Archive for the ‘NHL’ Category

I’m not going to sit here and proclaim that after one victory, the Dallas Stars are back in the series with the Detroit Red Wings, but the Stars’ “stars” finally showed up.

I’d like to introduce Detroit fans to a few of the Dallas players that they had not seen in the first three games of this series.

Red Wings, I’d like you to meet my good friends Mike Modano, Brendan Morrow and Marty Turco - glad you could join us fellas!

I believe that prior to Game #4, Dalls Observer scribe Richie Witt said it best:

Admit it. The Stars are out of ideas, out of gas and out of the series.

Morrow hasn’t been a factor, Modano’s been a ghost, defenseman Matt Niskanen has coughed up a couple of costly gaffes and, most damaging, Turco has been average. When the Stars have needed him to stand on his head, he’s again fallen on his face against Detroit.

I’m certainly glad that Dallas decided to make an effort to win one game, otherwise my prediction that this series would go seven games would have looked foolish. At least if the Wings finish the Stars off in five games, I won’t have quite as much egg to wipe from my face.

Marty Turco has to be perfect for the Dallas Stars to have a chance at beating the Detroit Red Wings, that is no secret. However, Dallas is behind the 8-ball and it may be a case of too little too late for the fledgling Texas team.

Noteworthy News

• Team Switzerland forward Paul DiPietro, a former member of the Montreal Canadiens, has five points thus far at the 2008 World Championships.

• If you are looking for some great new hockey gear this summer, check out the best hockey stick reviews and hockey skate reviews on the internet.

• Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Braydon Coburn could be cleared to play Game 4 of the NHL Eastern Conference final Thursday after a puck nearly hit his eye on Sunday.

• Sami Lepisto’s goal at 3:59 of overtime led Finland to a 3-2 victory over the United States in the world hockey quarterfinals. IN other news, Derek Roy exploded for three goals and added an assist to propel Canada past Norway 8-2 in the quarterfinals. Canada will face Sweden in the semifinals Friday in Quebec City.

• Scott Mellanby, who played more than 1,400 games with five NHL teams, has been hired as a consultant to rookie Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis.

• One win away from their first Stanley Cup final berth in 16 years, the Pittsburgh Penguins are far removed from Michel Therrien’s famous tirade just two and a half seasons ago. For those of you unfamiliar with Therrien’s remarks, let me refresh your memory:

“It’s a pathetic performance,” Therrien said in a post-game clip that ran all over North American television for days and weeks. “Half of the team doesn’t care. That defensive squad — I am really starting to believe their goal is to be the worst defensive squad in the league. They are doing such a great job to be the worst defensive squad in the league. They turn the puck over. They have no vision. They are soft. I have never seen a bunch of defencemen as soft as this…We should take 50 per cent of their salaries because they play only 50 per cent of the time.”

On that note…enjoy Game #4!

Pittsburgh Versus Philadelphia

Marian Hossa scored twice as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final on Tuesday.

The Flyers, missing two of their best defensemen, were helpless against the speed and skill of the Penguins offensive attack.  To make matters worse on the night, Philadelphia managed just 8 shots over the first two periods.  I’m not sure if they were attempting to lull Marc-Andre Fleury to sleep, but it certainly didn’t work as Fleury stood tall in the third period to secure the win for the Penguins.

1984 Entry Draft Connections

Troy Crosby, Sid’s dad, shared the private box with Mario Lemieux on the night.  Interestingly enough, Lemieux (1st) and Mr. Crosby were both selected in the 1984 NHL Entry draft. The elder Crosby, a goaltender, was selected 240th overall by the Montreal Canadiens.  The Hockey Night in Canada broadcast also mentioned that Gary Roberts (12th), who sat out Game 3 due to illness, and Flyers coach John Stevens (47th) were both selected in the 1984 entry draft as well…small world!

My favorite tidbit about the 1984 draft is the fact that  All-Star Major League pitcher Tom Glavine was selected 69th overall by Los Angeles, five rounds before the Kings picked up ‘Lucky’ Luc Robitaille (171st)!

The Calgary flames also took a chance drafting a “plump” Brett Hull out of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League with their 6th round pick (117th), while the Montreal Canadiens made the best and worst ever draft picks back to back drafting Patrick Roy with the 51st pick followed up by Graeme Bonar with the 54th pick.

Hockey News Briefs

• Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal left Team Canada at the world hockey championship Tuesday following the death of his grandfather.  We wish the Staal family all the best in the coming days as they deal with this tragic loss.

• The NHL’s decision not to suspend Detroit goalie Chris Osgood and Dallas forward Mike Ribeiro was the right move, commissioner Gary Bettman told Hockey Night in Canada Radio on Monday.  Sources say that Bettman was, yet again, oblivious to what was going on and simply agreed in order to keep his job.  Nothing new here.

