The AHL regular season ended on Saturday, a week after the NHL season. The Calder Cup Playoffs kick off on Wednesday, April 23rd and we’re here to give you the brief run down on what you can expect. In the AHL, winners of each division earn the top three seeds in the playoffs. This can result in the fourth seeded team actually finishing with a better record than a division winner.
First up: the Eastern Conference. The first round of the AHL playoffs are a best of 5 series instead of best of 7, partly in hopes of syncing up with the timeline of the NHL playoffs.
Series:
(1) Manchester Monarchs vs. (8) Norfolk Admirals
(2) Springfield Falcons vs. (7) Providence Bruins
(3) Binghamton Senators vs. (6) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
(4) St. John’s IceCaps vs. (5) Albany Devils
Monarchs v. Admirals The Manchester Monarchs earned the honors as best in the East, a title that they held most of the season. The fact that they stayed atop the Conference was impressive. Their top line of Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, and Linden Vey logged a lot of time in the NHL with the Kings. Starting goaltender Martin Jones also got the call to LA when Jonathan Quick was injured. He then earned the backup spot permanently when the Kings decided to trade Ben Scrivens. But, rookie goaltender JF Berube stepped up and was stellar despite being unsure of his role coming into the season. They also had a number of other players step up in key situations.
The Norfolk Admirals just managed to slide into the playoffs with some solid play coming at the right time. Two of their final three games were against the Hershey Bears, who were also hoping to sneak into the post season at the end. However, the Admirals came out strong to prove that they wanted that spot. They swept their series with Hershey and earned the final spot, knocking Hershey out of the playoff picture in the process.
The Admirals and Monarch met four times during the season and both swept in their home arenas. This will be an interesting series since the teams do not see each other often during season. Neither team got any help from returning NHL players as both LA and Anaheim are in the post season as well.
Falcons vs. Bruins The Springfield Falcons finish atop their division and second in the conference for the second straight year. They did not drop their first regulation contest until 7 games into the season. They’ve kept up their solid play all season. Springfield has had a number of players rotating between being there and in Columbus. The Falcons suffered a potential blow as goaltender Jeremy Smith was recalled to Columbus and is still there during their playoff push.
The Providence Bruins had to deal with a lot of call-ups throughout the season as Boston struggled with a number of injuries. On top of that, Providence had some injuries of their own. However, when they are healthy, they have been an impressive team to watch. This season, Providence has been alternating almost evenly between their goalie tandem of second year pro Niklas Svedberg and rookie Malcolm Subban.
These two teams met 10 times throughout the season, despite being in separate divisions. They have met a lot over the years and are very familiar with the way the other side plays. At times this season, the meetings were also very heated, which will only be intensified in the post season.
Senators v. Penguins
The Binghamton Senators ended up winning their division, which they did not end up clinching until right at the end. Throughout the season, they were a little bit streaky. They had one losing streak spanning 7 games and another spanning 6, both including losses in extra time. Although they took points in their last four games, they did not finish as strong as they probably would have liked heading into the playoffs. They will benefit from getting three important players back from Ottawa, who missed the playoffs.
In contrast, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins started off hot, not having their first regulation loss come until their 8th game. Aside from one instance, they did not have a losing streak longer than 3 games. Unfortunately for them, one 3 game losing streak came at the end of the season and caused them to drop in the standings. They went from challenging as the winner in the division down to the sixth spot. They will likely be hungry for a win.
The Senators and Penguins are division rivals 8 times this season. The teams last meant this past weekend in a game that ended up being much closer than initially thought. After the Senators jumped out to a 5-0 lead, they only won 5-4. It will be interesting to see how the teams match up and it could be a relatively even series.
IceCaps v. Devils St. John’s was in the interesting position of having more points than the third seeded team and were only one point behind the second seeded team. However, because top three seeds go to the winners of each division, the IceCaps ended up in fourth. At the end of the NHL season, Winnipeg sent 6 players back to St. John’s including goalie Michael Hutchinson, who recently made his NHL debut. With the addition of these players, the IceCaps could be a definite threat to make a run in the post season. They have speed and a good core of veterans with the experience to lead.
The Albany Devils seemed sure to earn a playoff spot at the end of the season. It was just a matter of where they would end up. They won their last five games, including games against the Providence Bruins and Springfield Falcons, also appearing in the post season. The Devils got 5 players reassigned from New Jersey, including Mike Sislo who led the team in goals. They are heating up at the right time, without question. But the real question will be how they match up against the talented IceCaps.
Despite being in the same conference, the two teams did not meet at all during the regular season. They will be going to this series completely fresh with just their research. That might end up being good because it gives them a clean sheet of ice to work with.
