Following Game 6 of the New York Rangers – Pittsburgh Penguins series on Sunday evening, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was fined $5,000 for spraying Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
The fine was for unsportsmanlike conduct, happening at the end of the second period. A gathering of players met near the net where Sidney Crosby was sent flying by Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi, and then after Lundqvist skated passed him, he dumped the remaining water in his face.
Along with Lundqvist, Boston Bruins Shawn Thornton also sprayed an opponent. During game 5 of the Boston Bruins – Montreal Canadiens series this past Saturday evening, Thornton had sprayed Canadiens defenseman PK Subban from the bench. After a few words exchanged between the two, Subban mentioned it to the refs. Shawn Thornton, who responded with a laugh at the time, regrets his behavior. Thornton has been fined $2,820.52 for this incident. This season, Thornton has forfeited a total of $87,435.97, where did the other $84,615.45 come from? The answer, a 15-game suspension earlier in the season after an incident with Penguin Brooks Orpik.
Both series will be concluded in 7 games, one in Pittsburgh, and the other in Boston. The two winning teams will only have one more hill to climb before competing against a western conference team for the Stanley Cup in the final. Game 7 of the Pittsburgh, New York series will face-off tonight at 7 pm on NBCSports. Game 7 for Boston and Montreal will face-off Wednesday also at 7 pm on NBCSports.
Check your hearts at the door hockey fans, you’re in for an emotional week.
On Sunday evening, the Pittsburgh Penguins had their 2nd chance to close the series against the New York Rangers. New York was at once down three games to one in the series, and went on to take two straight must-win games. The Rangers won game 5 in Pittsburgh, five goals to one and game 6 at Madison Square Garden three goals to one.
The Rangers really started to show up during game 5, getting past the Penguins’ strong defense and beating Fleury. The Rangers have struggled on their power plays throughout the entire post season, but they are getting lot better. They were able to develop better special teams and capitalize on their opportunities.
Game 6 got off to a good start for the Rangers, with a goal by Marty St. Louis. Losing his mother a few days prior, St. Louis still decided to play in games 5 and 6 after his trip back to his home in Montreal to see his family. St. Louis knew his mother would’ve wanted him to play and that his team needed him.
Minutes after St. Louis’s goal, Carl Hagelin came up the left side with speed. A failed pass for Brad Richards, Hagelin kept on it and put the puck past Fleury with a clean backhand shot, making it 2-0 Rangers less than 10 minutes into the game.
At the end of the first period, Pittsburgh scored on a ricocheted shot off of Rangers defenseman, Kevin Klein. No Penguins player actually touched the puck, however, Brandon Sutter received credit for the goal.
During the second period, Penguins Marcel Goc came up the wing, during a Rangers power play, alone against Henrik Lundqvist. Goc celebrated what looked like a goal, but the puck never went in. Both teams lost sight of the puck until the Rangers defense recovered.
Later in the second period, Derek Brassard scored making it 3-1 Rangers.
After the win, the Rangers have a ritual of giving the ‘Broadway Hat’ to the number one player that night. Marty St. Louis gave a moving speech to his teammates after the game 6 victory:
“Great one, boys. You’ve got to picture it, you know? You got to believe it, you got to see it in your head that everything’s possible. Everybody pushed tonight. I can’t pick one guy. I’ve got to give it to the whole team. You guys have been nothing but unbelievable for me these past couple of days, and I’ll never forget that. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of the New York Rangers.”
New York has forced a game 7 which the Pittsburgh Penguins will host at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, May 13 at 7 pm.
It didn’t look at all like Games 1 and 2 in this showdown, with big leads for the Blackhawks not reflecting the close play. But, keeping with tradition in the Blackhawks-Wild series so far, the home team won. The Blackhawks squeaked a win by the Wild at the United Center Sunday night.
They have regained the series lead at 3-2, with their 2-1 win thanks to goals from Bryan Bickell and Captain Jonathan Toews.
The Wild struck first, striking fear in the hearts of fans aware that the team to score first in each game of the second round has ultimately won.
In fact, the whole first period was ultimately Minnesota’s. Brent Seabrook was called on a tripping penalty against Nino Niederreiter about 30 seconds after the puck drop. Shots were 8-6 in Wild’s favor.
