scored again – missing the post-season as – oops, it
scored yet again.
Could a good night turn bad any more quickly?
This was to be an ode to Frisday's return to the hockey playoffs, a poem of
rewarded patience. Because, in some form, what else could anyone want
after a dozen empty years than a celebration for some consequence again?
What else than to feel the post-season hum in this lonely building and a gift
to ever-suffering fans?
What else?
Well, a better start, for one.
The Panthers trailed New Jersey, 3-0, on full merit before fans really settled
into the playoffs. This wasn't the story they wanted to see, the story I
wanted to write, the story you want to read this morning of the Panthers' 3-2
loss.
"We got outplayed in our own building,'' Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said
of that first period.
As the minutes ticked away, as the score kept drfting the other way, as the
shots tilted to 26-9 in favor of New Jersey, the question was if the playoffs
would be leaving as quickly as they came.
To tell you how historically steep that 3-0 deficit looked: Only twice in their
two decades had the Panthers ever come back from being down by three
goals to win a game. That seems impossible. But twice. That's it.
"But we'd done it against them earlier this year,'' Panthers defenseman
Brian Campbell said, repeating what was said in the locker room after the
first period.
So they had that emotion going for them, as well as Sean Bergenheim
slipping in their first goal early in the second period. That was a start. A late
start. But a necessary one.
Then, midway through the second period came what the Panthers fan
waited for all these empty years. Life imitated hope. Panthers forward Kris
Versteeg scored a goal out of a scrum in front of the Devils net. The red
light glowed. Players traded punches.
Cheers rose.
Rats fell.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please don't throw rats!" the public-address
announcer, Jay Rokeach, said.
It was a game again, a playoff night after so long again. And that, right
there,, was the kind of moment this franchise once had every April and
hadn't in a miserable generation.
April, it seemed, was reserved for coach firings, general manager re-dos or
entire regime makeovers. Now a comeback seemed in the making. And a
historical one, given the previous stat.
"Sure, I thought we were going to do it,'' Versteeg said. "I think everyone on
our team thought we were going to do it at that point."
They tried. They pushed. But New Jersey is a smart and veteran team that
isn't just going to hand away games like this.
"We had some chances,'' Versteeg said. "We made some plays. We just
couldn't get the one play we needed."
The Panthers celebrated the return of playoff hockey in South Florida on
Friday. It was fun. It was good. At least right up to the first New Jersey goal.
Now they need a better start Sunday to make this post-season fun again.
625753
Florida Panthers
Devils stave off Panthers 3-2 to take Game 1 of Eastern Conference
quarterfinal
By Harvey Fialkov, Sun Sentinel
SUNRISE
All season long, Panthers coach Kevin Dineen protected the identity of his
starting goaltender as tightly as Clark Kent, but it was tough to dispute his
final choice when Jose Theodore had played 51 playoff games, including 25
in the pressure cooker of Montreal, compared to Scott Clemmensen's
seven-minute post-season resume.
So Dineen spoke "to his belly,'' tossed aside the ride-the-hot goaltender
adage and opted for Theodore instead of Scott Clemmensen, who was 3-01 in his last four starts and 4-0 against his former club, while the diminutive
French Canadian hadn't won in his previous seven starts (0-3-4).
Make that eight, albeit a heroic effort in a postseason loss, Theodore's 29th
against 19 victories.
The way the Devils came out, it wouldn't have mattered if Superman were
between the pipes.
The Devils fired 26 shots in a three-goal first period before clinging to a 3-2
victory over the Panthers in front of a nearly sold-out, red-clad, rubber rattossing, raucous crowd at BankAtlantic Center on Friday night to take a 1-0
lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal playoff series.
"They've got experience, they came ready,'' said Theodore, who faced only
12 more shots after the first period. "I don't remember the last time I had 26
shots in a period, obviously. I was just trying to give my team a chance to
win, and make every save.
"Take away that first period and we played a solid game. But in a playoff,
you can't be down 3-zip.''
Trailing 3-0 after one, the Panthers almost pulled off an historic, déjà vu-like
comeback. In former coach Pete DeBoer's first game back in Sunrise on
Nov. 21, the Panthers stormed back from a 3-0 deficit to stun the Devils 4-3
on Tomas Fleischmann's late game-winner. That was only the second time
in franchise history they had done that.
"It was talked about even after the first, that we've done it with this team
before,'' Panthers defenseman Brian Campbell said. "You always have to
rely on those things that you've done in the past. But it's frustrating. We've
got to split here [on home ice].''
The Panthers' first goal came on a brilliant individual effort by Sean
Bergenheim, as he switched from backhand to forehand so quickly that
even the iconic goaltender Martin Brodeur looked helpless at 7:44.
That fired up the rat-throwers and sparked the Panthers to slice the deficit
to one at 15:42, when Kris Versteeg swatted in a dirty goal through
Brodeur's legs for a power-play tally against the NHL's record-breaking, topranked penalty kill.
However, the Panthers managed just six harmless shots in the third period,
and an energy-sapping hooking penalty by Versteeg with 4:25 remaining
wouldn't enable them to win their first playoff game in BankAtlantic Center.
Theodore was skate-blade sharp in the early going, as the Devils peppered
him with a dozen shots until finally unlucky 13 was put in by Patrik Elias,
who zig-zagged in untouched before lifting it top shelf for a 1-0 lead at 6:31.
It was Elias' 41st playoff goal.
Perhaps having the Dolphins' legendary No. 13 Dan Marino drop the puck
for the pre-game ceremonial faceoff on Friday the 13th wasn't the best idea.
Then a four-minute minor on playoff novice Shawn Matthias set up another
flurry of shots that Theodore did handstands to keep out, until the eighth
shot of the power play with eight seconds left from No. 8 Dainius Zubrus
snuck through for a 2-0 advantage.
Just 45 seconds later, Ryan Carter, who played seven games for the
Panthers this season before he was scooped up by DeBoer, his former
coach with the Panthers, skated around a statue-esque Ed Jovanovski
before wristing in the eventual game-winner for a 3-0 lead after one.
"We were trying to be a physical team, and I think we were, and
unfortunately you end up killing six minutes in penalties,'' Dineen said. "We
need to push harder and play a more consistent game.''
Instead of rubber rats, Theodore saw rubber pucks coming at him at a
dizzying pace as the Devils finished the first-period shooting gallery with 26
shots, the most by any Panthers playoff opponent. The Flyers had 24 shots
in a 1996 Eastern Conference semifinal game.
625754
Florida Panthers
Jose Theodore tabbed to start in goal for Panthers in Game 1
By Dieter Kurtenbach
It isn't Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen's first trip to the playoffs, but the
veteran's fourth trip feels like the first.
Clemmensen backed up future Hall-of-Fame goalie Martin Brodeur in a
trifecta of playoff campaigns with the New Jersey Devils, seeing only one
game of playoff action.
Used only in emergency situations, Clemmensen opened the gate on the
bench more often than he stopped shots.
Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen wouldn't tip his hand as to who would
be the starting goalie before Friday's game -- he had both goalies leave the
ice at morning skate at the same time, a smoke screen to delay announcing
his goalie decision (the first goalie to leave morning skate is typically the
starter that night) -- but Clemmensen wasn't as sly.
Clemmensen's fourth postseason started the same way his first three did.
Jose Theodore received the initial start in net, and Dineen stuck with the
former Hart Trophy winner (league MVP) after allowing three goals in the
first period.
Before the game, Clemmensen deferred to Dineen when asked if he was
starting, but he took the somber tone that made it apparent that he was not
the chosen one.
"You're not going to see eye-to-eye [with the coach on] everything,"
Clemmensen said. "I don't believe I am more important or less important
that anyone else."
Friday was Theodore's 52nd playoff game. A career under-performer in the
postseason, Theodore earned the nickname Jose "Three-or-more" thanks
to his career playoff record of 19-28 and a goals against average of nearly
four in his last two trips.
After Theodore lost his last seven regular season games, Dineen
announced that the starting position was open for game one. After
Clemmensen won three of his final four games, speculation was that he
would be the man to start against his former team.
Clemmensen took the passing over in stride, even before it was formally
announced he wasn't Dineen's choice.
"You take it as it comes," Clemmensen said.
And when it comes, Clemmensen said he'd be ready.
This isn't my first playoff series," Clemmensen said. "But I pretty much knew
I wasn't going to play unless something bad happened. This is a unique
playoff for me… there's a very real possibility that I'll get playing time. It
might not require an injury."
"Hopefully that type of attitude works well for me. I'll be more ready, be
more prepared. I fully expect to get that possibility."
When pressed to what insight the former Devil could give to the Panthers'
starter, Clemmensen wasn't as forthcoming.
"I don't need to explain to Theo that Zach Parise is a great player, I don't
have to explain that," Clemmensen said.
625755
Florida Panthers
Playing first post-season game since 2000, Florida Panthers fall 3-2 to New
Jersey Devils
By Hal Habib
For their first playoff game in a dozen years, the Florida Panthers rolled out
all the trimmings Friday night. Fans waved red towels and tossed a few
plastic rats. Dan Marino, wearing a Panthers jersey, dropped the
ceremonial first puck. Parking, free during the regular season, was $20.
The New Jersey Devils rolled out the same old New Jersey Devils.
And that was just enough in Game 1 of their first-round series as the Devils
scored three first-period goals, then held on for a 3-2 victory at the
BankAtlantic Center.
For Florida, the disappointing start to the series nearly took a back seat to
the historic nature of the evening. A sellout crowd of 19,119 attended even
though it was the first time since April 14, 2002, that the Heat, Marlins and
Panthers were all playing at home.
Yes, the Panthers dropped to 0-5 all time in playoff games in Sunrise but at
least they're back in the playoffs, an occasion special enough to warrant the
presence of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who declared the franchise
"is really on the right path."
"It was fabulous," Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said of the atmosphere.
"There was a buzz in the stands. Our fans were certainly engaged in that
thing, and we took a little wind out of their sails with the start of the game,
but they certainly stayed engaged."
The ending, however, was similar to so many Devils games.
"That's a specialty of theirs," Dineen said of how the Devils cinched down
late. "They've played a very stingy defense for the past 20 years. That's part
of their identity, and when you spot a team three goals, everything's hard."
Dineen opted to start Jose Theodore over Scott Clemmensen in the net,
and nothing says more about how things went early than the fact Theodore
gave up three early goals yet was by far the best Panther on the ice.
"Certainly 26 shots was pretty indicative of the play in the first period, that
we did not look ready," Dineen said.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the
BankAtlantic Center. It's a safe bet Theodore will be Dineen's choice again.
Normally, Dineen said, a goaltender conceding three goals in the first
period is cause for concern, "but if he doesn't play the way he did, we're in
trouble."
The Devils twice caught Florida on line changes, first when Patrik Elias
skated in on Theodore all alone and converted, then when Dainius Zubrus
scored in the dying seconds of a Shawn Matthias penalty. Matthias had
been called for high-sticking Andy Greene, even though replays showed
Matthias' stick never left the ice. Matthias nailed Greene with a forearm,
driving Greene's own stick toward his face and drawing blood, triggering a
four-minute penalty.
"Unfortunately, you hit a guy with a shoulder and he hits himself in the head
with the stick and you end up killing a four-minute penalty," Dineen said. "I
think it caught us all off-guard because part of the game plan was to be a
physical team."
Forty-five seconds after Zubrus' goal, Carter collected a loose puck at
center ice and slotted it past Theodore for a 3-0 lead. With five minutes left
in the first period, the Panthers already were resorting to playing rallythemed movie clips on the video boards.
Sean Bergenheim, who had nine goals in 16 playoff games last season for
Tampa Bay, got Florida on the board at 7:44 of the second period.
When Stephen Gionta was called for New Jersey's first penalty, drawing a
derisive cheer, Kris Versteeg cashed in. Stephen Weiss was chased from
the ensuing faceoff, so Versteeg stepped in, won the draw, then bolted for
the net. Seconds later, the puck was on his stick, courtesy of passes by
Mikael Samuelsson and Tomas Fleischmann, and Versteeg blasted it
between Brodeur's legs to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Palm Beach Post LOADED: 04.14.2012
625756
Los Angeles Kings
But that was all the Canucks could do against a determined Brown and
equally determined Kings team.
Kings take 2-0 series lead over Canucks
"It was one of those games where I think everyone understands the edge
you can have going back to home ice," Brown said. "Now it's important for
this team to understand that and take advantage of it."
Helene Elliott
And, perhaps, to write its own playoff history.
LA Times: LOADED: 04.14.2012
VANCOUVER, Canada — Dustin Brown is not the type of captain who
screams. He's not fiery by nature, and maybe that fueled speculation the
struggling Kings would trade him before the deadline in order to turn around
a disappointing season and get a better shot at a playoff spot.
What Brown supposedly lacks doesn't matter. The physicality and fierce
determination he has brought to his game the past six weeks have proved
he's in his rightful place as the captain, a point he underscored Friday by
scoring two short-handed goals in the Kings' 4-2 playoff upset of the topseeded Canucks before an unhappy sellout crowd at Rogers Arena.
Brown's two short-handed goals tied an NHL single-game playoff record
and represented the third time in their history the Kings had scored two
short-handed goals in a playoff game. It was also only the third time the
Kings won the first two games of a playoff series. They prevailed in the first
two games of a best-of-seven quarterfinal series against Minnesota in 1968
— and went on to lose in seven games — and won the first two to clinch a
best-of-three preliminary-round series against the then-Atlanta Flames in
1976.
Adding his name to those historic notes meant only one thing to Brown,
who was initially credited with the Kings' third goal, a power-play jam at 8:30
of the third period, before it was correctly changed to Jarret Stoll.
"The only reason that you can break records in the postseason is because
you make it," Brown said, knowing that was never a sure thing as the Kings
slid to eighth in the West.
"Records are not my focus right now. I'm looking at getting wins every
game."
The Kings won both games here in convincing fashion, scoring three
power-play goals and two short-handed goals in the two games while
holding the Canucks scoreless in 10 advantages. The series will shift to
Staples Center for Games 3 and 4 Sunday and Wednesday.
The Kings on Friday let the Canucks take pratfalls in repeated failed
attempts to draw penalties. While the Canucks took dives, the Kings stood
up to everything Vancouver threw at them, boosted by a 46-save
performance from goaltender Jonathan Quick.
"It was a big effort by everybody and especially Brownie," center Anze
Kopitar said. "He's been our leader the whole season and he had a big one
tonight."
Brown scored his first goal at 19:51 of the first period. Willie Mitchell had
been sent to the penalty box at 17:54, but the Canucks couldn't get
anything
started offensively and
were badly confused defensively, and the Kings capitalized.
Goalie Roberto Luongo had made an excellent save on Kopitar with the toe
of his left skate when the Canucks' defense collapsed around him and no
one captured the rebound. Nor did anyone try to take out Brown, who rifled
a shot from the right circle.
The Canucks pulled even merely 17 seconds into the second period on
Jannik Hansen's tip of a Henrik Sedin shot, but Brown pulled off another
short-handed score — again with Mitchell in the box — to give the Kings a
2-1 lead.
After Vancouver defenseman Dan Hamhuis fell at the blue line, Brown
zipped up the right side on a breakaway. He made several nice moves
before slipping a backhander past Luongo at 5:17.
Before Friday, the only times the Kings had scored two short-handed goals
in a playoff game were April 9, 1980, on goals by Mike Murphy and Andre
St. Laurent, and May 21, 1993, on goals by Jari Kurri and Dave Taylor.
After Stoll jammed the puck home from close range for a 3-1 Kings lead,
Trevor Lewis extended that to 4-1 before Vancouver's Sammy Pahlsson
scored on a backhander with 3:38 left in the third.
625757
Los Angeles Kings
Brown's 3 goals give Kings 2-0 lead
Staff Writer
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Dustin Brown tied an NHL playoff record
with two short-handed goals and also scored on a power play, Jonathan
Quick made 46 saves, and the Kings beat the top-seeded Vancouver
Canucks, 4-2, on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.
Brown had his first playoff hat trick two nights after capping the Kings' 4-2
Game 1 victory with an empty-net goal. He entered the season with three
goals in 13 career playoff games.
Brown opened the scoring with a short-handed goal with 9 seconds left in
the first period, gave the Kings a 2-1 lead with another short-handed goal at
5:17 of the second, and completed the hat trick on a power play at 8:30 of
the third. Trevor Lewis made it 4-1 with 5:09 left.
Brown became the 13th player to score two short-handed goals in a playoff
game. John Madden was the last previous player to accomplish the feat,
doing it for New Jersey against the New York Rangers in 2006.
Quick made 22 saves in the third period, allowing only Samuel Pahlsson's
goal with 3:38 to play. Jannik Hansen also scored for Vancouver, the
Presidents' Trophy winner as the NHL regular-season points leader.
The game got off to another raucous start when Vancouver's Alex Burrows
jabbed at the puck while it was under Quick's glove 30 seconds in. After the
whistle, Quick got up and threw the puck at Burrows.
Brown gave the Kings the lead in the final seconds of the period. Anze
Kopitar intercepted Alex Edler's drop pass in the Vancouver end, cut in front
of the net and tried to deke Roberto Luongo, but the goalie kicked the puck
out and got caught up in a pile of Vancouver players. Brown promptly shot
the puck into the vacant net with former Canucks forward Willie Mitchell off
for holding.
Hansen tied it 17 seconds into the second period, deflecting Henrik Sedin's
wrist shot past Quick.
However, with Mitchell in the box again for holding, Brown scored on a
short-handed breakaway 5 minutes later. The breakaway came after
Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis fell while trying to field a back pass
from partner Kevin Bieksa at the Kings blue line.
In the third, Brown jammed the puck in from close range during a power
play to become the first Kings player to score a playoff hat trick since
Wayne Gretzky against Toronto in a conference final game in 1993.
Lewis then scored on a wraparound, and Pahlsson completed the scoring.
Note: Daniel Sedin, still out because of a concussion, resumed skating after
staying off the ice for two days. He went out in full gear in a separate group
before the morning skate.
Orange County Register: LOADED: 04.14.2012
625758
Los Angeles Kings
KINGS 4, VANCOUVER 2: Brown nets two short-handed goals as L.A.
goes up 2-0
By The Associated Press
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Dustin Brown and the Kings got a lot
more out of Vancouver's power plays than the top-seeded Canucks.
Brown tied an NHL playoff record with two short-handed goals, Jonathan
Quick made 46 saves and the Kings beat the Canucks 4-2 Friday night to
take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 Western Conference quarterfinal series.
Brown had the two-goal game two nights after capping the Kings' 4-2 Game
1 victory with an empty-net goal.
"They're huge goals," Brown said. "Special teams is a big part of playoff
hockey, and it's not often you are going to see two short-handed goals like
that."
The right winger opened the scoring with 9 seconds left in the first period,
and gave the Kings a 2-1 lead at 5:17 of the second. He became the 13th
player to score two short-handed goals in a playoff game.
In addition to giving up the two short-handed goals, Vancouver was 0 for 5
on the power play.
"Five-on-5 we played well," Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said. "The power
play is not good enough right now. Not only are we not scoring, but we're
giving up goals. That can't happen."
Jarret Stoll added a power-play goal for the Kings at 8:30 of the third, a goal
originally credited to Brown, and Trevor Lewis made it 4-1 with 5:09 left.
"You need big performances at this time of year," Brown said. "It's important
for us to understand where we're at and hit the reset button."
Quick made 22
saves in the third period, allowing only Samuel Pahlsson's goal with 3:38 to
play.
"He's a younger guy, doesn't have much experience," Kings coach Darryl
Sutter said. "He's no different than our other young skaters. They're still
learning lots about it, and they're doing a good job of it."
Jannik Hansen also scored for Vancouver, the Presidents' Trophy winner as
the NHL regular-season points leader.
Game 3 is Sunday night in Los Angeles.
The game got off to another raucous start when Vancouver's Alex Burrows
jabbed at the puck while it was under Quick's glove 30 seconds in. After the
whistle, Quick got up and threw the puck at Burrows.
Brown gave the Kings the lead in the final seconds of the period. Anze
Kopitar intercepted Alex Edler's drop pass in the Vancouver end, cut in front
of the net and tried to deke Roberto Luongo, but the goalie kicked the puck
out and got caught up in a pile of Vancouver players. Brown promptly shot
the puck into the vacant net with former Canucks forward Willie Mitchell off
for holding.
"It's just execution. Execution and communication," Canucks forward Ryan
Kesler said. "We've got to forget about what just happened and worry about
the next game."
Hansen tied it 17 seconds into the second period, deflecting Henrik Sedin's
wrist shot past Quick.
However, with Mitchell in the box again for holding, Brown scored on a
short-handed breakaway 5 minutes later. The breakaway came after
Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis fell while trying to field a back pass
from partner Kevin Bieksa at the Kings' blue line.
"They're momentum killers," Bieksa said about the short-handed goals.
"You go out on the power play looking to generate chances. A couple of
unfortunate plays and it's in the back of our net."
In the third, Stoll jammed the puck in from close range during a power play,
and Lewis scored on a wraparound. Pahlsson completed the scoring.
"It was strictly a game of special teams out there," Sutter said. "Five-on 5,
we weren't very impressive."
Also ...
Canucks defenseman Keith Ballard, playing his first game since sustaining
a concussion in early February, assisted on Pahlsson's goal. Ballard missed
30 games. ... Vancouver forward Byron Bitz served the first game of a twogame suspension for a hit to the head on Kyle Clifford in Game 1. Andrew
Ebbett took Bitz's spot in the lineup. ... Clifford sat out because of an
undisclosed upper-body injury. Andrei Loktionov took his place in the
lineup. --------KINGS 4, VANCOUVER 2
LA Daily News: LOADED: 04.14.2012
625759
Los Angeles Kings
Kopitar postgame quotes (April 13)
Rich Hammond
Anze Kopitar’s postgame thoughts…
(on Dustin Brown’s game…)
KOPITAR: “It was a big effort by everybody, especially Brownie. He’s been
our leader the whole season, and he had a big (game) tonight.’’
(on the team’s confidence level after winning two games in Vancouver…)
KOPITAR: “Pretty confident. They’re obviously a very good team. To get
two in here, it’s huge for us, but nothing is decided yet. We have to play.
We have to focus and play our game for whatever it is, the next two, three,
four games. We have to play our game and focus on that.’’
LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 04.14.2012
625760
Los Angeles Kings
Sutter postgame quotes (April 13)
Rich Hammond
Darryl Sutter’s postgame thoughts…
(on Dustin Brown’s game…)
SUTTER: “It was a strong game. Obviously he scored two shorthanded
goals, and that’s significant.’’
(on the momentum built from shorthanded goals…)
SUTTER: “Well, we scored with, what, eight seconds left (in the first period)
and they came back to start the next period and scored. So, (back and
forth). It was a game of special teams. I don’t think, 5-on-5, we were very
impressive.’’
(on his message to the team now…)
SUTTER: “Two hour and eight-minute flight. Get some sleep. See you at
the rink at 1 tomorrow.’’
(on Jonathan Quick’s game…)
SUTTER: “He’s a younger guy. He hasn’t had much experience. He’s no
different than one of our young skaters. They’re still learning lots about it,
and they’re doing a good job of it.’’
(on trying to keep the team focused going forward…)
SUTTER: “Well, we don’t have much time between games. The way the
series is, we travel and then play again, and then we have some (down)
time. We try to keep a real tight handle on playing one game at a time. You
very easily could be going home down two (games). You could be going
home tied. There’s really not much difference. You don’t get much out of
winning two games.’’
(on the confidence built from winning two games in Vancouver…)
SUTTER: “I’d have to think that when we won 13 or 14 games, down the
stretch, to get in, that we do play with confidence. We don’t really have a
problem with that. It’s more staying with the game plan.’’
(on needing to improve 5-on-5 play…)
SUTTER: “We have to play a certain style to be successful. We’re not going
to trade chances with that hockey team over there, that’s for sure, and
come out of it. Quite honestly, and I’m not saying this because we’re up
two-nothing or because we won the game, but we didn’t really play that
well. We took three bad penalties, and 5-on-5 we weren’t that strong on the
walls. We didn’t do a very good job against their defense. We were a little
better on faceoffs than we were in Game 1, but there were lots of areas that
we can get a whole lot better at.’’
625761
Los Angeles Kings
Doughty postgame quotes (April 13)
Rich Hammond
Drew Doughty’s postgame thoughts…
(on the Kings’ defensive success…)
DOUGHTY: “I think, from day one, this team has been a great defensive
team, and we’re just trying to stick to the same thing. They’ve got a lot of
speed up front. They’ve got some good shooters and a lot of talent up
there. We just have to keep things simple. We don’t want to make
turnovers. That’s one of the key things. If we’re making turnovers, the other
team is going to come back and put some pucks in the net. I think we’ve
been doing a good job with that, but we’ve still got better. Quickie, he’s
been playing great in net.’’
(on the Kings’ penalty-kill success…)
DOUGHTY: “I don’t even know if there’s anything specific. Our PK has
been good all year, doing the same things. When we’re getting the puck,
we’re making sure we’re getting (full-ice) clears. We want to get good sticks
in lanes and be hard on them, not giving them a lot of room, guys like Sedin
and Kesler. They’re good at making those passes, across seams. Once
they get the puck, we’re trying to jump them right away and create
turnovers.’’
(on the message during the second intermission…)
DOUGHTY: “Darryl came in here right away, right after the period was over,
and told us we had better. We gave up a goal on the first shift of the second
period, and going into the third he wanted to make sure we didn’t do the
same thing. We wanted to get one ourselves. He came in here and he
didn’t want us to lay off the pedal. We didn’t play a good game here tonight.
We’ve got a lot better, and we definitely have to show that.’’
625762
Nashville Predators
got three goals for them the first night. Our group did it tonight, so that’s a
real positive sort of thing.”
Nashville Predators' Alexander Radulov does everything but score
Blocked shots: In the playoffs, stats like blocked shots matter more than
they do in the regular season.
Josh Cooper and John Glennon
Detroit got down and dirty in Game 2, with 16 blocked shots to Nashville’s
10. Some of it may have had to do with the Predators’ six power plays. Still,
the Wings took pride in the numbers.
RED WINGS 3, PREDATORS 2
“We’ve been doing a great job blocking shots. Those aren’t muffins coming
in from up top there either,” goaltender Jimmy Howard said. “Guys are
standing in there taking them; but I’ve got to tip my hat to the guys in front
of me.”
JOSH COOPER’S THREE STARS
1. Jimmy Howard, G, Red Wings. Made 24 saves.
2. Johan Franzen,
F, Red Wings. Scored the game-winner.
3. Alexander Radulov, F, Predators. Notched his first playoff point since
2008.
SCRATCHES
• Predators: D Ryan Ellis, F Craig Smith, F Jordin Tootoo, F Brian
McGrattan, F Colin Wilson, D Hal Gill
• Red Wings: D Jakub Kindl, F Darren Helm, F Riley Sheahan, F Jan
Mursak, F Chris Conner, G Joey MacDonald
The Predators had a sense that Alexander Radulov eventually would be a
factor in this series.
Although the forward’s one assist didn’t lead to a victory, Nashville believes
his line with Andrei Kostitsyn and David Legwand could provide a difference
as the series moves on.
“Today they did everything in unity,” Coach Barry Trotz said after
Nashville’s 3-2 loss in Game 2 on Friday. “There was great unity on that line
in terms of supporting the puck offensively.”
Radulov set up Kostitsyn for his goal midway through the second period. He
also had several chances, including one on the power play in the first
period, and another on a two-on-one in the third period when he shot the
puck wide.
Kostitsyn also hit a goalpost late in the third period with the Red Wings
ahead 3-2.
“My line played better today because they understand coaches and guys in
the locker room were waiting for us to step up,” Radulov said. “Today, we
played good as a group and we helped each other.”
Trotz seemed to believe that the 6-foot, 214-pound Kostitsyn could wear on
the Red Wings with his big, physical game.
“Andrei Kostitsyn was an absolute bull. I think he’s going to be a factor in
this series, just as I think Radulov is,” Trotz said. “I thought they were
separating people from pucks, they were keeping plays alive, they were
putting a lot of heat on them and that’s what that line needs to do for us.”
Gill not ready: It was tough to detect any foot or leg problem with Predators
defenseman Hal Gill as he talked with reporters for the first time since he
suffered his lower-body injury.
Gill, who was hit by a shot in the April 5 game against Dallas, hasn’t played
since.
“There’s being tough and then there’s too much pride, and at this point it
would be too much pride to play,” Gill said before Game 2. “We have good
players and we can win with them.”
Gill said he would travel with the Predators to Detroit for Games 3 and 4,
but wasn’t sure of his status for Game 3.
Depth line shifts: In Game 1, Nashville’s third and fourth lines provided
goals and a spark. In Game 2, Detroit’s bottom two units went to work.
Cory Emmerton scored a goal and finished a plus-2. Drew Miller notched an
assist, and Gustav Nyquist was a plus-1 in his playoff debut in place of the
injured Darren Helm (forearm laceration).
“I thought they did good things. They were on for our first two goals, which
were really important,” Detroit Coach Mike Babcock said. “Their third line
Record low: The Predators held the Red Wings to 17 shots in Game 2,
marking Detroit’s lowest total ever against Nashville.
The Red Wings’ previous low against the Predators during a regular-season
game had been 21, and the previous low against them in the playoffs had
been 26.
“We didn’t give them a lot of room, a lot of chances,” goalie Pekka Rinne
said. “I thought overall, we played a lot better game. … It does feel a little
frustrating after that kind of effort.”
Quick turnaround: What looked like a possible scoring opportunity for the
Predators actually turned into Detroit’s second goal.
With about 4½ minutes left in the second period, defenseman Kevin Klein
spun while in the Detroit zone and fired the puck toward the net.
But Emmerton blocked the shot, took off on a two-on-one break in the other
direction and finished the play by whipping a high shot past Rinne.
“You have to manage the puck right then and there,” Trotz said. “If it’s going
to get blocked, it has to go in the corner. It has to get by that first defender
to give yourself a chance.”
Momentum swing: After the Predators pulled within 2-1 on Andrei
Kostitsyn’s goal with 10:59 remaining in the second period, Detroit’s Johan
Franzen countered by tipping in Brad Stuart’s shot 56 seconds later.
Franzen called it “a lucky bounce off my leg,” and said it was important to
reclaim momentum.
“It was good to answer right away,” he said. “It’s always huge. Otherwise
they will come with the momentum. We stopped them and took it right
back.”
Loud crowd: Howard had high praise for Predators fans.
“This building is so tough to play in,” he said. “The crowd is so electric. They
definitely feed off it. We were able to weather the storm and get on them
early. It’s tough when you’re playing catch-up hockey.”
Point prowess: Detroit defenseman Nick Lidstrom doesn’t have a point in
this series, but his next one will be a big one.
Lidstrom currently has 183 playoff points, just one point shy of tying Hockey
Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier for 10th on the all-time postseason list.
Tennessean LOADED: 04.14.2012
625763
Nashville Predators
Nashville Predators can't convert chances
John Glennon
With about 14 minutes left in the third period and Nashville desperately
trying to cut into Detroit’s two-goal lead, David Legwand set up teammate
Shea Weber for what looked like a classic Weber howitzer.
Whiff.
Seconds later, defenseman Ryan Suter set himself up for a perfect
backdoor opportunity, only to see a good pass bounce off his stick.
That was Game 2 for the Predators, who outshot and outchanced Detroit,
but all too often failed to put pucks behind Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard
during a 3-2 loss.
It was nearly the complete opposite of Game 1, when the Red Wings
controlled the game but fell prey to some of the Predators’ fortuitous
bounces.
“I thought we had a tremendous amount of chances,” said Predators Coach
Barry Trotz, whose team outshot Detroit 26-17.
“We came out and (Martin Erat) hit the goalpost. We had lots of pressure.
The power play got tons of chances. We basically had three open nets we
couldn’t convert on. … But at the end of the day, there’s only one stat that
mattered.”
Predators forward Alexander Radulov got his first point of the series when
he assisted on Andrei Kostitsyn’s goal, but on a good night, Radulov might
have had a goal or two.
Midway through the second period, he had a couple of quality chances
within a span of just over three minutes, one set up by Legwand and
another by Roman Josi. But Howard got the better of Radulov on both
attempts.
Then came the one that really hurt, as far as the Predators were concerned,
as Kostitsyn set up Radulov on a two-on-one break. But Radulov never
cleanly controlled the puck and a weak shot slid by the goalpost.
“I don’t want to look for excuses, but the ice could be better a little bit,”
Radulov said. “I’m not saying I didn’t get a good shot because of the ice, but
you could tell the puck was a little bit bouncing. … Sometimes it happens,
but you just have to battle through.”
It didn’t help the Predators that on the other end of the ice, the Red Wings
were burying their few chances.
Defenseman Ian White, who’d scored only one playoff goal prior to Game 2,
beat Pekka Rinne on a faceoff circle shot that sneaked between several
bodies and eluded the netminder.
Forward Johan Franzen closed the scoring when a puck bounced off him at
the top of the crease and slid past Rinne.
In between, Cory Emmerton, who’d never scored a playoff goal, looked like
a serious sniper when he converted a two-on-one rush by whipping a high
wrist shot over Rinne’s near shoulder.
“The first one was just one of those pucks that had eyes for the net,” Rinne
said. “There was kind of crisscrossing traffic and the puck just found its
way, and the third one just went in off Franzen’s leg … A lot of times in
those games when you don’t face a lot of shots, it seems like the ones you
do face are good scoring chances or you get a little bit unlucky.”
Detroit Coach Mike Babcock wasn’t arguing about his team’s better fortune,
but he wasn’t apologizing for it either.
“I didn’t think they had very good puck luck around the net,” Babcock said.
“It rolled over their stick or we got our foot in the way — things like that. The
other night they had good puck luck. They threw it to the net and it went in
twice on Howard.”
It seems that luck may just prove a significant factor in this series.
“I don’t think there’s much to pick between these teams,” Babcock said. “I
think we all know that. We have a chance to have a real good series.”
625764
Nashville Predators
Detroit Red Wings beat Nashville Predators
Josh Cooper
PREDATORS VS. RED WINGS
Series tied 1-1. All games on 102.5-FM.
• Game 1: Nashville 3, Detroit 2
• Game 2: Detroit 3, Nashville 2
• Game 3: Sunday at Detroit, 11 a.m., WSMV-4.
• Game 4: Tuesday at Detroit, 6:30 p.m., SportSouth.
• Game 5: April 20 at Nashville, 7 p.m., SportSouth.
• *Game 6: April 22 at Detroit, TBD
• *Game 7: April 24 at Nashville, TBD
*if necessary
When the Predators needed a big score in the regular season, the power
play was there.
Through two games against Detroit in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Nashville is
suffering from a power outage. The Predators squeaked by in Game 1
without any power-play goals, but in Game 2 they weren’t so lucky.
The Red Wings got timely scoring while the Predators couldn’t pull even
with multiple power-play chances, losing 3-2 in front of an announced
sellout crowd of 17,113 at Bridgestone Arena.
“When you have success with something all year and it doesn’t come
through for you, it’s frustrating,” defenseman Ryan Suter said. “I mean, if we
stick with it, I think it will come.”
The series is tied 1-1 as it shifts to Detroit for Games 3 and 4 at Joe Louis
Arena, with Game 3 at 11 a.m. Sunday.
The Predators went 0-for-6 on the power play for the second straight game.
Nashville led the NHL in power-play success in the regular season at 21.6
percent — despite converting at 17.6 percent against Detroit in six
meetings.
In Game 1, the Predators couldn’t get much going on their power play. They
did much better in Game 2 but still couldn’t figure out a way to beat Jimmy
Howard, who made 24 saves on 26 shots.
In the first period, Alexander Radulov couldn’t quite sneak a backhand past
Howard. Martin Erat hit a post.
“We could have scored three goals on the power play tonight easy, and we
would be talking the other way, ‘Boy the power play was really good
tonight,’ ” Coach Barry Trotz said. “We just didn’t convert on chances.”
To start the second period — with Detroit up 2-0 — the Red Wings had
three straight penalties starting at 19:34. The Predators even had a 30second five-on-three.
“During the season, we would have probably buried one and been right
back in there,” Suter said. “It has to be better and we have to get goals.”
Detroit fired 17 shots and converted three. It was the fewest shots the Red
Wings have taken against the Predators in 14 postseason meetings.
“We were better this game,” Predators captain Shea Weber said. “We didn’t
score but we had a lot of chances and some of them have to go in sooner
or later. I think we generated a lot more and had a lot more zone time and
there’s a lot of positives to take.”
625765
Nashville Predators
Weber answers for actions when asked to fight in opening minutes
By David Boclair
As it turned out, Shea Weber didn’t simply pay for his actions at the end of
Wednesday’s playoff opener with money. He also had to give up a little bit
of his time.
One day after the Nashville Predators’ captain was assessed a $2,500 fine
for his hit on Detroit Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg, he was
approached by Detroit forward Todd Bertuzzi regarding the same manner.
Weber and Bertuzzi fought 1:38 into Game 2, which the Red Wings
ultimately won 3-2 Friday at Bridgestone Arena.
“I had an idea that something was up in warm-ups, Bertuzzi sort of looked
at me and I thought if there was going to be someone [Bertuzzi] was the
one to do it,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “That’s hockey. It’s over
with. It sort of brings closure to an event.”
The event in question took place as the final seconds ticked off in
Nashville’s 3-2 victory in the series opener. Weber, in response to a hit from
behind, forcibly shoved Zetterberg face-first into the glass twice.
Zetterberg claimed the encounter left him woozy, but the fact that he was
able to play in Game 2 and Weber’s spotless record in terms of
supplemental discipline resulted in the fine but no suspension.
Detroit was not completely satisfied with that ruling.
“I just think [Bertuzzi] had to do the right thing,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock
said. “He did, and I thought it was important for our team that that
happened. I think it’s an important part of hockey.”
It actually happened at an important time too. Referees were poised to call
a penalty against Detroit when the 6-foot-3, 229-pound Bertuzzi and the 6foot-4, 232-pound Weber dropped the gloves. Their encounter was spirited
but not particularly taxing in terms of the punishment delivered by either
one.
The most significant impact of the whole thing was that Weber served the
first two minutes of his five-minute major (Bertuzzi was assessed the same
thing) while his team was on the power play. With his booming slap shot,
the defenseman is a critical part of Nashville’s power play, which was 0-6
for the second time in as many games.
“He was sticking up for his teammate,” Weber said. “I’m sure anyone in
here would do the same thing if something happened.”
Even with the time he spent in the penalty box, Weber was on the ice for
25:23, fourth among all players and slightly more than two minutes fewer
than he played in the opener. Bertuzzi’s ice time was virtually identical in
the two games, but he was confident his five minutes in the penalty box was
time well spent.
“It’s kind of something you’ve got to do,” Bertuzzi said. “You’ve got to stick
up for your teammates and do stuff like that.”
Nashville City Paper LOADED: 04.14.2012
625766
Nashville Predators
“I thought we played really well,” Rinne said. “They didn’t really get a lot.
They were tired. They had to defend a lot, but they did a good job
defending. We didn’t give them much offensively.
Predators limit Red Wings shots, not goals in 3-2 defeat
“It’s obviously frustrating when the score is this way and we created a lot of
chances.”
By David Boclair
It is tough to say that the Detroit Red Wings had it wrong all these years.
For the most part, one of the NHL’s most storied franchises has had its way
with the Nashville Predators ever since the league kicked off its most recent
round of expansion in 1998. Nashville had just 31 wins in 81 all-time
regular-season meetings and five in 13 postseason matchups.
More often than not, the Red Wings relied on their abundance of skill and
tried to overwhelm the Predators with as many shots as they could muster.
Not so this time.
The Predators lost an opportunity to take a two-game lead in their Western
Conference quarterfinal series when they fell 3-2 in Game 2 on Friday
before a sellout crowd at Bridgestone Arena. Detroit was much more
judicious than usual with its offense and managed just 17 shots – its fewest
ever against Nashville – but got one lucky bounce when the decisive goal
went in off the skate of forward Johan Franzen.
“The only thing I had to do was stop the rims and take the pucks out of my
net,” Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne said. “It was frustrating, but one of those
nights when you don’t see a lot of rubber and when you do it’s always a
scoring chance.”
The final shot total was 26-17 in Nashville’s favor. The Red Wings’ previous
lows in the series were 21 in the regular season (twice, most recently in
2003-04) and 26 in the playoffs.
The last time Detroit had fewer than 20 shots in any playoff game was May
11, 2007 and the last time it had so few was April 23, 2002, when it had 15
in a first-round victory over Vancouver.
It also was just the second time the Predators outshot the Red Wings in a
playoff game.
“I think we did a great job of blocking shots when they did get in,” Nashville
captain Shea Weber said. “We did generate a lot. We hung on to the puck
behind them, and I thought we had a good forecheck. We were able to get
pucks back, force their [defensemen] to turn the puck over and generate
some chances.
“We just have to capitalize on them.”
Weber got the Nashville within a goal when he scored with 4:44 to play and
there were some chances to tie the game after that. Most notably, Andrei
Kostitsyn rang a shot off the post, the second time a Predators player did so
in the contest.
Prior to that there were six power plays, including 30 seconds of five-onthree in the second period, none of which yielded a goal.
Detroit scored twice in the first period and never trailed. When Kostitsyn did
score at 9:01 of the second period and got Nashville within one, 2-1, the
Red Wings responded with Franzen’s goal 56 seconds later.
“I think we played a really good, strong game,” right wing Patric Hornqvist
said. “But we didn’t execute our chances on the power play and then fiveon-five too. If we keep working like we did [Friday] we know we’re going to
have success the next game.”
That game, with the series now tied at one win apiece, is a Sunday matinee
(11 a.m., NBC) at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, where the Red Wings lost just
10 times during the regular season.
“I didn’t think we were as god defensively and I thought we gave up better
chances, but I thought we had more puck luck than we did [in Game 1 on
Wednesday],” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “… We’ll take the best-offive and go back to our building and get at ‘er.”
The Predators will have to take solace in that their play created a statistical
anomaly. They gave it their best shot, but the Red Wings made the most of
theirs.
625767
Nashville Predators
Predators Gameday: Rinne expects to see plenty of red
goal.” — Babcock on how the Predators scored two of their three goals in
the opener.
• Gill returns … briefly: Defenseman Hal Gill, who missed the opener with
an injury, took the ice for the Predators’ morning skate but left the ice a
short time later.
By David Boclair
Gill said in the locker room afterward that he would not play in Game 2.
Trotz declined to say whether Ryan Ellis or Jack Hillen would play in Gill’s
place.
One of the most common reactions to defeat in the NHL playoffs is to
express a need for more traffic at the front of the net.
• Notable numbers: 0 – Predators power-play goals, on six attempts,
Wednesday. They had at least one power-play goal in each of their first four
playoff games in 2011.
Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock did not disappoint in the wake of
Nashville Predators’ 3-2 triumph Wednesday to open the best-of-seven
Western Conference quarterfinals.
“I don’t think we were hard enough on their goaltender,” Babcock said
Friday morning. “I think their goaltender made a couple huge saves. … I
don’t think you can be surprised by great saves, but you have to get enough
[pucks] there to his feet to get second chances.”
Through the first two days of the postseason (seven games), Pekka Rinne’s
35 saves tied him with Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo for the most in a
contest that did not include overtime.
Game 2 is 6:30 p.m. Friday at Bridgstone Arena (SportSouth).
“You always expect that teams are going to try to get more in your face and
maybe sometimes try to interfere with you and just put a lot of bodies in
front of there,” Rinne said.
Nashville coach Barry Trotz was not concerned with the number of bodies
in front of his goalie. He was, however, worried that the Red Wings were
too close to Rinne in Game 1 when they were there.
“I know that they had a lot of their bodies in the blue paint,” Trotz said. “If
they would have scored some goals they should have been called off — I
do know that.
“They’re going to want to get net presence. That's part of Detroit’s tactic
over the years. I could say for us, we need a lot more net presence. We
didn’t have a lot last game.”
• Play nice: Players and coaches from both teams said they did not expect
penalties to pile up the way they did two nights ago.
Nashville was called for 10 minor penalties and Detroit was called for
seven. Thus far, no other team has been whistled for more than six.
Roughing (four times) was called most often. In all, 10 different infractions
were whistled.
“I know we’re going to be more disciplined. I’m sure they will as well,”
Predators captain Shea Weber, whose roughing violation at 20:00 of the
third period was the last penalty, said. “It’s going to be fast and hard-hitting
and hopefully not as many penalties and just good 5-on-5.
“Both teams were two of the most disciplined teams during the regular
season, and last game I think everyone was just so ramped up and ready to
go that maybe we just crossed the line.”
• Injury adjustment: Gustav Nyquist, a 22-year-old rookie forward, will make
his NHL playoff debut for Detroit.
Nyquist takes the place of center Darren Helm, who sustained a serious
forearm laceration early in Game 1. The injury required surgery at
Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Helm returned for the start of the postseason after having missed the final
10 games of the regular season with a knee injury.
“We spent a day talking about how important he is and then we spend the
next day talking about ‘Let’s move on.’ ” Babcock said.
Nyquist was a fourth-round pick in 2008 and a two-time Hobey Baker
winner as college hockey’s best player at the University of Maine. He made
his NHL debut this season and had seven points (one goal, six assists) in
18 games.
• Quote of note: “We can talk about seeing-eye pucks all you want. That’s
what you do in the playoffs is you go to the net, you throw pucks there, you
hope it hits something and goes in. When it goes in against you, you say it
was a seeing-eye puck. When it goes in for you, you say that was a great
18 — power-play goals allowed by Nashville in its last 19 postseason
contests, dating back to the start of the Chicago series in 2010.
2 — times in franchise history the Predators have won consecutive
postseason home games. Both were against Detroit.
12 — of the Predators’ 26 shots (46.1 percent) in the opener were from
defensemen. Only 10 of Detroit’s 37 (27.0 percent) shots were from blueliners.
15 — giveaways by Nashville in Game. 1. That was at least six more than
any other team committed through the first two days of the postseason.
625768
New Jersey Devils
Devils Strike Early, and Brodeur Takes Over
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Martin Brodeur’s teammates came out flying. He
took care of everything else.
Brodeur stopped 24 shots for his 100th postseason win, and a three-goal
first period was enough to help the Devils spoil the Florida Panthers’ longawaited return to the playoffs in a 3-2 victory Friday night.
Patrik Elias, Dainius Zubrus and Ryan Carter scored in a span of 8 minutes
25 seconds amid a 26-shot flurry in the opening period for the Devils, while
Brodeur became just the second goalie in N.H.L. history to reach triple
figures in playoff wins. Only Patrick Roy has more, with 151.
“Two milestones — my first and his 100th,” said Devils Coach Pete DeBoer,
who spent the past three seasons on Florida’s bench, unable to end the
Panthers’ playoff drought. “It’s a lot of wins. He’s our backbone. He’s the
best ever. It’s a great accomplishment.”
Brodeur also picked up an assist for his 10th postseason point. He swept
Florida out of its last playoff appearance in 2000, and thwarted the Panthers
again in Game 1.
“Big numbers, I think, are nice to get to,” Brodeur said. “I think people
always look at 50, 100, whatever, when you start talking wins to be the
numbers to reach. Especially with only one goalie to have done it in the
past with Patrick, it’s kind of nice to be in the 100s”
Sean Bergenheim and Kris Versteeg scored for Florida, which was in its
first postseason game since losing to Brodeur and the Devils on April 20,
2000. Jose Theodore made 35 saves for the Panthers, who got two assists
from Mikael Samuelsson.
Game 2 is Sunday night.
“As a group, we’ve definitely got to tighten up and be aware of their skill out
there,” Panthers defenseman Ed Jovanovski said. “But we can take a lot of
good out of that game and try to implement it out of Game 2.”
By the time the game was barely six minutes old, the Devils had already
taken 12 shots on Theodore, who came up big time and again in the early
moments.
No matter. The breakthrough came soon enough.
Elias got the puck in the right-wing circle, deked twice as Theodore flailed
about before eventually winding up seated on the ice — and helpless as the
shot eventually sailed by for the game’s opening goal.
A double-minor against Florida’s Shawn Matthias for high-sticking came at
10:18, and the Devils kept up the attack.
And with just eight seconds left in that power play, Zubrus was rewarded,
getting alone in front of Theodore to make it 2-0.
Less than a minute later, Carter — who spent seven games with Florida this
season before being waived on Oct. 25 — picked up the puck after a
turnover, skated in and beat Theodore low to the glove side for a 3-0 lead
that left a building that had been so loud a few minutes earlier in disbelief.
“I was just trying to give my team a chance to win and make every save,”
Theodore said. “But they kept coming pretty hard.”
New York Times LOADED: 04.14.2012
625769
New Jersey Devils
DeBoer: Popular With Devils, Less So With Panthers
By LYNN ZINSER
The Devils are all in with their coach, Peter DeBoer.Tony Ding/Associated
PressThe Devils are all in with their coach, Peter DeBoer.
As the Devils begin their series against Florida, it seems that both sides are
happy that Peter DeBoer is the Devils’ coach.
It started out as an interesting detail, DeBoer playing against the franchise
where he was coach for three seasons until he was fired last year. The
Devils have made clear they believe Florida’s loss was their gain. In the
Times article Friday by Dave Caldwell, forwards Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach
Parise, as well as goalie Martin Brodeur, praised DeBoer for his openness
with players, his attention to detail.
Those opinions were not shared, however, by the Panthers, particularly
goalie Scott Clemmensen — who was for many seasons Brodeur’s backup
in New Jersey. Clemmensen said his relationship with DeBoer was
strained, although he acknowledged it might have been largely because of
the team’s lack of success.
“There was friction between (DeBoer) and a lot of players,” Clemmensen
told The Star-Ledger of Newark. “I just think that was his coaching style.”
Clemmensen said DeBoer wasn’t a “pat on the back” kind of coach, but
more of a taskmaster.
DeBoer acknowledged his relationship with Clemmensen had problems.
“When you work the last two years like I did, under the circumstances we’d
been in [in Florida], there was friction with everybody,” DeBoer told The
Star-Ledger. “We pushed people maybe beyond what they were capable of
doing. There was friction there. Not personal.”
Florida underwent an overhaul that did not stop with firing DeBoer and
replacing him with Kevin Dineen. Florida acquired a raft of new players,
including defensemen Brian Campbell and Ed Jovanovski, forwards Kris
Versteeg and Scottie Upshall and goalie Jose Theodore. The Panthers
responded by grabbing their first playoff berth in 11 seasons, ending the
N.H.L.’s longest playoff drought.
The Devils had a one-season playoff drought, missing last season for a rare
blip in the remarkably consistent franchise’s history, which led to the hiring
of DeBoer. The team bounced back and clinched a playoff bid this season,
finishing sixth in the Eastern Conference with 102 points.
625770
New Jersey Devils
Panthers remain confident in goaltender Jose Theodore after Game 1 loss
to Devils
By Andy Kent
SUNRISE, Fla. — Down on the opposite end of the ice from Devils veteran
goaltender Martin Brodeur stood another veteran, 35-year-old Jose
Theodore of the Florida Panthers, looking to rewrite his playoff history.
He did not remain standing for long in Friday night’s 3-2 Game 1 victory by
the Devils in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
But he put up quite a fight in front of a raucous and playoff-starved crowd of
19,119 at the BankAtlantic Center, withstanding a ridiculous 26 shots in the
first period to keep his team in the game.
“I thought he was really good in the first period,” said first-year Panthers
head coach Kevin Dineen. “You give up three goals in the first period and
that’s something you’re always questioning about a goalie, but if he doesn’t
play the way he did we’re in trouble. So it was a solid night for our
goaltender.”
Theodore, who is now 19-29 in the Stanley Cup playoffs, was the focal
point of the one burning question surrounding this Panthers team making its
first playoff appearance in 12 years. Dineen had to decide between
experience or the hot hand, former Devils backup Scott Clemmensen. He
went with experience, which looked like the right decision early on.
The Devils peppered Theodore with 12 shots in the first five minutes of the
game and he turned away all of them before being left on an island at the
6:31 mark. Patrick Elias had enough time to stick-handle the puck three or
four times just outside the crease and then lifted a shot over a sprawling
Theodore into the back left corner of the net.
From that point, the floodgates opened as the Devils added two more goals
to take a comfortable 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
“Obviously, in the playoffs you think it’s going to be more defensive but
they’ve got experience and they came ready,” Theodore said. “I don’t
remember the last time I had 26 shots in a period so I was just trying to give
my team a chance to win and try to make every save, but obviously they
kept coming pretty hard.”
The tables turned in the second period as Theodore stopped all six shots
he faced while his teammates beat Brodeur twice on 11 shots to cut it to a
one-goal deficit. That set the stage for an intense final 20 minutes, with
Brodeur preventing Theodore from pulling off the comeback.
Theodore led Florida to its first division championship by going 22-16-11
with a 2.46 GAA and a .917 save percentage in 53 starts. But it was
Clemmensen who was in net six days ago against the Carolina Hurricanes
when Florida clinched the Southeast Division with a 4-1 victory.
Clemmensen went 3-0-1 during a time when the Panthers were slumping,
which allowed them to hold off the Washington Capitals for the No. 3 seed.
Nevertheless, Dineen remains confident in Theodore heading into Game 2
tomorrow.
Theodore liked how his teammates responded in the final 40 minutes and
felt good about the way he played in net.
“I think when you have that many shots in the first period and you make a
couple of saves right away that helps,” Theodore said. “I felt pretty good, to
be honest, but in the playoffs it’s all about winning and tonight we lost the
game so we’ve got to bounce back. Still, tonight it’s the best I’ve felt in let’s
say the last week or so.”
Star Ledger LOADED: 04.14.2012
625771
New Jersey Devils
Devils' coach Pete DeBoer: Pressure shifts to Panthers in Game 2
Rich Chere
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Now the Devils have the Panthers where they want them.
Down by a game with the fear of going to New Jersey in an 0-2 hole.
“The pressure shifts to them. We have to get greedy now,” coach Pete
DeBoer said.
What can the Devils expect in Game 2 Saturday night at the BankAtlantic
Center?
“We know they’re not going to just lay over and let us do what we want,”
goalie Martin Brodeur said.
Ryan Carter, who scored the winning goal against his former club, said: "I
would expect a lot of the same (resiliency). That's a good team over there.
A lot of skill and a lot of speed. In the second period we kind of got away
from what we had some success with and they got into their game, up and
down the ice making plays and shooting the puck. We took some penalties,
too, and they have a good power play. I would expect them to play a game
like that."
Carter said the Devils took the crowd out of the game early on.
"We knew they were going to come out with some jam and the building was
going to be intense," Carter said. "It's been a while since they've been in the
playoffs, so they were going to come out flying. We wanted to match that
and I think we found a way.
"The mandate was keep it simple, shots on net, get rebounds and things
like that. I think we had some success doing it, they got a little frustrated,
took penalties and the power play capitalized. That's a good way to start a
road game."
Carter explained his goal.
"I ended up with the puck. It was a controlled forecheck by them and I think
they had a misread on who was supposed to get the puck and who was
supposed to go where," he said. "It allowed me to jump in there and kind of
pull it away from them.
"Then I found myself on the blue line, just chipped it past the D man (Ed
Jovanovski) for a 2-on-1. I wanted to buy a little time and shoot on my
forehand. I did that and it found its way in."
625772
New Jersey Devils
Devils: Fourth line and defense in third period highlight win over Panthers
Rich Chere
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Sure, Devils' coach Pete DeBoer picked up his first career
playoff win and Martin Brodeur became only the second goalie in NHL
history to win 100 games in the postseason.
But what truly made the Devils feel good about their 3-2 victory over the
Florida Panthers Friday night was not those numbers. It was key two
elements to their success:
1. A winning goal from fourth-line winger Ryan Carter.
"Game-winning goal and probably five or six critical shifts in the third period
when our guys were starting to get fatiugued," coach Pete DeBoer pointed
out. "We talked between the second and third about the importance of
those (fourth line) guys."
2. The ability to hold onto the lead when it appeared to be slipping away.
Other teams in this postseason (did someone mention the Pittsburgh
Penguins?) haven't been able to do it.
"I thought we were great in the third period," captain Zach Parise said.
Back on Nov. 21, in DeBoer's first game back to Florida, the Devils took a
3-0 lead in tyeh first period and then gave up two goals to the Panthers in
the second. They went on to lose that one, 4-3.
"I'm sure it lingered in the back of some people's minds," Parise said.
But this time the Devils held onto the one-goal lead.
"You have to give then credit," DeBoer said of the Panthers. "That's push
back by them. Can we handle that a little better? Probably."
On the other hand, everyone was pleased with the way the Devils took the
BankAtlantic Center crowd of 19,119 out of the first playoff game in that
building since 2000.
"We knew those guys were going to make a push," Patrik Elias said. "I kind
of expected both teams to be rusty but we did a pretty good job actually in
the first period."
Three goals against Jose Theodore.
"That's how you want to start the first period of the Stanley Cup playoffs,"
DeBoer said.
625773
New Jersey Devils
This time the Devils held onto the lead for their coach and for themselves.
“It’s a good thing to remind us it’s not going to be easy,” Elias said.
Devils barely able to hold onto lead as they defeat Florida Panthers 3-2 in
Game 1 of NHL playoffs opening round
Rich Chere
SUNRISE, Fla. — Pete DeBoer was almost giddy from relief. His first
Stanley Cup coaching victory was safely in the books.
But DeBoer doesn’t forget much and he didn’t need reminding that in his
initial return back on Nov. 21 to the place where he began his NHL
coaching career, the Devils had blown a 3-0 lead in what ultimately turned
into a deflating loss.
“That was so long ago I barely remember it,” DeBoer said with a laugh after
the Devils closed ranks and held on for a 3-2 victory over the Florida
Panthers Friday night at the BankAtlantic Center in the opening game of
their quarterfinal series.
“If you believe that,” DeBoer said, “I have a plot of swamp land in Florida I
still own.”
He may have sounded like Don Rickles, but DeBoer was serious in claiming
he was confident the Devils could hold onto this one.
“We’re at a different point in the season. I feel very comfortable with our
ability to play with a lead and to play in those situations much more than I
did at that point in the season when we were here the first time,” DeBoer
said. “So, while it crosses your mind, my comfort level was real high.”
After seeing the three-goal lead cut to one in the second period, the Devils
played the kind of third period they will need if they are to go deep into
these playoffs. They held the Panthers to six shots and protected the lead
as goalie Martin Brodeur posted his 100th career playoff victory.
“Great. Two milestones,” was DeBoer’s response. “My first and his 100th.
That’s a great accomplishment.”
Brodeur’s 100 wins are second on the all-time list to Patrick Roy’s 151.
“It’s nice. Only one goalie has more than 100 wins,” Brodeur said after
making 24 saves. “It’s not something I was looking at. That’s a stat that is
out there for people to enjoy.”
And DeBoer’s first?
“That’s great for him,” Brodeur said. “I’m sure he’ll get a lot more than me if
he coaches like that. That’s great. Even for Kovy (Ilya Kovalchuk). That’s
his second win, isn’t it?”
Comedians, these Devils.
But they stunned the crowd of 19,119 celebrating the Panthers’ first playoff
games since 2000 by scoring three goals in the first period.
On his 36th birthday, Patrik Elias displayed some finesse when he faked
Panthers’ goalie Jose Theodore to the ice and lifted in a shot from a sharp
angle at 6:31.
Then, in a span of 45 seconds, the Devils struck twice. Dainius Zubrus
made it 2-0 on a play started by passes from Brodeur and David Clarkson
before fourth-line winger Ryan Carter took advantage of a mixup at the blue
line and skated past Florida defenseman Ed Jovanovski to score at 14:56.
“I didn’t think the game was over,” Zubrus said. “They had two periods and
we know how much firepower they have. There is a reason why they won
their division.”
It wasn’t over. Sean Bergenheim scored at 7:44 of the second and Devils
killer Kris Versteeg added a power-play goal after a Stephen Gionta penalty
to make it a one-goal game.
“We went into the third and protected the lead,” Clarkson said. “That’s
where I think we’re going to be good.”
No surprise to Panthers’ coach Kevin Dineen.
“That’s a specialty of theirs. They’ve played a very stingy defense for the
past 20 years,” Dineen said. “It’s a part of their identity and when you spot a
team three goals, everything’s hard.”
625774
New Jersey Devils
Devils-Panthers Game 1 Eastern Conference quarterfinals: As they play
Elias gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 6:31 when he took a Zubrus pass in the
right circle, held onto the puck and faked Theodore to the ice. Elias then
lifted a shot over the goalie inside the far left post for his 41st career playoff
goal.
It was announced as Elias's 27th goal, but of course it was his first of the
postseason. He had 26 during the regular season.
Rich Chere
Devils are outshooting the Panthers, 13-4.
Marco Sturm couldn't control a centering pass in front at 9:40.
SUNRISE Fla. -- Martin Brodeur made his 170th straight playoff start as the
Devils opebed their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the
Florida Panthers Friday night at the BankAtlantic Center.
Jose Theodore was in goal for the Panthers.
Adam Larsson, Eric Boulton and Cam Janssen were healthy Devils
scratches.
Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino dropped the ceremonial
first puck.
Stephen Gionta, Adam Henrique and Mark Fayne made their Stanley Cup
playoffs debuts.
Shawn Matthias was sent off at 10:18 with a double minor for high-sticking
Greene.
Kovalchuk lost the puck off his stick as the power play entered the final
minute. Elias skated in and fired a shot that just missed the net. Elias raised
his stick as the puck trickled past the right post.
But the Devils took a 2-0 lead when Zubrus scored with eight seconds
remaining on the power play. Clarkson chipped the puck ahead to Zubrus in
the right circle and his shot beat Theodore on his stick side at 14:11.
Brodeur received the secondary assist on the goal.
THIRD PERIOD
Then, 45 seconds later, Carter beat Ed Jovanovski at the blue line and then
snapped a shot from the right circle past Theodore's far glove side.
Theodore stopped Parise as he skated in alone at 10:10.
Devils outshooting the Panthers, 23-6.
Versteeg was called for hooking at 15:35.
Tomas Fleischmann was called for cross-checking Salvador at 16:35.
SECOND PERIOD
Coach Pete DeBoer probably toned down his team's enthusiasm between
periods. The Devils also took a 3-0 lead in the first period in Florida on Nov.
21 and wound up losing that game, 4-3.
Gionta was knocked down on a hit from Florida's Jason Garrison along the
end boards at 2:49.
Zidlicky was sent off for delay of game at 3:03. The Devils killed off the
penalty.
The Panthers cut the Devils' lead to 3-1 at 7:44 when Sean Bergenheim
skated past Volchenkov in the right circle and beat Brodeur on his far stick
side. Fans littered the ice with plastic rats which has been passed out
moments before.
Wojtek Wolski was called for interference at 9:01. Florida killed off the
penalty but Wolski went right back to the box at 11:57 for tripping Harrold.
Clarkson knocked Panthers' defenseman Mikael Samuelsson down and
Jovanovski confronted the Devils' right winger at 15:23. Gionta, playing in
his first Stanley Cup game, was called for tripping and the Panthers
capitalized.
Kris Versteeg, who killed the Devils during the regular season, drove to the
net from the left side and jammed the puck under Brodeur at 15:42 to bring
Florida to within a goal, 3-2.
Volchenkov pulled Scottie Upshall down at 17:23 and was sent off for
interference.
The Devils were outshooting the Panthers, 32-20.
End of period: Devils 3, Panthers 2
FIRST PERIOD
The Devils started the Petr Sykora-Patrik Elias-Dainius Zubrus line with
Andy Greene and Mark Fayne on defense.
Other lines: Zach Parise-Travis Zajac-Ilya Kovalchuk; Alexei PonikarovskyAdam Henrique-David Clarkson; Ryan Carter-Stephen Gionta-Steve
Bernier. Defense: Bryce Salvador-Marek Zidlicky; Anton Volchenkov-Peter
Harrold.
Ponikarovsky had a scoring chance at 1:38 off a faceoff won by Henrique.
Elias nearly scored on a breakaway at 3:04. A pass from Salvador sent in
him alone but his shot hit Theodore in the right shoulder. The goalie turned
and looked into his net but the puck had dropped to the ice right next to
him.
Theodore stopped a Fayne shot from the right point at 4:58 WITH Zajac
providing a screen.
Parise picked up a long rebound and was looking at an open right side of
the net at 5:33 but couldn't get a bouncing puck to settle down in the right
circle.
The Devils outshot the Panthers, 26-9.
End of period: Devils 3, Panthers 0
625775
New Jersey Devils
Devils' Petr Sykora wants to play again next season, hopefully in New
Jersey
Rich Chere
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Devils winger Petr Sykora hopes that his 21-goal
performance this season is enough to merit another contract for next
season.
And he hopes it will be with the Devils.
“Of course I want to play. I would love to play here. What is going to
happen, I don’t know. I’ve been disappointed before, like after the
Pittsburgh season," Sykora told The Star-Ledger.
“I’m not worried right now about what is going to happen next season. I’m
just going to worry about the playoffs and after this season we’ll see. I want
to play next next in the NHL and hopefully I will.”
He said he isn't worried about whether his chances to come back again
next season will hinge on his performance in the playoffs.
“If I worried about my future, I would drive myself crazy after Game 1 of the
regular season," Sykora told me. "So I’m not going to worry about that now.
I have the same approach I had during the regular season, take it game by
game and try to do as much good for this team as possible. Then, let’s see
what happens when it’s all over.”
Six of Sykora's 21 goals were game-winners. He finished with 44 points (23
assists), playing in all 82 regular season games.
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New Jersey Devils
through the rehab I kind of had a feeling I'd be back. I'm 100 percent. I
haven't had anything to be a cause for concern. Physically and mentally I
feel good."
Devils' Martin Brodeur knows Jose Theodore since he was a young teen
And what about David Clarkson and his lower body injury?
Rich Chere
"No matter what was wrong, I was going to play Game 1," Clarkson told me.
"That was hard for me to sit out games at the end of the season, but I had
no choice. I had to let the injury settle down. But I can assure you I was
going to play."
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Devils goalie Martin Brodeur has known Jose Theodore
for a long time.
Stephen Gionta will play in his first Stanley Cup playoff game, centering the
fourth line with Ryan Carter and Steve Bernier.
Their relationship goes back to when the Florida Panthers' goalie was a
young teenager.
"I talked to both of my brothers. They're excited and nervous at the same
time. I guess I have those same feelings. It's going to be exciting," Gionta
said. It's awesome."
"He was 12 or 13 when I met him. I was teaching at a hockey school
outside Montreal," Brodeur recalled. "I don't teach that well. I was just there,
acting like a teacher.
"He's a good goalie, a good competitor. He's been in the league for a lot of
years and he's got some experience. He had some success in the playoffs
with Montreal. The goalie who has played (in the playoffs) before knows
what to expect. That's who I was expecting them to start and I think I was
right on that one."
Brodeur knows there will be lots of attention on how he plays at age 39.
"Not having success the last few years people will always look at that," he
said. "Look around the league. How many goalies have had success in the
playoffs? I think we're all in the same boat. I'm looking forward to playing
well for my team regardless of how I get judged. I can't control that.
"I think I appreciate the situation I'm in right now a little more because of the
way I bounced back and had a solid year after missing last year."
Coach Pete DeBoer said he isn't sure whether Brodeur feels he has
something more to prove.
"In my conversations with him, I know when you get older you start
reflecting back," the coach said. "The best quote I heard from him was
somebody gave him the advice that when it's over it's really over and there
is no going back so kind of enjoy it and make the most of it. I think that's
what he's doing. He recognizes whether it's this year, next year or two
years from now, things are winding down. This guy is the best of all time
and a proud man. He's still got a lot of game left and he wants to win. That's
what makes him great."
Brodeur said there is a good atmosphere in the Devils' dressing room.
"We'll see how we handle this but there is a good atmosphere in the locker
room. The boys are happy to start. Anxious," he said. "Starting on the road I
think makes it a little easier for us, just to go out and be with ourselves and
do our thing. The home team always wants to jump and get the intensity
from the crowd. For us it's just play hockey and let's see how it falls.
"The guys are feeling pretty comfortable. We know what we have in front of
us is going to be a hard battle. We're looking forward to it."
The Devils are overwhelming favorites in this series.
"I try not to look at it but it's kind of hard because it's all over the place,"
Brodeur said. "People have some respect for our hockey team and I think
we have to be proud of that. It goes both ways. When they pick for you, you
say, 'That's nice.' When they pick against you, you try to prove them wrong.
"It's such a fine line for us to have to deal with everything. That's what the
playoffs are all about. The team that is able to deal with it better will be
affected less. It makes it hard to listen and read everything everyone has to
say about you and your team and the series.
"You try to keep that away, but now it's everywhere. If you have a Twitter
account you see everything. You just look on the internet, open one page
and everything is there. On top of it, the fans have their two bits to say. That
makes it hard on guys if you pay attention to that. We talked about it as a
team. 'Let's just do what we need to do and not worry about the outside
world.' That's what the playoffs are all about, managing what's around the
game more than the games."
Travis Zajac said there were points in this season when he thought he
wouldn't be able to play in the playoffs.
"Yes, there were. That's a ways behind me now," Zajac said today. "When I
did have a setback I didn't know what the future would hold. After going
His wife will attend home games in New Jersey and his father is likely to get
to at least one game.
Much has been said about the "inside information" John Madden and Scott
Clemmensen may have on the Devils.
But what about Ryan Carter, who played 12 games for the Panthers in
2010-11 and seven this season before the Devils claimed him off waivers.
Certainly Carter has some inside info.
"I think the only advantage might be having intimate knowledge on some of
their guys and their tendencies, but even that I only played seven games
there. That's not a ton of time to learn," he said. "That's not enough time.
Training camp, seven games. Little tidbits maybe."
Carter said he doesn't have any strong feelings about facing his ex-club.
"No. Maybe for the first game or two against them, but we're so far removed
from any emotion that may have come with the transition. This is my team
now," he said. "That's all I'm focused on."
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New Jersey Devils
Devils' captain Zach Parise has some clout eliminating hotel stay before
home playoff games
Rich Chere
SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Devils' first-year captain has some clout.
After years of making the team stay in a New Jersey hotel the night before
a home playoff game, Zach Parise talked general manager Lou Lamoriello
and coach Pete DeBoer into allowing everyone to stay in their own homes.
Instead, the Devils will go into a New Jersey hotel the day of a home playoff
game.
"Like a Rangers game," Parise said. "I think it was kind of something
everyone wanted to do. I think the guys were comfortable going home."
The Devils will not fly home right after Game 2 in Florida. They will stay
Sunday night and return home Monday morning. That's another big change.
Being required to stay in a hotel at home was a longstanding team policy.
Players used to call the Loew's Glenpointe Marriott the Loew's Gunpoint
Marriott.
But that policy has changed since Parise weighed in.
"After 18 years," Patrik Elias said, "it's about time."
Players received playoff t-shirts and sweat shirts. They will also get caps.
The shirts have the team logo and player's number on the front. On the
back it reads: "Swarm It Up."
Cam Janssen lost his scoring wager with Martin Brodeur.
Brodeur finished the season with four assists while Janssen had one.
Neither scored a goal.
"We're going to settle at the end of the year," Janssen said. "Sometimes it's
easy to get an assist when there's a dump-in, you hold onto the puck and
give it to Kovy to go end to end. Some of those assists were phantoms.
"He's tough to beat. He gets a lot of ice time and he's a better stick handler
than I am."
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New Jersey Devils
Devils coach Pete DeBoer: There was friction between me and Scott
Clemmensen
"I don't say that in a negative way. I say it matter-of-factly. I believe we both
wanted the same thing. No matter if we agreed or disagreed, I don't think
that was important. I'm one of 20-plus guys on the team. I'm not going to
stand here and say I'm more important or less important than anyone else.
He's got manager all 23, 24 players. Myself included. It's a coaching style
he had and it fits with other coaches I've had in the past. You're a
professional, you work with it and you play the hand that you are dealt."
Rich Chere
Clemmensen also called it a tough period for the Panthers.
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Devils coach Pete DeBoer said there was "friction" in his
relationship with Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen, but chalked it up to a
Florida team that was not playing well.
"Last year at the trade deadline it was a very difficult time for everyone.
Players and staff alike because of the activity we had and the direction the
team was going," Clemmensen recalled. "It was very difficult to go through
that. The guys that were here the entire season last year, to end the season
the way it ended, wasn't easy.
Clemmensen, on the other hand, said DeBoer was a "kick in the (butt)" kind
of coach and he wasn't the only player on the team whose relationship was
strained for the former Panthers' boss.
"There was friction between (DeBoer) and a lot of players at some point. I
just think that was his coaching style," Clemmensen told me. "There's the
pat on the back type of coach and the kick in the (butt) type of coach. I think
he was more of the latter.
"It didn't mean we weren't all pulling in the same direction. Everybody
wanted the same thing here and it was frustrating at times. To say the
least."
DeBoer said: "When you work the last two years like I did, under the
circumstances we were in and how we finished, there was friction with
everybody," DeBoer said. "That's the bottom line. You miss the playoffs two
years in a row, I think I said it at the time: If guys are walking out after two
years like that saying what a great job you're doing, there is something
wrong.
"We pushed people maybe beyond what they were capable of doing. And
there was friction there. But I don't think you go through a situation like we
went through for two years without friction with everybody. It's not personal.
That's just the spot we were in."
Panthers coach Kevin Dineen would not reveal whether Clemmensen or
Jose Theodore would start in Game 1 against the Devils Friday night at the
BankAtlantic Center but it appeared it would be Theodore.
"I'll give it a few more hours and have a gut check," Dineen said in his press
conference.
DeBoer walked in for his press conference and joked: "Last time I was in
this room I was getting fired."
"Going into the offseason was a time of uncertainty and a time of rebuilding.
Uncertainty for a lot of people. And rebuilding as far as (GM) Dale Tallon
was concerned started at the trade deadline. We all understand-- coaching
staff, players, trainers-- that job security isn't a luxury we have in this
business."
Clemmensen said he believes he will play in this series and he's been
looking forward to it since the regular season neared its end.
"Anytime you play in the playoffs it's going to be tough. It doesn't matter
who you play," he said. "Different teams present different problems. There
are key players you have to focus in on and really worry about. There are
goaltending differences. Everybody has good goaltending.
"I don't think who you are playing is as important as how you are playing. In
order to keep up with the Devils, and everyone else in the playoffs, we're
going to have to keep on top of our game. Obviously the matchup has been
setting itself up for a good month. It worked out that way. That's kind of who
we've been expecting to see."
DeBoer on his first playoffs: "It's exciting. It's not just the run. The whole
season has been exciting. The slow build we had as a group to get to this
point and how we played the last 20-25 games of the season. It's been a
good year and now you throw all that out. Obviously playoff success is what
matters. I like how we got here and I hope that translates."
He spoke of Ilya Kovalchuk, who will appear in his 10th postsaeson game.
"When you spend any time around Kovy, a lot of it is situational. On a
different team he could have multiple Stanley Cups with the way he plays.
He's a team guy. That's the situational part of the game. I think he's in the
right spot, the right environment and he really believes this is his time to
make some noise.
He laughed. "It's a little nicer feeling, that's for sure."
"I can't say enough about his buy-in or what he did this year for us. I know
he's excited."
DeBoer said defenseman Adam Larsson would not play in Game 1. Peter
Harrold will play.
Kovalchuk has had a lot of success against the Panthers over the years.
The Devils held an optional morning skate. Only left winger Petr Sykora did
not participate.
Clemmensen spoke further about DeBoer.
"Well, he was very detail-oriented. Everything got nipped in the bud," the
goalie said. "Everything was very strategic and very detail-oriented. He was
a very high energy type of coach. That was kind of indicative of our team."
And Clemmensen probably got on his bad side by speaking out publicly
about the way the team played.
"I don't know. I don't have a lot of games played in this league, but I feel I've
been around for a while," Clemmensen told me. "You're not going to see
eye to eye on everything.That goes with any coach you have. There are
going to be rough spots every season. I don't believe I'm any more
important or less important than anyone else. I don't know how much input
he took from players, including myself. There were other outspoken guys on
this team as well. I'm certainly not the only one to go through it or be yelled
at or to speak up. It doesn't mean I'm right or wrong, either, or whether he
was right or wrong."
Clemmensen felt he should have been playing more than he was under
DeBoer.
"I was primarily used in a backup role," the goalie said. "When I got a
chance to play I tried to make the best of my opportunities. Other than that,
I think (DeBoer) had bigger things to worry about than to worry about me.
"I was behind the bench for some of those successful nights he had against
us here," DeBoer said. "He's a world class player and a game-breaker, one
of those guys you want on your side. He wants to be on the ice at key times
to make a difference."
More on Kovy: "He bought in right away. I think it took us the first half of the
season to really play seamlessly system-wise. Some new stuff for guys
when I came in compared to what Jacques (Lemaire) was doing. Not major
tweaks, but minor tweak. I think it took us half the season to get up and
down the ice as a five-man unit and work through that seamlessly. Once we
did I thought we played some great hockey in the second half of the
season."
Clemmensen was asked if he knows Devils' secrets.
