It only took 28 seconds for the New York Rangers to remind everyone why they finished at the top of the league this season. Dan Girardi sent the puck up the ice to Rick Nash, who shot a rocket at Marc-Andre Fleury. Derick Brassard charged down the (wide open) middle of the ice to put in the rebound, and just like that, the Rangers took the lead and all the momentum in the game. They never looked back.
The Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 at Madison Square Garden to take a 1-0 lead in the first-round playoff series. From the beginning, the Rangers took hold of the game and dominated the puck possession, outshooting the Penguins 38-25. Henrik Lundqvist had 24 saves in the win and played a strong game in net.
The Rangers spent most of the first period in the Penguins’ zone, while the Penguins spent almost half of the period sitting in the penalty box. They took four penalties in the first 20 minutes, and the Rangers converted on one of their power plays, a goal by captain Ryan McDonagh at 15:16, to increase their lead to 2-0 going into the first intermission.
The Penguins woke up midway through the second period, and Blake Comeau cut the Rangers’ lead in half at 6:15 after Lundqvist stopped a flurry of saves in the crease. The game picked up in intensity from there, but the Rangers were able to keep up their strong offensive pursuit and shut down the Penguins’ biggest players. The Rangers’ defense also stepped up big and prevented the Penguins from really establishing an offensive rhythm; Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist were held to one shot apiece, while Evgeni Malkin had just two on the night.
Fleury was pulled for the extra skater in the closing minute of the third period, but the Rangers were able to ward off the Penguins’ offensive pressure and skate away with the victory on home ice.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME:
3. Fleury
2. McDonagh
1. Brassard
LOOKING AHEAD:
-The Rangers were just 1 for 5 on the power play tonight, and this percentage will need to improve as they move through the postseason. Pittsburgh has been the most penalized team in the NHL this season, so the chances for power play goals will certainly be there as the series continues. The Rangers need to take advantage of these 5-on-4 opportunities and make the Penguins pay for their penalties.
-Despite the rocky start, Fleury played a solid game for Pittsburgh in goal. The Rangers will need to keep getting pucks to the net and challenging Fleury, who has not had the best luck in his past playoff performances. The Penguins are also missing two of their key defensemen–Kris Letang and Christian Ehrhoff–so the Rangers need to take advantage of this weakened blue line and stay active and persistent in the Penguins’ zone.
-The Rangers’ major concern coming out of this game is the loss of Girardi, who left the game in the third period after getting hit in the side of the face with the puck. He went straight to the locker room accompanied by medical staff and did not return. If his injury is significant enough to put him out of action for any number of games, the Rangers will feel his loss on the blue line. Kevin Klein, who was originally slated tonight after missing five weeks with a broken arm, skated this morning but did not dress for the game. With Girardi’s status currently unknown, the Rangers will need Klein’s defensive presence now more than ever.
NEXT GAME:
Rangers lead the series 1-0. Next game is Saturday, April 18th at 8pm.
The 2014-2015 NHL season for the Arizona Coyotes is one that they hope to never have to relive. With a 24-50-8 record, the club never wants to be put in that position again. The team looks to the future with positivity as the prospective players and key players of their team will come into training camp healthy and hungry for success.
“A couple days away obviously you take the frustration of the game out, but the frustration from the season is still there,” Dave Tippett, the Coyotes head coach said. “It was a tough season for the organization and obviously there’s some things we need to clean up.”
Injury plagued season for key pieces
When you best players are plagued with injury, it’s hard to find a groove. Key pieces like Mikkel Boedker and Martin Hanzal were noticeably absent on the roster for the majority of the season. An emergency splenectomy in Winnipeg for Boedker and back surgery for Hanzal meant the team had to fill the void for their most prominent players.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson was the only player to play in all 82 games. There was an unfortunate struggle for the team to stay healthy, and that meant players were constantly going back and forth between their AHL affiliate the Portland Pirates and Arizona.
