(photos: usahockey.com)
When Team USA comes together, they do so impressively. After a mediocre showing at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the U.S. Men’s National Team is probably looking for some redemption, and to prove to the world, and themselves, that the United States of America can be a hockey country.
The Americans got off to a good start with a 6-1 victory over Belarus yesterday, with young talents Jacob Trouba and Johnny Gaudreau contributing a combined 5 points. The 2014 IIHF Men’s World Championships are taking place in Minsk, Belarus, so the crowd heavily favored Belarus, whose president was even in attendance.
Team USA got on the board about halfway through the first period, on the power play, after Belarus got called for tripping. Tyler Johnson set up Craig Smith, whose shot was directed into the net by Brock Nelson to give the Americans a 1-0 lead.
Things got exciting in the second frame when the Americans scored three more goals in 2 minutes and 43 seconds to extend the lead to a commanding 4-0. Jacob Trouba had a one-timer on the feed from Danny DeKeyser at 14:59. Fifty four seconds later, Johnny Gaudreau added another. Colin McDonald had a yawning cage less than 2 minutes later, and drove one home.
“Tonight was a very close game and in the first period it was ultra competitive,” said Peter Laviolette, head coach of the 2014 U.S. Men’s National Team. “I thought that Belarus played extremely hard and I liked the competitiveness of our guys as well. In the second period, the play was being taken to us and then a few goals went our way. I thought the power play was good tonight.”
While Tim Thomas would not see a shutout in his return to international play, as Belarus got a tally late in the second period, he did play well against the “home” team.
“They came at us right off the bat,” Thomas said after the win. “It was their first-ever world championship game on home turf and fortunately we were able to get the win to start the tournament.”
“I thought Tim Thomas looked really sharp tonight especially early on. Belarus was very dangerous off the attack, they entered the zone with lots of possession and chances at the net,” said U.S. head coach Peter Laviolette. “He looked like he was in control tonight, there weren’t a lot of rebounds and when there were, I thought our defense did a good job of clearing them,” Laviolette said.
Even Mikhail Grabovski (skating for Belarus) spoke highly of Thomas and his appearance at the tournament.
“I think it’s great that he’s come here at his age, it’s a great decision for him and for our country,” Grabovski said. “Little kids here can watch one of the best players in the NHL play. He played great today. We had so many chances and I think he’s one of the main parts of the U.S win.”
Two more USA goals in the third, on the power play by Jacob Trouba and Jake Gardiner, sealed the win for the Americans for a final score of 6-1
The U.S. Men’s National Team (1-0-0-0) will continue preliminary-round action today (May 10) against Switzerland. Puck-drop is schedule for 1:45 p.m. ET and can be viewed live on NBC Sports Network.
Team USA 2014 IIHF Men’s World Championship Schedule
May 9-25 • Minsk, Belarus
| Date |
Opponent |
Venue |
Time (Local/EDT)/Result |
NBCSN Broadcast |
| Fri., May 9 |
Belarus |
Minsk Arena |
W, 6-1 |
|
| Sat., May 10 |
Switzerland |
Minsk Arena |
8:45 p.m./1:45 p.m. |
Live |
| Mon., May 12 |
Russia |
Minsk Arena |
8:45 p.m./1:15 p.m. |
Live |
| Thurs., May 15 |
Latvia |
Minsk Arena |
4:45 p.m./9:45 a.m. |
Live |
| Fri., May 16 |
Kazakhstan |
Minsk Arena |
4:45 p.m./9:45 a.m. |
Live |
| Sun., May 18 |
Finland |
Minsk Arena |
4:45 p.m./9:45 a.m. |
Live |
| Tues., May 20 |
Germany |
Minsk Arena |
12:45 p.m./5:45 a.m. |
Live |
| Thurs., May 22 |
Quarterfinals |
TBD |
TBD |
tape delay |
| Sat., May 24 |
Semifinals |
Minsk Arena |
2:45 p.m./7:45 a.m.