With about 3:30 left in the period, Erik Haula took the puck coast to coast and backhanded a goal past Corey Crawford. Jared Spurgeon was credited with the assist. Haula has two goals and two assists against Chicago in this series.
The deflated Blackhawks left for first intermission to the sound of more than 20,000 disappointed fans.
“We are not going to get good chances all game,” Crawford said. “We have to work hard, get to the net, get pucks and bodies to the net and get those dirty goals. I mean, we have speed and skill, but that is not going to get you chances all the time; you have to mix it up and go hard to the net.”
On the Power Play, Bickell tipped in a shot from Patrick Kane (also assisting, Patrick Sharp) to tie the game 9:18 into the second. Bickell now has six postseason goals this year.
“The second period was our best of the series,” Coach Joel Quenneville said.
The Blackhawks only produced the lone goal, however, despite taking the lead in shots at 15-6.
And the two teams battled through the rest of the game, with Toews delivering a big hit, then capitalizing passes from Sharp and Hossa to backhand the puck past goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov and take the lead at 4:33 into the third.
The Wild would lead in shots 14-7 in the final period, and pull their goalie for a man-advantage, but be unable to score an equalizer before the final buzzer. Crawford made 27 saves and Bryzgalov made 26. Hits favored the Wild 48-31, while Chicago took faceoff wins 38-29.
Quenneville has announced Andrew Shaw, who was injured during a hit from Clayton Stoner in Game 1, is unlikely to play in Game 6 Tuesday.
“We definitely would like to finish it there,” Hossa (who has one goal, eight assists in this series) said about Game 6. “We know how hard it is to play in their building and we know we have to be better than we were in the last three games.”
The teams meet again at 8 p.m. CT (on CNBC) at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, with a chance for the Wild to force a Game 7 (as they were able to do to beat the Colorado Avalanche) or for the Hawks to head to the Western Conference Finals.
The last minute. Down to the wire. I’ve been meaning to put together a fashion piece for the ECHL all season, but it came literally down to an elimination game for me to get my act together. Game 5 between the Stockton Thunder and the Bakersfield Condors, the Thunder with their backs to the wall down 3 games to 1. The ECHL is generally more relaxed when it comes to their press, but I think it always wise to err on the side of professionalism and go for the highest level. I like to wear reds, greys and blacks, however the Condors have a lot of red and black in their sweaters so I shied away from that color combo. I opted to wear a bit of dusky tan, to pull in the colors of the Military Appreciation Jerseys the Thunder wear on the last regular season home games and which dot the landscape of the stands. I will warn you I’m not a thrifty shopper but that is partially because I struggle to find fashions that fit both my style and my small frame. I have a weakness for handbags and shoes, so you will see these are the more pricey pieces that make up my media ensemble.
Breakdown:
Camel cami- Forever 21 $1.80
White silk cap sleeve blouse- Converse One Star– $16.99
Black ribbed Cardigan- Forever 21- $13.80
Black pencil skirt- UNIQLO– $19.99
Black sheer stockings- Target– $8.99
Tan Ankle Boot-Rocket Dog– $49.00
Black & White Chevron wristlet- Dooney & Burke -$78.00
Media Tip: For elimination games, not only is it a good idea to pack some snacks just in case it goes to an epic overtime, but if you suffer from anxiety like me, ginger chews are a lifesaver for calming the nerves. They are perfect for that third period 3-2 close one and for before you head to the locker room, where the room will either be rockin’ with a win or somber in defeat.
Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced on May 8th, 2014 that 20-year-old Swedish goaltender Oscar Dansk has signed a three-year entry level contract with the Ohio club. Dank was Columbus’ second pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, 31st overall.
He has played for the last two years in the Ontario Hockey League for the Erie Otters, registering .897 save percentage with a 40-32-7 record. He won the 2013-2014 Dave Pinkney Trophy for Top Team Goaltending alongside teammate Devin Williams after achieving a league-low 170 goals in 68 games. He also earned ‘Top Goaltender’ honors at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championships, helping Sweden to a silver medal. Dansk also represented Sweden in the 2012 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he won silver.
The Blackhawks’ Brandon Bollig will sit games 5 and 6 on an NHL-mandated suspension for his hit on Minnesota defenseman Keith Ballard Friday night.
