There was no pre-game banner-raising ceremony for last season’s Eastern Conference Champions.
Maybe there should have been one. Anything to give the New York Rangers (1-2-0) some confidence, energy, and swagger would have been helpful Sunday night as they dropped their home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs (1-2-0) in a 6-3 loss.
For the Rangers, it was a night of missed connections, sloppy defense, and costly mistakes. They struggled shorthanded as well as on the power play, and G Henrik Lundqvist simply could not find a way to keep the puck out of the net. Though New York outshot Toronto 38-36, quality proved to trump quantity as the Leafs notched their first regular season win at Madison Square Garden.
“If there’s a team loss, this is one of them,” said Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault. “From heads on down, we didn’t perform well. We didn’t execute well, with or without the puck, and that’s why we got result we got tonight.”
The first period, for the most part, was evenly matched. The Rangers started out flat, falling into a 1-0 deficit midway through the first after a power play goal by Leafs D Cody Franson (1G, 1A). But for the third straight game, Rangers LW Rick Nash answered with a goal of his own and tied the game at 1 going into the first intermission. Nash, whose status for Sunday’s game had been questionable, left after the second period to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.
While neither team had a strong first period, it was during the second period that the Rangers completely fell apart. The Leafs scored five goals, beginning with a power play goal by RW Phil Kessel (1G, 2A) after 5:19 of play. Two minutes later, C Nazem Kadri found the back of the net to make the score 3-1, Toronto. The offensive onslaught continued with a short-handed goal by LW James van Riemsdyk (1G, 1A) at the midway point of the period; at first glance, van Riemsdyk’s breakaway, game-winning goal looked to have been stopped by Lundqvist, but the puck found its way into the net to put the Leafs up 4-1.
“I thought I had it, but it somehow bounced in on my right knee,” said Lundqvist after the game. “It felt like a big goal. After that, it was definitely a tough game.”
At the 13:26 mark, the Rangers found a burst of offensive energy. RW Lee Stempniak (1G, 1A) scored on a play that went to the War Room for review, and his goal was deemed acceptable as New York cut the lead to 4-2. But the momentum stayed with Toronto, and Lundqvist’s notorious October-struggles continued. A minute later, Leafs C Tyler Bozak (1G, 1A) quelled any chance of a Rangers comeback and made the score 5-2. RW David Clarkson then extended the lead to 6-2 at 15:13, and Lundqvist was pulled with 5 minutes remaining in the second after letting in 6 goals on 24 shots.
The Rangers had one last offensive surge late in the third, when C Derick Brassard scored at the 14:19 mark to make it 6-3. However, this goal was too little, too late, and though G Cam Talbot closed the door on the Leafs and made 12 saves in relief, stopping the bleeding was not enough to heal the wound.
On the subject of wounds, this game saw new injuries for both teams. Leafs G James Reimer left the game in the third period after his head collided with Rangers C Dominic Moore‘s hip. Reimer, who has a history of head injuries throughout his career, went into the Leafs’ locker room with 13:17 remaining and was replaced by G Jonathan Bernier. He said after the game that his leaving was more cautionary than anything, however, and appears to be fine. For the Rangers, LW Mats Zuccarello was scratched with an undisclosed injury after participating in pre-game warmups. Zuccarello, who led the team in scoring last season, is currently listed as “day-to-day.”
The Rangers look to tally their first home win on Tuesday against their in-state rivals, the New York Islanders (2-0-0) at 7PM ET. The Leafs also return home for a game on Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche (0-2-0) at 7:30PM ET.
So I know that I make a habit of transforming every single hockey game into an excuse to dress up. Either it’s an intense matchup or there hasn’t been a home game for a while or the game lands on a full moon–whatever!
However, contrary to my usual need to have an elaborate reason behind my many ensemble choices, my choice behind what I wore for the Sharks home opener was simple: I had to wear this dress.
Forget that it was Team Teal’s home opener. Forget that it was a Saturday night tilt. Forget that they were playing Winnipeg which made it the “Sharks vs Jets” game so basically every “West Side Story” pun you could make was up for grabs.