6:45 p.m./11:45 a.m. |
tape delay
tape delay |
| Sun., May 25 |
Bronze-Medal Game |
Minsk Arena |
4:30 p.m./9:30 a.m. |
tape delay |
|
Gold-Medal Game |
Minsk Arena |
9:00 p.m./2:00 p.m. |
Live |
(photo: Hockey Canada)
One day ahead of his first game representing Team Canada, Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa was named captain of Team Canada. Today, Bieksa and the team experienced a surprising loss to France in Canada’s opening game of the 2014 IIHF World Championship. Team France edged the Canadian men’s team 3-2 in a shootout.
Team France drew first blood on a power play goal in the first period with a goal from French forward Stephane Da Costa. Team Canada forward Brayden Schenn answered little over two minutes later with a goal, capitalizing on a Team France penalty.
With the game tied at 1-1, the second period drew two penalties a piece but no goals. Team Canada out-shot their competitors 13 shots to 6 during the scoreless second. The third period saw defenseman Erik Gudbranson score an even-strength goal for Canada, answered two minutes later with a power play goal, again by Stephane Da Costa, during a slashing penalty against defenseman Jason Garrison.
The score remained tied at 2-2 after 60 minutes of regulation and the game went to a shootout. Team Canada failed to score on three shots, with Team France netting the third shot. The game winning shootout goal went to Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, a Team France forward.
Despite the loss, the game was a milestone for Bieksa. At 32, the Grimsby ON native has eight seasons with the Vancouver Canucks under his belt and has played 537 NHL games with the team. It is tough to believe that Bieksa, ranked as the sixth-highest scoring defenseman in the Vancouver Canucks’ franchise history, is representing Team Canada on the international stage for the first time. The two alternate captains named along Bieksa are Jason Chimera and Kyle Turris.
The decision to place the ‘C’ on Bieksa’s jersey was a popular one, with an outpouring of support prompting the Canucks defensemen to take to social media to show his appreciation.
Bieksa has taken well to the role of melding the diverse group together, having the team make snow angels on the ice at practice yesterday.
“That’s who he is, that’s what he does,” said coach Dave Tippett.
“He keeps it fun, he likes to have a good time,” said Bieksa’s Vancouver Canucks teammate, Alex Burrows. “But at the same time when it’s time to work and do the right things, he’s the first one to lead the way.”
Bieksa touched on the diversity of the team and his approach ahead of the first game against France.
“It’s been pretty seamless so far,” Bieksa said after practice yesterday. “Everybody brings something to the table. The young guys are young and (add) a new perspective and energy and the older guys, there’s some guys that have played in this tournament a few times and they know what to expect and you lean on them for some advice. It’s a good mix.”
Canada is able to register 25 players for Worlds, with the current roster totalling 23 players. Ahead of the opening game against France, Team Canada added Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn to the roster, in place of the injured Marc Methot of the Ottawa Senators. Two open spots remain on the roster.
The puck drops on Team Canada’s next game on Saturday May 10 as the team takes on Slovakia at Chizhovka-Arena in Minsk, Belarus.
Photo credit: Andrew Fielding-USA TODAY Sports
The LA Kings lost to the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in Game 3 of the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This was not a great, entertaining game. A lot of the game was played in the neutral zone, and with terrible ice conditions due to LA’s famous warm weather, neither team was really able to generate or sustain much momentum. The Kings fell prey to Bruce Boudreau‘s neutral zone trap game and couldn’t seem to get a whole lot going. Meanwhile, Anaheim was content to let the Kings play a sleepy game and took advantage on the power play. They did manage to score an even strength goal after Drew Doughty turned the puck over and Ben Lovejoy created a 2-on-1. The Kings made things interesting late in the game but Anaheim was fortunate to walk out with the win.
All the possession metrics heavily favored Los Angeles, but as usual, they can be cruel and misleading. Anaheim ended up generating more scoring chances than LA. However, the Kings did little with their excessive zone time and the Ducks were able to generate enough offense to win.
