Who Was The First American Player To Score 50 Goals In A Season?
February 17, 2010 by Tyler
Filed under Hockey Legends
The 1984-85 NHL season marked a notable event in the history hockey for the United States. With his 53 goals and 95 points, 21 year old Bobby Carpenter became the first US born player to eclipse the 50-goal benchmark.
Carpenter’s 53 goals surpassed the previous record of 41 set by St. Louis Blues standout, Joe Mullen, during the previous NHL season.
However, this is not the only record that Carpenter holds. In fact, Carpenter’s early career, from as far back as high school, was full of accomplishment.
High School To The NHL
In addition to being the first to score 50 goals in a season, Carpenter is also noted as the first US citizen to jump to the NHL directly from high school. What’s more, in 1981, Carpenter became the first player born in the USA to be selected in the first round of the NHL entry draft. It is not surprising that he was named the “Can’t-Miss Kid” by Sports Illustrated that very same year.
Carpenter played in the National Hockey League for 18 seasons from 1981 to 1999. His numbers were fantastic in his early days, but Carpenter had mixed success later in his career. During his 18 seasons he took part in 1,178 games, scoring 320 goals and adding 408 assists.
Winning The Stanley Cup
One of the highlights of Bobby Carpenter’s career was his election to the NHL All-Star game in 1985. The only moment to trump that All Star Game was when he finally won the Stanley Cup during the lockout shortened 1994-95 NHL season with the New Jersey Devils. Carpenter stuck around New Jersey following his playing days, adding more Stanley Cup rings in 2000 and 2003 as an Assistant Coach with the Devils.
Though he never scored more than 27 goals in a season following his record setting year, Bobby Carpenter was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007 along with former NHLers Aaron Broten and John Vanbiesbrouck.
Thoughts on the Cup Finals
June 15, 2009 by Kyle
Filed under Hockey Columns
Stanley Cup Thoughts
The 2008-09 season has come to an end, and I think it’s safe to say that the quality of this year’s playoffs already has us salivating for the 2009-10 season.
I know I’m already excited.
- Marian Hossa, last year with the Penguins, defects to the Red Wings because he felt they represented his best chance to win a Cup. He spurned a 7 year, 50 million dollar offer from the Penguins to win the Cup. I respect the decision to put the Cup first, even though it backfired. It was not a horrible choice as he came within 1 game of his goal, but he still must feel pretty awful right now. That said, he was invisible at best in the finals. He had a chance to have an impact on his own fate and he dropped the ball. Speaking of dropping the ball, did Tomas Holmstrom even play in this series? I can’t recall ever hearing his name. He’s aged quickly after taking so much abuse in front of the net over the years.
- Sidney Crosby becomes the youngest captain at age 21 to win the ultimate prize. Lemieux was 24, Gretzky was 23. This kid has taken heat from all over the place, from players on the ice, members of the media and especially fans. He’s now vindicated. I’ll go out on a limb and say that he’s just fine with Ovechkin being the most exciting, prolific player in hockey, and he’s doubly fine with teammate Evgeni Malkin being the top scorer and playoff MVP. He’s a Cup champ and the Pens would not have gotten so far without him. There should have been a lot of crow eaten and humble pie served this weekend.
- The Red Wings were virtually unbeatable at the Joe Louis Arena. 11-1 record. A lock to win game 7, right? Wrong.
- The home team was 12-2 in game 7 Stanley Cup finals history. Don’t tell the Penguins that. The home team is now 12-3.
- The Penguins were the first team in since the Habs in the beginning of the 70’s to win the Cup after losing the first 2 games on the road. Raise your hand if you thought it was over when the Pens went home 0-2. Everyone thought their opportunity to jump on the Wings would have been in the first 2 games when they were on 2 days rest after a punishing Conference final against the Blackhawks. Instead, the Wings showed that they had plenty of fight left in them. What this meant for the Penguins is that they had to win 4 of the next 5 games against Detroit, with at least 1 win coming on the road. Never before have the words “you’re not in trouble until you lose on home ice” carried more weight.