The Department of Player Safety on Saturday issued forward Bollig, for a boarding infraction, that sent Ballard out of the game. Ballard (upper body) is not expected to play Game 5 Sunday.
In its video explanation of the ruling, the NHL department outlines Bollig’s pursuit of the hit and reluctance to minimize contact on Ballard as Ballard turns into the glass. The incident occurred at 17:13 of the second period. Ballard left the ice on his own power, but retreated to the locker room and did not return to the game.
Bollig served a two-minute minor boarding penalty in the game for the hit.
“Bollig is tracking from the blue line and continues on his path, seeing Ballard’s number the entire time. As Ballard backhands the puck, Bollig drives into him from behind, causing (Ballard) to violently impact the boards and glass,” said Patrick Burke, of the department of player safety in the video ruling.
“Bollig is in control of this check throughout the play,” Burke continued. “Ballard makes no significant movements just prior to or simultaneously with contact, to turn what otherwise would’ve been a legal check into a boarding infraction. Therefore the onus is entirely on Bollig to see if he avoids this check completely or, at the very least, attempts to minimize contact. He does neither.”
Because Bollig is a first-time offender, his punishment is two games.
This play was likely retaliatory, following a violent hipcheck from Ballard earlier in the game where Bollig was downed as the recipient.
Ballard has played two games in the playoffs, returning from a groin injury that kept him out of the lineup for the final 13 regular season games and the first nine of the playoffs. In his two postseason games, he has zero points.
Bollig, who was among the few Hawks who played all 82 regular seasons games, has played nine postseason games with no points, an average of 6:09 minutes of ice time per game and a total of 14 penalty minutes. He had no points in five outings during the 2012-2013 playoffs.
The Blackhawks have been outhit by the Wild 22-7 in Game 4, 22-8 in Game 3, 32-23 in Game 2, and 37-24 in Game 1.
He’s one of the Hawks’ few “enforcers,” and without feisty center Andrew Shaw (who was injured after a hit by Clayton Stoner in Game 1) for at least another game, it will be interesting to see how Chicago handles hits.
The most constructive response would be to focus on hitting an opponent where it really hurts–the scoreboard–an option that would have prevented Ballard’s injury and Bollig’s suspension in the first place.
The Kings didn’t only lose game 2 on home ice to their freeway rivals, they also lost their 2-0 series lead.
Having watched the game at my family’s house, who are all long time Kings fans, we were a house divided. There were looks of awe from both sides during the game. First, from us Ducks fans when coach Bruce Boudreau decided to start rookie goalie, John Gibson, over the expected Jonas Hiller. Having never played in a playoff game in his short NHL career and also never having faced the Kings, this was enough to make any fan nervous and skeptical of Boudreau’s gutsy choice. This was Anaheim’s third goalie in 3 games as Frederik Andersen was not available due to an injury sustained in the third period of Game 4. The second bold move of the night came when Kings coach Darryl Sutter pulled superstar and Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie Jonathan Quick going into the second period, after allowing the only 2 goals of the night by the Ducks in the first. He was also replaced by a rookie, Martin Jones, who faced just 3 shots the rest of the game.
Let’s talk about this Gibson kid for a moment. Just a few weeks shy of his 21st birthday, he became the youngest goalie in NHL history to record a shutout in his playoff debut. While he is fresh meat to the NHL, he has won both gold and bronze at the IIHF World Junior Championship. He was in the process of dominating the Calder Cup Playoffs in the American Hockey League with the Norfolk Admirals before the Ducks decided they needed him for a crucial Game 4. He stopped all 28 shots that came his way last night (well, he had a LITTLE help on one save from his Captain). Although Boudreau seems to think otherwise, from the fans point of view, Gibson on the ice lit a much-needed fire under our defense who seemed to find the kid in net as a reason to step up the protection a bit.
“I don’t think they think have to protect him,” Boudreau said. “They obviously have a lot of belief in him, but we talked about protecting our house a lot better today than we did in the last couple games and paying the price. That’s what you do when you pay the price and get in the way.”
Gibson acted like this was a week night in December, not Game 4 of the second round of the NHL playoffs. He played only 3 regular season games,posting a 3-0-0 record with a 1.33 goals-against average and .954 save percentage.