"Secrets? No. I know some tendencies of some players," he said. "Other
than that, it's take it as it comes. I don't have to explain to Theo that Zach
Parise is a great player. I don't have to tell the penalty-killers that Kovalchuk
has a good one-timer from the side. But, yes, there are some little things to
try to tell people. Maybe that's a little bit of a benefit in playing a former
team."
He said this feels like his first Stanley Cup playoff series.
"This isn't my first playoff series, obviously, having been with the Devils for
two three playoffs, I think," Clemmensen said. "But I pretty much knew I
wasn't going to play unless something bad happened. So I think this is a
unique playoff for me in the fact there is a very real possibility I'll get playing
time. It might not require an injury. So for me it feels a little bit like my first
playoff serie even though I have some experience before in the playoff
atmosphere.
"Hoping that type of attitude works well for me. I'm going to be more ready
and more prepared this year because I fully expect to get that possibility of
playing."
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New Jersey Devils
N.J. Devils owner says Booker brouhaha has made him regret bringing
team to Newark
David Giambusso
NEWARK — New Jersey Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek says the recent
wave of withering attacks against him by Newark Mayor Cory Booker has
made him regret bringing his team to Newark.
Vanderbeek, in a meeting with The Star-Ledger editorial board Thursday,
said he ignored the advice of friends and invested $185 million to help the
city build the Prudential Center, a gleaming facility that has anchored a
downtown revitalization in the state’s largest city.
But now, in the wake of a week-long media blitz by Booker and an
arbitration ruling that effectively ended six years of contentious negotiations
over revenue sharing at the $375 million arena, Vanderbeek says he should
have listened to his friends.
"I was told chapter and verse ‘Don’t go there. Don’t step foot in that city,’"
he said.
Asked if he was sorry he came, Vanderbeek said, "Right now, I have to be."
But in the same breath, he said he has no intention of leaving.
"We plan on being here. The mayor can say whatever he wants,"
Vanderbeek said. "I’m a big boy."
Vanderbeek’s statements were his first public comments since a panel of
three independent arbitrators issued a ruling April 3 that largely favors the
Devils in their ongoing dispute over how the team and the city share
proceeds from the arena.
One day after the ruling, which left the city owing the team about $600,000,
Booker launched into a public tirade, calling Vanderbeek a "high-class,
highfalutin’ huckster and hustler," and "one of the most despicable owners"
in the National Hockey League.
Vanderbeek said Booker’s diatribe was unfair and accused him of political
grandstanding at the expense of the truth.
He said Booker is frustrated because his plan of running for governor or
U.S. Senate may no longer be viable so he now must turn his eyes toward
a third term as mayor.
"In maybe a year-and-a-half, he’s trying to undo six years of being this
outsider because he may have to get elected mayor again," Vanderbeek
said. "I’m the most convenient (target)."
Booker responded that he was defending the interests of his constituents.
"I am disappointed that Jeff Vanderbeek believes my passionate defense of
the people of Newark and taxpayers around the state is ‘political.’" he said.
"It is not political to want Vanderbeek to fulfill his commitments to Newark’s
nonprofit youth organizations. It is not political to want Vanderbeek to fulfill
his commitments to job training and placement in the midst of a brutal
recession."
Booker was referring to a lease requirement that the Devils pay a certain
amount of money each year for job training and youth programs. The Devils
have paid $346,000 out of $1.8 million, but Vanderbeek said he has
received no indication of how the money was spent.
Booker has made several assertions about the Devils and the arbitrators’
ruling that have been called into question this week. For instance, he said
the Devils took the city to court when it was actually the city and the Newark
Housing Authority, the arena developer, who initiated the arbitration.
Booker also said a letter which guarantees the Devils $2.7 million a year in
parking revenue was unconstitutional. However, the arbitrators ruled the
letter merely codifies provisions in the lease approved by the city council.
Vanderbeek also cited previous public statements made by Booker over the
years declaring the Devils owner a "lifelong partner" to the city who had
created "community center" with the arena. Those statements, he said, are
in stark contrast to Booker’s most recent comments labeling Vanderbeek a
liar and cold-blooded businessman.
"You have a mayor saying to business ‘You come in and I’ll cut you a deal,"
Vanderbeek said. "‘But if I don’t like you in a couple of years, or if
something happens, or if I get up on the wrong side of the bed, you know
what? I’m coming after you."
Vanderbeek said Booker’s turnaround sends a bad signal to other potential
investors in Newark.
"That’s not good for business," he said. "That’s tearing down the five-and-ahalf years that we all put this blood, sweat and tears into."
For his part, Booker said the fight isn’t over."As mayor I will not back down
from my persistent demands that he meet his obligations to the city," he
said.
Amid the verbal sparring, both men indicated they would be willing to talk,
but as of now the verbal guns remain drawn.
"This should be a partnership," Vanderbeek said. "There’s many, many
ways for one and one to equal three here."
Booker said he, too, would be willing to talk.
"I’m still open to doing anything that will benefit the city of Newark."
625780
New Jersey Devils
Devils' Martin Brodeur, uncertain about his future, isn't taking this playoff
appearance for granted
Rich Chere
SUNRISE, Fla. — Martin Brodeur was living the life that would make most
people jealous. Relaxing in his Florida home in early spring, perhaps just off
the golf course, the Devils goaltender settled in to watch some Stanley Cup
playoff hockey.
And he was miserable.
“Last year we were out of it way before the season ended and I never
thought I was going to miss it. I thought, ‘All right, finally I get a break and a
rest.’ Then I started watching the playoffs a little bit and I got that feeling,”
Brodeur recalled.
“It was probably the second round. I was in Florida, so I’d watch at night.
You kind of miss it. You see the guys after they score a goal, and the fans.
The whole playoff atmosphere. It’s something I missed big time last year.”
He’s in Florida again this spring, but this time Brodeur will be behind the
mask and pads when the Devils open the playoffs tonight at the
BankAtlantic Center against the Panthers.
Less than a month from his 40th birthday on May 6, he is right where he
wants to be.
“I don’t know what the future will bring me. I want to play more, but a lot of
circumstances could happen that I won’t,” he said. “So I’m looking forward
to this.”
The odds are Brodeur will be back with the Devils next season. He certainly
played well enough to merit a new contract, going 31-21-4 with a 2.41
goals-against average.
But, as Brodeur was reminded a month ago, life has its unpredictable
twists. On Feb. 7, just before he was set to face the Rangers at Madison
Square Garden, he received a text from his brother, Denis Jr.
“Dad has a tumor on his brain,” it read, informing the goalie of the results
from a CT scan their father, Denis, underwent the previous day.
Brodeur shut out the Rangers, 1-0. But he feared his 81-year-old father
might not even see these playoffs.
“It hits you that it could happen,” Brodeur said, leaving the rest unspoken.
“That’s life.”
Denis Brodeur underwent nine hours of surgery Feb. 17 in which the
cancerous tumor was removed. He is doing so well that Martin does not
approach these playoffs as winning this year for his dad.
“I think there was a moment when I learned the news when maybe that
crossed my mind,” he admitted. “We didn’t know what the outcome would
be. But everything went well and my dad is doing real well. He looks better
now than he did before he went in (for the surgery).
“We’re just really happy with what is going on with him. With the situation
he’s in right now, I don’t feel this could be the last time. His progress has
been so great.”
UNCERTAINTY AHEAD
There are, however, potential motivating factors for Brodeur in these
playoffs beyond the obvious.
His playing future is not settled.
“I’m not 100 percent sure about next year because I don’t have a contract
and I’m not negotiating or anything,” Brodeur said. “We’ll see what the
future brings after these playoffs. But this season definitely answered a lot
of questions in the way I’m able to perform and my willingness to do it every
day. That was one of the things that was worrying me a little bit.
“You need to want to come to the rink. You need to want to travel. I’ve been
doing it for a long time and I really regained that desire this season. That’s
why I didn’t want to lean one way or the other for the longest time. Just
because I wanted to see if I was up for the grind.”
He’d like to see Zach Parise re-sign with the Devils and wonders, like
everyone, if what the Devils do in the playoffs will have an impact on the
captain’s decision.
“I’ve never been a free agent. I will be,” Brodeur said with a laugh. “But one
team will win and four teams will have a good run. After that, everything is
average. You’re talking about four teams out of 30, so it’s hard to say to an
organization, ‘If I don’t feel we can win it or get close, I’m not staying.’
Players would move all the time.
“You just have to be comfortable with the team, the friendships and the
chemistry you have. We’re starting to build something really good with (Ilya
Kovalchuk). You go somewhere else, that doesn’t mean it’s going to
happen. So there are a lot of good things for him (Parise) here. But, at the
end of the day, he’ll have his fate in his own hands and he’ll decide what he
wants. Personally, I think it’s a really good fit for him here, but he’s going to
make the decision.”
Parise declined to comment on how much of an impact these playoffs will
have on his decision.
Although Brodeur claims he does not agonize over lost opportunities, there
won’t be a lot more chances for a fourth Stanley Cup.
“These are things you can’t over-think too much, because a lot goes into
winning. It’s not just having a good team. It’s having the right situation,
having the breaks when you need them,” Brodeur said.
“I think we’re fortunate to have won three Stanley Cups. I know everybody
is greedy about these things because everybody thinks we should win all
the time. But there are 29 other teams looking to get it done and that makes
it a tough journey.”
NO REGRETS
Certainly he must have regrets about 2001, when the Devils were one
victory from back-to-back Cups but lost Game 6 at home and Game 7 in
Colorado.
“If we had never won one, it would bother me still,” Brodeur said. “The fact
that we were able to get another one was important. Winning back-to-back
is rare.
“You could look back at years we should’ve won. But maybe years we won
we shouldn’t have, like coming back from 3-1 against the Flyers (in 2000).
So you can’t look into it too deeply.”
Patrik Elias said of 2001: “Of course there are regrets, but I don’t know if
regret is the right word. Disappointment, yes. We played a pretty good
team. The series was played out pretty well for us. We just didn’t finish it.
“(Avalanche goalie Patrick) Roy was standing on his head in Game 6. We
had 15 shots in the first period and it was 1-0. That kind of discouraged us.
It was unbelievable. He obviously gave them the opportunity to win that
game and gave them a Game 7. Marty played great for us. Roy was the
difference in that game. But just that game.”
Is there a good reason why the Devils should have faith in Brodeur at this
stage?
“Because he’s proven over and over again that he’s a big-gamer,” Parise
said. “You can’t replace those four Stanley Cup Final experiences. I think it
definitely gets into opponents’ heads when you have a guy like that in the
net. All those things add up.”
Defenseman Bryce Salvador said of Brodeur: “He’s the best goalie in
history. He makes any team better just from a confidence standpoint. From
my experience, when you have a goalie that can win you games, it makes
your game easier. You’re not always worrying, ‘Do I have to slide and block
this shot? Do I have to try not to let this shot go through?’ You’re just
playing your game and you’re not worried about what the goalie is going to
do or not do.
“That’s what Marty brings you. A wealth of experience, a winning history
and a confidence back there that he’s seen everything. Nothing is going to
rattle him.”
What rattles him is not being in the playoffs.
625781
New Jersey Devils
Politi: For Ilya Kovalchuk, the pressure is on to perform and lead the Devils
far in the playoffs
Kovalchuk learned the importance of not wasting this chance from the
player he watched with his father on TV, all those years ago, from his
Russian home. He once approached Bure, who never got as close again to
winning the Stanley Cup as he did in 1994, and asked about the
experience.
Steve Politi
“He just told me, ‘Every time you’re in the playoffs, you’ve got to enjoy it,’ ”
Kovalchuk said, “‘because you can’t waste your chances. It could be your
last one.’ ”
Ilya Kovalchuk didn’t know much about the strange trophy they kept
showing on the TV. He just knew it was important enough for his father to
wake him up at 5 a.m. to watch a hockey game, and that nothing like it had
ever been televised to his home in the Russian city of Tver.
He was just 11, a kid who still hadn’t picked his No. 1 sport. This was late
spring in 1994, and while all of New York was absorbed in the Rangers’
quest to end a 54-year-long Stanley Cup drought, Kovalchuk was fixated on
a Vancouver superstar and Russian trailblazer named Pavel Bure.
“It seemed like a totally different world,” Kovalchuk remembered last week.
“I knew about the league, but it was somewhere so far away, you never
thought you could get there. But when they started showing it on TV …”
It became his dream. He wanted to follow Bure and other Russians to North
America and win on the biggest stage. He wanted to wrap his hands around
that strange trophy.
Now, 18 years later, he has his best chance. The Devils need a deep
playoff run for a lot of reasons — for their bottom line, for their aging
goaltender, for their fading image as a playoff powerhouse.
But no one needs it more than Kovalchuk. No one wants it more than
Kovalchuk. He has spent 10 years in the NHL now, scoring 406 goals and
signing a $100 million contract. He has just one playoff victory to show for
that. Not one series victory. One win. Period.
Until that changes, Kovalchuk will never change a reputation that, in most
ways, isn’t fair. It isn’t his fault that he played on some awful teams for the
early part of his career in Atlanta, or that the Devils fell flat in his one
postseason appearance since coming to Newark two years ago.
“You know, that’s how it is. Some guys play 5-10 minutes a game and
they’ve won four Stanley Cups, and they’re the winners,” he said. “Then
there are some great players with some unbelievable stats and they’ve
been in playoff games and they never win. I definitely don’t want to be one
of those guys.”
No matter what happens in this first-round series against the Florida
Panthers, Kovalchuk has done plenty to change his image this season. It
has nothing to do with the team-high 37 goals and 83 points — everyone
expected numbers like that.
But ask his teammates about the reputation that he’s a selfish player and
they’ll practically drop their gloves to defend him. He’s done the same for
them, on the ice, when nobody in the organization wants him to risk his
health. Night after night, he’s killed penalties and logged the most ice time,
buying into everything that head coach Pete DeBoer has tried to instill.
“You knew the talent,” DeBoer said. “You saw the game-breaking ability. I
didn’t know what a good team guy he was. He just wants to win. It isn’t lip
service. He’s genuine in that.”
Zach Parise is the captain and, as voted by his teammates, the team MVP.
But the Devils are Kovalchuk’s team now. They’ll go as far as he can take
them, the one with the 15-year contract who is facing the most pressure.
Martin Brodeur puts it this way: “He’s going to need to be our best player
out there.” That’s nothing new for Kovalchuk. He’s been that player from
nearly the first time he’s laced up his skates. The new part is having the
pieces around him, and the expectation for success.
The fight between the Devils and the NHL over his massive contract is long
behind him now, so is the friction with former coach John MacLean. He has
elite linemates, a coach he loves and faces a team he has owned in his
career in the first round. It’s all there for him.
If the Devils flame out in the first round, he knows the criticism will find him
again. This is a team built for right now. Who knows if Parise, a free-agentto-be, and his 31 goals will be here next year, and if Brodeur can maintain
his Hall of Fame level after he turns 40.
It won’t be his last one, but it will be his best. Kovalchuk has a chance to
make history with the Devils now, and in the process, change his own
history.
625782
New Jersey Devils
Devils score three in first, hold on for 3-2 win over Panthers in Game 1
By TOM GULITTI
SUNRISE, Fla. – Pete DeBoer initially claimed to have a short memory.
But, the Devils coach couldn’t pull it off without cracking a joke.
It was a lot easier for DeBoer to joke about it after the Devils held on for a
3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Friday night in Game 1 of the
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at BankAtlantic Center.
When the Devils saw their 3-0 first-period lead shrink to 3-2 in the second,
there were some serious moments in which the team’s 4-3 loss here Nov.
21 – a game in which they blew a 3-0 first-period advantage – definitely
crossed their minds.
“That was so long ago I barely remember it,” DeBoer joked after he notched
his first NHL playoff win. “If you believe that, I’ve got a plot of swampland in
Florida for you too that I still own.”
That 4-3 loss came in just the 19th game of the season for the Devils, but in
DeBoer’s first trip back to Florida since he was fired by the Panthers at the
end of last season. This team, though, demonstrated it is much better
equipped to protect a lead in the third period, holding the Panthers to just
six shots over the final 20 minutes.
“All year, we’ve tried to implement that in our game to be a solid team with
the lead, especially in the third period,” goaltender Martin Brodeur said. “As
of late, we’ve got a lot of success with it. That’s what we talked about. I
know it’s not fun to give up two goals and get back into a hockey game in a
game that we had under control, but we said, ‘This is a great opportunity.’
We were up by one goal going into the third period. If anyone would have
asked us if we wanted to be in that situation, we would have taken it in a
heartbeat and we just went out and played the way we can play
defensively.”
It was a historic night for Brodeur, who made 24 saves to register the 100th
postseason win of his career. He is only the second goaltender in NHL
history to reach the century mark in postseason wins, joining Patrick Roy,
who is the all-time leader with 151.
Brodeur had been stuck on 99 playoff victories since a 5-3 triumph over
Philadelphia in Game 2 of the 2010 Eastern Conference quarterfinals and
had just five wins over his previous three trips to the playoffs – all first-round
exits.
“It’s nice,” he said. “Only one goalie had more than 100 wins, so to get to
that plateau is good. I’ve been fortunate to play on good teams. … I think
it’s just a stat that’s out there for people to enjoy. I think it’s a great honor for
me to be able to do that with one team only.”
It looked like it was going to be one of the easier victories of Brodeur’s
career in the first period when the Devils set a team postseason record with
26 shots on goal and grabbed a 3-0 lead on goals from Patrik Elias, Dainius
Zubrus and former Panther Ryan Carter.
Elias took a pass from Zubrus and patiently waited for goaltender Jose
Theodore to go down before flipping the puck over him for the 1-0 lead 6:31
into the game. Zubrus made it 2-0 with his power-play tally from the right
circle with 5:49 left in the first and Carter also beat Theodore from the right
circle only 45 seconds later to make it 3-0.
The Panthers battled back in the second period, however, to pull within one
on goals from Sean Bergenheim and Kris Versteeg. Bergenheim went
around defenseman Anton Volchenkov in the right circle to beat Brodeur
inside the far post at 7:44 and Versteeg walked out of the left corner to stuff
the puck under Brodeur’s left pad for a power-play goal at 15:42.
“In the second, I don’t think that anybody took it lightly,” Elias said. “It was
just they adjusted. They were better, obviously, and all the sudden we didn’t
come out of our zone under control and that we couldn’t get any forecheck,
any shots going. They got one goal on the power play that got them back
into the game, but it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing to remind us it’s not
going to be easy.”
Bergen Record LOADED: 04.14.2012
625783
New Jersey Devils
NJ Devils owner regrets bringing team to Newark
Associated Press
NEWARK — The managing partner of the New Jersey Devils says he
regrets bringing the NHL team to New Jersey's largest city.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker talks during a news conference outside of the
Prudential Center, Wednesday, April 4, 2012
, in Newark, N.J., about a recent arbitration ruling in a long-running dispute
between the city and the New Jersey Devils' lease at the arena.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker talks during a news conference outside of the
Prudential Center, Wednesday, April 4, 2012
, in Newark, N.J., about a recent arbitration ruling in a long-running dispute
between the city and the New Jersey Devils' lease at the arena.
Jeff Vanderbeek spoke publicly for the first time Thursday to The StarLedger of Newark (http://bit.ly/IDBNoy ) about a war of words with Newark
Mayor Cory Booker.
Vanderbeek says friends warned him not to invest $185 million to help the
city build the Prudential Center.
Booker has criticized Vanderbeek after arbitrators ruled on April 3 largely in
favor of the Devils in their ongoing dispute over how the team and the city
share proceeds from the arena.
Booker called Vanderbeek a "high-class, highfalutin' huckster and hustler."
Vanderbeek says he doesn't plan to leave the city. Vanderbeek says the
mayor can say whatever he wants, but "I'm a big boy."
625784
New Jersey Devils
NJ Devils grab 1-0 series lead against Florida Panthers in 1st round of NHL
Stanley Cup playoffs
By Kristie Ackert
With the assistance of Andy Greene, Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur
saves one of his 24 shots on the night.
NJ DEVILS 3, FLORIDA PANTHERS 2
Martin Brodeur picked up his 100th career playoff win as the sixth-seeded
Devils held off the No. 3 Panthers, 3-2, Friday in Florida in the first game of
their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Brodeur made 24 saves and
had an assist. Only Patrick Roy has more playoff victories, with 151.
After missing the playoffs last season and struggling in his last three
postseason series, the 39-year-old Brodeur was not interested in
celebrating individual career milestones.
“It’s not something I was looking for. It’s nice, but I am focused on this
series,” Brodeur told reporters in Sunrise afterward. “We got one (win), now
we want to get greedy and get another."
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Sunday.
Patrik Elias, who had his franchise-leading 41st playoff goal, Dainius
Zubrus and Ryan Carter each scored within the opening 8:25 as the Devils
peppered Panthers goaltender Jose Theodore with a franchise playoffrecord 26 first-period shots. But the Panthers pushed back in the second
period, with goals from Sean Bergenheim and Kris Versteeg.
“Everything was working for us; I don’t think anybody took the second
(period) lightly, they adjusted,” Elias said. “In the third we came back and
were able to get control.”
“It was (Brodeur’s) 100th and my first,” said Devils coach Peter DeBoer,
who said he took no added satisfaction that the win came against the
Panthers, the team that fired him last April.
“That’s a lot of wins,” DeBoer said. “That’s why he’s the backbone of our
team, our leader."
New York Daily News LOADED: 04.14.2012
625785
New Jersey Devils
Devils defeat Panthers, 3-2 in Stanley Cup playoff opener
By MARK EVERSON
SUNRISE, Fla. — Handling ominous adversity after manhandling the
Panthers certified the Devils’ playoff opener as a double success.
Boy, did the Devils bend. But they didn’t break, winning a road opener for
the first time since 2000 in Philadelphia, after having lost their last five.
Tomorrow, they’ll try to take an opening pair on the road for the first time
since they swept the 1995 Red Wings for their first Stanley Cup.
“We have to get greedy,” said Devils coach Pete DeBoer, a victor in his
playoff debut.
His Devils gave two demonstrations of what they’re about these days in last
night’s 3-2 victory over the Panthers in Game 1 of their first-round series.
They were almost Oiler-esque during their team-record 26-shot, three-goal
opening period. Then they were very Devil-like in protecting the lead in the
third after the Panthers had stormed back to turn the tide. That combination,
if they can maintain it, is going to be tough to beat.
By adding the shutdown defense to their offense, they averted a repeat of
their visit here Nov. 21, DeBoer’s first game back after the Panthers fired
him last April. The Devils ran off to a 3-0 lead only to lose 4-3 that night.
“That was so long ago that I hardly remember it,” DeBoer said. “And if you
believe that, I have a plot of swampland. But we’re at a different point in the
season. We’re feeling confident about playing with the lead. The third
period was exactly how we want to play with the lead.”
The Devils did not receive a point from Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise or
Travis Zajac, yet still won. Martin Brodeur won his 100th playoff game,
second only to Patrick Roy’s 151, and Kovalchuk won his second.
“We did a pretty great job in the first period,” said Patrik Elias, who started
their series off just 6:31 into play with his team record 41st career playoff
goal. “In the second, they were the better team, but in the third, we did an
outstanding job of playing tight, defensive hockey.”
A four-minute power play had only seven seconds left when Dainius Zubrus
connected for his second playoff goal as a Devil and ninth all-time, with
Brodeur notching his ninth playoff assist, to go with one goal. Ryan Carter
followed with the eventual winner 39 seconds later on the Devils’ next shot,
their 23rd. It was all they’d get, and barely, all they needed.
Ex-Islander Sean Bergenheim started the Panthers’ comeback bid at 7:41
of the second after sweeping wide right around Anton Volchenkov. Then
Devils-killer Kris Versteeg closed the gap to one with a power play goal at
15:42 of the second.
In the third, however, the Devils did the night’s most important work, even if
it involved a lot of Volchenkov’s worrisome scrambling. They held the
Panthers to six shots, and took their first series lead since Game 3 of their
2009 loss to Carolina.
“All year long, we’ve tried to implement that into our game, playing with the
lead, especially in the third period,” Brodeur said. “We’ve had success at it
lately.”
Which allows them to try for a stranglehold on this series tomorrow, pointing
them toward their first series victory since 1997. Almost like old times.
The Devils last took a 2-0 series lead in their 2006 sweep of the Rangers.
That was their 10th 2-0 lead, and they’ve lost Game 2 nine times after
taking the opener. ... The Devils’ prior record was 20 shots in a period, the
second of a 2-1 loss to the Rangers on May 11, 1997. ... The Devils plan to
let players stay home in New Jersey the night before games, rather than
stay in a hotel, as has been team ritual for ages. They’ll only group in a
hotel after morning skates on game days. ... The Devils had lost their last
five road series openers, to the 2006 Hurricanes, 2004 Flyers, 2003
Senators, 2002 Hurricanes and 2001 Avalanche, since winning in 2000
against Philadelphia. ... The Devils are 11-24 on the road since the start of
the 2002 playoffs. ... Their six-game winning streak was the longest in the
league to end the season. ... The Devils are 22-17 in 39 series and are 123106 in games. They lost their last four series by a combined 6-16 record.
They’re 20-20 in series openers, including 8-12 on the road. ... The
Panthers’ last visit to the playoffs ended in a first-round sweep by 2000
Devils. ... The Devils are 2-6 in series since winning their last Cup in 2003.
New York Post LOADED: 04.14.2012
625786
New Jersey Devils
Brodeur wins No. 100, Devils top Panthers 3-2
Staff Writer
SUNRISE, Fla. — Martin Brodeur stopped 24 shots for his 100th
postseason win, and a three-goal first period was enough to help the New
Jersey Devils spoil the Florida Panthers' long-awaited return to the Stanley
Cup playoffs in a 3-2 victory Friday night.
Patrik Elias, Dainius Zubrus and Ryan Carter scored in a span of just over 8
minutes in the opening period for the Devils.
Brodeur also picked up an assist for his 10th postseason point, and became
the second goalie in NHL history to reach triple-figures in playoff wins. Only
Patrick Roy has more, with 151.
Sean Bergenheim and Kris Versteeg scored for Florida, which was in its
first postseason game since losing to Brodeur and the Devils on April 20,
2000. Jose Theodore made 35 saves for the Panthers.
Game 2 is Sunday night.
Florida got home-ice for at least the first round by winning the Southeast
Division title, the first team since Detroit in 1988-89 to be outscored over a
regular season and still win a division crown. Even with the NBA's Miami
Heat playing at home on Friday and with the Miami Marlins hosting a
regular-season game in their new ballpark for just the second time, the
Panthers have been getting plenty of newfound attention in recent days.
"I know the fans here are thrilled that the 12-year drought is over ... and I
think there are good times ahead for this franchise," said NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman, who was in the crowd. "I think it's well on the
right path."
But for all the excitement in the building over the Panthers' playoff return, it
was the Devils who came out flying.
By the time the game was barely 6 minutes old, New Jersey already had
gotten 12 shots on Theodore, who came up big time and again in the early
moments.
New Jersey was denied on two great chances early, the first when Elias
came in on a breakaway after a turnover only to have his shot nudged aside
by Theodore, who spun around unsure of where the puck actually was
before it was cleared away. A minute later, Ilya Kovalchuk brought the puck
up the left-wing boards, then charged the net after Travis Zajac's shot but
just couldn't get enough stick on the rebound.
No matter. The breakthrough came soon enough.
Elias got the puck in the right-wing circle, deked twice as Theodore flailed
about before eventually winding up seated on the ice — and helpless as the
shot eventually sailed by for the game's opening goal.
A double-minor against Florida's Shawn Matthias for high-sticking came at
10:18, and the Devils kept up the attack.
And with just eight seconds left in that power play, Zubrus was rewarded,
getting alone in front of Theodore to make it 2-0. Less than a minute later,
Carter — who spent seven games with Florida this season before being
waived on Oct. 25 — picked up the puck after a turnover, skated in and
beat Theodore low to the glove side for a 3-0 lead that left a building that
had been so loud a few minutes earlier in disbelief.
The first 20 minutes were beyond one-sided. The Devils outshot Florida 269 — the most shots any NHL team had managed in a playoff first period
since Philadelphia took 28 against Pittsburgh on April 21, 1997, according
to STATS LLC.
Eventually, the Panthers settled down.
Bergenheim got Florida's first goal at 7:44 of the second, and with the
Panthers on the power play at 15:42, Versteeg made it a one-goal game.
He got the puck on the goal line to the right of the net, found his way to the
front and squirted the puck past Brodeur to get Florida to 3-2.
From there, Brodeur was a wall.
He swept Florida out of its last playoff appearance 12 years ago, and was
just as tough to beat this time around. The Panthers' best chance to tie
might have come with about 5 minutes left, when Dmitry Kulikov had an
open shot from the top of the left circle, only to have Brodeur coolly kick it
aside.
NOTES: Elias' goal was the 41st of his playoff career, tying him with Teemu
Selanne for eighth among active players. ... Panthers coach Kevin Dineen
scored six goals in his career against Brodeur, three in the regular season,
three more in the playoffs — including the final point Dineen would ever get
in a postseason game, for Philadelphia in 1995. ... Florida's last postseason
victory was April 17, 1997, against the New York Rangers. ... Friday marked
the first time the Heat, Marlins and Panthers all played in the Miami market
on the same night since April 14, 2002.
625787
New Jersey Devils
Devils to face Theodore in Game 1 against Panthers
By MARK EVERSON
SUNRISE, Fla. – The Devils will have to adjust their shooting sights in their
first round series with the Panthers that opens here tonight, with rightycatcher Jose Theodore expected to be in the Florida nets.
Theodore went 22-16-11 with a 2.46 goals-against average, in 53
appearances with three shutouts. Former Devils goalie Scott Clemmensen
was 14-6-6 ansd 2.57 in 30 outings.
Theodore struggled down the stretch and Clemmensen won the season
finale that vaulted the Panthers into the Southeast Division title and homeice for their first playoff series since they were swept in the first round by the
2000 Devils. This series snaps an NHL-record 10-season playoff absence.
Panthers coach Kevin Dineen refused to divulge his choice in goal.
625788
New York Rangers
Rangers Rookie Wastes No Time in Postseason Debut
By JEFF Z. KLEIN
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Brian Boyle was circumspect Friday about
Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson, whom he jabbed six times in the head
while Karlsson, 8 inches shorter and 65 pounds lighter, hung on for dear life
during a second-period scrum in Game 1 of the Rangers’ 4-2 win over
Ottawa on Thursday.
Somehow Boyle and Karlsson received coincidental minors for that
exchange, and perhaps the desire to let sleeping dogs lie is why Boyle said
little more after practice than “Karlsson’s a good player, and we’re trying to
deny him time and space.”.
Instead, the Rangers extolled the play of Carl Hagelin’s playoff debut. A
speedy rookie, Hagelin sparked the Rangers’ second goal by forcing Sergei
Gonchar to turn over the puck, which was eventually picked up by his
linemate Marian Gaborik. Hagelin also created the Rangers’ fourth tally by
stealing the puck from Nick Foligno and in one swift motion setting up
another linemate, Brad Richards.
“He’s got speed,” Richards said Friday, about to deliver an intriguing
analysis of Hagelin’s game and why it is so effective. “He’s in on every
forecheck. He’s in on people’s heels. The turnover last night was all
because of his speed on my goal. Other people know he’s around — he’s
quick, and it causes them to do things sometimes a little quicker than they’d
like, or not as patient as they’d like, and that’ll create turnovers. He’s always
buzzing.
“If you can get the puck it helps so much. Some nights it’s going to be
Hags, some nights it’s Gabby, some nights it’s me, whatever. But I think
Hags is always doing something to pressure somebody or back them off.
Couple times in the first period he backed them off and we got the zone
because of his speed.”
Rangers coaches told the team’s newly signed former collegian, Chris
Kreider, to watch Game 1 from the press box and keep an eye on how
Hagelin plays, not so much with the puck as without the puck. Richards also
pointed out that Hagelin uses his speed not just in a conventional sense, to
break away with the puck, but as a devastating forechecking tool.
“Speed helps — it’s not just always beating a guy wide the puck,” Richards
said. “It just helps with the whole tempo of the game, and creating more ice
in behind him, which a lot of the time allows me to get pucks and make
plays.”
Perhaps most of all for Richards, there was Hagelin’s preternatural poise.
“He’s handled everything well,” Richards said. “That’s his first playoff game
ever, starting lineup, M.S.G., and first shift he was in there battling. He
jumped right in — he wasn’t feeling it out. He was right in there. It’s a great
experience for him last night. Now the maturity level will have to kick even
more, because it’s not the first game anymore, and he’ll keep getting
better.”
Hagelin played for four years at Michigan before he came to the Rangers in
a college career that included a game before 113,000 fans at Ann Arbor.
Was he nervous before playing his first playoff game at a raucous Madison
Square Garden?
“I was probably more nervous just coming up and playing my first N.H.L.
game,” Hagelin said. “I don’t know if I was surprised I wasn’t nervous —
hockey’s something I love to do, so it’s more excitement. “Just to hear the
crowd during the national anthem really pumped me up,” he said. “We’ve
been talking for a while now, how much fun it is to play in the playoffs and
how the adrenaline is going to get everyone to play at their best level.”
Hagelin, who won the fastest-skater competition at All-Star weekend, talked
about how he uses his speed alongside Richards and Gaborik.
“That’s kind of my job description, that I chase down the puck and create
turnovers,” he said. “I let those guys do what they’re good at, creating
chances, holding onto the puck and making offensive plays.”
But Hagelin said he was not aware that the Rangers coaches had told
Kreider to watch how he “hounds the puck,” as Kreider put it. He certainly
hounded the puck when he took it away from Foligno.
“I used my speed to try to chase him down,” Hagelin said. “Obviously it’s
tough for him to make a play when I’m that close. Instead of giving him a hit
I tried to poke-check him and it bounced. The puck came out perfectly for
my skates — it wasn’t a hard pass to make. That’s what I try to do for my
line, and Richie was obviously in the perfect spot.”
Hagelin started the season with Connecticut in the A.H.L., even though
Coach John Tortorella wanted him with the Rangers right away. But the
decision was made to teach him in the A.H.L., and Hagelin learned fast. He
joined the Rangers after just 17 games.
“The biggest thing for a guy coming into the league is his positioning away
from the puck, and understanding game situations away from the puck,”
Tortorella said. “For a young guy, playing without the puck and
understanding what he has to do and chasing things down like that, it’s
important. And that’s been important for his two linemates.”
Tortorella added, “We always talk about Richie and Gabby, but I tell you, I
think Hags is just as important as either one of those guys if that line’s
going to work.”
625789
New York Rangers
Callahan’s Leadership: Goals and Bodychecks
By CHRISTOPHER BOTTA
Eleven years ago, Ryan Callahan, a determined but seemingly
unexceptional teenager from Rochester, was the beneficiary of a favor
between an agent and a coach.
In the spring, Steve Bartlett, Callahan’s agent since he was 15, called Jeff
Jackson, the coach of the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.
“Steve had this kid from upstate New York who really wanted to play in the
O.H.L.,” said Jackson, now the coach at Notre Dame. “He said he was
asking for a favor but I wouldn’t regret it. He said Ryan wasn’t that big and
didn’t have the hardest shot, but nobody would do more to help our team
win. He wanted me to draft him.”
With their last pick, in the 15th and final round of the 2001 O.H.L. draft, the
Storm selected Callahan, then 16, who was coming off a 13-goal season for
the Buffalo Lightning of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League. Two
years later, Callahan scored 36 goals for Guelph. Two years after that, he
had 52.
“He deserves all the credit for being a self-made star,” Jackson said. “A lot
of kids in hockey turn out to prove people wrong, but few have come as far
as Ryan.”
On Thursday, Callahan, now 27 and the Rangers’ captain, was the best
player in their playoff-opening 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. At 12
minutes 1 second of the first period, Callahan scored the first goal of the
game. He blocked shots, was relentless on the forecheck and rammed his
body as often as he could into Erik Karlsson, the Senators’ elite playmaking
defenseman.
He demonstrated just what the 2004 report about him from the N.H.L.’s
Central Scouting Bureau said: “Most of his points came from his drive and
determination in going to prime scoring areas in the offensive zone. He will
not be intimidated when confronted in a tough, physical game.”
The Rangers drafted Callahan in the fourth round that year, with the 127th
overall pick, as he continued to be undervalued.
“I was with another team at the time,” said Gordie Clark, the Rangers’
player personnel director, who was with the Islanders. “Me and the scouts
around the league, we’d watch Callahan’s play skyrocket and take comfort
in knowing that we all blew it.”
The scouts are still shaking their heads. This week, Clark is in St.
Petersburg, Russia, with scouts from every N.H.L. team at an international
tournament of prospects.
“We’ve all had our hits and misses,” Clark said. “I’m telling you, I didn’t draft
Ryan Callahan, but his is the name that always comes up. Everyone
marvels at what he’s accomplished. He’s listed at 5-foot-11, but he plays
like he’s 6-3.”
Callahan, who joined the Rangers in 2007 and played for the United States
team at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, had a career-high 29 goals in the
regular season, second on the team behind Marian Gaborik. He tied Brad
Richards for the team lead in game-winning goals, with nine.
Before the start of the playoffs, Rangers Coach John Tortorella gushed over
Callahan’s value to the Rangers.
“He is a huge piece to everything we do,” said Tortorella, who appointed
Callahan captain after the team parted ways with Chris Drury last summer.
“He is our identity. Offensively and defensively, I look up and down the
bench for him.”
Tortorella also seeks Callahan’s counsel when the game is over.
“He’s still a young man wearing the ‘C,’ and I wasn’t sure how he was going
to be,” Tortorella said. “I’ve gotten to know him better. It’s a bit of a conduit
from coaching staff to player. He doesn’t say much. It’s gone really well that
way.”
As a leader, Callahan listens more than he speaks. He prefers to let his
work during games and practices serve as an example to his teammates.
But he will talk when it is warranted.
“Part of the job is speaking up,” Callahan said. “The key is to pick your
spots. I’m not a rah-rah guy, but if a little motivation is needed or something
has to be corrected, I’m not going to hesitate to say what’s on my mind. Not
every move I make is going to be perfect. But luckily for me, there’s no
shortage of leadership in here. I learn as I go.”
Forward Mike Rupp, who is in his first year with the club, said, “I know
‘leader by example’ can be a cliché in sports, but Cally’s the ultimate.”
The former Rangers goaltender Kevin Weekes, now an analyst for “Hockey
Night in Canada,” is not surprised by the impact Callahan has made on the
franchise, noting his maturity and desire to learn.
“The Rangers had been known for a while as the flashy team from the city,
a team that needed stars,” said Weekes, who played with Callahan in 2007.
“But the emergence of Cally completely changed their culture and made the
Rangers a contender that will be around a while. Cally brought the blue
collar to the Blueshirts.”
625790
New York Rangers
NY Rangers’ newcomers unfazed by NHL Stanley Cup playoff atmosphere
in Game 1 against Ottawa Senators
By Pat Leonard
It was difficult to identify which Rangers lacked playoff experience during
Thursday night’s 4-2 Game 1 win over the Senators, since none of them
played like it.
Ryan McDonagh, the 21-year-old top-pair defenseman playing in his sixth
career postseason game, set the tone of how New York’s youngsters would
handle the atmosphere and adversity, combining with All-Star Dan Girardi
to help shut down the Senators for the first 50 minutes at the Garden.
“Whether it was your first game, sixth game or 10th game, I don’t think that
affected any of our guys as far as our nerves,” John Tortorella said after
Friday’s off-day practice in Greenburgh. “I thought they just went out and
played.”
Going into Saturday night’s Game 2, the Rangers are aware their 1-0 series
lead is due in large part to the poise of their greenest go-to guys.
Four Blueshirts made their NHL playoff debuts in Game 1, including the
active Carl Hagelin (two assists) and Anton Stralman (one assist), while five
others had no more than six postseason appearances under their belts,
including Artem Anisimov (two assists), Brian Boyle (game-winning goal)
and McDonagh.
The young defenseman said last year’s five-game series against the
Capitals made a “huge” difference in his preparation for Thursday, “knowing
what it takes to be a playoff-contending team and how to be an effective
player in the playoffs.”
Perhaps more significantly, though, McDonagh is not overwhelmed by his
postseason responsibilities because he felt a similar pressure for 82 games
this season. He was counted on as Marc Staal’s replacement when the AllStar missed the first 36 games due to concussion symptoms, then stuck
with Girardi even when Staal returned to the lineup.
“I was trying to get accustomed to it, and obviously with my role and time
increasing this year, you get in a rhythm and you gain confidence,” said
McDonagh, who blocked three shots in 25:04 of ice time. “You feel good
about where you’re at as a team, and you just build on it.”
An even greener defenseman, Michael Del Zotto, made his playoff debut
Thursday and played strong on the puck in his own zone, one year after not
even making the Rangers’ playoff roster as a rookie.
“Things are a lot more magnified when you get into playoffs, but you don’t
want to change your game,” Del Zotto said. “You want to do everything
that's gotten you here.”
The youngsters’ calm approach is a reflection of the Rangers’
levelheadedness following their series-opening win. The Rangers are out to
protect their home-ice advantage with a second win Saturday night before
traveling to Canada.
“We definitely want to go into Ottawa up 2-0,” said forward Brandon Prust,
who played his sixth playoff game on Thursday. “Thats the plan.”
New York Daily News LOADED: 04.14.2012
625791
New York Rangers
By LARRY BROOKS
The diligence that marked the Rangers regular season, matched by the
team’s ability to honestly self-evaluate, has carried into the opening round
of the playoffs.
Because in addition to the work ethic that punctuated Thursday’s Game 1,
4-2 victory over the Senators, the Blueshirts’ off-day analysis was spot-on
prior to tonight’s Game 2 on Broadway before the series shifts to Ottawa for
Games 3 and 4.
Not only was there awareness the Rangers would have to increase their
level of play significantly to supersede what everyone expects will be a
more complete effort from the Senators, there was recognition the
Blueshirts need to have the puck and play in the Senators’ zone far more
than they did in the opener that featured a fair amount of rope-a-dope in the
first 30 minutes.
Territorial advantage doesn’t necessarily correlate to victory any more than
total yardage does in a football game, but the Rangers don’t want a repeat
of Game 1, in which there were nearly twice as many faceoffs (31-16) in
their end of the ice as in Ottawa’s.
“If we defend the right way we’re pretty comfortable with the puck in our end
but definitely we want to be in their zone a lot more than we were in the first
game,” Derek Stepan said following yesterday’s short, up-tempo, upbeat
practice. “We want to hang on to the puck a lot more to be able to make
plays.
“I think that’s been a key to our success all year.”
Stepan skated between wingers Artem Anisimov and Ryan Callahan, both
of whom were very effective. Asked to evaluate his own performance,
Stepan told The Post: “Not great. I think I did some good things but I think I
can contribute a little more.”
The Senators’ defense unit is mobile, but appears susceptible to turning the
puck over under pressure. The forwards also can be dogged into
giveaways, as Jared Cowen was by Carl Hagelin on the forecheck that
helped create Marian Gaborik’s goal that made it 2-0 at 16:24 of the second
period, and as Nick Foligno was on the forecheck by Hagelin again that led
directly to Brad Richards’ 4-0 goal at 2:15 of the third.
“We definitely don’t want to defend as much as we did in the first game
because they have guys who can strike pretty quickly if given the
opportunity,” said Brian Boyle, whose goal from the slot gave his team a 3-0
lead at 19:06 of the second, during a stretch in which the Rangers scored
three times on four shots against Craig Anderson within a span of 5:51. “We
want to get in their faces as much as we can.
“When that doesn’t happen as much as we want it to, like the other night,
there are always different variables. Maybe we didn’t get good placement
when we were sending it in, maybe we had the first guy there but the
second guy didn’t close.
“We wanted to send it in, we tried to get the puck out quickly but we were
icing it too often and so we were starting in our own end too much,” said
Boyle, who took 19 defensive zone draws (winning eight) but none at the
other end of the ice.
“The one thing is that when we had some zone time, we scored goals.
Cycling is all well and good, but you want to score.”
625792
New York Rangers
Rangers' Hagelin shows Kreider how it's done
By BRETT CYRGALIS
Carl Hagelin may not have known it, but the performance he put on during
Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Senators was a tailor-made teaching tool.
In the first game of the Rangers’ opening-round playoff series, the coaching
staff told newly signed Chris Kreider to sit and watch the way Hagelin
played, focusing on his ability to play without the puck and to chase down
and fight for loose pucks.
Hagelin delivered, hounding Senators forward Nick Foligno behind his own
net at the beginning of the third period, stealing the puck and then putting a
beautiful pass on the blade of Brad Richards, who netted it to make the
score 4-0.
“He makes defensemen uncomfortable,” Kreider said after yesterday’s
practice, his third time skating as a professional since leaving Boston
College. “He has an unbelievable first step. He’s the best skater in the
league.”
When asked if he knew he were being used as an example, Hagelin just
shook his head and tossed his long blond hair out of his face.
“I don’t really think about that stuff too much,” Hagelin said. “I’m just trying
to do my part and work hard every day.”
When the Rangers take the Garden ice tonight to play Game 2, Hagelin will
be on his familiar line, but a very unfamiliar place for NHL rookies.
The 23-year-old Swede, who played four years at the University of
Michigan, has spent the majority of the latter part of the season skating on
the Rangers’ top line with two superstars, Richards, a center, and winger
Marian Gaborik. The two All-Stars have taken kindly to Hagelin, whose
speed opens up the ice and creates space for them to work.
“Other people know he’s around, he’s quick, and it causes them to do
things sometimes a little quicker than they’d like,” Richards said. “That
creates turnovers. He’s always buzzing.”
Although the assist on Richards’ goal was Hagelin’s first playoff point, he
was also lauded for his play on the key goal Gaborik scored unassisted in
the second period to make it 2-0. Coming hard on the forecheck, Hagelin
forced another turnover, this time by Senators defenseman Jared Cowen,
and Gaborik picked up the puck and swooped in for the game-changing
score.
“For a young guy, understanding what you need to do without the puck, it’s
important, and that’s been important for his two linemates,” coach John
Tortorella said. “You know, we always talk about Richie and Gabby, but I’ll
tell you, I think Hags is just as important as either one of those guys if that
line is going to work.”
The veteran in Richards knows how important Hagelin has been to his own
success, and he also knows how Hagelin’s maturity is key as the pressure
in the playoffs just continues to increase.
“Starting lineup, MSG, first shift he was in there digging and battling,”
Richards said. “It was a great experience for him and now the maturity level
will have to kick even more because it’s not the first game anymore, and
you need to keep getting better.”
625793
New York Rangers
By BRETT CYRGALIS
For a team built around youth, the Stanley Cup playoffs can be an
overwhelming experience.
“We will not have to worry about that with this team,” is how Rangers coach
John Tortorella responded yesterday, 18 hours after his young team won
Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series with the Senators, 4-2, at the
Garden.
“How they handle themselves, whether you play good, whether you play
bad, that’s not going to be a problem with this club,” Tortorella said as his
team prepares for Game 2 tonight at home before heading to Ottawa for
Games 3 and 4, Monday and Wednesday, respectively.
“I don’t think whether it’s their first [playoff] game, sixth game, 10th game, I
don’t think that affected any of our guys, as far as their nerves. I thought
they just went out and played.”
A good example is 23-year-old rookie winger Carl Hagelin, who was playing
in his first playoff game and just his 65th career game in the NHL.
“It wasn’t a lot of nerves, it was more excitement,” said Hagelin, who played
without hesitation while notching an assist.
“We’ve been talking about it for a while now, how much fun it is to play in
the playoffs. How the adrenaline is going to make everyone play at their
best level. It was a good taste of that.”
The canonization of Ryan Callahan continued yesterday, but maybe the
most important realization was how much the captain’s inspired play can
ignite the Garden faithful.
“Whether it takes Cally with a big hit, or a big save or something, the crowd
gets into it,” Brad Richards said. “Especially in the playoffs, you definitely
feel better.”
When asked if Callahan’s all-out play directly affects his teammates,
Richards deferred.
“When you’re caught up in the game, you don’t realize sometimes,”
Richards said. “We’re so used to him doing that, that you don’t see it as
much. But when the crowd’s into it, it definitely energizes everybody.”
And sometimes the crowd doesn’t need any inspiration to get loud.
“Just hearing the crowd during the national anthem really pumped me up,”
Hagelin said. “How loud the crowd was carried us through the game.”
As a franchise, the Rangers have a 30-11 playoff series record when
winning Game 1. … The Rangers have won their five most recent playoff
series in which they held home-ice advantage. … Monday’s Game 3 in
Ottawa will be the Rangers’ first playoff game in Canada since April 28,
1996, a 5-3 victory at Montreal in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference
quarterfinal series, which they won, 4-2. They lost in the next round to the
Penguins in five games.
625794
New York Rangers
By LARRY BROOKS
The diligence that marked the Rangers regular season, matched by the
team’s ability to honestly self-evaluate, has carried into the opening round
of the playoffs.
Because in addition to the work ethic that punctuated Thursday’s Game 1,
4-2 victory over the Senators, the Blueshirts’ off-day analysis was spot-on
prior to tonight’s Game 2 on Broadway before the series shifts to Ottawa for
Games 3 and 4.
Not only was there awareness the Rangers would have to increase their
level of play significantly to supersede what everyone expects will be a
more complete effort from the Senators, there was recognition the
Blueshirts need to have the puck and play in the Senators’ zone far more
than they did in the opener that featured a fair amount of rope-a-dope in the
first 30 minutes.
Territorial advantage doesn’t necessarily correlate to victory any more than
total yardage does in a football game, but the Rangers don’t want a repeat
of Game 1, in which there were nearly twice as many faceoffs (31-16) in
their end of the ice as in Ottawa’s.
“If we defend the right way we’re pretty comfortable with the puck in our end
but definitely we want to be in their zone a lot more than we were in the first
game,” Derek Stepan said following yesterday’s short, up-tempo, upbeat
practice. “We want to hang on to the puck a lot more to be able to make
plays.
“I think that’s been a key to our success all year.”
Stepan skated between wingers Artem Anisimov and Ryan Callahan, both
of whom were very effective. Asked to evaluate his own performance,
Stepan told The Post: “Not great. I think I did some good things but I think I
can contribute a little more.”
The Senators’ defense unit is mobile, but appears susceptible to turning the
puck over under pressure. The forwards also can be dogged into
giveaways, as Jared Cowen was by Carl Hagelin on the forecheck that
helped create Marian Gaborik’s goal that made it 2-0 at 16:24 of the second
period, and as Nick Foligno was on the forecheck by Hagelin again that led
directly to Brad Richards’ 4-0 goal at 2:15 of the third.
“We definitely don’t want to defend as much as we did in the first game
because they have guys who can strike pretty quickly if given the
opportunity,” said Brian Boyle, whose goal from the slot gave his team a 3-0
lead at 19:06 of the second, during a stretch in which the Rangers scored
three times on four shots against Craig Anderson within a span of 5:51. “We
want to get in their faces as much as we can.
“When that doesn’t happen as much as we want it to, like the other night,
there are always different variables. Maybe we didn’t get good placement
when we were sending it in, maybe we had the first guy there but the
second guy didn’t close.
“We wanted to send it in, we tried to get the puck out quickly but we were
icing it too often and so we were starting in our own end too much,” said
Boyle, who took 19 defensive zone draws (winning eight) but none at the
other end of the ice.
“The one thing is that when we had some zone time, we scored goals.
Cycling is all well and good, but you want to score.”
625795
New York Rangers
By BRETT CYRGALIS
For a team built around youth, the Stanley Cup playoffs can be an
overwhelming experience.
“We will not have to worry about that with this team,” is how Rangers coach
John Tortorella responded yesterday, 18 hours after his young team won
Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series with the Senators, 4-2, at the
Garden.
“How they handle themselves, whether you play good, whether you play
bad, that’s not going to be a problem with this club,” Tortorella said as his
team prepares for Game 2 tonight at home before heading to Ottawa for
Games 3 and 4, Monday and Wednesday, respectively.
“I don’t think whether it’s their first [playoff] game, sixth game, 10th game, I
don’t think that affected any of our guys, as far as their nerves. I thought
they just went out and played.”
A good example is 23-year-old rookie winger Carl Hagelin, who was playing
in his first playoff game and just his 65th career game in the NHL.
“It wasn’t a lot of nerves, it was more excitement,” said Hagelin, who played
without hesitation while notching an assist.
“We’ve been talking about it for a while now, how much fun it is to play in
the playoffs. How the adrenaline is going to make everyone play at their
best level. It was a good taste of that.”
The canonization of Ryan Callahan continued yesterday, but maybe the
most important realization was how much the captain’s inspired play can
ignite the Garden faithful.
“Whether it takes Cally with a big hit, or a big save or something, the crowd
gets into it,” Brad Richards said. “Especially in the playoffs, you definitely
feel better.”
When asked if Callahan’s all-out play directly affects his teammates,
Richards deferred.
“When you’re caught up in the game, you don’t realize sometimes,”
Richards said. “We’re so used to him doing that, that you don’t see it as
much. But when the crowd’s into it, it definitely energizes everybody.”
And sometimes the crowd doesn’t need any inspiration to get loud.
“Just hearing the crowd during the national anthem really pumped me up,”
Hagelin said. “How loud the crowd was carried us through the game.”
As a franchise, the Rangers have a 30-11 playoff series record when
winning Game 1. … The Rangers have won their five most recent playoff
series in which they held home-ice advantage. … Monday’s Game 3 in
Ottawa will be the Rangers’ first playoff game in Canada since April 28,
1996, a 5-3 victory at Montreal in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference
quarterfinal series, which they won, 4-2. They lost in the next round to the
Penguins in five games.
625796
New York Rangers
Hagelin's wheels keeps top line rolling
By ANDREW GROSS
GREENBURGH, N.Y. – He clearly carries third billing on the Rangers’ top
line behind veteran All-Stars Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards.
But rookie left wing Carl Hagelin does not lack for confidence, nor was he
overcome by nerves, as he made his NHL playoff debut in the Rangers’ 4-2
win over the Senators in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal
Thursday. Game 2 is tonight at Madison Square Garden.
"I was more excited," said Hagelin, who had an assist and three shots in
13:51. "Hearing the crowd during the national anthem really pumped me
up."
Hagelin and the Rangers’ top line will again be relied on as the top-seeded
Rangers try to carry over the momentum of their Game 1 victory so they
can bring a 2-0 series lead into Monday’s Game 3 in Ottawa.
"You know they’re going to be better," defenseman Marc Staal said of the
eighth-seeded Senators. "You just have to keep raising your level of play
because they’re going to try to bounce back and play harder."
Hagelin, a 23-year-old Swede who was a college star at Michigan, spent
some time in Hartford (AHL) before making his NHL debut on Nov. 25. The
left wing compiled 14 goals and 24 assists in 64 regular-season games and
made crucial plays on both of his linemates’ goals in Game 1.
First, he pressured the puck before Gaborik’s unassisted goal to make it 2-0
at 16:24 of the second period. Then he stole the puck from Nick Foligno
behind the Senators’ crease and found Richards open for a 4-0 lead at 2:15
of the third period.
Up in the Garden stands, prized prospect Chris Kreider, only signed out of
Boston College on Monday, took close notice. His assignment for the game
was to study Hagelin’s puck pursuit.
"He made defensemen uncomfortable," Kreider said. "He has an
unbelievable first step. He’s the best skater in the league."
"I think he’s starting to really understand the legs are his biggest asset,"
rugged left wing Mike Rupp said. "He creates havoc just getting there."
And the rookie’s poise certainly impressed Rupp and Richards.
"First shift, first night of his first playoff, he jumped right in," Richards said.
"He was first on the puck. He got involved right away."
Hagelin said he was more nervous for his first NHL game and said it didn’t
really surprise him that he wasn’t more nervous in his playoff debut.
Asked about Hagelin’s confidence, coach John Tortorella flashed a quick
smile and issued the same warning he did during and immediately following
defenseman Michael Del Zotto’s rookie season. Del Zotto wound up
splitting the next season between the Rangers and Connecticut (AHL).
"He’s a confident kid," Tortorella said. "I’m going to watch his confidence,
that’s for sure. I think you do that for all players where there’s some big
promise and there is a huge promise for him. It’s our job to make sure he’s
going down the right road. I think Hags may take a veer here or there."
BRIEFS: Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, along with All-Star
defenseman Erik Karlsson and right wing Chris Neil did not participate in
the team’s practice at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. All three are expected to
be in tonight’s lineup. In fact, Senators coach Paul MacLean told the media
after practice Friday that he’s considering putting Alfredsson on Jason
Spezza’s top line with Milan Michalek in place of Colin Greening. Spezza
and Alfredsson led the Senators with five shots apiece in Game 1 while
Greening was held to one shot. … The Senators have rallied from a 1-0
deficit in a playoff series just twice, in 2002 against the Flyers and in 2003
against the Islanders.
625797
New York Rangers
Up next for Rangers: Game 2 vs. Sens
Andrew Gross
Senators vs. Rangers
Keys to Game 2
Special teams: The Rangers’ penalty kill was good in limiting the Senators
to three shots in three unsuccessful power plays. But the Rangers’ power
play went 0-for-4.
Building momentum: The Rangers know they need to play a more complete
60 minutes while the Senators are optimistic after scoring twice in the final
10:05.
Physical play: The Rangers were stronger on the body in Game 1 and must
continue to wear down the Senators.
625798
New York Rangers
Rangers' playoff rookies fare well
By STEVE ZIPAY
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Thursday's 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators was
the NHL playoff debut of five Rangers.
Coach John Tortorella doesn't think his playoff rookies came out the worse
for wear, and they may have become more confident.
"Whether it's your first game, sixth game, tenth, I don't think it affected any
of our guys as far as their nerves," Tortorella said. "I thought they just went
out and played."
Still, some of the first-timers fared better than others.
Speed-burner Carl Hagelin was impressive. He got off three shots,
harassed Senators on the forecheck and set up Brad Richards for the fourth
goal after stripping the puck from Nick Foligno.
"He's handled everything well, starting lineup, MSG, from the first shift, he
was in there digging and battling," Richards said. "He jumped right in, he
wasn't feeling it out. Now the maturity level will have to kick in even more."
Defenseman Anton Stralman was a game-high plus-3 and Michael Del
Zotto played 20:14. Forward John Mitchell and defenseman Stu Bickel
struggled.
"The atmosphere was crazy, it was ratcheted up," Bickel said. "Everybody
finishes their checks, so it was more physical."
Bickel was whistled for a cross-check from behind on Milan Michalek at
15:13 of the first and played a total of 6:42. "It happened so fast, I don't
want to talk about it,'' he said. "I'm hoping I can play strong and earn some
more minutes Saturday [in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal].
For me, it's all about the team winning."
Three players who have had a taste of the postseason acquitted
themselves well. Artem Anisimov had two assists in his seventh postseason
game, Brian Boyle scored in his sixth, and defenseman Ryan McDonagh,
who played 25:04, had a strong outing. "It was a different kind of nervous
than last year, when I didn't know what to expect," said McDonagh, who
played in five games against Washington in 2011. "Now I've gone through a
whole year, playing the same style, and it carried over."
The next step is Saturday at the Garden before heading to Ottawa for
Games 3 and 4. "They're going to be a lot better," Richards warned.
"They're a good team, they're very quick. They had the puck a lot in the
second period; if they score a goal, it might be a lot different. We've got to
realize we're going to have to be a lot better."
Blue notes
Chris Kreider, who signed an entry-level deal after foregoing his senior year
at Boston College, watched from above and said he was "emotionally
invested . . . I found myself jumping out of my seat. I was trying to jot down
things in various situations and looked at it on tape [Friday] with some
coaches." . . . Thursday's four goals equaled half of the Rangers' total
scoring against the Capitals last year. . . . The Senators have rallied from 10 series deficits in 2002 against the Flyers and 2003 against the Islanders.
Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 04.14.2012
625799
New York Rangers
Rangers play tough against Senators' Karlsson
By ARTHUR STAPLE
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- It was a sight the Rangers want to see more of in
this series: Erik Karlsson, the Senators' talented defenseman and Norris
Trophy candidate, pleading his case with one of the referees, to no avail.
Karlsson, the 21-year-old catalyst for Ottawa's high-speed, high-powered
offense, is a natural target for the Rangers' wave of physical forwards, given
that Karlsson is a defenseman generously listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds
and his 78 points were far and away tops among NHL defensemen.
This also is Karlsson's first postseason as an elite player, and the Rangers
seemed to feel Thursday night that an extra dose of physical play for
Ottawa's elite defenseman could throw him off his game and get him
pleading with the refs for some attention. He was doing just that at the end
of the first period Thursday, asking ref Tom Kowal for some consideration.
Kowal dismissed Karlsson with a wave of the hand.
"You can never know if you can rattle a guy," Brandon Prust said. "We have
to be concerned with interrupting his ability to make a play, not just trying to
single him out. We have to play that way against everyone on that team.
But he definitely makes their offense go."
Prust got off on a shorthanded try late in the first period, with Karlsson
chasing back to help disrupt it. Brian Boyle came in late and, when Karlsson
tried to stand up to Boyle after the whistle, the 6-6 Ranger delivered a
handful of gloved punches to Karlsson's head.
Both players went off for two minutes, a trade the Rangers gladly took.
Karlsson finished the game with three shots on goal, no points and a minus1 rating in a team-high 24:23.
"If you start fishing for the puck, he's a guy who can really hurt you, so you
just play a strong game on him the way you would anyone else," said Boyle,
whose second-period goal appeared to clip off Karlsson's stick and past
Craig Anderson.
After Thursday's win, Boyle stood in front of his locker. A Canadian reporter
asked him what Karlsson said or did to draw such a response during the
players' first-period scrum.
"Nothing," Boyle said. "Just part of the game."
Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 04.14.2012
625800
NHL
DU's Beau Bennett signs with Penguins
By Adrian Dater
The pressure on the University of Denver to have a good recruiting
offseason got bigger Friday with the departure of winger Beau Bennett to
the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Bennett, whose sophomore season was limited to 10 games after suffering
a wrist injury, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Penguins
that will have a salary cap hit of $900,000 if he plays with Pittsburgh next
season.
Bennett was drafted in the first round (20th overall) by Pittsburgh in 2010. In
47 career games at DU, he posted 13 goals and 25 assists.
"We are happy for Beau that he is realizing his lifelong dream to become a
professional hockey player," DU coach George Gwozdecky said. "Beau is
big-time talent who would have put up big numbers for us last season if it
wasn't for his injury. We wish Beau continued success and hope to see him
in the NHL soon."
Bennett became the third DU forward to sign with an NHL team since the
Pioneers were eliminated by Ferris State in the first round of the NCAA
playoffs, joining center Drew Shore (Florida Panthers) and winger Jason
Zucker (Minnesota Wild).
Bennett became the 17th player to sign a pro contract in Gwozdecky's 18year tenure at DU.
Denver Post: LOADED: 04.14.2012
625801
NHL
After an Excellent Season, Some Questions for Minnesota
By DREW CLAUSSEN
The University of Minnesota men’s hockey team was picked to finish sixth
out of 12 teams in its conference before the season — in the end it made it
to the Frozen Four.
After a whole season of surprising people, the Gophers’ magic ran out
against the eventual N.C.A.A. champion Boston College. The semifinal
game in Tampa, Fla., against the Eagles was the first time that the Gophers
played a game outside of Minnesota in 40 days.
Even with the loss, Minnesota Coach Don Lucia still considered the season
a successful one.
“There’s about five great things you can do in a season and that’s win your
league, you can win your playoff, you can get in the N.C.A.A.’s, you can get
to the Frozen Four and you can win a national title — and you know what,
we did three of them,” Lucia said. “That’s something for these seniors to
feel good about…I’m very proud of this group and what they were able to
accomplish all year.”
The loss concluded a tumultuous postseason for the team that began with a
sweep of Alaska Anchorage in the first round of the W.C.H.A. playoffs.
Minnesota lost to rival North Dakota a week later in the W.C.H.A. Final Five
but exacted revenge a week later in the N.C.A.A. tournament by beating
North Dakota to advance to the Frozen Four. (The Final Five and the
N.C.A.A. West regional were played at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.)
Minnesota silenced its critics early by starting off 11-1. A road sweep of
Minnesota Duluth and a home sweep of North Dakota highlighted the
team’s beginning of the season.
A three-game losing streak to Northeastern, Notre Dame and North Dakota
was the Gophers’ longest of the season. Including the regular and
postseason the Gophers and North Dakota played six times, with
Minnesota winning four of those battles.
Goaltender Kent Patterson and forward Nick Bjugstad were named secondteam all-Americans. Bjugstad led the team in goals with 25.
The Gophers will lose seven seniors, three of whom had substantial playing
time throughout the season. Taylor Matson and Jake Hansen both have
signed professional contracts since the loss to Boston College.
Patterson will depart after starting every game this season for the Gophers;
he went 28-14-1 with a goals against average of 2.32. The freshman Adam
Wilcox will compete with the current backup Michael Shibrowski for the
starting job next season.
It remains to been seen whether the underclassmen Bjugstad and Erik
Haula will stay with the team or sign with their professional teams. Haula
led the team in points with 49.
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Leading Off: The N.H.L. Goes Long
By LYNN ZINSER
Martin Havlat, left, celebrating his game-winning goal in the second
overtime with Dan Boyle in the San Jose Sharks' 3-2 victory over the St.
Louis Blues.Sarah Conard/ReutersMartin Havlat, left, celebrating his gamewinning goal in the second overtime with Dan Boyle in the San Jose
Sharks’ 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
If the N.H.L. is good for anything — aside from its cottage industry in
defining which skull-rattling hits are dangerous and which are just boys
being boys — it is good for taking up time. Yes, it has a season that is best
measured by the geologic time scale. Yes, its playoffs are so long the
Stanley Cup champions have no idea whom they played in the first round.
And so, on the second day of the playoffs, why not have four overtimes?
The San Jose Sharks and the St. Louis Blues thought the overtime idea
was so good, they decided to have two. After all, they had to make up for
those slacker Rangers and Senators, who decided the Rangers’ 4-2 win in
regulation — sheesh!
The Sharks-Blues series is also another bit of a microcosm of the league —
it would not be all that shocking if the No. 7 seed (San Jose) beat the No. 2
seed (St. Louis) because when they get to this point, the regular season,
which everyone has forgotten, means little and, as it turns out, the Sharks
have a lot more playoff experience, as Mark Purdy writes in The San Jose
Mercury-News. They also have Martin Havlat, whom they traded for
specifically for playoff heroics, so his two goals fit the script perfectly, Pierre
LeBrun writes on ESPN.com.
To the Blues, the opener was a grand old party, until it wasn’t, writes Bernie
Miklasz in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, when Havlat’s buzz-killing goal sent
St. Louis fans home bummed.
Full members of the taking-too-long trend, Boston and Washington decided
not to score until overtime, making Bruins goalie Tim Thomas the hero,
writes Joe McDonald on ESPN.com, when Chris Kelly scored the overtime
goal. This game was also notable in that the Capitals’ superstar, Alex
Ovechkin, took a measly two shots, a far cry from making him effective,
Tarik El-Bashir writes in The Washington Post, and that the rinkside glass
attacked Bruins forward David Krejci after the game.
In Phoenix, the Coyotes are not just trying to win a playoff series against
the Blackhawks but also remind everyone they are still here. Their overtime
winner came from another Martin (Hanzal) and continued their dream
scenario of crashing the N.H.L.’s party for rounds to come, writes Dan
Bickley in The Arizona Republic.
The Rangers, meanwhile, had all the ingredients for a memorable playoff
opener with Madison Square Garden in full roar, Sam Gardner writes on
Foxsports.com, but the Rangers went and took a 4-0 lead. Either Rangers
Coach John Tortorella didn’t get the memo about the overtime theme, or he
ate it.
After all, he is the guy who was fined $20,000 for a profane postgame rant,
while Nashville defenseman Shea Weber got the equivalent of a parking
ticket ($2,500) for trying to crush Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg’s
head like a watermelon Wednesday night. It was, as Drew Sharp writes in
The Detroit Free Press, another spineless moment for the N.H.L.
There is something nearly as shifty going on in New Orleans, where the
Saints finally named Joe Vitt as their interim head coach while Sean Payton
serves his time for the bounty fiasco. Vitt has experience in N.F.L.
weirdness of this sort, filling in as head coach for the Rams in 2005, as Pat
Yasinskas writes on ESPN.com, but he is also being suspended for six
games because his fingerprints were found on the bounty system as well.
The Saints are intent on maintaining Payton’s stamp on the team, even
though Payton’s stamp on the team got them into this mess to start with.
The latest former player to join the parade of lawsuits against the N.F.L. is
the former Lions great Alex Karras, who has dementia at age 76.
In another sobering article by Allen Maki of The Toronto Globe and Mail, the
family of Rick Rypien, an N.H.L. enforcer who committed suicide last year in
the string of tragic deaths that rocked the league, is emphatic about not
connecting the dots between Rypien’s concussion-inducing job as a fighter
and his suicide. This is because they said that although Rypien’s mood
declined as his career progressed, he enjoyed fighting.
Fortunately, there were no life-and-death considerations in the Heat-Bulls
game Thursday night, just a game that dumped more fuel on the basketball
debate over the two teams’ status. While Greg Couch writes on
Foxsports.com that the Bulls have passed the Heat by, David Haugh writes
in The Chicago Tribune that the debate is still all about the Heat.
We will let you know when either of those teams decides to house its own
chickens, like the English Premier League team Fulham has done to
provide fresher eggs for its players’ meals. And then we’ll know the whole
business has gone to the birds.
You get the feeling that at some point in the N.H.L. playoffs a game will last
until a rooster crows.
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“We’re up 2-0,” said Brown after the game. “That’s what we wanted coming
up here. Good teams find ways to win.”
NHL Playoffs: Canucks take it on the chin against Kings
Luongo was frustrated that he could stop Brown, especially on the
breakaway.
DAVID EBNER
“I’ve got to try to make a big save there when the game is on the line, so it
was a tough one tonight,” said Luongo.
It was a heavy amount of pressure considering it was just the third day of
the two-month springtime rodeo of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Vancouver Canucks, again playing without their star scorer, the
concussed Daniel Sedin, were down 1-0 in a playoff contest for the first
time in five years. The captain of the two-time Presidents’ Trophy-winning
squad, Henrik Sedin, made a succeed-or-face-serious-peril declaration after
a Friday morning game-day skate, eight hours before the evening’s contest,
Game 2 against the Los Angeles Kings: “We can’t afford to lose tonight.”
Now, Vancouver’s season hangs in jeopardy, the Canucks facing the
potential humiliation of losing in the first round.
The Canucks failed to fend off the upstart, underdog Kings and lost 4-2.
Vancouver limps south to L.A. down two-nothing. Game 3 goes Sunday
night (and expect bad ice at the Staples Center, as hockey takes place five
hours after a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game concludes).
The power play on Friday night - Friday the 13th - killed Vancouver, both
the Canucks’ own time with the man-advantage and, near the end, L.A.’s
power play.
The star: Dustin Brown, scorer of the two - yes, two - short-handed goals
that put the Kings in control.
Vancouver is hardly the only favoured team in playoff history to be down 20. One year ago, the Boston Bruins lost two games at home in the first
round to the Montreal Canadiens before eventually winning in seven (in
overtime) - and going on to upset Vancouver in the Cup final, when Boston
also started down two.
The solution, for Vancouver, begins on the power play.
“It’s got to be a lot better, it’s got to win us games - right now it’s losing us
games,” said Henrik Sedin after the game.
(Brown, the Kings hero, actually had a hat trick for a while on Friday, after
the third-period goal was incorrectly credited to him. It was the first
postseason L.A. hat trick since some guy named Gretzky back in 1993 but
officials changed it to Jarret Stoll when the game finished, Brown getting an
assist.)
The Canucks, somewhat reeling, took heart in several positives from Friday
night, starting with solid five-on-five play against the Kings and outshooting
them over the evening 48-26, including a big 23-9 burst in the third period.
It was quite the electric game, even if there wasn’t a Philadelphia-Pittsburgh
explosion of 13 goals. Tonnes of hard hitting, two teams fairly evenly
matched, and two impressive goaltenders, Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo
(generally solid) and L.A.’s Jonathan Quick (very strong).
The Canucks began with vigour, delivering zest with new line combinations
from the start of Game 2 that was missing in much of Game 1. Yet it didn’t
add up on the only arbiter that counts, the scoreboard. Through two periods
on Friday night, the Canucks’ biggest problem in the past three months - an
absolutely terrible power play - was even worse than the usual lousy: a total
disaster.
On Wednesday, in Game 1’s first period, the Canucks had two power plays
and one shot. On Friday, in Game 2’s first period, the Canucks had two
power plays and one shot - and one goal against, the first short-handed
marker scored by Brown, after a steal and impressive effort by Anze
Kopitar. It came with nine seconds left in the opening frame.
After the Canucks responded 17 seconds into the second, with Jannik
Hansen getting on the board on a savvy puck tip past Quick, L.A. did it
again to Vancouver five minutes later. Short handed, after a botched Ryan
Kesler pass to Dan Hamhuis, Brown grabbed the puck and was flying, an
all-clear-by-a-mile breakaway. Brown swooped in on the wing on Luongo,
flew by in front, and went to his backhand, popping the puck high, the red
light set alight.
The team can do nothing but forget about the past three days and ready for
Game 3, Luongo insisted: “There’s no real point in looking at the big picture
right now, we’ve only got to focus on going in there and win a game.”
The veteran goaltender had confidence in a team that believes it has an
especially solid bond between players, a strong dressing room. Vancouver
practices 11 a.m. PT in Vancouver Saturday morning, before their charter
flies at 1:30 p.m. from the airport's south terminal to L.A.
“When we face adversity, we come out and we play hard,” said Luongo.”
Luongo played pretty well and it would be no surprise to see him again for
Game 3, but given that the Canucks need any spark they can stoke,
perhaps stellar backup Cory Schneider gets the Sunday start. Vancouver
coach Alain Vigneault, asked about Luongo and Schneider at the end of a
short four-minute press conference after the game, said: “I’m not going to
discuss goaltending tonight. Goaltending wasn’t the issue.”
There were scatted boos from Vancouver fans late in the second on yet
another weak power play (though the Canucks managed, on that one, to
prevent any goals scored against).
There were some more boos late in the third as disappointed fans streamed
out.
Daniel Sedin wasn’t on the ice Friday - his 11th missed game - and his
absence was felt. With about five minutes in the second period, Henrik
Sedin’s line was making a strong offensive push when Henrik, near Quick’s
net, made a backhand pass towards the point. The puck was stolen by L.A.
and taken out, and Henrik visibly chastised himself. Where are you, Daniel?
As they went down to the Kings again, the Canucks played a far-more
physical game than they had two nights previous. The team averaged about
22 hits a night during the regular season. On Wednesday, they made 26.
After one period on Friday, they already had 18 and at the buzzer more
than doubled their game average, counting 45 hits against the Kings’ 32.
On a single, extended shift late in the second, trying to light his team,
Kesler was a singular physical force, first on a rush beating both of L.A.’s
top defenceman, Rob Scuderi and Drew Doughty, but failing to score on
Quick.
Soon thereafter, Kesler laid a rocking hit on Kopitar in the corner by the
boards, and then banged twice with Doughty. The all-in effort roused a
somewhat deflated crowd, big cheers to salute Kesler’s hustle.
The Canucks’ coaches tried a bunch of variations to shake their team from
the relative slumber of Game 1. On Thursday, the off day, coach Alain
Vigneault talked about looking for “answers.” He was talking strategy, as he
gave his players a rest with an optional practice. The somewhat-new-look
lines were kept under wraps earlier Friday and featured several variations,
including Hansen promoted from the third line to Sedin’s first line, and a
reunited American Express second line of Kesler, David Booth and Chris
Higgins.
Vigneault also shuffled the defensive matchups against L.A., putting Kesler
out against Kopitar, instead of Mike Richards in Game 1, matching up Sedin
against Richards in Game 2. In one perhaps unexpected variation, Andrew
Ebbett, a healthy scratch for Game 1, played a number of shifts on the
second line of the power play, which may have shaken things up (there was
some early confusion) and did little in terms of results.
After the game, Vigneault indicated he at least somewhat liked the new
lines, noting that the Amex trio played with “energy.” But, at the end, at the
start, it was all about the atrocious power play.
“Tonight, it was more than ineffective - it really cost us at bad times,” said
Vigneault. “Those are our best players, and we’ve got a lot of confidence in
those guys, and we get another opportunity to prove it on Sunday.”
Toronto Globe And Mail LOADED: 04.14.2012
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Winning the Stanley Cup: In serendipity they trust
JAMES MIRTLE
In the six years since the lockout, the NHL has had six very different
Stanley Cup champions.
Three were Original Six teams; two were in the American Sun Belt.
Another, the Pittsburgh Penguins, won with a cast of young talent after
being a bottom feeder for years.
Ask the general manager of the first one on the list, however, and he’ll tell
you they all have at least one thing in common.
“All the stars have to line up for you,” Jim Rutherford, general manager of
the Carolina Hurricanes, said. “After you win a series or the Stanley Cup, in
your quiet time, you sit there and think: ‘Oh man, what about that time when
the guy missed the open net in overtime?’