- Marc-André Fleury. What can you say about this guy? Here’s another guy who took heavy criticism for not winning the big one. From the moment he gave up the chance to win the gold medal in the junior championships a few years back, people said he’d be a decent goalie, but his legacy would be good, but nothing to show for it. Well guess what? Now he’s shed that title, and has taken on the title of “big time goalie”, “CAN win it all” and he’s also probably earned himself an invite and a serious look for the 2010 Canadian Men’s Olympic Team. My lasting image for this Cup finals will be Fleury’s last-second (literally!) save off of Nik Lidstrom. If there was ever a bigger, more important, more clutch save in Stanley Cup history, I’d like to know about it.
- In the Wings’ crease, there’s no more doubt about Chris Osgood. He had a bad (with gusts up to mediocre) regular season, but he elevated in the playoffs and probably would have won the Conn Smythe if the Wings had won. That probably would have solidified his standing as a hall of fame goalie.
- Did any role player have more impact on the outcome of a series than gritty Max Talbot? He’s going down not only in Pittsburgh as a folk hero, but his name will be forever remembered in HOCKEY history as the unsung hero who delivered on hockey’s biggest stage under the most adverse conditions. If the Red Wings had won the series, we’d be talking about Dan Cleary today, and not Max Talbot.
- If before game 7 you had told me that the Penguins would have scored 2 goals, and would play over half the game without Crosby, I’d have told you that the Pens had no chance of winning on the road. And no, this is not an opportunity for Crosby haters to say that he is overrated because the Penguins won the most important game without him. That’s a lazy and hollow argument.
- No breakdown would be complete without giving the coaches their due. Dan Bylsma rode in mid-season after the overdue firing of Michel Therrien and totally turned around the fortunes of his team. He deserves a huge amount of credit for the speed and effectiveness he’s had on this young roster. Mike Babcock also has the mantle of best coach currently in the game. He needs to be behind the bench for team Canada in Vancouver 2010. Considering the injuries and fatigue that his players had, he also gets a big round of applause.
Not to make this all about the Penguins, because the Red Wings are still a damn fine hockey team that simply ran out of steam. Injuries, age and fatigue obviously caught up to them as the series wore on. In retrospect, they needed a win in game 3 or 4 to put the series out of reach but fell just short. I suppose you can’t reason or argue with destiny. That being said, the Red Wings have been the NHL’s gold standard for 15 years now and there’s no reason to think they can’t be back again next season. Their core will be back, and guys like Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader showed that they are ready to step in to crucial roles that the likes of Draper and Maltby filled so admirably for years. They have the best coach in the league, the best GM, and more than a couple future hall of famers within their ranks. They’ll be a force for years to come.
If there was any ugliness to the series, it was post-game in game 7 where Kris Draper called out Crosby for not shaking hands. It smacks of sore loser talk and it was frankly unnecessary. Crosby, despite what many think, is a very classy player and is well versed in hockey history and protocol. Let’s please also keep in mind that at the very worst, Crosby is still a 21 year old who may have gotten caught up in the moment. There is no reason why Crosby would have intentionally snubbed the Red Wings.He’s much better than that.
In my prediction for the Cup finals, I said that Pittsburgh would win in 6 games. So I was off by one game. My underlying thought was that the torch is being passed to (or taken by) hockey’s next great team. With Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury and a few others all under contract for years to come, the Penguins are poised to remain great and be the team to be beat for years to come, if they can navigate cap issues properly. Perhaps they need to trade one of their big 3 away for future assets (Staal?) Shades of the Islanders turning the reigns over to the Gretzky/Messier Oilers in the mid-80’s, with Crosby and Malkin leading the way if things go their way.
Please leave your thoughts below on what you thought of these classic finals. With the draft just under 2 weeks away and free agency at the beginning of July, we’ll need to keep the hockey chatter going until then!
Momentum Swings Bring Excitement to Stanley Cup Final
June 8, 2009 by Tyler
Filed under Hockey Columns
The mainstream media pundits had all but written off the Pittsburgh Penguins after the first two games of the Stanley Cup final. Detroit was just too experienced and too disciplined for the Penguins.
Then, low and behold the Penguins stormed back to take two straight games at home. Wouldn’t you know it, the media couldn’t write enough stories about how old, tired, slow, and beaten up the Red Wings were.
So, with the series tied at two games apiece, the venue shifted back to Detroit for Game 5. The Red Wings were doomed! They had lost all momentum to the younger and more spirited Penguins in Game 4. Then…
The Red Wings came out and punished the Penguins at Joe Louis arena, winning 5-0, forcing the Penguins’ star netminder, Marc-Andre Fleury from the game in very convincing fashion.