Another superstar this playoff season is Devante Smith-Pelly, our first goal scorer of the night. He is a +2 in his 9 appearances in 10 playoff games this postseason. He has found a comfortable spot on the Getzlaf-Perry line (replacing the frequently injured Matt Beleskey), giving the Ducks their first goal of the night from a blind pass from Corey Perry, and his third in this series.
Both teams have both of their wins on opposition ice, something that is hard to do but seems to be the norm across the league for the playoffs this year. However, Ducks have a stellar 4-1 record against the Kings in regular season play, with 2 wins at Staples Center (or, Honda Center North as some Kings fans jokingly refer to it as).
The Battle for So-Cal continues Monday back at the Honda center for Game 5.
“The fifth game is the most important game of the series,” Boudreau said. “It always is. They’ll play harder in that game than ever because they know that if they win it in our building, they have a chance to win it in their building. We better be ready.”
It has been frequently talked about, thoroughly dissected and severely questioned, but a few months shy of the one-year anniversary of the Seguin trade, it’s clear that Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli once again, knew exactly what he was doing. Since taking the GM position in May of 2006, Chiarelli has brought notable faces to the franchise that has become a powerhouse in the east.
Under Chiarelli’s reign, Johnny Boychuk, Mark Recchi, Chris Kelly, Dennis Seidenberg, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, Tuukka Rask and Zdeno Chara all became Bruins. Leading up to the Seguin trade, was his acquisition, possibly one of the more well noted dealings on Chiarelli’s resume. In 2009 Phil Kessel was dealt to Toronto, in return the Bruins received the pick that later drafted Tyler Seguin — things come full circle. Seguin won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011 and became the face of the franchise, leaving Bostonians with Seguin fever.
Cue this past free agency, when beloved Seguin, paired with Rich Peverley were sent packing to the ‘Lone Star’ state. While many felt that the black and gold were left with the short end of the stick, as Seguin almost immediately found success in Dallas paired with captain Jamie Benn, emotions regarding the trade have slowly shifted throughout the season.
All the pieces, on the Bruins end, Eriksson, Smith and Fraser are fitting into the puzzle and proving significant to the teams post-season success.
It’s been oh so swede for the Bruins third line as countrymen Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson have made their distinguished mark as of late. The Bruins 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night saw goals from Soderberg, Eriksson, Iginla, and Smith, two of the four making their way to Boston in the Seguin trade.
Both Eriksson and Smith with 5 points each through the last 10 games, but the newest spark through the past two, 23-year-old Matt Fraser, with two points in two contests. Those two points rival the two points earned through 14 regular season contests with the team in the NHL and 30 through the regular season with American Hockey League affiliate Providence Bruins, including 3 goals and 2 assists in their current Calder Cup run before his NHL recall.
While the statistics show an influence on the ice, scoring the Game 4 winning goal just 79 seconds into overtime on Thursday night and netting an assist in Game 5, off the ice, listening to the room and what advice they have to offer only helps elevate the play. The first goal of the game was a prime example of that mentality and earned Soderberg the player of the game jacket.
Soderberg
“I think this is just a hard working play,” said Fraser. “Like Carl [Soderberg] made a great play, like a strong play off the draw, and the puck popped there and it was pretty easy for me to get it back to the defensemen, and actually Chris Kelly this morning told us to bring it out the weak side, and so he came up to me after the game and was laughing and told me, “You should be the coach now.” But no, I mean, Loui made a great play to Carl and Carl made a great shot, and again, those guys work so well with each other. You just, you feed off them and just try and stay out of the way.”
Always room for improvement, the Swedish line seems to be greatly benefiting from a dose of Alberta in it’s native Fraser.
“Yeah, I think as a line you can always be better and always want to be better,” said Fraser. “Anytime you get satisfied is when you get stale I think, and it’s again, like it’s fun playing with those guys. They work well with each other, and I’m doing my best to try and complement them.”
Leading 3-2, the Bruins will look to close out the series on Monday night in enemy territory, a task that thus far has proven difficult. Game 5 was a clearer snapshot of the black and gold style of play that one hopes to see skating forward.
