The ECHL Kelly Cup semifinals are ready to kick off and the Eastern Conference had some surprises for the first round. Defending Kelly Cup Champion Reading Royals were knocked out in the first round by the Fort Wayne Komets in 5 games and it marked the first time in ECHL history that an #8 seed knocked out the #1 seed in the playoff race. The South Carolina Stingrays, whose coach Spencer Carbery earned ECHL Coach of the Year, were swept by the “misfit” Wheeling Nailers.
The Eastern Conference matchups are as follows:
Eastern Conference
Cincinnati Cyclones (5) – Fort Wayne Komets ( 8)
Wheeling Nailers (6) – Greenville Road Warriors (7)
The Cincinnati Cyclones – Fort Wayne Komets Series will be an intense matchup between two teams who skate fast and like to score goals. The Cyclones were the ECHL’s highest scoring team in the regular season and they have defensemen who like to step up and play the puck in the offensive zone. The Fort Wayne Komets came into the first round the underdogs against the Kelly Cup Champion Royals and railroaded them in five games. Home ice may not be a big advantage as the Cyclones had the highest road win percentage in the league.
Who to Watch:
Cyclones Rookie Wade Megan has had an impressive start to the playoffs with 4 goals during the first round including the game winner for game 6 against the Orlando Solar Bears. Defensemen Mike Dalhuisen and Josh McFadden contribute offensively whenever they can but also are skilled at knocking forwards off the puck entering the zone. Rob Madore will be between the pipes for Cincinnati, having recently returned from the AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers and brings experience and a very low GAA through the first playoff rounds at 1.82.
The Komets have Brandon Marino and the return of Dean Ouellet as part of their offensive powerhouse. Marino was the top scorer in the ECHL during the regular season, although in the Royals series his line did not put up many points. Former all-star Ouellet was out with an injury at the tail end of the season and into the post, but in his three playoff appearances in the first round he tallied 2 goals. Forward Shawn Szydlowski made a big impact in the Royals series, posting 6 points over five games.
The Wheeling Nailers – Greenville Road Warriors series will feature big bodies on both sides of the ice. Physicality should play a role for both teams. The Nailers used their physical play to great effect against their sweep of the Stingrays during the first round. The Road Warriors put their hard checking to use to eliminate the Kalamazoo Wings in the first round. Getting pucks into the net will be a challenge for both teams, with large defensemen clogging up the lanes, but who are versatile enough to turn the puck around and score up the ice. These two teams are very closely matched in terms of offensive and defensive depth.
Who to Watch:
The Nailers boast the top goaltender in the Eastern Conference in Mike Condon, who recorded the second highest shutout rating during the regular season (behind Condors’ Laurent Brossoit) and posted two shutouts in the first round against the South Carolina Stingrays. Blueliner Mike Ratchuk is a strong two-way defenseman and led his team in defensive scoring with 15 goals during the regular season. Sahir Gill, although relatively quiet, posting only 5 points in the Stingrays sweep, led his team in the regular season with 54 points in 67 games played.
The Road Warriors have the offensive talent of Andrew Rowe, team points leader in the regular season and who led his team in points during the first playoff round against the K-Wings. Goaltender Jason Missiaen is the tallest tender in the league at 6’8″ and his large frame makes it difficult to get pucks by to the net. Defenseman Mike Marcou has tallied points from the blueline to lead his team in defensive scoring during the regular season, especially against the Nailers.
The table has been set for the ECHL Semifinals. The quarterfinals ended with a high note as the Colorado Eagles and Idaho Steelheads battled in an epic Game 6. It took regulation and four overtimes to decide who would move on, the Steelheads having more jump in their skates after 137 minutes of intense playoff hockey. The four remaining teams in each conference will play a best of seven series. The Western Conference matchups are as follows:
Western Conference
Alaska Aces (1) – Idaho Steelheads (4)
Bakersfield Condors (6) – Stockton Thunder (7)
The Alaska Aces-Idaho Steelheads series will showcase some talented forward lines on both sides of the ice. The Alaska Aces blew through the Las Vegas Wranglers in a four game sweep in the first playoff round, as was expected. The team will be well rested and ready to go when they take on the Idaho Steelheads on Thursday night. The Steelheads come into the second round, likely a tired team, as they played Monday night into Tuesday morning and then had to hop a plane to Alaska on Wednesday. Alaska boasts an Olympic sized ice surface that always allows for a much more open skating game and some adjustment time for teams coming in. It is extremely difficult for visitors to get a win at Sullivan arena, the Steelheads being one of the few successful teams with a 5-3 record over the past two years under the guidance of their Head Coach Brad Ralph. Expect a tight series between the teams full of up ice rushes and battles in front of the net. Both teams will try to limit their penalties.