“You can probably look back at 10 different things and say: ‘If that would
have happened, we wouldn’t have won.’ ”
Rutherford can do that even now, on a whim, with his team’s only
championship, in 2006.
He recalls the ’Canes being down two games to none in Round 1 to the
Montreal Canadiens and then down 1-0 in Game 3, with thoughts of a
sweep wiping out a 112-point regular season.
Eight weeks later, team captain Rod Brind’Amour was hoisting the Cup on
home ice.
The stars that aligned in the Hurricanes’ case were in large part due to their
situation in the crease, as they went into the postseason with Martin Gerber
as their starter and one of the worst team save percentages (.897) among
playoff-bound teams.
Enter rookie Cam Ward, who had started only 25 games during the season
but took over in Game 2 of the Montreal series and was stellar the rest of
the way. Suddenly the ’Canes were a high scoring, high seeded team with
vastly improved goaltending – a recipe that paid off in a Cup for Rutherford
and Co. and a Conn Smythe Trophy for the then 22-year-old Ward.
That wasn’t anything anyone could have predicted before the playoffs
started, but it does fit with a pattern for championship teams since the
lockout.
All six of those Cup winners had their save percentages rise in the
postseason, with Carolina and the 2008 Detroit Red Wings receiving the
biggest bump – a .014 higher save percentage – at their most important
position.
It may not sound like much, but that’s equivalent to three fewer goals
against in a seven-game series.
It’s an old cliché that goaltending wins championships, but statistically
speaking, the numbers – with apologies to Ilya Bryzgalov – bear that out.
On average, the six most recent teams to win haven’t increased their goal
production, been better on the power play or penalty kill, or kept shots on
goal down.
They’ve simply had more saves than they did during the regular season.
“That was a case where Cam was fresh,” Rutherford said of his team’s run.
“He hadn’t gone through the year and wasn’t worn down. He played a
couple of good games and then his confidence just skyrocketed from there.”
As was the case with the Hurricanes (and the team they faced in that final,
the Edmonton Oilers), it hasn’t always been a team that had solid
goaltending during the season, either. Only two of those recent Cupwinning teams had been better than average in goal going into the
postseason: the 2007 Anaheim Ducks and last year’s Boston Bruins.
All six teams did have some things in common during the season, however:
They all finished among the top eight teams in the league in points
(between 99 and 115), and they all were among the top eight in goals
scored (between 2.98 and 3.49 a game) in the year they won.
Seven teams fit into both categories this year – a group that includes the
four most recent winners as well as the Vancouver Canucks, Nashville
Predators and Philadelphia Flyers.
But with the way parity has increased in the league since the lockout and
how unpredictable goaltending can be, Rutherford still cautions that
anything can happen.
“With goaltending and getting on a run at the right point, I think any team
that’s in this year has a chance to win that Cup,” he said. “A legitimate
chance. With the parity in the league now, anybody can win.
“You have to have exceptional goaltending. You also have to have a team
that really believes in each other. But the key factors are the coach, the
goalie and being very strong down the middle.”
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Around the rinks
ERIC DUHATSCHEK
Philadelphia Flyers’ defenceman Matt Carle welcomes 40-year-old Jaromir
Jagr to the Twitter generation.
They said it
“Some championships, you don’t have to be that good. You just have to be
lucky that night and you have a chance to win it. In hockey, you have to
beat one team four times. It’s not an accident.”
Jaromir Jagr
The Philadelphia Flyers veteran won two championships early with the
Pittsburgh Penguins but none since 1993.
By the numbers
9
Number of players involved in the 2012 playoffs, who’d led the postseason
in scoring in previous years: David Krejci, Danny Brière, Evgeni Malkin,
Henrik Zetterberg, Sidney Crosby, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Brad
Richards and Jamie Langenbrunner.
7
Record for most game-winning goals, one playoff year, set by Brad
Richards of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 (23 games).
181
Going into Friday’s date with the Florida Panthers, number of playoff games
for the New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur, second highest among
goaltenders in NHL history after Patrick Roy (247).
Rolston’s last hurrah
For all the keen hockey observers who heaped praise on the Boston Bruins
for landing Brian Rolston from the New York Islanders at the trade deadline,
congratulations. You saw what others couldn’t – that Rolston, at the age of
39, had a wisp of gas left in the tank. Rolston has been just what the doctor
ordered – the Bruins’ doctor that is, who determined that Nathan Horton’s
concussion will keep him on the sidelines for the duration of the playoffs.
Without Horton, the Bruins had a need for a supplementary piece on the
team’s third line and that’s been Rolston, who won a Stanley Cup with the
1995 New Jersey Devils and, like Jaromir Jagr, has been waiting a long
time for the chance to do it again. The Islanders had Rolston on waivers
just before the deadline, but the Bruins made a deal for him – along with
depth defenceman Mike Mottau – giving up two fairly long-shot prospects to
essentially take them off New York’s hands. The hope is that Rolston is to
this year’s edition of the Bruins what 43-year-old Mark Recchi was to last
year’s championship squad – not just a steadying, experienced hand, with a
Stanley Cup pedigree, but someone who can still play, and make a tangible
contribution to success. Rolston right now is playing with Chris Kelly and
Benoit Pouliot, the latter another Bruins’ reclamation project. Rolston had
one previous turn with the Boston – acquired by the Bruins in the deal with
the Colorado Avalanche that ultimately permitted Ray Bourque to win a
Stanley Cup and, like Recchi, go out in style. Rolston, obviously, would like
to follow in those illustrious footsteps, too.
The reality of Oilers’ No. 1 pick
Let’s pause for a deep breath and put the Edmonton Oilers’ victory in last
Monday’s NHL draft lottery in perspective. Yes, it’s nice that the Oilers now
have the top pick for the third year in a row. But it’s not as if they wouldn’t
have had a high choice anyway, in what Columbus Blue jackets’ GM Scott
Howson rightfully calls “a difficult draft at the top.” The reality is, the Oilers
moved from No. 2 to No. 1 when the ping-pong balls aligned correctly. Two
years ago, if the Oilers had been at No. 2, they would have settled for Tyler
Seguin instead of Taylor Hall. Not bad. Last year, if they’d been at No. 2,
they would have settled for Gabriel Landeskog instead of Ryan NugentHopkins. Not bad again. It’s not as though they came from out of nowhere
to get the No. 1 pick. They were going to be at No. 2 anyway, No. 3 if they
were unlucky and somebody from behind leapfrogged them. Nor does the
primary decision change much, other than to permit the Oilers to dangle the
psychological lure of drafting No. 1 in front of a team that might be looking
for a big splash, with its eyes trained on the Sarnia Sting’s Nail Yakupov.
Question: If the Oilers do trade the pick, do they move down just a couple of
places to draft one of half-a-dozen available defensive prospects – or do
they trade right out of the top 10 and ask for an NHL-ready defenceman in
exchange? By rights, they should be talking to the Washington Capitals,
drafting No. 11 in the Colorado Avalanche’s spot, to see if Karl Alzner, Jeff
Schultz or maybe even Mike Green were available. Trade down; draft a
defenceman at No. 11, sign coveted soon-to-be free-agent defenceman
Justin Schultz and look out. Not only could the Oilers corner the market on
every available defenceman named Schultz in the known hockey world, it
would at long last help the pieces of their rebuilding puzzle click nicely –
and firmly – into place.
National-team pressures
Canada’s world championship roster included a couple of nice surprises,
including the Anaheim Ducks’ duo of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, two
members of the 2010 Olympic gold-medal team, who had underachieving
regular seasons and thus presumably feel they have more to give. Perry fell
from an MVP-winning 98-point season last year to a modest 60 this year;
and it was even worse for Getzlaf, who had 76 points in only 67 games two
years ago, a year marred by a serious facial injury. This year, Getzlaf
played all 82 games and had just 57 points, which included a career-low 11
goals. Getzlaf acknowledged to reporters in Anaheim that adjusting to
parenthood may have been a contributing factor, and parenthood is what
will keep Eric Staal, father of a three-month-old son home this year. “I think
people can respect I have a newborn child at home and I need to be with
my family,” Staal told the Raleigh News and Observer. “I always put hockey
first. Right now, I feel like I need to put family first.” The hardest decisions
may come for Staal’s and Getzlaf’s Finnish-born teammates, given that
Helsinki is playing host this year, meaning there’s extra pressure on the
likes of Tuomo Ruutu (Hurricanes) along with Teemu Selanne and Saku
Koivu (Ducks) to compete. How do you say no to Jari Kurri, Finland’s
general manager, and avoid the backlash in Finland surely to come against
anyone that turns down their invitations in this critical year? Difficult.
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No hint to when Canucks' Daniel Sedin might return from concussion
DAVID EBNER
The NHL has a “concussion evaluation and management protocol” that runs
about three pages and some 1,200 words. But the document, backed by
the league and the NHL Players’ Association, and issued a year ago,
devotes just one paragraph to “return to play.”
The document sets no minimum time a player has to sit. Players can be
diagnosed with a concussion and then, if recovery is swift, return the same
game.
The return-to-play protocol states only that a player has to be free of
concussion symptoms when at rest. “Upon exertion,” the player must be
“determined to be cognitively at baseline.” That means that test results after
an athlete has exerted himself have to match measurements taken in the
preseason. The protocol does not define exertion.
For instance, the protocols don’t prohibit a player from missing practice
during the day and playing that night. The protocols are general, and the
details are in the hands of a team doctor.
The protocols provide “broad guiding parameters,” Bill Daly, NHL deputy
commissioner, said by e-mail on Friday. “Diagnosis and treatment of
concussion is left to the expertise of the individual team physician working
with the player.”
So even details of the protocols are of little use when trying to figure out the
condition of Vancouver Canucks star Daniel Sedin. As of Friday, he had
been sidelined by concussion for 23 days, since the Chicago Blackhawks’
Duncan Keith elbowed him in the head on March 21.
Sedin’s absence is a problem for the Canucks. He has missed 11 games,
the last nine of the regular season and two playoff games against the Los
Angeles Kings, as he was expected to be absent Friday night for Game 2.
Game 3 – and possibly beyond – is a question mark.
Sedin practised with his team last Monday and looked set to go. But the
headaches returned, and as of Friday Sedin was not skating with his team.
He is said to have skated privately early Friday morning.
On Friday, Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault wouldn’t say if Sedin would
even travel to Los Angeles for Game 3. “Nothing new to report,” Vigneault
said.
One reprieve for Vancouver is the lengthy middle of the Canucks-Kings
first-round series. Game 3 is Sunday, Game 4 three days later on
Wednesday, and Game 5 is another four days later, the next Sunday.
“If he doesn’t play, it’s certainly to our advantage,” Kings defenceman Rob
Scuderi said on Friday morning.
Questions about the handling of Sedin’s concussion go back to the first
period on March 21 when Keith elbowed Sedin’s head. Sedin returned to
the ice a moment later, playing for 1 1/2 minutes on the power play while
Keith was in the penalty box. What about the quiet room, where players are
examined after big hits? The protocols don’t say “quiet room” – the wording
is “distraction-free environment.” Either description doesn’t mean being on
the ice for a power play.
Vigneault deflected protocol questions on Friday. “You should ask a
medical person,” he said. “I’m not the one who understands the whole
dynamics, and then I don’t think I’ve ever read the protocol itself.”
Last season Sedin was the league’s top scorer and a finalist for most
valuable player.
The Canucks got some good news on Friday when they welcomed Keith
Ballard back from concussion. The defenceman had been sidelined for two
months.
Kings scrapper Kyle Clifford is out with a suspected concussion after being
boarded by Byron Bitz on Wednesday in Game 1.
But the Kings are benefitting from a revived Mike Richards. He was
concussed in December, missed eight games, and seemed slow to find his
stride on return. However, he had points on three of the Kings’ four goals in
Game 1.
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The rules of Predators coach Barry Trotz
ERIC DUHATSCHEK
In his early days as an NHL coach, the Nashville Predators' Barry Trotz
mirrored actor Edward G. Robinson, who played gangster tough-guy roles.
Trotz could be that way too when he was just starting out – gruff, hard, a
demanding in-your-face taskmaster who wanted to control everything, who
kept pushing and wouldn't let up.
Trotz had an epiphany in his first year, the expansion year, when the
Predators inherited a handful of castoffs from their NHL brethren and were
badly overmatched virtually every night.
“At first, I'd be barking at guys and losing my mind when things weren't
going real well, and I noticed, when I did that, they got worse and worse,”
Trotz said. “I hadn't figured out, these were all fringe players from all the
other teams. What I've learned is if you're like that, it gets old in a hurry.
“I really think that coaching now is like being a business leader; you've got
to create an environment where people feel they have a voice. It's not the
old days, where it was ‘my way or the highway.' Players are owners in the
clubs now ... and my job is to get these 23 or 24 individual businesses to
work together.”
Further proof of how uncertain a profession NHL coaching can be occurred
this week, when the Calgary Flames became the 14th team in the past 12
months to make a change behind the bench. This is the prevailing NHL
wisdom, where the majority of teams apply a turnstile approach to their
coaching hires and fires, believing that when things go badly, it is easier to
change one coach than 20 players.
Then there are the Predators, swimming against the tide. Trotz is in his 14th
season with the team, and is the second-longest tenured coach in the NHL
after the Buffalo Sabres' Lindy Ruff.
Originally from Winnipeg, the 49-year-old Trotz has seen the Predators
through the lean expansion years; through the middle improving years, and
now, with the 2012 playoffs under way, through a whole new chapter, the
competitive years – a year in which Nashville is considered a legitimate
threat to make a playoff splash.
The Predators have been surprisingly competitive for a while now –
Nashville, San Jose and Detroit are the only teams in the league with 40 or
more wins for seven years in a row.
And how they do it, with one of the smallest budgets in the league, in an
organization perennially turning personnel over in order to keep the payroll
balanced, is a juggling act, orchestrated by general manager David Poile
and Trotz.
In July of 1997, when Poile was hired to be the first GM of the Predators, he
called some of his peers who’ve previously run expansion teams, looking
for advice.
“Everybody had the exact same thing to say,” Poile said. “They said: ‘Your
team is going to be terrible and so you should probably get the most
experienced coach you can, because he’ll cover up a lot of the sins of an
expansion team.’
“I just thought no, ‘this is a time to give everybody a chance, not just the
players, but the scouts, the office staff, everybody.’ I hired some really
inexperienced scouts. I hired some new people to the industry. I said,
‘Barry’s done his thing, I can grow and work with Barry. We’ll go for a
couple of years and we’ll improve as a team, he’ll improve as a coach, and
we’ll get there together.’
“And that’s what happened.”
On many levels, Trotz sounds a lot like Bob Johnson, the legendary
Calgary Flames’ coach, who coined the term ‘it’s a great day for hockey’
and never had a bad day in his life. With Johnson, as with Trotz, once you
turn on the conversational tap, it just keeps flowing.
Johnson joined Calgary in 1982, soon after Poile left the Flames to run the
Washington Capitals. There he found Trotz, a Regina Pats grad, at training
camp on a tryout basis, but with no real chance of cracking the NHL lineup.
However, Jack Button – father of Craig, then one of the Caps’ most trusted
birddogs – saw something in Trotz that he liked and advised him that he
had a future in the industry.
So Trotz returned home to Winnipeg and started at the University of
Manitoba as an assistant on Wayne Fleming’s staff. Trotz then spent two
seasons as head coach and GM of the Dauphin Kings juniors, before
returning to the University of Manitoba as their head coach in 1987. The
next year, Trotz began to scout Western Canada for the Caps, and who
eventually brought him to their AHL affiliate in Baltimore as an assistant
coach. From there, the team’s AHL franchise was shifted to Portland, and
Trotz was elevated to the head coaching position, which is when Poile
recruited him for Nashville.
Trotz remembers when he first received the job, going back to his hotel
room to ponder the challenges that lay ahead.
“I thought, ‘I’m a rookie coach in a non-traditional market with an expansion
team. Maybe I bit off more than I could chew,’” Trotz said. “That first year,
we went into every game and I’d look at the lineup and I’d think, ‘how are
we going to win this game?’ I think we won 28. And afterward, I was
thinking, ‘how in the world did we ever win 28 games?’ It was a real fun
group, and we worked really hard.”
Hard work has been a trademark of the Predators’ organization ever since.
Trotz usually gets the most out of the players at his disposal, but he will
dispute the widely held notion that his team perennially overachieves. His
view is that there is no such thing as overachieving (“other than me
marrying my wife,” he quips, sheepishly) because if you ultimately succeed
at something, then the goal was always within your grasp.
“I just ask players to play to their potential, and that’s all,” Trotz said. “You
want to put people in positions to succeed. What we’ve been able to do is
look at a player and say, ‘what is your talent? What is your real talent?’
“Sometimes, there are certain guys that can’t do some things, so you
accept them for what they can do and you try to push them closer to what
you want them to do and then you try to put them with people that will help
them do it.”
According to Poile, what separates Trotz from others caught in the
revolving, hired-to-be-fired coaching door is his self-awareness and the fact
that “there are no airs about him. There is no vanity. He’s self-deprecating.
He’ll poke fun at himself if the situation is there.
“For me, more than anything else, I seized on how good a person he is.
That trumps everything.
“Barry’s got a saying and I use it all the time too. He says, ‘always do the
right thing.’ That’s what Barry’s always about. He always does the right
thing.
“I’m not saying that, like a lot of married couples, there haven’t been highs
and lows, on and off the ice, but I’ve never lost belief in Barry and I’ve
always trusted in his judgment.”
According to Trotz, Poile deserves credit for not taking the easy way out
when those rough patches occurred.
“There’s been times, in the past, when I thought, ‘gawd, I know I’m out of
here, I’ve gotta be gone.’ Things were not going good and I knew there
were pressures on David, but he’d come in and say, ‘fix it’ and we’d be able
to turn it around. David showing just a little extra patience proved to be what
we needed, because instead of giving a player or a group an out, he’d allow
us to fix it and be stronger on the other end, because you’ve gone through
hell a little bit together.
“It’s not about tearing it apart when you lose some games. It’s about
bringing it together. When things aren’t going well, it’s easy to jump off the
ship. The harder thing is to hold on to the ship in difficult waters – and
keeping it on course.”
One of the challenges over the years in Nashville was the need to
constantly change personnel to keep the team on budget. There have been
ownership issues – for a time, it looked as though they were headed to
southern Ontario in one of Jim Balsillie’s multiple attempts to crack the NHL
ownership code. Sometimes a player would be lost simply because the
Preds couldn’t meet his salary demands. Other times, changes were made
deliberately to filter out players that didn’t fit the Predators’ culture.
Now, finally, the Predators fall into the ranks of genuine contender. The
combination of the moves they’ve made to add Hal Gill, Andrei Kostitsyn,
Paul Gaustad and Alexander Radulov; the maturing of Shea Weber and
Ryan Suter; and the exceptional goaltending they get from Pekka Rinne
makes them an interesting wild card – and in the unlikely position of being
slight favourites in their opening-round series against the Detroit Red
Wings, which stood 1-0 in Nashville’s favour going into Friday night’s
second game of their Western Conference quarter-final series.
Gill – the former Montreal Canadiens’ player – has already formed a
positive first impression of Trotz.
“In the time I’ve known him, he’s kind, he’s fair, he’s open, but he demands
a lot,” Gill said. “He has systems that he wants you to be a part of – and he
demands that from his players. He’s a guy you can go and talk to – not just
about hockey, but about anything. He’s open. It’s been enjoyable so far.”
Weber, the team captain, says one of Trotz’s strengths in that he handles
the preparation and then permits the leadership group to be “responsible for
the work ethic and the chemistry.
“He’s a players’ coach too. He’s got an open door. You can go in there and
talk to him; and he’ll come out and talk to you.”
Trotz says the strategy to empower the players is deliberate: “We give the
players ownership. We don’t micromanage them. We ask them for their
input and listen to their input and make it work. That’s part of the culture.
“Coaching is not about equality, it’s about inequality, but the one thing that
should be equal is respect. Coaching, at this level, is not about X’s and O’s.
The people at this level all know the X’s and O’s of the game.
“It’s about getting people to buy in to what you’re doing as a group. I have
one simple rule. ‘I want you to get better because that makes us better. I
want you to have a good career. I want you to have an understanding of
what your potential is.’”
Ultimately, Poile knows the only way to get the Predators on the map is to
make a longer run through the playoffs than they have in the past.
“We’ve been the underdog a long time,” he said. “We talk about that all the
time in our organization – how to take our franchise to another level. We’ve
had 20 sellouts this year. We’re doing well on the business side. On the
hockey side, we’re making progress. It’s all tracking real well, but to use a
poker expression, we’re all in right now. We were as aggressive as any
team at the trading deadline. We’re as deep as we’ve ever been.
“We’re hoping this could be the year.”
625808
NHL
Jets’ season ticket holder gets inside track from coach Noel
PAUL WALDIE
When Chuck Duboff headed for lunch at Stella’s Cafe in Winnipeg on
Friday the last person he expected to run into was Winnipeg Jets’ coach
Claude Noel. But the waiter sat Duboff right next to the coach and they
struck up a conversation. Duboff, who shares Jets' season tickets with a
group of friends, said he thanked Noel for his work last season and figured
that would be the end of their chat. It wasn’t.
Duboff and Noel got into a long talk about the players, fans and ownership.
Duboff dutifully wrote down a summary of their conversation (he also got a
picture of himself with the coach). Among the highlights:
“The Jets “played [goalie] Ondrej Pavelec about ten games too many; he
was worn out by the end of the year.” [Pavelec played in 68 games].
Noel asked Duboff if he knew “how to motivate [forward Nik] Antropov so
that he plays with passion more than just a few games.” [Antropov finished
with 15 goals and 20 assists].
The coaches “had their exit meetings with all the players Tuesday and
Wednesday...he told me that he really gave it to [forward Alexander]
Burmistrov and that he really has to pick his game up next season.”
[Burmistrov had 13 goals and 15 assists].
“Burmistrov should have stayed in the OHL for a couple of seasons.” [This
was his second NHL season].
“The GST line [Tanner Glass, Jim Slater and Chris Thorburn] should be a
fourth line, not third.”
Noel said “We don’t have enough top line talent to match up against the top
teams.”
Noel “felt overwhelmed the last time playing Pittsburgh...didn’t know how to
match up against all of the Penguins talent.”
Defenceman “Paul Postma, down in St. John’s, is ready for next year.”
Forward “Jason Jaffray [also with the St. John's Ice Caps] is too slow for the
NHL.”
Noel “can’t believe what a big fan [True North co-owner, and Toronto
billionaire,] David Thomson is [he also controls the Globe and Mail].”
Noel “spent the first two months trying to get the players to break bad habits
and practice at a higher level...he said too many players were floating
during the first part of the season.”
Noel said “it’s going to take a while to change the 'losing culture' from the
Thrashers...he said the Moose had a winning culture and that has been
passed on to St. John’s” [Noel coached the AHL's Moose in Winnipeg for
one season before joining the Jets last summer. The Moose moved to St.
John's.]
Noel said he “loved [foward] Spencer Mahachek’s energy.” [Machacek
spent most of the season in St. John's but played 13 games with the Jets,
scoring twice and getting seven assists].
Noel also ‘thinks the fans in Winnipeg are amazing and that the players
were overwhelmed by it.”
True North spokesman Scott Brown said the team would not be
commenting “on anything a fan supposedly had to say to coach [Noel]”
Brown added that the company was disappointed Duboff’s comments had
come out at all “since it’s an unsubstantiated conversation.”
Duboff said he stood by his recounting of the discussion. “I’d stake my life
on every word,” he said. Noel “said every word that I wrote.”
625809
NHL
Senators lament case of bad playoff nerves
ROY MacGREGOR
“They’re sick of practice. They’re sick of coaches. We’re sick of them
sometimes.”
New York Rangers coach John Tortorella, April 12, 2012
On April 13, 2012, the Ottawa Senators practised. They practised hard –
“focused,” one of them said – on the Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers, tall
windows along one side overlooking the Hudson River.
The Senators were not there as tourists, however, as they plan to return to
New York City in a week’s time and, they hope, see things differently than
the team did on its first postseason visit.
If the New York Rangers players and coaches are sick of practices, then
the Ottawa Senators cannot be feeling good about Game 1 of their best-ofseven Stanley Cup playoff series. They lost 4-2 on Thursday, though that
score is flattering to the flat Senators, who, by team-wide admission, had a
six- to eight-minute stretch at the end of the second period and start of the
third where they were awful.
“We lost our game a little bit,” said centre Jason Spezza, the team’s top
scorer during the regular season. That would be an understatement. There
were, on the other hand, small stretches in the game where the Senators
dominated but could not beat the Rangers’ splendid goaltender, Henrik
Lundqvist. The two goals they did score came late when the Rangers,
having already won the match, lost their concentration.
“I know my players don’t like my practices,” former NHL coach Harry Neale
once said, “but that’s okay, because I don’t like their games.”
Senators head coach Paul MacLean surely felt somewhat the same, but
was more diplomatic. “A lot of times in the game, we played real well,”
MacLean said after the hour-long workout, “but we got nothing out of it.”
The players had, or were offered, multiple theories on what went wrong, the
most common being that the Senators are a young team with many players
new to the NHL and their nerves got the best of them.
“If you weren’t nervous, there’s something wrong,” goaltender Craig
Anderson said. “It’s what you dream of as a child, to play in the final, and
this is the first step.”
Nerves may have been part of it, but the real story was the team’s inability
to set free their main weapons: speedy little defenceman Erik Karlsson and
slick-passing forward Spezza. Karlsson, who led all NHL defencemen in
scoring by 25 points in the regular season, was a non-factor. His most
significant moment of the night came when his head was punched four
times by 6-foot-7, 244-pound Brian Boyle. The matchup – think of Britain
attacking the Falkland Islands – earned both Boyle (deserved) and Karlsson
(undeserved) two-minute penalties for roughing.
“Guys have been targeting Erik all year,” Spezza said. “That’s just the
nature of the beast.” If the Rangers are going to key on Ottawa’s best, he
said, then Ottawa will need to key on New York’s best, such as captain
Ryan Callahan: “We’ve got to do a better job of challenging him.”
Karlsson was excused from Friday’s practice, as was captain Daniel
Alfredsson and the Senators’ main enforcer, Chris Neil. All were given extra
time to rest and, presumably, heal.
Ottawa knows it needs Karlsson, the team’s MVP of the year. They are
working on shifts in strategy that will see him trying to carry the puck less
out of his own end and more of the team dumping and chasing pucks,
hoping to regain pucks by a strong fore-check. Karlsson will be told to shoot
more from the point – he had only two shots Thursday – in the hopes that
the Rangers, who love nothing better than to block shots, will play the shot
until he has them sprawled on the ice and can dance about as he works his
magic.
MacLean thought that Karlsson did not use his speed and skating ability as
he can. Whether it was nerves or, far more likely, the tenacious checking of
the Rangers is debatable; what isn’t debatable is the need for Karlsson to
be at his best if the No. 8 seed Senators are to have any chance against
the top-seeded Rangers.
Another strategy under discussion is to re-form the top line with Alfredsson
back playing with Spezza and winger Milan Michalek. MacLean has often
put the three back together during spurts in games, but concedes he will
have to consider juggling his lineup for Saturday to take this possibility into
consideration.
MacLean also wants to see far more physical play out of the Senators, who
did not shy away from the powerful Rangers in the regular season as
Ottawa won three of four matches.
“We’d like to make them earn their goals a little more than they did,”
MacLean said.
“We hope to come out of here and get the split,” Spezza said. If Ottawa can
win one of the two opening matches, then the Senators would return home
for Games 3 and 4 “and put the pressure on them. We feel like we can play
better.”
625810
NHL
Boston arena officials investigating glass mishap
James Mirtle
Officials with Boston's TD Garden are looking into why a piece of glass
came loose after Thursday's overtime win and injured Boston Bruins centre
David Krejci.
The bizarre incident happened not long after Bruins teammate Chris Kelly
scored the winning goal and the entire team was celebrating behind the
Washington Capitals net.
With fans pounding on the end glass, it came free from the boards and
landed on Krejci, who is expected to be able to play in Game 2 on
Saturday.
"I guess fans... kind of got carried away from the Kells goal and it just
happened," Krejci said. "The glass fell."
"We’re kind of fortunate that it wasn’t worse than what it is," Bruins coach
Claude Julien said. "With the weight of that glass it could have been a lot
worse. But... he’s fine and we probably dodged a bullet there."
TD Garden's director of public relations Tricia McCorkle said they're
working to prevent something similar from happening again.
"It was an unfortunate accident, and we are taking every precaution
possible to ensure it does not happen again," McCorkle said. "We are
undergoing a full inspection of our dasher system and consulting with the
manufacturer and the NHL.
"We are regretful of the situation and are happy to hear David Krejci is
okay."
Krejci missed practice on Friday morning, and GM Peter Chiarelli told
reporters afterwards that he was day-to-day.
"I got a little sore neck, but other than that I’m good and I’ll play tomorrow,"
Krejci said.
"He’s fine," Julien said. "He was a little bit stiff around the neck area this
morning. He was scheduled to skate and I talked to the trainer and together
we came to terms that it was better if he stayed off [and] felt even better
tomorrow."
625811
NHL
Ballard back, Daniel Sedin still out for Canucks
DAVID EBNER
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Keith Ballard is back, ready after an
extended and arduous convalescence from concussion.
Star scorer Daniel Sedin is not back. Earlier this week, it looked like
concussed Sedin was near ready. Now, he could be out of action for an
extended period. At the very least, he is out for Game 2 of Vancouver’s
first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings, and is now a glaring
question mark for Game 3 on Sunday. He did not practice with his team on
Friday morning ahead of Game 2. The team won’t say if he will travel with
the team Saturday to L.A.
(One plus, it turns out for Vancouver, is the lengthy middle of this series,
Game 4 on Wednesday, and Game 5 next Sunday, nine days away.) “If he
doesn’t play, it’s certainly to our advantage,” said L.A.’s Rob Scuderi on
Friday, Scuderi being a key for the Kings, a wearer of a Stanley Cup ring
(Pittsburgh 2009) and the shutdown defenceman who was effective against
the Canucks’ top line on Wednesday.
The puck for Game 2 drops Friday night in Vancouver a bit after 7 p.m. PT,
with the Canucks down 1-0, playing from behind in a playoff series for the
first time in five years.
“We can’t afford to lose tonight,” said Canucks captain Henrik Sedin after a
game-day skate at Rogers Arena Friday morning. “If we do that we’ve dug
ourselves a big hole. It’s tough to be down 2-0.”
And, hey, Henrik, any comment on your twin brother: “Nope.”
Key to game
Beyond the obvious of scoring more goals, both teams aim to take fewer
penalties.
When the Kings do get dinged, the Canucks especially are looking to find
some sort of spark in their pretty-much-comatose power play. It’s stunk
since January and did again in Game 1. How bad? Two power plays in the
first period produced one shot. Sedin (Henrik) said a power play doesn’t
necessarily have to score to inspire a team and the near-20,000 fans
(home-ice is supposed to be an advantage). A bunch of shots (missing in
Game 1) and pounding the net will produce energy that can extended for
five, 10 minutes of even-strength play, Sedin said.
“If you’re on the bench, and your power play goes on the ice, and you see
that they’re getting shots, they’re getting chances, the crowd gets into the
game, and all of a sudden the bench gets energized,” said Sedin, who
noted the opposite deflates a team.
The Canucks on Friday kept their line combinations a secret, giving no hint
during the game-day skate or afterwards. The power-play combination will
be shaken up. Alex Edler is probably off the first unit, and maybe someone
like Keith Ballard is a surprise addition.
Speaking of....
Lineup changes
Welcome back, Mr. Ballard. He was concussed in early February. When
last Ballard was playing, he wasn’t all that great, with seven points in 47
games this season, compared with an average of about 30 points in a full
slate of 82 games in both 2008-09 and 09-10 with the Florida Panthers.
“I’ve done everything I could, off the ice, on the ice, physically, mentally, to
prepare. So that’s all I can go by,” said Ballard Friday morning. “I know it’s
going to be fast, I know it’s going to be intense. I’m ready.”
Ballard - not as yet officially - will probably replace Aaron Rome. Also new
for Vancouver is Andrew Ebbett, replacing the suspended Byron Bitz, the
Canucks choosing offensive spark over thuggery (Dale Weise).
L.A. is doing the same to replace tough-guy Kyle Clifford, felled by Bitz’s
boarding in Game 1. Twenty-one-year-old Russian Andrei Loktionov (a
rookie forward with seven points in 39 games) will play his first NHL playoff
game.
Coach says
For L.A.’s Darryl Sutter, it was the standard not much. “Both teams want
more 5-on-5 hockey,” Sutter said, as the squads try to avoid the box. On
one element of strategy: “Our forecheck has to be very careful, so they do
not over forecheck.” That’s actually quite interesting, because that
forecheck produced big chances in Game 1. In one instance, midway
through the first, two L.A. forwards pressured Canucks young d-man Chris
Tanev behind Vancouver’s net, who then turned over the puck on a bad
pass, and the Kings nearly scored. (It was a relatively rare miscue for the
mostly strong Tanev.)
Two thoughts from one Alain Vigneault.
On the NHL’s concussion protocol: “You should ask a medical person, I’m
not the one who understands the whole dynamics, and then I don’t think
I’ve ever read the protocol itself.”
On Daniel Sedin, Game 2 marking his 11th game off the ice, now more than
double the five served by Chicago’s Duncan Keith: “You know, I’m going to
measure my words very carefully. There’s nothing we can do. He’s not
here, and we’ve got to deal with that situation. The culprit in that incident
got five games from the National Hockey League. I remember Aaron Rome
getting four games last year [against Boston, concussing Nathan Horton in
the cup final] for a hit that was maybe 0.2 seconds late, clean hit, the guy
had the puck. In Danny’s case, there was no puck around. So I’m going to
leave it at that.”
And, finally
I am sorry. Sincerely.
Vancouver backup goaltender Cory Schneider caused a small kerfuffle
when on Thursday he was asked about the chatter about the Canucks
being disliked (hated???) outside Vancouver/B.C./etc. He said some nonmemorable things and then added: “Nobody cares about Edmonton so
nobody hates them. It’s that simple.”
The 11 words were taken by some as a nasty slag of Edmonton, the city,
the people, the hockey team.
Schneider was quick on Friday with an apology, asked in the locker room
just after he had his jersey off after the game-day skate, still wearing all his
equipment, his face sweaty.
“I felt bad about it,” said the 26-year-old. “I didn’t mean to say that about
them. I was frustrated about having to constantly defend my teammates,
and let it get the better of me. ... They’ve got a great hockey city, and a
great tradition. Their fans obviously care a heck of a whole lot, along with a
lot of other people. I feel stupid and ignorant about saying that, and I really
regret it, and truly feel bad.”
625812
NHL
11
B. Richards
32
1.07
NYR
30
10
22
12
Alfredsson
41
1.05
Ott
39
19
22
13
S. Koivu
1.05
Ana
20
4
17
21
14
Briere
1.03
Phi
92
42
53
95
This was why the San Jose Sharks dealt Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat
last July.
15
Lecavalier
30
1.03
TB
29
12
18
They wanted what he brings in the playoffs – and what Heatley doesn't – as
Havlat has surprisingly been a very regular playoff contributor when his
teams have made it in.
Marty Havlat: Mr. Clutch?
James Mirtle | Columnist profile
Among players with 20 postseason games played since the lockout, he
ranks fifth in points per game, with 30 points in 27 games for Ottawa,
Chicago and after two goals on Thursday night, including the double
overtime winner, San Jose.
Havlat played 21:30 in his first playoff game as a Shark, skating on a line
with Logan Couture and Ryane Clowe, and looked like a difference maker.
He's run into plenty of injury problems so far in San Jose, missing all but 39
regular season games mainly due to hurting himself climbing over the
boards in a game against the Edmonton Oilers in mid-December.
His fragility has always been an issue (even if he'd been relatively healthy
the three years before this one) but the Sharks felt they could live with that
as long as he delivered in a few big games.
So far, so good.
"I don't think it's just me, I think everybody in the NHL wants to be in the
playoffs and have a chance to fight for the Cup," Havlat said after scoring
the winner in that video above. "I'm just trying to enjoy it... I'm very excited I
could play in the playoffs."
The Sharks record was terrific during the season when Havlat was healthy
(25-11-3), making his return from injury another factor that will make this a
tough series for the St. Louis Blues.
Another one? How about another former Blackhawk in netminder Antti
Niemi, who was terrific in the overtime in keeping his team alive until
Havlat's winner.
Wouldn't it be something if San Jose goes on a run in a year when they're a
seventh seed after so many disappointing postseasons as the favourite?
Playoff points per game leaders since lockout (min. 20 games)
RK
Player
Current
Team
GP
G
A
Pts
PPG
1
Crosby
1.33
Pit
63
31
53
84
2
Ovechkin Was
1.32
38
25
25
50
3
Jagr
1.17
Phi
24
10
18
28
4
Malkin
1.16
Pit
63
29
44
73
5
Havlat
1.11
SJ
27
14
16
30
6
St. Louis TB
1.10
29
17
15
32
7
Spezza
1.10
Ott
41
13
32
45
8
P. Kane
1.09
Chi
46
20
30
50
9
Elias
1.08
NJ
36
12
27
39
10
Zetterberg
95
1.07
Det
89
47
48
625813
NHL
Alfredsson, Karlsson and Neil excused from Senators' practice
ROY MacGREGOR
It’s never a good idea to read much into a practice.
If so, you’d think the Ottawa Senators – losers 4-2 to the New York Rangers
in the first game of Round One – were now in even deeper trouble: missing
their team captain, Daniel Alfredsson, missing the NHL’s top scoring
defenceman Erik Karlsson, and even missing their designated enforcer
Chris Neil.
All, it turns out, were just given a bye on the Senators workout at the Sky
Rink at Chelsea Piers, overlooking the Hudson River.
All three were given the day off to rest and, presumably, heal up for Game
2, which goes at Madison Square Garden Saturday evening.
As the Senators had no New York Rangers to harass and attack them, no
blueshirts to block their shots and, most significantly, no Henrik Lundqvist to
try to beat in goal, the workout was considered quite successful.
Jason Spezza, the team’s best scorer who is expected and needed to put
pucks behind the Rangers’ Lundqvist, said the team was more “focused” at
this practice and, hopefully, distancing itself from the opening-night jitters
that led to so many giveaways and poor passes.
“We feel like we can play better,” said Spezza.
“We hope to come out of here and get the split,” he added, saying Ottawa’s
hopes now lie in winning the second of the two games, “and put the
pressure on them.”
Games 3 and 4 will be played Monday and Wednesday evenings back in
Ottawa.
The players seemed glad to have that first experience before a playoff
crowd at MSG over with. “There’s some kind of relief,” said defenceman
Sergei Gonchar, “but it’s obviously not a relief if you lose.”
“We have to get better,” said head Coach Paul MacLean.
There is much speculation around the team that, in order to take some of
the Rangers’ attention away from the brilliant Karlsson, MacLean will
reunite Alfredsson, Spezza and Milan Michalek in an effort to jumpstart the
team’s sputtering offence.
625814
NHL
Adding up the numbers in Phoenix bid
DAVID SHOALTS
There are some interesting numbers flying around in the negotiations
between the NHL, the city of Glendale and prospective buyer Greg Jamison
for the Phoenix Coyotes.
While the numbers, which include a sale price, $40-million (all currency
U.S.) in up-front money from Glendale plus annual fees as high as $16million paid to Jamison for operating Jobing.com Arena, could not be
confirmed, they do not support the optimism that once again surrounds the
long-running soap opera. The proposed sale price of $140-million calls for a
bigger haircut than the NHL was ever willing to concede and the money
Glendale is expected to kick in is much more than the cash-strapped city
can afford.
Glendale city councillor Phil Lieberman said Friday he has heard the
suburban city is being asked to contribute $40-million up front plus the
annual management fees but will never vote for it. A spokeswoman for city
manager Ed Beasley, Glendale’s chief negotiator, said there will be no
comments during the negotiations. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly also
declined to comment and said in an e-mail message he is “not sure” the
numbers and the scenario of how the money will be raised is accurate.
Glendale officials goosed the optimism meter this week by telling council
that Jamison, the former president of the San Jose Sharks, is now the
preferred bidder. Council responded by telling Beasley to keep negotiating
only with Jamison. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said there is no
deadline for a deal but Glendale needs to have the budget for its 2013 fiscal
year in place by mid-June.
As those who have followed this story for far too long know, whenever a
prospective owner shows up the practice is for him to negotiate a lease with
Glendale and then sit down to cut a deal with the NHL. The league bought
the Coyotes out of bankruptcy in October, 2009 for $140-million. Since
then, paying for the team’s annual losses plus legal fees for the various
court actions have driven the NHL’s costs to at least $200-million, according
to sources familiar with the situation.
According to one source, the plan to give Jamison $40-million up front
comes from a section of the prospective lease agreement reached in
December, 2010 with Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer. He
eventually walked away from the negotiations when the city would not
agree to his terms.
In section 19.3 of that lease, the city agreed to give Hulsizer $40-million in
exchange for his agreement to buy Jobing.com Arena from the city for the
same figure at the end of the 30-year lease. The plan was that represented
fair value and did not violate the gift clause of the Arizona constitution that
prohibits excessive public subsidies of private enterprises. In turn, that
might prevent opposition from the Goldwater Institute, the conservative
watchdog group that scuttled attempts to buy the team on grounds the gift
clause was violated.
The theory is a lease with Jamison will employ the same language to
provide him with $40-million. The city may borrow the money through its
Enterprise Fund, which is for sewers and water, and pay $1-million per year
back into that fund for 40 years from its General Fund.
In addition, the city would pay $16-million per year to Jamison as a
management fee for the arena. The argument would be it is keeping the
Coyotes for only $17-million per year (the loan payment plus the
management fee) compared to the $25-million it paid for the 2010-11
season and this season.
A source familiar with Arionza's gift clause said he does not think the $40million payment would pass muster legally. He also questioned the
management fee on the same grounds, saying it was above fair market
value. Lieberman said another problem is the interest costs on the $40million over 40 years would be prohibitive.
Last week, outgoing Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs said during a diatribe
against the NHL she would never vote for a management fee of more than
$11-million. Lieberman said he would never vote for it either, although he
fears “there are three or four councillors who would insist on robbing any
fund they can to keep the Coyotes.”
However, the city is facing a deficit of as much as $30-million for the
upcoming budget. Unpaid furloughs for city workers and cutbacks to public
services are likely in the next year, which makes big payments for the
Coyotes a tough sell to taxpayers.
Finally, the amount put into the deal by Jamison is said to be $100-million,
which means the purchase price has to be $140-million. Since the NHL
previously demanded $170-million and Bettman promised the league
owners they would not lose money on the Coyotes, it would be difficult for
the league to accept that offer. Not when there are prospective owners
willing to pay as much as $200-million if they can move the team to another
city.
Lieberman is skeptical that Jamison has raised the money he needs and
said Beasley refused a request for Jamison to meet with council to discuss
his plans.
There is also news that the arena deal between the NBA’s Sacramento
Kings and the city of Sacramento is falling apart and the team owners, the
Maloof family, are prepared to move the team. One of the main candidates
is Seattle, which is putting together an arena plan. If an NBA team is
headed there, it increases the possibility of an NHL team coming as well.
625815
NHL
Brent Sutter named Team Canada coach for world championships
ALLAN MAKI
Brent Sutter wasn’t out of the coaching game for long.
One day after leaving the Calgary Flames, the former NHL head coach was
announced as the bench boss for Canada’s team at the coming IIHF world
championships in Finland-Sweden beginning later this month.
Joining Sutter as assistants will be Guy Boucher of the Tampa Bay
Lightning and Kirk Muller of the Washington Capitals.
“This is a coaching staff that has a great deal of professional and
international experience,” Canadian general manager Kevin Lowe, of the
Edmonton Oilers, said in a news release. “Brent, Guy and Kirk are all
looking forward to working with the 17 players we have named and leading
this group to success in Helsinki.”
Sutter has a wealth of international experience at the world junior level,
coaching Canada to gold medals in 2005 and 2006. He spent the past three
NHL seasons with the Flames but was unable to guide the team to a playoff
spot even once. With his contract expiring, Sutter met with Flames’ GM Jay
Feaster on Wednesday and agreed it was in everyone’s best interest that
he move on.
Coaching the world championship team could mean Sutter will be
considered when the Canadian team is assembled for the 2014 Winter
Olympics in Sochi. It is not yet decided whether NHL players will compete in
Russia.
625816
NHL
Goaltending is supposed to be everything in the playoffs, right?
ERIC DUHATSCHEK
You gotta love that Ted Leonsis, unless you’re Bruce Boudreau, and then
maybe you don’t love him quite as much after he fired you mid-season with
a career 201-88-40 coaching record with the Washington Capitals. But
Leonsis, the Capitals’ heavily engaged fan/owner, tweeted a message
earlier this week, playing the underdog card to the hilt. "Why bother
playing," asked Leonsis, tweeting a link to a local blog post in which 31 of
33 “experts” picked the Boston Bruins to defeat his Capitals in the opening
round. Clearly, Leonsis didn’t like how heavily the sentiment was running
against his team and reacted the way any fan might – loyally, but with just a
hint of petulance thrown in for good measure.
Spoiler alert: I was in the minority that chose Washington in an upset. But
the fact that most predicted a Bruins’ victory was defensible on many levels.
The Bruins are the reigning champions; they have a defenceman in Zdeno
Chara with the ability to shut down Alex Ovechkin, and on paper, the
goaltending match-up looked decidedly one-sided.
For the Bruins, it featured Tim Thomas, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner
(as the NHL’s top goalie) and the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner (as
MVP playoff), who earned a shutout in the opener, a narrow 1-0 Boston
overtime victory. For Washington, it was a rookie, Braden Holtby, the No. 3
goalie in the organization, pressed into service because the Capitals’
regular netminders, Tomas Vokoun and Michael Neuvirth, are both injured,
who acquitted himself very nicely in his debut.
Goaltending is supposed to be everything in the playoffs, right? Right?
Except …
Assessing the Bruins-Capitals series a few days ago, I thought Washington
in 2012 shared some similarities with the Philadelphia Flyers of 2010.
Remember how that looked in April two years ago, before the playoffs
began?
Philadelphia was a seventh seed, had barely scraped into the playoffs and
was trying to get by with a goaltending tandem that featured Michael
Leighton and Brian Boucher. In the opening round, they were facing a tough
No. 2, the New Jersey Devils, who had Martin Brodeur in goal, the goalie
with the most victories of all time, someone coming off a strong season.
Brent Sutter was the coach and the Devils were the heavy favorite. You
could argue that the position players on both teams roughly offset one
another, but the Devils held such a significant edge between the pipes that
they were the consensus choice most places. Probably 31 out of 33
prognosticators had the Devils over the Flyers in that series too. Experts
love to pick favorites; if you roll the dice on an underdog and you miss, you
can look both naïve and silly after the fact.
Dryden was an unknown quantity, a Cornell University grad, promoted to
Montreal from the AHL Voyageurs, and helped the Canadiens knock off a
121-point Bruins team, the heavy favorites after finishing 24 points ahead in
the standings. Probably 31 out 33 prognosticators picked the Bruins that
year too.
The history of the NHL playoffs since 1994, when the current conference
format was introduced shows a lot of No. 2s taking out No. 7. I agree with
my old friend Bob McKenzie when it comes to making picks – I hate doing
it; if I really knew for sure how it was going to turn out, I’d begin by sharing
that knowledge with a friendly sports book or two in Las Vegas. But if I’m
obliged to do it, I’m not just going to pencil in eight favorites and settle for
the predictable 6-2 record that you can almost certainly get if you do that. I
always pick a No. 7 over a No. 2. Philadelphia over New Jersey two years
ago worked out just fine (and really enhanced my fantasy team that year).
In fact, I was tempted to pick two No. 7s over No. 2s this year, because to
me, San Jose-St. Louis is pretty much a pick-em series as well.
Also: I see many similarities between this year’s editions of the Sharks and
the Capitals. Both were considered legitimate Stanley Cup contenders back
in October, because they had rock-solid line-ups specifically tweaked in the
summer to enhance their playoff chances, Washington by adding a veteran
goalie, San Jose by adding Brent Burns’ offence from the blue line and
swapping out Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat. Both were coming off a string
of 100-point seasons and theoretically possessed a hunger inspired by last
year’s playoff stumbles. Moreover, neither the Sharks nor the Capitals could
do anything in the regular season this year that wouldn’t be erased by
another playoff pratfall anyway, so the motivation to play hard wasn’t there,
and found themselves stuck between “coast” and “cruise” for much of the
season.
The fact that things didn’t go all that well between October and April
shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise. Nor does it change the fact
that the Sharks and Capitals are still two pretty good teams that had off
years. The Caps even had a decent excuse – Nicklas Backstrom’s halfseason absence because of a concussion, which really permitted teams to
concentrate on stopping Ovechkin.
So Backstrom is back, Ovechkin is playing pretty well, and Mike Green is
something of a wild card, which means we circle back to goaltending.
Holtby had a decent NHL cameo two years ago; was solid in the final week;
seems to have the respect of his teammates; is confident in his own
abilities, and by the way, probably knows that he wouldn’t be the first
unknown goalie to make a splash out of the gate.
Sure the Caps can win, although I would have liked their chances better this
morning if they’d found a way to steal Game 1 on the road. But they have
enough elements to suggest they can play a hard competitive series
against the Bruins, and if they earn a split in Boston, well, we’ll see what
happens.
Why bother playing Ted? Maybe just to see if that tired ‘us against the
world’ rallying cry really works, even in the world of professional sport.
Two years ago, the Flyers’ goaltending held up just fine in the opening
round and was solid right to the finish line, where they came up just short in
the Stanley Cup final against the Chicago Blackhawks.
THE GOALIE WARS: It’s two days into the playoffs and there isn’t a single
goaltending crisis anywhere on the NHL landscape. Something’s gotta give,
right? Maybe tonight in Vancouver, where the Canucks lost the opener
through no fault of Roberto Luongo’s. Instead, they were just flat-out,
outplayed by the Los Angeles Kings, which should provide a wake-up call
for tonight’s second game.
That’s the thing about goaltending in the playoffs. Your career body of work
counts for very little. Last year’s performance counts for very little.
Hardware on the shelf? Nice to have, but in a best-of-seven series that
starts from scratch, it is pretty close to irrelevant.
Last week, I was chatting with former goaltender Greg Millen about the
goaltending fraternity at large, and how not everybody understands how
tight it really is inside the dressing rooms, where the goalies – in 99 per cent
of the cases - work so well together.
Any goaltender good enough to play in the NHL is also good enough to get
on a roll for two weeks, or four, or even six, and win you a round or two or
three. Anybody remember how great Patrick Lalime was for the Ottawa
Senators in the 2003 playoffs (a 1.82 GAA in 18 games)? Anybody
remember how great Brent Johnson was for the St. Louis Blues in the 2002
playoffs (a 1.83 GAA in 10 games)? Anybody remember how the Pittsburgh
Penguins plucked Johan Hedberg out of the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and
got a lot of mileage out of him in the 2001 playoffs, 18 games, nine wins,
and a 2.30 GAA? Still remember Mario Lemieux extolling the virtues of the
“Moose” to Pierre MacGuire after a memorable series win. You had a sense
that if you’d ask Lemieux to identify “the Moose” by name, he might have
come up with his surname or his Christian name, but maybe not both.
Every team carries 18 position players, so when somebody needs a
sounding board, they generally have multiple options. Usually there are only
two goalies, and one coach assigned to their care and feeding. So it’s a
small exclusive group, that requires a narrow specific expertise and thus its
practitioners gravitate towards one another.
Anybody outside of Montreal remember Steve Penney? Or the early Rogie
Vachon? Or Ken Dryden? Vachon was such an unknown that the opposing
coach, Punch Imlach, scoffed that he had little fear of a “Jr. B” goalie.
The one thing that never changes in the goaltending fraternity is that there’s
a rotation. Every night, one starts and the other sits. And, according to
Millen, if you happen to be the one sitting at the end of the bench, with the
ball-cap on, and the towel draped around your neck, you cannot make that
a distraction.
“You’re in a group that’s trying to win games as a team,” explained Millen,
“and you have to be a big part of the team, whether you’re playing or not. If
you don’t have that team-first attitude, you don’t hang around – because
your teammates know it, your coaches know and everybody knows it. So
unless you’re a goalie who is an elite, elite guy that people shake their
heads at and put up with, because they’re just so good – and there have
been a couple of those, not many – then you have to make sure you’re a
team player. If you do that, you normally find success goes with it.
“Because that’s the other part of this puzzle that’s extremely important for a
goalie - you need your teammates fighting for you. As a goalie, you rely
heavily on the guys in front of you. You need their trust and you need them
to want to play for you. If you’re a selfish person and not a team player,
they’re not going to play for you – and then you’re not going to succeed as
a goalie because I don’t care if you’re Jacques Plante, if you don’t have a
team playing in front of you, you’re in trouble.”
Millen believes that the pressure on goaltenders may be greater than every
these days, in part because scoring, across-the-board, was down again in
the NHL this year. Five goalies, including two involved in the KingsCanucks series (L.A.’s Jonathan Quick and Vancouver’s Cory Schneider)
had goals-against average’s under 2.00, numbers associated with the
various dead-puck eras of the past. There’s an irony at work here too – as
scoring drops off, pressure on goaltenders heightens even further. The line
is so fine, and the margins of victory so narrow that you’d think goalies
would be celebrated for their collective achievements. Instead, it’s just the
opposite, Millen maintained.
“We have put so much emphasis on goaltending in this day and age, and I
understand it, because the league is so close now,” said Millen, “but it’s
almost as if the goalies aren’t allowed to make mistakes anymore. It’s a bit
unfortunate because goalies make mistakes just like forwards and coaches
and managers and everybody else in the game.
“But the nice crutch for everybody on the managerial side is, ‘oh, we didn’t
get the goaltending.’ That’s often a situation that could be part of the puzzle,
but nine times out of 10, it’s not all of it.
Millen played in an era when GAAs in the 4.00 range were not uncommon.
Sometimes, they even drifted into the 5.00s. Nowadays, even the
statistically worst goalies, are still not giving up many goals.
“I can tell you, as a former goalie, that the goalies now are better than
they’ve ever been. No question about it. The guys shoot the puck harder,
they’re quicker, the game is faster, and they are better athletes than we
ever were.
“The position is just fun to watch right now. It’s amazing. These guys are
amazing.”
MILLEN ON VANCOUVER: So does Millen have any thoughts specific to
Luongo and Schneider, the Canucks’ goaltending duo? Do you need to be
part Sigmund Freud to play goal in Vancouver these days?
“I would suggest that’s the toughest market to play in the NHL right now,”
said Millen. “I don’t think that’s unfair. I think it’s even tougher than Toronto
or Montreal because the expectations are so high for the team.
“The nice part for Roberto Luongo is he now has somebody with him to help
him along the road – and I think they’re going to need both guys to be
successful. I assume they will, at some point, in the playoffs. And that’s OK.
There’s nothing wrong with that. Everybody seems to want to get into a
one-goalie system, and yeah, if you can run with one, obviously, in the
playoffs, it’s better, just because you’re winning. You’re not into problems.
But if they get into problems, at least they can mix it up a little, which is not
a bad thing.”
BOBBY LOU AND SCHNEIDS SPEAK OUT: I put my theories on the
goaltending fraternity to Luongo just before the playoffs began, and he
explained it this way:
“There’s not many of us, so we almost feel like we’re in the minority and
that’s why we stick together,” said Luongo. “It’s a tough position to play and
we respect that in each other; and that’s why we’re pretty close.”
Unsolicited, he then added: “And he (Schneider) is a great guy. That’s what
makes it easy. He’s an extremely hard worker. He’s got a big heart and he
cares for everybody on the team. So how can you not root for a guy like
that?”
For his part, Schneider says of Luongo: “I’ve always respected him. I
remember watching him in college and high school. I didn’t know him really
well before I got here last year, but in the time I’ve spent with him, he’s a bit
misunderstood by some people. I think there’s a lot more to him than
people realize and he’s done a great job, weathering the expectations, the
criticism, his own personal drive – because I think he pushes himself harder
than anybody and he’s harder on himself than anyone else ever could be.”
Ultimately, the goal for both is to win the Stanley Cup. If each can make a
contribution to the 16 victories that it will take, so be it.
“Once you get to this level, you’re playing for the same team and you’re all
pushing for the same goal,”’ said Schneider, “so you want what’s best for
your teammates and that includes the other goalie on the team.
“We see other goalies play and you watch and you respect and admire
what other guys are able to do and sometimes, you shake your head at how
well a guy’s played and the saves they make. You say, ‘wow, I wonder if I
could have done that.’ And you feel for them at the same time when they
give up a bad goal, or you give up a bad goal, or what people may think is a
bad goal but you actually say, ‘hey, it’s a little bit harder than it looks.’
“But at the end of the day, there’s no position quite like goaltending. We all
sort of feel for each other and understand what everyone’s going through.”
625817
NHL
Hope of new buyers springs eternal in Phoenix
DAVID SHOALTS
The Phoenix Coyotes’ 3-2 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks was
one for fans of the ironic.
One of the Coyotes’ key goals, by Taylor Pyatt early in the second period,
was scored when the officials failed to see the Coyotes had six skaters on
the ice. During a sloppy line change as the puck was headed to the
Blackhawks’ zone, an extra Coyotes player wound up on the ice behind the
play.
The goal erased a 1-0 Chicago lead and sent a shot of electricity through
the sellout crowd as well as the Coyotes, while Blackhawks head coach
Joel Quenneville was left to fume about the missed too-many-men penalty.
Then again, perhaps the linesman who failed to see the extra Coyotes
player skating behind him can’t be blamed. After all, too many men is not
something that is ever seen at Jobing.com Arena, as the Coyotes’ miniscule
attendance (Thursday’s opening game of the NHL Western Conference
playoff series was a rare exception) is the reason for its perpetual spot on
the brink of financial ruin.
But hope of new buyers springs eternal, as the latest fellow to receive
preferred bidder status, former San Jose Sharks president Greg Jamison,
was among the announced crowd of 17,138. As one wit noted on Twitter
the other day after I posted an annual rite of the NHL spring is wondering
where the Coyotes will move, another rite is seeing the newest prospective
owner at a playoff game.
No one is saying much about Jamison’s bid, other than he is also
negotiating some sort of deal for Jobing.com Arena with the city of Glendale
and he is also interested in buying the nearby mall, Westgate City Center.
The mall’s future is up in the air since its former owner, developer Steve
Ellman who once owned the Coyotes as well, lost it to his bankers when
they foreclosed.
Right now, though, good feelings abound in Glendale thanks to Martin
Hanzal’s overtime winner at 9:29 of the first overtime period. That broke a
five-game home losing streak in the playoffs for the Coyotes and gave them
a 1-0 lead on the Blackhawks.
The Coyotes rode the heroics of goaltender Mike Smith to the win but now
must worry about their leading scorer, Radim Vrbata. He was lost early in
the game when he was knocked into the boards and is listed as day-to-day.
625818
NHL
Will the Panthers end a 15-year playoff win drought?
James Mirtle
By now, everyone has heard that it's been 12 years since the Florida
Panthers last played in the playoffs, an NHL record drought that will end
Friday night in Sunrise, Fla.
What has received a little less attention is that this is a franchise that hasn't
won a playoff game in 15 years, going back to April 17, 1997, in a first
round series against the New York Rangers.
It's been so long since the Panthers beat another team in a postseason
game that they were worrying about shutting down Wayne Gretzky in that
series.
And The Great One has been retired for 13 years.
The Panthers were actually the favourites in the series, but after winning
Game 1 with a 3-0 shutout at home, they lost the next four in a row
(including two in overtime) to bow out in five games.
Looking back at that Florida team is a real blast from the past, as they were
coached by current Sportsnet personality Doug MacLean and had Lindy
Ruff behind the bench as an assistant (he became the Buffalo Sabres head
coach that summer).
And current Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray was the general manager.
The team's leading scorers were Ray Sheppard, Scott Mellanby and Robert
Svehla with John Vanbiesbrouck in goal and Kirk Muller, Bill Lindsay, Ed
Jovanovski and Martin Straka all also on the team.
That motley crew somehow had the seventh best record in the NHL that
year and home-ice advantage in the first round.
That year was also Gretzky's last in the playoffs, and his Game 4 hat trick
(in the game pictured above) ranked among the top 50 moments at
Madison Square Gardens when they put together that list a few year ago.
There's probably not going to be that kind of interest level in Florida's series
with the New Jersey Devils this year, a series that many expect to be a
short one.
With a negative goal differential and 18 of their 94 points from overtime or
shootout losses, the Panthers are likely the weakest team to make the
playoffs this season, and it's not out of the question they'll be swept.
(At minus-19, Florida has the worst goal differential for a playoff team since
the 1996-97 Montreal Canadiens.)
Here's hoping they win at least once, so they can end the drought and also
so we can see some plastic rats fly again.
625819
NHL
By the numbers: How important is winning Game 1?
James Mirtle
Seven Game 1s are all in the books, with an incredible four overtime games
and no blowouts so far.
In fact, no team has won a game by more than two goals, and only one
team has won by two without aid of an empty netter (the Rangers).
And Game 1 can be a big one.
Tapping into the great database of seven game series they have at
whowins.com, we can see that the team that wins Game 1 of a series in the
NHL goes on to have a 393-183 record in that series - which is a .682
winning percentage.
There's a big difference between winning Game 1 as the home team and
winning it on the road, however.
For one, the team that starts the series at home is, historically, always the
favourite. For another, they've still got three more games at home to play in
the rest of the series (if it goes seven games).
Here's a look at how valuable a Game 1 win has been in the past by
separating the teams into home and road:
Winning Game 1 at home
Nashville, NY Rangers, Boston, Phoenix
Teams have a huge margin of series wins when they win Game 1 at home:
284-89 all-time (.761 win percentage). And their record in Game 2 is stellar,
too, with a 242-131 (.649) margin of going up 2-0.
A home team being up 2-0 in a series has only lost that series 10 per cent
of the time.
Winning Game 1 on the road
Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Jose
These teams still have historically done well in the series, but their record
isn't nearly impressive. They are, after all, still underdogs.
Teams that have won Game 1 on the road have a 109-94 (.537) record in
the series. They generally lose Game 2, however, about two thirds of the
time: 74-129 (.365).
But when road teams do manage to win the first two games on the road,
they have gone on to win the series more than 75 per cent of the time: 5618 (.757).
So that likely makes Game 2 huge in those three series.
625820
NHL
Red Fisher: Philadelphia Flyers show refusal to quit in Game 1
By Red Fisher
If you were among those watching Game 1 of the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia
series, there was much to see of what it takes to win in the real season.
The Penguins had it all in a dominating first period: bone-jarring clean hits,
three goals, excellent defence. It appeared to most viewers that this one
was over, particularly because the Flyers had none of the above.
What the Flyers did have in the last 40 minutes of regulation was a refusal
to quit, which isn’t something a team learns. Either you have it or you don’t
– and on this night only one team had it.
There’s no question the Flyers’ 4-3 overtime victory over a team that went
into the postseason favourites to win the Stanley Cup was jump-started by
an offside goal Danny Brière scored in the second period. Everyone in the
arena, and those watching on television, saw it. You live with it, particularly
if you’re a team taking a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
You know the rest. The Flyers got the two goals they needed to send the
game into overtime and the Flyers’ Jakub Voracek got the winner 2:23 into
overtime following sloppy work by two defenders who somehow didn’t see
the right-winger standing alone only a few feet away from an open side of
the net.
Those among you in a stargazing mode would have to agree that the
Flyers, as a team, earned the No. 1 rating in the first games of the playoffs.
A close second, in my view, would be Washington goaltender Braden
Holtby, who stopped 29 shots in regulation before the Capitals fell to the
Boston Bruins 1-0 in the second minute of overtime. Seventeen of his stops
were in the second period, while the Capitals were held to two shots.
Holtby would get my vote because he delivered his best in his first NHL
playoff game. In a perfect world, this one would have been over after the
first 40 minutes when the Bruins outshot the Caps 26-7. What’s more, they
attempted 50 shots to the Capitals’ 20.
625821
NHL
Finances still dog Coyotes
By PAT HICKEY
Is there hope for the National Hockey League in Arizona?
The NHL, which has been desperately trying to find a local owner since it
bought the Phoenix franchise out of bankruptcy, believes there is, and there
was reason for optimism Thursday night when a reported sellout crowd of
17,138 at Jobing.com Arena watched the Coyotes defeat the Chicago
Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime.
The crowd represents the potential for this franchise, but it has to be
balanced against the regular-season support for the team. The Coyotes
averaged 12,420 fans during the regular season, and many of those tickets
were sold at a discount.
The lack of support has to be a concern. While it can be argued the
uncertainty over the team's future in the desert has affected attendance, the
fans have been provided with an entertaining product. Under the guidance
of general manager Dave Maloney and head coach Dave Tippett, the
Coyotes have been in the playoffs three seasons in a row.
NHL vice-commissioner Bill Daly, the league's point man on the Coyotes
sale, continues to insist there is no timetable for the sale, but at least one of
the partners in this process is showing signs of impatience.
The city of Glendale, which owns Jobing.com Arena, is facing severe
financial problems, and the coming budget contains unpaid furloughs for
city employees, service cuts and a sales-tax hike. Some of those problems
stem from the city's agreement to pay the NHL up to $25 million to cover
losses incurred in the Coyotes operation.
Last month, Mayor Elaine Scruggs accused the NHL of holding the city
hostage. She said the city was assured last fall there would be an owner in
place this season and that the city would be off the hook for its subsidy.
Suitors for the franchise have come and gone, and the last man standing is
Greg Jamison, the former president of the San Jose Sharks. There have
been numerous reports over the past six months that Jamison's group is
days away from completing a sale, but the deal remains hung up over two
issues. The first is the NHL's insistence the franchise is worth $170 million
and the second is a continued guarantee of funds from Glendale to cover
losses.
While all this is going on, Quebec City is waiting in the wings. While
construction has begun on a new arena, the city is also giving Le Colisée a
facelift just in case there's an NHL team that needs a temporary home.
NHL attendance up: Leaguewide NHL attendance was up 1.8 per cent this
season. Only four teams showed a decrease in attendance, eight were flat including the Canadiens, who can't sell any more than 21,273 tickets a
game - and the other 18 showed an increase. There was a six-per-cent
increase in Florida, where the Panthers were winning, and a 6.9-per-cent
jump in Tampa, where the Lightning wasn't. The biggest increase was on
Long Island, where crowds were up 19.3 per cent, but the Islanders still
have the smallest crowds in the Eastern Conference.
625822
Ottawa Senators
Sens have simple plan for Game 2
Allen Panzeri
NEW YORK — After watching a replay of their 4-2 Stanley Cup playoff loss
to the hometown New York Rangers on Thursday night, the Ottawa
Senators now know what they have to do if they want to have a chance in
Saturday night’s second game.
It’s not rocket science.
Two things: They can’t make as many mistakes as they did in the first
game, and they have to get traffic in front of Rangers goalie Henrik
Lundqvist.
Pretty fundamental stuff, and they knew it before the series started, too. But
it took the lessons of the first game for the message to sink in.
After playing decently for most of the first two periods, they made three
mistakes in the span of six minutes at the end of the second period and the
beginning of the third that allowed the Rangers to turn a 1-0 game into a 4-0
game.
And except for the third period, when Daniel Alfredsson and Erik Condra
scored, most of their shots on Lundqvist were from the perimeter.
With their mistakes, the Senators did their best to give the game away, said
defenceman Chris Phillips.
“The biggest issue for us was turning the puck over and making mistakes in
bad areas of the rink,” he said. “Give them credit for putting the puck in the
net and capitalizing, but if we’re smarter with the puck . . . it doesn’t
guarantee you anything, but it certainly increases your chances, for sure.”
Jason Spezza said the mood of the team was good as it gathered for
practice. The players didn’t feel crushed by the loss, but were disappointed
they missed a chance.
“We feel like we can play with them, and I think we feel we played pretty
good at times, and then we kind of got away from our game and that’s when
they took over,” he said. “That’s what makes them the best team in the
East. They were probably a little more consistent than us (Thursday night).
“But the feeling is still optimism. You have to be prepared to lose games in
the playoffs. We’re still optimistic that we can make this a series and beat
these guys. We’ve just got to play a little bit better.”
As he did in the minutes after the game, coach Paul MacLean gave his
team credit for playing decently for 54 minutes. However, he noted that’s
hardly enough to win a playoff game.
“You just can’t give up free goals, where they get free opportunities,” he
said. “I think that’s what’s most disappointing for us as a group. We’d like to
make then earn their goals a little bit more than they did.
“If you put the whole game together, we weren’t horrible for a real long time
in the game, but in the playoffs you can’t be. You have to be good for the
whole game.”
To score some goals of their own, the Senators also have to do a bitter job
of getting to Lundqvist.
“I think what we did in the third period is that we did a better job of getting in
the middle of the ice, and getting guys driving on their goalie and stopping
in front and making it harder on him,” said Spezza, who led the Senators
with five shots. “They do such a good job of blocking shots and collapsing
that we have to use our points and try to spread the rink a little bit. That’s
some of the stuff we did toward the end of the game that got us some
goals.
“And just having a little bit of composure with the puck.”
Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 04.14.2012
625823
Ottawa Senators
Matt Mariani
Some Ottawa Senators supporters expressed frustration with Hockey Night
in Canada Friday after broadcaster Bob Cole made several obvious errors
in his play-by-play of Ottawa’s opening Stanley Cup playoff game against
the New York Rangers Thursday.
“While I respect the great broadcasting career that Mr. Cole has enjoyed, it
doesn’t change the fact that for nearly the entire broadcast … Erik Karlsson
was confused for Sergei Gonchar,” Jon Chung wrote in a letter to CBC after
the game, one of many complaints sent to the Citizen or posted on social
media.
“It was insulting. The broadcast was so confusing and distracting that I
actually had to mute the game after 40 minutes.”
On Twitter, @havey03 tweeted: “#CBC will lose HNIC all together — Bob
Cole once good @ PxP — now can’t tell who is on ice & he misses plays
#Retirement”
Among several missteps made by Cole during Thursday’s broadcast, the
most obvious came toward the end of the first period when Ottawa
defensive star Karlsson was handed a roughing penalty. Cole made note of
Karlsson being sent off the ice, but then each time Senators blueliner
Sergei Gonchar (No. 55) handled the puck in the ensuing minutes, Cole
continued to refer to him as Karlsson (No. 65).
Several fans wondered why CBC decided to have Dean Brown, who calls
Senators games regularly for radio and TV during the regular season, work
the Boston Bruins-Washington Capitals series rather than the Ottawa-New
York matchup.
“I’d rather have a guy who tilts toward the Senators over a guy who can’t
get the players’ names right,” Alexis Donohue of Cornwall wrote in an email
to the Citizen.
“Dean Brown is to an Ottawa broadcast was Bob Cole was to a Toronto
broadcast,” wrote another fan. “Please recognize this and allow our
broadcaster to give our team the call we deserve.”
Chuck Thompson, CBC’s head of media relations, said the decision to use
Cole for one of the two first-round series involving Canadian teams was a
no-brainer.
“Jim Hughson (doing the Vancouver-L.A. series) and Bob Cole are our two
lead play-by-play announcers,” Thompson said. “As you would expect the
have been assigned to call two marquee series in the first round.”
Of course, many stalwart Senators have long believed Cole holds a bias
against Ottawa in favour of the Toronto Maple Leafs, an accusation Cole
has always said is untrue.
“I get excited when a team makes a great play and the crowd helps me,”
Cole told the Citizen a few years ago in response to criticism from Ottawa
fans.
“I remember Stevie Thomas scoring a goal, I think it was in overtime, and it
was terribly exciting. I can’t see how I should have said it any way other
than I did. I would have said it the same way if Ottawa scored. It was
exciting, and I was excited.”
625824
Ottawa Senators
Sens hope a ‘Free Erik’ strategy will give Karlsson an edge in Game 2
Wayne Scanlan
NEW YORK — It has been a while since goaltender Craig Anderson had to
contend with the glare of the sun at a hockey practice.
Welcome to the Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers in New York City, one of the few
available slabs of ice for a visiting NHL club like the Ottawa Senators; a
second-story rink with giant glass panels and a view of the skyline while
players whirl about on a sheet that rents for $700-an-hour in prime time.
To reach the rink, players walked through the lobby in full gear Friday
afternoon, like kids in a minor hockey tournament instead of Stanley Cup
performers looking to rebound from a 4-2, Game 1 loss to the New York
Rangers.
“I hope we’re real lousy today, so we save it for (Saturday),” Senators
general manager Bryan Murray said, cracking a smile. It’s an old
superstition in hockey, if not theatre — poor rehearsal, great show when it
counts.
While the Senators were trying to be gracious about the Rangers’
performance in the series opener, they didn’t feel they held up their end of
the bargain, sensing they lost it more than the Rangers won it.
Head coach Paul MacLean said his team can’t “hand them free goals,” and
centre Jason Spezza referred to an eight-minute span in which Ottawa
“gave them the game.”
Not surprisingly, the game was replayed with a different slant here.
“Capt. Clutch” screamed the New York Post headline, in reference and
deference to Rangers captain Ryan Callahan, one of four Rangers goal
scorers on Thursday night. Callahan and Brad Richards, two of the best
Rangers, both had nine game-winning goals for the Blueshirts this season.
Murray would like to see his team get more hits on both Callahan and
Richards to get them off their game.
The Senators’ GM also had a suggestion for how to free up some space for
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa’s Norris Trophy candidate and offensive trigger who
was held off the scoresheet and targeted physically by the Rangers.
“He has got to get to the puck first and move it quickly,” Murray said. If the
Senators can spend more time in the Rangers’ zone, they are going to try to
get more shots through to goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers live
for the pain of blocking shots, ranking among the league leaders in the
department, so look for the Senators to try to delay occasionally and sneak
a pass across ice at the last second.
Karlsson did not skate on Friday, probably to avoid a bunch of questions as
much as anything. If the Senators are going to get back in this series, they
need No. 65 to make the kind of impact he had all season.
From where he stands, back in the blue paint of the goal crease, Anderson
would like to see Ottawa’s defencemen and forwards try to slow up the
Rangers’ forecheckers “and keep them from making big hits” on Karlsson.
“It may take him a few shifts to get his rhythm,” Anderson said, “but he’s our
best player. When he’s going, things go well for us.”
Free Erik?
MacLean said a lot of it comes from the player, not his teammates.
“I think there’s things Erik can do to free himself up as well,” MacLean said.
“I don’t think Erik skated as well as Erik has the ability to skate.”
The kid played 24 minutes 23 seconds, the most ice time of any Senator
and nearly matching the 25:04 of Ryan McDonagh and 26:41 of Dan
Girardi, New York’s defensive stalwarts. That McDonagh and Girardi
combined for seven blocked shots and just one shot on goal tells you what
you need to know about their style of play.
MacLean leaned on his veteran defencemen in the opener, especially in the
early rotations. Remember when rookie Jared Cowen was getting top pair
minutes? He played just 15:58 in Game 1 and was on for three New York
goals. Veterans Sergei Gonchar, Chris Phillips and Filip Kuba all saw more
ice than Cowen, who felt he played better than the stats showed.
The rest of the off-day chatter followed the familiar pattern of teams coming
off a loss. Talk about not rushing passes in the defensive zone, getting
more pucks, more traffic in front of King Henrik in the Rangers’ net, pushing
to the scoring areas instead of playing on the outside.
Spezza used a word that neatly summarized the difference in Game 1
between the confident Rangers and the slightly jittery Senators: composure.
Ottawa’s top centre would like to see everyone have “a little bit of
composure” with the puck. Stop being jumpy. Let the puck settle on that soft
Madison Square Garden ice. Use the time available.
If their young players relax and play, the Senators of 2011-12 just might
resurface.
625825
Ottawa Senators
Rangers realize they have a special leader in small but mighty Ryan
Callahan
Staff Writer
NEW YORK — It was all there for all to see in the opening 20 minutes.
Everything the New York Rangers missed about Ryan Callahan from last
year’s brief, unsuccessful playoff stay. Everything Ryan Callahan brings to
the table.
No surprise, then, that Callahan, who embodies the Rangers more than
anyone else, set the tone for New York’s 4-2 victory over Ottawa in Game 1
on Thursday night.
The Rangers have flashier players, they have tougher players and they
have a goaltender who is their most important player every game he plays.
But they do not have a leader on par with their captain. Not even close.
In Mark Messier, the Rangers have had perhaps the greatest captain who
ever donned an NHL sweater, and Messier was the leader and player he
was because he didn’t just score timely goals or deliver timely hits. He did
everything, usually within the same game, especially at this time of year.
The 27-year-old Callahan had just such a first period against Ottawa
Thursday. He bulled his way to get position on Senators defenceman Filip
Kuba, found a rebound and spun around with a pinpoint shot, just inside the
left post, to bring relief into a loud but tight Madison Square Garden crowd.
That was at 12:01. Six minutes later, Callahan took a few purposeful strides
into the Ottawa zone and crunched former teammate Matt Gilroy into the
end boards. More roars.