Los Angeles didn’t make any lineup changes but Anaheim did, sending Emerson Etem back to Norfolk and recalling defenseman Sami Vatanen. Kyle Palmieri drew in for Etem while Vatanen replaced Mark Fistric.
The first three goals were all scored on the power play, so it would behoove both teams to play with more discipline. In the first period, Trevor Lewis was called for interference and Corey Perry eventually scored a tic-tac-toe goal on the power play.
In the second period, Devante Smith-Pelly got a little careless and took a high sticking penalty. It didn’t take long before Jeff Carter scored on a fairly similar play that Perry scored on. Anze Kopitar extended his point streak to 10 games in the postseason and picked up his league leading 15th point as well. Later in the period, Drew Doughty got called for hooking and the Teemu Selanne scored on a 4 on 3 power play.
Midway through the third period, Frederik Andersen, who’d drawn into the lineup for Jonas Hiller (because Andersen has a perfect record in two games at Staples Center, which is an interesting rationalization since goaltending is still not Anaheim’s problem), went down with an injury and did not finish the game. While Andersen was down, Slava Voynov had a golden opportunity to tie the game when he was presented with an empty net, but fanned on the puck.
Everything remained the same until the very end of the period when the aforementioned Doughty and Lovejoy combination happened and the Ducks scored (it was not a great goal for Jonathan Quick to give up, who’d been stellar all night).
After putting 26 shot attempts toward the net in 10 playoff games, Mike Richards made things interesting by scoring with 30 seconds remaining after the goaltender was pulled, but the Kings came up short and were unable to make up the two goal deficit.
LA’s Defensive Woes
With Robyn Regehr and Willie Mitchell both on the shelf due to injury, Jeff Schultz and Matt Greene have been fairly solid. They play low event hockey, which is OK, but it’s not really helping LA’s speed game much. Voynov’s season-long struggle (he’s been mostly OK defensively, but his offense has really tanked this season) has never been more noticeable than it was in Game 3 with the missed net perfectly emulating his team’s frustration. While Regehr and Mitchell were certainly not what you’d think of as “fast,” they seemed to be able to make up for it with sound positioning and an ability to read the play, which would allow them to make adjustments on the fly.
In the absence of their top two penalty killing defensemen, it’s imperative for the Kings to stay out of the penalty box. While the officiating has been less than consistent throughout the series, it would greatly benefit them to maintain strict discipline. Their defense also needs to step up and be better. While Doughty has been fantastic, he alone cannot do the job of five other defensemen. To this point, Jake Muzzin and Alec Martinez have been good, but they’ll need to be even better if LA wants to extend their playoff run.
Game 4 will be Saturday, May 10th at 6:30 pm PT. The start time for Game 5, which will be on Monday, May 12th is still TBD.
Photo credit: Thomas Roy/Union Leader
Following last week’s disappointing first round upset to the Norfolk Admirals (primary minor league affiliate for the Anaheim Ducks), the LA Kings have recalled the top prospects from their primary minor league affiliate, Manchester Monarchs.
According to Jon Rosen of the LA Kings Insider, the following players have been recalled.
Forwards:
Linden Vey (C)
Colin Fraser (C)
Nick Shore (C)
Jordan Weal (C)
Andy Andreoff (LW/C)
Scott Sabourin (RW)
Defensemen:
Andrew Bodnarchuk
Andrew Campbell
Brayden McNabb
Derek Forbort
Colin Miller
Goaltenders
J.F. Berube
Patrik Bartosak
Click here and here to see regular season and playoff stats for each prospect.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
The Philadelphia Flyers promoted Paul Holmgren to President and Ron Hextall to General Manager.
In his new position, Homgren will oversee the business and hockey operations end of things and Hextall will be responsible for the day-to-day stuff.
Holmgren has played and coached for the Flyers. He also spent four years with the Hartford Whalers. He has worked his way up in the organization from a scout to now being the President of the team.