Who to Watch:
The Aces forward line of Brendan Connolly– Nick Mazzolini –Peter Sivak has been phenomenal all season long and has kept up the pace into the post season. Mazzolini has put up 10 points in the first round and leads the league. The second line of Brett Findlay and Jordan Morrison continues to produce for Alaska, boasting speed and net front presence. Evan Trupp and Tyler Mosienko were quiet in the first round but expect their offensive skill to pick up against Idaho.
The Steelheads would not be in the second round if not for the goaltending of Josh Robinson. Called up to the the AHL affiliate Texas Stars for part of the season, Robinson is a solid performer in net and now has a record 83 saves in a game thanks to his Game 6 performance against the Colorado Eagles who peppered him with shots. Idaho is a fast transition team, with a depth of young talent in ECHL Rookie of the Year William Rapuzzi, forward Luke Judson and Tommy Grant, who was sidelined with an injury for the first round. Justin Mercier, a veteran presence and consistent points producer and Gaelan Patterson, who has stepped up his game coming into the playoffs will play a role in the Steelheads continued playoff success.
The Bakersfield Condors-Stockton Thunder series is likely to be one of the more physical matchups in the second round. These are two teams that do not share the love and their fans are right behind them for animosity and hostility. The Thunder swept their first round, defeating the second-seeded Ontario Reign, while the Bakersfield Condors dueled it out with the Utah Grizzlies for six games. Stockton will be well rested and hopefully allowed some of the team to recover from some of the bumps and bruises sustained at season’s end and the first round. The Condors will have home ice advantage for the first two games and their fans will be fired up to have playoff hockey on the ice for a second round. Expect a bit of brewhaha especially in the first two games, as both teams will try to assert themselves physically, and a potentially low scoring series given two hot goalies on opposing sides of the ice. The Condors have a top ranked penalty kill which may pair well with the Thunder’s top rated power play.
Who to Watch:
Laurent Brossoit is a name to file away for the NHL. The Condors rookie goaltender is nothing short of a brick wall between the pipes, recording 2 shutouts against the Grizzlies in the opening round to give him a total of 10 shutouts on the season. Brossoit has given Bakersfield the confidence to play aggressively and their offensive talent of Captain Joel Broda, Greg Miller and Andrew Carroll is just the icing on a deep pool of forwards who can contribute points, especially when the game goes down to the wire.
The Bridgeport Beauty line of Andrew Clark–Jeremy Langlois–Joey Martin has been the Thunder’s heart and Langlois leads the league in points in the postseason. They are creative net crashers and with a secondary scoring line led by Ryan Hayes, Corey Trivino and Riley Wetmore, Stockton has the firepower to make a deep push into Brossoit’s netminding. Thunder goaltender Brian Foster is on a roll in the post season, some of his saves defying the laws of physics. Captain Garet Hunt knows how to get under the other team’s skin and the Thunder defense is stepping up to the blueline in the post season, with Ryan Constant and Scott Langdon providing veteran leadership.
Do you ever go grocery shopping and see that packages of strawberries are on sale 2 for $___, buy them and find yourself unable to eat them fast enough? Us too!
A simple snack idea, dried strawberries. Thin slice the strawberries and place them on parchment paper at 200 degrees for 2.5-3 hours (ovens vary). They’ll come out as sweet, crispy, healthy little snacks that you can take on the go.
Thin slice
e·mo·tion (dictionary.com definition)
1. an effective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness.
2. any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc.