Peeling off to backcheck, Callahan stopped in his tracks at centre ice to put
a shoulder into Jesse Winchester’s chest, separating the Senators forward
from the puck. More roars, this time followed by chants of “Cally! Cally!
Cally!”
“He was a monster out there,” Brian Boyle said after practice Friday. “Big
goal, throwing his body around, couple open-ice hits. Just a monster for us.
There was no way anybody was letting him down. We all just raised our
games because of him.”
Callahan never got to experience any of it last season. As the Rangers
fought and clawed to reach the playoffs, Callahan was doing whatever it
took. What it took late on April 4 at the Garden was to try to get a piece of
Zdeno Chara’s 105-mph slap shot.
Callahan fearlessly did what was needed, but his ankle was broken. The
Rangers made the postseason, but their leader wasn’t there. And the
playoffs were a short stay.
“He’s such a big part of everything we do,” coach John Tortorella said of
Callahan, whose recovery from the broken ankle culminated in being
named captain just before training camp started.
For a man who plays such a big role, the American-born Callahan is not a
big guy, standing 5-10 and weighing 185 pounds.
Instead of wearing the “C’’ heavily and awkwardly, Callahan continued to
lead the way. His 88 blocked shots were third-most among NHL forwards
this season, and he had nine game-winning goals among his 29.
He threw himself in front of Erik Karlsson’s power-play rip with 5:15 to go in
the second period of a 1-0 game, blocking the blast with his back. The
Rangers, clinging to the lead through much of the second, broke free with
two late goals in the period to get some breathing room.
“That’s why he wears the ‘C,’ “ Dan Girardi said Friday. “His style of game,
it’s perfect for the playoffs. He just does all the stuff it takes to win.
“He’s our guy, our leader.”
625826
Ottawa Senators
Michalek lost in New York
Trigger decides he wants a photo of me with the Statue of Liberty. Under
the costume, this Lady Liberty is a dude. His name is Amadou Tandia. He
figures one pose should be of him kissing me on the cheek. "The Liberty
peck," he says.
By Don Brennan
For another, he says I should plant one on him. What the heck, eh? I get
close -- I swear I didn't actually kiss him -- but quickly pull away. Amandou
smells. At least his mask does, anyway.
"Have you seen Milan Michalek?" I ask him.
It's a little after 10 on a magnificent Friday morning in Manhattan when,
walking among the thousands on 42nd Street, we bump into three guys
from Ottawa -- Chris Phillips, Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Neil.
"No, but The Naked Cowboy is here from 1-2 p.m.," he says.
"What are the odds?" I say a few moments later to Bruce Garrioch. "This
city ain't so big after all."
"No, but a lot of people come by at noon," Amandou informs me.
Now, I'm thinking we might even be able to find Milan Michalek. I hear he's
here, but I don't think I actually saw him the night before during a 4-2 loss to
the Rangers that leaves the Senators one down after one game in a bestof-seven.
"Have you seen Milan Michalek?" I ask Officer Finnerty.
"Thanks, I'm looking for Michalek. You haven't seen him?"
A block away, I seek the assistance of New York's finest.
"Who's he?" the cop replies.
"Plays for the Senators," I say.
"That's a little harsh, isn't it?" says Tony "Trigger" Caldwell, the third
member of Team Sun spreading the news from and surrounding the first
round of the NHL playoffs.
"Are you supposed to meet him here?" he asks.
Probably, but this is New York. Everybody's harsh. Besides, Trigger is the
same person who, moments later, expressed what I believe are the
sentiments of many Senators fans back home.
"I'll keep my eye out for a hockey player," says Finnerty. "I'll just look for a
guy with no teeth."
"They say you're not in trouble in a playoff series until you lose a game at
home," recalled Trigger. "But the Senators are in trouble."
I love New York. I really do. I love our hotel on Fifth Avenue, even though
only one elevator is working and we're on the 21st floor. I love Cafe Charlie
next door. It may be a glorified deli, but to me it's the finest restaurant in
NYC.
Harsh.
"No, but I might file a missing person's report," I say.
They can still go home Saturday night all even up in this series if they can
get their offence going again. Counting the regular season, they now have
six goals in their last four outings. That's a bit of a rut, right?
And I love the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden. The fans can be
vulgar, some may think Senators versus Rangers is actually a Canada-U.S.
war, but the majority are passionate and loud and make much more of an
impact than the customers supporting the home team at Scotiabank Place.
Capable of leading them out of it is Michalek, the Senators streaky
marksmen. He had a team high 35 goals in 77 games, or one every
2.something times he hit the ice.
I'm sorry, but that's a fact.
He's a fine fellow and he works quite hard, but presently he's not producing.
Michalek hasn't scored in four games, since he was the star in the team's
last win, and against the Rangers Thursday he had just two shots on net.
Away from the rink, however, New York is just too big to have any real
playoff fever. The best two-month tournament in sports actually gets lost in
this city.
And, thus far, anyway, the same can be said for Milan Michalek.
Or so says the stats. I didn't see them.
Yes, after one game, that is a little harsh.
"Excuse me," I say to a security guard, a big man we'll call Bubba, who's
walking through Times Square. "Have you see Milan Michalek?"
But when in New York ...
"What is that?" replies Bubba.
"Not a what. A who. He plays for the Senators," I tell him.
"The Washington Senators?" he says.
"No, the NHL's Ottawa Senators," I tell him.
"I don't watch hockey," he says.
"Oh, so you didn't see the Senators crush the Rangers 7-0 last night then," I
say.
"I'd rather watch tennis," he replies.
"Please," I say.
"In hockey they fight until they drop, then all is good, right?" Bubba asks.
"I'm not like that. I got eight brothers. You hit me with a stick, I'm gonna wait
for you in the parking lot and smash your teeth in."
I decide at that point to stop hitting Bubba with my schtick. I say see ya and
follow Bruce and Trigger into the NHL store. Alas, there's not even a
Michalek jersey there.
Back in the centre of the Square, people are trying to sell us on taking in a
Comedy Central taping that night.
"Sorry, I'm working," I tell the guy.
"There's two shows," he says.
"And there's four NHL playoff games on TV," I tell him.
"Fair enough," he says.
Ottawa Sun LOADED: 04.14.2012
625827
Ottawa Senators
Sens shake off opening-night jitters
By Bruce Garrioch
The Senators didn’t handle the bright lights and the big city as well as they
would have liked in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarter-final.
There will be no surprises this time around.
The Senators admitted some of their young players were a little jittery
making their NHL playoff debuts at Madison Square Garden in the 4-2 loss
Thursday, but those should be out of the way by Game 2 Saturday.
“That’s going to help us out going forward,” said alternate captain and
veteran defenceman Chris Phillips. “A lot of guys were in their first game
and there was a feeling out to see how it’s different or if it’s different.
“I think they realized it’s still the same game, just with a lot more intensity
and importance on every shift.”
The Rangers are expecting the Senators to be stronger in Game 2.
“They played really well (Thursday),” said Rangers centre Brad Richards.
“There was a momentum swing we were able to grab, but they could’ve
grabbed it too. We’re going to have to be a lot better. They had the puck a
lot in the second period. If they score a goal and make it 1-1, it might be
different.”
625828
Ottawa Senators
Karlsson needs room to roam
By Bruce Garrioch
Erik Karlsson was given Friday off to rest, relax and get ready for Game 2
of the Senators’ Eastern Conference quarter-final.
He is, after all, a wanted man in the Big Apple.
The Rangers promised to target the league’s top-scoring blueliner coming
into the series and they followed through in Game 1 Thursday at Madison
Square Garden.
The team that wins a playoff series is the one that makes the best
adjustments between games — win or lose. To that end, the Senators must
find a way to free up space for Karlsson to do damage.
The NHL’s top-scoring defenceman and Senators’ point man on the power
play — who had 78 points and was a plus-16 during the regular season —
was held to three shots and finished minus-1 in the series opener as
Ottawa went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
Coach Paul MacLean indicated he didn’t feel Karlsson was at his best in
Game 1 and that he has to step it up Saturday night.
“I think there’s things Erik can do to free himself up as well,” said MacLean.
“I don’t think Erik skated as well as he has the ability to skate. The best
thing he can do to help himself, and help his team, is to make sure when he
does go on the ice, he skates.”
Defenceman Chris Phillips said there’s nothing the Senators could really do
to make life easier for Karlsson.
“That’s a tough question. I don’t even know how to answer that ... Give him
the puck more,” said Phillips. “We haven’t done anything (during the
season) to free him up. He makes things happen by himself.
“He put up unbelievable numbers. You’ve got to expect the other team is
aware of that. It’s going to get harder before it gets easier. I don’t know if
there is something that you could do just because of the attention they’re
going to pay.”
However, the Senators are confident that Karlsson is going to play a big
role before this series is over.
“Karl plays the most minutes, so maybe he gets the most attention. He is
our most skilled defenceman,” said goalie Craig Anderson. “He’s a pretty
talented player and guys have targeted him all year long.
“It’s no surprise that he finds a way to get the job done. It may take him a
shift or two to get in there and find his rhythm, but he always seems to find
a way. When he’s our best player, things are really going well for us.”
The Rangers didn’t just do a good job of limiting Karlsson’s mobility and
ability to move the puck, they went after him physically. Karlsson was
punched in the head by Brian Boyle in the first. Both received minors for
roughing.
That was an odd call by the officials. You can be certain Senators GM
Bryan Murray held discussions with Bill McCreary, the NHL’s supervisor for
the series, just to get an explanation why the decision was made to
penalize both players in a call that clearly hurt the Senators much more.
But the Senators weren’t going to criticizing the officials.
“I’m not going to start reffing now. It’s too late to do that,” said centre Jason
Spezza.
Were the Rangers trying to send a message to Karlsson?
“I said at the start that guys have been targeting Erik all year,” said Spezza.
“We target their top guys, try to get bumps on them, and they target us.
That’s the nature of the beast, especially in a seven-game series.
“They’re going to try to wear us down and we’re going to try to wear them
down. It’s not something we didn’t expect.”
No, but it’s something the Senators better deal with.
625829
Ottawa Senators
Sens need unwelcoming Matt
By Don Brennan
It was easily the longest pause in Paul MacLean’s still-young career as
coach of the Senators.
The question, at Madison Square Garden during Friday’s between-games
availability:
What did you think of Erik Karlsson’s penalty (in Game 1) on Brian Boyle?
The answer, after MacLean’s quick stammer and exactly seven
steamboats:
“I don’t have an opinion on that.”
Of course, it’s probably wrong to clump the Colin Greenings and Erik
Condras with the Dany Heatleys and Alex Kovalevs.
“It’s really year-to-year,” said Jason Spezza. “The feeling around the
dressing room is totally different than it was those years. You learn from
those things and you forget about them. I don’t think it has a carryover
effect. It’s more of how the feeling in our room is right now. I’d say we are in
pretty good spirits.”
Why? For one thing, only two teams were able to win more often when
trailing after two periods than the Senators this season.
“We feel like we’ve been a team that’s been able to come from behind all
year,” said Spezza. “We might play a great game (Saturday) and lose the
game. We’re still going to keep fighting because that’s the type of team we
are. But we hope to come out of here and get the split, put some pressure
on them.”
Spezza sees guys like Jared Cowen and Zack Smith developing into strong
playoff performers. Both play hard and tough.
He also thinks MacLean’s system is a winner.
Of course he does.
“I think Paul tries to get us to play a game that correlates well to playoff
hockey,” said Spezza. “We like to play in straight lines. We like to get pucks
deep. We have some guys that like to bang the body a lot. I think that’s why
we feel comfortable playing playoff games and don’t feel like you have to
change too much.
MacLean thinks it was a joke. A crap call. Boyle, a 6-foot-7, 244-pound
centre, had wrapped one arm around the head of Karlsson, Ottawa’s 6-foot,
180-pound VVP (very valuable player) and proceeded to punch him with his
free fist about a half-dozen times. Karlsson held on and (wisely) didn’t even
try to retaliate.
“Our foundation we’ve been building in trying to grow as a team is how we
want to play in the playoffs. It’s not like we have to change the style of play.
In years past, we were a little more run and gun, scored a lot of goals.
You’re not going to have a lot of high-scoring games in playoffs. We’re used
to playing tight games, we feel pretty comfortable in those games.”
When the two players were separated, both were punished equally with
two-minute minors for roughing.
Now they’ve just got to get playoff tougher. The coach and his players.
Yes you do, another reporter said to him.
“No I don’t,” insisted MacLean.
What exactly did Karlsson rough? Ottawa deserved another power play,
whatever good that would have done.
Ridiculous.
In MacLean’s shoes, there’s no way Rangers coach John Tortorella would
have held back. He would have lost his mind, even a day later. Same with
Senators GM Bryan Murray, if he was still the coach. He would have stuck
up for Karlsson well after the fact. He might have gone a little overboard,
calling out referees Dan O’Hallaran and Tom Kowal, but he would have
made his point, loud and clear, and it would have been an effective one.
MacLean fumbled the ball. In his first playoff game as an NHL bench boss,
he was outcoached. The day after, he didn’t bounce back strong enough.
But he’ll learn.
He wouldn’t have been fined for expressing his displeasure, if it was done
the right way. The next crew wouldn’t have made him pay the way he had
to pay after telling reporters Dan O’Rourke had called Karlsson a diver a
few months back.
It’s playoff time. MacLean has to make it clear that, even as a rookie coach,
he won’t be pushed around. Neither will his young team.
Further to that end, he needs to dress Matt Carkner in Game 2.
Boyle might not have been so quick to knuckle Karlsson if it meant he had
to answer to the NHL’s undisputed heavyweight champ. Carkner should
have played Thursday instead of Matt Gilroy, who brings very little to the
dance.
Karlsson needs the protection, and nobody other than Carkner is able to
settle things face-to-face with Boyle.
Asked if he was going to insert Carkner into Saturday’s game, Maclean
said: “We’re considering everybody at this point.”
He did acknowledge the Senators have to get tougher against the Rangers.
“I think the physical side of the game needs to improve,” he said. “I think we
welcome that.”
The Senators certainly do need to start digging in their heels at this time of
year. Since defeating the Sabres in the 2007 Eastern Conference final, their
record in the post-season is an embarrassing 3-13.
They have officially become playoff patsies.
625830
Ottawa Senators
Alfredsson could be back on Sens' top line
By Bruce Garrioch
Paul MacLean could mix things up in a New York minute.
With the Senators not putting up much of an offensive fight in their 4-2
Game 1 loss to the Rangers on Thursday, the coach on Friday was toying
with the idea of reuniting captain Daniel Alfredsson on a line with Jason
Spezza and Milan Michalek for Game 2 on Saturday.
If the Senators are going to beat the Rangers, they’re not only going to
have to eliminate the breakdowns, they’ll need more offence and Alfredsson
did score a goal in the third period playing with the duo.
“I will consider (it),” MacLean said following a 50-minute skate at Chelsea
Piers in Manhattan. “They bring us experience. It’s definitely a line that can
generate offence on a consistent basis. If we do that, it makes us have to
juggle things.
“We might do that in the game or we might do that before the game. We
haven’t decided yet.”
MacLean doesn’t like the idea of putting all his eggs in one basket, so it
wouldn’t be surprising if Colin Greening started with Spezza and Michalek
because it gives the club a better chance to spread around the offence.
Alfredsson has played well with centre Kyle Turris and winger Nick Foligno,
but has chemistry with Spezza and Michalek.
MacLean was non-committal because he doesn’t want to show his cards to
the Rangers.
“Alfie always plays good for us,” said MacLean. “When we put that group
together, and we do it a lot of times during the game when we need a goal
or we need something done, we’ll usually put them out on the ice.
“Those three do generate some offence for us on a consistent basis and it’s
always something that we’re able to go to during a game.”
Adjustments are going to have to be made if the Senators are going to win.
Alfredsson was given the day off to rest minor bumps, as were winger Chris
Neil and defenceman Erik Karlsson.
All three will play against the Rangers, but it was difficult to tell what
changes could take place. The Senators have to react better to being in the
playoffs than they did in Game 1. Mistakes were costly.
“We just have to have a little bit of composure with the puck,” said Spezza.
“It’s easy to say to be composed and take your time. But when you get out
there, things are a little jumpy and the puck is a little jumpy.
“By having the first game under our belt, I think we’ll be a little more
composed going into the second one.”
Spezza said the Senators are still confident. A No. 8 seed has never come
back from a 2-0 deficit to win a series, so the Senators need to leave the
Big Apple with a split to give themselves a chance.
“We feel like we can play them. We felt like we played pretty well, at times,
and then we kind of got away from our game. That’s when they took over.
That’s what makes them the best team in the East,” added Spezza.
“They were probably a little more consistent than us. But the feeling is still
optimism. You have to be prepared to lose games to win in the playoffs.
We’re not going to win them all. We’re still optimistic that we can beat these
guys and make this a series. We just have to play a little better.”
At this time of year, a little can mean a lot.
625831
Ottawa Senators
Goalies
Henrik Lundqvist
Game Day: Sens vs. Rangers, Game 2
Martin Biron
INJURIES
By Don Brennan
Ottawa
C Peter Regin (shoulder) is out indefinitely
Ottawa Senators (0-1 in playoffs, 41-31-10) at New York Rangers (1-0, 5124-7)
Saturday, 7 p.m., Madison Square Garden
TV: CBC Radio: Team 1200
SPECIAL TEAMS (playoffs)
OTT: PP 0-for-3 No. 12; PK 4-for-4 No. 5
NYR: PP 0-for-4 No. 15; PK 3-for-3 No. 9
PAST FIVE GAMES
New York
D Steve Eminger (right ankle) is day to day
D Michael Sauer (concussion) is out indefinitely
RW Mats Zuccarello (fractured left wrist) is out indefinitely
SIZING UP THE SIDES
ForwardS: NYR. Senators may use Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson together
Defence: NYR. Game 1 best D was Girardi, with 4 blocks, 2 hits, 1 assist
Ottawa
Goalies: NYR. Lundqvist was the better goalie when the game was up for
grabs
NYR 4, OTT 2
Power play: NYR. Neither scored, but the Senators didn’t generate anything
NJ 4, OTT 2
Penalty killing: OTT. Phillips was Ottawa’s best D in Game 1
BOS 3, OTT 1
Coaching: NYR. Tortorella’s timeout halfway through the second was the
turning point
CAR 2, OTT 1
OTT 5, NYI 1
New York
NYR 4, OTT 2
WSH 4, NYR 1
PIT 5, NYR 2
NYR 5, PHI 3
BOS 2, NYR 1
Overall: NYR. Rangers were up 4-0. Enough said
PLUS: Senators matched the Rangers hit for hit as both teams recorded 37
... Senators won 35 faceoffs and lost 32 ... Senators held the Rangers to 12
shots on goal in the first half of the game.
MINUS: Brutal Karlsson third-period giveaway didn’t cost the Senators.
Foligno’s did ... Alfredsson and Karlsson each had four shots blocked ...
Senators were charged with eight giveaways while Rangers were only guilty
of three.
ONLINE EXTRA
Defence
Chris Phillips said that Zenon Konopka came up with the idea for the “The
Skinny One On The Right” T-shirts Senators are wearing around the
dressing room ... Ex-Senators outscored current Senators 4-2 Thursday
night, as Martin Havlat (two, including an OT winner), Chris Kelly (OT
winner) and Antoine Vermette found the mesh for San Jose, Boston and
Phoenix, respectively ... Fewer than 300 tickets remain for Game 3 at
Scotiabank Place Monday ... With his win in Game 1, Henrik Lundqvist
moved into a tie with John Davidson for fourth on the Rangers’ all-time
playoff wins list with 16 ... Erik Karlsson advanced to Round 2 of EA’s NHL
13 Cover Vote.
Filip Kuba-Erik Karlsson
SENATORS LINES
Colin Greening-Jason Spezza-Milan Michalek
Nick Foligno-Kyle Turris-Daniel Alfredsson
Jesse Winchester-Zack Smith-Chris Neil
Kaspars Daugavins-Jim O’Brien-Erik Condra
Chris Phillips-Sergei Gonchar
Jared Cowen-Matt Gilroy
Goalies
Craig Anderson
Ben Bishop
RANGERS LINES
Carl Hagelin-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Artem Anisimov-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan
Brandon Dubinsky-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Mike Rupp-John Mitchell-Ruslan Fedotenko
Defence
Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Michael Del Zotto
Stu Bickel-Anton Stralman
625832
Ottawa Senators
Alfie sits out practice but will play Game 2
By Bruce Garrioch
NEW YORK -- Daniel Alfredsson wasn't on the ice Friday at Chelsea Piers
in Manhattan.
But he could be back in a familiar spot in Game 2.
After scoring in the third period of the club's 4-2 loss to the New York
Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final Thursday, coach Paul
MacLean is toying with the thought of playing Alfredsson with centre Jason
Spezza and winger Milan Michalek Saturday night.
"Alfie's always plays good," said MacLean.
"We put that group together a lot of times during the game."
And, MacLean won't hesitate to do it again.
Alfredsson wasn't the only one missing from the skate. Winger Chris Neil
and defenceman Erik Karlsson weren't on the ice either. All three are
expected to play Saturday.
The Senators had a short video session and know the effort has to be
better in Game 2 to get back in the series.
"The atmosphere met our expectations of how it was going to be. Now, I
think we're more prepared going into Game 2," said Spezza.
"We didn't do anything any different than we would normally do the day
after a game."
Ottawa Senators hit the ice in New York on Friday, April 13, 2012
preparing for Game 2 versus the New York Rangers Saturday night. The
Rangers lead the first-round series 1-0 after a 4-2 victory Thursday, April
12, 2012
. Sun photrographer/videographer Tony Caldwell was at practice.
625833
Philadelphia Flyers
Another Flyers comeback stirs magical memory
PITTSBURGH _ As the late, great Jack Buck once said: “I can’t believe
what I just saw!”
Those words, delivered by Buck when Dodgers pinch-hitter Kirk Gibson hit
a dramatic, ninth-inning home run and limped around the bases to win a
1988 World Series game against Oakland, came to mind while watching the
Flyers fall behind, rally, fall behind, rally, fall behind, rally….well you get the
idea.
This was Friday night in Pittsburgh, where the Flyers _ Team Resilient _
overcame deficits of 2-0, 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4 en route to a had-to-see-it-tobelieve-it 8-5 win over the dazed Penguins.
Sean Couturier, known more for his defense, and Claude Giroux (six
points) each had hat tricks.
Cue the Jack Buck audio.
And, so, now the big question, with the series shifting back to Philly for
Games 3 and 4, is this: Are the Penguins cooked?
Well, if you watched them register 108 points during the regular season,
the answer would be “no.”
Then again, if you watched the Flyers overcome a 3-0 deficit to win Game
1, and erase multiple deficits in Game 2, you might have a different opinion.
There have been 122 minutes, 23 seconds of playing time in this series.
The Flyers have led for just 10:48. Yet, they are ahead, two games to none.
I don’t believe what I just saw!
Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, normally a stand-up sort, was so
flustered by the latest collapse that he refused to talk to the media.
Fleury being flustered is not a good sign for the Penguins
"We have 20 guys that are working as hard as they can. No one is pointing
fingers,” Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said. “Everyone is giving max
effort. It`s executing better. They`re taking advantage of every mistake we
make. We`re hanging our goalie out to dry."
Couturier has gotten under Evgeni Malkin’s skin _ and is outscoring him.
Malkin, the NHL`s top scorer this season, had two assists but was minus-4
on the night.
"It`s not over,” insisted Malkin, who called the Flyers a “great” team. “We
have confidence. Why not? We have beaten the Flyers in Philly before.
Why not do it again?"
In franchise history, the Flyers are 17-0 when they win the first two games
of a series.
Sam Carchidi
Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 04.14.2012
625834
Philadelphia Flyers
Bryzgalov's magic glove
In recent Flyers playoff history, the most memorable save by a goaltender
remains Brian Boucher’s sprawling robbery of the New Jersey Devils’
Patrick Elias in Game 3 of the 2000 Eastern Conference finals.
But for a sheer, visceral wow, it is hard to match the glove save that Ilya
Bryzgalov made Friday night against the Penguins’ Kris Letang.
With the Flyers already trailing by 2-0 in the middle of the first period,
Letang corralled a rebound and found himself staring at a yawningly wide
open net. Letang had a ton of time to survey his target, or so it seemed. It
was one of those moments that appeared frozen in everyone’s
consciousness -- and the stakes were enormous. It seems silly to say after
the Flyers’ fought back again and beat the Penguins, 8-5, but another goal
in that spot might have been a bridge too far, even for this resilient bunch.
Anyway, Letang fired and Bryzgalov reached and flashed his glove -- and
the puck was stuck inside. It was first-degree robbery.
But there was a catch after Bryzgalov’s catch: there was a small chance
that the glove was over the goal line when he caught it, which would have
made it a goal (and spoiled the story). The NHL video review people in
Toronto gave it a look and determined pretty quickly that while the glove did
flirt with the goal line, there was no evidence that the puck was ever over
the line.
It was the save that saved the game, at least for that moment. And after it
was over, Bryzgalov was not all of that impressed with what he did.
“He just put it in my glove,” Bryzgalov said.
Surprised?
“Kind of,” he said. “It’s pretty much a small chance...It was pretty much a
lucky save.”
For the record, Bryzgalov was much more impressed by the resilience of
his teammates. It has been a wild series -- Bryzgalov made several great
saves and still allowed five goals -- and the team in front of him has yet to
buckle.
“You have two choices: just quit and say, ‘Well, OK, we’re done,’ or fight to
the end and never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “It’s why we love
this sport -- it’s an unpredictable game. If you fight to the end, sometimes
good things happen.”
Posted by Rich Hofmann
625835
Philadelphia Flyers
No matter. They eventually took a 6-5 lead as Jaromir Jagr scored on a
spin-around shot after gathering a rebound with 10:47 seconds left in
regulation.
These Flyers define resiliency
Jagr is 40. Sean Couturier (three goals) is 19. Together they provided some
late-game magic that made the ugly first period irrelevant.
|By Sam Carchidi, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
As a result, the Flyers have started a series with two straight road wins for
the second time in franchise history. They did it in 1997 in Buffalo, and they
won that conference semifinal in five games.
PITTSBURGH - Right next to the word resilient in your favorite online
dictionary, there should be a team photo of the Flyers.
Game 3 is Sunday. Flyers fans can only hope their team has to play catchup.
Re-sil-ient:Adj. Marked by the ability to recover. See the wildly entertaining
hockey team from Philadelphia. Frequently falls behind. Frequently battles
back to win. See first two games of the hard-to-believe Eastern Conference
quarterfinals in Pittsburgh.
Contact Sam Carchidi
The Flyers fell behind the Penguins on Friday night, 2-0 and 3-1. They tied
it at 4-4 in the closing seconds of the second period before allowing a goal
64 seconds into the third.
Just 17 seconds later, they tied it. Naturally.
When it was over and Sean Couturier's coming-out party had enabled the
Flyers to stun the Penguins (again), 8-5, the visitors' horrible first period
was a distant memory.
Still, the Flyers might make it easier on themselves - and prevent a lot of
agita throughout the Philadelphia area - if they could avoid giving
opponents a head start.
"We had two choices - quit or fight to the end," said goalie Ilya Bryzgalov,
adding he's never been on a more resilient team.
"It's not a situation we want to be in," Couturier said of the early deficits.
"But we did it all year. We can do it, but we gave to be ready off the bat next
game."
Maybe coach Peter Laviolette should call his timeout at the 10-second mark
to get the Flyers out of their early-game lethargy.
Or maybe the Flyers should load up on Maxwell House, Mountain Dew, and
Red Bull before they skate onto the ice to start a game.
Clearly, they need to do something different, because, for a team that is
among the NHL's elite, their starts have bordered on the ludicrous.
They got off to another nasty beginning Friday, but somehow survived and
took a two-games-to-none lead.
In Game 1, the Flyers fell into a 3-0 first-period hole but, miraculously,
rallied for a 4-3 overtime win.
"We're playing with fire," winger Scott Hartnell said about the slow starts.
On Friday, there were more flames. Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby scored 15
seconds after the opening face-off, marking the 12th time in the last 14
games the Flyers had surrendered the first goal.
It was the quickest goal the Flyers had ever allowed in a playoff game,
topping a goal scored 21 seconds into a 1971 game by Chicago's Jim
Pappin, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
A little over nine minutes after Crosy scored as he took advantage of
Laviolette's quick line change, Chris Kunitz's power-play goal made it 2-0. If
you're scoring at home, the Flyers have faced at least a 2-0 deficit in nine of
their last 14 games.
"A recipe for disaster," defenseman Kimmo Timonen said the other day.
Or, in the Flyers' strange case, a recipe for a win.
Out of those nine games that have had a two-goal (or bigger) deficit, the
Flyers have rallied to win four times - all against the Penguins.
In the first two games against the Penguins, the Flyers have been
outscored by a combined 6-1 in the first period.
No wonder Mount Lavy - that would be Laviolette - erupted as he walked
down the runway after the first period, screaming obscenities, according to
a cameraman.
But, as had been their trademark, the Flyers didn't feel sorry for themselves
after allowing a late first-period goal and falling into a 3-1 hole.
625836
Philadelphia Flyers
Phil Sheridan: Flyers' performance beyond explanation
PITTSBURGH - If you're looking here for some explanation of the how and
why of Game 2 here Friday night, sorry to disappoint.
This was hockey through the looking glass, a relentless stream of brilliant
shots, clever passes, body blows, spectacular saves, and wild momentum
swings. It was a game that defied logic and helped define this series as a
burgeoning classic.
The Flyers return home now for games 3 and 4. They will talk about trying
to start off better, to stop tempting fate by playing from behind every night.
But the reality is, they seem to enjoy the flirtation with disaster. They seem
to thrive off of it.
As for the Penguins, it's hard to know where they turn. They are coming to
Philadelphia, where the atmosphere will be nearly oxygen-free for them.
They carry a two-game deficit made all the worse because of those leads
they built and blew. They can't even console themselves with trying to get
back to the Consol Energy Center. This is where their nightmare came true.
The Flyers are in control of this series. In the most improbable ways
imaginable, they have stolen not one, but two games, from the talented and
experienced Penguins.
Surely the Flyers can't keep falling behind by two or three goals and
expecting to come back. And yet they do.
Best of all, after this game, they will take the ice with the confidence that
only comes from having a goaltender capable of winning it all.
Surely a goalie who gives up a goal 15 seconds into the game, and five
overall, didn't have a great night. And yet Ilya Bryzgalov truly stole this
game for his teammates.
Contact Phil Sheridan
What are the Penguins supposed to do? Try not to score early? Try not to
take the lead? How does a team recover from blowing two big leads, on
their home ice, to start a playoff series? The answer is, it doesn't. This
series now belongs to the Flyers.
Considering the avalanche that followed, it is easy to overlook the first
tumbling rock. But it was a doozy. The moment the puck was dropped,
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette ordered a line change.
With his guys rushing off the ice, Sidney Crosby and Steve Sullivan skated
freely into the neutral zone. They passed the puck back and forth as if there
were some cones set up for a drill, then Crosby cranked a shot past
Bryzgalov.
It was a stunning mistake. The Flyers needed to improve on their slow
starts, and Laviolette all but handed the Penguins an instant goal.
Before the period was half over, it was 2-0. The Penguins seemed to be
skating twice as fast and hitting the Flyers three times as hard. They
desperately needed to win this game, and it showed. The Flyers already
had at least a split here in their pocket, and that showed, too.
Then Kris Letang, Pittsburgh's splendid defenseman, whipped the shot
destined to make it 3-0. And Bryzgalov's fast-twitch glove snapped. The
NHL office had to review it to be sure the glove, and therefore the puck,
hadn't been over the goal line. Or maybe the guys in the NHL office just had
to see it again to believe it.
It was the best of a bunch of athletic, acrobatic saves made by the Russian
Bear. It changed everything.
Within moments, Max Talbot scored the shorthanded goal that really
triggered the avalanche. It was like a hockey game of H-O-R-S-E, with each
team trying to score a more incredible, creative goal. Claude Giroux finally
tied it at 3 on another shorthanded goal. Chris Kunitz scored six seconds
later.
Bryzgalov skated toward the sideboards and slammed his stick in disgust.
At whom? Himself for failing to control the rebound on James Neal's original
shot? Or his defense?
In this case, Braydon Coburn let Kunitz sail right on by him and flick the
puck into the empty net.
When the Flyers finally took the lead in the third period, the intensity level
cranked up several more notches. The Penguins' desperation was
palpable.
Bryzgalov was fantastic. This was what the Flyers were doing when they
signed him to that zillion-dollar contract last summer. They were giving
themselves a chance to win playoff games when everything else goes
wrong.
The fast-twitch glove robbed Jordan Staal with just over 21/2 minutes left.
The Penguins kept coming. Bryzgalov sprawled in his crease, making two
quick saves as the clock ticked slowly, agonizingly slowly, toward zero.
Then Sean Couturier, the 19-year-old center with the toothless smile of the
young Bobby Clarke, scored his third goal of the night to salt it away for
good. Giroux completed his own hat trick into the Penguins' empty net.
8-5? Seriously, 8-5? Who is going to make sense of that?
625837
Philadelphia Flyers
That the Flyers now control this thing goes without saying. But remember:
They did not even have a lead during either game until the middle of the
third period.
Rich Hofmann: Who'd have thought it would be like this?
Be advised, then, that after everything we have seen, it still probably makes
sense to keep the seat belts fastened for a little while longer.
|By Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
Contact Rich Hofmann
PITTSBURGH - Only a few days, and a few million heart attacks ago, the
widespread expectation was that Flyers-Penguins would be spectacular
bloodsport. People saw the way the regular season ended, and the history
of animus between the franchises, and the closeness of the two teams in
the standings, and figured the whole thing for seven games of vicious,
magnificent hell.
Instead, we have been strapped into a carnival ride whose only purpose is
to induce dizziness.
And we have witnessed a series of comebacks by the Flyers that have
defied several laws of logic, reason and gravity.
No one - and I mean no one - thought the Flyers could win the first two
games of this series on the road. Most people didn't think they could win the
series at all. But here we are. When Jaromir Jagr scored what turned out to
be the game-winning goal with 9 minutes, 13 seconds gone in the third
period on Friday night, the crowd at Consol Energy Center could barely
summon the energy to boo a player they consider a traitor - such was their
exhausted disbelief.
It could not have been happening, but it was. A lot of the cast has changed
since the last time, in 2010, that the Flyers spent their springtime tiptoeing
across a tightrope - but this bunch has begun to duplicate that group's
efforts. You dare not change the channel on this Flyers team - or even go to
the bathroom, for that matter.
Too many things might happen while you are gone.
The Flyers scored two shorthanded goals in Game 2. Rookie Sean
Couturier had a hat trick. Claude Giroux also had a hat trick, the last goal
into an empty net with 6.9 seconds remaining. Sidney Crosby scored a goal
for Pittsburgh only 15 seconds after the puck was dropped. Couturier
scored one of his goals with only 2.8 seconds left in the second period.
Too much. Too much.
Flyers 8, Penguins 5.
Wednesday night, the Penguins blew a 3-0 lead and lost to the Flyers in
overtime. Friday night, the Penguins blew leads of 2-0 and 3-1 and found
themselves tied with the Flyers at 4-4 at the end of the second period.
Breathtaking absurdity had been heaped upon breathtaking absurdity at
that point. And on it went.
With a weak backhand, Tyler Kennedy put the Penguins ahead by 5-4 with
1:04 gone in the third period. Couturier tied it 17 seconds later with his
second goal of the game, unassisted. It all happened so fast, there was little
time for all of it to register.
Stanley Cup hockey is something that usually is made to be savored. But
this had become a long, exhilarating blur.
When it finally ended, the Flyers celebrated and the Penguins slinked away.
The building was eerily silent. Again, no one saw this happening, and no
one certainly saw it happening this way.
Meanwhile, someone in the NHL office is missing out on a marketing
opportunity if they don't call immediately and get the rest of the series
sponsored by Dramamine.
The Penguins could not hold a lead with oven mitts at this point, and there
is no reason to believe that is about to change. The Flyers cannot seem to
wake up and pay attention until they are leaning over the edge of the cliff,
and there is no reason to believe that is about to change, either.
The Pens have speed and skill in abundance. The Flyers have carloads of
confidence and gumption. Through two games, the collision between the
two has littered the ice with unpredictable fallout. Very little of this currently
makes sense.
But here we are.
625838
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers roll over Penguins to control series
split those goals. Couturier added the Flyers' insurance goal in the waning
minutes.
It was Couturier, though, who made it even up with 2.8 seconds left in the
second period.
|By Frank Seravalli, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
PITTSBURGH - With fewer than than 13 minutes to play in Game 2 and
white towels waving furiously from the largest crowd ever to watch a hockey
game at Consol Energy Center, Philadelphia's favorite mythical character,
Rocky Balboa, was featured on the scoreboard that hangs over center ice.
"It ain't about how hard ya hit," Balboa said. "It's about how hard you can
get hit and keep moving forward."
For this Flyers team, there seems to be no punch too powerful.
On Friday night, the Flyers repeatedly absorbed Pittsburgh's biggest blows.
Each successive punch - and goal - was supposed to be bigger than the
previous one. But the Flyers never recoiled.
And in the end, it was Flyers 8, Penguins 5.
"We find a way to win," the Flyers Max Talbot said. "It was nice to come
here and win the first two games."
Instead of folding, the Flyers rallied - again - from four deficits, 2-0, 3-1, 4-3
and 5-4-with a furious push that made Wednesday night's Game 1 comefrom-behind win blush. Jaromir Jagr finally put the Flyers in front for good
with the game winner in an exhausting, everything-on-the-ice effort.
Rookie Sean Couturier, who scored just 13 goals all season, led the way for
the Flyers with a hat trick. Claude Giroux gave the Flyers a second hat trick
with an empty-netter with 6.9 seconds to play and ended the night with six
points.
Somehow, the heavy underdog Flyers packed up and left Pittsburgh with an
unbelievable lead of two games to none lead in their best-of-seven Eastern
Conference quarterfinal prize fight.
Game 3 is Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center.
Game 2 featured just about everything - from highlight-reel saves, to
momentum-swinging penalty kills to bone-crunching hits to the 13 collective
goals - you could ask of a playoff hockey game. The only thing missing was
an overtime script.
Amazingly, Jagr's goal with 10 minutes, 47 seconds left in the third period
gave the Flyers their first regulation lead of the series. Jake Voracek's
Game 1 overtime marker was the Flyers' only lead in Game 1. Unlike the
Penguins, the Flyers protected their scant edge like a rare, national
treasure.
Undoubtedly, the Flyers are in the drivers seat as the series shifts across
the Commonwealth to Philadelphia. The Flyers have never lost a best-ofseven series (17-0) when leading two games to none. They are also 29-7 in
a series when winning Game 2, regardless of standing.
For the Flyers, for the countless time this season and the second night this
week, no lead was insurmountable. Despite allowing two power play tallies
to Chris Kunitz, the Flyers countered with two shorthanded goals of their
own.
Talbot and Claude Giroux accounted for the shorthanded tallies. The last
time the Flyers posted two shorties in a single playoff game was April 26,
1997, also against Pittsburgh.
Game 2 started just as ugly as Game 1 for the Flyers. Sidney Crosby (who
else?) threw the first jab before "Home of the Brave" was barely belted out
of the national anthem singer's lips. Crosby danced around Matt Carle for a
give-and-go with Steve Sullivan, sliding to one knee for a Tim Tebow
inspired one-timer and a rallying cry for the Penguins faithful.
Kunitz added to the Penguins' lead less than 10 minutes later. And then the
Flyers woke up.
Few players came up bigger for the Flyers than Couturier, who not only
kept likely Hart Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin to two points in the first two
games. He then added two goals in a span of 68 seconds that wrapped
around the second intermission. Tyler Kennedy's goal, which made it 5-4,
625839
Philadelphia Flyers
Another Flyers comeback stuns Penguins
PITTSBURGH -- Just a few days, and a few million heart attacks ago, the
widespread expectation was that Flyers-Penguins would be spectacular
bloodsport. People saw the way the regular season ended, and the history
of animus between the franchises, and the closeness of the two teams in
the standings, and figured the whole thing for seven games of vicious,
magnificent hell.
Instead, we have been strapped into a carnival ride whose only purpose is
to induce dizziness.
And we have witnessed a series of comebacks by the Flyers that have
defied several laws of logic, reason and gravity.
No one -- and I mean no one -- thought the Flyers could win the first two
games of this series on the road. Most people didn’t think they could win the
series at all. But here we are. When Jaromir Jagr scored what turned out to
be the game-winning goal with 9 minutes, 13 seconds gone in the third
period on Friday night, the crowd at Consol Energy Center could barely
summon the energy to boo a player they consider a traitor -- such was their
exhausted disbelief.
It could not have been happening, but it was. A lot of the cast has changed
since the last time, in 2010, that the Flyers spent their springtime tiptoeing
across a tightrope -- but this bunch has begun to duplicate that group’s
efforts. You dare not change the channel on this Flyers team -- or even go
to the bathroom, for that matter.
Too many things might happen while you are gone.
The Flyers scored two shorthanded goals in Game 2. Rookie Sean
Couturier had a hat trick. Claude Giroux also had a hat trick, the last one
into an empty net with 6.9 seconds remaining. Sidney Crosby scored a goal
for Pittsburgh just 15 seconds after the puck was dropped. Couturier scored
one of his goals with just 2.8 seconds left in the second period.
Too much. Too much.
Wednesday night, the Penguins blew a 3-0 lead and lost to the Flyers in
overtime. Friday night, the Penguins blew leads of 2-0 and 3-1 and found
themselves tied with the Flyers at 4-4 at the end of the second period.
Breathtaking absurdity had been heaped upon breathtaking absurdity at
that point. And on it went.
With a weak backhand, Tyler Kennedy put the Penguins ahead by 5-4 with
1:04 gone in the third period. Couturier tied it 17 seconds later with his
second goal of the game, unassisted. It was all happening so fast that there
was little time for all of it to register.
Stanley Cup hockey is something that usually is made to be savored. But
this had become a long, exhilarating blur.
When it finally ended, the Flyers celebrated and the Penguins slinked away.
The building was eerily silent. Again, no one saw this happening, and no
one certainly saw it happening this way.
Meanwhile, someone in the NHL office is missing out on a marketing
opportunity if they don’t call immediately and get the rest of the series
sponsored by Dramamine.
The Penguins could not hold a lead with oven mitts at this point, and there
is no reason to believe that is about to change. The Flyers cannot seem to
wake up and pay attention until they are leaning over the edge of the cliff,
and there is no reason to believe that is about to change, either.
The Pens have speed and skill in abundance. The Flyers have carloads of
confidence and gumption. Through two games, the collision between the
two has littered the ice with unpredictable fallout. Very little of this currently
makes sense.
But here we are.
That the Flyers now control this thing goes without saying. But remember:
they did not even have a lead during either game until the middle of the
third period.
Be advised, then, that after everything we have seen, it still probably makes
sense to keep the seat belts fastened for a little while longer.
Posted by Rich Hofmann @ 10:23 PM Permalink | Philadelphia Inquirer /
Daily News LOADED: 04.14.2012
625840
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers could get van Riemsdyk back
|By Frank Seravalli, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
PITTSBURGH - After skating through the first two games of the Eastern
Conference quarterfinal without arguably their most consistent playoff
performer from last spring, help may soon be on the way.
According to Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren, James van Riemsdyk
began skating Sunday - rehabbing from foot surgery - and is a possibility to
return to practice with the team as early as Saturday.
Van Riemsdyk's status for a return in the first round remains up in the air.
Van Riemsdyk, 22, has not played since fracturing his foot on March 1. He
underwent surgery to have a plate inserted in his left foot, for stability and
strengthening, on March 6.
The original prognosis was for JVR to miss 4 to 6 weeks. Tuesday will mark
exactly six weeks since the surgery. Until last weekend, van Riemsdyk was
limited to only a walking boot.
Holmgren said van Riemsdyk has been skating by himself at the team's
South Jersey practice facility every other day since Sunday - a total of three
on-ice sessions so far - and will likely continue that on Saturday.
Whether van Riemsdyk will skate with his teammates remains to be seen
as errant pucks add to the risk factor.
If van Riemsdyk is even half the player he was in last year's Stanley Cup
playoffs, when he led the Flyers with seven goals in 11 games, he would
could provide a big boost to the Flyers against Pittsburgh.
He has missed 21 straight games, including Friday's Game 2 against
Pittsburgh.
Changes on D
As expected, veteran Pavel Kubina replaced Marc-Andre Bourdon (upperbody injury) on the Flyers' third pairing for Game 2.
One key difference between Bourdon and the 258-pound Kubina is a
decrease in the Flyers' back-end mobility.
Contact Frank Seravalli
625841
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers need to pressure Penguins' D
PITTSBURGH -- We must begin with all of the usual caveats, especially
these two: that pucks can take funny bounces, and that goaltending is uberimportant. Which means that there are a lot of factors that might determine
the outcome of this playoff series between the Flyers and Penguins.
Still, take a minute as you are watching the games. Take a minute and try
to notice how often, on the standard television camera shot from the side,
that you can read the names of the Penguins’ defensemen on the back of
their shirts.
For the Flyers, the more, the better.
And it might very well decide the series.
The Penguins are a fast, skilled team; this just in. Their counterattacks
through the neutral zone can be breathtaking. Counting on being able to
contain one of their stars after he has the puck is a fool’s game. The only
way to stop those lightning counters is to prevent them from happening in
the first place. The best way to do that is to get pucks in deep, turn the
Pittsburgh defensemen around, and go about the business of winning
forechecking battles.
It is what the Flyers did not do in the first period of Game 1 of the series,
when they fell behind by 3-0. But they turned it around in the second and
third periods and completed their amazing comeback in overtime mostly
because they started turning the Penguins’ defensemen around.
That is the blueprint, then.
“They put 46 pucks behind our defense with a purpose,” Pens coach Dan
Bylsma said. It is his job to catalog such factoids, one of what he called an
“array” of internal metrics the Penguins use to dissect their games.
“The only way to prevent them from doing that is to have them not have the
puck and to play in the offensive zone,” Bylsma said. “If you give it back to
them, they were going to put it behind our defense and go in on the
forecheck...
“It was effective for them in the last game, especially in the second and third
period, even more so than the first. That’s something by playing with the
puck, and where we play with the puck, and how we play with the puck, can
prevent them from being able to play that game.”
Forty-six sounds like a big number. Bylsma was not all that interested in
saying where that might fit on a season-long chart of Penguins game. His
point was that it revealed a mindset by the Flyers, and that he is aware of
the problems it can cause for his team as their series grinds along.
“We don’t have a number we’re trying to minimize a team to, but that was a
real focus by their team and something they did well,” Bylsma said. “It
forced our defense to go back and with that pressure...You want to
minimize your retrievals and minimize your time in the defensive zone and
not letting that be a factor in the game -- and it certainly was.”
You talk to the Flyers players about this and they all acknowledge what is
going on. As Claude Giroux said, “(The Penguins) are going fast. We have
to make sure we’re responsible with the puck and make sure we get the
puck deep.”
But it is interesting. The Flyers have fast players, too, and they do a lot of
their scoring damage on the rush, and this is not dump and chase, not by a
long shot. The Flyers have a dynamic offense and they will continue to
need a dynamic offense if they are to get through this series.
Another point: the Flyers are at their best, as coach Peter Laviolette said,
when they are skating well. In this case, we are talking about skating well
and with a purpose: to make sure that, if they aren’t on the rush, that they
get the pucks deep and then confront the Pittsburgh defense. They don’t
necessarily need to splatter them. What they do need is to use their speed
to pressure them into mistakes as they turn and retrieve the puck.
“I think a lot of teams just try to redirect pucks behind the defense now and
get it down to the goal line,” Laviolette said. “Their objective seems pretty
simple: get it out, get it through, get it in. They probably had 50 behind us.
I’m not sure what that means.
“You need to take care of the puck. Turnovers in any sport usually leads to
a loss. That’s in any sport. It doesn’t matter what it is. You take care of the
ball. You take care of the puck. You take care of whatever it is or you’re
going to be looking at them coming the other way...
“A lot of teams are playing a simple game,” Laviolette said. “More of what I
just said: get it out, get it through and get it behind them. So many teams
now are playing an aggressive system and an aggressive game. It’s better
to play that game on one goal line than the other. I think you see that
throughout the league. That’s the objective on most teams, most nights.”
For the Flyers, though, it is more imperative than objective. And, well, put it
this way: if you can spell Engelland and Michalek by the end of the series,
the Flyers will probably have won it.
Posted by Rich Hofmann
625842
Philadelphia Flyers
Giroux tops online NHL jersey sales
Flyers winger Claude Giroux had the best-selling jersey on the NHL's
website during the 2011-2012 season according to Street & Smith's Sports
Business Journal. Sidney Crosby, who led the league in sales last year, fell
to third.
Giroux was one of four Flyers players to crack the top 20. Also making the
list were Jaromir Jagr (No. 10), Danny Briere (No. 11), and James van
Riemsdyk (No. 19).
Here is a look at the rest of the top 20:
1. Flyers RW Claude Giroux
2. Rangers RW Ryan Callahan
3. Penguins C Sidney Crosby
4. Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin
5. Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist
6. Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews
7. Bruins G Tim Thomas
8. Blackhawks C Patrick Kane
9. Red Wings C Pavel Datsyuk
10. Flyers RW Jaromir Jagr
11. Flyers RW Daniel Briere
12. Bruins C Tyler Seguin
13. Bruins D Zdeno Chara
14. Bruins LW Milan Lucic
15. Rangers C Brad Richards
16. Lightning C Steven Stamkos
17. Penguins C Evgeni Malkin
18. Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom
19. Flyers LW James van Riemsdyk
20. Sharks C Joe Thornton
Posted by Matt Mullin
625843
Philadelphia Flyers
No momentum to ride?
PITTSBURGH -- Coming off an emotionally draining Game 1, the Flyers
seemed intent on Friday morning to put that game behind them and focus
on getting another win.
Player after player said Wednesday’s result will have little impact on Game
2’s outcome. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
“I believe there no momentum from game-to-game in hockey,” Danny Briere
said. “There is momentum in the games themselves, but from game-togame it’s a new chapter. You have to turn the page and focus on tonight’s
game.
“The goal for us now is to go home up 2-0. But we have to forget about
what happened.”
Braydon Coburn said every game is “a totally new scenario, a totally new
energy.”
As noted in today’s paper, the Flyers have never lost a playoff series (17-0)
when holding a two games to none lead. They’ve already accomplished at
least a split, now they want to keep that “greedy” attitude to take both
games at Consol Energy Center.
“I actually like playing on the road,” Scott Hartnell said. “We’d love to send
their fans home angry, knowing what just happened to their team.”
NEW LOOK? With veteran Pavel Kubina poised to replace the injured
Marc-Andre Bourdon in the lineup on Friday for Game 2, the Flyers will
have a new look on defense.
Bourdon did not participate in Friday’s morning skate.
Peter Laviolette was asked about his team’s reduced mobility on the blue
line, since Kubina is a hulking 258 pounds and clearly is not as fleet of foot
as Bourdon. That could be a big factor on the third pairing as the Penguins
are one of the NHL’s best skating teams.
“I think all players bring different attributes,” Laviolette said. “Matt Carle
plays a much different game than Nick Grossmann does. Regardless of
who makes the lineup, we’re still the same team.
“Because one player goes out and another comes in, we don’t change our
identity. It might change the look of a power play unit, when you lose a
player, because you have to move things around. But the identity, the
system, what’s worked for us the entire year, I don’t think you blow that up
just because one player is out.”
PENS APPROACH: Penguins forward James Neal, who did not participate
in Friday’s optional morning skate, said they had plenty of time to absorb
Wednesday’s Game 1 loss. Their attitude is similar to the Flyers in trying to
shrug off the first game.
“I’m sure everyone rolled around, wrestled with it for a little bit,” Neal said.
“That was a tough loss. But it’s best to just lose it and put it behind you. For
us, it’s a whole new mindset tonight. We’ve got to put that behind us.”
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
Posted by Frank Seravalli
625844
Philadelphia Flyers
For Flyers, Bryz still the key
PITTSBURGH _ After the Flyers stole Game 1 in Pittsburgh, more was
written about the Penguins’ fans in bear costumes - mocking a certain
goalie - than Ilya Bryzgalov’s performance.
Yes, I’m guilty, too.
But after an unsettling start, it should be noted that Bryzgalov got into a
groove and did not allow any goals after the first period.
“He gave us a chance to come back,” center Claude Giroux said.
The Flyers overcame a 3-0 deficit and stunned the Penguins, 4-3, in the
series opener Wednesday.
Game 2 is Friday night in Pittsburgh.
Primarily because of a chip fracture in his right foot, Bryzgalov played just
four of the final six regular-season games, so there were concerns about
whether he would be rusty.
“He didn’t have that much time off; he missed a few games and that was it,”
coach Peter Laviolette said after his team’s morning skate Friday. “He
played 22 of 26 (actually, 21 of 26, including 19 of 20 at one point) for us.
We feel he’s rested and he’s ready. He played a good amount of games
this year. He was playing well down the stretch….and I thought he really did
nice job in Game 1.”
Bryzgalov couldn’t be faulted for any of the Penguins’ three goals, but he
didn’t look at his best in the first 20 minutes. He got better as the game
went on, turning aside a handful of quality opportunities.
The first period “was a little overwhelming,” Laviolette said. “We were
standing around too much, and that usually leads to chances coming back
at your net. After the first period, he was sharp.”
If the Flyers are going to win this fascinating Pennsylvania Cold War series,
they will need more of the same. Brayden Schenn and Danny Briere stole
the spotlight in Game 1, but Bryzglaov remains the Flyers’ key.
Follow Sam Carchidi
625845
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers' comebacks weighing on Penguins?
PITTSBURGH _ Left winger Scott Hartnell said the Flyers are in the
Penguins’ heads a little bit.
The reason he feels that way?
The Flyers are 6-1 at the Consol Energy Center since it opened two
seasons ago.
Oh, and the Flyers have spotted the Penguins at least a two-goal lead in
the teams’ last four meetings.
The Flyers have won three of those games, including Game 1 on
Wednesday, when they overcame a 3-0 deficit and jolted Pittsburgh in
overtime, 4-3.
"I don't buy into those statistics,” said Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, trying
not to add fuel to the fire. “There's always statistics that pop up. I really
don't buy into them that much. The Penguins have a good hockey team.
They'll be ready to play. I don't think because there's a statistic one way or
another that it really affects the game (on Friday). We’ve got to make sure
that we show up and be ready to play.”
The Penguins will be a desperate team on Friday. Logic says they produce,
say, a workmanlike 4-1 win.
Then again, the Flyers appear to be in their heads.
Follow Sam Carchidi
625846
Philadelphia Flyers
"Coming back (in Game 2) is a good feeling,'' Couturier said. "It's a big win.
It's not an easy task (guarding Malkin) ... he's one of the best in the world,
he's big, strong on the puck.
Couturier leads Flyers to 8-5 win, 2-0 series lead
"You've got to keep the puck away from him, not give him time or space.''
By Wayne Fish Staff writer |
Said Giroux, "Coots played an unbelieveable game against one of the best
players in the league. We have to be ready (for Game 3) because we know
they're going to come out hard.''
Records right and left
PITTSBURGH — When someone as accomplished as Jaromir Jagr
compares a 19-year-old teammate to Hall of Famer Ron Francis, heads
turn.
And plenty of heads turned Friday night after Sean Couturier, the object of
Jagr's praise, scored his first career hat trick to lead the Flyers to another
come-from-behind win — this one by an 8-5 margin — over the Pittsburgh
Penguins.
The victory gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference best-ofseven quaerterfinal series. Game 3 is set for Sunday afternoon in
Philadelphia.
Couturier not only put three goals on the board, but held NHL scoring
champion Evgeni Malkin to no points in even-strength situations (he did
have two power-play assists).
Giroux's six points eclipsed the old Flyers franchise record for points in a
playoff game, five, shared by Reggie Leach, Bob Dailey and Mark Recchi.
With his six points, Giroux jumped from 25th to 18th on the Flyers' all-time
playoff scoring list. He now has 16 goals and 28 points for 44 points in 42
career playoff games, which makes him (at this point) just the fifth Flyer to
average more than a point-per-game in the playoffs over his career, joining
Danny Briere (31-30-61 in 59 games), Eric Lindros (24-33-57 in 50 games),
Ken Linseman (11-42-53 in 41 games) and Peter Forsberg (four goals, four
assists in six games).
Couturier's four-point night matched Peter Zezel (1-3-4), done exactly 27
years ago on April 13, 1985 vs. the New York Rangers in Game 3 of the
Patrick Division semifinals.
Claude Giroux also registered a hat trick (and set a franchise record with six
points) as the Flyers once again rallied from deficits of 2-0, 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4.
It's the first time in team history that two Flyers have had a hat trick in the
same playoff game. The last time the Flyers even had two hat tricks in the
same playoff year was the 1986-87 season.
Jagr's goal at 9:13 of the third period broke a 5-5 tie and sent the Flyers on
their way to a second straight victory at the Consol Energy Center.
This is just the seventh playoff season in team history that the Flyers have
had two hat tricks; they have never had three in the same playoff season.
After the game, Jagr called Couturier "our best defensive forward.''
Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the last Flyers rookie to have a multi-goal
playoff game was Andy Delmore, who had a hat trick on May 7, 2000
against Pittsburgh in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, a 6-3
Flyers win.
"I don't think I've seen anybody in my hockey career that good defensively
at (such) a young age,'' Jagr said. "The coach started him right away, he
was putting in key situations ... one goal, last minute of the game and he's
there all the time.
"I would say he's our best defensive forward at 18, 19 years of age. Maybe
Ron Francis was kind of like that. He's strong, I think he's so smart for his
age.
"He plays like he would have played for 20 years. He knows where to go,
not overskate anything, not overplay. He's always in the right place.
Hopefully he can do that the whole playoffs.''
Couturier (who tied a rookie playoff record with a four-point night), Giroux,
Max Talbot and the rest of the Flyers showed remarkable resilience in not
giving up against the high-powered Pens.
Once again, the Flyers didn't need long to fall behind — 15 seconds, to be
exact. That's all Sidney Crosby needed to put the first shot of the game past
Ilya Bryzgalov.
The last time the Flyers had a hat trick in a playoff game at all was May 2,
2004 by Keith Primeau in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals vs.
Toronto.
The Flyers have won the first two games of a series on the road for just the
second time in team history. The only other time was the 1997 Eastern
Conference Quarterfinals against Buffalo, which the Flyers won in five
games.
The Flyers are 17-0 in their history when leading a playoff series 2-0. They
are 10-7 in Game 3 of those 17 series. The Flyers have only led a playoff
series 3-0 10 times in their history out of 94 total series.
The last time the Flyers scored eight goals in a playoff game was April 11,
1989 — Flyers 8 at Washington 5 in Game 5 of the Patrick Division
semifinals.
When Chris Kunitz beat Bryzgalov at 9:27 on a power play, coach Peter
Laviolette had to call timeout as has been the case on a nightly basis.
Per Elias, the last time the Flyers had 2 shorthanded goals in a playoff
game was April 26, 1997 vs. Pittsburgh — Game 5, Eastern Conference
quarterfinals (a 6-3 Flyers win).
Although the Flyers did get one back on a Talbot shorthanded goal (off a
Giroux break) at 12:44, the Penguins got what appeared to be a
momentum-breaker at 19:42.
The Penguins have only given up 35 power-play goals this regular season
and playoffs; the Flyers have scored eight of those goals.
Philadelphia fought back to tie at 3-3 in the second on a power-play goal by
Giroux at 5:11 and then a shorthanded goal at 11:04.
Pittsburgh later took leads of 4-3 and, early in the third, 5-4. But Couturier
scored at 1:21 of the third, just 17 seconds after a Tyler Kennedy goal and
Jagr finally the Flyers ahead for good.
What a night for Couturier.
"Ever since he's been here he's done a good job,'' Laviolette said. "I think
what's allowed him to increase his minutes is his hockey sense.
"He's always in good position, he's got a good stick. Tonight you saw the
offensive upside to it. I do think he's a mature kid for his age.
"He's played against some of the best players in the world, in the league
which has compromised a lot of men. He plays older than he is.''
The Flyers head back to Philadelphia with a chance to wrap up the series.
But they know it won't be easy. Many of these players were on the 2009
Stanley Cup championship team and they won't go without a fight.
Talbot was plus-5, the first time he's done that in any NHL regular season
or playoff game.
The Flyers went down by two (or more) goals for the 35th time in the
regular season and playoffs. They won the game for the ninth time under
those circumstances, three of which have been against Pittsburgh here in
the month of April (April 1, April 11, April 13).
The six seconds between the Flyers' third goal and Pittsburgh's fourth goal
was one second short of an NHL record. The fastest two playoff goals in
NHL history by one or both teams was five seconds, done most recently by
the Penguins and Sabres (one goal each) on April 14, 1979.
Crosby's goal 15 seconds into the game was the fastest playoff goal
against the Flyers in team history. The previous playoff record was from
April 11, 1971, when Jim Pappin of the Chicago Blackhawks scored 21
seconds into a 6-2 Flyers loss in Game 4 of the 1971 quarterfinals.
Wayne Fish: 215-345-3070; e-mail: wfish@phillyburbs.com; twitter:
@waynefish1
Burlington County Times LOADED: 04.14.2012
625847
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers win, 8-5; take 2-0 series lead
Wayne Fish Staff writer |
PITTSBURGH -- Another game, another comeback for the ages.
For the second straight time, the Flyers overcame a big deficit against the
Penguins in their Eastern Conference best-of-seven quarterfinal series on
Friday night.
After falling behind by scores of 2-0, 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4, the Flyers bounced
back for a 7-5 win at the Consol Energy Center, giving them a 2-0 lead in
the series, which resumes on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Jaromir Jagr's spin move goal at 9:13 of the third period broke a 5-5 tie at
9:13 of the third period.
Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier led the comeback with hat tricks. Giroux
scored shorthanded at 11:04 of the second period to tie the score at 3-3.
Then, after a Chris Kunitz goal on a Pittsburgh power play, Couturier tied
the score again with a goal at 19:57.
In the third, Tyler Kennedy scored to make it 5-4. But Couturier answered
right back with an unassisted goal.
Pittsburgh raced on top in this game again, getting a goal from Sidney
Crosby just 15 seconds into the contest. After a goal by Kunitz, the Flyers
got one back on a shorthanded tally from Max Talbot (off a Giroux
rebound). Paul Martin scored with 18 seconds left in the first to make it 3-1.
The Flyers got one back on a power-play goal by Giroux at 5:11 of the
second period.
@waynefish1
625848
Philadelphia Flyers
"It feels like we can breathe and relax now,'' he said. "I think we were pretty
tense before the game and obviously it showed in the first period. We were
sitting back way too much.''
Flyers seek an earlier starting time
Laviolette is confident his team has gotten the message that the serious
hockey has to start right after the national anthem.
Wayne Fish Staff writer |
"Our team needs to be better in that first 20 minutes,'' he said. "We have a
lot of young faces in the lineup. The environment, it was not an ordinary
game. You have to go through it. We did, we were able to perservere.''
PITTSBURGH — While it might look like all fun and games as the
Comeback Kids keep making these late night turnarounds, the fact is, they
can take a toll.
With rookie Marc-Andre Bourdon (injury) uncertain, veteran Pavel Kubina
could be back for Game 2.
The Flyers understand coming back from 3-0 deficits like they did in Game
1 vs. the Penguins on Wednesday night remains a dicey proposition.
Everything has to break right: A Penguin shot bounces off the post, Danny
Briere isn't called offside (which he was by about the length of Leon
Stickle's arm) on his breakaway goal and the puck takes a crazy deflection
to find Jake Voracek's stick for the winner in overtime.
Although they will take wins any way they can get them, the Flyers wouldn't
mind doing it the more conventional way when Game 2 commences Friday
night at the Consol Energy Center.
Scott Hartnell, who figured prominently in the Flyers' 4-3 victory for a 1-0
lead in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven quarterfinal series, says his
team needs to play with desperation when the score is 0-0 instead of
waiting until it's 2-0 or 3-0.
"We didn't have the start that we wanted,'' Hartnell said after Thursday's
light workout. "Usually you don't win games like that in the playoffs. But we
showed a lot of character, a lot of courage coming back. We just have to
have a better start.
"One thing that's helped us is that we've been down in the past before
(winning a league-leading 20 times after giving up the first goal of the
game). It seems like we've been playing this way the last three months.
That's not the recipe for success.''
Hartnell and some of the other Flyers would like to get a little greedy now
and not be satisfied with a split of the first two on the road. A sweep would
take the series back to Philadelphia on Sunday with a serious momentum
shift.
"It would be huge,'' Hartnell said. "You come into a series and you're not the
home team, you want to split the first two games and we were able to
accomplish that. I think it will be important for us to get this next game.
"Our starts have to be better. To get two on the road, that would be great.''
Kimmo Timonen was happy with the Game 1 outcome but knows Pittsburgh
is too good a team to repeat the same mistakes it made the other night.
"We were lucky,'' he stated. "That's why I say we have to be a totally
different team in the first period.''
At the risk of repeating himself, Timonen continues to remind anyone who
will listen that the key word is "preparation,'' being ready to play from the
opening whistle, not just turning it on after coach Peter Laviolette calls one
of his early timeouts and starts reading his players the riot act.
"We have to find a way to be ready from the get-go,'' Timonen said. "That
hasn't been the case the last few weeks. Games are getting tighter and
tighter. We were lucky the other day against a real good team, down 3-0.
We take the win but we have to be ready tomorrow.''
Laviolette mentioned both Wednesday and Thursday that the noise and
energy in the building might have been a little unnerving for the half-dozen
rookies — and maybe some of the vets, too.
"The guys were a little tight, if I can say that,'' veteran Max Talbot said. "It's
nice that (the hoopla of that first playoff game) is done now. The first period,
you can talk about it as much as you want, tell (the rookies) it's going to be
really intense. But if you haven't seen it, it's hard to explain.
"It was loud but once we got settled in, got more comfortable, we started to
play more our game.''
Brayden Schenn, who became only the eighth Flyer rookie in team history
to put together a three-point performance in a playoff game, said things
settled down as the game went along.
"(Kubina) is effective,'' Laviolette said. "He's done a terrific job since he's
been here.''
@waynefish1
625849
Philadelphia Flyers
Fight-back Flyers take Game 2 from reeling Penguins
By ROB PARENT
PITTSBURGH — As an ode to the days of old, the Flyers say they will not
request league permission to spot the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins a lead
Sunday. So they’ll set the Game 3 scoreboard at 0-0, but everyone knows
the Penguins won’t be reading the numbers that way.
Gifting the Penguins with yet another two-goal lead Friday night, the Flyers
promptly took advantage of Pittsburgh’s weak defense and weaker
goaltending to score four third-period goals en route to an 8-5 Game 2
victory at CONSOL Energy Center. That makes the real score 2-0 Flyers as
they head home with one thing in mind.
“We’re not happy about it,” Claude Giroux said. “We’ve got to find a way to
change our game.”
Before he starts searching for real change, Giroux might want to consider
the three goals and three assists he put up on the scoresheet on this crazy
Game 2 night in Pittsburgh.
They happen less often than miracle comebacks in the playoffs.
“Fight to the end and you never know what happens,” Flyers goalie Ilya
Bryzgalov said. “That’s why I love this sport. It’s an unpredictable game and
if you fight to the end sometimes good things happen.”
Giroux was equaled in his hat trick prowess by rookie Sean Couturier,
whose real job of negating the league’s top scorer apparently wasn’t
enough to satisfy him. Couturier now leads 50-goal scorer Evgeni Malkin 30 on the playoff goals scoreboard. Not that it lessens Couturier’s respect.
“He’s one of the best in the world,” Couturier said of Malkin, the man he’s
shut down. “He’s big and strong on the puck. You just have to keep the
puck away from him.”
Through two games, that’s happened.
Through two games, the Penguins have scored the first two goals.
Through two games, that hasn’t mattered.
Once again, the Flyers played from behind because they like to. With
Giroux and Couturier and Max Talbot leading the way, they climbed back
level with the Penguins, then let old Pittsburgh friend Jaromir Jagr decide it
— on a goal 9:13 into the third period in which he broke his stick.
That’s how weak Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has been.
“It was a weird game,” Giroux said. “But in weird games, you have to find a
way to get it done. Sometimes you’re having a bad game, but you have to
find a way to get it done. Maybe it wasn’t pretty, but…”
It still counts.
The counting again started with Crosby, working a perfect give and go with
Pascal Dupuis and finishing it — 15 seconds into the game.
All of Pittsburgh went nuts. The playing-from-behind beancounters listed the
Flyers as having allowed the other team to score first 12 of the last 14
games.
Then Chris Kunitz scored on the power play. All of Pittsburgh went nuts
again. The numerologists went back to work again, checking off the nine of
the last 14 games the Flyers went down 2-0.
Giroux started the comeback going the other way, making Fluery make a
save, but only to savvy trailer Talbot, who gratefully accepted the rebound
from his old Pittsburgh teammate and popped it in for 2-1. For the Flyers,
that’s not enough. So they allowed Crosby to make another play, setting up
a Paul Martin wrister goal with just 18 seconds left for a 3-1 lead after one.
Now the comeback countdown could begin. After a first-intermission
coaching shout or several, of course.
“Certainly, we want to start better,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’ve tried
different things to jump-start it. Maybe that’s a work in progress. But we
don’t want to keep going to that well against this team.”
Rather than argue with success, Laviolette watched as his team refused to
skate the puck out of their zone, preferring to soar outlets ahead of their
young gate crashers into the thick of a weak Penguins resistance. Giroux
scored twice in succession to bring it to 3-3 in the first 11 minutes of the
second.
Kunitz made it 4-3, then Couturier tied it at 4-all with three seconds left in
the second period. The Penguins would resume their lead just 1:04 into the
third period on a goal by Tyler Kennedy, but everyone knew where this was
going. Again, it was a Couturier goal that got them there 17 seconds later,
tying it at 5-5.
“We saw a lot of Sean Couturier playing great defense,” Talbot said. “It’s a
part of his game. But I told (a reporter) that Sean’s going to grow. He’s
going to mature and he’s going to turn into a dangerous offensive player. I
think it started tonight.”
It would finish with the Jagr goal, but only after Bryzgalov made a gamechanging save. As an encore, Couturier and Giroux scored in the final two
minutes.
No hats were offered by head-scratching Penguins fans.
Delaware County Times LOADED: 04.14.2012
625850
Philadelphia Flyers
It has happened twice in the postseason, as it happened often during the
regular season.
Flyers earn adoration in form of playoff rally
The Flyers don’t quit. Print that on a t-shirt and attach any price tag. No
matter what happens now, that is something they have earned the right to
sell.
By JACK McCAFFERY
PITTSBURGH — The Flyers will reappear Sunday in the Wells Fargo
Center and when they do, walls will shake, ears will pound, price tags in the
souvenir stands will flutter from the reverberation. And those can be heavy.
That’s the kind of ovation the Flyers will receive when they arrive for Game
3 of their first-round playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, now that
they have won the second-most important designation a Philadelphia sports
team can earn.
That’s the treatment they earned through two games in Pittsburgh, including
an 8-5 victory in Game 2 Friday in a noisy-early, quiet-late Consol Energy
Center.
That’s what they can expect not because they are champions, which is the
No. 1 way for a Philadelphia team to gain permanent public adoration.
That’s what they can expect because they have needed two postseason
games to craft the kind of image Philadelphia fans crave.
They don’t quit.
They didn’t quit in Game 2, not after being down, 3-1, after one period and
down, 5-4, in the third. They didn’t quit in Game 1 Wednesday, when they
were down by three and won in overtime. They may not win a Stanley Cup;
they never do. But they have won a reputation, and that can be just as
permanent and glittering as a trophy.
“It doesn’t matter where we play,” Claude Giroux was saying Friday, after a
morning skate and before scoring a hat trick. “We just have to go out and
do what we have to do and get a win.”
What they have to do is start games better. They admitted that after Game
1, then let Sidney Crosby, of all hockey magicians, sneak past their defense
and score 15 seconds into Game 2. At some point, there will be a fee for
that absence of early detail-attention, because pro sports can be
unforgiving that way.
Rope-a-dope works in boxing once a generation. All the other times, it
yields rope burn. Yet just hours after making that challenge Friday, Giroux
scored three times not only to help the Flyers take a 2-0 series lead, but to
answer a question that had been burning since Game 1.
Kimmo Timonen said it first, and it was analytical, fair, honest. Danny Briere
said it next, and by then, it was something else. By then, it was a haunting
echo, and a call to wonder: Did the Flyers really believe they were “lucky” to
win Game 1? Did they see the replays on TV, too, of the offside goal? Did
they win because the only goalie who didn’t panic was the one without the
punctuation mark in his first name?
Was that what happened in Game 1 —- that the Flyers won in spite of
themselves, on a Jakub Voracek goal? What kind of goal? “Lucky bounce,”
Voracek said.
By Game 2, they had their answer: No. They were not lucky. They were
themselves.
They are not lucky. They are resilient. And no matter what happens now,
that will be their image, an image well-earned. They fall behind, but they
continue to skate. They goaltender is less than perfect —- except when it
matters. They just don’t kill penalties. They bury goals in the process.
Timonen has been in the NHL since 1998, Briere since 1997. They know
the difference between a fluke and a trend, and they know how to discuss
the nuances. So when two veterans, on opposite side of the room, on
different days, used the same description about the same game, they
weren’t doing so to waste time. But even if the Flyers don’t show up early,
they work late.
“We all know that when you get behind 3-0 in Pittsburgh and win,” Timonen
said earlier Friday, before the Flyers would almost do precisely that. “It’s not
going to happen too many times.”
625851
Philadelphia Flyers
Jagr contributes more, even in scaled-back role
By JACK McCAFFERY
PITTSBURGH —- After having enjoyed plenty of the most complete, most
productive seasons in the history of the NHL, there is little more for Jaromir
Jagr to achieve. For most of Friday night, however, he was hoping only for
at least one more chance to try.
“I didn’t play much in this game,” he was saying after the Flyers’ 8-5 victory
over the Pittsburgh Penguins. “But I was waiting for my chance. And
sometimes, less means more.”
Jagr played just 13 minutes and 17 seconds total in 22 shifts Friday, a little
less than most of the regular Flyers’ forwards, but far below what his career
accomplishments would suggest. With Game 2 of the opening-round playoff
series tied at 5-5, there he was deep in the Pittsburgh zone, collecting a
rebound, spinning and firing a shot past Marc-Andre Fleury.
At 9:13 of the third, his first goal and second point of the series gave the
Flyers their first lead. As the game-winner, it silenced a Consol Energy
Center crowd that boos the former Penguin at every opportunity.
Less did mean more.
“If I couldn’t be happy in that game,” Jagr said. “I don’t even think I could
play.”
On a global hockey scale, one game-winning goal in a first-round playoff
game might not mean as much to a player already destined for the Hall of
Fame and who has won two Stanley Cups.
But at age 40, Jagr will take it ... and show up for Game 3.
“By not playing as much, you are kind of fresher,” he reasoned. “And maybe
next game, I could play even more. But I enjoy every shift I can have.”
Though the Flyers have a 2-0 command in the best-of-seven series, they
oddly have not had many on-ice minutes to savor. They didn’t lead in Game
1 until Jakub Voracek’s overtime game-winner. In Game 2, they were
ahead for 10:47 of the 60 minutes.
“We kind of started the same way we did in Game 1,” Jagr said. “Maybe it
was a little better, because we were behind after the first period, 3-1, not 30 —- a little improvement from the first game. Cou (Sean Couturier) had a
great night. So did G (Claude Giroux). And Bryz (Ilya Bryzgalov) was a
hero. He kept us in the game.”
Couturier and Giroux had hat tricks, and Bryzgalov was the best goalie on
the ice. But Jagr’s athletic game-winner was worthy of inclusion among his
career snapshots.
“It was the whole team tonight,” Peter Laviolette said. “Jaromir Jagr had a
big goal. And when you are able to come back like that, it says volumes
about the character in the room.”
Eerily, Jagr literally is a character in the other Consol Center room, his
photo on the wall high above the Penguins’ lockers, along with other
franchise greats.
But he has too much hockey still to play to settle for memories. That’s why
he waited for another Friday ... and provided one. Asked afterward if it was
one of the craziest games in his memory, he grinned.
“Don’t forget,” he said, smiling. “I have played 20 years, so I have seen a lot
of wild ones. That was pretty wild today. But there have been a lot of them
in my hockey career.”
And always room for more.
lll
It would have seemed a logical time for the Flyers to bring up another
defenseman, considering Marc-Andre Bourdon suffered an upper body
injury in Game 1. They had the option of recalling Erik Gustafsson, but they
did not, staying with six defenders and replacing Bourdon with experienced
but recently hurting defender Pavel Kubina.
This was expected to take a toll on the mobility of the Flyers’ defense, and
did, except Kubina played a strong game defensively and even notched an
assist. He had been a scratch in Game 1.