Holmgren took over as the General Manager in the 2006-07 season. He led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010, but has given up too easily on young stars and signed players to ridiculous contracts. One good deal Holmgren made was acquiring defenseman Chris Pronger from the Anaheim Ducks at the 2009 draft. Pronger was a big part of the Flyers making the Finals in 2010. In the 2011-12 season, he got hit in the eye with a stick and hasn’t played since because of post-concussion syndrome.
Holmgren traded young stars Mike Richards and Jeff Carter in separate deals in 2011, just one year after going to the Stanley Cup Finals. Holmgren then acquired goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov and signed him to a nine-year, $51 million contract. Only two years after signing that big contract, the Flyers bought Bryzgalov out because he didn’t play well while with the team.
In the summer of 2012, Holmgren traded young goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Bobrovsky went on to win the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie the next season. James Van Riemsdyk was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Luke Schenn. Van Riemsdyk had 30 goals this season for the Maple Leafs, who missed the playoffs.
Holmgren did acquire goalie Steve Mason from the Blue Jackets. He has played well since coming over and the Flyers finally look like they have a number one goaltender.
Ron Hextall spent three years as a pro scout and four years as the Director of Pro Player Personnel for the Flyers. In 2006, he joined the Los Angeles Kings organization. Hextall spent seven years with the Kings before coming back over to the Flyers last season as the Assistant General Manager.
He was the Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations for the Kings when they won the Stanley Cup in 2012. Hextall was also the General Manager of the Kings American Hockey League Affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs, who went to the playoffs six of seven years under his watch.
The Flyers needed to make a move to keep Hextall in the organization because there are other General Manager positions open around the league. Hopefully, Hextall will have more patience with the development of his young players than Holmgren did, and not trade them for older average veteran players.
Hextall has some work to do in the offseason. The Flyers need a shutdown defenseman and a top six left winger that can put the puck in the net.
Hopefully owner Ed Snider, and Holmgren will let Hextall be the General Manager and not interfere with his decisions to try and make the Flyers a better team.
(Photo: Providence Bruins)
On April 20, 2014, during the second game of Round One of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the Boston Bruins were down a game against the Detroit Red Wings, the entire Bruins fan base, and anyone else watching the game, was introduced to forward Justin Florek at 7:38 of the first period, when he caught a rebound off of Jimmy Howard, who was aggressively out of his crease and out of position, and put it in the net to get the Bruins on the board first. For Florek, this was his first NHL playoff goal.
As often happens with rookies who make a major contribution during the playoffs—for Bruins fans, the goals on New York Rangers Henrik Lundqvist last season by Torey Krug are still memorable—that player appears to have come from out of the blue. Getting to the NHL level though does not happen “out of the blue.” Instead it takes years of dedication to the sport, many that come with sacrifices on the part of the athlete.
Florek is a native of Marquette, Michigan. The lanky left-winger stands an imposing six foot four and has played for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program for both the under-17 and under-18 teams. He then went on to play for the Northern University Michigan Wildcats for four years, during which time he was drafted by the Bruins in the fifth round (135th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. Upon completing his years with the Wildcats, he signed an entry-level contract with the Bruins on March 25, 2012 and was sent to play with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Providence Bruins.
During his time with Providence, he’s seen time with a number of players and line mates. During the 2012-13 season, he spent a lot of time on the same line with Christian Hanson (now of the Chicago Wolves) and Bobby Robins. Their production was so consistent that they were nicknamed the “Factory” line. This season his most recent line mates have been Alexander Khokhlachev and Seth Griffith. The three of them combined have made for some memorable goals. Griffith has said in the past that he knows that Florek will be in front of the net when needed and is always smart with the puck. Griffith commented on his willingness to get into the dirty areas.
After that first playoff game, The Pink Puck had a chance to catch up with Florek and asked him about the series, especially since, up to that point; the other quarterfinal games around the league had resulted in high total goals being scored on both sides of each game. This first Bruins and Red Wing tilt was the first have just one goal scored. Florek admitted he’d been watching the other games—after all they are players, but they are fans of the sport as well.