3. any strong agitation of the feelings actuated by experiencing love, hate, fear, etc., and usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, as increased heartbeat or respiration, and often overt manifestation, as crying or shaking.
e·mo·tion (thepinkpuck.com definition)
1. an effective state of consciousness in which joy, if you’re a
Canadiens fan or sorrow if you’re a
Bruins fan or hate no matter which team you support, is experienced.
2. any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, frustration, disgust, disappointment, anxiety, happiness, jubilation, anxiety, etc.
3. any strong agitation — we believe it’s meant to be agitator, and each team holds their fair share on the roster.
Emotions, they carry us through our highest of highs and lowest of lows. After one game in the books, one point has been made abundantly clear, the emotional roller coaster that follows the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens is only just beginning. An Original Six rivalry is a thing of beauty. Often, words can not express or even begin to highlight the atmosphere, the only way to fully understand is to witness firsthand.
An anthem sung in unison, rallying chants, taunting boos. The regular season moral boosting tactics are magnified to fully encompass the playoff feel. As they say, there is nothing greater than playoff hockey and just one game into the mix, that sentiment has already been skated to the full effect.
While the Bruins faced an Original Six match-up during the first round in the Detroit Red Wings, the sense of hatred for one another never fully boiled to the surface. The strife felt between the Bruins and Canadiens was felt before the teams hit the ice, as fans flooded the arena, making the drive from Montreal or hopping the train from surrounding Boston areas — everyone was well represented.
Represented, yes. Happy, perhaps not. A disappointing outcome for the Bruins and their fan base will hopefully be short lived. It was almost a repeat of the first game against Detroit, two teams feeling each other out, despite multiple regular season preludes. A demoralizing 4-3 loss in double overtime wasn’t due to a lack in effort, but a lack in discipline. The Bruins tallied 51 shots on goal, many impressive attempts that just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net. In hockey, it happens.
“This is just game number one. You don’t get frustrated after one game,” said Bruins Head Coach Julien. “I didn’t mind the way our team played tonight. We had lots of chances.”
No strangers to adversity, some of the best Bruins hockey is played with their backs against the wall.
“Yeah I mean we’ve been there last series, so you know we’ve been in this situation before,” said Bruins Bergeron. “We know we’re expecting that. They’re a great team, and you know we’ve got to be better next game.”
It’s just one game in the books, with the possibility of six more ahead. Rivalry aside, Boston will continue to place all of their emotions on the ice in an attempt to experience the greatest one of all, joy, while hoisting Stanley.
For the 34th time in NHL history, the Boston Bruins hosted the Montreal Canadiens for the start of a playoff series. Back in 2011 it was Nathan Horton who scored the game-winning goal in double overtime, sending the Bruins to the second round and sparking their Stanley Cup run. On Thursday, the result was entirely different.
With pre-series chatter mostly surrounding the hatred between the two teams, their rivalry, one of the only true remaining rivalries in all of sports, the game looked more like the typical playoff affair. Two teams focusing on that all-important Game one victory, the well-documented shenanigans went out the window.
In the battle of speed versus strength (although the Bruins too have speed which they’ve made quite clear), there was no victor. The Bruins tried about everything you’d expect in attempt to slow down the Habs. Whether it was a strong forecheck, closing gaps or the push to control the neutral zone, the Bruins game plan was imminent- and it worked. It was their own mistakes that killed them, not Montreal’s speed. In fact, it seemed Boston’s speed gave them even more fits.
After a stellar start for Boston momentum swung just midway through the first period. Matt Bartkowski was whistled for tripping 10:05 in, and P.K. Subban ripped a wrister past Tuukka Rask from the point on the power play to give Montreal a 1-0 lead. Once tying Game seven with just minutes to go back in 2011, Subban continued his villainous work, this time netting the first goal of the series and sinking the energy in the Garden.
The Bruins responded with an offensive push, but Carey Price was spectacular in net from start to finish. While the home team continually broke out well, rushed through the neutral zone and created a number of scoring chances, Price always answered. If it keeps going at this rate though, the Bruins will certainly net a number of goals in this series.