The truth was: My mom bought me an awesome black velvet dress for my birthday. And I was bound and determined to dress it up in a work-appropriate way so I could wear it to the game.
So, here goes:
You can’t tell from the photo, but this little number is velvet. Yes, velvet. My mom bought me this velvet LBD from Brandy Melville for my birthday–yes I’m obsessed with this store–and I got it in my head that I was definitely wearing it for the Sharks home opener.
Of course, it is short and has little straps so I needed to bundle–for warmth, and also to take the outfit from “date night” to “work night” if only just for a few hours. Last season, I wrote a piece on how to rock black-on-black-on-black to a game without looking like you’re attending a funeral. (You can find that here!) Following that guide: The dress, albeit having a bit of a floral print, is very opaque and heavy, so a more sheer stocking with very subtle black polka dots was the best bet. This Steve Madden pair was only five bucks and came with a bonus pair of solid black tights. Score!
On top, I wore a small black H&M cardigan. I bought this one in an extra small so that it covered my arms, but didn’t take away from the dress, which was the centerpiece here.
The jewelry? I got a little creative, although I kept all of that within the same color family.Sparkling black watch, a few glitzy snake rings, and my black bat earrings (festive, eh?)
I was so stoked to wear this ensemble that I don’t know how the heck I’m going to top it! Fear not; the Sharks are on the road for the next week and a half, giving me plenty of time to put my next wearable creation together.
Until the next puck drops,
The Girl In The Black Tights
After a historic win for Antti Niemi and the San Jose Sharks in Game 1 at the Los Angeles Kings (the first time since 1941 that the Stanley Cup Champion is shut out the first game of the new season), the Sharks needed to continue that winning momentum. “We hope to take momentum from Game 1,” reflected Tommy Wingels to Sharks’ color commentator Jamie Baker before the start of game 2 versus the Winnipeg Jets. And the momentum did carry over.
Alex Stalock, starting for the Sharks, was tested early with an odd-man rush but Marc-Edouard Vlasic answered with a goal 3:22 into game play, his first goal of the season and first point against the Jets. Less than two minutes later, Tomas Hertl netted his first of the season on a breakaway pass from Joe Thornton, quickly making it 2-0.
And then begins the plight of the power plays for the Sharks; they had a total of eight in the game, not capitalizing on a single one – clearly an area for improvement.
The most penalized player was Dustin Byfuglien (with 4 penalties, including a 10-minute misconduct for arguing with the ref on top of a 2-minute penalty). The main point here is that Winnipeg may not be the most disciplined team, and perhaps it was only a bad night for them, but San Jose was not able to take advantage of all that power play time.
With 4 minutes left in the first, the shot clock was imbalanced; San Jose 12, Winnipeg 3. The Sharks ended the period on a power play and thus began the second with the remaining time, but to no avail. It wasn’t until after the power play ended that the Sharks created some good chances, while Winnipeg still struggled to get shots.
About halfway through the second, the Jets had a good stretch of time in the Sharks’ zone, forcing Stalock to play the puck and clearly take advantage of the additional 3 feet in the trap, one of the new rules for the 2014-15 season. Sharks’ Adam Burish closes his hand on the puck, which forces a power play opportunity for Winnipeg, their first of the night. The Jets’ power play is not strong. Last year they ranked dead last, and the year before they ranked 25th. Sharks did a great job in killing the penalty, not allowing the Jets to set up any plays. However, the Jets kept pushing even after the two minutes and got a few shots off. Shot clock: San Jose 21, Jets 9. After another missed power play chance (their fourth) on goaltender interference penalty by Byfuglien, Patrick Marleau scored on his famous breakaway, making it 3-0 Sharks late in the third. It wasn’t over yet though, as the Jets got another opportunity on Joe Pavelski’s hooking call with 6 seconds left and they too began the next period just like how the Sharks started the second.
After the Jets failed to score on their power play, the Sharks got another incredible advantage on a 5 on 3 for 19 seconds and then on a regular power play for the remainder of time. The shot clock did finally start to even out though: San Jose 26, Winnipeg 22. Back-to-back power plays for the Sharks (their sixth and seventh of the night) resulted in nothing but more trips for Byfuglien to the sin bin. As Jamie Baker noted on the TV broadcast, it was “Byfuglien’s first hat trick in penalties.” He ended the night with a game misconduct on top of an unsportsmanlike.