“This series is going to be a grind it out sort of series,” he responded to The Pink Puck. “I’m looking forward to that, and playing some Bruins hockey out there.”
And Bruins hockey is something that he is good at. He’s not afraid to get into the corners and “muck it up,” as the say. He battles for the puck. It seems that the Bruins style of play is the Florek style of play.
“Yah, it’s great, especially playing with two skilled guys like Carl [Soderberg] and Loui [Eriksson],” he responded when asked about his grinding style of play by The Pink Puck. “Hopefully I can contribute to that line and get the puck down low, and we can make some plays down there and get some chances.”
The down-to-earth winger was pleased that Head Coach Claude Julien gave him some quality minutes in the game.
“It’s a great feeling, just knowing that he [Coach Julien] trusts me and everything.” he said. “I’ve just got to keep working on both ends of the ice, move forward, and build that trust along the way. So, I’ve just got to keep presenting myself, getting opportunities, and doing my best out there.”
That can-do attitude is not unique within the Bruins locker room, though it certainly helps when the new player brings that approach. However, like many others, Florek was happy to have had some time with the Boston club during the regular season. He reflected on how that experience assisted him during the playoff game.
“Like I said before, it’s a great group of guys and they’re welcoming from day one coming in here, which is awesome. But building confidence is great,” he said. “Every chance I get here just building confidence throughout those first couple of games of the regular season was important. They were giving me a chance on the penalty kill and things like that and that built confidence for me coming here today.”
And despite the loss of that first game, which sent the Bruins fans home unsatisfied, The Pink Puck was able to bring a little good news to Florek about the Providence Bruins team clinching their playoff berth in the Calder Cup race.
“They did? Oh that’s great to hear,” he said breaking into a big smile. “I’m very happy about that and glad for them.”
Game two against Detroit though would give Florek an extra high, as he scored his first NHL playoff goal—and it was the first game of the series for the Bruins. His ability to get the puck in early did help contribute not only to the score sheet but also to the momentum of the team as a whole.
After the Boston Bruins finished off the Red Wings in five games, the team had a chance to rest a bit while others teams in both the Eastern and Western conferences had to go seven games. During that time off, Florek took in the Providence Bruins on April 29, which was a make or break game for the P-Bruins. And, as happens within the Bruins teams more often than not when their backs are against the boards, they stepped up and ensured at least a fifth game against the Springfield Falcons.
Providence Bruins Pride
While attending the game, The Pink Puck had an opportunity to interview Bobby Robins, one of Florek’s past line mates, and still his teammate in Providence as well as the head coach of the Providence Bruins, Bruce Cassidy, about Florek and his play.
Coach Cassidy clearly likes Florek’s play. He spoke to his strengths, and the list was lengthy.
Justin Florek
(Photo: Providence Bruins)
“He plays a 200-foot game and for young guys to be so conscious away from the puck is such a benefit to play for Claude [Julien] in the Bruins system. He’s got a good stick; he’s on the puck. He loves to forecheck so that’s an ideal role for him as a winger,” he told The Pink Puck. “He’ll go to the net and score some goals and chip in. He’s not a natural or a flashy type of a goal scorer, but he’s the type that will get goals around the front of the net. And you better mark them or he’s going to get them. He’s a good penalty killer. For a big guy I wouldn’t call him physical, but gets in the way. He angles people off and he protects the puck very well.”
Cassidy mentioned that some of these skills may still need a little development and may not be as good as they were in Providence, but he was wishing him the best and that his abilities would continue to grow.
“Up there it will be a bit more of a challenge. You’ll see it with him because he’s not as developed as he needs to be, but down here you couldn’t get [the puck] from him,” Cassidy concluded. “And up there, hopefully over time that’s what happens to his game up there.”
And just as Florek was happy to hear that the Providence Bruins had made it to the playoffs, so too are his P-Bruins teammates happy to see him up in Boston contributing.