“I thought we did a great job of not getting frustrated and finding a way to kind of get that first one, get that second one,” Jarome Iginla said postgame. “And even when we needed that late one, Johnny’s [Boychuk] goal. So I thought we got some, you know, after the first we got better net front presence, we had some good zone-time, we were skating well. It was a game that we’d love to have but now we get ready, and we get back at it and we want to do some of the same things.”
3:38 into a middle frame another costly Bruins error came back to bite them. Johnny Boychuk fed an inaccurate pass to Torey Krug, who had it bounce off his skate and right to the stick of Rene Bourque. Bourque skated in on a two-on-one and beat Rask five-hole with a wrister. It was a savable puck, but defensive turnovers often end up in the back of your net, especially come playoff time. When Krug isn’t controlling the puck he doesn’t offer much to the Bruins back end, and he had a difficult time doing just that on Thursday.
“I was a little bit too far ahead of Johnny [Boychuk], just a tough pass. I don’t know. I’ve got to handle that,” Krug said. “Got to make a better play on that, and it’s just tough and when those things are ending up in the back of your net it’s not a good sign, so just got to make sure you’re better on the puck, and I’ll be better next time.
Down 2-0 after two periods of play, the home team finally broke through. First it was Reilly Smith, who roofed a wrist shot from the half wall with Patrice Bergeron screening Price. Then, on their next shot, after failing to record a single one on a power play opportunity, Krug blasted a slap shot past Price, momentarily redeeming his previous errors. Smith made another great play on the game-tying goal, breaking up the Montreal rush and leading Lucic (who eventually found Krug) into the offensive zone.
In typical Boston-Montreal fashion, the tie was short lived. The Bruins top line, which looked completely different from one shift to the next, was hemmed in their own zone by the Habs third line before finally surrendering the third Montreal goal of the game. David Krejci gave away the puck behind Rask’s net, and Brian Gionta fed Francis Bouillon who roofed a snap shot past Rask.
As they’ve done all season though, further proving their ability to play in any type of hockey game, the Bruins responded in a big way. With just 1:58 remaining the game, Johnny Boychuk blasted home a rocket from the point, knotting the game at three and sending the Garden into a raucous frenzy.
Just like Game seven back in 2011, this one was headed to overtime- check that, double overtime. But the result, entirely different yet all too familiar to Bruins fans on Friday night, with Subban starting the scoring and then ending the game with a power play bomb from the point.
The drama was exactly that of 2011, but more painful than joyful for the Bruins and there fans. If you’re panicking already though, you’re foolish.
“This is just game number one. You don’t get frustrated after one game,” Bruins coach Claude Julien reiterated postgame. “I didn’t mind the way our team played tonight. We had lots of chances. Sure, we fell behind 2-0, but we showed some resiliency and came back and I thought we carried play for the most part, and obviously in that first OT period. Probably the only thing is, we got to find a way to bury those great opportunities that we had. That’s probably where there’s some regrets there, and burying those chances.”
Wayne Cuddington/Ottawa Citizen
The Philadelphia Flyers captain, Claude Giroux, has been named a finalist for the Hart Trophy. The Hart Trophy is given to the league’s most valuable player.
Giroux finished the season with 86 points, which was third best in the NHL, behind Sidney Crosby and Ryan Getzlaf. Crosby and Getzlaf were the other two players nominated for the award.
Giroux tied a career high with 28 goals and had 58 assists on the season. The center had zero goals and only seven assists through the first 15 games, but then he started to pile up the points. In the last 67 games, he had 28 goals and 51 assists for 79 of his 86 total points.
It seemed that as Giroux went so did the Flyers season. He struggled in the beginning of the season, and so did the team, going 1-7-0 in their first eight games. As Giroux started to pile up the points, the Flyers started to become the playoff team everyone thought they would be.
He would lead his team to the playoffs, where he had six points in seven games against the New York Rangers. The Rangers would go on to beat the Flyers in seven games.
The centers has 119 goals, 258 assists, and 377 points in 415 career games. In 57 playoffs games, he has 23 goals, 38 assists and 61 points.
