Video: Colton Orr Fights Milan Lucic

When the Boston Bruins visited Toronto to play the Maple Leafs, many hockey fans wondered if Colton Orr would drop the gloves with Milan Lucic. Lucic, even though there is no doubt he is a tough customer, had only fought three times this season prior to this tilt with Orr.  One has to wonder if his early season injury has played a factor in his confidence?

Orr on the other hand has racked up 18 fighting majors this season with Toronto, exhibiting the truculence that GM Brian Burke so desires.  There is no doubt after watching the video of this fight between Lucic and Orr that Orr certainly got the better of Milan in this one.

After watching the video of this fight, I still wonder why Lucic wasn’t more aggressive in throwing punches early in the fight when he had Orr’s jersey over his head. Of course, that’s easy to say when you’re sitting behind a keyboard and not tangled up with one of the NHL’s toughest customers!

Shawn Thornton Fights Jared Boll

It’s becoming more and more common in the National Hockey League to see players policing the game by their own hand. Such an incident happened once again last night. An inadvertent fall that caused Bruins’ goaltender, Tuukka Rask, to be tripped resulted in no penalty being called.

However, Boston players felt otherwise and as play continued tempers began to flare!

Chuck Kobasew started the skirmish by fighting Michael Blunden at the start of this video, but the bigger tilt was between two heavyweights.  Shawn Thornton and Jared Boll ended up fighting in the corner with both players landing some heavy shots.  The decision in this fight goes to Thornton even though Boll ended up on the top of the pile as they fell.

Joe Sakic Versus Steve Yzerman

The following is a compilation of hockey links from the NHL Digest Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/nhldigest.  I’ve added some additional comments around these links.  I hope you enjoy them!

Joe Sakic’s Retirement

With Joe Sakic expected to officially retire on Thursday, Adrian Dater wants to know who was better – Sakic or Yzerman? http://ff.im/-4Yxzr

That’s a tough call.  Both had the intangible qualities of leadership and both are certainly in the best class of people both on and off the ice.

Adrian outlines some statistics in his article- They are eerily similar!

Stanley Cups Yzerman 3, Sakic 2.
Career pointsYzerman 1,755, Sakic 1,641.
Career playoff points: Sakic 188, Yzerman 185.
Postseason goals: Sakic 84, Yzerman 70.
Conn Smythe trophies: Sakic 1, Yzerman 1.
Olympic MVP awards: Sakic 1, Yzerman 0.

Sakic’s retirement and the turnover rate of Avalanche coaches got me thinking. How cool would it be if Joe Sakic pulled a “Gerry Cheevers” becoming the team’s coach the following season after his retirement?

According to @weeklyslapshot the name even (kinda) works: “Easy to confuse Joe Sakic with Joe Sacco… LOL”

Both players were very influential to me as a young hockey player and their careers so close statistically, it comes down to just Stanley Cups. That said, if I had to choose, I choose Steve Yzerman.

Free Agent Signings

@dchesnokov reported that former Detroit Red Wing and free agent, Jiri Hudler, will play for Dynamo Moscow of the KHL (per Sovetsky Sport).

Kuklas Korner had a translation of Hudler speaking on why he signed in Moscow  http://ff.im/-4YxWa

The article at Kuklas Korner has some great speculation as to the actual advantages to this signing for the Detroit Red Wings.  In particular, Detroit doesn’t have to give up anything in the form of money or draft picks and they retain Hudler’s NHL rights.  It is possible that when Detroit clears some salary cap space, in a year or two, that Hudler could be lured back to the Red Wings.

The Anaheim Ducks have signed Saku Koivu to a one-year, $3.25 million contract. via TSN http://ff.im/-4XYB4

There was much speculation that Koivu would go to Anaheim to play with Teemu Selanne for one season prior to Selanne’s retirement.  That speculation came true and Koivu stated for the record that Selanne did influence his decision to join the Ducks.