So…what would the media say now?
Let’s take a look!
- CBC backtracks slightly, while staying neutral on Game 6, noting both teams are tremendous on home ice.
- Sportsnet calls on the Canadian Press for their story that is now focused BACK on the “Depth of the Red Wings”.
- SLAM sports also sourced the Canadian Press, but preferred the “Datsyuk Returns as Hero” angle.
- ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun scripted a story based on a 10 year old song from Semisonic – closing time. I’ll let you decide what to think of it – here.
- TSN highlights the momentum shift that special teams brings to the game. A very astute way of backing off the “Old and tired Wings story”.
- Globe and Mail cited the return of Datsyuk that “Energized the Detroit team”.
- My personal favorite is this post from TSN’s Darren Dregercalling fo rmore secondary scoring from Pittsburgh. He notes, correctly, that Fedotenko, Guerin, and Kunitz have combined for just 1 goal in the series.
However, Dreger doesn’t mention that Talbot has 2 goals, LeTang has a goal, and both Kennedy and Staal have scored in the series for the Penguins. If that’s not secondary scoring I am not sure what would qualify.
So we have seen media flip-flop from the Red Wings being experienced and winning to being old, slow, tired and losing. We’ve heard the pundits doubt the Penguins’ depth, desire and descipline and then suddenly jump on the Pittsburgh ‘talented and energetic’ bandwagon.
So what does a poor fan take away from this media mess?
Quit reading the papers and watching the news! Enjoy the swings in momentum, the tight defensive play and the wide open run and gun moments – this is some of the best hockey we have seen in years!
Oh – and of course keep reading NHL Digest!
Conference Final Impressions & Predictions for Cup Finals
May 28, 2009 by Kyle
Filed under Hockey Columns
Conference Final Impressions
I don’t know if these conference finals were all that fans expected them to be, but they have sure paved the way for what promises to be a terrific championchip series.
I suppose I’m glad to say that I had this series mostly right. I thought the Pens would be too much up front, and they were. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were a 2-man army that completely dismantled what was left of the Hurricanes. I thought Carolina would have had a little more juice left, but Eric Staal had hit empty after his 7 game marathon with Zdeno Chara. And needless to say, if Staal is not bringing his A game every night, the Canes just don’t have the depth to compete, no matter how much magic they may have, or how much the hockey gods were smiling on them. The only hope they had was for Cam Ward to be utterly spectacular, but he was shelled in games 2 and 3 and may have lost all confidence. It even looked as though his teammates knew that their run was over. Let’s remember that they were an overachieving team that went through 2 grueling 7-game series with the Devils and Bruins, neither of which they were expected to win. A tip of the hat to the Hurricanes for a good run this season, but they were soundly beaten by a team that looks possessed right now, especially Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin . Suddenly the Habs fan in me doesn’t feel so bad. A team was swept in more dominating fashion than the Canadiens were.
What can be said about the Red Wings? in my lifetime I don’t think I’ve seen such a complete and competent team. They simply do everything right, even with Pavel Datsyuk, Nik Lidstrom and Draper out of the lineup. Marian Hossa stepped up in games 4 and 5 to lead the offensive charge in the absence of Datsyuk. Chris Osgood is proving that he can indeed be a clutch goalie, with a huge performance in game 5. From top to bottom, the Red Wings get it. They know their roles well, they know how to win and they are smarter than any team out there. I salute the young Blackhawks for their tremendous season. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg and Martin Havlat will be a formidable core for a long, long time. And they’re supported with tons of other great young talent on the blue line that will ensure Chicago’s restablishment on the hockey map. Next season the Red Wings may not be so lucky, but then again, when have the Wings ever depended on luck for their success?
Stanley Cup Final Predictions
Let the Games Begin!
April 13, 2009 by Kyle
Filed under Hockey Columns
At long last the seemingly interminable 82 game schedule is complete, and now it’s time to play for keeps. The excuses stop here, the board is wiped clean, everyone gives 110%, we need to play for 60 minutes, we gotta take it one shift, one game at a time, cliché, cliché, cliché.
Now that those are out of the way here how I see the first round of the playoffs shaking down, starting with the Eastern Conference:
Boston Bruins (1) vs Montreal Canadiens (8)
By now readers know I’m a Habs fan. I’ll clearly disclose my bias now. You can find my deeper thoughts on this annual rite of spring here, and what I think are the specific keys to the Canadiens success here. Essentially, I’m taking the Habs in 7 because I have to, but reading between the lines, I know I may be a fool in doing so.