“You never seem to get into a rhythm,” coach Dave Tippett said on the amount of up-and-down the team had with their players this season. Undoubtably, there is so much young talent, and they exercise their use of their AHL arsenal, but the team staying healthy is something that really is vital in their success next season. All of the call-up’s creates a team dynamic that isn’t consistent, and for success they need consistency all around.
Next season the team is hopeful that Hanzal and Boedker will be in tip-top shape by training camp. While they might have a ways to go, both recoveries are going well and they will not be written off for the start of the next season.
The lottery pick heard ’round the world
Finishing as one of the bottom two teams in the league has its perks. This upcoming NHL Draft is one of the most promising that they have had in a very long time. If you haven’t heard the names Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel swirling around the hockey world recently, then you must be under a rock.
The draft lottery is finally coming up on Saturday, April 18th, and it could mean big things for the Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes, or even another team that wins that first pick in the lottery. The Coyotes are guaranteed one of the top three picks in the draft. While any of the top three picks will be a valuable asset, to top two players will be the most NHL ready by the time of training camp.
“Obviously that’s a big thing for a lot of people around the league, but I think it’s putting a little too much pressure on some individuals,” Said Captain Shane Doan. “You watch them play and see what they’ve done historically it’s unbelievable, the two of them, with Eichel and McDavid, its pretty special… Neither of their teams have been handed the championships. That’s playing against boys, you come and play against men in the NHL.”
Courtesy of CBS Sports
Bright future ahead for OEL
Anyone who has been following along this season knows that Oliver Ekman-Larsson was the team’s very best offense and defense. Being chosen team MVP did not come as a surprise to all of those who have been watching his best season thus far.
With a personal best 23 goals and 20 assists, he lead the team in scoring and even scored the most goals in the league among defenseman. His overtime heroics got him noticed early in the year, but the numbers he put up by the season’s end were what really surprised everyone. He is undoubtably one of the most underrated players in the league, and he deserves much more recognition than he has gotten.
“It’s been a long year first of all. I was just trying to do my best every day and that’s all you can ask for,” Ekman-Larsson said about last season.
After putting on a good amount of weight last offseason (came in at 195), it was obvious he was uncomfortable at the beginning. It took him a bit of time, but he was able to get used to it, and he says he is happy with the weight that he is at now (186). He feels much better and said:
“I’m just going to try to get better; work hard in this offseason. [I’m going to] try to get stronger and quicker. See if I can get better in ‘d’… I want to defend a bit better, too. I just want to improve my game all over the ice. I’m a good skater and if you take that away I’m not going to be that good. I’m not going to be that successful out there. Obviously I want to get stronger, and it’s going to take some time.”
Team leadership’s future in question
There is a whole lot of uncertainty regarding the team’s leadership going into next season. The first person in question is captain Shane Doan who has not publicly made any decisions yet about next season. He says he will talk things over with his family this summer, but nothing has been decided yet. Thirty-eight year old Doan has been with the team for 19 seasons, and while they’ve come relatively close, he has never raised the Stanley Cup. This could be a big factor in his decision due to the fact that he is getting older and there is uncertainty about how much longer he will play.
“There’s no question to me he can still play,” said Don Maloney, who plans to meet with Doan and “figure out how to make things better” when Maloney returns from the U-18 World Championship in a few weeks. “He can still be a contributor.”
Another questionable piece is head coach Dave Tippett who is obviously frustrated with the way the whole year went. Tippett has not made any decisions, but the team has to really be willing to put the effort (and money) forth in order to be contenders. He said that he “can’t see himself doing that again” in terms of the season they just had.
“I don’t think anybody wants to go through this again;that’s just the reality of it. We’re in this business to win,” said Tippett. “You don’t want to get in situations where you have to trade players away at the deadline. Those are not situations you want to be in, so the quicker we can find solutions to that the better for everybody”
Coyotes go to the World Cup
Due to their early summer, some Coyotes players have been given the opportunity to represent their countries in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Cup in Prague, Czech Republic. Seven players from the Coyotes have been put on a roster thus far.
