There is, I kid you not, absolutely nothing like the first game back on home ice after the long offseason.
(And the Sharks summer was extra long, but that’s another story for another time.)
Despite only being two preseason tilts, these first games back at the Tank are still kind of like the first day of school. On the first day of school, one must always look their best, right? I’m not going to lie, I had also just gotten my hair done which makes every girl feel like a million bucks. But enough about my Barbie ‘do, let’s talk clothes:
FRIDAY: For the first game back I chose basics that I can dress up, or down, throughout the regular season without looking like I’ve re-worn anything too many times. So praise sweet baby Buddha for there actually being cute, high-quality staples at the $7 dress sale at Forever 21! Black-and-red striped tunic dress, basic black stockings and my go-to flats, viola– game night ensemble for under ten bucks.
SATURDAY: Quick turn-around for games–especially a night game followed by a day game–typically mean that you’ll want to slip into something extra comfortable for the second tilt. And believe me, it wasn’t easy to change out of my baggy boys’ flannel and well-worn black leggings to rock the stockings. But I think I found something that worked well.
I grabbed the same Brandi Melville skater skirt that I wore for the first day of training camp–remember, we’re all about soft separates that you can wear multiple times!–and paired it with a navy-and-white striped round neck top, polka dot tights, and motorcycle boots. STYLING NOTE: Mixing prints can be tricky. Since both the stripe pattern on my top and the spots on my stockings are subtle and in the same color palette, they can work. Busying the look with more colors on top, or tights with a more stand-out design, can border on unprofessional.
That’ll do for this weekend! Now I need to figure out what fanciful thing to wear next Tuesday when the Kings come back into town. Because, even though that’s a preseason game, it should be quite exciting. And everyone wants to dress the part, right?
While there were no “WHAT DO YOU MEAN KOVALCHUK RETIRED?” sagas this summer, Lou Lamoriello did pick up several veteran players including Mike Cammalleri, Marty Havlat, Scott Clemmensen (because the Devils love former Devils players). Some Devils were let go or bought out, including Anton Volchenkov (godspeed, A-Train), Mark Fayne (Oilers) and telling Marty Brodeur to go for his 700th win someplace else… Lamoriello also invited to camp former Canadien Tomas Kaberle, Ruslan Fedontenko, some guy named Scott Gomez, and Jordin Tootoo in an attempt to see if he can possibly get any magic out of them like he did with ‘The Petr Sykora Reclamation Process” of a few years ago.
In “the usual Devils news” Cam Janssen is engaging in his yearly attempts to stay in Newark full-time and not spend most of the year in Albany playing for the Devils AHL team the Albany Devils.
The Devils, unlike most teams, don’t have practices that are opened to the public, so the time most Devils fans get to see all of their new acquisitions are during televised pre-season games. The first game was on Sept. 22 in the most famous arena in the world, Madison Square Garden and their second road game was in what will soon be the Islanders new home in the Barclay’s Center on Sept. 26.
This is the first year in the last few years that the Rangers have their pre-season start in MSG, mostly due to the renovations on the Garden. Michael Ryder scored twice and second year rookie Reid Boucher who was in Albany most of last year except when he scored one of the 4 times in the Devils’ dreaded shootout season (a record 0-13) also scored the first goal of the game. King Henrik faced only 13 shots, giving up 2 goals, before both he and Scott Clemmensen changed in the middle of the second period. Clemmensen gave up 2 goals on 10 shots to Carl Hagelin and former Lightning Ryan Malone who recently got a 1 year deal with the Rangers.
Cam Talbot, who played college hockey at the University of Alabama in Huntsville because hockey is alive in the South, was Lundqvist’s relief and he gave up goals to Ryder, Eric Gelinas (the duo of Elias & Havlat got their first assists of the season) and Adam Henrique scored with 51.7 seconds left in a tied game in the 3rd period. Keith Kinkaid was Clemmensen’s relief and he gave up goals to Chris Kreider and Jesper Fast in the third period.
It was my first time in The World’s Most Famous Arena ™ and while I wasn’t as impressed as I had hoped to be, it was still a great arena and everyone was very helpful (including two different ushers who wanted to make sure I knew I was on the Rangers side for pre-skate. Sadly, my reason for being there, Kevin Klein didn’t play that night but there will still be time to watch him when the Rangers play in Newark on Tues’ Oct 21st or April 7th) and it was a great night for hockey.
On Friday night Sept. 26 the the attendance at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center for a pre-season hockey game was 11,823. In anticipation of the influx of Islanders fans to the arena, LIRR Service had been extended with extra service to Jamaica (Queens), Babylon (Long Island), and childhood home of Billy Joel & my grandfather in Hicksville (Long Island).