The NHL Professional Hockey Writers’ Association have selected the three finalists for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, June 24 during the 2014 NHL Awards from Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas. This award is presented annually “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”
Martin St. Louis is a Lady Byng finalist for the eighth time in the past 10 years and if he is selected as the winner, he would not only repeat, but it would also be the fourth time in the past five years that he’s won it. St. Louis recorded the seventh 30-goal season of his NHL career (30-39–69); led the Rangers in goals, points and power-play goals (nine); and ranked second in plus-minus (+13). He also ranked third among NHL forwards in total time on ice (1,696:11), but was assessed just 10 penalty minutes — fewest among the League’s top 20 scorers.
Due to St. Louis’s behavior following the Olympics (demanding a trade because he wasn’t placed on the initial Team Canada roster) makes him an intriguing finalist but there is no denying what a talented player he is and taking so few penalties while scoring that many goals is impressive.
Patrick Marleau tallied his seventh 30-goal season in the past nine years and ranked second on the Sharks in goals (33); was third in assists (37) and points (70); and led the club and placed fifth in the NHL in
shots on goal (285). Marleau played in all 82 games, averaged 20:31 of ice time per game but received just 18 penalty minutes. The 34-year-old Aneroid, Sask., native is a Lady Byng finalist for the second time, finishing third behind Pavel Datsyuk and Brad Richards in 2006.
Ryan O’Reilly had a career year, racking up 64 points while leading the Avalanche in goals (28), power-play goals (9) and game-winners (6-tied), and led the NHL in takeaways (83) for the second time in the past three seasons. O’Reilly had a near season discipline-wise, being called for only one minor penalty (playing with a broken stick) in 80 games played. He joins Butch Goring (1977-78, Los Angeles) as the only players ever to receive two or fewer PIM over 80 or more games. The 23-year-old Clinton, Ont., native is a Lady Byng Trophy finalist for the first time and is the heavy favorite given his excellent discipline at not taking any kind of penalty until he was whistled for playing with a broken stick (though he didn’t realize it at the time). Interestingly enough, he never even received an erroneous penalty due to mistaken identity.
Lady Byng, wife of Canada’s Governor-General at the time, presented the Lady Byng Trophy during the 1924-25 season. After Frank Boucher of the New York Rangers won the award seven times in eight seasons, he was given the trophy to keep and Lady Byng donated another trophy in 1936. After Lady Byng’s death in 1949, the National Hockey League presented a new trophy, changing the name to the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
The NHL will announce the rest of the trophy finalists from April 23 through May 6. The full schedule is below:
Wednesday, April 23
Calder Trophy (top rookie)
Thursday, April 24
Selke Trophy (forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game)
Friday, April 25
Vezina Trophy (top goaltender)
Monday, April 28
Norris Trophy (top defenseman)
Tuesday, April 29
Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award presented by Bridgestone
Wednesday, April 30
Masterton Trophy (perseverance and dedication to hockey)
Thursday, May 1
Hart Trophy (most valuable player to his team)
Friday, May 2
NHL Foundation Player Award (community service)
Monday, May 5
Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player as voted by the players)
Tuesday, May 6
Jack Adams Award (top head coach)
With the exception of the Jack Adams, Ted Lindsay, Vezina and the Mark Messier award, all finalists were selected by the NHL Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.
The Chicago Blackhawks defended their home ice, and delivered the Blues their first loss of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, 2 to 0. Ryan Miller stopped 23 of 24 shots, and Corey Crawford stopped 34 of 34. While the Blues put the puck on net ten more times than the Hawks, they could not get anything passed Crawford.
St. Louis’ major downfall seamed to be their inability to capitalize on the power play, coupled with the five penalties in a row which they took midway through the game. The Blues were shorthanded for a majority of the second period, and they were zero for three on power play opportunities. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs teams need to be capitalizing on every chance they have, which means scoring on power plays. Power plays make or break teams in the playoffs and St. Louis needs to improve their power play and be scoring on fifty percent of their power play opportunities.
The Blues have a very solid penalty kill, so if they do find themselves in some penalty trouble, as they did on Monday, they can get out of it. They have a very physical and aggressive style of play which means that they are going to take some penalties every now and again, but their kill is solid and allows them to sustain with this style. The Blues killed off all five of Chicago’s power plays including a five on three opportunity which lasted for 30 seconds.
Chicago scored early in the first period, when Jonathan Toews shot the puck on net from the top of the circle and went five hole on Ryan Miller. Ryan Miller may have been screened by his own defenseman who was trying to angle Toews away from the net. No team was able to score again until 20 seconds remained in the game when Marcus Kruger sealed the win for the Blackhawks with an empty netter.
The Blues still lead this series 2 to 1, and will try to gain a commanding 3 to 1 series lead, and steal a game at the Madhouse, on Wednesday April 23, at 7:30 Central time. Get ready for game four of this Western Conference match up. The Blues can either increase their series lead making it very difficult for the Blackhawks, or the Hawks could tie the series up.