The Sharks didn’t even get a shot on goal in the third period, even with so many power play chances. Head coach Todd McLellan noted in a post-game interview that “I thought our power play absolutely sucked the life out of our team today. It was as weak as it has been in a long, long time and we have some work to do.”
But there was some interesting light to note about the game. It was the first time the Sharks have begun a season with consecutive shut outs, and with two different goalies to boot! That says a lot about the solid wall they have in net. So even though the power play, and entries into the zone, need to be worked on, the Sharks have some formula working in their favor. Another interesting thing to note, the Winnipeg Jets actually ended the night on top with shots with 30 to San Jose’s 26.
The uniforms had the Spoked-B on the front. The names and numbers on the back were those of recognized players of the Boston Bruins hockey team. And yet, somehow as they skated around on the ice in their last two tilts—Thursday night in Detroit against the Detroit Red Wings and Saturday night in Boston against the Washington Capitals—those watching were wondering if perhaps they had been replaced with pod people.
So many passes to empty spaces that were not the result of an intentional dump and chase move. Passes that should have connected a few feet away, except the player who was supposed to receive the pass just wasn’t there. Perhaps such things happening once or twice could be excused, but 120 minutes of such mistakes and questions begin to swirl.
And while the sloppy play is certainly something that the entire team should be concerned with, the more disturbing question was the lack of the collective team mentality that epitomizes the Black and Gold. Hockey teams have personalities. Some rely more heavily on their stars. The Boston Bruins are one of those teams that, to a man, bring their top game.
The Boston Bruins wear down their opponent as each line that is sent out whittles away a little of the strength and resolve of their opponent. At least that is what usually happens when the Bruins take to the ice.
Milan Lucic
“We’re the definition of a hockey team. Everyone contributes. Everyone works together. There’s no one person bigger than the team, and that’s why we’ve had success in the past,” Assistant Captain Chris Kelly told media after Saturday’s loss. “Line after line , wave after wave, everyone goes out and plays the same way. Some guys have more talent than others and are able to capitalize on certain opportunities, but for the most part, everyone works hard and everyone plays the same way. And that’s just not the case right now.”
It isn’t that the Bruins don’t know that there is a problem. In fact, from Captain Zdeno Chara, to Assistant Captain Patrice Bergeron to winger Milan Lucic, they all talked after the game about bringing their best game; not making excuses; and not feeling sorry for themselves.
Unfortunately, the attitude seen on the ice was one of heads hung, somewhat beaten. As Lucic said after the game, that isn’t the Bruins’ way.
“With the body language and that type of stuff it seems like we were feeling sorry for ourselves, because things weren’t going the right way,” he said. “But when things have gotten tough for us in the past we seem to have kept our chins up and worked through it, and that’s, I think, we’ve got to remind ourselves of that.
Regrouping is clearly in order.
“We’ve got to keep our chins up and fight through it because nobody is going to do it for us,” Lucic continued. “We’ve got to keep our chins up and fight through it because nobody is going to do it for us. We have to do it ourselves and starting with myself I have to be better and take charge in doing what I do best, and try to lead that way.”
And it definitely wasn’t the Lucic that others in the league have dealt with in the past. He is usually a force to be reckoned with and yet twice he was knocked off his skates by players in Capitals jerseys. In the past it has been Bruins opponents getting up off the ice after an encounter with Number 17.
Chris Kelly
Perhaps Kelly summed it up best.
“I think we were outworked, out-battled, and obviously outplayed over the course of 120 minutes, not just 60,” he said. “I think the only positive I can think of is, it’s game three. Other than that, it’s two poor, poor efforts.”
Kelly also issued a challenge for the team as a whole, who will be back on the Garden ice Sunday morning for practice on how to break out of this detrimental mindset.
“I think you come to practice tomorrow, and you better come to work hard. I don’t want to dwell on it, but I think you want to learn from it, and realize that that kind of play can’t continue,” he stated. “And if it does, we’re not going to be successful. We need to come tomorrow [Sunday] and be ready to work.”