• The Boston Bruins signed forward Chuck Kobasew to a multi-year contract extension after his highest scoring season in five years in the NHL.  Regardless of this contract, the Bruins best player is still Milan Lucic.

• The San Jose Sharks fired head coach Ron Wilson, and began an immediate search for his new replacement.  I’d like to see Pat Burns get the nod for this job now that he has battled his way back from Cancer.  he’s got some great experience and is currently sharpening his skills with Team Canada.

• The Leafs aren’t the only team interested Nonis, as he continues to be wooed by the Atlanta Thrashers and an unidentified third NHL team that still has a general manager in place. The third team is believed to be the St. Louis Blues.  When are standout minor league managers like Kevin Cheveldayoff from the American Hockey League going to get  a chance? I’d love to see a competent young GM, especially in St. Louis or Phoenix!

2008 Western Conference Final

It all starts tonight as the Stars and Red Wings face off for the Western Conference Championship. The

Stars have taken the long road playing two 6-games series’, while the Red Wings have cruised to the conference final seemingly without effort. Both teams, however have something to prove.

Breaking Down Dallas

The Dallas Stars, in particular Marty Turco, have been known to have a tremendous regular season only to pull a swift disappearing act in the playoffs. The Red Wings were at this same point last year, but fell to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions.

Brendan Morrow has been impressive thus far, providing both grit and talent on a consistent basis for the Stars. Sergei Zubov, since coming back from a foot injury, has shown flashes of the offensive prowess that made him the Ranger’s leading scorer back in 1994 when they won the cup. Yes, that’s right…Zubov led the Rangers in scoring, besting the likes of Mark Messier, Adam Graves, Tony Amonte and even Alexei Kovalev!

Marty Turco has been nothing short of stellar to this point in the playoffs. He may finally have shaken that playoff monkey off of his back, but Detroit will be a huge test fro Turco. One has to wonder if Detroit has a huge mental advantage over the Stars and Turco before this series even begins. You see, Marty Turco has never won a game against Detroit in Joe Louis Arena! Yep, never. In fact, he is only 2 wins against Detroit all together and we know he’ll need to double that statistic if the Stars are to move on to the Stanley Cup Final.

Turco’s performance will dictate the outcome of this series for the Dallas Stars.

Is Detroit The Real Big “D”?

This Detroit team is one that has such a balanced attack that it stifles even the most season

ed of coaches when it comes to matching lines. The Red Wings can come from all angles with offense, and have been the beneficiary of an unlikely hero in Johan Franzan who leads all playoff scorers with 11 goals this post season, two more than Philadelphia’s R.J Umberger.

Osgood, who has finally garnered the respect of Mr. Babcock, has unseeded the elderly Dom Hasek in the Detroit goal. As much as Turco is the key for Dallas’ chances in this series, Osgood has to continue to be on point for the Wings. Osgood is a perfect 6-0 in this year’s post season, but he will need help from Kronwall, Lidstrom, and the crafty veteran Chelios to keep the Stars’ offensive attack under wraps. Stifling the Stars’ explosive power play, which is second overall among playoff teams, will be crucial to gaining control of the series.

If Detroit can continue to receive balanced scoring and Osgood is able to make some key saves in penalty kill situations, look for Detroit to pull out a win in this series.

Who Is Going To The Cup Final?

Predictions have never been our strong suit at NHL Digest, but this series should go the distance. Sometimes these things are just too close to call. It all comes down to confidence and momentum so this is the prediction:

The team that wins Game 1 will win this series in 7 Games.

…And Supersize it!

If there was one player who contributed solely to the ultimate demise of the Montreal Canadiens’ season it was Philadelphia’s R.J Umberger.

Of course we should not take any credit away from the fantastic display of goaltending that Martin Biron displayed during the series. Biron was nothing short of phenomenal against the Canadiens (with a little help form his beloved posts).

Anyone who watched the entire series would also want me to mention that Alexei Kovalev was not as effective as he should have been. Although he did contribute some very clutch goals (see Game 1), he also gave the puck away far too many times with his “cutsie” cross ice passing attempts than most Habs fans care to remember.

Many Montreal fans have pointed to the fact that the Canadiens were the better team during the series. Habs fans will point to the several goal posts hit by the Canadiens and the “lucky” goals that Philadelphia scored that seemed to carom off every piece of a player’s equipment except a stick. They may also outline how Montreal outshot the Flyers for the entire series; all of which are valid points. However, when it comes to winning in the playoffs the old saying still applies:

“They don’t ask how, they just ask how many”

Interestingly enough, when Bob Gainey met with the Press yesterday, he said that a key strategy for the Canadiens would be targeting help at forward during the off season. I hate to speculate, but there is a certain Pittsburgh Penguin rental player that might be on the radar of Mr. Gainey.