This was the second time the Devils & Islanders played in Brooklyn and having been to both, they still had some growing pains (including the staff not understanding what pre-skate was) but seats had been added to the section that hangs over the ice and this year there were more Islanders pop up tables and a lot more food options to be had then in 2013. While there was some grumbling around the fans in the beginning of the game about how this wasn’t exactly like “home” by the end of the game, many of the Islanders fans seemed extremely happy with the arena.
This was the first victory for the Islanders in what will be their new home starting in the 2015-2016 season. This means if you want to say goodbye to one of the oddest, weirdest and wonderfulest hockey arenas in the world, Nassau Coliseum, you should plan a visit this winter (or spring! or Hockey Gods willing summer!) this season. To read what it means to one Brooklynite Islanders fan, you should read “New York City is not my home. Nassau is where I was born a hockey fan.”
Marty Havlat scored for the Devils & Michael Ryder tied it on a power play in the third against Isles goalie Chad Johnson. Ryan Pulock and Colin McDonald scored first period goals for the Islanders against Kinkaid. The game went to dreaded shootout and the only Devil to score was Reid Boucher, because of course it was as he seems to be the only Devil who can score in the shootout. Kyle Okposo and my second favorite Bridgeport Sound Tiger of all time, Brock Nelson scored to win. Marty Havlat was stopped by Chad Johnson to seal the shootout win 3-2.
Adam Henrique lost the luck off his stick and Martin Havlat couldn’t send it to a fourth round.
“That was brutal by (Havlat) and Rico (Henrique),” Patrik Elias said jokingly. “I told Bouch they’ve got to make the rule they have in international play so one guy can go three times.”
It seems with a season of Jagr, Elias, Marek Zidlicky, Marty Havlat and Kaberle if he makes the team, it will be another year of dry, snarky Czech humor to stay afloat this season for the Devils. However, with a very strong showing from former Devil Scott Gomez where he was possibly one of the best players on the ice during the Islanders game and him scoring 2 powerplay goals Sunday night against the Flyers, perhaps some of the magic that makes the New Jersey Devils be the New Jersey Devils might be coming their way this season.
As the Boston Bruins got on the ice today, there was a full house—and still more than will be on the final roster—but it was a group that was eleven smaller as General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced the release of additional players. The Bruins hit the ice for practice at noon on Sunday, having returned in the wee hours of the morning from their two-game road trip. And while there were a lot of players on the ice, it was clear that not everyone was there.
After practice head coach Claude Julien was asked about if the players on the ice were those who would be going forward in camp and if additional cuts had been made. As he was saying yes, and began to list the players that had been cut, the media announcement arrived in e-mail identifying those players who had been released.
Ten were released to join the Providence Bruins training camp which will begin this coming week, though Randell must clear waivers. And Kearns was released from his tryout agreement.
Ferlin gave up his senior year at Cornell University to sign his entry-level contract with the Bruins. And while he showed some promise and made it through the first round of cuts, his progression from the college game to the professional levels is probably better served by some time in the American Hockey League.
Jared Knight
Unfortunately, though his commitment level was certainly there, it did appear that Knight was struggling some in camp with his puck skills and skating. Of course, the competition this year is at the highest it has been in some years because of the number of slots available. Knight should certainly do well in Providence, though he is undoubtedly disappointed to have been released.
Griffith, who showed that he has serious potential did not go unnoticed by management. However, they felt that he needs a little more seasoning, and given his size, it is probably better that he can mature some in Providence before spending an 82-game season in the NHL. He is definitely one to continue watching though.
Those players going to the Providence Bruins training camp can take some consolation in knowing that they made it through the first round of cuts and that they are being noticed by the Bruins staff for what strengths they displayed. They are on the radar and, though no one wants to see someone get injured, the NHL season is long and players do get hurt. Some of these guys may be called up for a game or more, and in the meantime they can continue to improve and help the Providence Bruins this coming season.
The next round of Coyotes training camp cuts have been made, and this time, some of the names on the list came as a shock. Two of the men have been some of the biggest talk around training camp, so the motives behind the decision to move them down to the AHL are a mystery to many. Those two men are Henrik Samuelsson and Tyler Gaudet, some of the most talked about Coyotes’ hopefuls at training camp. Samuelsson was especially an asset in camp, having a phenomenal pre-season game Monday night against the L.A. Kings, where he was put on a line that produced 3 goals, with Max Domi and veteran Martin Hanzel. Coach Tippett has been outspoken about young players developing more before coming up to the big league, so the fact that some young guys were moved down isn’t a surprise, just who was moved was the bombshell. Only time will tell, but below is a list of the rest of the Coyotes’ cuts. 32 players remain in camp, still.