The silver lining, if one can be found, is that this is only the third game of the regular season. There are still 79 more. However, they need to put the breaks on the skid and get back to their style of hockey.
Hockey means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For some, it’s their whole life, from 5a.m. workouts to late-night games. For others, it’s more of a family event, backyard shinny and friendly fire across a local pond. Some of us discovered hockey completely on our own, leaving our families to blink in confusion at us across the dinner table whenever we use words like “five-hole.”
But for some, hockey is just a sport they don’t have access to. It’s a lot of money to buy equipment you may never use, if you don’t like it, after all.
That’s why the St. Jude’s Hockey Club is hosting a “Hockey for Free” event this Sunday, October 12. The event targets girls aged 14 and younger for an opportunity to try their hand at the sport. The goal is to teach them both the basics of the game and the benefits it can offer, from sportsmanships and team-building to strength of character.
No hockey or skating experience is required; the goal of the day is to introduce newcomers to a game that for many can be hard to find opportunities to participate in. Equipment will also be provided for those who need it, including skates, sticks, and helmets. Girls who may have more experience with the sport will be split into “intermediate” and “advanced” groups, so that everyone receives the type of attention that best suits their skill level.
In addition to skating and hockey lessons, the event will include interactions with the current Knights Girls U12 hockey team, giving newcomers a chance to talk with players about why they like hockey and how it’s affected their lives.
The event takes place on Sunday, October 12, 2014 at 3:00 pm at Southwest Ice Arena in Crestwood, and lines up with the International Ice Hockey Federation’s fourth annual World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend, a global event aimed at introducing girls to the sport. For more information, visit St. Jude’s website.
The Blackhawks pulled out a shootout win with Patrick Kane‘s magic Thursday night despite about 50 minutes of sloppy performance on the ice in Dallas.
They were outplayed in most aspects of the game. Through the first two periods, they were outshot 24-11. In the third, though, they picked up the pace and took the lead in shots, 14-9. Goaltender Corey Crawford was an acrobat in net to stop a torrent of pucks, making 32 saves in the game.
“[Coach Joel Quenneville] calls it a goaltender win, and I think that was more evident today than ever before,” Kane said. “He was awesome. He made some unbelievable saves.”
Chicago amassed six penalties in the first two periods compared to the Stars‘ two; but roles switched again in the third, when Dallas took four penalties and Chicago had one.
Carcillo was picked up the night before Leddy was let go, bringing some “grit” back to Chicago with Brandon Bollig‘s exit to Calgary at the end of last season. It’s debatable whether a bruiser like Carcillo is really needed, but his record shows he has the propensity be a bit more than just an enforcer.
But, as the former Blackhawk and current NHL Network analyst said, it may not have been the smartest move for the team. Yes, the Blackhawks were about $2.27 million over their salary cap. And, Leddy was in the last year of his contract with a $2.7 million hit, but Oduya is also in his final contract year–with a $3.375 million hit. They’re both extremely talented defensemen–and it’s been said who I’d let go if I managed the team. But, Leddy is 10 years younger than Oduya. He is growing as a player. He’s fast.
Nick Leddy with a nice burst through the offensive zone to create a scoring chance. Fastest guy the #Blackhawks have. — Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) September 26, 2014
Last year, Leddy had 8 goals and 28 assists in the regular and postseason combined. Oduya had 5 goals and 18 assists. They both block shots. They both make plays happen. But, Leddy has the benefit of youth. On the other hand, Quenneville didn’t show confidence in the player at pivotal times, including last year’s postseason when he was a healthy scratch on multiple occasions.
The move is expected to give Leddy some more ice time as a prominent defenseman on the Islanders.
“It’s tough, but he’s looking at the positives,” Shaw told media Sunday. “He can do well there. He could log a lot of minutes and he’ll be a big part of the team.”
The Islanders also acquired goaltender Kent Simpson from the Rockford IceHogs in the Blackhawks deal. The Blackhawks picked up defensemen T.J. Brennan and Ville Pokka and goaltender Anders Nilsson–all sent to Rockford.