“It’s always hard when you’re not playing,” said Kubina, who will turn 35
Sunday. “Everyone wants to play and I do understand it. Hopefully I can
help the team in the future. ... I missed two weeks in March, and that always
slows you down. You can practice and do anything but it’s always different
when play a game.”
625852
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Pre-Game: Defense may be a step slower now against Penguins
By ROB PARENT
PITTSBURGH - It would seem the logical time for the Flyers to recall young
defenseman Erik Gustafsson from the Adirondack Phantoms, but as of their
late-morning skate today at Consol Energy Center, there was no word
about whether Gustafsson would be brought in for injured defenseman
Marc-Andre Bourdon.
With Bourdon sidelined stemming from an upper body injury suffered during
Game 1 Wednesday night, Pavel Kubina has been practicing and
apparently is ready to start tonight in Game 2 against the Penguins.
As per regime policy, Kubina declined comment on status for this game,
other than: "Feel good. We'll see how it goes."
But Kubina, who missed seven gaems due to an injury in mid-March, had
trouble getting up to speed after he came back. He was an apparently
healthy scratch for Game 1 against the Penguins.
"It's always hard when you're not playing," said Kubina, who will turn 35
Sunday. "Everyone wants to play and I do understand it. Hopefully I can
help the team in the future. ... I missed two weeks in March, and that always
slows you down. You can practice and do anything but it's always different
when play a game."
It's going to be different for the Flyers with Kubina in the lineup, largely
because Nick Grossmann, who missed the last three regular season games
with an unspecified injury, looked off his game and a bit slow Wednesday
night against the Penguins. Grossmann did practice today and will be in the
lineup again tonight.
The Flyers would seem significantly slower when it comes to blue line
mobility, but coach Peter Laviolette said the plan remains the same.
"I think all players bring different attributes," Laviolette said. "Matty Carle
plays a much different game than Nick Grossmann does. We have a
tremendous amount of faith in all of our players regardless of who makes
the lineup. Because one player comes out and one player goes in, we don't
change an identity. ... You don't change it just because you lost a person."
625853
Philadelphia Flyers
Game 2 Notes: Special teams key in Flyers' win
Shorthanded goals
Elias said the last time the Flyers had two shorthanded goals in a playoff
game was April 26, 1997 vs. Pittsburgh – Game 5, Eastern Conference
Quarterfinals (6-3 win)
That’s a good time?
PITTSBURGH – On Wednesday night, it was the Flyers’ penalty kill that
took away much of the Penguins’ early momentum.
On Friday, in Game 2, it was special teams that provided the Flyers with an
offensive edge. If the penalty kill was a bonus in the Flyers’ Game 1 victory,
it was the Penguins’ backbreaker in the game that put them in a 2-0 hole in
this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
On the way to their 8-5 win Friday night (see game recap), the Flyers
scored two shorthanded goals and one on a power play – and Claude
Giroux, who was silent on Wednesday, had one of each en route to a hat
trick.
The Penguins have an odd idea of what constitutes a good time. After
blowing two big leads in the first two games of the series, several Pittsburgh
players were asked about heading to Philadelphia down 0-2 against the
Flyers.
“It’s a fun place to play,” Craig Adams said. “The crowd is loud. There’s a lot
of emotion there. We’ve had some success there in the past. We have our
work cut out for us.”
Crosby, who isn’t exactly a fan favorite in Philadelphia, essentially echoed
Adams’ somewhat strange remarks about playing in the Wells Fargo
Center.
As their coach likes to say: In the playoffs, the power-play and penalty-kill
units are one of the biggest difference makers.
“It’s a building that brings out the best in us,” Crosby said. “It’s going to be
an intense, emotional atmosphere.”
“It’s a big part of a win or loss,” said Max Talbot, who scored the Flyers’ first
goal of the night while on the penalty kill. “Special teams were good tonight,
they made a difference, for sure.”
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net, Sarah Baicker at
sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com or John Gonzalez at
jgonzalez@comcastsportsnet.com.
Talbot’s goal, interestingly enough, was scored off of a turnover by Sidney
Crosby.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.14.2012
“We just put pressure, and kind of blocked a pass and Claude’s got a lot of
speed and he drove the net,” Talbot said. “And you know whether it’s going
to be in the back of the net or it’s going to be a rebound with Claude. He
had a great move, and I was lucky enough to be in the right place.”
Giroux scored the Flyers’ second shorthanded marker of the night midway
through the second period. He also scored the team’s sole power-play goal,
on the way to a remarkable six-point night (continue reading for more on
that …)
Giroux’s record
Giroux’s six points set a new Flyers franchise record for points in a playoff
game. The previous record was five, shared by Reggie Leach, Bob Dailey
and Mark Recchi.
With those six points, Giroux jumped from 25th to 18th on the Flyers’ alltime playoff scoring list. He now has 16 goals and 28 points for 44 points in
42 career playoff games, which makes him (at this point) just the fifth Flyer
to average more than a point per game in the playoffs over his career,
joining Danny Briere (31-30-61 in 59 games), Eric Lindros (24-33-57 in 50
games), Ken Linseman (11-42-53 in 41 games) and Peter Forsberg (4-4-8
in 6 games).
Couturier’s record
Sean Couturier’s four-point game (see story) tied a Flyers franchise record
for most points by a rookie in a playoff game, matching Peter Zezel (1-3-4)
done exactly 27 years ago Friday on April 13, 1985 vs. NYR in Game 3 of
the Patrick Division Semifinals.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, the last Flyers rookie to have a multi-goal
playoff game was Andy Delmore, who had a hat trick on May 7, 2000
against Pittsburgh in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, a 6-3
Flyers win.
Hat tricks
This was the first time in team history that two Flyers had a hat trick in the
same playoff game. The last time the Flyers even had two hat tricks in the
same playoff year was the 1986-87 season. This is just the seventh playoff
season in team history that the Flyers have had two hat tricks; they have
never had three in the same playoff season.
Winning two
The Flyers have won the first two games of a series on the road for just the
second time in team history. The only other time was the 1997 Eastern
Conference Semifinals vs. Buffalo, which the Flyers won in five games.
The last time the Flyers beat Pittsburgh in the first two games of a playoff
series was the 1997 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which the Flyers
won in five games. They lost the first two games in each of the last three
playoff series against the Penguins (2000, 2008, 2009).
625854
Philadelphia Flyers
Penguins 'desperate' after another collapse
PITTSBURGH -- You look down for a mere moment and when you look up
again, the Flyers have already spotted their competition a lead. It’s almost
as though they have super-sharp shovels that are better at digging deep
holes than other shovels.
What happened on Friday evening at the CONSOL Energy Center would
have seemed impossible -- if similar situations hadn’t already unfolded. The
Flyers played from behind. Again. The Flyers called a timeout to right
themselves in an attempt to wake up from a sluggish start. Again. The
Penguins built a nice lead. Again. The crowd went nuts. Again. The second
verse was the same as the first -- including the incredible, improbable
comeback.
The Flyers beat the Penguins, 8-5, to go up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference
Quarterfinals (see game recap). Some 18,826 people were in the building.
It was nice of the Penguins organization to hand them rally towels, but they
should have given away anti-anxiety medication or strong tranquilizers
instead. It was that kind of game and that kind of finish.
After the first game, Scott Hartnell theorized that a demoralizing loss like
that might “get in their heads a little bit.” So how might blowing two games
affect the Penguins mentality and morale?
“They’re difficult losses, there’s no question about it with the manner that
both of the games went,” Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said. When his
post-game press conference began, Bylsma sat in front of the microphone
for a while before he answered the first question. Like his team, he seemed
to be at a loss for words to explain what went wrong.
After the first game, the Flyers talked about how they couldn’t afford to fall
behind against the Penguins. Wayne Simmonds said it. Kimmo Timonen
and Max Talbot said it. Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux and Peter
Laviolette said it. They all said it. Then they allowed the Penguins to take
the early lead. In the last 14 games, the Flyers have been down 2-0 (or
worse) nine times. Laviolette was not so thrilled with that continuing trend.
When he called a timeout in the first period, you could see him screaming at
his players. His face was the color of a cherry tomato.
On Friday evening, the Penguins built several leads. They were up 3-1.
Then they were up 4-3. Then they were up 5-4. And then, in the end, they
were down 8-5. The mood in Pittsburgh’s locker room reflected that
demoralizing result. Many of the Penguins fled the scene before the media
was allowed inside. Those who stuck around, like Sidney Crosby,
practically whispered their answers when asked why they have so much
trouble winning when they have big cushions.
“We have to find a way to get better with a lead, no doubt,” Crosby said in a
gross understatement. The way he said it was so unnaturally calm. If he
was a pilot instead of a hockey player, you could imagine him watching two
of his four engines catch fire before saying “we really should land this thing
-- no rush though.”
Seriously, you guys aren’t worried at all? You’re down two games and now
you’re headed to Philly.
“We don’t think about it like that,” Crosby insisted. “We just think about
winning the next game. That’s our mindset.”
Uh-huh. So no urgency at all?
“Given the situation we’re in,” Crosby finally admitted, “we should be a
desperate hockey team.”
What do you know? The guy has a pulse after all.
Though it took Crosby a while to confess that things aren’t going so well for
the Penguins at the moment, the fans at the CONSOL Energy Center
appeared to grasp the gravity. They shuffled out of the arena as though
they had just attended a great party that turned into a depressing wake
midway through the evening.
One of those fans was the now-famous Hulk Hogan impersonator. He had a
Jaromir Jagr jersey with him, but “Sybil” was stitched across the shoulders
instead. It was evidently an obscure joke about a mid-1970s mini-series of
the same name. In it, Sally Field played a woman with dissociative identity
disorder. Not-Hulk was apparently sending a message about Jagr being
Pittsburgh’s guy until he decided to become Philly’s guy -- or something. No
one can be totally sure about what goes through the mind of a Yinzer who
dresses up like a pro wrestler on days that aren’t Halloween.
Oddly enough, Not-Hulk might have hit on something. It’s almost as though
these teams have split personalities. The Penguins get out to big leads and
the Flyers fall behind early. Then the Flyers make runs and the Penguins
fall apart.
Sally Field won an Emmy for Sybil, by the way. If things keep going this
way, the Penguins won’t win anything but some extra vacation days.
E-mail John Gonzalez at jgonzalez@comcastsportsnet.com
625855
Philadelphia Flyers
Couturier's dominance not limited to offense
“Once you get out there, after your first shift, it’s just like any other game,”
Couturier said. “Just work hard and have fun.”
The rookies, as it turns out, are doing just fine.
“Couts played unbelievable game,” Claude Giroux said. “Playing against
one of the best players in the league, he’s been able to play pretty good.
PITTSBURGH – Even if Sean Couturier weren’t tasked with an incredibly
heavy defensive responsibility, he would have had a game for the history
books Friday night.
“The game’s over, we’ve got to put it behind us and be ready, because
they’re going to come out hard. But at the same time, we’re pretty happy
with guys stepping up.”
The Flyers’ rookie netted three goals – including both the game-tying
marker and the insurance goal in the closing minutes of regulation – in the
Flyers’ wild 8-5 Game 2 victory (see game recap).
E-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com.
But that’s not all that Couturier accomplished in the game.
“Don’t forget, he had to play against probably the best player in the league,
[Evgeni] Malkin,” Jaromir Jagr said. “If he wouldn’t score any goals, I would
say he had a great game. But he also played great defense and also scored
three goals. I don’t know if I know any words to describe his game today.
Awesome. Maybe something better than that. He was unbelievable.”
Only a few days ago, Jagr said he expected that these Eastern Conference
quarterfinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins would be a big test for the
young Flyers’ center. But, he also said, he expected the series would show
just how good Couturier truly is.
Jagr was right – and it didn’t take long.
Couturier has now outscored Malkin in this series, 3-0. Points-wise,
Couturier has the 4-2 advantage. He’s limited the Penguins’ sniper to just
two assists and only five shots in on goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. Perhaps best of
all, he puts it right into perspective.
“It feels good. It’s kind of a bonus,” Couturier said. “I just try to limit his
offense and not give him too much time and space. And so far we’ve done
a good job. But it’s going to get tougher and tougher. He’s going to bounce
back for sure.”
Couturier is only 19 years old, the youngest Flyer on the roster. And yet,
standing before a throng of reporters after the game, he held the puck with
which he scored his third goal of the evening with an air of nonchalance.
Friday was his first-ever NHL hat trick, scored at an impeccable time. He
was the first Flyers rookie to have a multi-goal playoff game since Andy
Delmore did it 12 years ago. His four points as a rookie tied a 27-year-old
franchise record.
And yet, when he spoke about his accomplishment, he sounded much more
like a mature veteran than a kid who just finished his second playoff game –
a kid who many believed wouldn’t be NHL ready for at least another year.
“Certainly he’s a mature kid,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “He comes from a
good family, a hockey family. I think he’s really well-liked in the locker room
by his teammates, he’s got a real nice personality to him. But I think what’s
allowed him to increase his minutes and his responsibility is his hockey
sense.”
That hockey sense is undeniable. The Flyers elected to draft Couturier over
the summer in great part because of his defensive game. When introducing
himself to reporters at rookie camp back in July, he emphasized his
defensive responsibility, the way he’s been trained to play both ends of the
ice.
That might be the way he reads his own game, but as it turns out, some of
his teammates see a lot more to him than that.
“I was saying exactly that to a French reporter. I was saying that since the
beginning of the season we’ve seen a lot of Couturier playing great
defense, and it’s a big part of his game,” Max Talbot said. “But I [said] that I
think the more Sean’s going to grow and mature, I think he’s going to turn
into a real dangerous offensive player. And I think everybody saw that
tonight.”
For days, the Flyers and their coach have fielded questions about whether
having so many rookies on the roster in the playoffs would be a
disadvantage. The postseason is a different animal, after all, and nerves
can play a big factor.
But Couturier said it didn’t take long at all to shove off the nerves. He
prepared just like he does for every other game, he said, aware of his job
and ready to do what he needed to in order to help his team succeed.
625856
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers seize control with Game 2 comeback win
Pascal Dupuis found Crosby up the right side against Matt Carle. Carle
stood like a frozen statue as Crosby wheeled past him for a give-and-go
with Steve Sullivan ending with Sid’s one-timer for fastest goal ever against
the Flyers in a playoff game.
It was a brutal period too as the Flyers gave up a goal to start the period
and another to finish it.
PITTSBURGH – Like so many of his teammates, Claude Giroux appeared
emotionally and physically spent.
“(Jaromir Jagr) Jags said it best – sometimes you’re having a bad game but
you have to find a way to get it done,” Giroux said, standing near the
shower entrance.
Peter Laviolette’s Flyers got it done, again, Friday night at CONSOL Energy
Center despite spotting the Penguins a 2-0 lead for the fifth straight game,
then playing shinny the rest of the way en route to a shocking 8-5 victory.
It was the kind of playoff hockey action that left you drained. After every
period.
Like skating? It was a continuous sprint. Like watching Santa Monica in the
4x100 at the Penn Relays.
Like checking? Guys were getting laid out and sent airborne.
Like scoring? How about two hat tricks? One from Giroux, the other from
rookie Sean Couturier.
Following Crosby’s marker, for the next several minutes the Penguins beat
the Flyers up ice with stretch passes, forced them into icings and pounded
the hell out of them everywhere.
The entire first period was a blur and a beating.
Following Crosby’s goal, Chris Kunitz made it 2-0 on the power play.
The Flyers had the Penguins right they wanted them – ahead 2-0.
“We’re still not happy about our first period,” Giroux said. “Coach came in
after the first and he wasn’t happy.”
Jagr said it was a little “improvement” over Game 1 since it wasn’t a threegoal deficit.
It got worse before it got better. Nicklas Grossmann, who is having obvious
difficulty moving with two knee braces, took two obstruction penalties in
succession.
No lead was safe. Every goal was answered within minutes, even seconds.
On the second Penguins’ power play, Bryzgalov his a jaw-dropping glove
snare on Letang, who hesitated slightly on his shot. That save prevented it
from being 3-0.
After falling behind 3-1 at the start, the Flyers battled back to make it 4-4
going into the third period before Tyler Kennedy got one. Then, Couturier
answered 17 seconds later with his second goal against Marc-Andre Fleury.
“Save of the year,” Jagr said.
It stayed 5-5 for eight minutes until Jagr – how apropos – did a spin-a-rama
in the slot at 9:14 to give the Flyers their first lead in regulation play in this
series at 6-5. He broke his stick on the shot, too.
“Lucky, he didn’t even try on that one,” Giroux kidded. “He didn’t quit. He
made the key saves on chances in close.”
When play resumed, Crosby turned the puck over to Giroux at the blue line,
creating an odd-man rush the other way with himself and Max Talbot.
“I’ve played 20 years and seen a lot of wild ones,” Jagr said. “This was
pretty wild today. Eight-five? Early ‘70s I would say.
Fleury made the stop on Giroux, but Talbot had an empty net for the
shorthanded goal to cut the deficit in half at 12:44.
“I wish we don’t have to come back. But we get ourselves in a hole, second
straight game. Even the last month of the season we had games like that. I
don’t know where the problem is.
With the period winding down, Letang laid out Zac Rinaldo with a hip check.
Then, Rinaldo came back next shift to bury Evgeni Malkin.
“Just don’t make any plays for 10 minutes and it bites us. Maybe if we know
we’re not going make anything, at least let’s play defense.”
The period should have ended with the momentum on the Flyers’ side. Yet
with 17.2 ticks left, Crosby left a drop pass for Paul Martin in the high slot.
He shot through traffic and it was 3-1 at intermission.
Defense? There was none.
A killer of a goal.
Goaltending? Whoever wins this series, the goalie will have a GAA over
3.00 and a save percentage in the high .800s.
Not with this team’s resiliency to come back.
And yet … Ilya Bryzgalov had one spectacular glove save on Kris Letang
that was the best of the series with Pittsburgh ahead 2-0 on the power play.
“I bring my body over here [motioning to his left] and swing the glove and he
just put it in my glove,” Bryzgalov said, adding he was surprised because “it
was pretty much a small chance when the whole net was open. It was a
lucky save.”
Bryzgalov also had a timely save on Jordan Staal in the final 2:39, before
Couturier got a rush up ice next shift and nailed his hat trick.
The Flyers did what Pittsburgh could not. Once they got a lead, they held it.
“We were so happy to have it, we were fighting to keep it,” Laviolette said.
“It’s the whole team,” Laviolette said. “When you’re able to come back in a
game like that again, it speaks volumes about the character in the room.
“Not only from the veteran players but the younger players, as well …
Fighting back like that is not easy. The players were so resilient, it was
unbelievable.”
Special teams were a factor. There were two shorthanded goals for the
Flyers and a power-play goal in this one. Giroux scored his first on the
power play early in the second to make it 3-2.
Bryzgalov then made a critical save on Sullivan to keep it at 3-2.
This is where it really gets crazy.
Giroux then followed with an empty-netter for his hat trick and sixth point –
a Flyer playoff record.
Pittsburgh went back on the power play, turned it over again and Giroux
and Talbot worked their magic for yet another shorthanded goal – this one
by Giroux – tying it at 3-3 at 11:04.
“It was a wild game and Bryz had some amazing stops to keep us in there,”
Giroux said. “When it was 3-1 he was really good, giving us a chance to
come back. Then, Coots getting a hat trick. A pretty exciting game.”
The good vibrations, however, lasted just six seconds as Kunitz got a juicy
rebound on that same Penguins’ power play after the faceoff, regaining the
lead for Pittsburgh.
Records fell in this, one. Like Sidney Crosby scoring the fastest goal ever
against the Flyers in a playoff game.
Just incredible playoff hockey action. Blink and you missed something.
All that talk about coming out more alert, more savvy against the Penguins
went up in smoke 15 seconds into play.
Like a tying goal. Again. With the final seconds ticking off the clock to end
the second period, Braydon Coburn’s point drive got blocked into traffic
where Fleury couldn’t find it.
Laviolette tried to pull a fast one by yanking Couturier’s line off the ice after
the faceoff to get the matchup of Giroux on Crosby. It backfired
spectacularly.
Couturier did.
It was 4-4 now with a period to go.
The rookie's stellar performance was not limited to his hat trick. Couturier
also stood out on defense, limiting Malkin to minus-4 for the game.
“Awesome,” Jagr said of the kid.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcastsportsnet.com.
625857
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers, Penguins see momentum differently
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- After falling behind 3-0 in the first period of Game 1,
the Flyers returned for the second with a sense of urgency.
And tonight in Game 2, it’s that very urgency Penguins captain Sidney
Crosby says his team needs in order to come away with a win.
“The way you play does not change,” Crosby said. “If anything, you should
be more desperate. I don’t see that as being an issue.
“There is a sense of [urgency] in every game. Everyone talks about
scenarios and the way a series works out. The reality is, everyone is
desperate every game. There is more emphasis when you’ve lost a game
to come back and get momentum.
“That’s the case in every series and that is the case tonight. We want to
make sure we bounce back. That is where our mind is at.”
For the Flyers, matching that sense of urgency to go 2-0 in a series figures
to be harder.
“It’s hard,” Kimmo Timonen said of going up 2-0 on the road. “I don’t think
it’s ever happened to me. It’s really hard. That’s why I told you guys before
the series, I don’t mind going on the road. It’s easier to play and less
pressure on you. You want to go into that game and win Game 1. No. 2 is a
little easier and less pressure.”
Scott Hartnell says he gets “fired up if we ruin another city’s night,” by
winning a playoff game.
“We’d love to send everybody home wondering what happened to their
team,” he said. “We can only control what we control.”
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette doesn’t buy it.
“I think desperation usually trumps over when [another team] is trying to get
on a roll,” Laviolette said.
“But there’s probably as many cases made both ways. I don’t know what
the statistic is when you win Game 1. Is it 90 percent it goes to 1-1? It is 5050 it goes to 2-0? I’m not really sure.
“The team that goes out tonight and plays hard and executes has the best
chance of winning a hockey game.”
Danny Briere sees it similarly. Just because the Flyers had all the
momentum and desperation on their side in the latter half of Wednesday’s
victory doesn’t mean they can count on it again tonight.
“I really believe that there’s no momentum in hockey from game to game,”
Briere said. “There is within the game itself. But from game to game, it’s a
new chapter. You’ve got to turn the page. Now we have to focus solely on
tonight’s game.
“We can’t dwell on last game. We have to move on. Be ready. Obviously
the goal now for us is to go home up 2-0. We have to forget about what
happened in Game 1.”
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net or Sarah Baicker at
sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com.
625858
Philadelphia Flyers
Skate Update: Signs point to Kubina return
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – It’s company policy for the Flyers not to discuss lineup
changes ahead of a game, but it looks as though defenseman Pavel
Kubina, who was a healthy scratch for Game 1, will be in the lineup in place
of Marc-Andre Bourdon tonight in Game 2.
Bourdon was injured during the Flyers’ 4-3 overtime win on Wednesday
night, and is now listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He did not
partake in Friday’s morning skate.
Kubina, however, did.
The bulky defenseman, who was acquired just ahead of the trade deadline,
has struggled much in recent weeks, likely a piece of why he was scratched
in favor of Bourdon Wednesday night. Ever since returning from an upperbody injury (a presumed shoulder problem) in March, Kubina has seemed
to struggle with his mobility and has been somewhat of a liability in the
corners. In short, he has looked different from how he did after first arriving
in Philadelphia – and not in a good way.
Kubina refrained from discussing whether he was unable to play in Game 1
because of injury or if he was truly a healthy scratch – it is that time of year
in hockey, after all – but he insisted he does feel comfortable in the Flyers’
system. He did admit struggling a bit because of some time missed toward
the end of the regular season.
“Always, when you miss a few games – I missed two weeks in March – it
always slows you down at the end of the season,” he said. “You can
practice and you can do anything, but it’s always different when you can’t
play a game, and it takes time to get your legs back. It’s never easy to miss
a long time pretty much at the end of the season.”
That said, Kubina said he felt “good” after Friday’s skate and should he be
in the lineup tonight.
With the assumed loss of Bourdon, the Flyers’ defense will be significantly
less mobile. Kubina, Andreas Lilja and Nicklas Grossman aren’t quickskating offensive defensemen. That said, coach Peter Laviolette isn’t
concerned with the look of his blue line.
“We have a tremendous amount of faith in all of our players, regardless of
who makes the lineup,” Laviolette said. “Because one player comes out and
one player goes in, we don’t change an identity. You may change the look
of a power-play unit if you were to lose a player because you have to move
things around a little bit. But the identity and the system and what’s worked
for us for the entire year, I don’t believe that you go in and you blow that up
and you change it just because you’ve lost a player.”
Finding Malkin
One of the things the Penguins say they need to do better in Game 2 is
finding Evgeni Malkin on the breakout and getting him the puck.
“We didn't create enough chances by breaking the puck out,” Chris Kunitz
said. “We were maybe batting a bunch of pucks toward each other, but we
were not making crisp, clean plays and giving us possession in the neutral
zone.
“That’s where [Malkin] really dominates. When he controls the puck and
comes through the neutral zone and can find guys with speed. We have to
get back to be able to work and get him pucks earlier so he can skate and
back them off.”
Winning Game 2
The Flyers are 18-12 in Game 2s after winning the series opener. They are
22-8 in winning a series after winning Game 1.
Now here’s the rub: They are just 15-17 all-time when a series is tied, 1-1.
On the other hand, they are 17-0 when leading 2-0 in a series.
Suffice to say, the odds favor the Flyers advancing if they come home
leading this series, 2-0.
Historically speaking, the Flyers have only once gone 2-0 against Pittsburgh
to start a series. That would be the 1997 quarterfinals which they won in
five games.
E-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com or Tim Panaccio
at tpanotch@comcast.net
625859
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers-Pens Game 2: What you need to know
The Flyers rallied back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Penguins, 4-3, in Game
1 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series on Wednesday.
Jakub Voracek scored 2:23 into overtime to cap the Flyers' comeback. The
orange and black came out slow against the Pens, allowing three goals in
the opening period, but Danny Briere's breakaway goal midway through the
second period gave the Flyers life.
Who's hot?
Briere scored twice in Game 1 and now has 98 points (44 goals, 54 assists)
in 98 career postseason games.
Also hot for the Flyers is rookie Brayden Schenn, who registered a goal and
two assists on Wednesday.
For the Penguins, Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis each had a goal and
an assist in Game 1. Defenseman Kris Letang had two assists in the Pens'
loss.
Storylines
The Flyers continued to find success at CONSOL Energy Center and have
now won six of their last seven games in the Penguins' home arena.
Coming back is nothing new for the orange and black. The Flyers won 20
games this season when the opposing team scored the first goal. Game 1
marked the third time in the last month that the Flyers spotted the Pens at
least two goals and roared back to win.
The Flyers have scored the first goal of the game only eight times in their
33 games, yet post an 18-8-5 record over that span.
Injuries
Flyers: Marc-Andre Bourdon (upper-body, day-to-day), James van
Riemsdyk (broken left foot), Andrej Meszaros (lower-back surgery) and
Tom Sestito (torn groin muscle).
Penguins: Matt Niskanen (upper-body) was scratched for Game 1.
Sound off
How important is a fast start for the Flyers in Game 2?
625860
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Notes: Rookies shake off jitters
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – One of the questions that the Flyers needed to
answer coming into this series was how their six rookies would respond to
playoff pressure.
There are 11 players on the Penguins roster who hoisted the Stanley Cup
back in 2009. They know playoff pressure, know what it’s like to lose home
ice advantage, know what it takes to grab it back in a long playoff run.
All of this “learning” is brand new to the Flyers rookies. And it seemed to
catch up to them immediately in Game 1.
Things should be calmer in Game 2 on Friday, but again, this entire playoff
series will be one of learning for Brayden Schenn, Matt Read, Sean
Couturier, Zac Rinaldo, Eric Wellwood and Marc-Andre Bourdon (injured).
“Well, certainly the first period,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “I don't know if
it was necessarily rookies. The first period, it was a pretty good
atmosphere, pretty good hockey environment.
“I think once we got through that, we settled in and we started to play better
in the second period. By the third period, we were finding our stride, and in
the overtime as well.
“I thought they did a good job after a certain point. But I don't think that's
necessarily pointed to them, that statement. Our team needs to be better in
that first 20 minutes.”
The consensus was: it took a full period of adjustment for the younger
players.
“That first period was not the way wanted to come out,” Max Talbot said.
“Guys were a little tight, if I can day it. But we went back to our game.”
One of those uptight guys was the 20-year-old rookie, Schenn, whose
power play goal in the third period tied the game at 3-3 and forced overtime,
where Jakub Voracek, a young player, who is not a rookie, scored his firstever playoff goal to win it.
“Yeah, I was a little bit nervous,” Schenn admitted. “It was a pretty fastpaced game out there. I don’t think we were ready for what they threw at
us.”
The Flyers come into Game 2 knowing they can win in Pittsburgh where
they are now 6-1 since the new building opened.
Flyers chairman Ed Snider said what every one else has been thinking and
saying going back to the regular season: the Flyers have gotten into the
Penguins heads.
In three of the last four games (including one in Philly), they’ve come back
2-0, 2-0 and 3-0 on Pittsburgh to win.
“I think winning in the regular season always helps when you play that team
in the playoffs,” Hartnell said. “Obviously, not the start you wanted. Usually,
you don’t win games like in the playoffs against a good team like Pittsburgh.
We showed a lot of character and a lot of courage coming back. We have to
have a better start [in Game 2].
“We’ve got to be in their heads a little bit. It’s not like they haven’t been in
this position before. They’ve made a couple of long Cup runs the last few
years.
“Obviously, both those years they had to go through us to get it and we
remember that and they remember that in their dressing room, too.
“It’s not like they are going to roll over and die the next few games here,"
Hartnell continued. "Guys like [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin can
change games around in two shifts. We have to be ready for an onslaught
from them.”
Talbot, a former Penguin who was largely responsible for Pittsburgh’s third
Cup with two goals in Game 7 against Detroit, doesn’t buy it.
“It’s just one game,” Talbot said. “If you lose the next game, it’s back to
even. It was a nice win for us. Got us to start the playoffs on the right foot.
But at the same time, it’s only one game. [This] will be a new challenge for
us.”
Laviolette doesn’t feel the Flyers necessarily have an advantage playing
here, either.
“I don't buy into those statistics,” he said. “There's always statistics that pop
up. I really don't buy into them that much. The Penguins have a good
hockey team.
“They'll be ready to play. I don't think because there's a statistic one way or
another that it really affects the game. We have to make sure that we show
up and be ready to play.”
If they get a 2-0 lead...
Which is why some of the vets approached the rookies before the game to
talk to them.
The Flyers have captured home-ice merely by winning one game in
Pittsburgh. They could return home for Sunday’s game up 2-0.
The conversations included telling them that what they would see at
CONSOL Energy Center in a playoff atmosphere would be very different
than what they saw during the regular season.
“You come into a series when you are not the home-ice team and you want
to get one of the first two games and we were able to accomplish that,”
Hartnell said.
Even older vets like Scott Hartnell mentioned after the game how much
louder the building was versus previous games the Flyers played here over
the past two seasons.
“Now we can bring back home-ice advantage to Philly. It will be important
for us to get this next game ... To get two on the road would be great to
come back home where we’ve played well.”
“Some of the vets told us this is the best time of the year and that we
needed to embrace it,” Matt Read said. “They said, you don’t want any
regrets. Go out there and have fun and do your best.”
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net
Schenn spoke with Talbot before the game.
“Max was telling me what his first experience was like in a playoff game,”
Schenn said. “I think he did warn me.
“But it was a lot more than I expected or more than all of us [rookies]
expected. Frankly, we can’t be doing that in the game.”
By the second period, the rookie jitters were gone and they got their legs
under them.
“We have a lot of new faces, a lot of new rookies,” Kimmo Timonen said. “A
lot of young guys. It wasn’t just the young guys. It was everybody. We were
standing still and waiting to see what was going to happen.
“That’s not the way to start the game. We got to go after these guys and
make sure we are ones who dictate the pace.”
Head cases
625861
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers stay grounded after comeback
They absolutely must, because one certainty about Friday’s game is that
the Penguins do not want to fall into a 2-0 series deficit on home ice.
If the Flyers aren’t desperate from the start, their opponents definitely will
be.
E-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com
PITTSBURGH -- It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the CONSOL
Energy Center in only about 25 minutes.
The Pittsburgh Penguins fans who’d packed the arena were loud when
Sidney Crosby scored the first goal of the series early Wednesday evening.
They grew louder still when Tyler Kennedy added onto the lead only
moments later. And when Pascal Dupuis seemingly sealed the deal for the
Penguins by giving them a 3-0 first-period lead over the Flyers, it felt as
though the roof of the building might blow off. It was that loud.
But then, something changed. Danny Briere spearheaded a Flyers
comeback that all but silenced the sellout crowd. When Jakub Voracek
scored in overtime to give the Flyers the 4-3 victory, the first win of this
Eastern Conference quarterfinal series, the fans in attendance were too
stunned to audibly react. It was suddenly that quiet.
It’s truly remarkable, when you think about it, that the Flyers were able to
walk away with the decision in Game 1 after playing the way they did in the
first period. It’s the kind of game most hockey players never take part in.
Certainly not in the playoffs, and certainly not against a team with a roster
that reads like an All-Star lineup: Crosby. Evgenti Malkin. Kris Letang.
Despite all that, though, the Flyers remain grounded.
“It’s just one game,” Max Talbot said. “If you lose next game, you’re back to
even. It’s obviously a big win for us, it’s nice to start the playoffs on the right
foot. But at the same time, it’s only one game and Friday’s going to be a
bigger challenge for us.”
That sentiment was echoed over and over Thursday afternoon, when the
Flyers had an optional practice back at the Penguins’ arena. One by one,
players addressed the media excited to talk about the character they
demonstrated by refusing to give up. But all the while, their bottom line
remained the same:
“It’s just one game. It takes four to win a series,” Brayden Schenn said.
And so, the Flyers’ focus now changes from enjoying their Game 1 rally to
preparing for Game 2 and rectifying what were some very glaring errors
committed Wednesday night.
Their biggest struggle was nothing new: Like they did in each of their final
games of the regular season, the Flyers allowed the first goal. But beyond
that, they were too hesitant for much of Game 1’s first period. If there was a
loose puck, it was a Penguin who put in the extra effort to grab it. When the
Flyers had control, second-guessing on a pass lead to an interception too
many times.
That habit, the Flyers know, must end.
“We’ve got to get better starts,” Kimmo Timonen said. “We’ve got to find a
way to be ready from the get-go, and that hasn’t been the case the last few
weeks – it wasn’t just yesterday, it happened a few times during the
season, especially the last few weeks.
“Games are getting tighter and tighter, and we’ve got to find a way to get
better starts. That’s why I say we got lucky yesterday. It was against a really
good team down 3-0. You don’t usually get back after that.”
Chances are, if the Flyers fall into another big hole on Friday evening, when
Game 2 is set to take place here in the Steel City, they won’t put together
another comeback.
As recently as a few days ago, none of the players could explain why they
allow themselves to fall so far behind the way they frequently have in recent
weeks. Claude Giroux simply shrugged and suggested the players might
need an extra cup of coffee before hitting the ice.
They seem to be gaining some perspective, though. Now, it’s simply a
matter of execution.
“I think once we get down, it’s kind of like we have nothing to lose,” Wayne
Simmonds said. “And we’ve got to start playing like that from the start.
That’s just one game. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, you’re not going to win a
whole ton of games like that. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to play
desperate from the start.”
625862
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers' best and worst of the week
Winners and sinners from the Flyers' week:
Best
Shot: By Danny Briere over Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove on the breakaway.
Effort: By Briere against Kris Letang along the end boards. The turnover
created against the Penguins' star defenseman eventually was recycled to
Briere along the wall for a shot off Sidney Crosby that got the Flyers within
a goal.
Flyer: Briere. He both got the Flyers going and, with time starting to be a
factor at 3-1, gave them more reason than ever to believe.
Free-agent signing in franchise history: Briere. Thirty-one playoff goals in
three years, plus for teams that have won six series.
Play: Scott Hartnell’s reverse along the blue line to Jaromir Jagr to gain the
Pittsburgh zone. Hartnell then found Brayden Schenn for the redirect.
Gorgeous.
Break: Briere was clearly offside on his breakaway goal. Ed Snider probably
feels that the debt is paid for Leon Stickle in 1980. Yeah, right.
Save: Glove by Ilya Bryzgalov on Steve Sullivan’s quickie off Braydon
Coburn’s turnover from 25 feet up slot.
Reason to think this series already has inexorably turned: Once Briere
broke the shutout, the Penguins started playing like they dreaded the Flyers
coming back. Hmm, it was almost like they knew this from personal
experience.
Worst
Reason to think the series already has inexorably turned: Most of this
season, the Flyers hardly helped themselves with the home-ice advantage
that they seized Wednesday night.
Rationale for the incomprehensibly bad starts game after game: The Flyers
know they can come back. It’s not going to work in the long run. They keep
talking about realizing that, but nothing changes.
Decision: By Claude Giroux, trying to make a play to the middle off the
halfboards at 1-0, Pittsburgh. The pass was broken down and Letang’s
quick relay sprung the two-on-one that made it 2-0.
Goal: Pascal Dupuis’ to make it 3-0. It popped up over Bryzgalov but then
again, it was from five feet out off a quick passout. We’ve seen worse.
Jay Greenberg
625863
Philadelphia Flyers
made two big saves to keep it 2-0, first stopping Kunitz on a breakaway and
later robbing Kris Letang with a great glove save.
Giroux, Couturier net hat tricks as Flyers go up 2-0
Nick Grossmann’s penalty was winding down when a turnover sent Giroux
off to the races for a breakaway that Max Talbot finished off by scoring on
the rebound for a shorthanded goal.
Written by
The comeback was on ...
RANDY MILLER
And then off when the Penguins added one 18 seconds before the firstperiod horn on a 30-foot wrister by Paul Martin that got past Bryzgalov.
PITTSBURGH — It made perfect sense that it was Jaromir Jagr putting a
stake to the Penguins heart, perfect sense that his stick snapped in two on
the follow-through on his shot that turned a crazy game one last time.
This was wild and crazy and filled with goals scored at the very beginning
and very end of periods, power-play goals and short-handed ones, blown
leads, great saves, super games from superstars and 19-year-old rookie
Sean Couturier adding the icing with 1:49 to go, his third goal of the night in
just his second playoff game.
The biggest hero was Jagr, an all-time great who still has some game at
age 40, one who now is despised by his old fans as much as he used to be
loved, all because he left on bad terms years ago and chose the enemy
when having a chance to go home.
The Flyers stuck with their playing-with-fire, slow-start script yet again, then
played their way out one more time and won 8-5 in another incredible,
unbelievable, can't-believe-it-happened-again shocker that has them up 2games-to-none in this best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
The Flyers never led until Jagr had a spinning goal from the slot with 10:47
to go to break a 5-5 tie in a game the Penguins blew 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4 leads.
In Game 1, the Flyers trailed 3-0 after one period before rallying for a 4-3
overtime victory.
Are the Flyers in the Penguins’ heads?
“You have to ask them,” Flyers winger Jakub Voracek said. “I hope so.
They know that we have a strong hockey team and we can come back from
everything. They know that they have to put a lot of effort in to beat us.”
After Jagr scored, the Flyers put away the Penguins with Couturier and
Claude Giroux completing hat tricks, the 21st and 22nd in their history in the
postseason.
Giroux had a six-point night in a game that brought back memories of the
Flyers’ highest-scoring playoff game ever, a 10-7 loss in Pittsburgh in Game
5 of the 1989 Patrick Division Finals, one in which Mario Lemieux had five
goals and three assists.
The start was predictable for the Flyers, who this time fell behind faster than
they ever had in a playoff game when Sidney Crosby scored 15 seconds in.
Right on cue, Chris Kunitz made it 2-0 Pens 9:27 into the first, Flyers coach
Peter Laviolette called his time out and his team woke up and won a
shootout between the league's two highest-scoring clubs.
By winning, the Flyers headed for home with a chance to sweep a series
Pittsburgh was favored to win.
History is on the Flyers side: They won all 17 previous series they’ve led 2games-to-none.
Game 3 is 3 p.m., Sunday at Wells Fargo Center.
“I really believe that there’s no momentum in hockey from game to game,”
Flyers center Danny Briere said. “There is within the game itself, but from
game to game it’s a new chapter. You’ve got to turn the page. Now we have
to focus totally on (the next) game. We can’t dwell on what happened in the
last game. We have to move on and be ready.”
This was the Flyers’ first playoff game in which both teams had at least five
goals since their 6-5 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of 2010
Stanley Cup Finals.
The Flyers won this one despite allowing the opening goal for the 12th time
in their last 14 games and falling behind 2-0 for the ninth time in 14.
After Laviolette used his time out, the Flyers promptly took a penalty, but
the momentum finally changed for the first time after goalie Ilya Bryzgalov
And then on again in the second when Giroux scored his first two to tie the
game 3-3, the first with the Flyers on the powerplay and his next 11
seconds after Brayden Schenn was sent off for interference.
The Penguins scored six seconds later to regain the lead on Kunitz’ second
of the night, but Couturier’s second three seconds before the second-period
expired tied it again.
It was more of the same early in the third with Tyler Kennedy scoring 1:04
in for a 5-4 Penguins lead, then Couturier countering 16 seconds later for a
5-5 tie that Jagr finally broke for good with his 78th career playoff goal.
The Flyers have a huge lead in the series, but know it’s not open.
“We know what they can do,” Giroux said. “They can be a very dangerous
team. We gotta play like we did.”
Courier-Post LOADED: 04.14.2012
625864
Philadelphia Flyers
Briere rises to new heights come April
RANDY MILLER
five games, but his final totals were disappointing: 16 goals, 49 points, 70
games. Still, Briere stepped his game up for the playoffs.
“He's done it very well throughout his career,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma
said. “The scouting report on him is he hangs out around the net and
looking for those opportunities, and he certainly got the one opportunity and
made us pay there with his first goal. Even though not a big guy out there,
he is around the cage.”
PITTSBURGH — Danny Briere grew almost a foot stepping up onto one of
the two mini podiums in the Flyers’ dressing room that help cameramen get
clear shots during well-attended interviews.
Briere answered a few questions up there after Friday's morning skate, then
as the crowd of media in his face was thinning out, he stepped down to
continue his interview at normal size.
Officially, Briere is listed at 5 feet 10, 180 pounds. Stand next to him and
you'd probably guess he's 5-8, 160.
Size doesn't matter for Briere. Watch this 34-year-old mighty mite play
hockey and you'll usually find him in the corners or in front of goalies
creating a bunch of scoring chances while bigger and stronger defensemen
are trying to turn him into a rag doll.
“You know what?” Briere said. “I figured out early in my career that if I
wanted to score goals, that's where you need to be. You look at the stats ...
a very high percentage of the goals are scored right around the blue
crease.”
Briere's had quite a career, and when he hangs up his skates one of these
years, one of the things he'll be most remembered for, beyond being a
friendly star player, is stepping up his game when stakes are raised.
It was more of the same Thursday night when Briere followed what had
been a frustrating regular season by scoring two goals in the Flyers' playoff
opener, a 4-3 overtime road victory in which the Pittsburgh Penguins blew a
three-goal lead.
“That's where you make the big bucks,” said Flyers left wing Scott Hartnell,
a former Briere linemate. “That's where your dreams come true ... in the
playoffs winning a Stanley Cup. When we were on a Cup run a couple of
years ago and fell short against Chicago, he was by far our best player in
every series.”
Briere put up an NHL-best 30 points over 23 games during that 2009-10
postseason in which the Flyers finished two victories short of a
championship, then picked up where he left off last spring scoring seven
goals and nine points in 11 postseason games.
With his two Game 1 goals this season, Briere was up to 98 points in 98
career postseason games, his point-a-game production surpassing the
impressive 643 points he has over 813 regular-season games.
“I don't really have an answer for that,” Briere said. “I approach (the
playoffs) as this is the best time of the year. It's a fun time of the year. You
try to live with no regrets.”
And no fear. Reminded that his goalie admitted last week to being afraid of
bears in a forest, Briere was asked what frightened him.
“I'd rather not go there,” Briere responded with a big smile. “You don't know
what we're going to see in the stands.”
A few Penguins fans dressed in bear costumes for Game 1 in attempts to
take Ilya Bryzgalov off his game, but ended up watching Briere score twice
to bite into a 3-0 Penguins’ lead.
“Danny doesn't let his size hold him back,” Flyers defenseman Braydon
Coburn said. “To be honest with you, if a little guy like Danny has made it to
this level, he's usually, one, very brave, and two, knows what he's doing out
there.”
“He does a lot of dirty work,” Hartnell added. “He's in the corners taking on
(physical Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks) Orpik, these big guys that are
barreling down on him and hitting him. He seems like he always comes up
with the puck. He goes to the hard areas in front of the net to score goals ...
You gotta respect and feed off the energy of a guy like Danny doing that."
Briere's big Game 1 was a continuation of late-season success that
followed one of the roughest patches of his career, 23 games with no goals
and 29 with just one empty-netter. He finally broke out with two goals in a
March 24 victory over Montreal and finished with nine points over his final
625865
Philadelphia Flyers
Kubina back as substitute for Bourdon
Written by
RANDY MILLER
PITTSBURGH — Flyers defenseman Pavel Kubina has some stories to tell
his grandchildren someday about the season in which he scored 17 goals,
was an All-Star and won the Stanley Cup.
At the time, the Czech was one of top blue-liners in the NHL, a big and
strong two-way player for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
That was 2003-04.
Eight seasons later — Kubina will turn 35 Sunday — he is not the player he
once was.
Traded from the Lightning to the Flyers in late February, Kubina averaged
just 17:19 of ice time after changing teams, down from 22:04 over his 14year career and 19:14 earlier this season for Tampa Bay.
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette keeps saying Kubina has played well since
joining his team, yet guess who was the odd defenseman out for Game 1 of
the playoffs?
Kubina was back in the lineup for Game 2 because rookie Marc-Andre
Bourdon suffered an upper-body injury in the second period of the Flyers’ 43 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.
“It’s always hard when you’re not playing,” Kubina said. “Obviously,
everybody wants to play, but I do understand it. Hopefully, I can help the
team in the future.”
Kubina hasn’t been an impact player for the Flyers — he had four assists
and was a minus-3 in his 17 games — but it still was a surprise in practices
earlier this week when he was used as an extra defenseman rather than
often-scratched veteran Andreas Lilja or Bourdon, who recently was
recalled from the American Hockey League. Lilja and Bourdon then wound
up paired together for Game 1.
Although he hasn’t missed recent practices, it’s possible Kubina hasn’t
been completely healthy because he sat out seven consecutive games from
March 8-18 with an undisclosed upper-body injury.
Asked if he was physically ready for Game 1, Kubina took the fifth.
Regardless, Bourdon suffering his upper-body injury during Game 1 was a
chance for Kubina to prove himself again.
“When you miss a few games, it always slows you down,” Kubina said.
“You can practice, but it’s always different when you play a game. It takes
time to get your legs back and it’s never easy to miss time, especially at the
end of the season.”
• Dump and chase: After watching video from Game 1, Penguins coach
Dan Bylsma counted 46 times in which the Flyers put pucks behind his
defense “with a purpose.”
He says that number was way too high.
“Our placement of the puck and then continuing to play in the offensive
zone is the best way to limit what they did well, what they’re trying to do,” he
said.
The Flyers’ dumping strategy limits turnovers against a club loaded with
offensive stars that quickly can turn them into goals.
“You put pucks behind them, they either have to interfere with you, which is
a penalty, or if they let you go, you’ve got a lot of speed on the forecheck,”
Flyers left wing Scott Hartnell said. “It’s no secret they do it to us. They’ve
got guys that hit our defensemen all the time. In a seven-game series, it
wears the heck out of you. You get bumps and bruises.”
Flyers right wing Jakub Voracek says part of the plan is to dump pucks in to
try to tire out the Penguins’ best puck-carrying defenseman, All-Star Kris
Letang.
“Letang is a great skater and a great hockey player,” Voracek said. “If you
put the puck behind him and go pound him, then he has to go back and get
the puck and come back all the way to make some offense happen. It’s
tiring.”
• Empty netters: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Flyers winger Max
Talbot, close friends and teammates from 2005-11 in Pittsburgh, talked and
texted a lot during the regular season but won’t communicate until after this
series ends. “It’s the playoffs. That’s just the way it is,” Crosby said.
625866
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers can't afford another slow start
RANDY MILLER
PITTSBURGH — A lot of the talk in the Flyers dressing room after an
optional practice Thursday was the same old, same old.
Max Talbot was the first to address the media mob, then Kimmo Timonen,
Scott Hartnell, Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn followed.
Each of them talked about the Flyers’ string of slow starts.
The Flyers went there again Wednesday night in their playoff opener, then
lived to tell about it after working their way out of a three-goal hole to steal a
4-3 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of their bestof-seven, first-round series.
“To be honest, I think we got lucky,” Timonen said. “It’s not an easy building
to play in against the top team in the league. That’s why I say we were
lucky. We have to be a totally different team in the first period (in Game 2).”
Game 2 is tonight against the Penguins, who were shut out in Game 1 after
racing to a 3-0 first-period lead. This was the 11th time in 13 games that the
Flyers allowed the first goal, and the eighth time in 13 they trailed 2-0.
“We talked about it after the game,” Talbot said. “The first period, the way
we came out was not the way that we wanted to. Guys were a little tight, if I
can say it. After that, we went back to our game.”
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette has been frustrated about this trend, but
excused this one because his club had six rookies in the lineup.
“Let’s give the playoffs a few more games to unfold,” he said. “The
environment was not an ordinary hockey game. We played 82 games and
there was nothing to prepare for that. You have to go through it. You have
to deal with it, and we did. We were able to persevere. That’s a good thing.”
• Game 1 hero: Jakub Voracek celebrated his overtime goal by returning to
the team hotel to have dinner with teammates and then gather around a
television to watch the Los Angeles Kings’ knock off the Vancouver
Canucks in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.
All the while, the 22-year-old Czech winger kept getting congratulatory
voicemail’s.
“I had a lot of messages,” Voracek said. “From Halifax, from Columbus,
from Philly, from back home. Everybody obviously is watching. It’s the most
watched series in the NHL right now, so it’s exciting.”
• Lineup change? The Flyers added experience and size to their defense
before the trade deadline by acquiring two players in the final year on their
contracts, Nick Grossmann from Dallas and Pavel Kubina from Tampa Bay.
Grossmann has performed so well that he’s already signed a contract
extension, but Kubina played his way to being a healthy scratch in Game 1
as rookie Marc-Andre Bourdon and Andreas Lilja were used as the third
defense pairing.
But with Bourdon suffering an upper-body injury in Game 1 and
questionable for Game 2 - he didn’t participate in Thursday’s practice Kubina may get an opportunity to redeem himself as the only other
defenseman on the roster.
“Lineup decisions are never easy,” Laviolette said. “Pavel’s done a terrific
job since he’s been here. He was a welcome addition. Because he didn’t
play (in Game 1), it’s not a reflection of him or his game. I’m only allowed to
dress six defensemen. At the time, available to me were seven good
defensemen. I had to make a tough decision.”
• PK comes up big: The Penguins had three chances to virtually put away
the Flyers in Game 1 with their lethal power play on the ice. All three times
they were denied by the Flyers penalty killers.
“I think it was really significant,” Laviolette said, “because there was
opportunity when the score was at certain point where if it had gotten more
out of hand...”
The Flyers were trailing 3-0 in the second when Claude Giroux went to the
penalty box for boarding. Later in the second, down 3-1, Zac Rinaldo took a
cross-checking. Jaromir Jagr was sent off early in the third for interference.
“We didn’t really get set up,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “We
tried to get shots, which is a good mentality to have. We probably could
have been a bit more patience on the setup.”
• Empty netters: The Flyers are 22-8 in playoff series after winning Game 1.
They’re 18-12 in Game 2s after winning Game 1. ... Laviolette commented
on the Flyers’ 6-1 all-time record at Consol Energy Center: “I really don’t
buy into them (statistics) that much. The Penguins have a good hockey
team. They’ll be ready to play.” ... Only 13 players participated in
Thursday’s optional practice. Players staying off the ice included goalie Ilya
Bryzgalov, defensemen Matt Carle and Timonen, and winger Jaromir Jagr.
625867
Philadelphia Flyers
Schenn overcomes obstacles to be Game 1 hero, even death threats
RANDY MILLER
PITTSBURGH — The Brayden Schenn imposter did his homework. A
Facebook page was created, pictures were posted, friends were added ...
and then came a big-time controversy.
Just about a year before the real Schenn had an NHL playoff debut to die
for Wednesday night — two assists and the tying goal in the Flyers’ 4-3
come-from-way-behind, Game 1 Eastern Conference quarterfinal win over
the Pittsburgh Penguins — his life was threatened after the fake Schenn
used social media to rile up Canada’s Aboriginal Indians.
Like this season, which has been one roller-coaster ride after another for
the 20-year-old rookie forward, Schenn had an eventful 2010-11. He started
out in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings, then was sent to the American
Hockey League on a conditioning assignment, to Western Hockey League,
to the World Juniors tournament, back to the WHL, to another junior team
after a trade ... to momentarily upsetting an entire group of proud people.
Last spring, before a first-round WHL playoff game for his hometown juniors
club team, the Saskatoon Blades, Schenn was asked to do a television
interview. He figured he’d get a couple questions about hockey, typical
pregame stuff that he’d been doing for years, but was floored when asked
to explain a Facebook posting that stated Aboriginals should leave Canada
if they don’t want to pay taxes.
“What are you talking about?” Schenn asked.
It was then that Schenn learned somebody had been using his name to
take shots at the Aboriginals, who make up about 4 percent of the
Canadian population.
“The fake account looked pretty legit,” Schenn told the Courier-Post after
the Flyers practiced Thursday at Consol Energy Center. “It looked pretty
real and actually had a lot of friends. They thought it was me.”
Even worse, Schenn was told that these insults he wrongly was being
blamed for making already had led to consequences.
“There were death threats toward me and toward the Saskatoon Blades,”
Schenn said.
The mess was straightened out quickly, but not until after the police were
involved and everyone on his team had their Facebook account canceled.
That’s why Schenn, unlike several of his Flyers teammates, refuses to
communicate with fans through Twitter.
“Maybe one day, but not right now,” Schenn said.
The focus now is the task at hand, turning his first taste of the Stanley Cup
playoffs into something far beyond a great debut.
“I’ve got to put it behind me now and worry about the next one,” Schenn
said. “It’s just one game. Now onto Game 2.”
Hailed by some hockey experts as the best player not in the NHL last
season, Schenn joined his new team with very high expectations. But three
early season injuries led to a lot of a lot of frustration.
Mixed in was a major high — his first NHL goal at Citizens Bank Park in the
Winter Classic. But Schenn’s final 2011-12 regular-season statistics aren’t
close to what they’ll probably be in years to come — 12 goals and 18 points
in 54 games.
Asked about Schenn’s season on Thursday, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette
said: “I don’t even think it’s really fair to go down that road because the
beginning of his season was marked with injuries. To come out of the lineup
from one injury to get back in and find your timing and find your game for a
veteran player is difficult. For a rookie player, I think it’s even more difficult.
And then multiply that times three.”
Schenn has been playing well of late, Laviolette maintains, and part of the
reason may be the chemistry he seems to have found playing on a line with
Danny Briere and Simmonds.
“I’m getting a good opportunity and trying to make the most out of it,” said
Schenn, who rotates with Briere between center and left wing while
Simmonds plays on the right side. “I think all three of us bring something
different to the table. We seem to be clicking right now.”
This line brought the Flyers back from the dead in Game 1. The Flyers
trailed 3-0 after one period, but two assists and a goal from Schenn later,
they were headed for overtime, which ended 2:23 in on a goal by Jakub
Voracek.
“This was a big game for Brayden, but it was not something that all of a
sudden just popped up,” Laviolette said. “He’s been a strong player for us
for the last half-dozen to 10 games.”
Schenn says he was a little nervous before his first playoff game, but
settled in pretty quickly.
“In the first period not everybody was going, but (Schenn) was one who
definitely was ready to play,” Flyers winger Max Talbot said. “He was hitting
the body. He was driving the net.”
Later, Schenn filled the scoresheet. He set up a second-period goal by
Briere that made it a 3-1 game, then in the third assisted on Briere’s second
goal and scored the equalizer on a redirect off a shot-pass from Scott
Hartnell.
“He’s been playing better hockey, great hockey, of late,” Hartnell said. “I
think this is a time for him to shine. I think he had a lot of pressure early on
in the season being traded for Richie, a lot of expectations. Now he’s just
playing hockey like he can. It was good to see the smile on his face that
he’s feeling it now.”
All it took was Schenn getting healthy enough to get an opportunity and
grow as a player.
“Lavy and the coaching staff believed in me and gave me a good chance
and stuck with me,” Schenn said. “I’m just trying to make the most of
everything I’m getting.”
625868
Phoenix Coyotes
NHL teams are purposely vague about injury specifics to protect the health
of the player when he returns to the ice.
Mind-set will help Phoenix Coyotes advance
When Tippett was pressed about the topic Friday, he danced around the
answer.
By Paola Boivin, columnist - Apr. 13, 2012
"Uh, what are we going to call it? Upper body," he said, smiling. "I think a
few years ago we could get into quarter (sections of the body), but we're at
halves now."
The smell of victory was still, ahem, lingering in the Coyotes locker room
Friday, but no one seemed to mind that much. Success isn't always
glamorous, as perspiration-soaked equipment and banged-up players can
attest.
Both, however, were tangible examples of why the Coyotes won 3-2 in
overtime against Chicago in Game 1 of their Western Conference
quarterfinal series.
Vrbata was injured during his second shift when Blackhawks forward
Andrew Shaw lined him up along the boards. It was significant that the
Coyotes endured without the firepower of their star.
"You wish he didn't, you wish he's OK, you hope he's fine and you hope he
gets back soon," Doan said.
"Other than that, it's the playoffs and you just keep going."
And both are proof that they will win an NHL playoff series for the first time
since moving to the Valley in 1996.
That is typical of this team's mentality. It helps to have players such as
Hanzal to do a lot of the unappreciated work, from killing penalties to
playing against the top lines to being a part of the power play.
They get it.
And when the Coyotes needed a goal in overtime Thursday?
They know their gifts come in the form of grit and effort and toughness, and
not in the speed and skill level of the Blackhawks.
He did that, too.
The physicality of this sport is a fascinating study in self-awareness. Every
play, every check, every split-second decision is about testing limits. It's
about standing on the precipice without falling over.
When the team came into the locker room in Game 1 after giving up a goal
with 14.2 seconds remaining to send it into overtime, Keith Yandle plopped
down on his seat and said light-heartedly, "Well, we're giving the fans a little
extra play."
"That's the time of the year it is," Coyotes goalie Mike Smith said.
The team was poised and upbeat, Doan said.
"It's time to finish all the checks, to block shots. It hurts to win. It's the most
important time to put your body on the line."
"In fact, we really talked about enjoying it," he said.
That's exactly what they did Thursday, from Shane Doan to Martin Hanzal
to Raffi Torres to Rostislav Klesla. Just ask gifted Blackhawks captain
Jonathan Toews, who in his first game back from a 22-game absence
because of a concussion was frequently knocked around, sometimes away
from the action and after the whistle.
"We try to play a physical game," Coyotes defenseman Adrian Aucoin said.
"I think we have a lineup where everybody can grind it out a little bit, but I
don't think anybody's been out there to kill anybody. I thought it was some
really good hockey."
As odd as it may sound, putting the hurt on Toews is a nod of respect
toward the player.
The Coyotes know what they're facing in the Blackhawks. Chicago ended
the season with more wins and more points. Its top line of Toews, Patrick
Kane and Marian Hossa is among the best in the league.
And this team knows something about resilience. The Blackhawks came
back from a 3-0 deficit in the Western Conference quarterfinals last season.
"I like our mind-set, the physical mind-set," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett
said.
"And it will continue to be a factor for us. That being said, I'd like to see us
play with the puck a little more."
That's exactly why the coach wasn't celebrating that his team outhit the
Blackhawks 48-22 in Game 1.
Chicago, after all, still managed 45 shots.
It's a tricky line the Coyotes must walk.
"We want to be a physical team, that goes without saying," Tippett said.
"We have to finish checks. That's playoff hockey.
"But sometimes if you're hitting too much that means you don't have the
puck enough. I thought there were times in the game we didn't manage the
puck well. We put ourselves on the defending side rather than playing with
it.
"One of the keys to defending is if you have the puck, the other team can't
score."
It would be easier to score if the team has Radim Vrbata.
The player's availability for Game 2 Saturday night at Jobing.com Arena still
is a mystery.
"I can't remember how many times somebody said 'enjoy.' Somebody was
going to be the hero. Someone was going to do something that's a real
feather in their cap, an OT winner in the playoffs."
That's exactly how it happened. The smell of victory was in the air.
Arizona Republic LOADED: 04.14.2012
625869
Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes right wing Radim Vrbata's injury another hurdle
By Jim Gintonio - Apr. 13, 2012
Overcoming obstacles both on and off the ice has been a trademark of
Dave Tippett's teams in his three seasons with the Coyotes. Now, heading
into Saturday night's second game of their playoff series against the
Chicago Blackhawks, the Coyotes could face yet another stumbling block.
Right wing Radim Vrbata, the team's leading goal scorer, played only one
shift in the 3-2 overtime win in Game 1 before crashing into the boards after
a hit by Andrew Shaw. He is listed as day to day with an upper-body injury.
"He was coming down to pinch the puck in, and I kind of just finished my
check on him, and he went into the boards awkwardly," Shaw said, adding,
"I think so, yeah," when asked if it looked like Vrbata's shoulder was
affected.
Although the Coyotes were able to capture the early momentum in the
series without Vrbata, anything other than a quick return could compromise
their chances. This is a scenario with which they can identify -- their playoff
hopes have been undercut by injuries before, most recently two seasons
ago when captain Shane Doan suffered a shoulder separation in Game 3
against Detroit, and the Coyotes lost the series in seven games.
Tippett, however, knows the fight his team possesses when facing
adversity.
"We're a pretty resilient group around here," Tippett said. "There's not a lot
of things that bother us, whether it be a late goal or off-ice distractions,
whatever it is. Our guys stay with it.
"I think that's one of the real strong character traits of our team is we'll keep
battling and see what happens."
Tippett said the Coyotes will continue to monitor different scenarios and line
combinations that will lead to a smooth rhythm.
He said there are options, but he's not sure on how the lineup will evolve.
One fact is hard to escape: Vrbata scored 35 goals this season, by far the
team high.
Mikkel Boedker filled in well with center Martin Hanzal and left wing Ray
Whitney, and the line performed well once the Coyotes got the game
stabilized in the second period, Tippett said.
"Bods had a pretty strong game for us," he said. "We're looking for people
that can control the puck, have some puck time, and he was able to do a
little of that for us."
Boedker knows the challenge of facing a dangerous team such as the
Blackhawks without Vrbata.
"It's obviously a big hole to fill, but we got a lot of guys that have to step up,
and we've all got to make sure that we can do the job," he said.
"Vrby is a sniper, and he can score goals, but when he's gone we've got to
have other guys stepping up.
Hanzal, who had the game-winning goal in Game 1, said he instinctively
knew he had to get into a more offensive mind-set after Vrbata left.
"When he was gone, I was trying to put more pressure on me because I
was still on the first line with Whits and Bods, and I thought Bods had a
really good game with us," Hanzal said.
"So I was just trying to step up, and it paid off."
Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith again will play a pivotal role. He had 43
saves in Game 1, several potential game-savers, as he continued to
produce at the elite level that guided the Coyotes into the playoffs for the
third year in a row.
Smith is confident the Coyotes can improve on their overall play.
"I think we did a lot of good things, breaking up a lot of good scoring
chances, but I think we're never satisfied," he said. "I think we can always
do a little bit better."
Ice chip
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville told reporters his team isn't in panic
mode.
"I think it (losing Game 1) should get our attention; trailing in a series, we
don't like that result," he said. "There were some good stretches. ... We've
come in here to win at least one game. And that's what we've got to look for
(tonight)."
Quennville was pleased with the return of Jonathan Toews: "He played a lot
of minutes and handled the minutes well. He feels fine. ... That was a big
hurdle and a good test, and hopefully he keeps improving off of those
levels."
Arizona Republic LOADED: 04.14.2012
625870
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pens' Niskanen still out of lineup
By Josh Yohe, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
The Penguins again played without defenseman Matt Niskanen, who has
been out of the lineup since sustaining an upper-body injury on April 2 in
Boston. Unlike previous days this week, Niskanen did not skate on Friday.
Coach Dan Bylsma said a day off from skating was part of Niskanen`s
scheduled rehabilitation.
D Deryk Engelland continues to skate with D Ben Lovejoy while Niskanen
recuperates from his injury. Engelland has been forced to play the left side
of the defensive pair – something new for him – during each of his first two
playoff games.
"It`s been an adjustment," Engelland said. "But it hasn`t been that bad."
-- The Penguins curiously started Engelland and D Paul Martin to start the
game. Those two generally don`t play together, but the plan worked as
Engelland made the outlet pass that triggered C Sidney Crosby`s goal just
15 seconds into regulation.
-- Crosby`s goal at the 15-second mark of the opening period tied a
Penguins record for the fastest goal to begin a playoff game. Greg Malone
also scored 15 seconds into a 1981 playoff game.
-- RW Pascal Dupuis` career-long scoring streak continued in Game 2.
Although Dupuis` 17-game scoring streak at the end of the regular season
does not officially extend into the postseason, he now has points in 19
straight games.
-- Martin`s goal with 18 seconds remaining in the first period was his first
with the Penguins in the postseason. The tally also represents his first goal
in Consol Energy Center. During the past two seasons, Martin has scored
five goals with the Penguins, all on the road.
Tribune Review LOADED: 04.14.2012
625871
Pittsburgh Penguins
Flyers simply know how to rally
By Chris Harlan, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Another Penguins lead became another Flyers win.
The pattern unfolded for the Flyers in Friday night`s 8-5 victory at Consol
Energy Center: fall behind early by two or three goals, then desperately
rally back to win.
And now it`s the Flyers who lead the series, 2-0.
"I don`t know how many times we can do comebacks like that," said Flyers
center Claude Giroux, who scored three goals last night. "We`ve got to find
a way to have a better start. We can`t put ourselves in a position like that.
It`s unacceptable."
Yet their second come-from-behind victory in three days has given them a
solid grip on an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series that shifts Sunday to
Philadelphia. It`s the Penguins who must rally now.
The Penguins led, 2-0, last night on goals by Sidney Crosby and Chris
Kunitz in the first 9 minutes, 27 seconds. Crosby scored 15 seconds in.
But the Flyers had been there before — just two nights earlier. With shorthanded goals by Max Talbot and Claude Giroux, a power-play goal by
Giroux and a buzzer-beater by Sean Couturier with three seconds left, the
score was tied at 4 after two periods.
Another Penguins lead erased.
"We`re obviously not satisfied with the way we started the game," Talbot
said, "but at the same time we showed a lot of character."
Flyers goals tied the score at 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5. With 10:47 left in the third,
Jaromir Jagr`s winner gave the Flyers their first lead at 6-5.
And then the Flyers did what the Penguins couldn`t: protect a lead.
Couturier scored his third goal with 1:49 left, and Giroux`s empty-netter with
seven seconds left finished his hat trick.
"I think we were so happy to have it that we were trying like crazy to keep
it," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said.
But this slow-to-start trend has played out against other teams, too. Ten
times in the regular season, the Flyers rallied from deficits of two goals or
more to earn at least a point. They were 20-22-4 when the other team
scored first; no team had more than 20 wins in that situation.
Against the Penguins on March 18, the Flyers trailed, 2-0, but won, 3-2. It
happened again April 1 in a 6-4 win. Both playoff games have begun with
first-period Penguins leads — 3-0 in Game 1 and 2-0 in last night`s Game
2.
The Flyers have shown they can skate and score with the Penguins` stars.
Their mission for tomorrow`s Game 3 will be to prove they can do it during a
first period — which hasn`t happened yet.
"The last month of the season we had a lot of games like that," Jagr said. "I
don`t know where the problem is."
625872
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins throwing it all away
Will the power play score or allow more goals by series' end?
Will the penalty-killing ever expand from its tiny box against the Flyers' killer
power play?
Will Fleury flat-out dominate, because that's now critical?
By Dejan Kovacevic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
If someone had told you Sidney Crosby would score 15 seconds after the
opening faceoff, that he'd make a moving show of leadership by giving up
his place on the power play, that it would reap a reward right away, that his
sweet setup would bring a two-goal lead in the first period ... would you take
it?
If someone had told you Tyler Kennedy would snap a tie in the opening
minute of the third period ... would you take it?
If someone had told you the Penguins could enter these Stanley Cup
playoffs richly healthy, with the exception of defenseman Matt Niskanen, for
the first time in three years ... would you take it?
Don't ask these Penguins. They're too busy throwing it away.
They should be capitalizing on more talent than they've had up front since
the early '90s, more good fortune than they've known since Crosby raised
that Cup in Detroit. But instead of stamping out a Philadelphia team they've
had under their foot countless times, they've crumbled again and again.
"We're down, 2-0," coach Dan Bylsma said of the score that really counts.
"There were some crazy situations, a lot of back and forth. The bottom line
is that they came into our building and won both games."
How sad.
And, really, how ugly it all looked: Every rush up ice by the Flyers brought a
cringe, every rebound seemed to find an unguarded opponent, and every
shot felt like it would find a hole. Marc-Andre Fleury gave up a touchdown
on 30 shots, even though he really only could be faulted on the final two
goals, and the defensive play forwards and defensemen included fluctuated
only from porous to pathetic.
The day after Bylsma stressed moving forward skating and passing
defenseman Ben Lovejoy maddeningly flicked a puck across the middle of
the Penguins' zone, right at Philadelphia's Sean Couturier. That resulted in
a breakaway and the goal that made it 5-5 just 17 seconds after Kennedy
struck.
Seventeen seconds!
As if it didn't occur to anyone on the home side to preserve a lead for, oh, a
minute or so.
Small wonder most Penguins sounded mostly eager to erase this and get
on with Game 3.
"We've got to be a lot better, and that's all that we can control from this
point," Crosby said. "The mistakes that we've made have ended up in our
net. It's not like mistakes have gone by without any consequence."
"We made some mistakes," defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "But there are
20 guys working as hard as they can. No one's pointing fingers in the room.
Everybody's giving max effort."
He'd better be right. If things are going to change, it will be in performance
and not personnel.
I'd been calling since mid-winter for the Penguins to promote Simon
Despres and prepare him for the playoffs. But he's still in Wilkes-Barre, and
that ship likely has sailed.
Odd how Niskanen, a third-pairing guy, has been so terribly missed in this
setting, huh?
While I'm asking questions, here are others the Penguins might want to
ponder ...
Will Evgeni Malkin, the league's imminent MVP, continue to be outshone by
the 19-year-old Couturier, who not only shut down Malkin again but also
netted a hat trick? Or will Malkin stop trying to stickhandle through the
world?
Was Chris Kunitz really a minus-5 with two goals?
It's very much worth praising the Flyers. They've been relentless in
bouncing back, furious on the forecheck and deadly on the finish. They
found a way to hold their only lead in the third.
But sorry, I can't accept that this Philadelphia roster is the '80s Oilers
reincarnated. It's a good group of forwards, but it's not eight-goals good.
Nobody is in today's NHL. That takes two.
But it only takes one to blow one.
625873
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins fall again, 8-5
The Penguins finally have the band together, but this might have been the
night the music died.
A healthy amount of star power has coincided with the Penguins becoming
a stunningly careless defensive team, and it was the same story Friday
night in an 8-5 loss in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at
Consol Energy Center.
Jaromir Jagr scored the game-winning goal in another Flyers` comeback.
Claude Giroux enjoyed the biggest game of his career, producing three
goals and three assists. Flyers rookie Sean Couturier also registered a hat
trick.
Call it a Flyers` comeback, or maybe it was a Penguins` meltdown.
"I don`t really know what to say," Penguins right wing Craig Adams said.
"Just a weird, weird game."
Should the Penguins fail to win in Philadelphia on Sunday or Wednesday,
the series — and their season — will be over.
So, how do they recover?
"We just have to regroup tomorrow and see what we`re doing wrong," said
defenseman Brooks Orpik, who led all players with eight hits. "We have 20
guys that are working as hard as they can. No one is pointing fingers.
Everyone is giving max effort. It`s executing better. They`re taking
advantage of every mistake we make. We`re hanging our goalie out to dry."
Evgeni Malkin, the NHL`s leading scorer, was a minus-4 against the Flyers.
But he isn`t about to give up on this series.
"We still have a chance," Malkin said. "It`s not over. We have confidence.
Why not? We have beaten the Flyers in Philly before. Why not do it again?"
Sidney Crosby gave the Penguins the lead just 15 seconds into the game.
They enjoyed leads of 2-0, 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4. On every occasion, the Flyers
roared back, and did so largely because of Penguins` turnovers.
"We had a great start again," Malkin said. "And we lost control again. I don`t
know why it happens."
With the series on the line entering the third period, Tyler Kennedy gave the
Penguins a 5-4 advantage when his backhand effort squirted through goalie
Ilya Bryzgalov`s pads.
In keeping with the fashion of the series, the Penguins` lead lasted a mere
17 seconds.
A horrific turnover from defenseman Ben Lovejoy gave Couturier a
breakaway. He made no mistake, scoring his second goal of the game to
even the score, 5-5.
"Our players were so resilient," Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette said. "It
was
unbelievable."
Then, Jagr took advantage of center Jordan Staal`s inability to clear a loose
puck and a poor rebound from Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Flyers their
first regulation lead of the series.
Unlike the Penguins, Philadelphia was able to slow the game down and
preserve its lead.
In a somber postgame locker room, many of the Penguins players
maintained that this series isn`t over.
Starting Sunday in Game 3, the truth will be revealed.
"It`s a good team over there," Staal said. "We`re a good team, too. We`ve
got to find a way to win a game. Next one is a big one."
The next loss might be fatal.
"Philly is a great team," Malkin said. "But we need to focus."
625874
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins: Flyers aren't in our heads
Many of the Flyers — and even their owner, Ed Snider — have suggested
during the past 48 hours that a real possibility exists that they are "in the
Penguins` heads."
Such a scenario would be understandable, but the Penguins — in rather
defiant fashion —expressed that Philadelphia`s 4-3, comeback victory in
Game 1 did not leave any psychological marks.
"Yes, we`re mad that we blew a three-goal lead in the first game," Penguins
right wing Craig Adams said. "Of course we are. Of course we`re frustrated.
Of course we wish we had won that game. But if anyone thinks that we
don`t think we can beat them, that`s not true."
Between Games 1 and 2, Snider was asked by CSN Philadelphia if his
team had gotten into the Penguins` heads.
"Oh yeah," Snider said. "Exactly. It`s got to."
Philadelphia`s Scott Hartnell believes the Penguins will play well for the
remainder of the series, but also mentioned that psychological ramifications
could be felt because of the way the Flyers roared back from a 3-0 deficit in
the opening game of the series.
"It`s huge," Hartnell said. "You come into a series when you`re not the
home team wanting to split the first two games. We`re able to accomplish
that. I think it could get in their heads a little bit, but it`s not like they haven`t
been in that situation before."
The Flyers, including the regular season, are 5-2 against the Penguins this
season. They are 6-1 all-time at Consol Energy Center and 7-3 in
Pittsburgh under head coach Peter Laviolette.
"Our record doesn`t show what we can do (against them)," defenseman
Deryk Engelland said. "But we have to play a full 60 minutes. I don`t think
we`ve done that against them."
Defenseman Kris Letang said that the Penguins will remain focused and
are not rattled by the disappointing loss in Game 1.
"If we lost at Consol (frequently against the Flyers), it was just a
coincidence," Letang said. "We`re focused on the game tonight."
So, too, are the Flyers.
"I want to ruin the city`s night again," Hartnell said.
625875
Pittsburgh Penguins
Special teams fuel another Flyers rally
Shelly Anderson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It was a wild game with goals scored every which way -- and one in which
the winning goal came from perceived villain Jaromir Jagr, a former
Penguins star, and three more goals each came from rookie Sean Couturier
and Claude Giroux.
But the Philadelphia Flyers' 8-5 victory against the Penguins Friday night at
Consol Energy Center -- which gave them a 2-0 stranglehold in this Eastern
Conference first-round series heading home for the next two games -- was
built largely on their special teams.
The Flyers got a power-play goal and two short-handed goals over the first
32 minutes to help them dig out of yet another 2-0 deficit against the
Penguins.
"We all know in the playoffs it's a big part in [whether it's] a win or loss,"
said former Penguins winger Max Talbot, who had a short-handed goal on
a rebound of a shot by Giroux. "Special teams were good. They made a
difference."
The Flyers closed to within 2-1 at 12:44 of the first period on Talbot's shorthanded goal after Penguins center and captain Sidney Crosby -- on the
second power-play unit -- turned the puck over. Talbot scored on a
rebound, producing boos from a crowd that used to adore him.