At the Lightning’s Training Camp, several members, including Radko Gudas, were pranked with a new third jersey that included way too many palm trees for the players’ liking.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Sharp is not just a pretty face. However, a Sportsnet Canada ad plays up that attribute on set with Damien Cox.
That “pretty boy” was second in the league for games played last season with 82. He was ninth in goals with 34 and 15th in assists with 44, finishing the regular season a plus-13. In the playoffs, he had five goals and five assists in 19 games.
In 2012-2013, the Blackhawks were 25-0-3 with him in the lineup.
As teammate Corey Crawford would say, Sharp’s one of the “biggest bunch of beauties in the league.”
From the opening minute of Friday’s game at the United Center, the New York Rangers took the lead over the Chicago Blackhawks and never looked back. Their 4-1 victory over the Blackhawks was largely due to the efforts put forth by the younger players, those fighting for a permanent spot on the team and setting out to prove themselves as full-time NHL players.
The game started off quickly. Rangers rookie forward Oscar Lindberg one-timed a pass from Lee Stempniak 51 seconds into the first period and found the back of the net to give New York an almost immediate 1-0 lead. This goal set the tone for the first 20 minutes of play, and the Rangers showed energy and momentum while the Blackhawks struggled to find their game early on.
At the midway point of the first period, another Rangers rookie forward, Anthony Duclair, converted a cross-ice pass from Rick Nash to put New York up 2-0; Duclair’s goal would ultimately become the game-winner.
“I can’t put it into words, but I am probably the happiest kid in the world,” Duclair said in an interview during the first intermission. “I’m trying to make this team for sure. I’m not a kid looking to go back to juniors.”
Duclair certainly made his presence known, leading the Rangers with five shots on goal and tallying an assist on teammate J.T. Miller‘s power play goal midway through the third period. Marek Hrivik, another forward looking for a spot on the Rangers’ final roster, closed out the scoring for New York with an oddly angled chip shot from his knees with 3:32 remaining.
Not a single goal in this win came from a veteran; this was a game to demonstrate the Rangers’ potential depth.
“I like the way a lot of our young guys got their first opportunity and came out on the ice and contributed,” said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault after the game. “It was an exhibition game, but there were some real positive signs.”
Vigneault added that Duclair’s strong play was “creating an impression” and that the other newcomers were stepping up and showing their worth as well.
“[The rookies’] job is to make our decision real hard,” Vigneault said in regard to deciding on a finalized, regular season roster.
Though the Blackhawks outshot the Rangers 31-29, they were only able to get one goal past the combined efforts of Henrik Lundqvist and Cedrick Desjardins; Chicago rookie Dennis Rasmussen scored midway through the second to bring the Blackhawks within one goal (2-1), but the Rangers never relinquished their lead. Lundqvist stopped 15 of the 16 shots he faced while Desjardins saved 15 of 15, making some key saves toward the end of the third period to keep any chance of a Blackhawks comeback at bay.
With this win, the Rangers improve to 1-1-0 in preseason play while the Blackhawks fall to 1-2-0. The Rangers return home to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday at Madison Square Garden.
With a few days of on-ice practices full of drills and two preseason games played against the Montreal Canadiens, to whom they lost, and the Washington Capitals, who they beat, it was not surprising to hear late on Thursday that the Boston Bruins had made some decisions and released some players from training camp.
Of those released, seven of the players were invited on a tryout basis to either the 2014 Rookie Camp (Ammon, Kane, Simonelli, Young) or to the Bruins 2014-15 season training camp (Eminger, Werek, and Youds).
For Cross, Flick, and Youds who all played for the Providence Bruins last season, it was anticipated that they would be spending the coming season playing with the P-Bruins. And Kane, who completed his senior year with the Ferris State University Bulldogs, made his professional debut on April 6, 2014, with the Providence Bruins after signing a player tryout (PTO) contract.
Neither Ammon nor Young attended the regular training camp, though they did participate in some on-ice drills and practice after the main camp completed their sessions following the conclusion of the rookie camp.
And while none of these players were actually expected to make the roster of the Boston Bruins that will be iced for the 2014-15 season, it marks the first decisions of Bruins’ management as they move forward to get their roster down to its final group before the puck drops on October 8 when the Boston Bruins take on the Philadelphia Flyers in their season home opener at TD Garden.
Bellamy, a graduate of University of New Hampshire, joins Head Coach Erin Hamlen and Assistant Coach Brent Hill on staff. The school is still piecing together its sqaud, which will compete at the Division I level in 2015-2016.