The center position is going to be one of the team’s main priorities this offseason. Filling the space where Antoine Vermette once was is going to be big. There is no doubt that they struggle offensively and they definitely need to get a player who can produce.
“When I say a three-to-four year plan, that’s to be a legitimate Cup contender, not just a playoff team,” general manager Don Maloney said at Monday’s press conference. “We will be introducing some younger players, but we know to compete in the West you need some experienced players.”
The team who is normally known for their A+ defense really lacked this season, and it is a huge factor in staying in games. They need a veteran presence on the blue line, and it is essential in their success going forward.
“As far as center ice and defense, they are two areas that need improvement,” said head coach Dave Tippett. “Center ice is just, losing Vermette and you’ve got Chip and Joe there that are usually better suited for a bottom line, to basically replace Vermette is a hole that we need to fill. I think we need a more veteran, harder presence from the blue line.”
Beginning Thursday, April 15, the number one Western conference seeded St. Louis Blues and the number four seeded Minnesota Wild take each other on in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Although the Wild edged into the playoffs with a wildcard spot and the Blues were a division winner, the series should be exciting, and it will not be an easy series sweep for the Blues.
The Blues are a very talented team, which is made pretty clear when Team USA star, TJ Oshie, isn’t even considered their best player. Young gun, Vladimir Tarasenko, leads the team with 73 points on the season, and he is only 23 years old. Tarasenko is widely noted as having crazy talent when it comes to his ability to score, as he made it on the NHL highlight reel multiple times this season with jaw-dropping goals. For example, just watch this sick goal.
Another highly underrated player on the Blues roster is Alexander Steen. Steen finished the season with 64 points, and is a player who is known for his gritty play. His goals aren’t always pretty, but he still manages to net many and is a very skilled player.
The Wild’s biggest challenge of the series could be the physical play the Blues will bring to the ice. Enter third line center David Backes. Backes is not afraid to generate some heat when it comes down to playing physical. Despite being a Minnesota native, Backes has always been an agitator when playing the Wild — even getting in physical confrontations with the Wild’s goaltenders. Backes will be looking to rebound last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs when Blackhawk’s defenseman Brent Seabrook boarded him into a concussion (… and of course Duncan Keith uttered the controversial chirp, “Wakey, wakey Backes”). Backes will definitely do his best to get into the Wild players’ heads and mess with their games.
In addition to his ability to mentally distract his opponents, Backes, along with many of his Blues teammates, are big and talented. As a forward group, they are known to be physical, yet possess the talent to put the puck in the net, as well. The Wild will need to find a way to counterattack this style of play if they want to finish the series on top.
The Minnesota Wild, though not as big, are still an extremely talented team. The Wild seem to have overcome their early season goal scoring slump. With that said, their success is predicated upon sound defensive play and strong goaltending. A key to the series will be the Wild’s ability to maintain their success as the top rated penalty killing team in the league.
The Wild came back from a tough start to the season that had them looking like they would miss the playoffs, and though it took 80 games of grit before they clinched a playoff spot, they most certainly did not back in to the playoffs like the Pittsburgh Penguins did. They worked exceptionally hard to earn their spot, in what many consider the best playoff field to ever come out of the Western Conference.
Despite being a very young squad, the Wild have veteran leadership in the locker room. Obviously, their leaders on and off the ice are Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Parise is the type of player who, while not being of the greatest stature, never cowers to an opponent and works as hard as he can every second of every shift, which will be exactly what the Wild need against the bigger, stronger Blues team. Suter is one of the most defensively reliable blue-liners in the league. Both players are natural born leaders who will be guide the Wild’s younger stars in this tough, physical series.