Canadiens in 7.
Washington Capitals (2) vs New York Rangers (7)
Hard to think that the Rangers have a chance in this one considering they can’t score to save their lives. This one seems like a mismatch to me. Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, and Markus Naslund vs the likes of Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Niklas Backstrom. On the blueline it’s a shaky-at-best Rangers defense corps led by Wade Redden. The Caps are led by Norris contender Mike Green. And in nets you’ve got the inconsistent Henrik Lundqvist vs the even more inconsistent Jose Theodore. Even though this is the time of year where defense and goaltending wins championchips, I can’t see the Rangers defense containing the high-octane Capitals. The Caps had their rude awakening last year by being stunned by the Flyers. I think they’ll be tougher to beat this year.
Capitals in 5.
New Jersey Devils (3) vs Carolina Hurricanes (6)
These seem to be 2 teams heading in opposite directions. The Devils have been mediocre at best since Brodeur became the all time wins leader. The Hurricanes have been lighting teams up, including a 9-0 drubbing against the lottery-favorite Islanders. The Hurricanes have also enjoyed playoff success against the Devils. They may be one of the rare teams that are not afraid of Brodeur and the perennial contenders from Jersey. Erik Cole has been a beast since being sent back to Raleigh from Edmonton, and Eric Staal is enjoying a long stretch of successful hockey. And let’s not forget Cam Ward, who has put himself in the conversation for the Men’s Olympic team. The Devils have rising (or risen?) star Zach Parise, who is enjoying an MVP-caliber season. Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner bring skill, leader and experience, but how much do they have left?
Hurricanes in 6.
Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs Philadelphia Flyers (5)
I always find it difficult to predict what will happen between rivals, especially when they share the same geographic area, and are ranked 4th/5th. There’s very very little that separate these 2. The Penguins have 2 studs up front in Sidney Crosby and Hart Trophy candidate Evgeni Malkin. Their back-end offense comes almost exclusively from Sergei Gonchar, and late season pickup of Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz have paid off huge. Let’s also remember the job that new coach Dan Bylsma has done since the firing of Michel Therrien. The Flyers are no slouches themselves with Jeff Carter having a breakout year, and Mike Richards once again proving that he is one of the game’s best all around young players. Oh and did I mention Daniel Brière and Simon Gagné? They’ve got a big and tough defense corps that can pound anyone in to submission. This will be no walk in the park for the Penguins. But I’m giving them the slight edge in goaltending, and thus, the win in this series, albeit in 7 games.
Penguins in 7.
Out West, there are some old faces back in the mix for the first time in a long time (Chicago and St. Louis) and the last of the 30 NHL teams to make the playoffs (Columbus). Congrats to them all! Will any of them do any damage? Only time will tell.
San Jose Sharks (1) vs Anaheim Ducks (8)
The President Trophy winners take on their inter-state rival in what should be an interesting matchup. Patrick Marleau is enjoying life under new coach Todd McLelland, Joe Thornton has had another good year and Evgeni Nabokov is in the Vezina conversation. Dan Boyle was a good pickup, and young stars like Devin Setoguchi are ready for prime time. Do the Ducks stand a chance? With a proven roster with the likes of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, Chris Pronger, Rob Niedermayer, Todd Marchant, and Francois Beauchemin, you bet they do. They were 7-2-1 in their final 10 games, a sure sign that an experienced team is getting ready flex their muscles when it counts. I’m going to be bold here, and say that the Ducks pull it off. Thornton and Cheechoo will be no-shows, and the Ducks will grind them out. A big season down the tubes for the Sharks. I may end up eating my words on this one, but I won’t be so quick to write the Ducks off.
Ducks in 6.
Detroit Red Wings (2) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (7)
The Wings are the champs. The Blue Jackets are making their first appearance in the playoffs in their history. On paper, this is a mismatch, and I think that will bear itself out over the course of the series. Only Steve Mason, coming off an unbelievable rookie season can help keep this close. Ken Hitchcock is a great playoff coach and may have some tricks, but how to you keep down a team that has all stars at virtually every position, including their own coach, Mike Babcock? Taming the likes of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Marian Hossa and Tomas Holmstrom is no easy task. The Wings are very deep at all positions and beating them will be no easy task. Chris Osgood, the Red Wings goalie had better be on his game, or this series WILL be more interesting than it ought to be. The Blue Jackets will not roll over, nor will the play with the “happy to be here” mentality. It is the first taste of playoff action for Rick Nash and the rest of the relative no-names on Columbus. They’ve done an amazing thing in getting this far, and they’ll give the Wings a run for their money, but it won’t be enough.