"We put pressure [on them]," Talbot said. "I blocked a pass. Claude's got a
lot of speed. He drove the net.
"You don't know whether it's going to be in the back of the net or it's going
to be a rebound with Claude. I was lucky enough to be in the right place."
Philadelphia pulled within 3-2 with a power-play goal at 5:11 of the second.
Giroux, who finished with six points, scored from inside the right dot off of a
feed from Jakub Voracek.
Giroux struck again at 11:04 of the second with a short-handed goal set up
by Talbot to make it 3-3.
It was the first time the Flyers scored two short-handed goals in the
postseason since they did it April 26, 1997, in a 6-3 victory against the
Penguins in the first round.
"We had a couple of [short-handed] goals that were big," Giroux said. "But
they had too many power plays. We have to find a way to be more
disciplined, but at the same time be physical against them."
The special-teams goals came after Philadelphia fell behind, 2-0, for the
fifth time in a row against the Penguins. They have won four of those, losing
only in a meaningless regular-season finale.
"I don't know how many times we'll be able to do comebacks like that, but
we've got to find a way to have a better start," Giroux said. "I don't know
what we've got to do, but we've got to switch it up. We can't put ourselves in
a situation like that. It's unacceptable, and everybody knows it."
The Penguins were 2 for 4 on their power play, while the Flyers had just two
power plays.
In their 4-3 comeback overtime win in Game 1, the Flyers killed all three
Penguins power plays and scored on their only power play.
The Penguins responded by making a significant change on their top
power-play unit, taking Sidney Crosby off of it in favor of putting Kris Letang
on the point opposite Steve Sullivan.
Talbot's short-handed goal came against the second unit that included
Crosby. Giroux's short-handed goal came on a blend of the first and second
units.
"Fighting back like that's not easy, but the players were so resilient it was
unbelievable," Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette said.
Post Gazette LOADED: 04.14.2012
625876
Pittsburgh Penguins
Shoddy defensive play puts Fleury, Penguins in a bad spot
By Ray Fittipaldo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Penguins haven't been a responsible defensive team for much of the
season, but Marc-Andre Fleury bailed out his teammates with some
spectacular goaltending. The shaky defense has continued in the first two
games of the first-round playoff series against the Flyers, but Fleury hasn't
been able to make those timely saves.
As a result, the Flyers are taking a 2-0 lead and a stranglehold on the series
back to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4.
The inability to protect multiple goals leads once again came back to haunt
the Penguins Friday night. They held 2-0, 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4 leads before
losing 8-5.
"It's execution, realizing what we're doing wrong," defenseman Brooks
Orpik said. "We have to execute better. They're taking advantage of every
mistake we're making. We're hanging our goalie out to dry, that's for sure."
It was a shooting gallery on Fleury, who faced 31 shots, perhaps half of
them quality scoring chances. There were bad giveaways, bad puck
management and bad decision-making.
Defenseman Ben Lovejoy accepted the blame for the loss. It was Lovejoy's
giveaway early in the third period that allowed the Flyers to tie the score 17
seconds after Tyler Kennedy scored to give the Penguins the momentum.
Instead of passing the puck up the boards on the outside, Lovejoy tried to
throw a cross-ice pass. Sean Couturier knocked it down and cruised in on a
breakaway, beating Fleury to tie it up at 5-5.
"I feel horrible," Lovejoy said. "That's a game that will stick with me for a
long time. That's called the flood play. I tried to make the hard play. It hit
[Couturier] in the shaft. It's my fault. I need to make a smarter play."
Lovejoy was hardly alone in his shoddy defensive work. With the Penguins
up 2-0, Sidney Crosby mishandled the puck at the point on a power play,
leading to an odd-man opportunity for the Flyers. Claude Giroux burst in
alone on Fleury, who gave up a rebound that Max Talbot banged home to
cut the lead in half.
Later, with a 3-2 lead and again operating with a man advantage, Evgeni
Malkin left his feet in an attempt to win a faceoff and took himself out of the
play. That led to a 3-on-2 for Philadelphia, and Talbot fed a pass to Giroux
to tie the score, 3-3.
After Couturier tied the score, Jaromir Jagr scored the winning goal on a
rebound after two Penguins failed to clear the puck out of the zone. Jordan
Staal and Deryk Engelland both had opportunities to clear the puck before
Jagr scored with 10:47 remaining.
It's the second time in as many games the Penguins have surrendered
multiple-goal leads to the Flyers and the fourth time in the past five games
against their cross-state rivals.
"It's been frustrating," Staal said. "We're trying to get back to [a better
defensive posture]. The game has been too open. They're a very fast team
and they jump on opportunities when they can. We're doing our best to
keep them off the scoreboard."
The Penguins have scored eight goals in two games and have nothing to
show for it. If they don't figure out a way to slow down the Flyers, a season
that once appeared so promising will end with bitter disappointment.
Perhaps the most bitter disappointment in franchise history other than in
1993, when the Penguins won the President's Trophy and were eliminated
in the second round by the Islanders.
"It's a good team over there," Staal said. "We're a good team as well. ... We
have to find a way to win one of these games [in Philadelphia]. We're going
to keep playing as hard as we have been and we're going to get that
bounce and find a way to win."
625877
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins sign former No. 1 draft pick
By Shelly Anderson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
At the Penguins' past two summer development camps, 2010 first-round
pick Beau Bennett flashed a bit of dipsy-doodle with the puck.
"His stick-skill level is off the charts," Denver University's George
Gwozdecky said Friday.
Gwozdecky has handed the forward over to the care of the Penguins.
Bennett, 20, opted to skip his final two years of college eligibility to turn pro
and signed a three-year, $2.7 million entry-level NHL contract.
His annual salary-cap hit of $900,000 includes a $90,000 signing bonus. It's
a two-way deal worth $67,500 at the minor-league level.
Bennett, 6 feet 1 and 190 pounds, honed his skills as a youngster playing
roller hockey in the Los Angeles area.
He played only 10 games for Denver this season because of a wrist injury,
but he had four goals, 13 points in those games after amassing nine goals,
25 points in 37 games as a freshman.
"If you extrapolate, he was on track to be one of our top scorers and
probably would have been our top scorer," Gwozdecky said.
"He's a talented young man. It's with mixed feelings that he signed.
"We understand that this is Beau's dream, to play in the National Hockey
League. I think it was a difficult decision. The Penguins did a real good job
advising him."
Bennett's deal runs through 2014-15.
625878
Pittsburgh Penguins
He put four shots on Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov -- and one past him -- in
Game 1, and clearly is the triggerman on his line, which includes Jordan
Staal and Matt Cooke.
Penguins Notebook: Friendships set aside when playoffs start
"He's a shooter," Cooke said. "We all know that. Jordan and I just try to get
him the puck in [dangerous] areas."
By Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Kennedy scored the second goal in the series-opener, taking a feed from
Staal during a two-on-one break before beating Bryzgalov from in front of
the net.
Penguins center Sidney Crosby and Flyers winger Max Talbot have been
friends since they were teenagers. They hung out together when they were
teammates.
"That's obviously something we need to do as a third line," Cooke said.
"Chip in [offensively] to help our team win."
Now that they are on opposite sides of a first-round playoff series,
socializing is off-limits, even though they have been and will be in the same
city a lot. Crosby said he last communicated with the former Penguins fan
favorite after the teams' final game of the regular season.
"It's the playoffs. That's just the way it is," Crosby said Friday before Game
2 at Consol Energy Center. "Everyone understands that."
Talbot, who signed with the Flyers last summer, also was close with several
other Penguins, including goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and center Evgeni
Malkin, but he's staying away from them off the ice, too.
"You cut the [ties] for the playoffs," Talbot said, adding that he has had
practice doing that over the years in the regular season every time he plays
against Bruno Gervais, a former New York Islander and current Tampa Bay
defenseman. Talbot said Gervais is his "best buddy" and "is like a brother."
"When we play against each other, I'm even going to give him an extra shot
because I know him and I want to let him know that I'm there," Talbot said
of Gervais.
Asked if that kind of stuff or trash talking is going on between him and some
of his former teammates in this series, Talbot smiled slyly and said, "I play
my game, and you know what my game is."
Managing their time
Coach Dan Bylsma said that, circumstances permitting, he would like to get
centers Crosby and Malkin a little more than a period's worth of ice time per
game.
"Twenty-one minutes, depending on how the game goes, is a good number
for both of those guys," he said. "If they go over [that] number of minutes, it
starts to be too much, especially with the way they play.
"The score dictates [how much they are used], as well. If you're up in a
game or down in a game, it dictates getting them out in offensive situations
or putting defensive lines out there more often."
Vitale savors the experience
Penguins center Joe Vitale is 26, but didn't make his NHL playoff debut until
Game 1 against the Flyers.
And while he didn't care much for the outcome, Vitale certainly made it
sound like it was worth the years he spent trying to get there.
"I think it was everything I expected," he said. "The first period was probably
the best period of hockey I've ever played in my life, as far as hitting and
intensity.
"Things settled down quite a bit and they obviously imposed their game
plan on us a little better in the second and third and came out with the win,
but, as far as intensity-wise and emotionally, I think it was what I expected."
Keeping secrets
Bylsma said that in the playoffs, all personnel issues -- including the identity
of his starting goaltender -- will be "game-time decisions."
That actually might be the case on occasion, such as when a player has to
test an injury in pregame warmups to determine his availability.
Most of the time, however, it simply means Bylsma won't divulge his lineup
plans until it's absolutely necessary.
Kennedy embraces his role
Right winger Tyler Kennedy never has been shy about shooting the puck.
Tip-ins
Injured defenseman Matt Niskanen did not skate Friday. Bylsma said he
was given the day off. There is no word on when he might get clearance to
resume playing. ... Philadelphia's Danny Briere, who played in his 99th NHL
playoff game, expected a clean slate and no carryover from the Flyers'
comeback win in Game 1. "I don't believe there is momentum from game to
game," he said. "There is momentum in the games themselves, but, from
game to game, it's a new chapter." ... Flyers defenseman Marc-Andre
Bourdon, who left Game 1 because of an undisclosed injury, was replaced
in the lineup for Game 2 by Pavel Kubina. ... The Penguins scratched
forwards Eric Tangradi, Dustin Jeffrey and Richard Park and defenseman
Brian Strait. ... The Penguins, who had a full practice Thursday, held an
optional game-day skate with 10 skaters and both goaltenders. The Flyers,
who held an optional practice Thursday, had a full game-day skate.
625879
Pittsburgh Penguins
The power play made it 2-0 at 9:27 of the first, as Chris Kunitz steered in a
James Neal feed, breaking a streak of 36 consecutive futile power plays on
home ice in the postseason.
Four-goal, third-period surge gives Flyers 2-game lead on Penguins
Philadelphia, though, got a short-handed goal from Talbot at 12:44, just 21
seconds after Bryzgalov made a spectacular glove save on Kris Letang.
By Dave Molinari / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Penguins got that one back -- and from a most unlikely source -- with
17.2 seconds to go before intermission, as Paul Martin scored from the slot.
It was his first goal on home ice since joining the Penguins last season.
There are parts of this that simply don't make sense.
Giroux made it 3-2 with a power-play goal at 5:11 of the second and added
a short-handed goal at 11:04.
Score five goals in a playoff game -- at home, no less -- and you probably
should win.
The Penguins couldn't.
Limit the other team to playing with a lead during regulation time just once
in the first two games of a series, and you probably shouldn't be in a 2-0
hole.
The Penguins are.
Of course, logic gets skewed a bit when you give up hat tricks to two
opponents in the same game, as the Penguins did in their 8-5 loss against
Philadelphia in Game 2 of the opening round at Consol Energy Center
Friday night.
Philadelphia center Claude Giroux scored three goals -- one of them shorthanded -- and set up three others, while rookie Sean Couturier got three
goals and an assist.
The Flyers also got goals from a couple of Penguins alums, Max Talbot and
Jaromir Jagr, and have taken a 2-0 edge in the series, which will resume
with Game 3 at 3:08 p.m. Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Game 4 will be played there Wednesday night.
"We have to be a little desperate here," Penguins winger Pascal Dupuis
said. "But we're pretty confident in ourselves. Hopefully, we'll come back
with a 2-2 tied series."
Conversely, if the Flyers win Games 3 and 4, the one Friday night will be
the last of the season at Consol Energy Center.
While the Penguins clearly are in a perilous spot, there are precedents for
teams winning a best-of-seven after dropping the first two games on home
ice. The list even includes one featuring these two franchises.
In 2000, the Flyers lost the first two games of a second-round meeting with
the Penguins, then ran off four consecutive victories to advance to the
conference final.
Both goalies, Marc-Andre Fleury of the Penguins and Philadelphia's Ilya
Bryzgalov, produced some exceptional stops. They just didn't make enough
of them as the Flyers beat Fleury seven times on 30 shots and the
Penguins put five of 28 past Bryzgalov.
Trading goals with the Flyers hadn't been part of the game plan, but this
one took on a last-shot-wins feel almost from the time Sidney Crosby
staked the Penguins to a 1-0 lead by scoring off a Steve Sullivan feed 15
seconds into the game.
"It was a back-and-forth game, and they're a very talented group that knows
how to score goals," Penguins center Jordan Staal said.
"We have to tighten our game up."
Still, the Penguins never trailed until third period. They actually had gone in
front, 5-4, on a Tyler Kennedy backhander at 1:04 of the final period, but
just 17 seconds later, Couturier turned a Ben Lovejoy turnover into the goal
that pulled the Flyers even and triggered a run of four unanswered ones for
Philadelphia.
"I feel horrible," Lovejoy said.
"That's a game that's going to stick with me for a long time. ... I tried to
make the hard play, and hit him in the shaft [of his stick].
"It's my fault. I need to make a smarter play. I ended up being the difference
in the game. It was my fault."
Perhaps that goal was, but there was plenty of other blame to go around.
Like to the Penguins power play, which scored twice on four tries, but offset
those goals by allowing the Flyers to score a pair while being a down a
man.
Kunitz countered for the Penguins six seconds later, only to have Couturier
hoist the Flyers into another tie with 2.8 seconds to go before the second
intermission.
After Kennedy gave the Penguins a short-lived lead, the Flyers took control
of the game. And the series.
"It's a good team over there," Staal said. "We're a good team, as well.
"We have to keep moving forward. We're going to find a way to win one of
these games."
625880
Pittsburgh Penguins
The power play made it 2-0 at 9:27 of the first, as Chris Kunitz steered in a
James Neal feed, breaking a streak of 36 consecutive futile power plays on
home ice in the postseason.
Four-goal, third-period surge gives Flyers 2-game lead on Penguins
Philadelphia, though, got a short-handed goal from Talbot at 12:44, just 21
seconds after Bryzgalov made a spectacular glove save on Kris Letang.
The Penguins got that one back -- and from a most unlikely source -- with
17.2 seconds to go before intermission, as Paul Martin scored from the slot,
his It was his first goal on home ice since joining the Penguins last season.
There are parts of this that simply don't make sense.
Giroux made it 3-2 with a power-play goal at 5:11 of the second and added
a short-handed goal at 11:04.
Score five goals in a playoff game -- at home, no less -- and you probably
should win.
The Penguins couldn't.
Limit the other team to playing with a lead during regulation time just once
in the first two games of a series, and you probably shouldn't be in a 2-0
hole.
The Penguins are.
Of course, logic gets skewed a bit when you give up hat tricks to two
opponents in the same game, as the Penguins did in their 8-5 loss against
Philadelphia in Game 2 of the opening round at Consol Energy Center
Friday night.
Philadelphia center Claude Giroux scored three goals -- one of them shorthanded -- and set up three others, while rookie Sean Couturier got three
goals and an assist.
The Flyers also got goals from a couple of Penguins alums, Max Talbot and
Jaromir Jagr, and have taken a 2-0 edge in the series, which will resume
with Game 3 at 3:08 p.m. Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Game 4 will be played there Wednesday night.
"We have to be a little desperate here," Penguins winger Pascal Dupuis
said. "But we're pretty confident in ourselves. Hopefully, we'll come back
with a 2-2 tied series."
Conversely, if the Flyers win Games 3 and 4, the one Friday night will be
the last of the season at Consol Energy Center.
While the Penguins clearly are in a perilous spot, there are precedents for
teams winning a best-of-seven after dropping the first two games on home
ice. The list even includes one featuring these two franchises.
In 2000, the Flyers lost the first two games of a second-round meeting with
the Penguins, then ran off four consecutive victories to advance to the
conference final.
Both goalies, Marc-Andre Fleury of the Penguins and Philadelphia's Ilya
Bryzgalov, produced some exceptional stops. They just didn't make enough
of them as the Flyers beat Fleury seven times on 30 shots and the
Penguins put five of 28 past Bryzgalov.
Trading goals with the Flyers hadn't been part of the game plan, but this
one took on a last-shot-wins feel almost from the time Sidney Crosby
staked the Penguins to a 1-0 lead by scoring off a Steve Sullivan feed 15
seconds into the game.
"It was a back-and-forth game, and they're a very talented group that knows
how to score goals," Penguins center Jordan Staal said.
"We have to tighten our game up."
Still, the Penguins never trailed until third period. They actually had gone in
front, 5-4, on a Tyler Kennedy backhander at 1:04 of the final period, but
just 17 seconds later, Couturier turned a Ben Lovejoy turnover into the goal
that pulled the Flyers even and triggered a run of four unanswered ones for
Philadelphia.
"I feel horrible," Lovejoy said.
"That's a game that's going to stick with me for a long time. ??? I tried to
make the hard play, and hit him in the shaft [of his stick].
"It's my fault. I need to make a smarter play. I ended up being the difference
in the game. It was my fault."
Perhaps that goal was, but there was plenty of other blame to go around.
Like to the Penguins power play, which scored twice on four tries, but offset
those goals by allowing Giroux to score a pair while the Flyers were down a
man.
Kunitz countered for the Penguins six seconds later, only to have Couturier
hoist the Flyers into another tie with 2.8 seconds to go before the second
intermission.
After Kennedy gave the Penguins a short-lived lead, the Flyers took control
of the game. And the series.
"It's a good team over there," Staal said. "We're a good team, as well.
"We have to keep moving forward. We're going to find a way to win one of
these games."
625881
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins sign top pick from 2010
Forward Beau Bennett, the Penguins' first-round draft choice in 2010, has
accepted an entry-level contract and will leave the University of Denver.
The deal covers three years and, according to the team, takes effect in the
2012-13 season.
It has a salary-cap hit of $900,000 if he plays in the NHL. That includes a
salary of $810,000, with the balance in the form of a signing bonus.
Bennett, 20, will be paid $67,500 if he plays in the minor leagues.
Bennett, 20, is 6 feet 1, 190 pounds. He had 13 goals and 25 assists in 47
games during two seasons with the Pioneers, but appeared in just 10
games as a sophomore before suffering a season-ending wrist injury.
625882
San Jose Sharks
Mark Purdy: San Jose Sharks' Martin Havlat a born clutch performer in
postseason
By Mark Purdy
ST. LOUIS -- Marty Havlat viewed last year's Stanley Cup finals from a
horizontal position in a hospital room. He had just endured shoulder surgery
at a Cleveland clinic. He saw the first two games of Boston vs. Vancouver
through a painkiller haze.
"Those are my memories of the Stanley Cup from last year," Havlat said
Friday, a slight grin on his face. "It's always an empty feeling to watch the
playoffs from the couch or anywhere else, instead of playing in them."
So far, this spring is much less empty for him.
Havlat, after spending two playoff-less seasons with the Minnesota Wild,
was traded to the Sharks last summer. He spent half the season on the
injured list before returning to help them reach the postseason. Then he
scored two of the Sharks' three goals here Thursday in Game 1 of their
series against the St. Louis Blues that resumes Saturday.
"If he continues like that," said Sharks captain Joe Thornton, "we'll take it."
Havlat is just one of those guys. He is the person you want driving a car
down a curvy mountain road if you are in the passenger seat. He is the pal
you want alongside you in Las Vegas, telling you whether to go all-in or
fold. He is the man you want to cater a dinner party for your boss, cooking a
dish that needs to come out of the oven at precisely the right time with no
margin for error.
Some people simply have the knack for staying cool and collected, then
making the clutch move. Havlat
has made a hockey playoff career of it. That is, unless you think the
following facts are strictly random in nature:
Havlat's first career NHL playoff goal occurred in spring 2002 with the
Ottawa Senators. It was in overtime. And it clinched a series victory over
the Philadelphia Flyers.
Havlat's most recent career NHL playoff goal occurred here Thursday. It
was in the second overtime. And it clinched the Sharks' 3-2 victory over the
Blues.
Most impressively, in the seven years since the NHL's lost lockout season
of 2004-05, Havlat has averaged more points per playoff game than all but
four other players. And those four are likely future Hall of Famers -- Sidney
Crosby and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Alex Ovechkin of the
Washington Capitals and Jaromir Jagr of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Havlat cannot explain this success. His official stance is that he just really
enjoys the elevated postseason atmosphere, as do many other players. But
it seems that Havlat was groomed for the role as a child growing up in the
Czech Republic.
Havlat's father, Slava, was his first coach as a youth and tutored him into
Marty's teenage years. Slava had been a defenseman. He also was a team
handball goalie, good enough to make the then-Czechoslovakian national
team. Slava wore No. 9 on his hockey jersey, which is why Marty wears the
same number on his Sharks uniform.
"Like any other father and son," Marty said of their relationship -- but
clearly, unlike the cases where an overbearing dad can sour a kid on a
sport, the Havlats built something special together. Marty recalls how Slava,
the former defenseman, would not allow an offensive mindset to dominate
his son's game, how his dad pounded in the notion that to be in the right
position to make a difference, you had to perfect the details.
"It's just not about goals," Marty said. "It's the other little things, little plays
that are important, too."
Marty and Slava still speak often, via phone and Skype. Slava woke up at
4:30 a.m. in Prague to watch Game 1 of Sharks-Blues and visited with
Marty afterward, then went back to bed.
"The first thing he talked about was the win, then about the goals and the
rest," Marty said. "He also told me he likes the way the Blues play."
The Blues may or may not feel the same way about Havlat. He isn't shy
about pushing the hockey-etiquette envelope. Thursday night, Havlat took a
bad penalty in the third period by tripping St. Louis goalie Jaroslav Halak,
leading to a St. Louis goal that put the Sharks behind 2-1. Havlat was
grateful that the goal didn't cost his team a victory and apologized for the illadvised play. But it's doubtful he will change his approach.
"He's got an edge to him," Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray said of
Havlat. "You want players who have an edge to them on your side this time
of year."
And that could be it with Havlat. Perhaps he really doesn't raise his game
for the playoffs. Perhaps his style merely is a perfect fit for the postseason
style, which puts a premium on sneaky and grimy positioning and crunchmoment execution.
Sharks coach Todd McLellan tried to explain Havlat's gift Friday, citing a
quote about Thursday's game-winner. Havlat said that as the puck rolled
toward him on the shot, it was spinning. So he gave it a little extra time to
settle before firing it toward the goal. But if you view video of the play in real
time, that "extra time" consists of less than half a second.
St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock can call upon his own edgy Havlat memory.
During the 2003-04 season, Havlat was suspended twice by the NHL for a
total of four games, once for a blatant high-sticking violation that occurred
against Philadelphia when Hitchcock was coaching the Flyers. At the time,
an upset Hitchcock said famously of Havlat: "Someday, someone's going to
eat his lunch."
This week, Hitchcock has been only complimentary of Havlat, singling him
out as one of the players who makes the Sharks dangerous. But it's hard to
believe Hitch has forgotten about that lunch. Or about what happens at the
end of the meal so often in the NHL playoffs: Czech, please.
San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 04.14.2012
625883
San Jose Sharks
San Jose Sharks notebook: Coach Todd McLellan won't be content with a
road split
By David Pollak
ST. LOUIS -- Not that he had any choice if he wants to motivate his team,
but Sharks coach Todd McLellan sounded Friday like someone who would
not be content with a split on the road after the first two games of the
Stanley Cup playoffs.
Winning Game 1 and losing Game 2 "gets you nothing, really," McLellan
said. "Our goal is to create some momentum again tomorrow night and win.
When you win and get a team to 0-2 and go back home, that's certainly a
lot better than going back at 1-1."
The Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in double overtime Thursday night.
Game 2 is Saturday.
McLellan has experienced both first-round scenarios from the flip side as
coach of the Sharks. In 2009, San Jose dropped the first two games at
home to the Anaheim Ducks before losing that series in six game; the
following year, the Sharks lost the first game at home to the Colorado
Avalanche, came back to win the second and took the series in six games.
"When you're the favorite and you've had that great year," he said
comparing his 2009 team with St. Louis, "it's hard mentally."
Torrey Mitchell found himself in maybe the oddest moment of Game 1 when
he confronted rugged St. Louis defenseman Barret Jackman at the side of
the net at 4:23 of the third period.
During a staredown between the two, Mitchell extended his arm and waved
his gloved hand in Jackman's face -- a strange move more often seen in a
Three Stooges short than a hockey rink.
So
was he trying to provoke Jackman or keep him at bay?
"That's a good question," Mitchell said. "I had no idea what was going on, to
be honest. Emotions probably got the best of me a little bit for 10 seconds.
Then it was like, what am I doing here?"
Mitchell does know he made a mistake because he ended up with a minor
penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, and Jackman stayed out of the box.
"I've got to keep my hands down," Mitchell said. "You want to be involved,
you want to stop in front of the net and be there. But when I got my hands
up, that's when you take penalties."
Goalie Antti Niemi continued to earn praise from his teammates and coach
for his Game 1 performance with the consensus being that if he didn't steal
the game, he definitely stole the first overtime by making 14 saves.
McLellan pointed out that the 27-year-old Niemi -- who is 5-1 in playoff
overtime as a Shark -- has been through a lot of stressful situations in his
three years as an NHL netminder.
"You think about going to the Stanley Cup finals as a young goaltender -first of all winning a job that year and then going to the Stanley Cup finals,"
said McLellan, referring to Niemi's rookie season with the Chicago
Blackhawks. "Then leaving a Stanley Cup team to go to a new team here. I
think he has the ability to remain calm, which is important in overtime."
The Sharks were scheduled to practice at a suburban rink Friday because
Scottrade Center was set up for an evening concert by comedian Kevin
Hart, but only a handful of players took part. Most regulars stayed at the
main arena, working out and taking treatments.
625884
San Jose Sharks
San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues make adjustments for Game 2
By David Pollak
ST. LOUIS -- Better discipline, key saves and timely goals explain why the
Sharks were able to eke out a 3-2 double-overtime victory to grab the first
game of their playoff series with the St. Louis Blues, after San Jose failed to
score a goal in two previous games at the Scottrade Center.
But the Sharks also earned the win because they did a better job of moving
the puck out of their own end and slowing down St. Louis when it tried to do
the same. And that is where minor alterations -- whether it's player
positioning or puck placement or greater patience -- can come into play.
Neither side was volunteering specifics, but on the day after the Sharks had
taken a one game to none lead in the best-of-seven series, the coaches on
each side were making other slight alterations in their systems that could
make the difference when the teams meet again Saturday.
"We know that they'll be better," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said Friday.
"We know that they'll change some things, that they'll adjust in areas, and
we have to do the same."
In a sense, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock also will be reacting to changes the
Sharks already had made. San Jose dropped all four games between the
teams during the regular season.
"It's our turn to make adjustments," he said. "I think if you live on the, 'Man,
we did a lot of good things,' I think that's how you lose. I think you have to
come to grips with adjustments."
Players and coaches are understandably
reluctant to talk about changes they plan to implement -- "I'm not going to
put in the paper what we're trying to do to defeat them," Sharks
defenseman Douglas Murray said -- but nobody is reinventing their basic
approach to the game.
Instead, McLellan refers to the changes as "minute things that you probably
wouldn't even recognize with the naked eye. Situations that are happening
with repetition in the game -- whether it's board work, play below the goal
line or goalie touches. There are some patterns."
Teams make adjustments throughout the regular season, but in the playoffs
they may be more important.
"During the regular season, you're moving on to play another team and
starting to prepare for them," McLellan said. "Here we know that we have to
play the Blues again tomorrow."
The two coaches did cite at least one area where they weren't satisfied with
their team's performance and said changes could be coming.
"We got a lot of in-zone time, but they blocked a lot of shots," Hitchcock
said. "We're going to have to find a way to do things a bit different. It just
seemed like we had the puck in their zone a lot but not a lot of quality
opportunities."
McLellan mentioned his team's ability to get the puck out of the defensive
zone.
The Blues' strength, the Sharks coach said, "is their forecheck and their
ability to get the puck in behind the d-men. We handled it. We didn't handle
it perfectly. That's an area I think we can improve on. For us to have
success moving forward, I think we're going to have to do that."
Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle plays down the idea that San Jose changed
things significantly between the regular season and Thursday night's playoff
opener.
"It was just better execution," he said.
That better execution, Murray suggested, might have more to do with the
fact the Stanley Cup is up for grabs than anything else.
"I wish you could say you're there all season long, but for some reason, with
higher stakes on the line, it's more focused during the playoffs," Murray
said. "It's a tough thing to admit, but you see the physicality out there and
how everybody plays, it's a higher intensity, and it brings the whole game to
a higher level."
625885
San Jose Sharks
Sharks expect Blues to be stronger after loss
Chronicle News Services
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The Sharks gained a measure of confidence with Thursday's doubleovertime win over the Blues. But coach Todd McLellan said Friday that his
team knows its first-round series will only get tougher.
"We know that they'll be better. We know they'll change some things, they'll
adjust in certain areas, and we have to do the same," McLellan said.
"Winning one and losing two gets you nothing."
St. Louis swept San Jose in the regular-season series, winning four games
by a combined 11-3. And while the second-seeded Blues coasted into the
postseason, the Sharks took until the final week to clinch a playoff spot and
didn't move into the seventh seed until the final day of the regular season,
leading many to label San Jose an underdog.
"It doesn't matter how you get in the playoffs. Once you get in, anybody can
beat anybody," said Martin Havlat, who had two goals Thursday, including
the winner. "We're confident."
And San Jose has reason to be, having won eight of the past 10 while St.
Louis has lost five of six for the first time this season. The Blues outshot the
Sharks 42-34, but coach Ken Hitchcock said adjustments will be necessary.
"We're not living on the fact that we played well and lost," Hitchcock said.
"We want more.
"We didn't make them earn it. ... We didn't close on people fast enough; we
didn't pick up the right people. We might have gotten away with them
before; we're not getting away with them now."
Hitchcock plans to stick with Jaroslav Halak in net - over Brian Elliott, who
set the league record for save percentage in the regular season - but might
consider changes elsewhere in the lineup. Matt D'Agostini or Jaden
Schwartz might replace Jamie Langenbrunner, Jason Arnott or Chris
Stewart up front, and Carlo Colaiacovo might replace Kent Huskins on
defense, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"It's our turn to make adjustments," Hitchcock said. "Anytime you lose, you
don't want to stand and live on the just-abouts."
Blues captain David Backes, who didn't have a shot in 24:53 of ice time,
told NHL.com, "We're in the playoffs now. It's results-oriented. We just need
to be better. Portions of the game, we really controlled it, and portions of it,
they controlled us. We've got to make sure that we sway those scales in our
favor."
Sharks vs. Blues
Thursday: Sharks 3, Blues 2, 2OT
Saturday: at St. Louis, 4:30 p.m.
Monday: at HP Pavilion, 7 p.m.
April 19: at HP Pavilion, 7:30 p.m.
April 21: at St. Louis, 4:30 p.m.*
April 23: at HP Pavilion, time TBD*
April 25: at St. Louis, time TBD*
Notes: if necessary; all games on CSNCA, 98.5 and 102.1.
San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 04.14.2012
625886
San Jose Sharks
2011: Canucks 3, Sharks 2, 2OT
2008: Stars 2, Sharks 1, 4OT
Martin Havlat's goal in 2nd OT lifts Sharks
2007: Sharks 5, Predators 4, 2OT
2006: Oilers 3, Sharks 2, 3OT
Associated Press
1995: Sharks 5, Flames 4, 2OT
Friday, April 13, 2012
Team in bold won series.
San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 04.14.2012
Martin Havlat returned from a hamstring injury that sidelined him nearly half
the season just in time for the Sharks' playoff push. In the opener, he
pushed them over the top.
Havlat scored his second goal of the game 3:34 into the second overtime,
giving the Sharks a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of their
first-round Western Conference playoff series Thursday night.
"The boys were in the hunt for the playoffs, and I'm glad I could help them
get in," said Havlat, who had five points in the last four games. "I got to
know the boys a little bit more on the ice, and I was ready to help them in
this first game.
"Now, we're in the playoffs and I'm excited."
Andrew Desjardins tied it for San Jose with 5:16 remaining in regulation,
banging in a one-timer from the slot by Tommy Wingels.
Antti Niemi, who won a Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2010, made 40 saves 14 of them in the first overtime.
"There was no panic on the bench, that's for sure," forward Ryane Clowe
said. "You don't want to get too uptight and panicky, and think it's not going
to happen.
"Getting out of the first overtime and having a good conversation about
what we needed to do and how we should have lots left to give helped us."
The Sharks capitalized on mistakes for the winning goal. The Blues failed a
couple times to clear the puck before Havlat swatted in a one-timer from the
high slot off a pass from Clowe.
Havlat said the puck was rolling and he just wanted to put it on net.
"It was a great feeling," Havlat said. "My first thought was that it was time to
get some rest."
Blues coach Ken Hitchcock loved the effort, except for the final sequence.
"There was a lot of errors on that goal," Hitchcock said. "We had it cleared
three or four times, didn't win a race to the boards, either. So,
disappointing."
Patrik Berglund scored his first two career playoff goals in the third period
for the second-seeded Blues, who swept the Sharks 4-0 in the regular
season.
But St. Louis, which has not won a playoff game since 2004, struggled
down the stretch while seventh-seeded San Jose won its last four and
seven of its last nine.
"This is one game," Hitchcock said. "We played good, so did they. We
weren't in awe of anything."
No. 7 Sharks vs. No. 2 Blues
Thursday: Sharks 3, Blues 2, 2OT
Saturday: at St. Louis, 4:30 p.m.
Monday: at HP Pavilion, 7 p.m.
April 19: at HP Pavilion, 7:30 p.m.
April 21: at St. Louis, 4:30 p.m., if necessary
April 23: at HP Pavilion, time TBD, if necessary
April 25: at St. Louis, time TBD, if necessary
All games on CSNCA, 98.5 and 102.1.
Multiple OTs
2012: Sharks 3, Blues 2, 2OT
625887
San Jose Sharks
Niemi enjoying overtime success
Staff Report
ST. LOUIS – His uneven regular season aside, Sharks goaltender Antti
Niemi is proving to be an incredibly clutch goaltender in the Stanley Cup
Playoffs in just his third year as a starter.
The 28-year-old Finland native secured his eighth career playoff overtime
triumph on Thursday when Marty Havlat’s goal gave San Jose a 3-2 win.
Niemi stopped 40 shots in all, including 14 in the first overtime when the
Blues had San Jose pinned in its own end. It was as well as he’s played all
season.
[RECAP: Sharks take Game 1 on Havlat's OT goal]
For his career, Niemi is 8-2 in playoff overtime games, including wins in six
of his last seven. That includes Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals on June
9, 2010, when he helped clinch the championship for Chicago over
Philadelphia.
Niemi was 4-1 in overtime with the Sharks during their run to the Western
Conference Final last season, with the only loss coming on Kevin Bieksa’s
freak goal in Vancouver on May 24.
I asked Niemi about his overtime success on Friday.
[RELATED: Niemi saves Sharks in first OT]
“Obviously, it feels better winning in the overtime. It’s a tough spot; you
don’t want to make mistakes. It’s hard, but I’ve been able to make saves,”
he said. “But, you don’t want to worry about it too much or think about it too
much. You’ve got to be ready and alert.”
Niemi’s coach, Todd McLellan, put it another way.
“For a young goaltender, and he’s still that, he’s been in a lot of stressful
situations. You think about going to the Stanley Cup Final, after first winning
a job that year, then leaving a Stanley Cup winning team and going to a
new team – he’s been through a lot of stressful situations,” McLellan said.
“He has the ability to remain calm, which is important in overtime. Much like
his starts, the more he plays, the better he is. Sometimes the more action
he has around him, the better he is, as well. And there was a lot of action in
overtime. He held his ground very well.”
Like Niemi, Dan Boyle has won a Stanley Cup before as a member of the
Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.
“You’re not going to win anything if your goalie doesn’t – I don’t want to say
steal games for you – but he has to be there and be your top guy on most
nights. That’s with any team that’s won a Cup.”
On Thursday night, Niemi was just that.
625888
St Louis Blues
Pressure is on for Game 2
By JEREMY RUTHERFORD • jrutherford@post-dispatch.com > 314-444-
The situation in which the Blues find themselves as the much-higher seed
dropping Game 1 of the playoffs on home ice isn't unfamiliar, even for the
opponent that dealt them the defeat.
In the 2010 playoffs, top-seeded San Jose hosted the opener of its Western
Conference quarterfinal series against No. 8 Colorado and lost 2-1. In fact,
the Sharks would later trail the Avalanche 5-4 in the final minute of Game 2.
"You feel a little bit of pressure there," San Jose forward Ryane Clowe said.
"You don't want to lose two at home."
San Jose didn't lose two.
The Sharks scored with 32 seconds remaining in regulation against the Avs
and netted the game-winner in overtime, escaping with a 6-5 victory. The
club claimed the series in six games and advanced to the conference finals
before bowing out.
The Blues were disappointed with the outcome of Saturday's 3-2 doubleovertime loss to San Jose at Scottrade Center, but they aren't even the only
club to fall into that hole in this NHL postseason. In four of the eight firstround series, the higher seed and home team lost Game 1, a list that
includes Vancouver, Florida and Pittsburgh.
"I don't put any stock until four games are won anymore," Blues coach Ken
Hitchcock said. "For whatever reason, the world of hockey has changed
since the lockout. I think it's almost harder sometimes to win at home than it
is on the road now. The teams are so competitive and there's so much
pressure on the home team and there's not a big advantage like you had
before.
"I don't know whether the buildings all look the same, or the (players are)
not scared, but it's really changed. Maybe it's just because there's not much
difference between the teams. Down 0-2. Up 0-2, I don't think it matters
anymore. It's just who can get to four."
Perhaps so, but the Blues would like their odds a lot more if they could lay
claim to Game 2, which is played tonight at 6:30 at Scottrade Center.
According to NHL.com, 13 percent of teams that have trailed 2-0 in a series
have been victorious.
Asked about the club's sense of urgency against San Jose tonight, Blues
forward and two-time Stanley Cup winner Jamie Langenbrunner said:
"There should be urgency every game. These series can turn very quickly.
It's 1-0 and there's nothing to panic about. I think it's just a more determined
attitude in this room to go and get Game 2."
The Blues were pleased with several aspects of Thursday's game,
neutralizing San Jose's top line, picking up two goals from Patrik Berglund
and finishing with a 42-34 shot advantage. But after giving up the gametying goal with 5:16 left in regulation and surrendering the game-winner
3:34 into double overtime, the players said that the outcome was far from
acceptable.
"We're in the playoffs now, it's results oriented, and we just need to be
better," Blues captain David Backes said. "We had portions of the game
where we really controlled it and portions of the game where they controlled
us. We've got to make sure that we sway those scales in our favor. When
we don't, we leave it up to coin-flip type opportunities. Two overtimes, it was
there, but a little bit more was needed.
"We had a few good efforts from a lot of guys. A few more guys can still
pick it up a bit and continue to get better and continue to contribute to the
overall team."
Hitchcock hinted at potential lineup changes and adjustments in Game 2
tonight.
The Blues' third line of Vladimir Sobotka, Jason Arnott and Chris Stewart
struggled against San Jose, combining for just two shots on goal and being
on the ice for the game-winner. The Sharks' third line, meanwhile, was
responsible for that game-tying goal, scored by Andrew Desjardins.
"Possible lineup changes," Hitchcock said, without offering anymore.
Likewise, he said, the Blues would make some alterations to the game plan
tonight, but he wouldn't disclose them.
"I think if you live on the 'Man, we did a lot of good things,' that's how you
lose," Hitchcock said. "It was a great hockey game. Both teams poured a lot
into it. Pause and reflect, but I think we have to make some adjustments. I
think we've got to look at doing some things to help increase our chance to
win."
And make the series 1-1.
"Winning one and losing one gets you nothing," San Jose coach Todd
McLellan said. "We know they'll be better. We know they'll change some
things, that they'll adjust in certain areas — and we have to do the same."
St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.14.2012
625889
St Louis Blues
Sharks' Havlat has scoring touch in playoffs
By TOM TIMMERMANN
buy this San Jose players celebrate after Martin Havlat (9) scored the
game-winning goal in the second overtime during a first-round playoff game
between the St. Louis Blues and the San Jose Sharks on April 12, 2012
It's April and the NHL playoffs have begun. It's time for Martin Havlat.
The Sharks right winger is pretty good year-round, but in the playoffs he
seems to get even better. On Thursday, in Game 1 of the Sharks' series
with the Blues, he scored twice, with the second being the game-winner in
the second overtime period. In his most recent 27 playoffs games, spread
out over the past seven seasons, he has 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists).
And those are just the things that are easy to count.
"It's just not about goals," Havlat said Friday in the hallway outside the
Sharks' dressing room at Scottrade Center on a day most of the team took
off after the Game 1 marathon. "It's all about little plays. Everything is
important in (the playoffs). You get excited about little things, getting the
puck out of the zone, in those dangerous areas. I guess every little thing
matters."
But since the NHL stat sheet doesn't list little things, it's goals and assists
that will stand out for the Czech Republic native who turns 32 on Thursday.
Havlat can't explain why he becomes a point-a-game guy at the time of
year when goals are the hardest to come by — "I just try to do my best
every night," he said — but whatever the reason, the Sharks are more than
happy with it.
Even though Havlat appeared in only 39 games this season with a left leg
injury, finishing with seven goals and 20 assists, he could make a good
case for being the team's most valuable player. The Sharks' record in the
regular season with Havlat in the lineup: 25-11-3. Without him: 18-18-8.
When he returned to the lineup March 15 after missing 39 games, the
Sharks went on a 9-4 run that got them the No. 7 seed in the Western
Conference playoffs.
"We don't have a player like Marty in the lineup when he's out," Sharks
captain Joe Thornton said. "He's so creative. He sees the ice very, very
well. When he's not in the lineup, it hurt us."
"We were missing a piece on the power play," coach Todd McLellan said,
"missing somebody that could settle the game down and hold on to the
puck and make plays."
What sets Havlat apart for McLellan is one thing: skill.
"You can't talk about Marty without that skill," he said. "I read a quote where
he talked about the winning goal (on Thursday) and maybe giving the puck
a little time to settle down. That's how a goal scorer tends to talk. The nongoal scorer, maybe the guy that doesn't score 20 on a regular basis, he
doesn't see it that way. He doesn't think of the puck as settling down. He's
just getting it and firing it. That's the difference between Marty and some of
the high-end scoring forwards in the league and some of the other
workmanlike forwards who don't maybe score as much."
McLellan then brought up someone most Blues fans are familiar with.
"I think of Brett Hull," he said. "He used to arrive on time is the best way I
can put it. He found that hole in the slot at the right time when Adam Oates
or whoever was going to set him up. He wasn't just standing there, he
arrived at the right time. That's what scorers do."
Havlat's two goals in Game 1 were very different, one a tip in of a shot by
Dan Boyle and the other a shot from between the face-off circles. The one
goal though that made him feel best was by Andrew Desjardins. It tied the
game with 5:16 to go in the third period. The Blues had taken a 2-1 lead on
a power-play goal by Patrik Berglund that came while Havlat was in the
penalty box for tripping Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak.
"I was getting a little nervous," he said. "It was why they scored. They had a
man advantage and they scored on that penalty. It's not always fun when
you get a stupid penalty and get scored on."
Havlat's first big postseason performance came in 2003 with Ottawa, where
he had five goals and six assists in 18 games. He had three goals and two
assists in a second-round series win over a Flyers team coached by Blues
coach Ken Hitchcock.
"I've coached against Havlat where it wasn't even close," Hitchcock said
before the series began. "He was the best player in the series every game
when we were in Philly. It wasn't even close. He was better than (Marian)
Hossa. I know what he can do."
Havlat eventually was traded from Ottawa to Chicago, where his team
made the playoffs in just one of his three seasons, and then he signed as a
free agent with Minnesota, which didn't go to the playoffs in his two seasons
there. In July, the Wild traded him to the Sharks for Dany Heatley, and the
deal was made with situations like this in mind. His game Thursday was his
first in the postseason since 2009.
What makes Havlat special in the playoffs?
"It's scoring big goals like (in Game 1)," Thornton said. "If he continues to
score that, we'll take them. Getting two in his first postseason game in a
long time is huge for us."
625890
St Louis Blues
According to The Nielsen Co., Fox Sports Midwest's telecast was seen in
9.7 percent of homes with a TV in the St. Louis market.
Halak to remain starter for Game 2
That was the best figure since Game 3 of a second-round series against
Detroit on May 7, 2002, generated a 12.3 rating on KPLR (Channel 11).
By JEREMY RUTHERFORD jrutherford@post-dispatch.com 314-444-
The rating Thursday peaked at 15.6 from 9:45-10 p.m., meaning more than
195,000 St. Louis households were tuned in then.
PLAYOFF TICKETS
Jaroslav Halak will remain the Blues' starting goaltender tonight when the
club hosts San Jose in Game 2 of their Western Conference quarterfinal.
The Blues announced Friday that tickets for Games 5 and 7 (if necessary)
at Scottrade Center will go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Halak, who earned the assignment in Game 1 on Thursday in part because
Brian Elliott was dealing with an upper-body injury, allowed three goals on
34 shots in the Sharks' 3-2 double-overtime victory.
Season-ticket holders will have access to a presale for both games, which
would be April 21 and 25, respectively, beginning Monday at 3 p.m.
After a breakdown in the defensive zone, Halak surrendered the gamewinner to San Jose's Marty Havlat on a shot that went under Halak's left
arm 3 minutes 34 seconds into the second overtime.
"We'll stay with Jaro," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said Friday. "He was like
our team (in Game 1). He had some real good moments, and then some
times we'd like him better. But he was just like our team."
In the third period, Halak appeared to be shaken up briefly after being
tripped by Havlat, leading to a Blues' power-play opportunity. Patrik
Berglund converted the man-advantage, for a 2-1 Blues lead.
On Friday, Hitchcock said Halak was fine.
SHOT-BLOCKING SHARKS
San Jose ranked No. 5 in the NHL in blocked shots during the regular
season with 16.1 per game. That average places the Sharks No. 2 among
the 16 teams remaining in the postseason.
San Jose had 19 blocks in its Game 1 win over the Blues.
Hitchcock thought the difference in the game was the Blues' inability to
capitalize on a significant amount of time in their offensive zone.
"To me, they blocked a lot of shots," he said. "We had a lot of zone time,
but they got in front of a lot of shots. We're going to have to find a way to do
things a little bit different. They nullified … it just seemed like we had the
puck in the zone a lot, but not a lot of real quality opportunities off that. So it
ended up being almost clock-killing time at times."
The Blues, who ranked No. 17 in the league in blocked shots during the
regular season with 13.7 per game, had 21 on Thursday.
But even though they totaled more than the Sharks, veteran Blues forward
Jamie Langenbrunner said: "Maybe we learned a little lesson in playoff
hockey and the desperation we're going to need to play with. It's something
that's been part of our game. We need to continue to elevate that."
AFTEREFFECTS OF OT
San Jose defenseman Dan Boyle had the most ice time of any player in
Game 1, playing 35 minutes, 10 seconds of the game that lasted 83:34.
Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo had the most ice time on his team with
33:11.
Overall, the Blues had seven players average more than 25 minutes of ice
time, while the Sharks had five.
"We have the advantage of depth," Pietrangelo said. "We're going to play
four lines and six (defensemen), so I think everybody is feeling OK today.
The game went pretty late, but we've got lots of energy still."
TAKING A SHOT
Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk managed 11 of the team's 42 shots
Thursday in Game 1. He actually directed 16 pucks at the net, including
four that were blocked and one missed shot.
Blues center David Backes, meanwhile, did not register a shot on goal.
It was only the fifth time in 83 games this season that Backes failed to
produce a shot, but it was the third time in his past 10 games.
Ratings bonanza
The telecast of Thursday's game drew the highest rating for a Blues
telecast in nearly a decade.
Fans can purchase tickets at the Scottrade Center box office, St. Louis
Mills, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at stlouisblues.com/playofftix.
There is a limit of four tickets per order.
625891
St Louis Blues
Blues' mood good after double-OT loss
By JEREMY RUTHERFORD | Posted: Friday, April 13, 2012
St. Louis Blues v San Jose Sharks
buy this San Jose center Andrew Desjardins ties the game with a goal past
Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak in third period action during a first-round
playoff game between the St. Louis Blues and the San Jose Sharks on April
12, 2012
The Blues met at the IceZone in Hazelwood today, and as a group they
watched some film and discussed adjustments for Game 2 in their firstround, best-of-seven series against the San Jose Sharks.
A day after the club's 3-2 double-overtime defeat in Game 1, Blues coach
Ken Hitchcock and several players claimed the mood was positive this
morning.
"We're hungry, we want more," Hitchcock said. "We're not living on the fact
that we played well and lost. We want more. I think there's a fine line at this
level between being 'happy to be here' and being hungry to want more. We
think we think we can play better.
"You want to gauge it when they come in like 'Are they down?' or 'Are they
up?' or 'Are they happy or hungry?' ... today was a day I thought they were
hungry. Guys wanted information. They were looking at their own videos.
All the things that you like to see in a team. I thought we had a very good
attitude today."
A dozen players laced up their skates for what was an optional practice.
There likely would have been more, but not after a double OT game that
lasted 83:34. One of the skaters was veteran Jamie Langenbrunner.
"Anytime you're coming off a loss, there's going to be a little quiet in the
room, a little disappointment, but you've got to move past it,"
Langenbrunner said. "These series can turn very quickly. It's 1-0 and
there's nothing to panic about. I think it's just a more determined attitude in
this room to go and get Game 2."
Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who played 33:11 in his first NHL playoff
game, added: "It's why you play seven games. You're not going to win
every series in four games, so ... there was a lot to learn from. I thought we
did a lot of good things. You just have to treat it like any other game, where
you take the positives and negatives and figure out what we could have
done better."
The top lines of the Blues and Sharks are going to neutralize each other.
The Blues' second line did its job with two goals from Patrik Berglund, one
at even-strength and another on the power play. So it appears Hitchcock
may need to find some offense from his third line.
The line of Vladimir Sobotka, Jason Arnott and Chris Stewart had a
combined two shots on goal. Meanwhile, San Jose's third line picked up the
game-tying goal, 2-2, from third-liner Andrew Desjardins with 5:16 left in
regulation.
Matt D'Agostini is an option, and Hitchcock could also consider Jaden
Schwartz. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Hitchcock could sit
Langenbrunner, Stewart or Jason Arnott.
Defensively, Hitchcock may opt to substitute for Kent Huskins, who
appeared a step slow while playing 24:29.
"Possible lineup changes," Hitchcock said, without offering anymore.
**
HALAK STAYS IN NET
Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak, who allowed three goals on 34 shots, will
be the Game 2 starter Saturday. Hitchcock could have kept the decision a
secret until tomorrow, but he gave his confidence to Halak.
"We'll stay with Jaro," Hitchcock said. "He was like our team (in Game 1).
He had some real good moments and then some times we'd like him better.
But he was just like our team."
Halak seemed to be feeling some effects after being tripped by San Jose's
Martin Havlat 6 1/2 minutes into the third period, knocking him down behind
the net. The Blues picked up the 2-1 go-ahead goal on the ensuing power
play from Patrik Berglund.
Today, Hitchcock said Halak is "fine. That (trip) helped us. It got us on the
power play."
***
ODDS & ENDS
- Center David Backes did not register a shot on goal in Game 1. It was
only the fifth time in 83 games this season Backes failed to produce a shot,
but it was the third time in his last 10 games.
- Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk put 16 pucks on net Thursday. He had 11
shots on goal officially, four more than were blocked by the Sharks and one
missed shot.
- Defenseman Roman Polak took a hard shot to the face in Thursday's
game, but he was fine on Friday.
***
- San Jose won its fifth straight game with Thursday's victory, matching a
season-long winning streak.
MAKING ADJUSTMENTS
Hitchcock wouldn't specify, but he said the Blues will make adjustments in
Game 2.
"It's our turn to make adjustments," he said. "I think if you live on the 'Man,
we did a lot of good things' ... I think that's how you lose. I think you have to
come to grips with adjustments."
Hitchcock thought the difference in the game was the Blues inability to
capitalize on a significant amount of time in their offensive zone.
"To me, they blocked a lot of shots (19)," he said. "We had a lot of zone
time, but they got in front of a lot of shots. We're going to have to find a way
to do things a little bit different. They nullified ... it just seemed like we had
the puck in the zone a lot, but not a lot of real quality opportunities off that.
So it ended up being almost clock-killing time at times."
When asked if any of those adjustments were sharable and printable,
Hitchcock responded: "No."
***
LINEUP CHANGES
Hitchcock will likely have to make some changes on his third and fourth
lines to compete with San Jose.
625892
St Louis Blues
Dutch Blues fan hopes for a better showing in Game 2 of the playoffs
By DEB PETERSON • dpeterson@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8276 |
So says Bos, a Dutch Blues fan who lives in Leeuwarden, a town near
Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Bos, 30, said yesterday that he has been a fan of the local hockey team
since he got the video game "NHL '94" for his thirteenth birthday.
"I picked the Blues as my team because they have the best logo," Bos said.
"Over the years I decided that if they were my team, I wanted to learn about
them and watch them."
After deciding to cast his lot with the Blues, Bos began watching them on a
North-American sports network available in his TV cable-package at home.
He also said he follows them if possible on a live stream on the Internet.
Bos is a sportswriter for a daily newspaper in Leeuwarden, and he regularly
covers soccer. He says he came to the U.S. two years ago and, while on a
trip from New York to San Francisco, dropped in on Stl so he could watch
the Blues play in person.
"I got to know people and everyone was so friendly and it's like family now. I
feel like family here," Bos said.
He's also been to Stockholm, Sweden to watch the Blue Note.
Bos said he will write some columns from St. Louis for his hometown paper
but that he's here mainly to watch hockey. He's been meeting people and
tweeting about his visit and had a tweet-up with buddies at the Tin Can on
Locust Avenue one night.
While here, Bos also plans to take in a Cards game.
"I know baseball but I'm not a fan of the game like I am of hockey," he said.
"But I would like to see a game while I'm here. Tickets are expensive,
though."
Bos says his friends at home are amused at his being a superfan for a
Midwestern U.S. hockey team. "They laugh in a good way," he said.
"I'm having fun here," Bos added. "Now I just hope the Blues will win."
625893
St Louis Blues
Hockey Guy: The good, bad and ugly from Game 1
• Fourth-line forwards Jamie Langenbrunner, Scott Nichol and Ryan
Reaves did some nice work along the wall. Reaves used his size and
strength to advance pucks up the ice and sustain possession time. He
drove hard to the net 14 minutes into the second period, deflecting the puck
wide and before bowling over Niemi. Hello there!
THE BAD
By JEFF GORDON | Posted: Friday, April 13, 2012
About half of the Blues’ lineup lacked significant playoff experience before it
dressed for Game 1 of the Sharks series.
But those players are green no more. Thursday night’s double-overtime 3-2
loss to the Sharks taught them plenty.
Do you want to win in the playoffs? You have to dig really deep to earn that
chance. And every mistake you make is magnified.
The Blues got better as the game went along. They finished the second
period with a flourish but still trailed 1-0 entering the third. They continued
banging away until they had a 2-1 lead.
• Defenseman Barret Jackman had a few dicey puck-handling moments
throughout the game. He also needed to do a better job getting pucks
through to the net from the left point. But he put a couple of overtime shots
on goal to create scoring opportunities.
• Defenseman Kent Huskins also had some rough moments handling the
puck in his own zone. He appeared a bit edgy while pondering his outlet
opportunities. The tough night for Huskins continued with his third-period
penalty shortly after the Blues took the lead. Fortunately for Kent, Halak
was at his best as the Sharks caught the Blues penalty killers running
around a bit. The Blues managed the kill.
Ah, but they couldn’t put the Sharks away. A missed defensive zone check
led to San Jose’s game-tying goal with 5:16 left to play and forced the
sudden-death overtime.
• Halak made fans nervous with some of his puckhandling. He put himself
at great peril in the first period by passing the puck directly to Havlat.
Fortunately this gaffe did not directly lead to a San Jose scoring chance.
Halak also misplayed a puck bouncing wide of the right post, nearly costing
him an extremely soft goal. And he lost track of the puck with about a
minute left in the first overtime, leaving the puck in front of a half-open net.
The Blues controlled most of the first overtime and pounded 14 shots on
goal. But still the game was tied, so it dragged into a second overtime.
• The Blues initially struggled with their entry plays on their first power play,
costing them any opportunity to convert.
And that’s when a failed clearing attempt and a lost battle along the wall led
to Martin Havlat’s game-winning goal.
• Down 1-0 with less than six minutes left in the second period, David
Backes didn’t need to take an interference penalty.
Let’s break down the game:
After much consultation, the referees refused to call an obvious delay-ofgame penalty on Burns in overtime.
THE GOOD
• Defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo and Kris Russell
generated plenty of offense, triggering breaks from their own end and
creating scoring opportunities with their puck movement in the offensive
zone. Through the first overtime, Shattenkirk had 11 shots on goal.
Russell reminded us he is capable of beating defenders off the dribble, er,
off a stick-handling move to get into prime shooting position. During the
second period he created three scoring opportunities on one shift. He
rushed the puck up ice and hit Andy McDonald in stride up the left wing.
Subsequently he got two shot-passes through to the deflection zone.
Shattenkirk set up a deft redirection by Patrik Berglund that tied the game
1-1 in the third period. Berglund planted himself squarely in front of Sharks
goaltender Antti Niemi and Shattenkirk made another of his nifty shot/pass
plays. He doesn’t have a rocket from the point, but he gets pucks through to
the right places.
Russell triggered the go-ahead scoring rush with a nice defensive play to
break up San Jose’s shorthanded rush. McDonald used his speed to rush
the puck back up ice. He went wide on the left wing and Berglund filled the
middle vacuum. McDonald fed him, Berglund made a move to get the whole
net to shoot and buried the power-play goal.
• How about that two-goal game by Berglund? He was high on the lost of
Blues needed to elevate his play. This performance established him as a
postseason factor.
THE UGLY
• The Blues allowed the Sharks to tilt the ice on the Blues to start the
second period and started skating downhill. Perron worsened matters by
taking a slashing penalty in the offensive zone. Dan Boyle was allowed to
walk into the high slot to wire a shot. Havlat deflecting the puck home,
putting San Jose ahead 1-0.
(Speaking of Havlat, did he get away with an interference infraction to help
create that opportunity? Perhaps he did.)
• The Blues broke down and yielded a point-blank 2-on-1 scoring
opportunity in tight with about 8 minutes to play. But T.J. Galiardi couldn’t
hit the net with his one-time blast.
• Defenseman Roman Polak missed a check along the boards, allowing
Tommy Wingels squirt loose, attack the net and feed Desjardins – who tied
the game 2-2. A small thing led to big trouble against San Jose’s fourth line.
• Shattenkirk failed to clear the puck during a second overtime sequence.
Eventually the Sharks pressure led to the winning goal, with Logan Couture
throwing a block for Ryane Clowe coming off the wall and Havlat converting
the bouncing pass into the middle of the ice. That would have been a good
time for Chris Stewart to muscle up on the back-check, but he didn’t.
FROM THE TWEETDECK
These game assessments rolled in via Twitter:
• Alex Steen was dangerous off the rush all night. He unleashed a twisted
wrister off a shorthanded rush . . . and rang iron, crossbar and post while
missing a game-tying goal by an inch. Among his other chances was an
overtime rip that Niemi barely got with his right skate.
Pierre LeBrun: “Really liked Ryan Reaves' game tonight for the Blues.
Didn't look like a rookie at all in his first playoff game.”
• Perron became increasingly dangerous as the game went on, fishing out
pucks in the offensive zone and firing wrist shots at the net. His power-play
passing led to a point-blank shot for Pietrangelo stepping in from the right
side. Alas, Niemi robbed Pietrangelo after his nifty backhand-to-forehand
maneuver in tight. And it certainly wasn’t Perron’s fault the Blues couldn’t
score during the first overtime.
Nyjer Morgan: “So funny how I get u fans so fired! Suckers!!!!”
• Goaltender Jaroslav Halak will have nightmares about the overtime gamewinner, but he remained generally solid in his game. He got into the flow for
real a little less than 13 minutes into the game, making a sharp glove save
on Andrew Desjardins off the rush. He had to kick out his left leg to stop a
big Brent Burns blast from the blue line. And he got just enough of a Burns’
blast during a free-wheeling 4-on-4 sequence early in the third period.
Ray Ratto: “By the way, in case it comes up later -- this is the game Niemi,
who can't steal games, stole.”
Nyjer Morgan: “Sharks up over the flu's!!! Sharks are circling their prey.”
Dan O’Neill: “I just want to be on the record as being pro Niemi, versus
those who are Antti Niemi.”
Pierre LeBrun: “Hitchcock wants top line (Backes) vs. top line (Thornton)
and McLellan hasn't backed down from it.”
WHAT OTHERS ARE WRITING:
Mark Purdy, San Jose Mercury News: “This was exactly how the Sharks
were supposed to have a chance against the St. Louis Blues. The Blues are
younger with jumpier legs, playing in their own loud building. The Sharks
are older and experienced, more familiar with playoff adversity on the road.
Thursday night, older was better. Just barely. But better. When the Sharks
won in double overtime, 3-2, to take Game 1 of what promises to be a long
series filled with tension, it was no shock to see who scored the clincher.
Marty Havlat, who had a reputation of being a big playoff guy in previous
stops with Ottawa and Chicago before joining the Sharks via trade last
summer, found open space in front of the net and buried the puck on a fine
feed by Ryane Clowe.”
Pierre LeBrun, ESPN.com: “It's no coincidence the Sharks' late-season
resurgence went hand in hand with Havlat's return from injury March 15.
With him out of the lineup for 39 games, San Jose's top-six forward group
look unbalanced and lacked cohesiveness. With Havlat in the lineup this
season, the Sharks were 25-11-3.”
Ray Ratto, CSN Bay Area: “Despite the first true repayment on the Martin
Havlat trade, despite Antti Niemi’s first official game theft of the postseason,
despite the exemplary work of the fourth, er, third, er,
Desjardins/Wingels/Winnik line -- despite all these things, the Sharks were
backing up just as much as they were pressing forward. And therein lies the
central truth of Game 1 of this series, which the Sharks lead, 1-0. They are
playing a team that will make them look overmatched for elongated
stretches, and they will have to cling on tightly to the younger and faster
Blues to keep the games close enough to win. What they have, in sum, is
enough experience to keep the fidgeting to a minimum. They may still lose
this series, but they won’t do it by being either overwhelmed or easily
defeated.”
AROUND THE RINKS: So why didn't Shea Weber get a suspension for
smacking Henrik Zetterberg's head into the turnbuckle, er, glass? . . . The
overhaul in Calgary has begun with the exit of coach Brent Sutter . . . Down
the road in Edmonton, Oilers coach Tom Renney was clinging to his job by
a fingernail . . . The Rangers jumped all over the Senators, making you
wonder if we'll see Our Town's Ben Bishop in goal for Ottawa before this
series is done . . . Why would the Kings organization take to Twitter to rile
up the Canucks? That is not a good idea . . . Have you heard the news that
special teams play is really, really important in the playoffs? The Flyers are
showing why that axiom holds true.
625894
St Louis Blues
Sharks center Joe Thornton is not expecting any offensive explosions in
Game 2 or the rest of the series.
Sharks goalie Niemi stood tall when it counted
"I think a 3-2 score, that might be the highest score of any game we play,"
Thornton said. "I thought it was going to be a 1-0, 2-1 game. It's two elite
defensive teams going at it and it's gong to make for a fun series."
By NORM SANDERS - News-Democrat
Belleville News-Democrat LOADED: 04.14.2012
ST. LOUIS -- Players and coaches on both teams said San Jose Sharks
goaltender Antti Niemi was the difference-maker Thursday in Game 1 after
watching him turn away 14 shots under heavy pressure during the first
overtime.
Niemi, who was in net when Chicago won the 2010 Stanley Cup
championship, finished with 40 saves and guaranteed the Sharks at least a
split in the first two games against the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center.
"There were some shifts where maybe we got caught not having enough
traffic, but we did take a lot of shots," Blues winger David Perron said.
"You'd think with the quality of shots that we had some would go in."
Perron said getting bodies in front of Niemi led to both Blues goals by Patrik
Berglund. Berglund tipped in the first one and used Alex Steen as a screen
on the second.
"By adding more traffic, if you don't see the puck it can go in," Perron said.
"That's what happened on Bergie's goal, he was in front and got the tip. We
scored goals like that, so that means we've got to keep doing it."
San Jose collected the game-winning goal 3 minutes, 34 seconds into the
second overtime on Martin Havlat's second goal of the night.
The Sharks seemed relieved after weathering wave after wave of offensive
assaults by the Blues in the first OT.
"Without the goaltending we got in that first overtime period, we wouldn't
have that opportunity to regroup and have that discussion," San Jose coach
Todd McLellan said. "Nemo played very well. I thought it was St. Louis best
period out of the five and perhaps our worst.
"Your goaltender has to give you a chance when you're not playing well and
he did that."
Niemi joined the Sharks after being allowed to leave by the Blackhawks in
what amounted to a salary cap concern. He helped lead the Sharks to the
Western Conference finals a year ago, then struggled for much of the 201112 regular season.
"For a young goaltender, he's been in a lot of stressful situations," McLellan
said. "I think he has the ability to remain calm, which is important in
overtime, and much like his starts, the more he plays the better he is.
"Sometimes the more action he has around him the better he is as well. He
held his ground very well."
Havlat is a focal point
The Blues should have known to keep a much tighter leash on Havlat, who
had 12 goals and 28 points in his previous 26 playoff games before
Thursday.
Havlat scored twice, including the game-winner, showing how much the
Sharks missed him during an extended injury absence.
Havlat missed 39 games, but while he was in the lineup the Sharks posted
a 25-11-3 mark.
"What were we missing? A top-six forward. We were missing a piece on our
power-play unit," McLellan said about Havlat's earlier down time. "We were
missing somebody that could settle the game down, hold on to the puck
and make plays."
Havlat isn't perfect. He tripped Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak behind the net
that led to a penalty and a Patrik Berglund power-play goal that gave them
a short-lived 2-1 lead.
Just over seven minutes later, San Jose's Andrew Desjardins tied it to force
overtime. That allowed Havlat to earn hero status by pumping in the gamewinning goal early in the second overtime period.
Defense first
625895
St Louis Blues
"When we've got a 2-1 lead with six, seven minutes left, that game's usually
ours," Hitchcock said. "But for whatever reason it wasn't last night. We were
going really well and the second goal hurt us."
No panic for Blues despite Game 1 loss to Sharks
Hitchcock said the defensive focus needs to return in a hurry.
By NORM SANDERS - News-Democrat
"We got beat down the wall, we got beat at the net," he said. "The goal was
too easy, we didn't make him earn it. Really, the last two goals were
coverage issues.
ST. LOUIS -- If there was any panic among the St. Louis Blues following
their double-overtime loss in Game 1 of the NHL playoffs, they hid it well.
"We didn't close on people fast enough, we didn't pick up the right people.
Those are the little mistakes and maybe we got away with them before, but
we're not getting away with them right now."
It was business as usual Friday as a handful of players skated and others
got treatment after meeting with coaches to go over adjustments following a
tough-to-swallow 3-2 defeat the night before to the San Jose Sharks.
Backes, held without a shot Thursday by San Jose, said it's not a time for a
major overhaul or big changes. It's just fine-tuning the Blues' overall
approach.
The Blues, who play the Sharks again Saturday night at home in Game 2,
don't want to them to take a 2-0 lead back to San Jose.
What did he take from Hitchcock's message to the team on Friday?
"I think anytime you're coming off a loss there's a little quiet in the room, a
little disappointment," Blues winger Jamie Langenbrunner said. "But you've
got to move past it. You know these series can turn very quickly. It's 1-0,
nothing to be panicking about or anything like that."
The Blues talked about playing well in Game 1 while also realizing a series
of crucial mistakes at costly times led to San Jose goals.
A retaliation penalty, a missed check and an inability to clear a puck and
cover a shooter helped San Jose nail down the win. Two goals by Martin
Havlat and the sprawling saves of Antti Niemi were huge factors as well,
along with the Sharks' edge in playoff experience.
They have won eight of their previous 11 playoff overtime games.
Meanwhile, the Blues have lost their last seven playoffs games and nine of
the last 10. Counting all their franchise playoff series of various lengths, the
Blues have gone on to win just three of 27 series when losing Game 1,
while posting a 20-11 series mark when winning the opener.
Blues captain David Backes said it's a matter of regaining the form that
helped the team shine during the regular season.
"The outsiders are always trying to find some sort of story line or reason or
an excuse," Backes said. "In here it's one game at a time. We've got an
opponent that's been here before and probably has that experience edge,
there's no question about it. But we've got a great group of guys in here
with great character."
Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said Jaroslav Halak will return as the starter in
goal for Game 2, but also hinted that other lineup changes are coming.
One figures to be on defense, where Carlo Colaiacovo could replace Kent
Huskins. Another likely involves a forward spot on the third or fourth line.
"Its our turn to make adjustments," Hitchcock said after reviewing game film
and addressing his team. "Any time you lose, you don't want to stand and
live on the "just-abouts," so we're going to have to make adjustments.
"We've got to look at doing some things to help increase our chances to
win. We've got to make some changes."
Hitchcock has also been studying up on his playoff history homework.
"The thing with experience and playoff success comes in knowing it's four
games you've got to win and not one," he said. "Anybody that knows,
knows that losing two games in a row isn't a big deal.
Losing at home isn't a big deal, (but) losing four games is a big deal
because that means you're out."
Hitchcock said there are plenty of twists and turns and momentum shifts on
the NHL playoff highway.
"Just knowing that it's a long grind and you get a chance at redemption right
away I think is important," he said. "Boston was down 2-0 to Montreal last
year and won the Stanley Cup."
Hitchcock's biggest concern was defensive coverage, an area of concern
late in the season as well.
After two goals by Patrik Berglund put the Blues on top in the third period,
the Sharks tied it with 5:16 remaining in regulation.
"Just that we need more guys on board," Backes said. "You can't have any
passengers. You need guys that are willing to go to the game plan and do
everything they can to implement it at full speed with everything that they
can."
Belleville News-Democrat LOADED: 04.14.2012
625896
Tampa Bay Lightning
By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune
Lord Stanley's playoffs have just begun, but an old Lightning flame has
been cooking with gas all season.
Our long last yap shutter and cowboy spotter, John Tortorella, the
indomitable Johnny Torts, whose fingerprints will forever grace the Bolts'
2004 Cup run, has another winner in his clutches, one he has coached and
coaxed and cursed, and pushed and prodded as much as any bunch he
had here.
The New York Rangers opened what some suspect might be a deep playoff
run Thursday with a 4-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators. Game 2 is
tonight. New York finished the regular season with 51 wins, atop the
Eastern Conference for the first time since 1994, when the Rangers ended
their 54-year Cup drought. Broadway is buzzing over these Blueshirts, as
well as Tortorella, which drives him nuts, as if that takes much.
He has already been fined twice this season by the NHL, $50,000 total,
once for ripping the officiating after winning the league's outdoor Winter
Classic in Philadelphia, and recently for calling Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby
and Evgeni Malkin "whining stars" and their team "one of the most arrogant
organizations in the league" after a knee-to-knee hit on Ranger Derek
Stepan. Tortorella also told the New Jersey Devils coach he needed to
"shut up" (don't you miss this stuff?), though Tortorella mentioned he should
shut up himself.
It's already been a Tour de Torts. This is his best shot at the Cup since '04.
He likes a lot about this Rangers team.
"You could never say this team doesn't work, never," Tortorella said.
That team includes familiar face Brad Richards, Lightning Conn Smythe
winner, who joined New York as a free agent this season, and Ruslan
Fedotenko, who scored both Lightning goals the night the Bolts took the
Cup.
"We've seen all his faces and heard all his words," Richards said with a
smile, "all the ones you remember."
The Rangers visited the Forum early last month. Tortorella stopped to say
hello to arena security and caterers he recognized from his Lightning days.
You always get two sides with Johnny Torts, the Grizzly and the Teddy
Bear.
His young Rangers aren't like the Lightning Cup winners. They don't have
the offensive firepower. They're a team in the coach's image _ in your face,
hard hitting, grinding, league leads in blocked shots and fighting majors, no
backing down _ and superb goaltending from MVP candidate Henrik
Lundqvist.
"We're a straight ahead team, no nonsense," Tortorella said, leaning
against a Forum wall. "There's not a lot of fluff in our game."
He thought about '04.
"We didn't know we were that good in '04. We just didn't. We're going
through the same process now we went through then. I don't know what is
going to happen with this group. You never do until you get into it.
"I'm different with this team. I've been here three years. You have to
change. After we won the Cup, the expectations were still there. I made
some mistakes that last couple of years, where I was demanding things of
people who were not capable of getting there, because we set the bar too
high. I'm trying to be careful here and go through the process."
Now, as then, Tortorella is wary of anyone intruding on that process. That's
tricky in the glare of New York. There was the night this season when
Rangers owner James Dolan, no cowboy, made a rare postgame
appearance and, with the coach standing right there , told media the
Rangers were "pretty close" to bringing the Cup home. A smiling Tortorella
followed Dolan and happily announced that what his boss said was "a lot of
B.S." Everyone laughed.
"Once he started, I knew where he was going," Tortorella said with a grin. "I
kept whispering 'Easy. Easy .'"
Richards felt that old Tortorella wrath shortly after arriving in New York. "I
just went out to dinner," Richards said. But it was dinner in New York. A
photographer snapped a picture and Richards ended up on a tabloid
celebrity gossip page. Tortorella let him know about it, too. Johnny Torts
scours the tabloid celebrity page.
"I check it every day," he said. "… I am wary of people getting in our world.
It's a lot more difficult to keep people out of our world in New York and
anywhere around it. I just don't want people (messing) around with us."
I bet you're imagining what Tortorella thought when the Rangers were
filmed everywhere they went for HBO's 24/7 series leading into the Winter
Classic against Philadelphia. Funny, but you're imagining wrong.
"It was a great experience for our team," Tortorella said. There were some
bleep-bleep Torts moments, but the cameras also captured him tenderly
talking about his relationship with a young cerebral palsy patient.
"He toned it down for 24/7 , he really did," Richards said. "Then he went
back to being … Torts."
Now it's playoff time, Johnny Torts and Richy hunting for another Cup. By
the way, Rangers players apparently have sworn off and signed off of their
Twitter accounts for the duration of the playoffs. Wonder whose idea that
was.
OK, Torts, I'll shut up.
Tampa Tribune LOADED: 04.14.2012
625897
Tampa Bay Lightning
By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune
Lord Stanley's playoffs have just begun, but an old Lightning flame has
been cooking with gas all season.
Our long last yap shutter and cowboy spotter, John Tortorella, the
indomitable Johnny Torts, whose fingerprints will forever grace the Bolts'
2004 Cup run, has another winner in his clutches, one he has coached and
coaxed and cursed, and pushed and prodded as much as any bunch he
had here.
The New York Rangers opened what some suspect might be a deep playoff
run Thursday with a 4-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators. Game 2 is
tonight. New York finished the regular season with 51 wins, atop the
Eastern Conference for the first time since 1994, when the Rangers ended
their 54-year Cup drought. Broadway is buzzing over these Blueshirts, as
well as Tortorella, which drives him nuts, as if that takes much.
He has already been fined twice this season by the NHL, $50,000 total,
once for ripping the officiating after winning the league's outdoor Winter
Classic in Philadelphia, and recently for calling Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby
and Evgeni Malkin "whining stars" and their team "one of the most arrogant
organizations in the league" after a knee-to-knee hit on Ranger Derek
Stepan. Tortorella also told the New Jersey Devils coach he needed to
"shut up" (don't you miss this stuff?), though Tortorella mentioned he should
shut up himself.
It's already been a Tour de Torts. This is his best shot at the Cup since '04.
He likes a lot about this Rangers team.
"You could never say this team doesn't work, never," Tortorella said.
That team includes familiar face Brad Richards, Lightning Conn Smythe
winner, who joined New York as a free agent this season, and Ruslan
Fedotenko, who scored both Lightning goals the night the Bolts took the
Cup.
"We've seen all his faces and heard all his words," Richards said with a
smile, "all the ones you remember."
The Rangers visited the Forum early last month. Tortorella stopped to say
hello to arena security and caterers he recognized from his Lightning days.
You always get two sides with Johnny Torts, the Grizzly and the Teddy
Bear.