Brennan has played 40 NHL games (Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers) with four goals and seven assists. Last year, with the Toronto Marlies, he had 25 goals and 47 assists in 76 games.
Pokka comes from the Finnish Oulun Kärpät team, where he was a plus-32 with six goals and 21 assists in 54 games last year. He was drafted 34th overall in the 2012 draft.
McKenzie “Understand this, the Blackhawks got a good young player in Pokka who may be a better player than Leddy down the road.”
Nilsson played 19 games with the Islanders last year with a 3.11 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage. He played 29 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, yielding a 2.81 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.
The Blackhawks have a chance to work with their new lines again tonight at their home opener against the Buffalo Sabres at 7:30 p.m. CT.
The rumors are true, the Arizona Coyotes are now finalizing a deal to sell 51% of the franchise to Andrew Barroway. Last week, the news of an interested buyer was announced, and confirmed Thursday night by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman before the Coyotes’ game against the Jets. Bettman made it very clear that the reports of the new owner wanting to move the team were just talk, and held no truth to them.
The hope for this new transaction is that the new owner can help with the prospect of the Coyotes staying in Glendale, Arizona. Bringing in more money to the team could mean many a lot, and would be a very positive and welcome thing. It could do wonders for the future of the Coyotes, who supposedly lost $24 million after the first year of IceArizona’s ownership. The deal made with Glendale stated that if they lost $50 million in the first 5 years, the team could then be moved.
During a press conference Barroway said:
“This is truly a dream come true for me and my family. I am extraordinarily grateful for the opportunity of a lifetime and look forward to working and solidifying a strong partnership with the Club’s current ownership group.”
Coyotes president Anthony LeBlanc expressed his excitement to the media:
“Today is an exciting day for the Arizona Coyotes and our great fans. The addition of Andrew Barroway to our ownership group further solidifies the Coyotes long-term future in the Valley. Our entire ownership group is excited about this opportunity to work with Andrew in taking this franchise to the next level. It’s a great day for hockey in Arizona!”
The transaction still needs to be approved by the NHL Board of Governors, and once it is approved the team’s current owners IceArizona will no longer be the majority owner. Current CEO and co-owner of the team, LeBlanc will stay on as president, and Barroway will take the roles of Governor and Chairman from George Gosbee.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced their single game specials for the 2014-2015 season. Fans can pick from six packages for different days of the week and every age group.
On Mondays and Tuesdays, fans can get a southern Florida favourite: barbecue from Holy Hog Barbecue. This package includes 2 tickets, 2 BBQ sandwiches, 2 side items, and 2 sodas all starting at $75.
Wednesdays and Thursdays bring the “Bud Light Up For Whatever Package.” It includes 2 tickets and 4 Bud Lights starting at $75. After the game, fans can take in post-game fun on the Bud Light Party Deck.
Weekends are for families with the Little Caesars Family Fun Pack. Fans can get 4 tickets, 4 super slices, 4 ice creams, and 4 sodas starting at $100, making this the perfect pack for families looking to take in a game. Fans under 2 still get in for free as long as they are seated on a parent’s lap.
Saturdays also see the Corona Extra Tailgate Package. For those not into pizza, ice cream, and soda, they can get 2 ticketes, 2 sandwiches, and 4 Coronas starting at $75. Tailgating takes place in the Ford Thunder Alley prior to every game with street hockey and live music.
Even those who like to collect hockey memorabilia have a package. The Coca-Cola Zero Pin Package allows collectors to purchase 2 tickets, 2 Coke Zeros, and 2 collectible player pins all starting at $20. This promotion is only available for select games.
And finally for the students, every home game Subway brings the Student Rush to local students offering them the best available seats with a valid student ID for $20.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, click here.
Highlights were shown, the Stanley Cup was lowered and the banner was raised. The crowd cheered loudly as they relived special moments from 2014’s Cup run.
Then the puck dropped and both teams got to work. Or rather, the San Jose Sharks got to work and the LA Kings were left scrambling for most of the game. Suffice it to say, LA did not look prepared as San Jose ran roughshod over them through the better part of 60 minutes.