Giroux is the fifth Flyers player to be named a finalist for the Hart Trophy, according to the Flyers public relations department. Bobby Clarke won the award three times (1973, 1975, and 1976) and Eric Lindros won the award in 1995. Pelle Lindberg and Bernie Parent were the two other Flyers to have been nominated.
Giroux finished fourth in the Hart Trophy voting in the 2011-12 season after finishing with 28 goals and 65 assists for 93 points.
The Flyers 2006 first round draft pick has certainly come a long way in his six years in the league.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Tony Avelar
Game 7. Do or die. Win and you move on; lose and you go home. This is the time when the superstars have to step up and prove why they’re some of the best players in the world. For the Kings, their best players managed to edge out San Jose‘s as they emerged victors in this series.
Jewels From the Crown has the game recap here and Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider has some facts and post game notes here.
The game was definitely a goaltending duel as predicted. Sharks’ Antti Niemi was sharp and made some big saves that kept the game close. At the other end of the rink, Kings’ Jonathan Quick went save for save, allowing only one goal on which he was screened.
Quick’s save of the game (series, really) came in the second period when he robbed Patrick Marleau of a sure power play goal.
Here’s another look because I find it incredible.
For his troubles, he suffered some abuse from teammate Jarret Stoll.
Stoll: You stopped that?
[Quick nods]
Stoll: Way to go, buddy [chest thump]
(OK, I know he didn’t actually, but I find this funny anyway.)
It was a tightly played game that really could have gone either way. Without Quick’s stellar performance in net, especially while his teammates decided to throw a penalty parade and march to the box several times throughout the second period, San Jose would be moving on instead of LA. For an example of how on his game Quick was, here’s a GIF from the first period.
He was prepared to make those two saves in tight. Amazing. He was feeling good last night which enabled his teammates to find their game and capitalize on the few opportunities that the Sharks afforded them.
That’s not to discount Niemi, who was great as well. After having a questionable start to the series, he really picked up his game and was not the cause for the loss in this game (or any others in the series).
Making History
As has been previously established (multiple times by the media), the Kings became only the fourth team to win after being down three games to none and were only the ninth team to force a Game 7. They join the Philadelphia Flyers (2010), New York Islanders (1975) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (1942) in the history books.
So how did they do it? Well SBN NHL took a look here. But if you ask any of the players, it was simply belief.
Following Game 6 in Los Angeles, Justin Williams told reporters, “We want to be a team that came back all the way. We don’t want to be a team that said we forced a Game 7. We want to be able to win it. Now we gave ourselves a chance.”
Despite being down three games, there seemed to be an unspoken confidence. During their interviews, players appeared frustrated but not dejected. They were down, but never out. While it would be easy to turn tail and give up, that thought probably never crossed any of their minds.
Dustin Brown backed up his teammate’s sentiment about remaining steadfast. “We’ve been inside this room, it’s our belief system in ourselves and in each other, more importantly. Being down 3-0 is definitely not where we wanted to be, but I don’t think we ever lost hope that we couldn’t pull it together.”
There’s something to be said about having a championship mentality. Even though they went on a record-breaking run to the Stanley Cup in 2012, the team has retained the understanding of what it takes to be winners. The no defeatist attitude that was prevalent in the lineup back then is still there today. When faced with adversity, the team takes it as a challenge to be better. This no-quit mindset helped the Kings claw their way back into the series when it seemed like the proverbial Fat Lady was warming up her pipes.
After the Game 7 win, Justin Williams spoke of the trust the guys have in each other. “I look around my room here, and it feels like it oozes confidence. It’s something that you can’t really touch. It’s like an intangible, and I feel that when push comes to shove, these guys are going to show up, and we’re going to show up, and we’re going to make a difference and win a big game.”
You can’t win without your best players being their best and Williams is one of them. His record remains perfect in five career Game 7 appearances. In his first four experiences, he posted five goals, four assists and nine points. While he did not pot a goal on Wednesday night, he did set up Anze Kopitar‘s second period game winning goal. He was also one of the best players on the ice in all four elimination games that the Kings faced.