According to @TBLightning http://twitpic.com/9pn47 – The Tampa Bay Lightning have agreed to terms with former Minnesota Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster.

More Hockey Links

RT @BladeTape Gillian Ferrari & Jayna Hefford have signed with BladeTape for the ‘09-’10 hockey season! 2 of the best female players around!

Does anyone know of any certified medical doctors that have played in the NHL other than Randy Gregg?

Wednesday was also useless NHL Trivia day over at the NHL Digest Facebook page – check it out!  http://bit.ly/a7LfI

Historical NHL Free Agent Signings on July 6

July 6th has typically been a busy day over the course of history. With some quality free agents still available, is there any reason to believe that this season will be any different?

If history is any indicator, we might see some of those available free agents signing contracts today!

Historical July 6 NHL Free Agent Signings

July 6, 2004 – Phoenix Coyotes signed free agent defenseman Sean O’Donnell, who had been with the Boston Bruins.

July 6, 2004 – Ottawa Senators signed free agent goaltender Dominik Hasek.

July 6, 2004 – Los Angeles Kings signed free agent Craig Conroy, who had been with the Calgary Flames.

July 6, 2001 – Minnesota Wild signed free agent Andrew Brunette. Brunette went on to lead all 2001 Free Agents – in scoring, with 69 points in 2001-02.

July 6, 2001 – Boston Bruins signed free agent left wing Rob Zamuner.

July 6, 2000 – Philadelphia Flyers signed free agent Michal Sykora.

July 6, 2000 – Los Angeles Kings signed free agent Stu Grimson.

July 6, 1999 – New York Rangers signed free agents Valeri Kamensky and Stephane Quintal.

July 6, 1998 – Nashville Predators signed free agent Tom Fitzgerald, and named him the first Captain in team history.

July 6, 1994 – Philadelphia Flyers signed free agent Craig MacTavish

July 6, 1983 – Detroit signed free agent goaltender Ken Holland, who went on to play 3 games with the Red Wings in 1983-84, finishing with a 4.11 GAA.

*Incidentally, Holland was named the Red Wings General Manager in 1997.

July 6, 1983 – Boston Bruins signed free agent Geoff Courtnall

July 6, 1978 – The Islanders signed John Tonelli as a free agent. Tonelli went on to star with the Islanders’ four Stanley Cup Winners.

Why Playoff Hockey Offers The Best Entertainment Value

One of the reasons why the NHL continues to grow in popularity, especially in television viewership is the excitement that continues to be brought to the game by a host of fantastic young stars.

While we have seen the tide turning for a few years now, it has not been since the mid-1980’s that the National Hockey League has had as many bonafide young stars as it does today!

Playoff Hockey

What’s more, the NHL playoffs offer hockey fans the chance to see these young stars perform at the peak of intensity and pressure. The best example thus far in the playoffs was, of course, Game 3 of the Penguins vs. Capitals series where both Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin scored hat tricks for their respective teams. But, there is certainly evidence of talented youngsters leading the charge in all of the series’.

Some of the most poignant examples are:

• Ryan Getzlaf, who is tied for the lead in playoff scoring, and Jonas Hiller have led the 8th seeded Anaheim Ducks past the President’s Trophy winning San Jose Sharks and at least to a six game series with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings.
• Cam Ward and Eric Staal have put the Carolina Hurricanes on their young, but capable, shoulders and carried the team past the New Jersey Devils and into a 3-1 series lead over the Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins.

The Unlikely Hero

Adding to the already exciting story of NHL playoff hockey, it seems that in every playoff year, there emerges an unlikely hero of sorts.

Often, it is a young goaltender that emerges with a fantastic playoff performance, such as Cam Ward did in 2006 on his way to Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe honors. The same could be said for Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, and Tony Esposito among a few others.

However, the more unlikely heroes are those forwards whose names rarely mark the score sheet during the regular season but somehow when the pressure is turned up in the playoffs, manage to bring their game to new heights.