His young Rangers aren't like the Lightning Cup winners. They don't have
the offensive firepower. They're a team in the coach's image _ in your face,
hard hitting, grinding, league leads in blocked shots and fighting majors, no
backing down _ and superb goaltending from MVP candidate Henrik
Lundqvist.
"We're a straight ahead team, no nonsense," Tortorella said, leaning
against a Forum wall. "There's not a lot of fluff in our game."
He thought about '04.
"We didn't know we were that good in '04. We just didn't. We're going
through the same process now we went through then. I don't know what is
going to happen with this group. You never do until you get into it.
"I'm different with this team. I've been here three years. You have to
change. After we won the Cup, the expectations were still there. I made
some mistakes that last couple of years, where I was demanding things of
people who were not capable of getting there, because we set the bar too
high. I'm trying to be careful here and go through the process."
Now, as then, Tortorella is wary of anyone intruding on that process. That's
tricky in the glare of New York. There was the night this season when
Rangers owner James Dolan, no cowboy, made a rare postgame
appearance and, with the coach standing right there , told media the
Rangers were "pretty close" to bringing the Cup home. A smiling Tortorella
followed Dolan and happily announced that what his boss said was "a lot of
B.S." Everyone laughed.
"Once he started, I knew where he was going," Tortorella said with a grin. "I
kept whispering 'Easy. Easy .'"
Richards felt that old Tortorella wrath shortly after arriving in New York. "I
just went out to dinner," Richards said. But it was dinner in New York. A
photographer snapped a picture and Richards ended up on a tabloid
celebrity gossip page. Tortorella let him know about it, too. Johnny Torts
scours the tabloid celebrity page.
"I check it every day," he said. "… I am wary of people getting in our world.
It's a lot more difficult to keep people out of our world in New York and
anywhere around it. I just don't want people (messing) around with us."
I bet you're imagining what Tortorella thought when the Rangers were
filmed everywhere they went for HBO's 24/7 series leading into the Winter
Classic against Philadelphia. Funny, but you're imagining wrong.
"It was a great experience for our team," Tortorella said. There were some
bleep-bleep Torts moments, but the cameras also captured him tenderly
talking about his relationship with a young cerebral palsy patient.
"He toned it down for 24/7 , he really did," Richards said. "Then he went
back to being … Torts."
Now it's playoff time, Johnny Torts and Richy hunting for another Cup. By
the way, Rangers players apparently have sworn off and signed off of their
Twitter accounts for the duration of the playoffs. Wonder whose idea that
was.
OK, Torts, I'll shut up.
625898
Tampa Bay Lightning
Boucher an assistant for Team Canada at world championships
By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune
Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Guy Boucher is headed to the world
championships, while Cory Conacher is a most valuable player for the
Norfolk Admirals.
Boucher was named as an assistant coach for Team Canada for the IIHF
World Championships, which will take place in Sweden and Finland
beginning May 4. Boucher has served as a coach for Canada on three
other occasions, with the 2009 World Junior team that captured gold and
twice for the Under-18 teams in 2008 and 2006.
Boucher, along with Carolina coach Kirk Muller, will help head coach Brent
Sutter, who accepted the invitation on Friday.
Boucher joins Lightning right wing Teddy Purcell on Team Canada. Tampa
Bay will also be represented at the World Championships by forwards J.T
Brown and Nate Thompson for USA and defenseman Victor Hedman for
Sweden.
Conacher, meanwhile, was named MVP of the American Hockey League
on Friday becoming just the fourth rookie in league history to win the award.
On Thursday Conacher, a free agent signee out of Canisius College, was
named the league's most outstanding rookie. The 22-year-old was second
in the league in scoring (75 points) and goals (35) heading into Friday's
game at Albany. The Admirals carried a league-record 25-game winning
streak into the final weekend of the regular season.
The award is the fourth this week given to Norfolk following the
announcement of Jon Cooper as the coach of the year, Mark Barberio as
the AHL's top defenseman and Conacher's awards the past two days. The
Admirals are the first team in league history to win all four league awards in
the same season.
625899
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Cory Conacher named AHL MVP
By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Norfolk forward and Lightning prospect Cory Conacher was named the
AHL's most valuable player, completing a historic haul of awards for the
Admirals.
The team — which has won 26 straight games, the longest streak in North
American professional hockey history — is the first in the AHL to have the
MVP, top coach (Jon Cooper), top defenseman (Mark Barberio) and top
rookie (Conacher) in the same season.
Conacher, 22, who opened many eyes at Tampa Bay's training camp this
season, was second in the league with 35 goals and 75 points heading into
the season's final weekend. He also was tied for second with 14 power-play
goals and tied for third with seven winners.
Conacher, from Burlington, Ontario, is the fourth rookie to be named MVP
since the award was established for the 1947-48 season.
streaking on: Norfolk extended its winning streak to 26 games Friday with a
5-1 win over host Albany. Norfolk finishes its regular season with road
games tonight and Sunday.
St. Petersburg Times LOADED: 04.14.2012
625900
Tampa Bay Lightning
Lightning coach Guy Boucher will be an assistant at Worlds as Canada
finalizes coaching staff
Canada finalized its coaching staff for the world championship in Sweden
and Finland, and Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher will be an
assistant. Former Flames coach Brent Sutter will be the head coach.
Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller is the other assistant.
There had been some speculation that either Boucher or Muller, who
accepted their positions last week, might get the head coaching job after
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff declined.
Here is the official announcement:
Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Guy Boucher has been named an
assistant coach for Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF World
Championships today, Hockey Canada announced. The tournament runs
from May 4-20, in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden, with Canada
based out of Helsinki for the entire event. Canada opens up against
Slovakia on May 4.
Boucher, a native of Notre-Dame-du-Lac, Quebec, recently completed his
second season as bench boss of the Lightning. In 164 games with Tampa
Bay, Boucher has posted an 84-61-19 record, including a trip to the 2011
Eastern Conference Finals during his first season with the club. He was
named the seventh head coach of the Lightning on June 10, 2010.
The 40-year-old previously served as an assistant coach with Canada’s
National Junior Team at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship, winning
a gold medal, and as an assistant coach for Canada at the 2008 IIHF World
Men’s Under-18 Championship, also winning gold. He coached Canada’s
National Under-18 Team at the 2006 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka, where the
team finished fourth.
Boucher joins Teddy Purcell (Canada), Nate Thompson (USA) and J.T.
Brown (USA) as Lightning personnel committed to participate in the
tournament. Defenseman Victor Hedman (Sweden) is also expected to
participate.
Posted by Damian Cristodero
St. Petersburg Times LOADED: 04.14.2012
625901
Vancouver Canucks
“You've got to build on the positive things and adjust where there needs to
be adjustments. Right now, specialty teams have been the difference in this
series. They've been the better team.”
Vancouver Canucks losing battles — and series — all over the ice
Canucks players were citing “positives,” too — mostly Vancouver's sharper
focus and superior even-strength play on Friday.
By Iain MacIntyre
But as Jannik Hansen, arguably the best Canuck so far, pointed out: “A loss
is still a loss.”
VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks have lacked for many things
over their history, but rarely in the last 20 years have they been without
hope.
They looked fairly close to it Friday night after Game 2 of their first-round
National Hockey League playoff series, down 0-2 to the Los Angeles Kings,
who are far better than people reckoned when the visitors were being
picked to lose to the Canucks in five games — six, max.
In 17 previous series that started with two games in Vancouver, the
Canucks had never lost both games. They've never won a series after
losing the first two games. They hadn't lost the first two — home or away —
since 2001, when they were swept by Colorado as the Avalanche was on
its way to the Stanley Cup.
There are lots of ways for the Canucks to rationalize the deficit.
Vancouver just needs Daniel Sedin back from his concussion. If only the
power play would wake up. All the Canucks need is a bounce. Even playing
poorly, they've been close in the third period of both games.
But for 120 minutes, the Kings have been stronger on the puck and won
more of the battles for it. They've looked quicker and better organized. And
as good as Roberto Luongo has played, the Kings' Jonathan Quick has
been the stronger goalie.
The Canucks played better in Game 2 than they did in the opener and still
lost 4-2 — the same score as Game 1. They had 48 shots on goal Friday
and still lost. There isn't too much to feel good about, and the Canucks
haven't a road map to get back in the series because most of the players
have never been in this position.
“I think the big thing is to not panic,” veteran Sammy Pahlsson said.
“Everyone wants to win so badly, and now that we've lost two it's easy to
panic and just try to do it yourself. That's not how you win games. You have
to do it as a team. We have to try to play our game, and not try something
else because it's not working.
“We knew they were a good team. We knew they had a good defence and
a good goaltender. But we're making mistakes and that won them the game
today.”
The Kings scored twice short-handed and once on the power play. And
their other goal was from power-play pressure.
Los Angeles is 3-for-12 in the series with the man-advantage. Vancouver is
0-for-10, minus the killer short-handed goals it surrendered Friday.
Of course, Sedin, the concussed winger who led the NHL in scoring last
season, is brutally missed on the power play. But four goals in two playoff
games, though meagre, is not an offensive crisis by post-season standards.
It's the eight goals against that is more of a concern.
L.A. was 29th in scoring this season. Vancouver was fourth in goalsagainst. Nobody expected the problems to be in the Canucks' zone.
The fact that the Kings' franchise lost the only series it ever led 2-0 is
inconsequential because it occurred in 1968 and we're pretty sure there
was still a “rover” in the lineup back then.
It may be more pertinent that the Boston Bruins trailed the Canucks 0-2 in
the final last June before winning the Stanley Cup, although that oddly isn't
a comforting thought in Vancouver, which has lost six of its last seven
playoff games.
“I'm not in the mood right now for examples,” Canucks coach Alain
Vigneault said. “We're going to sit back tonight and get a good night's sleep
and tomorrow come to work and do what needs to be done. Any team in
our situation, what you have to do is stay in the moment. You've got to stick
with the game plan, stick with the process and play with the urgency a
situation like this dictates.
Since we're ignoring the '68 Kings, who played home games in three
arenas and were led in scoring by Eddie Joyal, maybe we should point out
that Los Angeles had fewer points at home this season (49) than
Vancouver had on the road (53).
Does that make you feel better?
“There are a lot of things we did right tonight,” Canuck defenceman Dan
Hamhuis said. “We had 48 shots; there were a lot of positives. And we've
got the confidence that we were the best road team in the league.”
They'll have to be almost perfect Sunday in Game 3.
Winnipeg Sun LOADED: 04.14.2012
625902
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks-Kings, Game 2: Game within a game
By Elliott Pap
VANCOUVER — Who, and what, was worth noticing in Friday's Game 2 of
this NHL Western Conference final series between the host Vancouver
Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings:
• THREE STARS:
1. Dustin Brown, Kings. Two short-handed goals, six shots, plus-2. Enough
said.
2. Jonathan Quick, Kings. L.A. netminder was nimble as well as Quick.
Faced 48 shots, stopped 46.
3. Jarret Stoll, Kings. One goal, plus-1, excellent on penalty kill, 12-for-19
on face-offs.
• PIVOTAL POINT — With the game tied 1-1 early in the second period and
the Canucks on the power play. Ryan Kesler attempted a pass back to Dan
Hamhuis at the left point. The Canucks’ defenceman stumbled and allowed
Dustin Brown to collect the puck, race up ice on a breakaway and beat
Roberto Luongo with the crucial go-ahead goal.
• BY THE NUMBERS — It's the first in 11 years the Canucks have been
down 2-0 in a playoff series and the first time in team history they've been
down 2-0 when starting a series at home ... Since going out four straight to
the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, the Canucks had appeared in 14 series in
which they were either were up 2-0 or split 1-1 ... After losing four of their
last five playoff games last spring, the Canucks are now 1-6 in their last
seven ... Roberto Luongo is now 32-29 lifetime in the playoffs.
• GET SHORTY — The Kings went 19 years between short-handed goals
in the playoffs, then Dustin Brown netted two in a span of 5:26, scoring at
19:51 of the first and 5:17 of the second. The previous Kings shorty came in
the 1993 Stanley Cup final, Dave Taylor scoring that one against the
eventual champion Montreal Canadiens. By the way, the last player to
score two shorties in one playoff game was New Jersey's John Madden in
2006.
• SAVE OF THE NIGHT — With the Kings leading 2-1 late in the second
period, Ryan Kesler sifted through the L.A. defence pairing of Rob Scuderi
and Drew Doughty and tested Jonathan Quick with a heavy wrist shot.
Quick not only came up with the stop, he didn't allow a rebound either.
Honourable mention: Roberto Luongo's arm save on Dustin Brown early in
the third.
• BOOTH REVIEW — He hasn't scored in the series but at least David
Booth is hitting people. He had six on Friday, including two bone-crushers
on Kings winger Justin Williams.
• DID YOU NOTICE? When Ryan Kesler unleashed a long wrister at
Jonathan Quick in the game's eighth minute, he glided past Quick without
putting on the brakes and possibly spraying the Kings netminder. Four
minutes later, when Kings forward Trevor Lewis mildly sprayed Robert
Luongo with no call, the Rogers Arena crowd went ballistic.
Vancouver Sun LOADED: 04.14.2012
625903
Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks blue after getting Dustin Brown’d by L.A. Kings
By Brad Ziemer
VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks' power play is performing about
as well as one of those North Korean missiles.
And because of it, the Canucks just may crash and burn right out of the
National Hockey League playoffs.
Sammy Pahlsson made it 4-2 when he put a backhand past Quick at 16:22
on a rebound off a shot by Keith Ballard.
Brown scored his second short-handed goal of the night at 5:11 of the
second period to break a 1-1 tie. Brown was sprung free on a breakaway
after Dan Hamhuis couldn't handle a Ryan Kesler pass at the blue line.
Brown beat Luongo with a backhand shot.
The Canucks had tied the game just 17 seconds into the second, when
Jannik Hansen tipped in a soft Henrik Sedin floater from the blue line.
The Canucks had some chances late in the period to tie the game. With
1:30 left, Kesler went around L.A. defencemen Rob Scuderi and Drew
Doughty but was robbed by Quick.
The Canucks’ power play not only didn't score, but it surrendered two shorthanded goals Friday night as the Los Angeles Kings skated to a 4-2 win at
Rogers Arena to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference
quarter-final series.
Brown opened scoring with nine seconds left in the first period after
Vancouver defenceman Alex Edler coughed up the puck in his own end
during a Canucks’ power play. Kings centre Anze Kopitar intercepted an
Edler pass intended for Mason Raymond and skated in on a sprawling
Luongo, who managed to get his toe on Kopitar's attempt. But Brown was
able to fire the rebound into a wide-open net.
Los Angeles captain Dustin Brown scored both of those short-handed goals
for the Kings, who now take their commanding lead back to Los Angeles for
Games 3 and 4.
The goal came with Kings defenceman Willie Mitchell in the penalty box
serving a holding minor. Mitchell was also in the box when Brown scored
his second short-handed goal.
In their 42-year history, this is the first time the Canucks have dropped the
opening two games of a playoff series at home.
Vigneault, unhappy with his team's effort in Game 1, shuffled his forward
lines and defensive pairings. Hansen moved up to skate with Henrik Sedin
and Alex Burrows on Vancouver's top line. Chris Higgins joined Kesler and
David Booth on the second line, while Raymond and Maxim Lapierre skated
with Sammy Pahlsson on the third line. Andrew Ebbett, Zack Kassian and
Malhotra were on Vancouver's fourth line.
Now they are going to have to try and win this series the hard way. The fact
the Canucks have lost six of their last seven playoff games does not inspire
confidence they are up to the task.
"You have to put these games behind you," said Canucks defenceman
Kevin Bieksa. "Whether we win or lose, this game is done with so we move
on. It will be a big must-win the next game in L.A. and that is our focus right
now."
Game 3 goes at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Staples Center (CBC, Team
1040).
If they need inspiration, the Canucks can look to the Boston Bruins, who
lost the first two games of their opening round series last year at home and
went on to win the Stanley Cup.
"I thought five-on-five we played well," said Canucks captain Henrik Sedin.
"But the power play is just not good enough right now. Not only are we not
scoring, we are giving up goals and that can't happen. That is why we lose
the game."
The Canucks were 0-for-4 on the power play Friday night and are now 0for-9 for the series.
"Special teams is a big part of our game and we take a lot of pride in it and
we didn't get the job done tonight," Bieksa said.
No one seems to be able to put their finger on just what is ailing the
Vancouver power play.
"It's tough to say, it's been a bit of a revolving door there," Bieksa said.
"Somehow, the five guys that are on the ice, we have to find a way to
communicate and get on the same page."
"Our execution is not what it needs to be for it to be effective," added a
frustrated coach Alain Vigneault. "Tonight it was more than ineffective. It
cost us at bad times. Those are our best players."
Goalie Roberto Luongo, for the second straight game, did his best to give
his team a chance to win.
With the Kings up 2-1 early in the third he made big saves off Brown and
Colin Fraser, but the Canucks couldn't beat Los Angeles goalie Jonathan
Quick to get the tying goal.
Quick played a strong game as the Canucks peppered him with 48 shots.
"I don't think I have been in this situation before but like I said we're not
going to feel too sorry for ourselves," Bieksa said. We're going to put this
game quickly behind us, move to L.A. and get focused for two big road
games."
Jarret Stoll scored a power-play goal at 8:30 of the third to give the Kings a
3-1 lead, jamming the puck under Luongo from the edge of the crease.
Trevor Lewis made it 4-1 on a wraparound at 14:51 of the third after a
Manny Malhotra giveaway.
On defence, Hamhuis and Bieksa were reunited, Edler was paired with
Sami Salo and Ballard played with Chris Tanev. Ballard played his his first
game since suffering a concussion on Feb. 7.
Vancouver Sun LOADED: 04.14.2012
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Vancouver Canucks
A quick note for panicking Canucks fans
Daniel Wagner
22Stop.
Stop panicking.
Like you, I’m disappointed that the Canucks lost game one against the
Kings on Wednesday, and I wasn’t impressed with how they played,
beyond the performance of Roberto Luongo. But I’m not panicking and
neither should you.
There are a couple big reasons. For instance, there is no possible way the
Canucks will give the Kings more than twelve-and-a-half minutes on the
powerplay including two 5-on-3s and a 5-minute major again. The Kings
were certainly the better team in game one, but they won on the powerplay,
scoring one goal with a two-man advantage and another during Bitz’s 5minute major.
But here’s something else to consider: last year, three higher-ranked teams
lost the first game of their round one playoff series. Two of those three went
on to win the series; the other was the fourth ranked Ducks versus the fifth
ranked Predators, so it was hardly an upset.
One of those teams was the Boston Bruins, who were shutout 2-0 in their
first game of the 2011 playoffs. They actually lost their first two games
against the Montreal Canadiens and had to go to overtime in game seven
to win the series. In case you don’t recall, things turned out pretty well for
the Bruins.
In 2010, the second place Chicago Blackhawks faced the seventh ranked
Nashville Predators in the first round, and lost 4-1 in game one, albeit with 2
empty net goals. The Blackhawks went on to win the series in 6 games,
then went on to win the Stanley Cup.
That’s right: the last two Stanley Cup winners lost game one of the first
round.
That doesn’t mean too much at this point, considering 8 teams will lose
game one, but it should give you a reason to calm down and unflip your
pool. After all, the weather’s getting warmer and you’ll need that pool soon
for swimming.
Vancouver Sun: LOADED: 04.14.2012
625905
Vancouver Canucks
“Well, I don’t know how many points he’s had in his career, but figure it out,”
said defenceman Rob Scuderi. “The guy produces, he’s a great offensive
force for them, so if he doesn’t play, it’s certainly to our advantage.”
Vancouver Canucks’ challenge more desperate the longer Daniel Sedin
sidelined
It doesn’t mean they can let Henrik dangle in free space, just because he
doesn’t have his doppelganger to convert his saucer passes, and they
haven’t.
By Cam Cole
“As far as them not being as good [apart] I don’t know, I haven’t seen them
play enough by themselves,” Scuderi said. “If we can limit [Henrik’s]
chances because he doesn’t have that chemistry, that’s great. But he’s still
a great, dynamic offensive player.”
VANCOUVER — A few ears perked up Friday morning when — in answer
to a question about star forward Daniel Sedin’s progress or lack of same —
Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault admitted he has never read the
National Hockey League’s concussion protocol.
Then again, neither had I.
So I called the league, got a copy of the document sent to me, and the
mystery was instantly cleared up. The NHL protocol for diagnosing
concussions, treating them and eventually releasing concussed players
back into the wild is, while doubtless well-intentioned, a little like an
impenetrable poem or the lyrics to I Am The Walrus — it might be saying
this, or it might be saying that.
The Canucks, it appears, have been playing it straight with Daniel. Judging
by the collapse of the power play in his absence, it could be the hardest test
of integrity they’ve ever had to pass. Maybe even a season-ending one.
Henrik Sedin’s fruitless search for his missing brother through two lost
games of this first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings has been like
an amputee “feeling” his phantom limb. Without Daniel, the power play —
oh-fer in goals scored, and with two (count ‘em, two) short-handers
surrendered Friday — was being booed by the second period of a second
consecutive 4-2 loss.
Surely the temptation to rush Daniel back, ready or not, is nearly
overwhelming.
The protocol leaves them enough wiggle room, if they were so inclined. It
says “...the diagnosis of concussion and subsequent return to play following
a concussion is an individualized decision by the Team Physician based on
the principles set forth in this document and all information available to
him...”
There’s a whole lot of “may be caused” and “may result” and “may or may
not” in the section entitled “Concussion Defined.” The protocol even allows
for returning a concussed player to the ice in the same game if he “has
rapid and complete recovery of symptoms at rest and upon exertion” — and
no specific number of days (despite many reports to the contrary) must
elapse after the player is symptom-free before he may resume game action.
It’s a best guess, basically, open to interpretation and, therefore, to abuse,
which is why you see certain players who have been clearly and publicly
knocked loopy jump right back over the boards a couple of days (or shifts)
later with the team explaining it as: “He says he feels fine. I guess he’s got
a hard head, ha ha.”
But Daniel Sedin remains out, 24 days after being elbowed in the head by
Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith. He skated lightly, away
from the team, on Friday morning, but there was no chance he would dress
for Game 2.
Keith was suspended for five games, and was back in plenty of time for the
Blackhawks’ playoffs.
Much was made (including in this space) of that Swedish website reporting
that Daniel told his father he had a headache and neck problems after a full
practice with the Canucks on Monday — yet still skated again Tuesday. But
there is nothing in the NHL’s concussion protocol that says the Canucks are
fudging the rules. If Daniel has passed his baseline test, he theoretically
can play as soon as he gets through a strenuous workout without any
symptoms.
So far, that doesn’t appear to be the case, but it’s do-or-die time now for the
Canucks, and the pressure on Daniel ramps up with the desperation level.
The longer they go without last year’s Art Ross Trophy and Ted Lindsay
Award-winning sniper, the less likely it is they’ll even survive the opening
round, let alone avenge last year’s Game 7 Stanley Cup final defeat.
For their part, the Kings are loving it. They don’t have to be told Daniel’s
absence makes their job a whole lot easier, especially on the penalty kill.
Clearly, though, by missing one twin, Vancouver is really missing one-anda-half.
Vigneault, in virtually every case of injury, is from the “out of sight, out of
mind” school — wherein the injured player is a non-person until he’s ready
to help the team again. But a sympathetic question Friday about the basic
injustice of Keith’s return compared to the deprivation the Canucks must
suffer without Daniel Sedin elicited a hint of the organization’s true feelings.
The coach, whose own job security is bound to be debated (nonsensically,
it says here) if the team exits in the first round, is still quietly seething at the
five games that Keith received, which amounted to nothing more than a preplayoff rest-and-recharge opportunity for a defenceman who logs a ton of
minutes for the Blackhawks.
"I'm going to measure my words very carefully," Vigneault said, after some
thought. "There is nothing we can do. [Daniel] is not here and we have to
deal with the situation.
“The culprit in that incident got five games from the National Hockey
League. I remember [Canucks defenceman] Aaron Rome getting four
games last year in the Stanley Cup final for a hit [on Boston’s Nathan
Horton] that was maybe .2 seconds late. Clean hit, guy had the puck. In
Daniel's case, there was no puck. So I'm going to leave it at that."
He knows the score, and it’s not exactly a scoop. Rome was a nobody, the
perfect fall guy for a league looking to show it was tough on crime. So what
if his banishment for the rest of the Cup final was akin to the death penalty?
Keith is a Norris Trophy winner. Different class, whole different set of
instructions to the jury.
So he’s playing, while Daniel has a headache that may not go away before
his team does.
625906
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Game Day: Ballard, Ebbett to give Vancouver new look for Game
2
By Elliott Pap
VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks will make two lineup changes
tonight as they seek to draw even with the Los Angeles Kings in their bestof-seven opening-round Stanley Cup playoff series (7 p.m., CBC, Team
1040).
Defenceman Keith Ballard will draw in for Aaron Rome and likely play on a
third blueline pairing with Chris Tanev while Andrew Ebbett will take the
fourth-line position of the suspended Byron Bitz, the latter out for two
games after his high hit on Kings forward Kyle Clifford in Game 1. Ebbett
will skate on left wing alongside Manny Malhotra and rookie Zack Kassian.
Los Angeles leads the series 1-0 after prevailing 4-2 in Wednesday's
opener.
"I've been doing a ton of skating and I feel great on the ice," said Ballard,
who has been out with a concussion since a Feb. 7 game in Nashville. "So
things have gone well as far as recovering and getting healthy. Now you
find out how ready you are when you get thrown in."
Canuck head coach Alain Vigneault would not outright confirm the lineup
changes but laughed and said: "What do you need from me? If you paid
attention this morning, there is the possibility that might happen. With Keith,
he was playing really well prior to getting injured. He was really sound
defensively and he was moving the puck really well. So those are two
elements in his game, if he does play, that will definitely help us."
Ebbett recently returned to the Canucks lineup himself after missing nearly
three months with a fractured collarbone. He played the final four games of
the regular season but was a healthy scratch for Game 1 of the playoffs.
"This is what I was building for, making sure I was back and ready for the
playoffs," said Ebbett. "Now I'm pretty excited and energized for tonight."
The bigger picture, however, is the fact the Canucks could go down 2-0 in
the series, something they haven't done since 2001 when they were swept
in four straight by the Colorado Avalanche.
"We can't afford to lose tonight," said captain Henrik Sedin, who will again
skate without his injured brother Daniel. "If we do that, we've dug ourselves
a big hole. We all know how playoffs are and how tough it is to come back
from being down 2-0. It's rare that we lose the first game in a series but
that's where we are."
According to Henrik, the biggest change he would like to see from Game 1
is to stay out of the penalty box. The Kings had eight power-play
opportunities in the first two periods and played with the man advantage for
12:36.
"We have to show more discipline," Henrik continued. "That's where they
took over the first game. Even though they didn't score on every one of their
power plays, they got a lot of momentum from it. On the other hand, when
we're on the power play, we have to make sure that if we don't score, we at
least neeed to gain some momentum... more shots, more traffic and more
life for our team."
Kings defenceman Drew Doughty suggested he and his mates will
approach tonight's game as if they were down in the series, rather than up.
"We need to be better than we were last game," he said. "To go up 2-0, to
take that back to our home fans, would be unbelievable but we can't take
anything for granted. We have to play as hard as we can to get the next
one."
Andrei Loktionov will take Clifford's spot on the Kings' fourth line.
ICE CHIPS: Kings captain Dustin Brown leads the series in shots on goal
with eight while linemate Justin Williams has seven. Vancouver's leading
shooters are Alex Burrows and David Booth with four apiece... Although
Kings centre Mike Richards was rightly lauded for his performance in Game
1, he was only 9-for-21 on faceoffs (43 per cent)... Max Lapierre is leading
the series in hits with six.
INJURIES: The Kings will be without LW Kyle Clifford (upper-body), LW
Simon Gagne (concussion) and LW Brad Richardson (appendectomy). The
Canucks will be missing Daniel Sedin (concussion), Aaron Volpatti
(shoulder) and Byron Bitz (suspended).
625907
Vancouver Canucks
Injured Vancouver Canucks star Daniel Sedin skates on his own but still not
ready
By Elliott Pap
VANCOUVER - Injured Vancouver Canuck winger Daniel Sedin skated on
his own this morning but he remains out of the team's lineup indefinitely.
Daniel was seen on the ice by two eyewitnesses sometime between 8:50
and 9:20 a.m. prior to a small group of players - Marc-Andre Gragnani,
Andrew Alberts, Aaron Volpatti and the suspended Byron Bitz - coming out
for a pre-practice practice with skills coach Glenn Carnegie. The main
playing group then practised at 10:30.
Henrik Sedin twice refused to discuss his brother's concussion situation
following the morning skate while head coach Alain Vigneault maintained
there was nothing to report and that he did not know whether Daniel would
be well enough to travel with the team to Los Angeles. Kings lead the series
1-0 with Game 2 tonight at Rogers Arena. Game 3 is Sunday in L.A.
"You have to say there is nothing new to report on Daniel," stated Vigneault
with a shrug. "Couldn't answer that [travel] question. Haven't talked to the
doctors yet."
Vigneault did admit he isn't completely conversant with the concussion
protocol.
"I'm not the one who understands the whole dynamic," he said. "I don't even
think I've read the protocol myself. You should ask a medical person."
Daniel Sedin has not played since suffereing a concussion March 21 in
Chicago when elbowed in the head by Blackhawk defenceman Duncan
Keith. Daniel has had just one full practice with the team, last Monday,
since the incident.
Asked again to reflect on Daniel's injury and Keith's subsequent five-game
suspension, Vigneault paused to gather his thoughts.
"I'm going to measure my words very carefully," he responded. "There is
nothing we can do [about Daniel]. I mean, he's not here and we have to
deal with the situation. The culprit in that incident got five games from the
National Hockey League. I remember Aaron Rome getting four games last
year in the Stanley Cup final for a hit that was maybe .2 seconds late. Clean
hit, guy had the puck. In Daniel's case, there was no puck. So I'm going to
leave it at that."
Daniel Sedin had never missed a playoff game in his career until this series.
625908
Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks have backing of one third of Canadians in Stanley Cup
quest - poll
By GORDON HOEKSTRA
More than one third of Canadians are calling the Vancouver Canucks their
team in the Stanley Cup playoffs, describing the team as strong and
exciting, according to an Angus Reid Survey released today.
Another 20 per cent of 1,506 Canadians in an online survey from April 5 to
7 - before the playoffs began - said they will root for the Ottawa Senators
during the playoffs.
The Vancouver Canucks polled ahead of all other Canadian hockey teams
as strong (47 per cent), exciting (36 per cent) and clean (26 per cent).
Vancouver and Ottawa were the only two Canadian teams to make the
playoffs.
The Canucks dropped their first home game to the Los Angeles Kings 4-2,
and play again tonight.
The survey also showed that the Canucks (11 per cent) are now the most
third popular team in the country behind the Montreal Canadiens (19 per
cent) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (17 per cent).
However, the Maple Leafs are the leaders on six negative traits: weak (48
per cent), in decline (43 per cent), disrespected (41 per cent), arrogant (39
per cent), boring (38 per cent) and overrated (38 per cent).
The Canadiens received mixed results, with the most mentions for classic
(49 per cent), admired (36 per cent) and dirty (25 per cent).
Among self-described hockey fans, the Maple Leafs hold a three-point
advantage over the Canadiens at 24 per cent to 21 per cent.
The Canucks were third among hockey fans (18 per cent), followed by the
Edmonton Oilers (13 per cent).
The Canucks positive image mirrors that of the City of Vancouver which
topped the survey list with the most mentions for being admired (50 per
cent), exciting (47 per cent) and fresh (42 per cent).
The City of Toronto also topped the chart with the most negative attributes:
arrogant (52 per cent), overrated (45 per cent), dirty (37 per cent) and
disrespected (29 per cent). Toronto was characterized as strong by 40 per
cent of those surveyed.
Half of those surveyed said they do not have a most hated National Hockey
League team (51 per cent), but one in five (19 per cent) named the Maple
Leafs.
The Canadiens are the second most despised team at five per cent.
625909
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Provies for Game 2 vs. Kings
By Gordon McIntyre
Best history
The Boston Bruins lost their opening two games at home last season before
climbing back to defeat Montreal in seven games in Round 1, needing
single overtime twice and double overtime once, on their way to winning the
Stanley Cup.
Best reply
Alain Vigneault didn’t care about history lessons on Friday night: “I’m not in
the mood for past examples,” he said.
Until the official scorer took away his third goal and gave it to Jarret Stoll
long after the game had ended, it looked like Dustin Brown had scored the
first playoff hat trick by a King since Wayne Gretzky in 1993 against
Toronto. Brown would not have cared if the hat trick had stood up: “Records
are not my focus right now,” he said. “I’m looking at getting wins every
game.”
“Our mindset is to not worry about tonight, to worry about the next game. If
we play as well 5-on-5 in their building as we did tonight, we’ll be alright.” –
Ryan Kesler
Vancouver Province: LOADED: 04.14.2012
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Vancouver Canucks
NHL Playoffs: Canucks power play DOA against Kings
By Jim Jamieson
The Kings enacted their version of Get Shorty with the Canucks in Game 2
and it earned them a 2-0 lead in the best of seven opening round playoff
series.
The Canucks power play has been an ongoing issue, really, since way back
in January, but there's every indication that the sudden loss of Daniel Sedin
to a concussion three weeks ago in Chicago may have pushed it over the
edge into deep chasm it now inhabits.
The power play hasn't been great in the last couple of months, but at least it
could gain the zone and get some shots. Recently, it's had trouble doing
either.
You could argue that going 0-for-5 with the man advantage in Game 1 was
a major factor in the 4-2 loss to the Kings in Game 1, but the Canucks
upped the ante on Friday in Game 2, going another 0-for-5 but also gave up
a horrendous two shorthanded goals in another 4-2 loss. Both were by
Kings captain Dustin Brown and they gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead after two
periods when the Canucks weren't giving up much even-strength.
“Obviously, two shorthanded goals are a killer,” said Andrew Ebbett, who
drew into the game to eplace the suspended Byron Bitz and saw time on
the second unit power play. “ It's a bad game anytime you have one
against. It's disheartening when we didn't give up anything five on five.”
Brown scored the first one with nine seconds left in the first period on a
brain cramp by Alex Edler – is second crucial error in two games. The
Canucks defenceman attempted at drop pass in the Vancouver end but it
was picked off by Kings centre Anze Kopitar. The Kings slick forward took it
to the net but was stopped by Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo. Three
Canucks collapsed around the Vancouver goal, but the long rebound went
to a wide-open Brown who fired it into the goal.
After Jannik Hansen tied it 17 seconds into the second period, the Canucks
committed another horrific error on the power play. This time it was Dan
Hamhuis diving to keep in a pass to the point from Ryan Kesler, but Brown
pounced on the loose puck and scored on the breakaway, beating Luongo
with a backhand deke.
Yes, two shorties are as unmentionable as they are rare, but the power play
has to start producing or – obviously – this series will be over in a hurry.
The prospects, though, don't look great as the stats will attest. Following the
Jan. 7 game in Boston where the Canucks scored four goals on the power
play, they have managed just 16 goals on 130 opportunities over the
subsequent 40 regular season and two playoff games. That works out to a
conversion rate of 12.3 per cent – which, if compared to the rest of the
league over 82 games, puts them below the 30th place team (Dallas, 13.5
per cent).
“I thought five on five we played a real strong game, we got the right saves
at the right time and our power play had the opportunity to make a
difference again tonight and it didn't,” said Canucks head coach Alain
Vigneault. “Our execution obviously isn't what it needs to be for it to be
effective. Tonight it was more than ineffective. It really cost us at bad times.
Those are our best players and we've got a lot of confidence in those guys
and we'll get another opportunity on Sunday.”
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Vancouver Canucks
rhythm to a unit which finished fourth in the NHL this season. After two
games, the result is 0-for-10 with two shorthanded goals surrendered and
the absence of Daniel Sedin has something to do with that.
Canucks implosion against Kings beyond belief
But this brother offered another explanation.
By Ed Willes
“They put a lot of pressure on us but I think we're getting three guys in the
corner instead of spreading out more and throwing pucks to the open guy,”
said Henrik. “Right now the three-foot pass isn't there. We have to get away
from each other and go from there.”
Over the last 40 or so springtimes, Vancouver Canucks' fans have been
preconditioned to expect a certain amount of unpleasantness and as they
contemplated their team's prospects in 2012, they were likely aware further
trials awaited.
And they'd better start in Game 3.
But this? This? Even in their darkest moment, the most tortured member of
the faithful couldn't have conceived of this.
Under the circumstances it's the least they can do. Come to think of it, it's
the only thing they can do.
Friday night, the two-time Presidents Trophy winners dropped a 4-2
decision on home ice to the L.A. Kings, largely because they surrendered
two shorthanded goals on plays so amateurish, so monumentally dimwitted, they beggared belief.
But believe this. Following the loss, which featured two shorties for noted
sniper Dustin Brown, the Canucks now trail the Western Conference
quarterfinal 2-0 with Games 3 and 4 set for L.A.
That isn't a hole. It's the Mariana Trench. And while they were saying all the
right things afterwards, the plain fact is they've got to beat the Kings in four
of the next five with three of those games set for the Staples Centre.
Did we mention there's no sign that Daniel Sedin is ready to return to the
lineup? Pity. He might lend a defensive presence to the power play.
“We've had good bounce back all year long and we've dealt with adversary
before,” said Kevin Bieksa. “We're a good veteran team. We'll put this one
behind us.”
The next question is who will be in goal when they attempt this epic
comeback: Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider?
“Five on five, this was our best game in a long time,” said Henrik Sedin
before demonstrating a fine grasp of the obvious. “We need to work on our
power play. You're not going to win games when you make two mistakes
and they end up in your net.”
While the final accounting didn't exactly reflect it, the Canucks actually did
several things in the prescribed manner in Game 2. The played the first five
minutes in the Kings' end. They got pucks to the net and traffic in front of
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick. Until things got out of hand in the third, they
played with improved discipline.
But every positive development was eradicated from the balance sheet by a
power play which not only dried up like a prune but surrendered two backbreaking, spirit-crushing goals.
The first came with nine seconds left in the first when Alex Edler and David
Booth butchered the ever-popular drop pass in their own end and that man
Brown scored his first of the night.
The second, and even more depressing, goal came five minutes into the
second after Jannik Hansen had tied the game for the Canucks. This time,
Ryan Kesler's back pass went through Dan Hamhuis at the Kings' blueline
to an onrushing Brown who scored on the breakaway.
To that point, the Kings hadn't generated a scoring chance five-on-five and
the Canucks were dominating territorially. But Brown's second sucked the
life out of the team and the building.
It remains to be seen if it sucked the life out of this series.
“That was the game,” said Sammie Pahlsson.
To reinforce the special teams' theme, the Kings then scored a power-play
goal in the third by Jarrett Stoll and another by Trevor Lewis shortly after a
Canucks' penalty expired.
“We've got to be better on special teams,” said Bieksa. “It's one of the
strengths of our team but it's the reason we're down.”
So, what to do?
The Kings have been pressing the Canucks' power play all over the ice,
forcing turnovers and mistakes and completely disrupting any flow or
“We've got a great group here,” said Henrik. “This isn't like a few years ago.
It's a different group. Now we've got to go down there and win a game.”
625912
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks smothered by Kings in brutal 4-2 loss
That’s about all they can take from it, that the first two games are behind
them.”
gordshockty@hotmail.com
twitter.com/gmacsports
By Gordon McIntyre
Second period:
Please, no more power plays.
VANCOUVER – Willie Mitchell is clearly the Kings' secret weapon as Los
Angeles took a 2-0 series lead on the Canucks in NHL playoffs on Friday
night.
In the space of just over five minutes, at the end of the first period and early
in the second, Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown took advantage of
sloppy extra-man work by the Vancouver Canucks. After two periods, the
Kings lead 2-1.
Kings captain Dustin Brown scored two short-handed goals with the former
Canucks defenceman in the penalty box as the Kings beat the Canucks 4-2
on Friday night at Rogers Arena to take a 2-0 series lead as the teams
head to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4.
The Canucks bounced back quickly after Brown scored with nine seconds
to go in the first. Seventeen seconds into the second period, Jannik Hansen
tipped a Henrik Sedin point shot past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick to tie the
game.
In Game 1, Mitchell - who killed lots of penalties but never had a power-play
shift as a Canuck - scored a power-play goal for the Kings.
But the Canucks' power play, which struggled in the final third of the regular
season, blew it again exactly five minutes later, when Canucks defenceman
Dan Hamhuis fell at the Kings' blueline, Brown picked up the puck and
deked Roberto Luongo for his third goal of the series.
“It was a game of special teams,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. “Five-onfive, we weren’t very good.
“We need [Jonathan] Quick to be really good and he made big saves again
tonight when we needed them.
“He was seeing pucks in traffic and that was significant.
“He has to be our best player and he was.”
The Canucks outshot the Kings 48-26, but could mount nothing at all on
their five power plays except give up the two goals to Brown, while the
Kings were one-of-four with the man-advantage, making them 25-per-cent
(3-of-12) for the series so far.
After Brown scored his first short-handed goal with just nine seconds to play
in the first period, Jannik Hansen tied it 1-1 just 17 seconds into the second
period, redirecting a Henrik Sedin shot.
But five minutes later Brown scored again on the penalty kill, collecting a
blind Ryan Kesler pass to the point and beating Roberto Luongo on a deke.
Jarret Stoll scored on a scramble during a Kings power play at 8:30 of the
third, Trevor Lewis made it 4-1 at 14:51 before Samme Pahlsson scored the
game’s final goal at 16:22.
“We’re going to take [Saturday] regroup, re-focus and get ready for the next
game,” Alain Vigneault said. “Our power play had the opportunity, again, to
make a difference and it didn’t.
“Our execution, obviously, is not what it needs to be for the power play to
be effective.
“Tonight it was more than ineffective – it really cost us at bad times.
“We’ve got great personnel who have always been able to do it. Those are
our best players [on the power play] and I’ve got a lot of confidence in those
guys and we’ll get another opportunity to prove it on Sunday.”
Alex Edler continued to struggle.
Ryan Kesler showed a flash of the player he was in last year’s playoffs and
the reunited AmEx line showed some hustle. Henrik Sedin played like he
was trying to single-handedly get the win, which with Hansen and Alex
Burrows as wingers instead of his brother Daniel is understandable.
“You want to make sure Sedin and Kesler don’t take charge of the series,”
Sutter said. “
I thought both of them tried to do that tonight.”
The experiment of putting Andrew Ebbett, in the lineup for the suspended
Byron Bitz, on the second power-play unit did not good, nor did replacing
Edler with Dan Hamhuis on the first unit.
Since the Canucks’ emotional 4-3 win at Boston on Jan. 7, in which they
went 4-of-11 on the power play, the Canucks have scored just 16 times in
the ensuing 130 man-advantages they’ve had.
On Friday, they were 0-for-5 on top of giving up the two short-handed goals.
“We’ll put this game behind us,” Kevin Bieksa said.
The Canucks were unable to mount any offensive threat during either of
their two power plays in the period. The Kings have taken the last four
penalties in the game.
Ryan Kesler, who's played a strong game, had a shot to tie the game late in
the period, but Quick showed why he's a contender for this season's Vezina
Trophy. The Canucks have outshot the Kings 20-17.
First Period:
As the clock wound down on a largely uneventful first period, and a second
uninspiring power play by the Canucks, a sloppy play turned a scoreless
game into a 1-0 lead for the Los Angeles Kings.
Alex Edler, carrying the puck out of the Canucks' zone, dropped the puck to
David Booth with the Kings' Anze Kopitar pressuring. Kopitar pounced on
the puck and dipsy-doodled to the net. After a first save by Roberto Luongo,
the puck bounced out to Kings captain Dustin Brown, who shot the puck
through a mess of felled players, including Luongo, with eight seconds to go
in the first period.
It ended a disappointing period for tue Canucks, who often seemed to play
as if they were protecting a lead.
Mason Raymond spent the period on the third line, demoted after an
ineffective Game 1 that the Kings won 3-2. Jannik Hansen moved up to the
top line alongside Henrik Sedin and Alex Burrows.
The Canucks never really tested Kings goalie Jonathan Quick; the Kings
outshot the Canucks 11-10.
More after the second period.
Los Angeles Kings (1-0) at Vancouver Canucks (0-1)
Friday, 7 p.m., Rogers Arena
TV: CBC; Radio: TEAM 1040
THE SETUP
The Canucks:
Vancouver is coming off a sobering 4-2 loss to the Kings in Game 1 on
Wednesday, a game in which Los Angeles dominated for stretches. Key will
be finding a way to better cope with the Kings' heavy forecheck, which
frequently disrupted the Canucks. Getting Daniel Sedin (concussion) back
would be a big help, but that appears doubtful.
The Kings:
Just about everything that could go right for the Kings in Game 1 did go
right. Mike Richards finally played like Mike Richards, the reunited Kopitar
line was dominant, they managed a couple of power play goals and Dustin
Penner even scored. Was this a one-game aberration? If not, the Canucks
are in big trouble.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The Canucks' power play. A year ago the Canucks' man-advantage was
a difference-maker in the playoffs — at least until the final against the
Bruins. This season, it hasn't been there consistently since early January. In
Game 1, the Canucks were 0-for-5 and managed just four shots in 8:24 of
power play time. At times, the unit had trouble gaining the zone.
2. What will the Canucks do with their fourth line now that Byron Bitz is
suspended two games for his hit on Kyle Clifford? Will they bring in Dale
Weise to replace the physical play? Or try Andrew Ebbett, who brings more
speed and skill?
3. Canucks' reversion to embellishment. We thought this team had turned
the page on that. Let's hope it ended in Game 1. It doesn't endear them to
the zebras or the fans.
625913
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks goalie Cory Schneider apologizes for offending Oilers fans
By Jim Jamieson
Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider offered a full apology to the Edmonton
Oilers and their fans for his perceived slag of their team as quoted by
Province columnist Ed Willies during an interview on Thursday.
In a column examining why the Canucks are regularly portrayed as
Canada's “hated” team, Schneider said, amongst other things: “You look
around the league and people don't like us and Pittsburgh and we're two of
the better teams. You saw Darcy Hordichuck and Ben Eager in Edmonton.
Nobody cares about Edmonton so nobody hates them. It's that simple.”
Clearly, Edmontonians weren't impressed.
“I apologize for that, I really do,” he said following Friday's Game 2 morning
skate.
“I felt bad about it. I didn't mean to say that about them," he said. "I was
frustrated about having to constantly defend my teammates, and let it get
the better of me. I was trying to specifically talk about two individuals, which
doesn't make it any more right. I had not intended to be disrespectful
towards them.
"They've got a great hockey city there, and a great tradition. Their fans
obviously care a heck of a whole lot, along with a lot of other people. I feel
stupid, and ignorant, about saying that, and I really regret it, and truly feel
bad."
625914
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Hat Trick: Shut up, clean it up, pick it up
By Ed Willes, The Province April 13, 2012
Province Sports columnist Ed Willes delivers the morning Hat Trick in
advance of tonight's Game 2 between the Vancouver Canucks and Los
Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena ...
1. Shut up and play.
All season the Canucks have maintained they're a disciplined team which
plays the game with focus and commitment. You'd just have a hard time
proving it by their effort in Game 1.
The Canucks wasted far too much time chirping and jibber-jabbering at a
variety of Kings, principally Mike Richards. They're not going to win this
series by out-talking the Kings. They have to out-play them and that starts
with the Richards-Ryan Kesler matchup.
2. You are the Vancouver Canucks, not the Broad Street Bullies.
The Canucks handed the Kings eight power plays and while you could
argue about some of the calls, you can't argue about their effect on the
game.
Kesler, Zack Kassian, Max Lapierre and, most famously, Byron Bitz all took
undisciplined penalties on Wednesday night and that's not the Canucks'
game.
If they needed reminding, it's rolling four lines and playing an up-tempo,
puck-possession game.
3. We're looking for a few good men.
Players like the Kings' Willie Mitchell and Dustin Penner had a
disproportionately large impact on Game 1.
Players like Alex Edler and Henrik Sedin struggled for the Canucks. The
defending Western Conference champs have a big advantage with their
overall depth, but it has to start with their best players.
If Henrik Sedin is the fourth-best centre in this series, as he was on
Wednesday night, the Canucks are not going to win.
625915
Vancouver Canucks
NHL playoffs: Canucks activate Andrew Ebbett, while Daniel Sedin still
sidelined
By Jim Jamieson
The Canucks will make two lineup changes tonight for Game 2 with the Los
Angeles Kings, though neither will be Daniel Sedin.
Sedin reportedly skated by himself this morning at Rogers Arena, about 90
minutes before his Canucks teammates took their regular morning skate.
It's not known at this point what that means in terms of his re-joining his
teammates in their Western Conference playoff series with Los Angeles –
although it's clear he won't play in Game 2.
Daniel's brother Henrik declined comment on the situation, as did Canucks
head coach Alain Vigneault, who also wouldn't say if Daniel would travel
with the team to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4 on Sunday and
Wednesday.
Sedin has been out with a concussion since March 21, when Chicago's
Duncan Keith hit him in the head with a vicious elbow, for which he was
subsequently suspended for five games.
Coming into the lineup, will be forward Andrew Ebbett, who'll essentially
replace Bryon Bitz, who was suspended for two games for his hit on Kings'
forward Kyle Clifford. Ebbett will play left wing, while Manny Malhotra shifts
to centre.
Not officially confirmed but fairly obvious is that defenceman Keith Ballard
will return to play his first game since suffering a concussion on Feb. 7.
Aaron Rome will sit out. The move is clearly in response to the problems
the Canucks' encountered with the Kings aggressive forecheck in Game 1
and the move reflects an attempt for faster puck movement out of the
Vancouver end.
Ebbett, though small, gives the Canucks more speed and skill on the fourth
line.
The Canucks, who had won the opening game of their previous eight
playoff series, lost Game 1 to the Kings on Wednesday and know going
down 2-0 isn't an option.
“We can't afford to lose tonight,” said team captain Henrik Sedin. “If we do
that we've dug ourselves a deep hole. We all know how tough playoffs are
and how tough it is to come back from 2-0.”
Ryan Kesler will have th task to shutting down Kings centre Mike Richards,
who had a huge game in the series opening, scoring three points and
putting in a terrific performance defensively.
“He's a good player and obviously we've got to limit his time and space and
make it hard on him all night,” said Kesler. “I don't mind the matchup. I think
five on five he only had one or two scoring chances. I think our main job is
to stay out of the box tonight.”
The Canucks put themselves in a hole by taking some bad penalties that
cost them goals and momentum.
“I think our focus needs to be on the way we need to play to have success,
on playing whistle to whistle, playing the right way, Vigneault. “When we do
that we're a real good team. We know the opponent we're playing tonight
comes at you hard and has real good balance. We're going to have to be at
our best.”
The Kings know they'll be facing a desperate team.
“Being the road team if we can find a way to get two wins in here to start the
series, it would be huge,” said Kings captain Dustin Brown. “But we're going
to have to play better than last game to do it. That's the key thing for this
team to understand and recognize. They've been through a lot of playoff
battles and have lots of experience. So we just have to approach this as a
new game.”
Kings coach Darryl Sutter said he will replace injured winger Clifford with
Andrei Loktionov.
625916
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks NHL Playoffs Gameday: Game 2 vs. L.A. Kings
By Jim Jamieson
D Keith Ballard (concussion, day to day), LW Aaron Volpatti (shoulder
surgery, out), LW Daniel Sedin (concussion, out), Byron Bitz (suspension).
Kings:
RW Scott Parse (hip surgery, out for the season), LW Simon Gagne
(concussion, out indefinitely), C Brad Richardson (appendectomy, out
indefinitely), LW Kyle Clifford (upper body, out).
Los Angeles Kings (1-0) at Vancouver Canucks (0-1)
Friday, 7 p.m., Rogers Arena
TV: CBC; Radio: TEAM 1040
THE SETUP
The Canucks:
Vancouver is coming off a sobering 4-2 loss to the Kings in Game 1 on
Wednesday, a game in which Los Angeles dominated for stretches. Key will
be finding a way to better cope with the Kings' heavy forecheck, which
frequently disrupted the Canucks. Getting Daniel Sedin (concussion) back
would be a big help, but that appears doubtful.
The Kings:
Just about everything that could go right for the Kings in Game 1 did go
right. Mike Richards finally played like Mike Richards, the reunited Kopitar
line was dominant, they managed a couple of power play goals and Dustin
Penner even scored. Was this a one-game aberration? If not, the Canucks
are in big trouble.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The Canucks' power play. A year ago the Canucks' man-advantage was
a difference-maker in the playoffs — at least until the final against the
Bruins. This season, it hasn't been there consistently since early January. In
Game 1, the Canucks were 0-for-5 and managed just four shots in 8:24 of
power play time. At times, the unit had trouble gaining the zone.
2. What will the Canucks do with their fourth line now that Byron Bitz is
suspended two games for his hit on Kyle Clifford? Will they bring in Dale
Weise to replace the physical play? Or try Andrew Ebbett, who brings more
speed and skill?
3. Canucks' reversion to embellishment. We thought this team had turned
the page on that. Let's hope it ended in Game 1. It doesn't endear them to
the zebras or the fans.
By THE NUMBERS
15: The total number of shots the Kings' first-line wingers Dustin Brown
(eight) and Justin Williams (seven) had in Game 1. A trend the Canucks
need to detour.
LEADERBOARD
Canucks:
Goals: 1, Burrows, Edler
Assists: 2, Kesler
Points: 2, Kesler
PIM: 15, Bitz
In net: Luongo, 0-1, 3.05 GAA / .921 SV%
Kings:
Goals: 1, 4 players
Assists: 2, 2 players
Points: 3, Richards
PIM: 4, Nolan
In net: Quick, 1-0, 2.00 GAA / .923 SV%
INJURIES
Canucks:
625917
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Hat-Trick for Saturday, April 14
Jim Jamieson
A switch to goalie Cory Schneider may provide a spark for the Canucks in
Game 3 versus the Los Angeles Kings.
Three things to ponder following Friday’s 4-2 Canucks loss to the Kings:
1.Will we see Cory Schneider on Sunday in Game 3? Not that you can pin
either loss to the Kings on Roberto Luongo, but maybe it’s just time to
shake it up. Schneider has been great whenever he’s got into the net this
season, so he might provide the spark the Canucks need to get back on
track. After all, it’s time to try anything.
2. Is it time to split up Ryan Kesler and David Booth? They’ve been
constants most of the season since Booth was acquired by the Canucks
from Florida in October. Booth has run hot and cold, but he’s now without a
point in his first two playoff games and that makes it 12 of the last 13
games. Booth, like Kesler, is a finisher so maybe throw him out with Henrik
Sedin. All the lines are in the hopper right now, so anything is worth a try.
3. A struggling power play is a slippery slope. It doesn’t produce, so
changes are made. Then miscues happen because players are put in
unfamiliar positions and aren’t quite sure how to read off the other guy.
Then confidence erodes. How do you get out of it? Score a goal. That’s the
process and the Canucks desperately need to connect early on a power
play in Game 3.
625918
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Keith Ballard back in for first game in two months
Jason Botchford
If speed is going to give the Vancouver Canucks their biggest advantage,
they just got a turbo boost.
In a mildly surprising move, head coach Alain Vigneault will replace one of
his favourites players, defenceman Aaron Rome, for Game 2 with one of his
least, the guy who always seems to get the short straw, Keith Ballard.
Ballard, who hasn’t played since Feb. 7 because of concussion symptoms,
has been cleared to play, and is set to be in the lineup for Game 2.
“I know it’s going to be fast, I know it’s going to be intense and I’m ready for
it,” Ballard said. “The building, the atmosphere and what’s at stake gets you
emotionally ready.
“The mental part is a huge part. Getting your mind right and set. Not only
today, but going back through this entire process.”
Ballard said he came off injured reserve Wednesday. He may not have
played in a long time, but he can skate. He’s one of the team’s fastest
skaters and he has the puck a lot. Sometimes too much for Vigneault which
has been part of the reason Ballard hasn’t worked out in Vancouver since
the trade two years ago.
The other has been the Canucks inability to find a right-side dman to play
with Ballard so he can be on the left. They seem to have that now with
Chris Tanev.
The defensive pairings were a mess in Game 1 and everyone expects a
change.
With Ballard in and Rome, it suggests the team will go back to the BallardChris Tanev pairing which had so much success last year. That would set
the table to play Dan Hamhuis with Kevin Bieksa again and Alex Edler with
Sami Salo.
“It was a long road,” Ballard said. “The first part was extremely frustrating.
Just because of the unknown. Is this going to be a week? Originally, I
thought I’d maybe be out a week. I had been feeling better, but then I had
setbacks and it ended up being a long time. That was the frustrating part.
“Once I got to the point, where I was working out, I saw the light at the end
of the tunnel. I had something I was pushing for, getting ready for.”
625919
Vancouver Canucks
Will Canucks Max Lapierre get another shot to play with Henrik Sedin?
Jason Botchford
Will Canucks Max Lapierre get another shot to play with Henrik Sedin?
There are more than few strong indications the Canucks were planning to
have Daniel Sedin in Game 1.
None more obvious than the long, conditioning skate they had him
participate in Monday. He skated the entire practice on the top line and
stayed out to skate lines after practice.
Another indication was the season finale against Edmonton when the
Canucks had Andrew Ebbett on the top line with Henrik Sedin and Alex
Burrows.
Head coach Alain Vigneault had deployed Max Lapierre on that line in the
previous four games. And you know what? Lapierre was very good. He had
three goals and five points in his four-game stint.
His teammates were chanting “Guy Lafleur” and the Cancuks were scoring
again.
So, why put Ebbett, a 13th or 14th forward, on the top line? It was a
confusing decision and one that would make sense if everyone thought
Daniel was going to be back.
It would back up Daniel’s father who said he had headaches after that
Monday skate, suffering what could be considered a setback.
Oddly, rather than plug Lapierre back to the role which had excelled in at
the end of the regular season, Vigneault tapped Mason Raymond for the
top line, leaving Lapierre to play wing with Ryan Kesler.
The results weren’t great.
Daniel is out for Game 2. Vigneault said he wasn’t sure if he was even
going to go to LA. That seems hard to believe after Daniel was skating on
his own early Friday.
It would make sense now for Vigneault to go back to Lapierre, or even
consider playing David Booth with Henrik.
The captain needs someone to play with. A player who can produce. And
that’s not Raymond.
625920
Vancouver Canucks
Daniel Sedin skates alone Friday morning at Rogers Arena
Jonathan McDonald
The Province’s Jim Jamieson reports from Rogers Arena …
Daniel Sedin reportedly skated by himself this morning at Rogers Arena,
about 90 minutes before his Canucks teammates took their regular morning
skate, which started at 10:30 a.m.
It’s not known at this point what that means in terms of Sedin rejoining his
teammates in their Western Conference playoff series with Los Angeles,
although it’s clear he won’t play tonight in Game 2.
Sedin has been out with a concussion since March 21, when Chicago’s
Duncan Keith hit him in the head with a vicious elbow, for which he was
subsequently suspended for five games.
More later.
625921
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks, not the Broad Street Bullies’
Jonathan McDonald
Province Sports columnist Ed Willes delivers the morning Hat Trick in
advance of tonight’s Game 2 between the Vancouver Canucks and Los
Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena …
1. Shut up and play.
All season the Canucks have maintained they’re a disciplined team which
plays the game with focus and commitment. You’d just have a hard time
proving it by their effort in Game 1. The Canucks wasted far too much time
chirping and jibber-jabbering at a variety of Kings, principally Mike Richards.
They’re not going to win this series by out-talking the Kings. They have to
out-play them and that starts with the Richards-Ryan Kesler matchup.
2. You are the Vancouver Canucks, not the Broad Street Bullies.
The Canucks handed the Kings eight power plays and while you could
argue about some of the calls, you can’t argue about their effect on the
game. Kesler, Zack Kassian, Max Lapierre and, most famously, Byron Bitz
all took undisciplined penalties on Wednesday night and that’s not the
Canucks’ game. If they needed reminding, it’s rolling four lines and playing
an up-tempo, puck-possession game.
3. We’re looking for a few good men.
Players like the Kings’ Willie Mitchell and Dustin Penner had a
disproportionately large impact on Game 1. Players like Alex Edler and
Henrik Sedin struggled for the Canucks. The defending Western
Conference champs have a big advantage with their overall depth but it has
to start with their best players. If Henrik Sedin is the fourth-best centre in
this series, as he was on Wednesday night, the Canucks are not going to
win.
625922
Washington Capitals
On Hockey: Capitals need to create more offensive chances against Bruins
By Tarik El-Bashir,
The Washington Capitals did just enough Thursday to give optimists reason
to believe this will be a long series.
But they also struggled just enough to provide skeptics with ample evidence
to build a strong case to the contrary.
It was a matchup between Alex Ovechkin and Bruins defenseman Dennis
Seidenberg that electrified Game 1 of this first-round series.
Let’s start with what went right for Braden Holtby and his teammates.
No one knew how Holtby would handle the pressure of his first NHL
postseason start. But after the 22-year-old rookie made 17 stops in the
second period of Game 1, including two on Rich Peverley from point-blank
range as the Bruins pressed on the power play, now we know. He’s ready.
“We told you he was going to be a good goalie,” Capitals winger Matt
Hendricks said.
Holtby accepted blame for Chris Kelly’s overtime winner, but, as injured
veteran Tomas Vokoun once said, “when you don’t score, it’s tough to win.”
The Capitals also played a defensively sound game. Boston’s 3.17 goals
per game was tied for second in the league in the regular season, yet Tyler
Seguin and the rest of the Bruins’ versatile and deep lineup was limited to
six even-strength scoring chances in 60-plus minutes.
In addition to blunting Boston’s speed through the neutral zone and limiting
its space in the offensive end, the Capitals also blocked 22 shots, including
nine in the first period. The effort was led by Roman Hamrlik, who blocked
five, and Troy Brouwer, who thwarted four.
The upbeat vibe in the visitors’ dressing room at TD Garden after the game
might turn out to be as important as anything that unfolded during the
contest. In past playoffs, the Capitals likely would have allowed a crushing
overtime defeat to carry over into the next day’s practice and, potentially,
the next game.
That won’t happen this time. In the unfamiliar role of the underdog, they
were loose before the game and confident after it.
“We bent but we didn’t break,” forward Brooks Laich said. “In the third
period, we outshot them 9-3 and I really liked our chances going into
overtime. So, it’s Game 1, there’s a lot of hockey left and we’ll come back to
the rink excited to practice, get back at it in Game 2.”
Alex Ovechkin added: “We know we can play against them. It’s nothing
special out there. We just have to stay focused.”
Now, for the areas of concern.
They’ve got to find a way to create more opportunities in the offensive end.
The nine scoring chances they mustered (on 17 shots) simply won’t be
enough against Tim Thomas.
In Game 2, they’ll need more shots and traffic in front of the reigning Vezina
Trophy winner. Thomas will stop just about every puck he sees clearly, but
he is susceptible to overcommitting on shots and is easily agitated,
particularly by contact in the crease.
“We just have to find ways to get [the puck] to the net and get in front of the
net,” forward Jay Beagle said. “It’s going to be greasy, dirty goals. It’s not
going to be pretty. We have to find a way to get to the net more, create
more traffic and get more shots.”
If Coach Dale Hunter decides to keep his lines intact for Saturday’s
matinee, the Capitals’ top unit of Ovechkin, Laich and Brouwer will have to
be better.
Ovechkin in particular must fight harder to find room to maneuver and get
off his lethal wrist shot, even if defensemen Zdeno Chara and Dennis
Seidenberg are in his face every shift. The first line’s only scoring chance, it
must be noted, was on a shot by Ovechkin in the third period, and it came
with Chara in the penalty box for cross checking.
Laich can help Ovechkin by being better in the circle against faceoff
specialist Patrice Bergeron. Laich won only seven of his 26 draws, which
left Ovechkin chasing the puck more than he possessed it.
This one might be harder for the Capitals to fix: They tried to match the
Bruins’ bruising physicality but couldn’t. Ovechkin dished out a game-high
seven hits, but he was on the receiving end of just as many, if not more.
The final tally had the Bruins, who rank right up there with the New York
Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, outhitting the Capitals 40-29.
Over the course of a long series, that’s going to take its toll.
“They have a ton of skill and the way to slow them down is to be physical,”
Bruins forward Brad Marchand said. “We have a physical team and when
we’re playing that way, we’re playing our best hockey.”
The Capitals, meantime, weren’t far from being at their best.
Game 1 could have gone either way. But if Ovechkin and Co. have any
hope of winning the series — and answering the skeptics — they need
Saturday to go theirs.
Washington Post LOADED: 04.14.2012
625923
Washington Capitals
Jay Beagle’s playoff diary: Losing in overtime, and then getting over it
By Jay Beagle
It’s hard to describe what goes through your head when a team scores on
you in overtime. You think about what you could have done to prevent it,
but once you watch the video you realize it was really nobody’s fault. Goals
happen in the game of hockey. We just had to come back to the rink this
morning ready to work.
The first game went exactly how I pictured it would go — except, obviously,
for the loss. It was a tough, physical game. We know Boston is a good,
physical team and we were ready to match their intensity and physical play.
We didn’t win, but there’s no intimidation there. We know we can play with
them.
Going forward, we just have to go out and play the same way that we
played in Game 1. We played a good, solid road game. We just have to
focus on getting the puck to the net a little more and on creating more traffic
in front of the net. My line, in particular, has to focus on maintaining puck
possession for longer.
Holtby stood on his head for us and gave us a chance to win in overtime.
He’s a great goaltender. I’ve seen him in our system for a while now, and
right away you know he’s a competitor. He made some huge saves, and a
lot of the penalties we killed were because of him.
I missed the morning skate before Game 1 because I wasn’t feeling well —
just a little sick. I was feeling good but they decided to hold me back
because there was no point to make myself worse. I just did what I had to
do to get ready for the game.
It was really weird when the guys were going out in the morning and I was
just sitting there. I didn’t know what to do with myself, honestly, because I
always participate in the optional skates. But it was for the best and I felt
better during the game because of it.
Everybody was really upbeat today. We had a good practice and just a lot
of fun at the rink. We only practiced for about 30 minutes. Nothing too long.
We just got out there long enough to get the legs going and get a little flush.
Other than that the day was as usual. I just went to lunch with Holts but it
was basically a relax day. Everybody puts the loss behind them and we
move forward and worry about the next game.
We’ll be ready to go for Game 2.
625924
Washington Capitals
Capitals hope shot-blocking efforts remain a ‘big-time pain’ for Bruins
By Katie Carrera
Every time the Bruins talked about needing to find more offense than they
did in their 1-0 playoff-opening win, they brought up the Capitals’ shotblocking efforts.
“The one thing that they did well, to their credit, is I thought they did a lot of
shot blocking, more than I’ve seen them do in the past,” Bruins Coach
Claude Julien said. “But that’s playoff hockey, right? You see guys get out
of their comfort zone and do things that they don’t always do during the
regular season, and I thought they did a great job of that. ”
Washington blocked 22 shots Thursday night, and while part of that number
may have been attributed to the eight minutes of shorthanded time, there
was a diligent effort by players to put themselves in the way of pucks.
Considering that Boston fired 30 shots that did reach the net, who knows
how many shots Braden Holtby might have faced in his Stanley Cup playoff
debut.
“We wanted to help him out,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. “We didn’t want
him to have to face a ton of shots his first game, and high-quality shots and
ones through screens. Anything we could do to help him was something
that we were talking about: not only block shots but try to move guys out.”
While the Capitals know they spent too much time trapped in their own
zone for various stretches of Game 1, they were successful at keeping the
bulk of Boston’s chances to the outside from the zone by stepping into
shooting lanes, and being willing to take the punishment of doing so.
As the contest continued on, while Washington didn’t really change its
approach to blocking shots the Bruins’ wariness of seeing their shot
thwarted resulted in them over-thinking shot selection.
“I think we’ve got to do a little bit better job of changing lanes,” Bruins
defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said. “Getting pucks through because we
had good looks we just didn’t get it to the net. We had guys there but again,
we have to do a better job moving on the blueline and looking for those
lanes.”
While a good thing on one hand, a high number of blocked shots indicates
that the Capitals were spending too much time stuck in their own end.
Excessive time on the penalty kill will do that, but even at five-on-five
Washington was hemmed in a little too much.
Ideally, the Capitals want to block shots and use it to send a rush in the
opposite direction. To do that, though, they need to win battles for the puck.
The Bruins “battle very hard for loose pucks in the zone,” said Caps forward
Troy Brouwer, who finished with four blocks in Game 1. “We have to make
sure when we have those loose pucks in the zone that we’re making plays
and get out clean and get out on offense. They work real hard and we’ve
got to make sure that we’re matching that and getting to those loose pucks.”
Expect to see the Capitals continue to block shots as this series continues,
because if there’s one thing they want Boston to experience, it’s the
frustration of not getting clean shots off.
“It’s a pain. It’s a big-time pain,” Alzner said. “There’s very few things that
are worse than that is when you have a Grade-A chance and sometime
comes out of nowhere and blocks it, or gets a stick in there or anything like
that. We know what that’s like.”
625925
Washington Capitals
Laich: Capitals have to create more space for Ovechkin vs. Bruins
By Tarik El-Bashir
Capitals forward Brooks Laich spoke to reporters after Friday’s practice
about what needs to be different Saturday — particularly in terms of getting
linemate Alex Ovechkin away from the Bruins who shut him down in Game
1.
With defensemen Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg in his face on every
shift, the Capitals’ star left wing attempted just two shots all game. That,
Laich said, will have to change Saturday.
“We know [Alex] is going to be keyed on.” Laich said. “We know Chara is
going to come across the ice a lot and try to pinch Alex off. We can try and
talk to [Alex], try to run picks for him, try to get our bodies in the way.
“When we get the puck, we have to skate. If we move the puck quick before
they’re allowed to adjust their defense, whether it’s from the wing to the
middle to the other wing, or diagonal all the way, there are some things
we’re going to try tomorrow to open it up for him.”
More from Laich is after the jump.
Q: Do you think you can win with Ovi just hitting? Or do you need him to
score to win?
Laich: “He’s a big part of our offense. Look at the game last night …both
teams are trying to key on the other team’s top guys. Ovi is obviously a
focus of theirs. Our line, we want to score. We’re counted on to score. We
want to do that.
“But if we’re not giving anything up, that’s a goal of ours, too. We’re playing
against a very talented offensive line [Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and
Tyler Seguin.] But we definitely want to produce at the other end.”
Q: Do you still feel good about the way you played last night?
Laich: “Yeah, I thought we played a very good game. We looked at some
video today and there are some things we’d like to clean up. We want to
stay out of the penalty box a little bit more. I think we only gave up four or
five scoring chances five-on-five. I still think we can play better.”
Q: How different is it playing Game 1 and Game 2 away from home after
getting used to hosting those two?
Laich: “It doesn’t change how you’re going to play. We’re not going to play
any different in Boston than we are at home. The only thing different is the
matchups. They get the last change.
“They got the goal in overtime. We had a good practice today and we’ll look
to rebound tomorrow.”
625926
Washington Capitals
Bruins’ concern the same as Caps’: need more offense
By Tarik El-Bashir
Bruins Coach Claude Julien said he was pleased with his team’s
performance in Game 1, but acknowledged that his team must bear down
on offense Saturday.
“We did a pretty good job defensively, didn’t give them a ton of scoring
chances, despite them having the talent to score goals,” he said after the
Bruins’ practice at TD Garden on Friday. “Obviously, we would like to be a
little bit better offensively and create a little bit more. I thought we did that
early in the game but we faded away. So that’s the area that we hope to
improve on a little bit on tomorrow, the offensive part, the goal scoring and
finishing our chances.”
(Same goes for the Caps, of course. More on that in today’s On Hockey
column.)
Some other highlights from Julien’s news conference:
*David Krejci is expected to play tomorrow despite suffering a sore neck
when a pane of glass fell on him during the goal celebration. Katie has
details here.
*The coach praised the effort of his defensemen, particularly third pairing
Greg Zanon and Joe Corvo. Corvo’s quick outlet pass helped set up Chris
Kelly’s winner.
“They allowed us to spread our ice time,” Julien said of Zanon and Corvo,
who played 17:05 and 19:10, respectively. “Zdeno probably had the least
amount of time he’s had in a long time. We’re okay with that. He’s fresh and
the longer we can keep him fresh like that, the better it is for our hockey
club.”
Chara played 21:46, down from 25:00 he averaged in the regular season.
*Asked how important it was for Kelly to score and keep the Bruins’
frustration level from continuing to mount, Julie said: “That’s a proper
assessment. We buried it when we had to bury it.”
*In the postgame press conference, Kelly answered reporters’ questions
while wearing a chain and padlock around his neck. The chain was
purchased by defenseman Andrew Ference and is handed out to the
Bruins’ player of the game, much the way the Capitals used to award a red
hard hat after wins. The chain made its debut Thursday night.
“Andrew has been one of the guys who’s a real deep thinker,” Julien said.
“He finds things that will bode well with what we’re trying to accomplish
here. He’s heard us talk all year about the fact that it’s important that we
don’t have any weak links. So he decided to take theme upon himself.”
The chain has 20 links – the same number of players in an NHL lineup.
“It’s got a padlock to it, so there are no weak links,” Julien said. “Guys get a
good chuckle out of that.”
625927
Washington Capitals
Capitals’ lines remain the same after being shut out by Bruins in Game 1
By Katie Carrera
Alex Ovechkin and Braden Holtby practice in Boston Friday. The Capitals
didn’t score a goal in Game 1 of this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series
and only fired 17 shots on Boston netminder Tim Thomas, with nine coming
in the third period.
Despite a sporadic showing from the offense (more on that in Tarik’s On
Hockey column), in practice on Friday Washington’s forward lines remained
the same.
“You can mix around lines but pretty much even strength, it was an even
battle both ways, through the whole thing until their overtime goal,” Coach
Dale Hunter said. “It was pretty much even at even strength. Power-play
time, they did have some more scoring chances than us because they did
have more power-play time.”
Here are those forward combinations:
Ovechkin-Laich-Brouwer
Chimera-Backstrom-Semin
Hendricks-Beagle-Johansson
Aucoin-Perreault-Ward
Knuble, Halpern, Eakin and Sjogren all wore powder-blue jerseys and
worked as extras.
The defensemen didn’t skate in pairs, so it’s tough to know if Hunter will
choose to make any tweaks there, but all eight blueliners were on the ice.
Additonal quick notes from what was an upbeat, loose practice at TD
Garden.
— Braden Holtby and Dany Sabourin took part in the main workout with the
rest of the team but injured goaltender Michal Neuvirth did eventually make
his way out on to the ice.
Neuvirth, who suffered an apparent injury to his left leg on April 5, took
shots and worked with goaltending coaches Dave Prior and Olie Kolzig.
Neuvirth is progressing in his recovery but he still wasn’t demonstrating his
usual explosiveness in net and crispness of movement.
— Marcus Johansson said he was fine after being hit by two shots last
night. The sophomore center did need some stitches on his left cheek
though from when the puck hit the side of his head.
— Power-play units today featured a first unit with Brooks Laich, Nicklas
Backstrom, Alexander Semin with Alex Ovechkin and Dennis Wideman on
the points. The second unit included Troy Brouwer, Johansson, Keith
Aucoin with Dennis Wideman and John Carlson on the points.
625928
Washington Capitals
Claude Julien: David Krejci ‘scheduled to play’ in Game 2 (updated)
By Katie Carrera
Update 12:56 p.m.: Krejci spoke to reporters in the Bruins’ dressing room
and said repeatedly that he expects to be ready for Game 2 on Saturday
afternoon against the Capitals.
“I think I’ll play tomorrow,” Krejci said. “I got a little sore neck but other than
that I’m good and I’ll play tomorrow.”
Boston Coach Claude Julien made the same comments a little later, stating
that Krejci is “scheduled to play tomorrow” and that the center had only
experienced some stiffness in his neck.
“We’re fortunate it wasn’t worse,” Julien said.
Asked if he had been tested for a concussion, Krejci paused and only said
“Um, I feel good.”
Krejci couldn’t completely explain what happened when the glass fell on
him, because it caught him by surprise as much as it did everyone else.
“I guess fans got kind of carried away from [Kelly’s] goal and it just
happened, glass fell,” Krejci said. “I look, like what happen? Because I
didn’t expect that.... Then I got up, skate away and that’s about it.”
Original post: The Bruins are on the ice at TD Garden Friday morning with
one notable absence: top-line center David Krejci, who was in the wrong
place at the wrong time at the end of Game 1.
After Chris Kelly’s overtime game winner clinched a 1-0 win, the Bruins
gathered in celebration behind the Washington net. The Garden crowd was
rocking – maybe a little too much.
Fans accidentally pushed a pane of glass out of the boards and sent it
crashing down on top of Krejci, hitting the unsuspecting Czech centerman
in the back of the head. Below you’ll find a video of the mishap (via Japers’
Rink).