Robins was asked about Florek and his play. And it was clear that Florek’s teammate and former line mate was just pleased to see him make the leap.
“He’s obviously a very important member of our team. He’s a great player and it’s no surprise that he got snatched up by Boston and he’s stuck up there for playoffs.” Robins told The Pink Puck. “We’re all very happy for him and he deserves it. He’s made a lot of strides in the last couple of years and every year he gets better and better. And it was just his time to break through into the national league and he’s there. He’s doing it. He’s living the dream and we’re all very proud of him and proud that we played with him. He was my line mate so I’m definitely very happy for him.”
Playing in the NHL is, of course, every young hockey-playing kid’s dream. Including all the players still grinding away in Providence. However, it was clear that there was no animosity or jealousy from Robins about Florek’s opportunity.
“He can definitely do the job. He’s very dependable out there and a very responsible hockey player defensively and offensively, and that’s what they’re looking for,” he continued. “And they know and we know that he’ll do the job.”
Robins also summed up nicely why the “Factory Line” had been so effective last season.
“We just kept it simple. We were all big guys. It was pretty strange for me to be the smallest guy on the line,” he grinned. “But we got the puck out, got the puck in and went to work.”
Perhaps what made it clearest that Robins and his fellow Providence Bruins were happy for Florek though, came when Robins mentioned having just talked with Florek in the Providence Bruins locker room.
“I just spoke with him in the locker room and let him know that he belongs up there and that he fits right in and that he looks fast and told him I was happy for him,” Robins said, sounding a little like a proud parent.
When the Boston Bruins were able to tie the second round series, against the Montreal Canadiens, which Florek was a healthy scratch after having played in the first of the two games played in Boston, he was asked about the comments Robins made in regard to his belonging in Boston.
Florek’s Response
“It’s great when you have the support of your team mates,” he responded. “It’s just awesome to get the chance to come up here and play up here, and to have the support of everyone down in Providence is great. Great team mates down there and they’re doing a great job in the playoffs right now, so I’m rooting for them too.”
Indeed, though Florek has been called up during that most important of times in the hockey season, he is still definitely connected to his Providence team and has been happy to see how well they have been doing so far. And though he is up in Boston, he understands the “revenge” that is on the line as Providence meets the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the second round beginning on Friday, May 9. After all, it was the Baby Pens who ended the P-Bruins’ run for the Calder Cup during the 2012-13 season.
Even when scratched though, Florek has a positive outlook and feels he can contribute as well as continue to learn.
“Just [bringing] positive energy, I think that’s the biggest thing. Being positive about it; helping out the team when I can,” he said after thoughtful consideration. “Just taking it all in from the game. Being able to sit up top, you can take a lot of points out of it and just see what you can do to your game to help out and beat Montreal.”
And as was stated early in this piece, Florek did not all of a sudden spring forth as a fully-grown NHL playing hockey guy. He’s worked hard, honed his skills and continues to keep a level head on his shoulders.
When asked by The Pink Puck about what he might say to those guys in juiors, high school, or college what they should do to stick to the grind, he showed that positive outlook that has carried him forward to where he finds himself right now.
“I think that’s the biggest thing, just have the mentality every day to just go in and get better,” he said, smile firmly on his face. “A quote I kinda live by is ‘Every day you either get better or you get worse.’”
Every day you either get better or you get worse.
He expanded on this showing his commitment.
“Just come in every day, whether it is practice or a game, and try to get better. And just come in with that mentality,” he said in seriousness. “You know, look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and just ask yourself if you got better. That’s kind of how I have treated my career so far and that’s [how] I am going to continue to treat it.”
It is clear that this approach is working for him. And his commitment to working on his game and his skills along with that radiating positive energy speak volumes of what should be a long and successful career living the dream.