Bellamy was part of the United States Women’s National Ice Hockey Team, which captured silver medals in the Olympics in both 2010 and 2014. She also played for the Boston Blades of the CWH. She was a five-time member of the U.S. Women’s National Team for the IIHF World Women’s Championship.
Hamlen and Bellamy already have a working relationship – Hamlen coached Bellamy when she was in college, with the United States National Team, and also with the Blades.
“She has grown to be a leader at every level and, as a two-time Olympian, continues to grow as a player,” Hamlen said. “As a coach, she will bring her elite experience to a young team.”
Bellamy, a defenseman, ranks third all-time in career points at UNH.
“I am honored and thrilled to become part of Merrimack College and the first-ever women’s ice hockey team,” Bellamy said in a statement. “Erin and Brent have done an incredible job and I can’t wait to join their process in forming a successful program.”
When Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli referenced four open forward spots at the start of training camp- including the second-line wing formerly occupied by holdout Reilly Smith- he got our attention. While it’s not the best position to be in, the competition between Bruins prospects Ryan Spooner, Alexander Khokhlachev, Seth Griffith, Matt Fraser, along with veterans Simon Gagne and Ville Leino (both here on a tryout basis) gives us plenty to follow as preseason games commence.
Ryan Spooner
Spooner got off to a quick start in Boston’s preseason opener on Tuesday, scoring the game’s first goal just over a minute into play. After forcing a turnover, Spooner controlled the puck, drove past Montreal defenders and busted a shot through backup netminder Dustin Tokarski, giving the Bruins the early lead. Spooner’s speed, acceleration and elusiveness, which enticed many Bruins fans last year, and seemed to be a missing ingredient in their second round playoff series versus the Montreal Canadiens, was on clear display once again. Unfortunately for Spooner, a few defensive lapses cut into what would have been a phenomenal start to preseason play.
Fraser also performed well, showing off his powerful shot on a power play goal assisted by David Krejci. After another season of high-end AHL success, paired with flashes of greatness from his time in Boston to a fast start at camp, he may have already worked his way into the Bruins lineup.
Seth Griffith
Griffith, an undersized forward who registered 50 points in 69 games in an impressive first season of professional hockey, is an intriguing prospect to say the least. Maybe the biggest long shot to make the team; Griffith’s ceiling could potentially be the highest. Great vision and hands, some foresee him as a possible Smith replacement if it comes to that- but he must play well in preseason games to give him any legitimate shot of making the big club. The same goes for Khokhlachev, who may be the most talented out of this group and made his preseason debut Wednesday night.
Gagne and Leino have both understandably struggled. Gagne showed flashes of offensive ability in Boston’s preseason opener, but mostly looked like a player returning to game-action for the first time in about a year and a half.
Leino, who many hope can regain his pre-Buffalo form when he scored 50 points in his last season playing for the Flyers, before being grossly overpaid by the Buffalo Sabres only to eventually find himself out of the league, really struggled during training camp practices. He believed game-action would give him a chance to prove he can still play in this league, but on Wednesday it didn’t.
It was the likes of Griffith and Khokhlachev who impressed the most in Boston’s 2-0 shutout victory over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday- their preseason home opener.
Leino’s struggles ensued as he made multiple turnovers at his own blueline- the type of mistake you’d expect from a rookie- and couldn’t capitalize on a number of scoring chances.
Gagne, who showed brief moments of offensive flair, said he felt both better and worse playing in what was his second game in as many nights.
“Basically tonight, I felt a huge difference from last night,” he said. “Legs were a little bit more stiff maybe from playing back to back games, but I think it’s normal from not playing a game in almost a year and a half. A little rusty yesterday, but I felt better today with the puck. Vision wise, more patient with the puck, not as nervous with the puck, taking maybe a little bit more time with it before making a play. I saw a little bit of improvement today from last game. It’s not quite where I want, but at least it’s getting a little better every game and that’s my goal. It’s only game two of preseason and we have five or six more games. So hopefully after those games, I’ll be close to where I want to be.”
Coach Claude Julien offered some postgame praise to the veteran forward as well.
“Well I think people that have watched him closely, he seems to be finding his game more and more,” Julien said. “We talked about that, being out for that long, and to me it was his best game so far. It was nice to see, especially on a back-to-back night, again, not knowing what kind of shape he’s in. But I thought he performed really well, so it was nice to see that from Simon.”
While Khokhlachev and Griffith both stood out with their stickhandling ability and speed, it seems Gagne did the most to impress his coach. Julien’s always preferred reliable veterans to dynamic prospects, as commitment to the system, in his eyes, is key to successful Bruins hockey.
With multiple forward spots available though, one or two of those prospects could still very well make the NHL club right out of camp. Only time will tell.
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