#Fancystats Don’t Lie
Possession is the name of the game and there is none better than the Kings at disproportionately keeping the puck away from their opponents. But the Sharks are very close in possession time to their SoCal rivals. This series saw some interesting and weird things out of both teams. The first two games were extremely out of character for the Kings where they allowed 13 goals and couldn’t seem to maintain any kind possession, let alone zone time. Game 3 was a complete heartbreaker for LA as they got back to playing their game of keep away while Games 4 and 5 saw a mirror image of Games 1 and 2.
By the end of Game 7, the final Corsi and Fenwick numbers were in. Possession time (overall) for both teams was relatively close. But LA’s lack of discipline kept San Jose in most games and affected the overall shot attempts. According to Jewels from the Crown, through the first five games, San Jose was generating 71.7 shots per 60 minutes of power play time, which was good for third best in the playoffs. But when the game shifted to 5-on-5, the two teams were separated by only half a percent (SJ 59.2%, LA 49.8%) in fenwick for, which is the measure of all shot attempts excluding blocked shots. Their corsi for numbers (which is the same as fenwick and includes blocked shots) has LA ahead by about 3% (LA 51.7%, SJ 48.3%) are slightly farther apart, but this likely means the Sharks blocked more shots than the Kings.
In the end, LA’s red hot power play made a difference while their penalty kill was able to hold San Jose off over the last four games. The last two games were incredibly close and really could’ve gone either way as shown by Extra Skater‘s fenwick chart.
What should’ve been a matchup for the Western Conference Final resulted in a heartbreaking first round exit for one team and a thrilling comeback victory for the other.
The Kings will take on the Anaheim Ducks starting on Saturday in what promises to be another interesting series. You can find the rest of the schedule here.
Rain. Sun. Downpours. Sun showers. Back to rain… finally sun! That has been the Thursday weather breakdown in beautiful Boston. As the Bruins advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the expansion of color into my wardrobe has become a necessity. Needless to say, I’m mildly obsessed with neon, because it gives my obscenely pale skin tone the ever slightest hint of color, inevitably moving me from the land of the dead to land of the living. Of course, with the Bruins facing arch rivals in the Montreal Canadiens, it will be another series lacking in the color red, it was banned during round 1 with the opponent being the Red Wings. To add a bit of color to the dreary day and jump start my spirits, I went with a neon touch.
Breakdown:
Black blazer, Target, $19.99
Neon blouse, Marshalls, Gift
Black dress pants, TJMaxx, $16.99
Thin brown belt, Old Navy, $5.99
Nude pumps, Target, $22.99
Media Tip: The deeper the team you’re covering goes into the playoffs, the greater the chance you won’t have a seat on press level. Media members expand and the press level seating remains the same. That being said, pick comfortable shoes for game day, because there’s a slight chance you’ll be standing for a few periods of play and spiked heels won’t be your friend if that’s the case.
The Penguins went into the first round facing the Columbus Blue Jackets in what turned out to be a fast-paced, often surprising, and hard-fought battle. The Penguins emerged victorious after six games, battling back after many lost leads and goal deficits. But three storylines stood out as top narratives for this first-round playoff battle:
Marc-Andre Fleury proves strong enough to be a top goaltender: After last year’s playoffs meltdown, there were a lot of questions swirling about Marc-Andre Fleury and his ability to win a playoff game for the Penguins. After this series, that question seems to be largely laid to rest. Fleury was good – not great, but not terrible. He had his moments of weakness, but proved, in the long run, to be resilient and came up strong when the Penguins needed him. And while he let Columbus score at key moments, many of those goals could also be attributed to Pittsburgh’s relatively weak defense, which took a few games to get in gear.
But most importantly about Marc-Andre Fleury was that he did not seem shaken by his up and down performance, unlike in previous years when he was easily put off by any tiny mistake. A key moment came in Game 3, where after letting in two shots early, a talking-to from Dan Bylsma allowed Fleury to go back out and come up big to eventually win the game for the Penguins, only letting in one goal after that. Another came during Game 5, when Penguins fans nervously awaited Fleury’s reaction to losing Game 4 on a bad mistake handling the puck behind the net. But Fleury stood strong, leading the Penguins to a 3-1 victory.