Tommy Wingels got the scoring started in the first period when he beat Jonathan Quick up high with a sharp angle shot.
The Kings escaped the period only down by one, though they had several high quality chances against Antti Niemi, they just couldn’t seem to put the puck in the net, which is really the story of their night.
Every time they generated chances, they either missed the net or made it rather easy for Niemi to make the save. That’s not a knock on Niemi, who played well tonight; it’s a knock on the Kings who didn’t play well at all.
The second period saw a total meltdown, somewhat similar to the one they experienced up in San Jose last April. The Kings got into penalty trouble (picking up right where they left off in the postseason) and allowed a power play goal after taking four straight minor penalties. Then a bad turnover in the offensive zone led to a Wingels breakaway, who split the defense and fooled Quick. Fourteen seconds later, Quick gave the puck away behind his own net and Matt Nieto had an easy tap in. It was that kind of a night for LA.
Martin Jones started the third period but it was more of the same. Chances came and went and the Kings didn’t score any goals. At least they’re getting their lack of scoring out of the way early this year. This should bode well for their typical mid-season slump.
Ok in reality, it was one game and the team came out inexplicably flat. Postgame, Kings’ coach Darryl Sutter denied any sort of hangover from the banner raising ceremony, asking reporters, “Did you ever just stop and consider maybe that San Jose just flat out outplayed us?”
The Kings will look to regroup on Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes, who are also coming off a bad loss. The two rivals will face off at 6 PM PT.
Banner Raising Ceremony Pictures
You can check out video and more photos here courtesy of Jon Rosen.
Bob Miller starting the ceremony.
Staff and coaches wait to be introduced.
Billy Ranford, goaltending coach.
Davis Payne, assistant coach.
John Stevens, Associate Head Coach.
Darryl Sutter, Head Coach and less than impressed with necessary introductions.
Dustin Brown unloads the Stanley Cup from its case.
One last time with the Cup.
The banner is introduced, carried by Rogie Vachon (former, all-time winningest goaltender) and Marcel Dionne (highest scoring player in Kings history).
The banner is ready to be raised.
The banner being raised.
The banner in its temporary home (it was later moved).
All photos in this article are property of the author.
It’s opening night in Phoenix, Arizona, everybody! The excitement is prevalent here in Gila River Arena. Fans are ready to see the puck drop for the Arizona Coyotes, I can tell you that much!
Considering Gila River is the coldest arena in the NHL, bundling up is pretty necessary (I am also a pretty big wimp when it comes to air conditioning). This great olive/army green color that has been everywhere this fall was a necessity for Opening Night, a touch of leather makes things just 200 times better!
It’s sometimes hard to “dress up” when you’re in a cold situation, but throwing on black, will pretty much always make things a bit more classy (there are exceptions so please don’t take my words the wrong way).
Being up at press level as a woman, you want to be taken seriously… therefore wearing something not practical for the situation automatically leads to judgement by peers. I mean, most of the men are in suits or at least a jacket and button down shirt, so you need to dress to a comparative level. By no means am I saying that a pant suit is what you NEED, but just stay classy, people. The critics are everywhere, so make sure you prove them wrong with your rockstar knowledge and wardrobe.
The debate for the shoes was my biggest thing tonight. Do I wear a pair of uncomfortable heels and want to cut my feet off on the first official night of Press Level for this season, or do I want to look put together with some nice heeled boots? I chose the latter tonight. A nice pair of boots can do wonders for an outfit, a bad pair can do just the same.
Honestly, this is my first season doing Media, so I’m still learning. Along with everything in your life, you’re probably going to make some mistakes….I would like to keep those to a minimum, but you have to realize that it’s inevitable
Press Level Tip: Scoop up a portable charger for use at the rink. Trust me, it is worth the mere $10 you might spend on it. It will save you life in so many situations. When you do Media stuff, chances are that you are on your phone bunches.. My iPhone 5s battery can only hold up for so long, so that extra charge that comes along with the little charging pod does wonders when you are in need. I always have mine in my bag, and can charge my phone in my back pocket! You never know, this may just save your life
Prev