Jason Zucker, Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund are all young players to watch for the Wild. Zucker is three games returned from a shoulder injury and has made an immediate impact by scoring 3 goals in 3 games. Zucker will help deliver the scoring punch the Wild will need to contend in this series. Nino Niederreiter is another emerging Wild player. At only 22 years old, Niederreiter is the team’s second leading goal-scorer, only trailing Zach Parise. With his game 7 overtime, series clinching goal over Colorado last year, Neiderreiter is quite a fan favorite in Minnesota. Granlund is another of the team’s young stars that will need to step up to help the Wild advance. This young group of up and coming stars, along with Charlie Coyle and Justin Fontaine, will be helpful in the series vs. St. Louis, and will be influential in whether the Wild come out on top.
Perhaps most critical to the Wild’s chance to advance past the Blues will be the play of Devan Dubnyk. Dubnyk is the number one reason the Wild turned their season around. The January 15th trade for Dubnyk turned the Wild’s season from spiraling out of control, to a 9-to-1 odds team to win the Stanley Cup. While Montreal’s Carey Price is a shoe-in to win the Vezina Award, Dubynk should be a finalist for the honorable award. If Dubnyk is on his game, he could be the difference maker for the Wild. If he is not, it could be a long series for the Wild.
This series will be extremely intense and the winner could very likely make a deep playoff run. This series is sure to ignite a rivalry between the two teams, as it is destined to get physical. Most “experts” are picking the Blues to win the series easily because they are the Division winner, but it would not be surprising to see a long series, with the Wild ultimately coming out on top. Both teams are yearning for their first Stanley Cup championship. Let the games begin!
USA Hockey has named the first 15 players of the 2015 U.S. Men’s National Team for the IIHF World Championships. The tournament will be May 1-17 in Ostrava and Prague, Czech Republic.
So far USA Hockey has named one goaltender, six defensemen and eight forwards.
Eleven of the fifteen are most recently National Hockey League players whose teams fell short of the playoffs.
The roster so far also includes 2010 IIHF World Junior gold medalists Jake Gardiner (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Jeremy Morin (Columbus Blue Jackets), and 2013 IIHF World Junior gold medalists Connor Murphy (Arizona Coyotes) and Mike Reilly (University of Minnesota).
Monday signaled the true end to the Boston Bruins season. What other teams call locker clean out, the Bruins call break up day—an apt description of what happens on that day. Each of the players will go through their exit interview with management. Some of the players will know they will be returning in the fall. For others, there are questions as to their position with the team. And for a few, the end of their time in black and gold has come—usually before they expected. This year’s end was no different.
As the morning progressed, the players came out a couple at a time, giving the media a chance to ask them about their individual season, the team as a whole and what went wrong.
Frustrations
As the season progressed and the inconsistencies of the team affected the players, the game and ultimately the season, one couldn’t help wondering if those frustrations began to take over in the players’ minds ultimately becoming the problems that plagued them more and more as the last of the games found them struggling.
Reilly Smith
‘You try not to think about it but it’s definitely there and it can be a bit of an obstacle,” said Reilly Smith. “Probably just have to be better at parking it and moving on.”
“I wouldn’t say there was like anything wrong. We had a tough time scoring, I think, I the last ten games,” added Ryan Spooner. “We weren’t getting blown out. All the games were pretty close. Maybe we didn’t get any bounces, but at the end of the day it’s in the past now so I guess we just have to move on with it.”
Moving on though, was something that the team just couldn’t master throughout the season. Shaking off the loss and approaching the next game with resilience was something that used to synonymize Boston Bruins. Instead, losing streaks of multiple games marred the season—the regularity of the skids this year something new and unwelcome.
“When you don’t win, everything’s magnified. A year ago there was a different upset. It was the fact that we had such a great regular season and then we fell short,” explained Gregory Campbell. “Sometimes when things don’t go exactly your way you, for sure you push and you try to find solutions and you try to find answers and sometimes you do something that maybe you don’t even need to do.”