(photo: Natalie Condrillo for The Pink Puck)
This playoff season, the New York Rangers organization decided to do something different to connect with fans. The RangersTown Hockey House at Madison Square Garden debuted specially for the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Located in midtown on the tiny island that is Manhattan, Ranger fans from all over the city celebrate their pride together and get excited for the games that lie ahead. Special events, games, memorabilia, and alumni appearances are all inside. Best of all, the Hockey House activities are free of charge.
I’ve personally been to the Hockey House a few times during the post-season, and so far I’m really impressed. I always have a good time interacting with my fellow Blueshirts fans and taking in the excitement. Rangers alumni Eddie Giacomin, Vic Hadfield, Ron Greschner, and Brian Mullen made appearances today to interact with fans. I was lucky enough to meet two 1994 Stanley Cup Champions alumni, Adam Graves and Jeff Beukeboom. Both were extremely friendly and gave me autographed pictures. Both were also nice enough to give me an extra one to give to my brother.
Tons of free merchandise is also being given to fans. New York Rangers t-shirts, water bottles, flyers, playoff towels, and much more! Trivia contests were also being held for a chance to win tickets to a game.
A small, museum-like section of the Hockey House has historical memorabilia on display as well. Legendary game-worn jerseys, skates, socks, sticks and gloves were shown. Newspapers from 1994 were also on display. Interestingly, Wayne Gretzky’s first ever pair of skates were at the exhibit. The plaque explained how he started skating at the age of three, and little did anyone know at the time, Gretzky would become the greatest NHL player in history.
I strongly encourage all New York Rangers fans to come out to the Hockey House! Meet a legend, come for the free stuff, games and music, or even win a chance to win playoff tickets.
Photo credit: Steve Babineau
On Wednesday afternoon, LA Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi announced that they would not be renewing the contract of Mark Morris, head coach of their minor league affiliate, Manchester Monarchs.
“We appreciate the job Mark has done for us in Manchester. The team’s success on the ice during his tenure and his contributions in helping prepare our young players to be successful at the NHL level have been key contributors to the success of our organization as a whole. These ideals will continue to be a priority for us going forward and we wish Mark the utmost success as there is no doubt he is ready for the next step in his career,” said Lombardi.
Last July, the Kings extended Morris’s contract for one more year. But now the Kings organization has decided to part ways with Morris and allow him to move on with his career. Reportedly, there are NHL teams interested in his services as an assistant coach. Given his history of success at both the AHL and collegiate level, it’s not a surprise that there are NHL teams who want him behind their bench.
In eight years with the organization, Morris quickly became the winningest coach in franchise history. Twice he coached the Monarchs to a division title (2006-07, 2013-14) and saw two conference appearances. This year, with a roster constantly in flux due to call ups and injuries (at one point, he’d lost his entire top line, which had combined for 100 points the previous year), the Monarchs led the entire AHL for the majority of the season. They ended up second in the league, finishing one point behind the Texas Stars. Never once during the entire ’13-’14 season did the Monarchs have a three game losing streak (until they met the Norfolk Admirals in the playoffs).
Morris has been instrumental in the development of young players on the Kings’ farm team. When LA won the Stanley Cup in 2012, 13 players had spent time in Manchester under the careful guidance of Morris (Jonathan Bernier, Kyle Clifford, Davis Drewiske, Dwight King, Trevor Lewis, Andrei Loktionov, Alec Martinez, Jordan Nolan, Scott Parse, Jonathan Quick, Brad Richardson, Slava Voynov and Kevin Westgarth). Recent call ups Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli and Linden Vey are among the latest prospects that saw significant development time in New Hampshire.
A hard, but fair coach, Toffoli said of Morris, “He definitely made me earn everything that I got – my ice time, my power play and penalty kill. He just made sure he was on me all the time, and it was just trying to get me better every day.” Currently Toffoli sees time on LA’s special teams and was a key element in the Kings’ come-from-behind victory over the San Jose Sharks, thanks, in part, to things he learned in Manchester.
Monarchs assistant coach Freddy Meyer is moving on as well.