The Legend of John Druce

The most prolific example of such an unlikely hero is that of John Druce. In the 1989-1990 season Druce managed just 8 Goals and 3 Assists. But it was the playoffs that year when Druce made a name for himself, scoring 14 goals and three assists for 17 points in just 15 games. NHL Director of Corporate Communications, Mike DiLorenzo may have said it best for NY Ranger fans when he noted “That John Druce broke my heart”.

Last season’s unlikely playoff hero was undoubtedly Philadelphia Flyer forward R.J Umberger (Now with Columbus). Umberger notched 10 goals in last year’s 17 game playoff run with Philadelphia after scoring just 13 times in 72 regular season games for the Flyers.

Not to disappoint fans this season, the emergence of an unlikely playoff hero has come to fruition.

Jussi Jokinen of the Carolina Hurricanes was discarded twice by NHL teams this season and manged to score just 7 goals in 71 games split between Tampa Bay and Carolina. However, in just 11 playoff games, Jokinen has scored 6 goals – including 3 game winning goals and 1 game tying goal.

Of course, true hockey fans would watch playoff hockey without the unlikely hero stories or the emergence of a young superstar goaltender, but it is these stories that round out the entertainment value of playoff hockey, start water cooler conversations and deepen fan relationships with their teams.

Is there any better entertainment in the world than playoff hockey?

I think not.

1st Round Impressions and 2nd Round Predictions

With the first round of the NHL playoffs in the books, it’s time to take a brief look back on who impressed, who disappointed, and what’s next.

Thoughts on Round 1

Boston certainly look like a deep, talented and disciplined team. Coach Julien took Coach/GM Gainey to school. Everything Julien did worked out beautifully. Nothing Gainey did worked at all. A long playoff run looks to figure in Boston’s future, while a long summer of upheaval on and off the ice beckons for Montreal.

Washington deserved to win at least the first 6 games of their series with the Rangers, thanks to the brilliance of Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist . In what can only be considered as a cruel twist of fate, the Rangers probably deserved to win game 7, but their anemic offense was not able to generate enough production. Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, and Markus Naslund – hang your heads in shame. Alexander Ovechkin wasn’t at his best, yet the Rangers still couldn’t muster enough to pull the upset.

Who would have guessed that the Devils and Hurricanes would have produced a 7 game series of must-see hockey. Martin Brodeur and Cam Ward were altogether brilliant in their matchup, with each pitching shutouts and posting 40+ save performances. It was nothing short of epic. Everything looked promising for the Devils until there was 2 minutes left in the 3rd. Tim Gleason made a season-saving play at the blue line to keep the puck in. Jussi Jokinen scored shortly after to tie the game, and Eric Staal won it less than a minute later. Needless to say, the Devils (and probably the Canes too) were stunned. The Devils have now been bounced in the first round in 4 of their last 5 playoff appearances. After looking like world beaters when Brodeur came back from his arm injury, this has to be devastating.

The battle of Pensylvannia was also a good series, highlighted by some good goaltending performances from M.A. Fleury. Once again, Philadelphia’s goaltending was not good enough to carry them to the promised land. When will their management learn that guys like Biron, Esche, Cechmanek, Antero Niittymaki and other underacheivers are not the type of goalie needed to win the cup? It’s been their achilles heel for ages, and looks like it will continue to be so.

In what has to be the biggest disappointment of the year, the San Jose Sharks rolled over – yet again when it mattered most. Joe Thornton did his level best, but again it was not nearly enough. He shares an enormous set of goat horns with Patrick Marleau for their tank job. There’s got to be some fallout in San Jose because of this? I wonder what Ron Wilson is thinking right about now? To me, this series was predictable. I didn’t even give the Sharks a chance to make it a 7 game series against the Ducks. Hall of famers Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, not to mention the heroic Jonas Hiller knocked out the President Trophy winners. Again.