Of course, that won’t help the fact that the Canadiens are not nearly physical enough up front…I guess that’s why I’m sitting here writing this and Gainey is a General Manager in the National Hockey League.

The One Hit Wonder

Each year in the National Hockey League there is a player who performs well beyond everyone’s expecations, including their own, and this season is proving to be no different.

I can remember a few players from my youth who used to step it up during the playoffs on a consistent basis. The most noteworthy of these playoff performers was none other than super-pest Claude Lemieux.

I would hardly put Umberger in a class with Claude just yet. He is more akin to the one-off playoff performances of a Chris Kontos or John Druce, who during 1989-90 season scored just 8 regular season goals, then exploded for 14 goals during the Capitals march to the semi-finals.

From time to time these one-hit wonder playoff performers seem to come out of nowhere to light up the scoreboard…the NHL’s own versions of Vanilla Ice .

Stars Prevail In Overtime Thriller

Marty Turco made 61 saves and Brenden Morrow scored on the power play at 9:03 of the fourth overtime period to lift the hometown Dallas Stars to a thrilling and gruelling 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks in a game that ended early Monday morning, moving them on to the next round of the playoffs.

So much for the Dallas Stars choking in the playoffs. I would wager that every second person who picked Dallas to score in overtime chose Brendan Morrow to notch the winner…he is clutch.

The game would have ended much earlier if it were not for this amazing save by Nabakov.

In related news, Joe Pelletier breaks down some of the longest NHL Playoff games in history.

Jagr Not Finished Just Yet

After the New York Rangers were bounced from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the upstart Pittsburgh Penguins, Jaromir Jagr was asked if he was going to retire. In response Jagr stated “I don’t think I am going to retire”.

The same question could be asked of Brendan Shannahan, but I would have to wonder why they would retire because they were the Ranger’s best players in the Playoffs. I think these two guys should pull a “Selanne and Niedermayer”, contemplating retirement until their old bodies are fully revived only to re-join the team at mid-season and reach peak form in time for the playoff run.

I really think that the Ducks were on to something there. The older and more talented players in the league have a lot to offer a team, but an 82 game season can be grueling on 35-45 year-old bones! I think we’re going to see a lot more of this strategy in the future. The $500,000 fine for a player missing training camp is peanuts to the benefits that it could mean to the team in a playoff run.

Mats Sundin may be another candidate for this “maneuver”.

Kessel Shines Bright for Stars and Stripes

Phil Kessel had a hat trick and the United States watched its power play remain red-hot in a 5-1 win over Slovenia Sunday night at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.

Kessel’s talent and skill are undeniable. he had a tremendously successful learning year in Boston and there is no doubt that he will have a bright future in the National Hockey League when he rounds out his game and gains some more experience.

Avery Released From Hospital

Rangers forward Sean Avery was released from the hospital Sunday morning, five days after suffering a season-ending spleen injury in a playoff game. Avery was believed to have suffered a lacerated spleen during the early moments of last Tuesday’s loss to the Penguins.

Thoughts from a New Jersey Devils fan:

“I’m glad he’s OK, but ain’t Karma a bit@h ?”

Capitals Have Even More Young Prospects!

The Washington Capitals have built an amazing young team from the ground up and believe it or not, they have some more “can’t miss talent” in their pipeline! This Capitals franchise could be dangerous for many years to come if their prospects develop as anticipated.

On Frozen Blog has the entire list and a breakdown of the Capitals prospects.

This past month, NHL Digest and Blade Pro Products teamed up to deliver some of their new NHL team branded Blade Tape to a few lucky readers.

I apologize for the delay in the posting of the contest results ( I know some readers were a little worried), but I have some great news!

Some of you may recall that Blade Pro was originally going to commit 30 samples of the new product. However, after seeing the response form the readers, the guys over at Blade Pro Products upped the ante and are going to deliver NHL Blade Tape to everyone who entered the contest…how’s that for over delivering?

Grand Prize Winner

The Grand Prize winner is J. Chartrand of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Not only will Mr. Chartrand receive a sample of Blade Tape, but he will also be getting a travel mug and hat courtesy of NHL Digest.

I would like to take this time to thank Blade Pro Products for providing samples of Blade Tape to the readers of NHL Digest. If you have a moment, I suggest that you visit their official online store and check out their growing selection of products.
They are currently offering FREE shipping on orders over $50.00!