The Kings’ front office does not currently have anyone specific lined up to replace Morris and Meyer.
In spite of this, head coach Jason Christie and assistant coach Mark Hardy with the Ontario Reign of the ECHL could possibly have an inside track. They’ve both done an excellent job coaching the Reign (including leading the Reign to back-to-back division titles) and are familiar with the Kings’ system. While they would be a good fit and make perfect sense, for now, that is just rampant speculation.
Hopefully come October, Mark Morris will be behind the bench of some NHL team that is fortunate enough to have him.
(photo: Associated Press)
The Nashville Predators have named Peter Laviolette the team’s next head coach.
Laviolette will be replacing Barry Trotz after his contract wasn’t renewed at the end of the season. The Predators failed to make the playoffs for the second straight year.
Laviolette becomes the second coach in franchise history. He won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and then led the Philadelphia Flyers to the Finals in 2010, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. He has also coached the New York Islanders and has a record of 389-282-25-63 in his career.
Laviolette was fired after an 0-3 start with the Flyers. The team couldn’t score and just didn’t look ready to start the season. He was replaced by Craig Berube, who helped lead the Flyers to the playoffs where they lost to the New York Rangers in the first round.
Laviolette will coach Team USA at the upcoming World Championships and he was an assistant coach for Team USA during the 2014 Winter Olympics.
He is an offensive-minded coach, the likes of which the Predators needed since they only scored 216 goals this past season. Laviolette likes his forwards to push the pace and forecheck in the offensive zone. He may not be the longterm answer for the Predators, but now there is one less coaching job to fill in the offseason.
(AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)
The Minnesota Wild showed that they cannot be counted out of the playoffs. They earned a 4 to 0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, after previously falling behind two games to none in the series. The Wild are closing the gap and cut the Blackhawks’ series lead to 2 to 1. Goaltender Ilya Bryzgolov stopped all 19 shots for his first playoff shutout in Minnesota.
The hockey city and the crowd seemed to give the Wild the energy they were searching for in the first two games of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The game would remain scoreless until the third period, when the Wild figured out how to get past Corey Crawford and open the game up.
One minute and forty one seconds into the third period, Erik Haula tipped the puck in to break the tie and give the Wild their first goal. It is very important to score the first goal against the Blackhawks, no team wants to find themselves in a situation trying to come back from behind when they are facing the Blackhawks’ puck control abilities and offensive power. About three minutes later, Mikael Granlund’s forehand, backhand move would lift the Wild to a two goal lead.
The Wild held onto the 2 to 0 lead until the 17 minute mark when they would capitalize on a power play opportunity to bring them to a commanding 3 to 0 lead with time running out. Zach Parise was in front of the net on the power play, and tipped the original shot from Ryan Suter, the tip-in hit the post and came back out to Parise who did not miss the wide open net.
Chicago pulled Crawford with just over two minutes left in the third period, but they were unable to gain possession to try to cut down Minnesota’s lead. The Wild intercepted the play and broke into Chicago’s zone, and Mikael Granlund got his second goal of the night, on the empty net, to increase the Wild’s lead to four goals.
The Minnesota Wild managed to take advantage of home ice to cut the series lead in half. They are going to have to come out with the same energy, if not more, to make sure they get another win at home to tie the series up at two. It would be hard to fall down three games to one and try to survive while heading back to Chicago.
Minnesota needs to keep isolating key players like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, as well as watch the stretch passes, and of course stay out of the box. They also need to find a way to bring some of that home energy to their games in Chicago. The Blackhawks need to get Andrew Shaw back in the lineup, they need more quality shots, including shots on net from guys like Bickell, Sharp, Saad, and Keith, and Corey Crawford needs to stay sharp. Chicago only had eight hits while Minnesota had 22, Chicago needs to make sure they are matching the physicality of the game, while Minnesota needs to keep playing extra physical and continue throwing the body around.
Game four of this series takes place in Minnesota on Friday, May 9th, at 8:30 PM (CST).
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