Looking for those answers may explain some of the problems that the team experienced as they missed passes, couldn’t get the puck in the net—sometimes despite astounding numbers of shots on goal—or left wide-open spaces for the other team to glide in and take the lead and often the game.
“The frustration’s there obviously when you don’t win. Every team goes through that when you don’t win, but you have to find ways to not get frustrated and stay with the flow and play the best you can play,” said Max Talbot. “It’s a mental game. You can be physically as prepared as you want to be but at the end of the day it’s going to be the mental that’s going to take over and it’s something that you have to be professional and deal with it.”
The frustrations will remain for some time. The players will evaluate themselves. The team’s management will evaluate the players and also their own role in the struggles. And the owners will evaluate everything and decide if bigger changes need to be made.
Uncertainties
As with any end of season, some players are coming to the end of their contracts. Perhaps in a winning year, and with some cap space to play with, there would be less uncertainty for those players. Among those who will be unrestricted free agents come July 1, are Adam McQuaid, Matt Bartkowski and Carl Soderberg.
Adam McQuaid interviewed by The Pink Puck
For McQuaid, the Bruins have been his home for quite some time. He played for the Providence Bruins and then made the leap to the NHL club where he has had some excellent experiences.
“Obviously I want to be back. I’ve had so many great memories here with this group, this organization. I guess it goes without saying that … I don’t know. I can’t picture not being here,” McQuaid struggled to explain. “I haven’t talked with anybody. I don’t know. It’s a different situation for me this year, some uncertainty. So I guess we’ll see how things play out, but my priority, my goal, would be to want to come back here. I don’t know if that’s realistic or not.”
Soderberg was rumored to be looking for a raise in his paycheck this coming season. And he has gone on the record as saying that he plans to remain in the NHL for at least the next couple of years.
“I want to hear from Boston for sure first,” Soderberg said Monday. “If we can find a solution together this coming couple of months, that would be great.”
Niklas Svedberg
And of course the team has a number of restricted free agents as well, including Dougie Hamilton, Niklas Svedberg and Spooner. Hamilton has been described as the future of the Bruins’ defense, so it is likely that the team will come to terms with him. However, given the lack of games that Svedberg got to play this season, it is questionable if he would consider playing second fiddle to Tuukka Rask for another season.
“I’m going to talk to my agent here in a week to see how we’re going to move forward,” Svedberg told media. “Everything influences the decision. So we’ll kind of see in the coming weeks how to approach the next year. I’ll talk to my agent, everything, we just finished the season so I haven’t thought about it that much yet.”
For two of the players though, the answer has already been decided for them.
Goodbyes
“I’ve spoken with Dan Paille and Gregory Campbell and I told them that we won’t be resigning them,” General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced during his live press conference Monday afternoon, though he himself was unsure if he would continue to work for the organization.
Prior to his being told, Paille already could see the writing on the locker room wall.
“When things don’t end well, you always expect the bad, but we’ll see,” Paille said earlier Monday. “Not too optimistic but we’ll see how things go.”
By the time the locker room was opened to media, Campbell had already discovered his fate.
“I’ll always have those memories and I’ll always be proud to have worn the jersey. Why I’m lucky is that I did get to play for this team and to really have success here and it was an amazing city to have success in,” Campbell shared. “So people move on, players move on, but the memories I have, I will always look back fondly on and just be really proud and proud of the way I played for the team.”
Gregory Campbell
No one can say that Campbell didn’t give whatever was needed in any game. He would step up and drop the gloves. He would block shots, at the expense of his body. He embodied the spirit of what it means to be a Bruin. Fans and teammates will miss him. However, he is the first to point out that this is a business.
“It is hard, I mean, but that’s part of being a professional athlete and being involved in professional sports. The people that make those decisions…those quick decisions… usually aren’t around for a very long time,” Campbell explained. “You really have to be thoughtful and know that there’s a bigger picture usually and that professional sports is not easy whether you win or lose. It’s a hard business and we’re all very fortunate to be here. But it’s something that’s not easy, so you just really have to be mindful and try to make the best decisions.”