If Fleury (or the defense surrounding him) is strong enough to lead the Penguins to an eventual Stanley Cup remains a question, but for now Penguins fans should rest easier. The easily-rattled Fleury that collapsed during pivotal moments in playoff runs has been replaced by one who errs less and recovers faster.
Sidney Crosby held scoreless (but not pointless): This was, as Pierre McGuire would put it, “the story that would not die”. It seemed that no announcer could get over the fact that Sidney Crosby was, for the entire series, held goalless.
This was, for the most part, attributed to Brandon Dubinsky, who was matched up against Crosby and played against him aggressively. And while Dubinsky did an admirable job as a counterpoint to Crosby, the argument was fundamentally stupid. Because Crosby may not have been scoring goals, but he was contributing. He was not “contained”, as the announcers suggested, and having a Corsi that averaged close to 60% and an assist per game would count as “contained” for any other player.
But Stars like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin not scoring for most of the series revealed something Pittsburgh has on their side – scoring depth. The Penguins won three games without Crosby or Malkin scoring a single goal by having players like Brandon Sutter and Jussi Jokinen step up, as did Paul Martin, who racked up a team high eight assists.
Evgeni Malkin’s hat trick seals the deal: Though, as mentioned earlier, Evgeni Malkin did not score a goal until Game Six (though he did rack up four assists), when he did score he did so with aplomb. His Game Six hat trick held the Penguins ahead through a late, three-goal surge by Columbus and allowed them to win both the game and the series.
The Vancouver Canucks announced the inevitable today as they fired Head Coach John Tortorella. Assistant Coach Mike Sullivan has also been relieved of his duties, the club announced. This marks Trevor Linden’s first major move as President of Hockey Operations, and Linden will speak to the decision as the team holds a news conference today at 1pm Pacific time at Roger’s Arena.
“Today we are making an important change in the direction of our team,” said Linden in a statement. “On behalf of the entire organization, we extend our thanks to John, Mike and their families for their commitment to the Canucks and wish them the very best.”
Linden continued, “We have a lot of important work to accomplish this off-season as we build our management and coaching staffs, improve our roster and connect with our fans. Our General Manager search is well underway and we will begin assessing head coaching candidates immediately.”
Tortorella spent just one season behind the Canucks’ bench, with some questionable decisions punctuating his tenure and no doubt sealing his fate. During a January clash with the Calgary Flames, Torts stormed to the Flames locker room during the first intermission and instigated a scuffle with Flames Head Coach Bob Hartley. The incident, prompted by a line brawl on puck drop due to Hartley starting his fourth line grinders against the Canucks’ top line, earned Torts a 15-day suspension and no doubt a spot in a SportsCentre ‘Top 10 Meltdowns’ countdown in the not-too-distant future.
In another questionable move, Tortorella benched Roberto Luongo in favour of rookie Eddie Lack at the team’s Heritage Classic game, prompting a 50,000-strong round of boos at BC Place. Luongo was traded to the Florida Panthers two days later.
It’s clear that after the team’s disappointing end to the season, Torts’ dismissal was almost certain. It’s the coach’s responsibility to right a floundering team. But I can’t help thinking that Torts was brought on to right a sinking ship and, when the ship took on too much water and finally sank, Torts received the blame.
Torts, however, made no excuses when interviewed by Hockey Night in Canada’ Scott Oake during the team’s penultimate game of the season on April 12, 2014.
Referring to the injury-riddled line-up, Torts said, “It eroded our hockey club. But that falls on me and I needed to get our team back. We changed our style, we had to be a little more conservative with all the injuries but I needed to get my team back to that aggressive style of the first 40 games. So that’s my responsibility.”
Foreshadowing today’s announcement, Oake asked Torts about his level of concern that he may not have a place behind the Canuck’s bench next season. Torts replied, “I don’t have any level of concern. That’s out of my control. I’ll coach the hockey team (tomorrow night) right to the bitter end, the way I feel it should be coached. I can’t answer the question as to what is going to happen as I don’t make a decision on it. Those are the people above me. It’s their call.”
“It’s part of the game. Do I worry about it? I can’t. I’ve never worried about that. I’m going to coach the way I think I need to coach.”
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