“I think everybody who knows and who has followed our team noticed that,” said Bruins Head Coach Julien. “I think it was more — we seemed more in control, we seemed to be putting pucks in the right areas, we seemed to be in sync, and I thought we were focused for the whole 60 minutes. It was a great effort on our part, and as I said earlier, there’s a lot tougher times coming and we’ve got to be ready for the next one.”
Tied 2-2 in a best-of-seven playoff series versus the Montreal Canadiens, the Boston Bruins were in a fortunate position Saturday night, and they knew that. Prior to the Game five tussle back at the Garden, the first line of David Krejci, Jarome Iginla and Milan Lucic had disappeared since the start of the second round series, a troubling sign for the Bruins and their fans.
The lack of consistency from Krejci and Lucic has sparked injury concerns, while others ponder whether Iginla’s age is catching up to him. Posts or not, regardless of their scoring chances, the line is making uncharacteristic mistakes, and if the play continues many doubt the Bruins can achieve their ultimate goal.
On Saturday, in the biggest must-win of the series, the Bruins depth once again served as a catalyst, saving their bacon en route to a crucial victory. Despite an Iginla power play tally, some of the first line’s struggles ensued, but that Boston depth, what was often considered the difference maker in the East, once again came through in a big way.
“They put a lot of pressure and throw a lot of pucks at the net,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said of his third line postgame. “They do their job extremely well that way, but Carl Soderberg’s line has arguably been our best line so far in this series. They make things happen, so got to give them a lot of credit. It certainly takes a lot of pressure off the other lines.”
It started early with the new fan favorite Carl Soderberg.
Soderberg, who assisted on Matt Fraser’s game-winning goal in overtime of Game 4, and has carried arguably Boston’s best line of late, scored 13:20 into the first period to get the Bruins the start they wanted.
“Well, we knew he was a great player. I think he led the scoring in the league in Sweden there before he came to us, so we knew he had that skill,” Julien said. “A couple of things you noticed is that he needed to be in better shape, which he did this year — got himself in great shape — and the experience he got throughout the year. Eventually he just kind of found his game, and he’s fitting in extremely well. He’s a big, strong centerman and seems to make great play sand seems to be all over the puck all the time.”
Then, the power play finally regained their regular-season form. First Dougie Hamilton found Reilly Smith’s skate with a slap-pass from the point, and the puck deflected through Carey Price and into the net. Just moments later, Brian Gionta lost Iginla in front of the net, and a nifty Torey Krug backhanded pass set up the future Hall-of-Famer for the critical third goal of the game for the Bruins.
“It was nice,” a smiling Jarome Iginla recalled postgame. “It was a great goal that Smitty [Reilly Smith] scored. It wasn’t just the goal but it was again how they moved it around and were able to create and then be able to score at the end of the nice plays, that’s a big boost for a power play. At the start of a period was nice and then to be able to get another power play and follow that up, it felt good all the way around.”
The Bruins, looking much more like their dominant regular-season selves in Saturday night’s affair, went into cruise control from that point forward, sealing Game five with a 4-2 victory and giving themselves a chance to clinch an Eastern Conference Final birth on Monday night in Montreal.
With the play of the first line dwindling, although they had their moments on Saturday, the much-discussed depth of the Bruins has really shined in this series. If they can continue to exploit the Hab’s bottom pairings with their above-average bottom-six forwards, they should be able to take this series in six or seven.
Winning a Cup without a your true top trio producing would be a mighty tall task, but as we learned in 2011, anything is possible with this Boston club.
“I think everybody who knows and who has followed our team noticed that,” Julien said of his group’s identity. “I think it was more — we seemed more in control, we seemed to be putting pucks in the right areas, we seemed to be in sync, and I thought we were focused for the whole 60 minutes. It was a great effort on our part, and as I said earlier, there’s a lot tougher times coming and we’ve got to be ready for the next one.”
Blue is gloves down, my favorite color. That’s probably why my outfit for Game 5 was shades of blue… that and it was a quick and easy combination thrown together 10-minutes prior to running out the door.
Media Tip: Never leave home without a pen and paper… I’ve done it twice in the past two weeks and thoroughly regretted it. While technology has your back, there’s nothing greater than kicking it old school with a notepad and paper in the post-game presser.
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