Goodbyes are difficult. Changes happen. And when a team misses the playoffs—a team such as the Bruins—it is expected that changes will come. Hopefully those making those changes will be, as Campbell said, mindful and try to make the best decisions.
When Patrick Kane fell awkwardly into the boards after a crosscheck in February, the Chicago Blackhawks and fans prepared themselves for the worst.
After the team announced he’d need surgical repairs to a broken clavicle, the Hawks planned to go without their leading scorer for not just the rest of the season, but also the first two rounds of the playoffs. As the team prepares for game one in the first round against the Nashville Predators, though, Kane has proven yet again his otherworldly ability to come up big when he’s needed.
His recovery has been ahead of schedule all along. Rather than the expected 12 weeks, a Wednesday return would be the seven week mark. Over the last few weeks, though, Kane’s progress has exceeded expectations–much like the player himself.
“It’s exciting,” Kane told media after Tuesday’s practice Johnny’s IceHouse West. “It’s been a long 50 days here, so it’s a credit to a lot of hard work from the doctors and the trainers, and just listening to them and trying to heal as fast as possible.”
He started workouts shortly after surgery and was skating with the team April 1. By last weekend, he was practicing with contact. He had his first full-contact practice Monday. Following a post-practice X-ray and doctor’s visit, Kane was given permission to play. “Patrick has been working extremely diligently with his rehabilitation and has recently returned to full-contact practice without any difficulty,” team doctor Dr. Michael Terry said in a release. “After discussions with Patrick and the team, and examining Patrick today, we collectively feel it is appropriate, with minimal risk, for him to return to full participation.”
Great to be back for the playoffs. Thank you to all the great fans for the many well wishes over the last seven weeks! — Patrick Kane (@88PKane) April 14, 2015
Before his injury, Kane led the league in the scoring with 64 points in 61 games.
In the 21 games without him, the team scored two goals or fewer in nine games (14 not counting empty-netters) and carried a 12-8-1 record. They lost the last four.
“To get him back is only going to help us,” Captain Jonathan Toews told media. “So I’m really looking forward to getting it started tomorrow.”
In the 93 out of 94 playoff games where Kane has suited up for the Hawks, he’s scored seven game-winning goals in a total of 37 goals. He has 54 assists. In 2010, he scored the Cup-winner and in 2013 he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for the playoffs’ Most Valuable Player.
Last year, Kane missed the last 12 games of the regular season with a lower body injury before returning to a pretty impressive playoff run–20 points in 19 games, including four game-winning goals.
“Hopefully it’s one of those things that can make me stronger, give me some more excitement, maybe you get the right type of rest and energy and you have some more going into playoffs,” he said. “So it’s almost like it’s a new season for me and I’m sure a lot of guys feel that way in here. It’s definitely exciting to get back and do something that I love.”
After a four-game slump, hopefully it’ll be like a new season for the whole team.
The Blackhawks take on the Nashville Predators for game one, round one at 7:30 p.m. CT Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
All thirty NHL teams played on Saturday night to close out the 2014-15 regular season. With the end of the regular season came the distribution of the Art Ross Trophy, Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, and William M. Jennings Trophy. While the “Rocket” Richard Trophy’s winner had been a foregone conclusion before night’s end, the other two trophies depended on Saturday’s results and came down to the wire.
Jamie Benn earned two of his four points in the final 2:05 of Saturday night’s game against the Nashville Predators to capture his first career Art Ross Trophy for the NHL’s scoring champion. Benn had a hat trick and an assist in the Dallas Stars‘ 4-1 victory and final game of the 2014-15 season. He passed New York Islanders forward John Tavares with his final point of the night, tallying a league-high 87 (35 goals, 52 assists). Benn had been behind both Tavares and Sidney Crosby going into Saturday’s game, and he became the first player in Stars history to win the scoring title with his four-point effort. With ten points in his final three games, Benn established new career highs in goals, assists, and points, surpassing last year’s season totals of 34, 45, and 79, respectively.
Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin finished the regular season as the NHL’s leading goal scorer with a total of 53, earning him his third consecutive Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and his fifth overall. Ovechkin’s push for the goal-scoring title came in the second half of the season; he scored 41 of his 53 goals in the final 55 games of the season, including two on April 2 to become the leading goal-scorer in Capitals history; he surpassed Peter Bondra (472). This is Ovechkin’s sixth 50+ goal season, and he joins Mike Bossy (9), Wayne Gretzky (9), Marcel Dionne (6), Guy Lafleur (6), and Mario Lemieux (6) in reaching this milestone. In addition, Ovechkin set a franchise and career record with 25 power play goals on the season as the Capitals put up the best power play numbers in the entire NHL. Steven Stamkos finished second in this season’s goal-scoring race with 43, followed by Rick Nash (42).
The William M. Jennings Trophy went to two goaltenders this season: Chicago‘s Corey Crawford and Montreal‘s Carey Price. This trophy is awarded to the goaltender(s) of the team which allows the fewest goals through the regular season; the winning goaltender(s) must play at least 25 games for their team. The Blackhawks and the Canadiens tied for the fewest goals allowed (189), and Crawford and Price saw the most time in net for their respective clubs. As the Blackhawks and Canadiens both played on Saturday, the award could not be awarded until both games’ conclusions, in case one team gave up an extra goal and fell out of contention for the trophy. This is Crawford’s second Jennings Trophy in three seasons and Price’s first in his career. Crawford posted a 32-20-5 record with a 2.27 GAA, a .924 SV%, and two shutouts in 57 appearances; he missed time with a foot injury midway through the season. Price put up a record of 44-16-6 with a 1.96 GAA, .933 SV%, and nine shutouts in 66 appearances. He made franchise history by surpassing the previous record of 42 wins in one season, achieved twice by Jacques Plante and once by Ken Dryden. The last time two goaltenders on two different teams shared the Jennings Trophy was in 2002-03 (Martin Brodeur for New Jersey, Roman Cechmanek and Robert Esche for Philadelphia).
Everyone enjoys a good crossover story. When television shows send characters of a lesser-known series into a more established hit (or vice versa) it is a time-honored move for studios. Making the grammar of two shows mesh isn’t always easy either. On April 10,2015 the Syracuse Crunch (AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning) attempted to do just that. In a Friday night tilt vs. the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Syracuse Crunch, took the time to honor a previous tenant in their home, the War Memorial Arena at The Oncenter.
In a pregame ceremony that took place at center ice, the Syracuse Crunch celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the 1954-55 Syracuse Nationals Capturing the NBA Championship Title in a game seven victory against the Fort Wayne Pistons. Former members of the team and their families and friends were invited back to Syracuse, New York for this special night. Former players in attendance were Jim Tucker, one of the first two African-Americans in NBA history, Bill Kenville, who had a strong championship series for this run, and Dolph Schayes, who until the arrival of Wilt Chamberlain, held most of the major NBA scoring records. Acting as representatives for the ceremony were Bob Gabor, the son of Billy Gabor who was unable to attend, Paul Seymour Jr. representing the teams former captain and his namesake, Paul Seymour, and the sons of the recently deceased Hall of Famer Earl Lloyd, Kevin Lloyd and David Spivey.
NBA’s Senior Communications Advisor to the Commissioner, Brian McIntyre and a media crew from NBA Entertainment, were also in attendance to represent their league. The Syracuse Crunch put together a recognition that tugged at the heart-strings of everyone involved and the 5,700 fans in attendance. The ceremony began with a video of game clips and sound bites from the 1954-55 season and welcomed back the family members and former players, who were escorted to center ice by members of the Syracuse Crunch leadership team – Joey Mormina, Jonathan Marchessault and Jean-Philippe Cote.