What can be said of the defending champs? The Red Wings total dismantling of the upstart Blue Jackets was nothing short of impressive. Were the Blue Jackets just excited to have been there, or are the Wings yet again that good? Can it be both? Chris Osgood, as he promised, was better than he had been in the regular season, while Blue Jackets super rookie Steve Mason fell back to earth after a stunning regular season perfomance. They’ll be back, but for now they’ve got to deal with this piece of humble pie.

Vancouver may have swept the Blues, but they were life & death in doing so. The Blues fought hard in each of their 4 games and probably deserved to win at least 1. That being said, Roberto Luongo looks like a man poised to good deep, and also has his gaze on the #1 role for team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics. With or without Mats Sundin, beating Luongo 4 times out of 7 is going to be tough for any team.

Personally, the biggest surprise of the first round was the Chicago Blackhawks. I did not expect them to show so much spirit and poise in their first playoff appearance. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, Martin Havlat, and the rest of the team showed unusual poise for such a young bunch. As for the Flames…you’ve got to feel sorry for them. They were banged up on the blue line like no other team West of Montreal, but so much more was expected, especially after they acquired Mike Cammalleri, Olli Jokinen and Jordan Leopold.

Quick Predictions for Round 2

Boston Bruins (1) vs Carolina Hurricanes (6)
The top seeded Bruins draw another low seed – but this Hurricane team is not your garden variety low seed. They’ve got chemistry and experience. Perhaps most importantly, they’ve got Cam Ward who continues to fly under the radar. The Bruins are healthy, and remain the deepest team in the East. I expect them to topple the Hurricanes, but it won’t be easy. Early rust will affect them in game 1, but they’ll sail from there. Zdeno Chara will get the assignment of shutting down Staal, and he’ll get that job done. The rest of the Bruins depth, starting with Phil Kessel and Patrice Bergeron will be too much for the Hurricanes to handle.

Boston in 6.

Washington Capitals (2) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
In what can only be described as Gary Bettman’s fantasy, we get a playoff matchup between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. And the stars don’t stop there. The Penguins will be throwing MVP candidate and Art Ross winner Evgeni Malkin out there, Jordan Staal, Sergei Gonchar, and a plethora of competent supporting talent. Washington counters with Alexander Semin, Niklas Backstrom, Mike Green and their own cast of veteran talent. The wild card in this series is Simeon Varlamov. It’s one thing to beat the Rangers’ paltry offense. It’s another thing entirely to ask a 20 year old to stop 2 of the best hockey players in the world.

Pittsburgh in 7.

Detroit Red Wings (2) vs Anaheim Ducks (8)
How long can the Ducks ride this wave? Did they run in to a collection of playoff chokers, or are they a battle-hardened group of veterans who don’t need the red carpet rolled out for them? We will have our answer after this round. Can round 1 hero Jonas Hiller continue to baffle opposition shooters? Or will the Red Wings collection of championship stars find a way to deflate this guy’s balloon? Playoff goaltending heroics are not rare throughout history, and they can take teams from improbable 8th seeds to the finals (see Dwayne Roloson with the Oilers in 2005), but in this case, my money is going on the champs to continue their roll and send the Ducks packing for the summer. Too much top end skill to be contained.

Detroit in 6.

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs Chicago Blackhawks (4)
This ought to be a fun series to watch. These teams don’t like each other. Each team has what the other team doesn’t. The Canucks have top flight goaltending, while the Hawks have top notch talent. It will be a contest between the Hawks’ young guns vs the Canucks defense corps and Roberto Luongo. Can Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows support the Sedins enough offensively to put them over the top? Can Mats Sundin be the X factor for the Canucks? This is why they acquired him, so it’s time for him to get back in the lineup and show why he should be considered as one of the all-time greats. He’ll never have a better chance at Lord Stanley’s mug than he will this year.

Vancouver in 7.

If I’m right, and I’m usually not, we’ll have conference finals that look like this:

East
Boston (1) vs Pittsburgh (4)

West
Detroit (2) vs Vancouver (3)

I’d love to hear your thoughts and your predictions!

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