The severity of Krejci’s injury is unknown at this point but it’s definitely not a
good sign that he’s not on the ice this morning. For this practice, the Bruins’
top line consists of Milan Lucic, Rich Peverley skating at center and Jordan
Caron.
625929
Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin, Dennis Seidenberg and the hit heard around the NHL
By Katie Carrera
In this first-round series, anyone who came to watch Alex Ovechkin match
up against Zdeno Chara in Game 1 found themselves sticking around to
see the Capitals’ star left wing face the other half of Boston’s shut down
defensive pairing instead
Ovechkin and Dennis Seidenberg exchanged checks all night long –
beginning with a hit Washington’s captain laid on the blueliner just 33
seconds into the contest. But the hit heard around the hockey world came 5
minutes 36 seconds into the second period.
Seidenberg lined up Ovechkin in neutral zone and lowered his shoulder to
drive it into the winger’s chest. Ovechkin spotted the oncoming check,
though, braced for the hit and pushed back against Seidenberg, sending
the two players flying in opposite directions.
“He saw me at the last second,” Seidenberg said. “He’s very solid and I just
got – I don’t know. I just tried to hit him. It doesn’t matter who falls at the
end, I’ve just got to be in his way so he can’t do anything.”
Said Ovechkin: “I think it was a great battle. He made some big hits, some
big hits. So I’m going to enjoy it, actually.”
They weren’t the only two players fired up by the hits that were exchanged.
Seeing two opponents thrive with so much intensity in an individual battle
can offer a boost to the rest of the two teams as well.
“You build some momentum off that, and that’s Seides’ game. He’s a very
physical guy and he definitely let [Ovechkin] know,” Bruins forward Brad
Marchand said. “That’s what playoffs is all about – creating battles and
enemies. The way Seides and [Zdeno Chara] played against that line
tonight and [Ovechkin] especially was great for us and we’re going to need
that if we’re going to keep up with them.”
625930
Washington Capitals
NHL Playoffs: Nashville’s Shea Weber fined for hit on Zetterberg; Sharks,
Coyotes win in OT
By Matt Brooks
By and large, linesman are keeping things tight so far this postseason, with
penalties up to 9.7 per game.
One of those was Nashville’s Shea Weber’s two-minute roughing minor in
the final moments of the Predators’ Game 1 win over the Red Wings. By
now you’ve surely seen the video. After Detroit forward Henrik Zetterberg
checked Weber into the corner boards, Shea Weber retaliated, punching
Zetterberg in the back of the head and then grabbing his neck and
slamming his face into the boards.
Weber’s punishment? A measly $2,500 fine — the maximum allowed during
the league’s collective bargaining agreement. No suspension.
The explanation? “This was a reckless and reactionary play on which
Weber threw a glancing punch and then shoved Zetterberg’s head into the
glass,” said NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey
Operations Brendan Shanahan. “As is customary whenever supplemental
discipline is being considered, we contacted Detroit following the game and
were informed that Zetterberg did not suffer an apparent injury and should
be in the lineup for Game 2.
“This play and the fine that addressed it will be significant factors in
assessing any incidents involving Shea Weber throughout the remainder of
the playoffs.”
Another factor might have been Weber’s importance to the Predators —
and therefore the series. Weber leads the team in power-play goals and +/at +21 for the season.
“In my view, it was pretty bad,” said Zetterberg who was “a little woozy”
after the game. “I heard he got fined. I guess the bar is set. I thought it was
dirty. I thought it was a direct hit to my head. If we look at what happened
the last few years with all the head injuries, I think that shouldn’t belong in
the game.”
The whistles are blowing on the ice — but Shanahan and company appear
to be willing to let the boys play. (Unless your name is Bryan Bitz. The
Canucks defenseman was suspended two games for this hit on Kyle
Clifford.)
The top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference came out firing, scoring
the game’s first four goals, capped by Brad Richards’ tally early in the third
period which all but iced the game. The Rangers killed three first-period
penalties to maintain momentum, but the Seanators ramped up the
pressure in the second period. With Ottawa seemingly poised to break
through with the tying goal, Rangers coach John Tortorella used his timeout
and New York regained control from there. Marian Gaborik and Brian Boyle
scored minutes apart, and Vezina trophy candidate Henrik Lundqvist was
on his game, stopping 30 shots.
“This is the way we have to play to win,” Rangers forward Ryan Callahan
said. “We felt like we’ve been playing playoff hockey right through the
season.”
Sharks 3, Blues 2 (2 OT)
On a night full of extra hockey, San Jose and St. Louis gave their fans a
double-helping of added ice time in the longest game yet this postseason.
Sharks winger Martin Havlat, who missed more than two months of the
season with a hamstring injury, was still fresh enough after more than 21
minutes of ice time to fire home the game-winning slapshot 3:34 into the
second overtime. It was Havlat’s second goal of the night, but he never
would have had the chance were it not for a late third-period rush by
playoff-newcomer Tommy Wingels that set up Andrew Desjardins for the
tying goal with 5:16 left in regulation.
Antti Niemi stopped Andy McDonald for one of his 40 saves. (Jeff Roberson
- AP) “There was no panic on the bench, that’s for sure,” Sharks forward
Ryane Clowe said. “You don’t want to get too uptight and panicky and think
it’s not going to happen.”
Much maligned for their history of postseason failures, San Jose may find a
lower seed to their liking as they’re able to play with a little less pressure. Of
course having a former Cup winner in Antti Niemi on his game between the
pipes (40 saves) won’t hurt their chances either.
Coyotes 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT)
Phoenix absorbed a massive blow early, losing leading scorer Radim
Vrbata to an injury on his first shift, but their offensive depth came through
in the clutch, just as it has all season.
Martin Hanzal’s goal midway through the extra period gave the Pacific
Division champions a Game 1 victory and moved them one step closer to
the franchise’s first playoff series win.
“You’re not going to get many opportunities to play overtime in the playoffs,”
captain Shane Doan said. “I’m not saying that’s the way you want to go into
it, but once bounce there, you’ve got to enjoy it and that’s what we did.”
625931
Washington Capitals
Falling-glass incident involving David Krejci leaves Bruins perplexed
Krejci missed practice Friday, but is expected to play in Game 2
By Stephen Whyno
BOSTON — From the jubilation of victory to confusion, the Boston Bruins
had no idea what happened. One moment they were celebrating their
Game 1 overtime victory around hero Chris Kelly, and the next, David Krejci
was lying on the ice, hit by a pane of glass that fell down on top of him.
“It was really weird. I was right there and all I seen was the glass fall on
him,” defenseman Johnny Boychuk said. “I don’t know what the heck
happened.”
It looked like the pane of glass behind the Washington Capitals‘ net at TD
Garden just came loose, either simply at a bad time or because fans
pushed on it. But the situation was surreal.
“Everybody’s like standing there and all you hear is the partitions hit the ice
and you look over and there’s Kretch,” Boychuk said.
The pane of glass fell on Krejci as he was turned the other direction. He
missed practice Friday with what he and coach Claude Julien called a sore
neck, though both said he was planning on playing in Game 2 of the firstround series4 Saturday.
“He’s fine. Glass fell on him yesterday as everybody saw. He was a little bit
stiff around the neck area this morning,” Julien said. “He’s scheduled to play
tomorrow. So, again, it really is not that big of an issue, although it seems to
be right now, but he’s fine.”
Julien and Krejci both brushed off concern minutes after a practice in which
Jordan Caron skated on the first line. Caron was a healthy scratch
Thursday filling in for Krejci alongside Milan Lucic and Rich Peverley.
“I got a little sore neck,” Krejci said. “Other than that, I’m good, and I’ll play
tomorrow.”
Video of the incident didn’t look good, as the glass, which the Boston Globe
reported to weight 121 pounds, appeared to strike the unsuspecting Czech
center in the back of the head or upper back.
Asked if he had been tested for a concussion, Krejci responded: “Um, I feel
good.” Boston’s public relations staff did not let the inquisition last more
than a handful of questions.
The Bruins are a much different team without Krejci. His injury in the 2010
second-round series with the Philadelphia Flyers was seen as one of the
primary reasons Boston blew a 3-0 series lead to lose in seven games.
It appears as if he’ll be OK moving forward, but that doesn’t mean the pane
of glass wasn’t one of the most puzzling topics of conversation Friday.
“The incident was really weird,” forward Shawn Thornton said. “I’m not sure
how that happens. I’ve never seen that before.”
Julien called it a “fluke accident” but was ready to turn the attention to Krejci
being OK rather than the victim of it.
“In a way, we’re kind of fortunate that it wasn’t worse than what it is,” Julien
said. “With the weight of that glass, it could have been a lot worse, and it
could have been a lot more damaging. He’s fine, and we probably dodged a
bullet there.”
Washington Times LOADED: 04.14.2012
625932
Washington Capitals
Capitals putting their bodies on the line vs. Bruins
Team is making a big effort to block shots
By Stephen Whyno
BOSTON — Dale Hunter likes when his team blocks shots. That’s no
secret. But Thursday’s performance in Game 1 of the first-round series with
the Boston Bruins was a whole different level for the Washington Capitals.
They blocked 22 shots in the 1-0 loss, a concerted effort that had Bruins
coach Claude Julien talking about the need to adjust.
“The one thing that they did well, to their credit, is I thought they did a lot of
shot blocking, more than I’ve seen them do in the past. But that’s playoff
hockey, right?” Julien said. “You see guys get out of their comfort zone and
do things that they don’t always do during the regular season and I thought
they did a great job of that.”
What the Caps did was not only lie down in front of pucks to help out rookie
goaltender Braden Holtby but get into shooting lanes based on what they
saw on video from the Bruins.
“We see what they like to do and where they like to shoot from,”
defenseman Karl Alzner said. “You kind of expect that it’s going to be
coming and just stay in that lane and wait for it to come.”
Roman Hamrlik blocked five shots Thursday, not surprising given that this is
his speciality. At 38 years old, he doesn’t have the offensive punch or the
speed, but he can put his body in front of rubber flying at 90-plus mph.
“I think everybody’s doing a good job to block shots. When you see a wrist
shot or anything that’s not a heavy shot, you try to block it,” Hamrlik said.
“That’s part of the game and I think lately everybody’s doing a better job
with that. We try to help the goaltending to block it and it’s a huge plus for
the team when you block shots.”
That’s the Hunter philosophy, too.
“We’ve been sacrificing a lot down the stretch here. We block a lot of
shots,” the coach said. “It hurts and stuff, but the guys are doing it to save
so many shots on net. It’s a good sacrifice by the guys.”
Blocking shots is something that amps up around playoff time, though
teams like the New York Rangers make a habit of it all season long.
But the Caps getting in the way of so many shots in Game 1 was designed
to try to reduce the pressure on Holtby in his playoff debut.
“We wanted to help him out. We didn’t want him to have to face a ton of
shots his first game, and high-quality shots and ones through screens,”
Alzner said. “Anything we could do to help him was something that we were
talking about: not only block shots but try to move guys out.”
That worked well, as Washington limited chances to the outside and
prevented Holtby from having to make a lot of crazy saves.
Plus, it doubled as a frustration builder for the Bruins, who saw so many
scoring chances eaten away by blocked shots.
“It’s a pain. It’s a big-time pain,” Alzner said. “There’s very few things that
are worse than that is when you have a Grade-A chance and sometime
comes out of nowhere and blocks it, or gets a stick in there or anything like
that.”
Washington Times LOADED: 04.14.2012
625933
Winnipeg Jets
Time to stow smug attitude, Winnipeg
By: Gary Lawless
The tweets, texts and emails started flying in shortly after the start of the
Florida Panthers/New Jersey Devils game Friday night with Winnipeggers
lamenting the fact there were empty seats in Sunrise, Fla.
OK, I get it. Winnipeg is a better market. We've known that for years here in
our Prairie town and it was galling to have our noses pressed up against the
glass while other less deserving markets were in between the ropes.
But now that we have what we want, why not stow the smug attitude? It
doesn't look good on us and it also suggests a little revisionist history on
our part. Jets 2.0 may have been a sellout in its first year but Jets 1.0
couldn't always say the same.
CACTUS PHIL: While we are on the subject of other markets and smug
attitudes (yes, I know I have been very smug when writing about Glendale
and its city council), let's turn our attention to the Phoenix Coyotes for a
moment. Word broke this week that Glendale councillor Phil Lieberman
doesn't like the deal city council may broker with potential Coyotes buyer
Greg Jamison.
"I need all of your help at a council meeting in the very near future,"
Lieberman told tea party members. "The city is close to making a deal with
Jamison to buy the Coyotes.
"Jamison wants a large fortune from the city and unbelievably four or more
of the council members are willing to give him that money because they are
in a mad protection of the arena and Westgate."
Lieberman contends the city would hand over "hundreds of millions" over a
21-year period disguised as a management fee. Paging Darcy Olsen of
Goldwater fame. Sorry, that sounds smug doesn't it?
WEBER OR GIROUX: If I was building an NHL team tomorrow and could
have any player in the world to begin, it would be tough to choose between
Shea Weber and Claude Giroux. What about Sid? His health makes him a
sketchy pick, although I reserve the right to change this call in a year. Right
now, however, it's either Weber or Giroux. Weber is the game's most
dominant all-around blue-liner and Giroux can do it all, as his six points
Friday night confirmed. Gotta pick? Weber.
YOU BE THE SCOUT: The Jets passed on Sean Couturier last summer -taking Mark Scheifele instead with the seventh pick in the first round of the
entry draft -- and there's been debate about the move ever since. Couturier
had 13 goals and 14 assists in 77 regular-season games with the
Philadelphia Flyers and picked up three goals in Friday night's 8-5 shocker
over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Scheifele, meanwhile, stuck with the Jets for
seven games, scoring one goal before being sent back to junior where he
picked up 23 goals and 40 assists for the Barrie Colts. Those willing to rush
to judgement will say Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff made the wrong pick,
but he didn't select the player he thought would be NHL ready first.
Cheveldayoff's first move with the Jets typifies what he's all about and that's
the long-term plan. Couturier may still end up being the better player but
one won't be able to make a fair assessment for some time, likely four or
five years.
Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 04.14.2012
625934
Winnipeg Jets
Pavelec deked out by Jets
Goalie was hoping club would put nix on worlds
By: Ed Tait
WINNIPEG Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec is in the middle of a
controversy with officials from the Czech Republic national team over his
availability for next month's IIHF world championships.
At his exit meetings with Jet coaches and management last weekend the
24-year-old native of Kladno told the club he was tired from a long season -he appeared in a career-high 68 games and was hoping the team would
throw up a stop sign at his participation at the worlds.
But the Jets opted not to be his 'out' and told him they would support his
decision whether he opted out of the championships or suited up and
played.
Earlier this week Czech head coach Alois Hadamczik seemed to be under
the impression the Jets were preventing Pavelec from playing, telling
iDNES.cz -- the largest news company in the country -- that he was
disappointed the star goaltender would not be available.
A story on the iDNES.cz website detailing his concerns, and loosely
translated, quotes Hadamczik as saying:
"I really wish that Pavelec came because he is the cornerstone on which we
build the national team. He's a great goalie. And it seems absurd to me
because Winnipeg is not in the (Stanley Cup) playoffs. He's a young man
who helped us in last year's championship."
Asked what he said to Pavelec, the coach is quoted as saying:
"That he can not go against the wishes of the club. It makes me sad and
disappointed because seven World Cup games would not hurt him. Of
course, I understand the psyche of the players, before they sign a long-term
contract. It is about his future. Still, (I) tried to explain many things to him.
"I explained to him that the Czech Republic won last year's championship...
that it would be disappointing if he did not come. I told him to even start the
fight."
In other world championship news, the Jets have confirmed that Nik
Antropov will not join Kazakhstan at the tournament. Antropov was slowed
down the stretch by an injured knee and he may require surgery on his right
hand which was damaged back in November.
-- with files from Gary Lawless
625935
Winnipeg Jets
Learning on the fly
Top 10 items of interest our hockey scribes found out about the Jets in their
historic return season
By: Tim Campbell
The curtain came down and the lights went dark on the historic return of the
NHL and the Winnipeg Jets a week ago. There will be no encores and, for
the most part, most of the participants won't be seen or heard from again
until training camp in September.
After a week of conducting our own in-depth autopsy, Free Press hockey
writers Tim Campbell and Ed Tait weigh in with 10 Things We Learned
About The Jets In Year One...
1. SMALL MARKET SHMARKET
Slagged for years as Yesterday-ville by so many around the NHL, Winnipeg
has stepped up in a bigger way than most imagined. The success was
years in the planning, the passion far beyond what was believed possible,
all unbeknownst to more than a few self-appointed experts around the
country -- yes, that includes you, Toronto -- who were still reporting up to
two weeks before last May's deal to buy the Atlanta Thrashers that Quebec
City and/or Kansas City might be the NHL's preferred relocation spot. The
new Jets have started out as a non-revenue-sharing franchise. Long-term
questions are legitimate, but how much more convincing in one year do the
naysayers need to modernize their outlook?
2. YES, THEIR COACH CAN HANDLE THE NHL
Claude Noel, who coached the Moose for one year in Winnipeg prior to the
return of the NHL, was a bit of a mystery to much of the rest of the NHL. We
still hear the odd question about how soon he'll be gone, but those inquiries
are of the stereotypical "I'm-not-paying-attention" variety. Noel is thoughtful.
He is collected and in control behind the bench. He's confident, not afraid to
engage with his players, and for that matter, he is not afraid to say he's still
learning. Also said a positive thing after an out-of-the-playoff season -- that
he promises to be even more demanding next season.
3. MORE FLAIR, PLEASE
A question that will be asked in the Jets' war room this off-season: If the
franchise wants to beef up its top two lines it will almost certainly have to
take long training-camp looks at both Mark Scheifele and Ivan Telegin -- the
two Barrie Colts' stars who are still just 19 and 20 -- even if that goes
against the organizational blueprint of drafting and developing, not rushing
prospects to the bigs. Fact is, the 82-game regular season was a sizable
enough sample to tell us that up front the Jets have a lot of the same pieces
outside of Andrew Ladd, Evander Kane, Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little -- a
plethora of third/fourth-line defensive specialists, energy guys and
character/role players, but not enough offensive flair. The best in-house
options to that may very well be currently wearing Colts' colours in the OHL
playoffs.
4. BUFF'S THE REAL DEAL
The worry and stress spent over Dustin Byfuglien's best position is misspent. This doesn't come as a surprise to most hockey folks, but the roving
defenceman has immense innate hockey ability. In 2011-12, it's been
largely overlooked that he produced 53 points, second-most among NHL
blue-liners. Because of injury (and don't ignore the fact he probably played
the last 20 games at 75 per cent or less), he had 25 fewer points and
played 15 fewer games than flavour-of-the-day Erik Karlsson, yet he's
unlikely to get a single vote for the Norris. Even that's not the issue. What's
now apparent is that Byfuglien's upside in terms of impact is enormous, if
only he will become a better athlete. It can be a big focus of hope for Jets
fans.
5. AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND... WISELY
The Jets have two key restricted free agents who figure to get juicy raises in
goaltender Ondrej Pavelec and winger Evander Kane, and seven
unrestricted free agents. It's not likely that all will return, but even if they
were all welcomed back, the Jets' salary total was just shy of $52 million
this past season -- 25th in the NHL, so the team can afford some increases
and still stay within its self-prescribed budget. Now, while True North is
insisting dollars won't be a hindrance in making improvements, it won't be
spending wildly in free agency, either. That doesn't mean they'll be sitting
on their thumbs come July 1, but if the Jets are to add an expensive piece
via trade or free agency, it may take some budget massaging. Translation:
Although GM Kevin Cheveldayoff nixed the notion of contract buyouts,
fitting in proven pricey talent may mean re-thinking the value of paying Nik
Antropov $4 million to centre the fourth line and Ron Hainsey $4.5 million if
he is pushed out of their top two defence pairings.
6. THE BURMI MYSTERY
Watch Alex Burmistrov in just about any drill in practice or any shift in a
game and his skill set jumps out instantly. There is a fearlessness to his
approach and he is an adept penalty killer, but for all the flash and dash, a
lot of the magic he creates happens on the periphery of the ice and the
offensive numbers don't match the ice time. Given the centre-ice
assignment on the second line with Kane and Wellwood, Burmistrov
finished the year with 13 goals and 15 assists -- career highs, to be sure,
but also just 10th on the Jets in scoring. He finished the year having gone
17 games without a goal and, at times looked like a player who needed a
year in the AHL and another summer in the weight room.
7. A DIRTH OF DEPTH
Those apparently in the know on these things -- the hockey pundits who,
with a crystal ball in their lap can somehow predict the future -- rank the
Jets in the bottom five in the NHL in terms of prospects. That's debatable, of
course, but there are enough of them holding firm to that belief to reach a
consensus, even if it is written in pencil. The AHL IceCaps' roster isn't
dotted with what the Jets would call top-end blue-chip prospects, especially
at the forward position. What the Jets have in their system are players like
Spencer Machacek, Ben Maxwell, Aaron Gagnon and Carl Klingberg -- all
of whom seem destined for a spot on the third or fourth lines in the NHL.
This is why the Jets are so adamant about hanging on to their draft picks
and acquiring even more: The best long-term solution to restocking the
cupboard comes on draft day, not when the chequebooks open in July.
8. BRAINS AND PERSONALITY
Frequently overrun with reporters, the Jets dressing room was as often a
place for microphone feeding frenzies as it was for conversation. But we
have learned in one season there are more than a few Jets with something
thoughtful to say. Among then, Chris Mason, Zach Bogosian, Mark Stuart,
Kyle Wellwood, Tim Stapleton, Bryan Little, Chris Thorburn, Blake Wheeler.
In that group, but also obviously confident and comfortable in their own skin
are Tanner Glass and captain Andrew Ladd. Not everyone is cut out for
giving speeches, or interviews. Count among the shy Jets Toby Enstrom
and Dustin Byfuglien.
9. A THIN LAST
LINE OF DEFENCE
The organization is convinced that Pavelec is a championship-calibre,
franchise goaltender and most nights this past season that was obvious
when the lanky Czech stole some games and kept the club in others
despite a barrage of scoring chances. But the Jet goaltending depth is
spotty at best. As solid as Chris Mason was this year -- and his veteran
leadership and compatibility with Pavelec shouldn't be undersold -- he turns
36 this month. Eddie Pasquale had an excellent campaign on The Rock -he was named to the AHL's all-rookie team -- but the IceCaps No. 1A
netminder is David Aebischer and he turned 34 in February. That doesn't
exactly scream out succession plan for the net. Two other prospects in the
system are still question marks: former Portage Terrier Jason Kasdorf spent
the year with Des Moines in the USHL and is years away from a shot at the
bigs, while talk of Fredrik Petersson-Wentzel, who spent the year in
Farjestad, has gone silent.
10. ESPECIALLY NON-SPECIAL
Progress in the standings and in the NHL's pecking order is going to
demand that the Jets do better with special teams. This season's rankings
of 12th on the power play and 24th in penalty-killing adds up to below par.
The clinical examination of these categories will go on internally much of
the off-season but it's folly to expect the team to improve if these items do
not. The excuse-makers for both Winnipeg's PP and PK will have a hard
time defending the additional facts that the Jets, for half a season, took far
too many penalties, that their power-play efficiency was hurt by eight shorthanded goals allowed, and that their penalty-killing was well below the NHL
average, especially on the road. Whether it's skill, smarts or effort that go
into improvements, the status quo here is a recipe for misery.
625936
Winnipeg Jets
Playoffs over for Red Wings' Helm
By Paul Friesen ,Winnipeg Sun
Playing on a line with Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk should help him get
up to speed.
SERIOUS COMEBACK
It didn’t take long for Jonathan Toews to make his presence felt, returning
to Chicago’s lineup for its playoff opener after missing 22 games with a
concussion.
Toews scored four minutes into the Blackhawks game in Phoenix, and
assisted on the goal that sent it to overtime, where the Coyotes won it.
It’s been a hard-luck season for some of Manitoba’s finest pucksters, and
it’s not letting up now that the playoffs have started.
St. Andrews product Darren Helm, the speed merchant who leads the third
line for the Detroit Red Wings, saw his Stanley Cup chase come to an
abrupt and frightening end less than one period into the Red Wings’ series
with Nashville.
Helm had his right forearm sliced open in a freak accident as he sent
Predators’ forward Alexander Radulov flying early in Game 1, Wednesday.
Watching on TV as Helm suddenly tossed his glove and stick aside and
raced for the bench were his parents.
“We couldn’t figure out what happened,” Helm’s dad, Gary, said Friday. “We
weren’t sleeping much that night, knowing he was going into surgery.”
Helm was immediately taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in
Nashville, where he underwent surgery to repair lacerated tendons.
Thankfully, Radulov’s skate blade didn’t sever any nerves, and Helm should
be able to resume his career next season.
Helm’s folks got the relatively good news in a call from the Wings doctor at
1 a.m.
“You thank your lucky stars,” Gary Helm said, acknowledging his son isn’t in
the best of moods.
Helm’s parents are heading for Detroit, Saturday. But so much for watching
their son play in Games 3 and 4, Sunday and Tuesday.
Helm is done for the playoffs, a rude welcome back to the lineup after
missing the last 10 games with a knee injury.
“He worked real hard to get back,” Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom told
the Detroit News. “He played three minutes (3:08 to be exact) and to get
hurt like that, it’s too bad. He’s a big part of our team and we need him.”
A former member of the Junior B Selkirk Fishermen, Helm had chipped in
nine goals and 17 assists before his knee injury.
“Anytime you see a guy going through that, first game back and three
minutes in shift time, boom — something like that happens, it’s awful,”
Wings goalie Jimmy Howard told reporters. “I just hope he makes a speedy
recovery.”
A Cup winner with the Wings when he was called up from the minors for the
playoffs four years ago, Helm, 25, has become a fixture as one of Detroit’s
top penalty killers and hitters.
“Tough for the kid,” head coach Mike Babcock said. “He’s a big part of our
club. We’re very thankful there was no nerve damage ... that’s the most
important thing — that he is going to get well and have the summer to train
and get back at it in the fall.”
DEVIL OF A SEASON
The news was better for Winnipegger Travis Zajac going into New Jersey’s
playoff opener against Florida, Friday.
The 26-year-old was seven games into his second comeback from a
severed Achilles tendon, suffered while training last summer.
Zajac’s first comeback stalled at eight games early in the New Year, when
he considered sitting out the rest of the season.
“It was always in the back of my mind, especially going through it a second
time,” Zajac told the New York Post. “But the longer it went without trouble,
the better I felt. Now, here I am, and there’s nothing more for me to be
worried about.”
Except maybe the Panthers.
FINALLY PHOENIX
Could this be the year the ’Yotes break the Jinx of the Jets?
Phoenix hasn’t won a single playoff series since relocating from Winnipeg
to the desert, 16 years ago.
And if the Coyotes pull it off, is there a single person left in the province
who’d celebrate it?
Winnipeg Sun LOADED 04.14.2012
625937
Websites
ESPN / Couturier even impresses his teammates
By Scott Burnside
So what is more impressive: rookie Sean Couturier potting three goals and
adding an assist, or the fact he continues to make life miserable for NHL
regular-season scoring leader Evgeni Malkin?
Certainly Couturier's teammates were raving about his play.
“He played an unbelievable game, obviously," Claude Giroux offered. "He’s
playing against one of the best players in the league and he’s been able to
play pretty good."
Jaromir Jagr, a five-time NHL scoring champ himself, was left pretty much
speechless.
“I don’t know if I know any words to describe this kid," Jagr said. "I don’t
think in my hockey career I’ve seen anyone that good defensively at that
age."
Couturier was the eighth overall pick in last year’s draft and at one point
looked like he might be closer to No. 1. But the Flyers were sure pleased he
slipped down to where they could nab him.
Couturier’s four-point night tied a franchise record for points by a rookie in a
playoff game that was set exactly 27 years ago on this night by the late
Peter Zezel.
Friday night marked the first time two Flyers have had a hat trick in the
same playoff game. In fact, the last time the Flyers had two players record a
hat trick in the same playoff year was the 1986-87 season.
Series numbers
This marks just the second time in Flyers history that they have won the first
two games of a playoff series on the road. The first time was 1997 when
they defeated Pittsburgh in five games. They have never lost a series when
leading 2-0, going 17-0.
The Penguins, meanwhile, are 5-6 when they fall behind two games.
With two more assists in Game 2, Pascal Dupuis has now collected points
in 19 straight games.
ESPN LOADED: 04.14.2012
625938
Websites
ESPN / Flyers' win is one for the ages
By Scott Burnside
PITTSBURGH -- We often liken NHL playoff games to chess matches.
Imagine chess on nitrous oxide and you have an idea of the marvel that
was Game 2 of this Eastern Conference quarterfinal between the Pittsburgh
Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers.
This was an absolute blur of action from the moment Sidney Crosby scored
15 seconds into the game to the dying moments when Philadelphia rookie
Sean Couturier completed an unlikely hat trick to put the game out of reach.
It was a delectable stew of crushing body checks and raw skill that saw the
Flyers complete an equally unlikely sweep of the first two games of this
series with an 8-5 victory Friday night.
For the second game in a row, the Penguins stormed out of the gate.
Crosby's goal tied a franchise record for the fastest goal to start a playoff
game as the Flyers got caught trying to make an immediate line change.
And when Paul Martin scored with 17.2 seconds left in the first period to
give the Pens a 3-1 lead, logic suggested the odds were long that the
Flyers would come back for a second straight game.
Uh. No.
In spite of being outscored 6-1 in the first period of this series' first two
games, the Flyers proved that they have been wildly undervalued as a Cup
contender.
"We're able to come back in a game like that again, I think it speaks
volumes about the character in the room not only from the veteran players
but the younger players as well," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said.
"Fighting back like that is not easy. Players were so resilient that it's
unbelievable."
What was unbelievable was this game.
The Flyers scored two shorthanded goals.
Two players, Couturier and Claude Giroux, had hat tricks.
Giroux collected six points, setting a franchise playoff record.
Couturier had four points, tying a franchise playoff record for most points by
a rookie in a game.
After climbing out of a 3-0 first-period hole in Game 1 to win 4-3 in overtime,
the Flyers erased deficits of 2-0, 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4 in Game 2.
Against arguably the most talented offensive team in the NHL, the Flyers
went toe to toe, almost daring the Penguins to make mistakes. And when
they did, Philadelphia made Pittsburgh pay.
For long stretches of the game it seemed that every shift represented a
glorious chance for one of these teams.
Through two games, this series has featured 20 goals and left all of the
hype looking somehow inadequate.
Safe?
Remember when the Tampa Bay Lightning coined the phrase "safe is
death" en route to winning the Stanley Cup in 2004? Safe isn't even a word
in this series' dictionary.
The teams combined for four goals in the first, four more in the second and
five in the third; each time one went in you wondered if that would be the
defining moment when winner was separated from loser.
Even after the Flyers took their first regulation lead of the series on Jaromir
Jagr's goal midway through the third period off yet another juicy rebound
given up by Pittsburgh netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, the outcome
remained in doubt.
With little more than two minutes to go and the Penguins pressing, James
Neal dove trying to poke a loose puck into the Flyers' goal. His effort
narrowly missed and the Flyers went the length of the ice with Couturier
completing the hat trick off a great feed from Giroux to make it 7-5. Giroux
added an empty-net goal, but that's how close this wacky game came from
taking one more pivotal turn.
"We're obviously not satisfied again with the way we started the game. We'll
have to find a way to start games better, but at the same time, once again
we showed a lot of character and it's a big win for us tonight," said former
Penguin Max Talbot, who at one point was going toe to toe with pal Kris
Letang at the side of the Penguins' net with Letang giving Talbot a good
slash across the legs.
Like many in the Flyers' room, Talbot was disinclined to join in the raving
about the dramatic elements of the game.
"It's an 8-5 win, it looks really good," Talbot said. "Two guys get a hat trick.
It's great for the media but for us it's not a win, it's Game 2. But Game 3 is
going to be huge, so the sooner we can put it behind us the better."
You would think that this style of game would serve the Penguins well. They
have a solid nucleus of players that won a Cup in 2009. You might imagine
that at some point they would be the ones to assert themselves and a
Flyers team with five rookies in the lineup would stumble.
Instead, it's the Penguins who have wilted as the Flyers have revealed
themselves to be both resilient and relentless.
"They're difficult losses there's no question about it," Pittsburgh coach Dan
Bylsma said.
Pittsburgh will skate at the team's practice facility late Saturday morning
and then travel to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.
Crosby for one said he was looking forward to visiting the city where he is
reviled and emotions are often at a fever pitch.
"I think it's a building that brings out the best in all of us," Crosby said. "It's
always an intense and emotional game there and, given the situation we're
in, we should be a desperate hockey team going in there."
Defenseman Brooks Orpik, again a huge physical presence in the game,
insisted the Penguins aren't looking for scapegoats only answers.
"It's execution and realizing what you're doing wrong," Orpik said. "You've
got to execute better and they're executing better and taking advantage of
every mistake it seems like we make.
"It's not effort, it's not guys pointing a finger. We've got a tight group that
works hard here. You can work through the mistakes we're making. It's not
like you've got guys going in the different direction."
At the outset of this series, most assumed it would be long and furiously
contested. By Sunday night, we'll have a much better idea whether it will
become that or something far shorter.
625939
Websites
ESPN / Goalie coach pushed Ilya Bryzgalov
walked by yelling "Bears!" as Bryzgalov was talking to reporters. Other
teammates made humorous references to the bears comment, all of which
seemed to keep the mood in the Flyers' locker room pretty light heading
into Game 2 on Friday night.
By Scott Burnside
PITTSBURGH -- With the Phoenix Coyotes taking an early 1-0 series lead
over the Chicago Blackhawks thanks to more stellar play from netminder
Mike Smith, there will be continued well-earned praise for Phoenix
goaltending coach and former NHLer Sean Burke.
Burke was the motivating force behind Smith's signing last season and
Smith has revitalized his career in the desert.
But another goaltending coach who deserves kudos for his work this
season is former NHLer Jeff Reese, who might well have had the greatest
challenge in the league in helping former Phoenix netminder Ilya Bryzgalov
acclimate to his new surroundings in goaltender hell, otherwise known as
Philadelphia.
The arc of Bryzgalov's first season after signing a nine-year deal last July is
well-known and his struggles in the middle of the season left some fans
wondering if the Flyers had made a grand error in handing over the
franchise goaltending duties to the enigmatic Russian. But with Reese's
help, Bryzgalov found a groove during the final weeks of the regular season
and his play in this highly anticipated Eastern Conference quarterfinal with
the Pittsburgh Penguins was one of the key storylines.
There was some debate about whether head coach Peter Laviolette would
lift Bryzgalov after the first period of Game 1, in which the Penguins roared
out to a 3-0 lead. Historically, Laviolette hasn't been afraid to make
goaltending changes in the playoffs as much to offer a new wrinkle when
his team is playing poorly as to be a remedy for poor goaltending.
In this case, though, Laviolette held firm with Bryzgalov, who could hardly
be faulted for the three Penguins goals. In hindsight, it was a shrewd
coaching move by Laviolette to keep Bryzgalov in goal as the Flyers erased
the early deficit and won 4-3 on Jakub Voracek's overtime goal.
The win ended a personal five-game playoff losing streak for Bryzgalov
and, perhaps more importantly, reinforced in his mind that he is the guy for
the Flyers.
Jeff Reese doesn't always wear a tie to work.
Reese, a longtime NHL netminder and goaltending coach with the Tampa
Bay Lightning when they won the Cup in 2004, said Bryzgalov's evolution
this season in Philadelphia has been almost all mental as opposed to
technical.
After playing in Anaheim and then in Phoenix, two small media markets, the
transition to Philadelphia with its seemingly annual goaltending crisis
presented a significant challenge, Reese told ESPN.com.
"It was just all new to him," Reese said.
Bryzgalov has a highly evolved sense of humor but Reese praised his work
ethic, saying the big netminder is all business on the ice.
Off the ice, well, that was a different story. Allowing Bryzgalov to be himself,
to feel comfortable but at the same time trying to keep him from creating
unwanted storylines with his candor, has been part of the goaltender's
evolution, as well.
Reese thinks that as the season went along, Bryzgalov became more
comfortable in his surroundings and with that comfort came more
confidence in his game.
"I think it's all about confidence and I think with confidence comes better
reads [as the play is developing in front of him]," Reese said. "I think his
teammates have really helped, as well."
Before the start of the playoffs, for instance, Bryzgalov joked that he wasn't
afraid of penguins, only bears in the forest.
A number of fans showed up at Game 1 in Pittsburgh wearing bear
costumes and after Wednesday's emotional victory, teammate Jaromir Jagr
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ESPN / Blues still feeling good about chances
By Pierre LeBrun
ST. LOUIS -- If body language and demeanor mean anything, you didn't get
the sense Friday the St. Louis Blues were any less confident in their
abilities.
Of course, the real answer comes Saturday night in their Game 2 response
after the veteran San Jose Sharks walked in and took Game 1 in double
overtime.
It's exactly what the seventh-seeded Sharks were hoping to do, steal the
first one and see if the second-seeded and playoff-green Blues would
squirm at all in the aftermath.
Not a lot of squirming Friday.
"The outsiders are always trying to find some sort of storyline or reason or
excuse,'' a confident-sounding David Backes, the Blues' captain, said
Friday. "We've got an opponent that's been here before and probably has
that experience edge, there's no question about it, but we've got a great
group of guys in here with great characters. We're going to play our game
hard and continue to ramp it up and climb that mountain we have to climb.''
Perception doesn't seem to have caught up with reality in today's NHL.
Look at the eight teams in the four Western Conference series -- any of
them, honestly, can end up in the Stanley Cup finals.
Some people don't like hearing that, they prefer the drama that comes with
true favorites succumbing to pressure and true underdogs slaying down the
big dog, but the factual story is that there's little to choose from between
any of these teams that got into the West dance.
I mean, a year ago the Blues were out of the playoffs and the Sharks were
the No. 2 seed. How much can change in 12 months to suggest the Sharks
are that big an underdog to St. Louis in that short time frame?
The problem with perception, however, is that sometimes the players fall
trap to it. As the higher seed, they put the pressure on themselves
sometimes to play up to that status. That's where it gets dangerous
between the ears after a Game 1 loss to a lower seed.
"It's not the time to panic,'' Blues winger David Perron said Friday. "We
know it's a seven-game series and it could go all the way to seven. We just
need a bit better effort from everyone.''
The Blues, really, played well enough to win Friday night. They dominated
long stretches but ran into a Finnish brick wall named Antti Niemi.
So that's the catch after a game like that. You walk that fine line between
making necessary changes following a loss while not overreacting to what
was a good effort.
"I think if you live on, 'We did a lot of good things,' that's how you lose,''
Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said Friday. "You have to come to grips with
adjustments."
The veteran coach hinted at lineup changes without naming names. But he
said Jaroslav Halak would remain in goal.
"We've got to make adjustments,'' Hitchcock said. "Our players came in
[Friday] and had a great attitude toward the adjustments. They're hungry to
know, they want to see change.''
One specific adjustment will be to create higher-quality scoring chances.
The Blues had the puck a lot Thursday night but not where it matters most:
near the blue paint of Niemi's net.
"I thought the difference [Thursday] night was that we got a lot of in-zone
time but they blocked a lot of shots," Hitchcock said. "We're going to have
to find a way to do things a bit different. It just seemed like we had the puck
in their zone a lot, but not a lot of quality opportunities.''
Asked how his young team would deal with the specter of possibly going
down 2-0 in a series, Hitchcock said he didn't buy that train of thought. He
doesn't believe that weighs on teams like it did in the past.
"I don't put any stock until four games are won anymore,'' Hitchcock said. "It
was 0-2 and Boston wins [the Cup finals] last year. For whatever reason,
the world of hockey has changed since the lockout. I think it's harder almost
sometimes to win at home than it is on the road now. The teams are so
competitive. There's so much pressure on the home team. There's not a big
advantage like there was before. It's so strange. We've played some of the
best hockey we've ever played on the road.''
On Saturday, they will need to do it at home.
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ESPN / Sharks' depth makes difference in Game 1
By Pierre LeBrun
ST. LOUIS -- By the end of Thursday night’s game, it was hard to tell just
which unit was really the fourth line for the Sharks.
Andrew Desjardins’ line with Daniel Winnik and Tommy Wingels had
another solid night, and it’s getting to the point that maybe it’s wrong to call
them a fourth line.
They not only tied the game at 14:44 of the third period on Desjardins' goal,
but the line had an effective night overall.
"The 13-14 minutes they played for us was very valuable,” Sharks coach
Todd McLellan said. "They played hard and they played smart."
What it’s done of late is allow McLellan to roll four units without doubt.
That’s so important at this time of year in order to avoid overtaxing your top
players.
"We tried to get those four lines rolling, and I think that will be an important
facet in this series," McLellan said.
Hitchcock's message
The Blues can’t lose sight of the fact that they played a solid game despite
losing. That’s going to be part of the message from coach Ken Hitchcock to
his young players over the next few days leading into Game 2 on Saturday
night.
"We have to build on a lot of the good things we did tonight and then just
get a bit more from a few other people," Hitchcock said.
Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk led the Blues with a whopping 11 shots on
goal. He looked a little jumpy early on but, like most of his young
teammates, settled down as the game went on.
What the Blues will need to do in Game 2, in my opinion, is generate more
second-chance opportunities around the Sharks' net. San Jose did a decent
job of keeping the Blues away from the blue paint for the most part.
Line matchups
With the last line change, it’s clear the Blues wanted David Backes’ top line
against Joe Thornton’s top line, as well as Patrik Berglund’s No. 2 line
versus Logan Couture’s No. 2 line.
Sharks coach Todd McLellan didn’t shy away from it and allowed the
matchups to happen.
"We were OK with it,” McLellan said. "One of the things they have going for
them is that their top two offensive lines are probably also their top two
defensive lines as well. So if you try to get Jumbo away from a guy like
Backes, he falls into Berglund’s lap. And they’re capable of doing that, too.
So you can go through hoops to get away from it, and it takes your team out
of rhythm. At this point, we’re just going to play head to head. Our guys can
play there and have played there before."
Transition game
One of the things the Blues did so well in their four regular-season wins
over the Sharks was pin them in their own zone and get all over San Jose’s
blue-line corps.
A priority for the Sharks in this series is to be quicker in getting the puck out
in transition and prevent the Blues from setting up shop on the cycle.
They did a pretty good job of it Thursday night.
"That’s the best I’ve seen San Jose move the puck out of their zone all year
long," an NHL scout told ESPN.com during the game Thursday night.
"Smart chips. It’s out of there in a hurry. That makes such a difference in
their game. I’m really surprised after what I saw most of the year."
That’s exactly why McLellan chose to dress puck-mover Jason Demers
over the rugged Colin White for his third defense pairing, wanting to have
as many puck-movers as possible on his back end.
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ESPN / Havlat makes amends in big way
By Pierre LeBrun
ST. LOUIS -- A few days ago, Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock sat with the
assembled media and broke down his first-round opposition.
The name that got him to sit up in his chair and widen his eyes when talking
about him was that of Martin Havlat.
"I've coached against Havlat [when Hitchcock coached in Philadelphia]
where he was the best player in every game -- it wasn't even close," the
Blues head coach said Tuesday. "He was better than [Marian] Hossa. So I
know what he can do."
Regrettably for the Blues and their boisterous fans Thursday night,
Hitchcock proved to be far more prescient than he would have liked.
Havlat scored twice, his second tally a knife in the heart of Blues fans 3:34
into double overtime to hand the veteran Sharks a 3-2 victory in Game 1 of
their best-of-seven, first-round series.
"I just try to enjoy the time in the playoffs," Havlat said after his team's big
win.
This, of course, was the point when the Sharks dealt for him last summer.
While Havlat's career stagnated with the Minnesota Wild, Sharks GM Doug
Wilson saw a player who still had big-game ability if surrounded with the
right supporting cast. He also saw a player with 28 points (12-16) in his past
26 playoff games before this year, a player that raises his game come
spring time.
"He has that reputation, that's one of the reasons why he was acquired,"
Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said after Thursday night's game. "He
lived up to it tonight."
It's no coincidence the Sharks' late-season resurgence went hand in hand
with Havlat's return from injury March 15. With him out of the lineup for 39
games, San Jose's top-six forward group look unbalanced and lacked
cohesiveness. With Havlat in the lineup this season, the Sharks were 2511-3.
Mind you, Havlat was nearly the goat on this night. His ill-advised decision
to trip Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak 200 feet from the Sharks net 6:31 into
the third period was the kind of penalty that drives coaches crazy. And often
loses games. With Havlat sitting in the box, Patrik Berglund scored his
second goal of the night -- what felt at the time like the dagger goal -- to
give the Blues a 2-1 lead as Scottrade Center rocked.
Luckily for Havlat, Andrew Desjardins tied it up with 5:16 to play in the third
period to set up extra time.
And it was Havlat's chance to atone for that penalty.
"For sure, because that was a stupid penalty I took," Havlat said. "I can't
take penalties like that."
While Havlat provided the timely goals, netminder Antti Niemi was a rock in
net for San Jose. It was hard to read any series preview without hearing
about the decided edge the Blues had in goal. Hard not to think that with
the Blues leading the league with the fewest goals against. Halak was
certainly solid on Thursday night, but Niemi looked dominant. And
confident. And calm.
There is no double overtime unless Niemi stops all 14 shots he faced in the
first overtime period when the Blues delivered their best pressure of the
game.
"He looks comfortable, that's for sure," Sharks winger Ryane Clowe said.
"He was probably our best penalty killer tonight. And definitely in the first
overtime he was real sharp. We expect that from him at this time of year."
It's a funny thing about Niemi. Not a lot of people believe he's really up to
the task even though he won a Cup with Chicago in 2010 and led the
Sharks to the conference finals last season. That's a lot of playoff hockey
the past few years and it's a time of year when Niemi appears at ease.
"Yeah, I don't know why, but yes for sure," the soft-spoken Finnish
netminder said. "It's the biggest pressure but you just get excited for it."
The playoffs are all about pressure. And now that pressure really shifts to
the young Blues. This was exactly what San Jose had in mind before the
series, take Game 1 and see how the young favorites react. After all, the
Sharks had been there many times over the years.
"We've been on the other side," Sharks blueliner Dan Boyle said. "You start
at home you're expected to win Game 1 and then you don't want to go
down in the hole 0-2. We've done that. It was a big win for us tonight."
The Blues can't complain much with their game. They outshot the Sharks
42-34 and handed San Jose's dangerous power play only three chances.
Pretty close to what you want if you're St. Louis. But that's just it. The Blues
gave their A game and the Sharks survived it.
Now the question is how the young core of the Blues reacts. This is when
you really find out just how ready this team is to win at this time of year.
"We'll take it hard tonight, we'll get ready tomorrow, and come back with a
better effort [on Saturday night]," Hitchcock said. "It was one game, it was a
heck of a hockey game. Probably the best game of the playoffs so far, at
least that I've seen. Two good teams going at it. There's not much
difference between the two teams."
Maybe not much to choose from between two good hockey clubs, such is
the story really in all four Western Conference series, but the contrast lies in
playoff experience.
That came in handy Thursday night in overtime. The Sharks didn't panic
when the Blues pressed. They've been here before. They went 5-1 in
overtime last spring and understand what it's all about.
"Especially between periods, we did talk about it, a lot of us have been here
before, the last few years both winning and losing in overtime," McLellan
said. "I thought there was a calmness with our team. Even when they [the
Blues] had a real good push in the first overtime for about 10 minutes, there
was still a calmness on the bench. For me, that's a sign of veteran
leadership and experience."
And that's why the Sharks have a shot in this series.
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FOXSports.com / Brown's performance lifts Kings in Game 2
Jon Rosen
STANLEY'S STRANGE STORIES: Check out some of the most memorable
antics involving the Stanley Cup.
Dustin Brown wasn't actually going to be traded on February 27.
There were calls made to Dean Lombardi, and like any responsible general
manager, he listened, comprehended, and responsibly turned down any
offer for the Kings captain, American silver medalist and pillar of the team's
Old World Order.
While Mike Richards and Jeff Carter have earned some well-earned points
in this series, as well as some praise by Canucks coach Alain Vigneault,
who claimed Richards "played one of the best games I've seen him play
since he's been in L.A." after Game 1, it's still the team's long-standing
establishment of Brown, Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Jarret Stoll and Matt
Greene, to name several players, who have long forged the team's hard
working, two-way character.
In a performance similar to a three-goal night against Chicago on February
25 while his name had swirled around in trade rumors, Brown's two
shorthanded markers Friday night left the Vancouver Canucks limping
towards Los Angeles in a series they trail 2-0. Game 3 is Sunday night at
Staples Center. (7:30 p.m. / FOX Sports West)
Similar to the two power play goals and shorthander registered versus the
Blackhawks, Brown's performance against Vancouver reeked of the special
teams dominance L.A. has exhibited through the first two games of the
series. The power play maintained its 25% pace when Stoll stuffed a loose
puck past Luongo for a two-goal third period lead, a goal that had originally
been credited to Brown to complete a hat trick he held for less than two
hours.
But it has been the stifling penalty kill that has been a staple of Kings
hockey in 2011-12 driving the Canucks completely out of sorts in this
series, turning the defending Western Conference Champions into a flailing,
desperate unit. Los Angeles is a perfect 10-for-10 on the penalty kill in this
series, and each of Brown's two daggers was particularly harmful.
Anze Kopitar did the grunt work that led to the first goal. Intercepting a
careless Alex Edler drop pass, his terrific stick work to pull the puck around
Luongo stayed in front of the goaltender before deflecting back to a netcrashing Brown, who surgically wristed the puck high through a tangled
mess of bodies to put the Kings up 1-0 with under eight seconds remaining
in the first period.
"The first one was just Kopi being Kopi," Brown said to FOX Sports West's
Patrick O'Neal after the game. "I just picked up the trash, and there was a
lot of traffic in front."
After Vancouver tied the game almost instantly in the second period and
drew a Willie Mitchell holding call less than five minutes in, it was Brown
who reclaimed the lead for L.A. while making a statement towards anyone
who as ever hinted at any perceived lack of speed or skill by someone who
has finished among the top three hits totals in each of the last three years.
Pushing the puck past a fallen Dan Hamhuis at the left point 12 seconds
into the Canucks' power play, Brown outhustled the two defenders into the
attacking zone before alternating from his forehand to his backhand at top
speed and lifting the puck past a sliding Luongo.
"They're huge goals," Brown said. "Special teams is a big part of playoff
hockey. It's not too often that you're going to see two shorthanded goals like
that. The first one is just Kopi being a world-class player."
It was the first time one player tallied two shorthanded goals in a playoff
game since John Madden scored twice in a 4-1 win over the New York
Rangers on April 25, 2006. It also marked the first time the Kings scored
two shorthanded goals in a playoff game since Jari Kurri and Dave Taylor
accomplished the feat on May 21, 1993 in a 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple
Leafs in the Campbell Conference Finals.
As a result, Los Angeles is ahead 2-0 in a playoff series for the first time
since its inaugural season of 1967-68.
There are quite a few "for the first time since" moments in this series.
"They're obviously a very good team," Kopitar said about a Canucks team
that finished the year with 53 road points, tied for the highest total in the
league. "To get two in here, it's huge for us, but nothing is decided yet. We
have to play. We have to focus and play our game for whatever it is, the
next two, three, four games. We have to play our game and focus on that."
FOXSports.com LOADED: 04.14.2012
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NBCSports.com / Sacramento arena plan collapses, Seattle’s NHL chances
improve
Jason Brough
The news out of Sacramento isn’t good for basketball fans in the city, but it
could be good for basketball and hockey fans in Seattle.
It appears the deal to build a new arena for the NBA’s Kings has cratered,
leading to the possibility the franchise could be on the move.
Now, one potential destination for the Kings is Anaheim, and if it moves
there, that would be that.
But another is Seattle, where there’s a plan to build a new arena should
investor Chris Hansen be able to land an NBA team. Just one catch with
that – the new arena might not be financially feasible without a second
tenant, that being an NHL team.
Long story short, the next few weeks could be interesting. There’s been an
injection of optimism in Glendale that the Coyotes might soon be sold to an
owner (the leading candidate is Greg Jamison’s group) that plans to keep
them in the desert. But there’s also reason for skepticism that a deal can be
reached.
If the NHL can’t get something done in Glendale, it’ll have to look elsewhere
eventually – most likely to Quebec City or Seattle. And if Seattle can only
get the Sacramento Kings to move there if an NHL team moves there too,
well, maybe that’s what ends up happening.
NBCSports.com / LOADED: 04.14.2012
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CNN/Sports Illustrated / INSIDE THE NHL Couturier emerging as fresh face
for resilient Flyers' title hopes
Michael Farber
PITTSBURGH -- Like the little girl in the movie serials decades ago,
apparently the Philadelphia Flyers don't really mind being tied to the
railroad tracks, waiting until they hear the train whistle blow and ultimately
making their escape.
They give 'em little Nell and they give 'em a little hell.
Lulling the jumpy Pittsburgh Penguins into a false sense of security by
spotting them a goal in the first 15 seconds and a pair of two-goal leads,
Philadelphia rallied because that is what these Flyers do. They came back
from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1. They came back from 4-3 in the final three
seconds of the second period to tie the score on Sean Couturier's first goal
of a hat-trick night. They came back from a soft Penguins goal early in the
third period with Couturier's second of the game just 17 seconds later,
stunning the Penguins into submission. Every time Pittsburgh turned the
puck over -- officially five giveaways, including two by Sidney Crosby -- the
Flyers would steer it past goalie Marc-André Fleury, who seemed to
misplace his angles. Perhaps those angles are in the very place that the
Penguins have stashed their confidence.
Jaromir Jagr, twirled around the ineffectual defenseman Ben Lovejoy
midway through the third period, breaking his stick on the winner in the
eventual 8-5 Flyers victory that pointed the series east across Pennsylvania
for Game 3 Sunday afternoon and due south for a franchise that has the
two best players in Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and zero clue on how to
nurse a lead. Philadelphia is 17-0 in series when it wins the first two games.
There is only a tangential relationship with this team and the others who
pressed that advantage for the Orange and Black, of course, but this is not
pretty for Pittsburgh. Squandering a 3-0 first-period advantage at home in
Game 1 was egregious enough, but these collapses have revealed a team
that seems incapable of sucking the oxygen out of a game, a necessary
trait for any group with Stanley Cup aspirations.
Not that the Flyers were immaculate in a game that screamed "1984" -- the
Oilers, not Orwell -- but it hardly mattered. The Flyers, who had fallen
behind Pittsburgh by at least two goals in five straight games and yet
managed to win four of them, had gone eight years between playoff hat
tricks.
This time, they waited 102 seconds.
Claude Giroux tapped a puck into an empty net with 6.9 seconds remaining.
This created a complementary hat trick. Couturier already had his third goal
of the game, courtesy of a Giroux dish with 1:49 remaining, mere seconds
after a one-hand-on-the-stick lunge by Pittsburgh's James Neal almost had
tied the score.
Giroux is routinely brilliant -- he finished with six points -- but Couturier
might be emerging as the new face of the franchise. In truth, he looks an
awful lot like the old face of the Flyers, Bobby Clarke, at least when neither
have their front teeth in. (Couturier reinserted his dentures for post-match
interviews, a pity given the throwback nature of this 13-goal game.)
Couturier is a mere 19, one of six rookies coach Peter Laviolette routinely
employs. There is a general sense that if you come back in two years, the
remade Flyers -- which boldly ditched stars Mike Richards and Jeff Carter
before the season and reshaped a team on the fly -- will really be
something special.
If they find a way to get into the games with a little more alacrity, this team
could be special in the eight weeks.
Couturier is already special. He won't win the Calder Trophy because he
had only 13 goals and 27 points during the season but as Giroux notes,
"He's a teenager and already our best defensive player." Laviolette tested
him early, using Couturier on a defensive zone faceoff in the season opener
against Boston in the final minute of a one-goal game, a draw that he won.
"There's always a feeling out process with players," Laviolette said last
night. "We started giving him responsibility in training camp, and he
answered the bell. He started off playing eight or nine minutes, then 10 or
12. And even when he was playing 10 or 12, these weren't minutes we
were trying to hide him and hope he'd get off the ice. These were hard
minutes. With about 15 or 20 games to go, we started utilizing him in the
role in which he's used now. And he hasn't let us down."
The role in the first two games in Pittsburgh, whenever possible given the
Penguins' home-ice advantage, was as a shutdown center against Malkin,
merely the NHL's best player during the season. Through two games Malkin
has had a pair of second assists. They both on the Penguins' Game 2
power play that was seeking a better balance -- Pittsburgh coach Dan
Bylsma broke up Malkin and Crosby, moving Crosby to the second unit -but not this kind of balance: the Penguins scored two goals with the manadvantage and gave up two, first to Max Talbot and later to the estimable
Giroux. Couturier was not on the ice killing penalties on either Pittsburgh
power play goal. Malkin finished minus 4.
"Just the victory," Couturier answered in French when he was asked about
his three goals compared to Malkin's barren goal column. "We know they'll
come out hard (in Game 3) and have to be ready."
"Not the start we were looking for," Couturier later said in English, proving
that he can speak in clichés in more than one language. "But it was a big
win tonight ... After the first shift or two, it's just like any other game. Go out
there and have fun."
He was having a much better time than flummoxed Pittsburgh. And if the
Flyers show up on time for Game 3, it might be getting late awfully early in
the playoffs for the vaunted Penguins.
CNN/Sports Illustrated LOADED: 04.14.2012
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CNN/Sports Illustrated / Adrian Dater INSIDE THE NHL Friday's Three
Stars
Claude Giroux
Only three players have scored more points in a playoff game than the
1. Claude Giroux, Flyers -- In my 17 years of covering this league, this was
the best playoff performance I've personally seen by a forward. When you
start mentioning the names Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, you know it
was a pantheon performance, and it sure was for the Flyers' center Friday
in Game 2 at Pittsburgh Friday night.
It's tempting to just want to label this game as one of those wacky nights
(according to the statkeepers at NBC and TSN, this was the first game in
NHL history where exactly 13 goals were scored in a game on a Friday the
13th). But let there be no doubt: it was pure sublime skill that accounted for
the Flyers' two-point-conversion night on the banks of the Allegheny. Giroux
posted six points in the 8-5 win (three goals, three assists). He had 10 shots
on goal. While it was fashionable for some pundits to want to bash the
Pens' defense and goaltending (and, yeah, Marc-Andre Fleury was terrible
on Jaromir Jagr's tie-breaking goal that made it 6-5 in the third), they are
missing the boat on this: Giroux gave one of the greatest performances in
NHL playoff history Friday. Only Gretzky, Lemieux and Patrik Sundstrom
can say they've scored more points in a playoff game.
2. Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings -- A hat trick in a 4-2 playoff win?
Normally, that would get the No. 1 star here, in a saint's whisper.
See above as to why Brown has to settle for No. 2, but let that take nothing
away from another night for the ages. Two of the three Kings' captain's
goals came short-handed, and he became the 12th player in NHL history to
do that -- with John Madden doing it most recently, for New Jersey in 2006.
Brown is one of the most hated players in the league, mostly for his hitting
and agitating prowess. But he is a hockey player too, a guy who puts pucks
in nets when his team really needs it. Other teams hate him, but teammates
love him. That's why he wears the C on his left shoulder.
Note: When Friday Three Stars went to press, Brown had the hat trick on
the scorer's sheet, but one of his goals probably will be given to Jarret Stoll.
Doesn't matter -- he still deserves this spot.
3. Sean Couturier, Flyers -- The Flyers rookie completes the three-star hat
trick crew for this night.
Couturier's biggest goal of the three, both for him and his team, came just
before the horn in the second period. A 4-4 game entering the third period
of a playoff game is much better than a 4-3 deficit.
The eighth overall pick for the Flyers in last year's draft, "Coots" had only
the third hat trick by a rookie in team history. (And by the way, can we
officially label the Columbus Blue Jackets' trade of their first-round pick -which turned out to be Couturier -- and Jakub Voracek for Jeff Carter as
one of the worst in NHL history? I think so).
Couturier, Giroux and Voracek are going to be good for a long time to come
in Philly.
CNN/Sports Illustrated LOADED: 04.14.2012
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You see Darcy Hordichuk and Ben Eager in Edmonton. Nobody cares
about Edmonton, so nobody hates them. It's that simple."
Mark Spector
On Friday Schneider recanted, in a very classy apology: "I felt bad about it.
I didn't mean to say that about them," he said. "I was frustrated about
having to constantly defend my teammates, and let it get the better of me. I
was trying to specifically talk about two individuals, which doesn't make it
any more right. I had not intended to be disrespectful towards them.
VANCOUVER -- It took one game for the old storylines to return to haunt
the Vancouver Canucks.
"They've got a great hockey city (in Edmonton), and a great tradition. Their
fans obviously care a heck of a whole lot, along with a lot of other people. I
feel stupid, and ignorant, about saying that, and I really regret it, and truly
feel bad."
Sportsnet.ca / Spector on Canucks: Blocking the distractions
Why are they not Canada's team? Why do they yap so much? What about
the diving?
---
The newspapers -- first and foremost, right here in Vancouver -- were
brimming with opinion Friday on how the Canucks conducted themselves in
their Game 1, 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. But it's not just a topic in
the local sheets.
Andrei Loktionov draws into the Kings lineup for the concussed Kyle
Clifford, while it appears Andrew Ebbett will play in place of Byron Bitz, who
was suspended for two games after his illegal hit on Clifford.
Scratches and Selections
It will be a topic inside the Canucks dressing room before tonight's game as
well.
Also, it appears Rome will be a healthy scratch, and be replaced on the
blue-line by Keith Ballard.
"I think we need to stay away from it," said centre Ryan Kesler, who
stepped as far back as any of the Canucks. "We haven't been doing it as
much all year, obviously with the excitement of playoffs we got caught up a
little too much in it two nights ago."
As for the Kings, they've now upped their expectations on this trip to
Vancouver.
If Vancouver is going to put its game together, beat Los Angeles and take
another run at a Stanley Cup, the consensus inside this dressing room is
the distractions -- and all those things people love to hate about the
Canucks -- have to be eradicated.
"Absolutely," said captain Henrik Sedin. "It's one of those things where
you're focused in the regular season, and the first playoff game, everyone's
all amped up … and all of the sudden it's creeping in again. I'm sure it's
going to be totally different tonight, and moving forward."
--Wither Daniel?
Daniel Sedin took a light skate a good two hours before practice, without
anyone else on the ice at Rogers Arena. He won't play tonight, and it's
starting to look like he'll be questionable at best for Games 3 and 4.
"I have to say," revealed head coach Alain Vigneault, "there's nothing to
report on Daniel."
What about the fact he skated today? "Nothing new to report there."
Will he be travelling to L.A? "Couldn't answer that."
OK, how about this: Are you mad at Duncan Keith, the Chicago
defenceman who concussed Daniel with that elbow to the head?
"I'm going to measure my words very carefully," Vigneault began. "The
culprit in that incident got five games (suspension) from the National
Hockey League. I remember Aaron Rome getting four games last year for a
hit that was, maybe, 0.2 seconds late. Clean hit, guy had the puck. In
Daniel's case, there was no puck around."
It should be said, Vigneault is still in denial on Rome's hit on Nathan Horton,
who missed the rest of the 2011 Stanley Cup final with a concussion.
Horton has since suffered another concussion, and the Bruins have shut
him down for the entirety of these playoffs as well.
Rome's Game 4 hit came two strides after Horton had passed the puck, and
was a direct shoulder to the head. It is not, nor should ever be, a reference
point for miscarried justice in the NHL.
--The Cory Sorry Story
Vancouver backup goalie Cory Schneider took time Thursday to apologize
for comments made the day before, when he was asked why there is a
perception that the Canucks are despised by Canadian fans living outside
of British Columbia.
On Thursday he told the Vancouver Province: "You look around the league
and people don't like us and Pittsburgh, and we're two of the better teams.
"Usually, when you're starting the series on the road, you're looking to just
get one. That's your, I guess, pessimistic view of things," said defenceman
Rob Scuderi. "But, now that we've got one, why not get greedy and try to
get two?"
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Sportsnet.ca / Brophy: Eakins a candidate in Calgary
Mike Brophy
Is Dallas Eakins' time with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization coming to
an end?
One could assume that became the case the day the Maple Leafs hired
Randy Carlyle to replace Ron Wilson as head coach. Eakins, who coaches
Toronto's top farm team, the Marlies of the American Hockey League, is on
the final year of his contract and his ultimate goal is to coach in the NHL.
A Calgary source told sportsnet.ca that Eakins would be given strong
consideration for the Flames head coaching position, which vacated when
Brent Sutter and general manager Jay Feaster parted ways on Thursday.
With the NHL playoffs just underway, there could be more NHL openings
over the next two months.
Other candidates being mentioned for the Flames' job include Troy Ward,
head coach with Calgary's farm team, former Bruins coach Mike Sullivan,
ex-Oilers coach Craig MacTavish, Bob Boughner and Bob Hartley.
Eakins said his No. 1 priority now is helping the Marlies win the Calder Cup.
However, becoming an NHL coach is still his ultimate goal.
"That's what the American Hockey league is for; we have players trying to
get to the NHL as fast as possible and a lot of these guys are very
impatient, which I understand," Eakins said. "We also have referees and
linesmen trying to get to the NHL as well as coaches."
Eakins, 45, will be free to pursue other coaching opportunities at the
conclusion of this season, but said he won't necessarily jump at the first job
offered to him if he doesn't believe it will lead to success. He and his wife,
actress Ingrid Kavelaars, and their two daughters are very happy living in
Toronto.
As for what he brings to the table, Eakins makes no bones about the style
of hockey he coaches.
"I am a defence-first coach," Eakins explained. "I want the players to
contest the puck when we don't have it in all zones. For me, the second
best way to defend is to have the puck and be a real strong cycle team.
When we don't have the puck we are at full speed trying to get it back. And
when we do get it back, we're not looking to kill you off the rush; we're
looking to get the puck down deep and wear you down by hanging on to the
puck looking for our scoring chances that way.
"I know one thing about hockey; if we have the puck on our stick in your
zone, you are not going to score on our net. Our guys have bought into that
here. Our back pressure, especially from our forwards when we don't have
the puck, is as good as I've seen in this league."
Eakins said it really hasn't been a hard sell to get his players to buy into his
approach.
"We don't just look for that first scoring chance and be a one-and-done
team," he said. "We want multiple chances off cycles. Our guys hold on and
fight for the puck. You have to explain to your players that because we are
asking you to play so hard defensively and to contest the puck immediately
in every zone, we're not looking to take offence away from you. We're trying
to get the puck back so you can have fun. The offensive part of hockey is
the fun side of the game. It's fun and it's hard."
There are some who believed Eakins was being groomed by the
organization to ultimately take over as head coach of the Maple Leafs. He
has worked for the Maple Leafs for six years, serving as an assistant coach
as well as director of player development.
That all changed on Mar. 2 when Leafs GM Brian Burke fired Wilson and
brought in Carlyle, giving his new coach a three-year contract beyond the
end of this season. At the time of Carlyle's hiring, Burke said, "Everybody in
our hockey operations department thinks Dallas Eakins is a hell of a coach,
but you look at the size of this group and he has never coached a playoff
game in the American League. We just felt this was putting him in a tank of
piranhas and sharks and he would have no chance. His day will come. It
may not be with us, but Dallas Eakins is going to be a real good NHL
coach."
That bump in the road didn't change Eakins' goal of leading the Marlies to
the Calder Cup this season.
Toronto has two regular season games remaining, both in Abbotsford,
before embarking on the playoffs. The Marlies have already claimed the
North Division with a 44-23-7 record and recently had four members of the
Maple Leafs -- forwards Matt Frattin, Carter Ashton, Jay Rosehill and
defenceman Jake Gardiner added to their roster.
The former captain of the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey
League was drafted 208th in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington
Capitals and played 120 big league games mostly on defence (with a few
games at left wing sprinkled in) with the Winnipeg Jets, Florida Panthers,
St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Calgary Flames
and the Maple Leafs.
Throughout his playing career, Eakins was very close to Hall of Fame
coach Roger Neilson and he admits they share some similar philosophies
about how they like the game to be played. Similar, but not exactly the
same.
"Roger was a defence-first coach," Eakins said. "I think where we're
different is I wasn't to contest the puck immediately we have lost it where
(Roger) was more about backing up a little and fighting the battle through
the neutral zone and the tops of the circles in your own zone."
Eakins will eventually follow in Neilson's footsteps and be a head coach in
the NHL. It's not a matter of if, but when.
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USA TODAY / Penguins GM Ray Shero learned hockey with Flyers
By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY
Penguins general manager Ray Shero is facing the Flyers for the third time
in the playoffs.
The elder Shero had a tiny office, more like a walk-in closet, in the
Spectrum when he coached the Broad Street Bullies in the 1970s and Ray
realized quickly that if he didn't take up too much space and kept his mouth
shut he had the greatest seat in the world to follow NHL hockey.
"When anyone came in to talk to my dad, I would be there listening the
entire time," Shero recalls.
Shero was 11 and 12 when the Flyers won back-to-back Stanley Cup
championships in 1974 and 1975. He recalls stealing sticks from Rick
MacLeish, and going on the ice at the end of practice to work on his hockey
skill. He says he always makes it a point to treat his trainers well today
because Flyers trainers Frank Lewis and Jim McKenzie always were patient
with him when he was running around the Flyers dressing room.
How is Shero like his father? "Well, I don't smoke Lucky Strikes," he says,
laughing.
He concedes that his personality is probably more like his late mother,
Mariette, than his introverted father, who was known for his eccentricities.
"Probably what I got from my father was the passion," Shero says. "He
loved the sport. He loved coaching. He coached in the NHL 10 years, and
he coached in the minors (many more) years."
Shero became the first NHL coach to have an assistant coach when he
hired Mike Nykoluk in 1972. By 1977-78, Shero's staff included Terry Crisp,
Pat Quinn and Jacques Plante.
"You can imagine what it was like listening to those guys," Shero said.
The young Shero was a stick boy for one of the teams at the 1976 All-Star
Game in Philadelphia. In 1979, when Fred Shero was coaching the
Rangers, Ray Shero was sitting in the stands in the area where the Bruins
players entered the stands to fight with fans in what is now considered a
famous incident at Madison Square Garden. Ray remembers Nykoluk
screaming at him to run. "I turned around and half the team was in the
stands," Shero recalls.
Ray Shero has many fond memories of growing up with the Broad Street
Bullies. Based on his front-row seat to his father's greatness as a coach and
his own experiences in the game, he wonders today why his father, who
died in 1990, isn't in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
"People are always surprised when I tell them he's not in," he says.
There seems to be a movement afoot to lobby for Fred Shero's
enshrinement. Every year there are sportswriters who bring up his name as
someone who has been overlooked.
As much as Ray Shero enjoyed growing up in the Flyers' family, he has
long ago surrendered his Flyers affinity. As his Penguins team prepares to
play the Flyers Friday night (7:30 ET, NBC Sports Network) in Game 2 of
the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, he isn't waxing nostalgic about the
days when orange and black were his preferred NHL colors.
"The Penguins are my family now and I want to beat the Flyers," Shero
says. "That's just the way it is now. This is third time we have played the
Flyers in the playoffs since I came here in 2006. That's my history now."
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long, but scouts picked him apart and he fell. One of the reasons, according
to an NHL exec, is that players coming out of the Quebec Major Junior
Hockey League are tagged as not strong defensively.
YAHOO SPORTS / Philadelphia Flyers rookie Sean Couturier talks like a
teenager and plays like an old pro
Couturier fell to the Flyers in the draft. He showed up to training camp as an
18-year-old. He had a lot to prove to the veterans and the coaches, but he
proved it. He made the team.
By Nicholas J. Cotsonika | Yahoo! Sports – 3 hours ago
"This kid, I wasn't sold on him right off the bat in training camp and stuff like
that, didn't know if he was going back to junior," said Flyers vet Scott
Hartnell. "But every game, he's impressed me."
PITTSBURGH – He is 19. He is 19 and facing the favorites to win the
Stanley Cup. He is 19 and matched up against the favorite to win the Hart
Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. He is 19 and posing for pictures
in the dressing room, smiling with false teeth and holding a hat-trick puck
from an 8-5 victory – another comeback for the Philadelphia Flyers, a wild
one that gave them a 2-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins in this firstround playoff series.
Coach Peter Laviolette started giving the kid eight or nine minutes. Then he
started giving him 10 or 11 minutes. Then he started giving him 14 or 15
minutes – and not easy minutes, hard minutes. Tough matchups. Penalty
kills. The last quarter of the season, Laviolette started pitting him against
the best.
Sean Couturier is 19 but you would never know it. Not by the way that he
played Friday night, containing superstar Evgeni Malkin, scoring three key
goals. Not by the way that he reacted afterward, reminding reporters that
the nets were in the same place, that the red line and blue lines were in the
same place, as if this were some hockey version of "Hoosiers." Asked when
he was most nervous in his hockey career, he said: "Ah, I don't know. It's
tough."
The answer would haveFlyers rookie Sean Couturier was a force in Game
2, scoring a hat trick and shutting down Evgeni Malkin. been easy for a
normal kid. The answer might have been, you know, "Tonight." But this is
not a normal kid.
"Don't forget," said Flyers winger Jaromir Jagr, a 40-year-old veteran, "he
has to play against probably the best player in the league, Malkin. If he
wouldn't score any goals, I would say he had a great game, but he played
great defense and also scored three goals. I don't know if I have any words
to describe his game today. Awesome. Maybe something better than that.
He was unbelievable."
It was an unbelievable game – a throwback to the wide-open days of the
early '90s or the '80s. "Early '70s, I would say," Jagr said. There was
skating and scoring. There were big saves and bit hits. All that was missing
was defense and the skull-cracking nonsense people expected from two
bitter rivals. (If you were looking for that, you needed to watch NashvilleDetroit.)
These were two of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL in the regular
season – Pittsburgh first, Philadelphia tied for second – and they put on a
show. You were holding your breath, if you could pause to take a breath.
The Flyers spotted the Penguins two goals for the fifth straight meeting, and
they came back to win for the fourth time.
It was 2-0.
Then it was 3-1.
Then it was 3-3.
Couturier finished the regular season with 13 goals and 27 points, numbers
that probably didn't earn him many votes for rookie-of-the-year honors.
Didn't matter. He was plus-18. He had earned his coach's trust.
"He may not win the Calder because he didn't put up 50 points, but he had
a terrific year," Laviolette said. "I do think that he plays older than he is."
Said Jagr: "I don't think I saw in my hockey career somebody that good
defensively at a young age, and he showed it the first 10 games he played
in the season – and the coach saw it right away. … I would say he's our
best defensive forward at age 18, 19. Maybe Ron Francis was kind of like
that, but 18, 19 years old …
"He's strong, but I think he's so smart for his age. I think he play like he
would play for 20 years. The awareness where to go, not overskate
anything, not overplay. Just be right place, right time. That's what they call
defense."
[ Also: Philadelphia's Claude Giroux racks up six points in frenetic game ]
Claude Giroux collected a hat trick while torching the Pens for six points.
(AP) It might seem funny to praise someone's defense after an 8-5 game.
But consider this: Malkin put up 109 points in the regular season, and he
won the scoring title by a dozen points. He has two assists and is minus-5
in the first two games of this series. Couturier has three goals and an assist,
and he is plus-3.
And consider this: Except for last Saturday's meaningless regular-season
finale, the Flyers are 7-0-0 at the Consol Energy Center. They haven't lost a
meaningful game in Pittsburgh since the Penguins left the old Igloo, which
is now in mid-demolition across the street.
As this series shifts to Philadelphia, it is far from over. The Boston Bruins
dropped their first two games at home last season and still won the Stanley
Cup. The Penguins have the talent to come back.
But first they have to stop the Flyers from coming back game after game
after game. They have to find a way tighten up against a team that is loose
– loose in a good way, exemplified by a teenager who is either too cool or
has no idea how hard this is supposed to be.
Then it was 4-3.
"Once you get out there, after your first shift, it's just like any other game,"
Couturier said. "Just work hard and have fun."
Then the puck found Couturier and he slapped it into an open net with 2.8
seconds left in the second period. It was 4-4. "I was kind of lucky there," he
said.
Unbelievable, eh?
Though the Penguins took the lead again just 1:04 into the third, Couturier
responded 17 seconds later. He knocked down an attempted pass by
Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy, broke in on net and boom. It was 5-5.
"I didn't really have much time to think about it," he said.
Finally, with the Flyers clinging to a 6-5 lead late in the game, Couturier
slapped home a pass from Claude Giroux on the rush. It was 7-5. It was
over. Giroux put a bow on it, completing his own hat trick with an empty-net
goal. As a bonus, Couturier earned an assist.
"Couts played an unbelievable game, obviously," Giroux said.
There's that word again.
It's unbelievable that Couturier is here at all. The Flyers shook the
foundation of their franchise last summer when general manager Paul
Holmgren traded captain Mike Richards and sniper Jeff Carter. As part of
the deal that shipped Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Flyers
received the eighth pick in the draft. Couturier wasn't supposed to last that
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Around the NHL News - Philadelphia Flyers

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