The former players and representatives each received a special memento of a glass encased section of the hardwood court the team played, and ultimately captured the NBA title on. However, this wasn’t the only surprise that the Syracuse Crunch had in store for these champions. When the team had captured the title 60-years ago they received ice buckets, as the team owners decided on the gift for players instead of the modern day championship rings.
In a turn of events, Howard Dolgon, the owner of the Hockey Club and Syracuse Crunch Captain, Mike Angelidis, presented the players with their very own Baron Championship rings to honor their anniversary. The silver rings were just as shiny as the freshly cleaned ice awaiting the hockey game that was taking a momentary back seat to what will probably be the last Syracuse Nationals celebration for these athletes.
After succumbing to several media requests, posing for photos and signing memorabilia for fans, the former Syracuse Nationals players took an unfamiliar seat in their old arena, in the stands with their family and friends to enjoy an AHL hockey game. The Syracuse Crunch players had a front row seat from their team bench for this historic recognition of a professional team of yesteryear. In the home stretch of their 21st season and on the cusp of heading into the Calder Cup Playoffs, the city of Syracuse will again hold their breath and hope the magic of this night can be foreshadow of what’s ahead as the Syracuse Crunch finish out their 2014-15 season.
Richards, who is making his debut as coach for the Men’s National Team in IIHF World Championships, will be assisted by Dan Bylsma and Greg Carvel. Richards is currently the head coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL. He also coached the Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks.
Richards previously served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic team in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, and also the 2010 Men’s National Team in IIHF World Championships.
Richards is an alum of the University of Minnesota, and spent 13 seasons playing professional hockey, including eight games in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers.
While a complete roster has not yet been announced, Jack Eichel, who has been nabbed as a second overall pick in the NHL entry draft, has accepted an invitation to play for Team USA in the 2015 World Championships, according to IIHF. Eichel recently lead Boston University to the NCAA Championships, where they lost to Providence College, 4-3. Eichel previously served as captain of Team USA at World Juniors in January.
National Team Assistant Coach Bylsma served as Head Coach of the 2014 USA Men’s Olympic hockey team. He lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup in his first season as head coach with the program. His coaching record with the Penguins is 252-117-32.
National Team Assistant Coach Greg Carvel is making his debut as an assistant coach for the National Team. He currently serves as head coach for St. Lawrence University’s men’s hockey team in Canton, New York. He has previously served as an assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks of the NHL. Both franchises reached the Stanley Cup finals during his tenure.
NBC Sports will televise all Team USA games in the 2015 World Championships. A broadcast schedule will be available shortly.
Sixteen teams will compete in the World Championships, split into two groups of eight. Teams will play a round-robin in each group, and the top four teams from each group will move on to the quarterfinals. The U.S. will play its round-robin games in Ostrava. Click here for a schedule of games.
Whether your team is in the quest or not, you’ll still be looking forward to Stanley Cup Playoff hockey. Arguably the greatest show of talent, passion, blood and sportsmanship, it is easily the greatest time of year. The NHL has released the schedule, accompanied with broadcasting information for the first round facing off Wednesday, April 15th.
Who will hoist Lord Stanley in the end? Only time will tell, as hockey fans wait with baited breath, to see what team reigns supreme.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Date TIME (ET) #1 Montreal vs. #4 Ottawa Networks
Wednesday, April 15 7 p.m. Ottawa at Montreal CBC, TVA Sports, NHL Network
Friday, April 17 7 p.m. Ottawa at Montreal CBC, TVA Sports, CNBC
Sunday, April 19 7 p.m. Montreal at Ottawa CBC, TVA Sports, NBCSN
Wednesday, April 22 7 p.m. Montreal at Ottawa CBC, TVA Sports, USA
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