Red Wings in 6.
Vancouver Canucks (3) vs St. Louis Blues (6)
The Blue Jackets were the feel-good story of the year, until the Blues came along and decided to join the playoff party. Coach Andy Murray has pulled off a semi-miracle in getting this team of unproven stars and aging veterans in to the playoffs. Young guns T.J. Oshie, David Perron, Patrik Berglund, Brad Boyes, David Backes lead the way with 37 year old Keith Tkachuk as the veteran leader of the group. In goal they’re going with mostly unproven, unknown Chris Mason in nets. Up front the Canucks are led once again by Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The mid-season acquisition of Mats Sundin seems to be paying off (though maybe not as much as the Canucks and their fans would hope), and Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows came out of seemingly nowhere to help solidify and round out the offense. The Canucks have a deep and well-rounded defense corps consisting of Kevin Bieksa, Alexander Edler, Willie Mitchell, Mattias Ohlund and Sami Salo. And of course, in goal is one of the best in the game in Roberto Luongo. I think the Blues are going to be one of the teams who will be in “happy to have made it in” mode.
Canucks in 5.
Chicago Blackhawks (4) vs Calgary Flames (5)
Another interesting series in that we have a team on the rise (Chicago) with many young stars (Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg and Martin Havlat) vs a team with high expectations every year (Calgary). Led by Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, and Dion Phaneuf, the Flames are a well balanced team with a battle-hardened coach in Mike Keenan. The Flames have some questionmarks on defense in terms of their injury situation, but if they’re all available, they’re as good as any defense corps in the league. They’ve got the right mix of offense and bone crushers to go a long way. The Hawks should get solid goaltending from Cup champ Nikolai Khabibulin, but can the Blackhawks avoid the “glad to be here” mentality that I think will be the Blues downfall? The Blackhawks are a team on the rise and will eventually steal the division title from the Red Wings, perhaps even as soon as next season. But some teams need to learn what losing is like before they take a quantum leap forward.
Flames in 6.
So there we have it. If my predictions pan out (and I’m calling for both #1 seeds to get knocked out), we’ll have a 2nd round series that will see the following matchups:
East
Washington (2) vs Montreal (8)
Pittsburgh (4) vs Carolina (6)
West
Detroit (2) vs Anaheim (8)
Vancouver (3) vs Calgary (6)
I’d love to hear your thoughts and your predictions!
NHL Quick Hits
April 10, 2009 by Tyler
Filed under Hockey Columns
Joe Sakic will not return to the Colorado Avalanche this season.
Joe Sakic will not return to the Colorado Avalanche this season.
Sakic Not Returning This Season
According to Adrian Dater, Joe Sakic will not be playing this weekend. Many fans were hoping he would come back from injury to close out the season, and possibly his career, with the Avalanche.
NHL Players Going Green?
Andrew Ference, Zdeno Chara and Mark Stuart make a habit of riding their bikes to practice, and sometimes they convince Boston Bruins teammate Chuck Kobasew to use pedal power, too.
This comes on the heels of Scott Niedermayer of the Anaheim Ducks trading in his truck for a hybrid Toyota Prius. Apparently in the NHL, it’s cool to go green!
Power Play Efficiency Up!
According to John Kreiser at NHL.com, power plays around the NHL this season are doing more with less. As the season winds down, power plays are converting at a rate not seen since 1992-93, a season that included two expansion teams (Ottawa and Tampa Bay).
The San Jose Sharks are converting their chances at a clip of 18.9% – a rate that hasn’t been seen in over a decade!
Engraving The Stanley Cup
Joe Pelletier, the Hockey History Blogger, knows as well as anyone that getting your name engraved on the Stanley Cup is hockey’s equivalent to immortality.
But it wan’t until reading his article, that I learned that The Cup was first awarded in 1893, and the name of the team and championship year were engraved from the start. But it was not until 1907 that the practice of engraving players individual names started?