The Stockton Thunder made the most of their opportunities over the weekend and put together an offensive wrecking ball, rocking the first two Kelly Cup Quarterfinal playoff games against the higher seeded Ontario Reign. Game 1 went 3-1 in the Thunder’s favor and for Game 2, the trend continued with Stockton winning 5-3 over the Reign. Both teams are aggressively physical and it was clear right from the gate that penalties would factor into the series. Ontario boasts high skill talent in forwards Matt White, Maxim Kitsyn and Gaspar Kopitar. The blueline is held down by Matt Register ,Jake Newton, Cody Sol. Captain Derek Couture is an agitator and a playmaker especially in the slot area. The Reign found it difficult to find the space to create offense and once in the zone, Thunder goaltending shut the door on quality scoring chances. Stockton has patched their holes they were showing late in the regular season, both on the back end and driving pucks to the net.
The Underrated Goaltending Talent of Brian Foster
Thunder goaltender Brian Foster has been a consistent performer for Stockton all season long. His consistency in net may be difficult to see over the regular season since goaltending duties were equally split with Bridgeport prospect Parker Milner but his confidence and stability have improved as the season progressed. Foster has turned up his game a notch for the playoffs and is keeping his team in the game, remaining calm and collected, despite some nail-biting scrambles in front of the net as the Reign turned up the heat in the first two quarterfinal games.
Brian Foster Stones Maxim Kitsyn
During game 1, the Reign drove the net on a 2 on 1 shorthanded opportunity, a perfect scoring chance to get them back in the game. Foster stuffed the attempt by Reign forward Gaspar Kopitar, killing any potential for a rebound and Ontario to get a goal. Thunder Head Coach remarked on Foster’s performance post-game.
“He made a couple saves throughout the game that were out of this world. We needed him to step up (for the playoffs) and he did just that.”
The Constant Hip-Check
Ryan Constant holds down the blueline for the Thunder, a proven leader in the playoff push. His absence was noticeable the last half of the season, as he recovered from a blocked shot he received in February during a three game series against the Colorado Eagles. His return marked a stabilization in the defensive zone for Stockton and a sincere step-up in physical play. Constant uses his body wherever he can. What he lacks in physical size, he masterfully makes up for in physics: the hip-check. Constant’s board blasting hits were in full force for game two.
Constant makes contact with Sheen
“Every game, Constant is going to lay a hit,” said Thunder Coach Kromm about Constant’s physical play. “Obviously, the other team has to keep their head up when he is on the ice.”
Reign Everett Sheen, missed the memo on watching out for Ryan Constant. He took the brunt of Constant’s hits, and at one point, Sheen went head over heels into his own bench as Constant’s hip made contact.
Constant is not only a defensive powerhouse, he is a key component in the Thunder power play unit. While he recovered from his injury, Stockton’s special team prowess took a hit. His work on the power play unit helped net forward Jeremy Langlois’ hat trick in the third period of game 2 to give the Thunder a commanding 5 goal lead.
The Bridgeport Beauty Line
A gift arrived for the Thunder at the end of the regular season in the form of Andrew Clark, Joey Martin and Jeremy Langlois. Clark and Martin began the season with Stockton and dominated the scoresheet, earning a call up to AHL affiliate Bridgeport. Langlois, an Islanders prospect and paired up with Clark and Martin, is offensive gold.
“He plays really intense all over the ice. “He has a good stick, he’s smart and he makes good plays getting pucks out which is important too, he’s not just an offensive guy. He can play hard in his own end as well.” Coach Kromm said of Langlois’ hockey sense.
The three worked their magic with the Sound Tigers and have continued their strong play with Stockton. Langlois said,”We definitely have great chemistry, the three of us…we all have different little facets that we bring to the line and all three of us are pretty offensive and we can put the puck in the net. I think that will be big for us moving forward.”
Their line has made a serious impact, indeed. Three goals over the first two games of the series were driven by their line.
After game 2, Martin talked of his line chemistry with Clark and Langlois. “They are two really skilled guys ,they can make plays so in the offensive zone we are able to create a lot of offense, but we also take pride in our d-zone. They are just smart hockey players and we’ve played a few games now and we know each other’s tendencies.”
They also made a major contribution to the power play when matched up with forward Ryan Hayes, with Langlois capitalizing on two power play opportunities during game 2 with Hayes in tow, and Hayes driving the net in game 1 with Langlois and Martin tallying assists.
The RH (Ryan Hayes) Factor
Ryan Hayes does things with the puck that other players dream of. When he is around the net, every angle is an opportunity and he finds creative ways to beat the goaltender. He knows when to give the pass on a rush and create time to make the right play. A shoulder injury sidelined him for most of the season, but it only fueled his fire to get back on the ice and score goals.
On Hayes, Coach Kromm remarked, “He’s hungry. I think all that time off when he had the injury, I think he was just thinking about this time of year and preparing for this time.”
The playoffs have added an extra edge to his game, a physical edge you generally don’t see from such an offensively skilled guy during the regular season. In both games, Hayes played the body, finished his checks and racked up more penalty minutes than he had all season long. Hayes said that he’s been waiting all year for this (the playoffs) and he wanted to get the same result that he had last year.
“I think I was just pretty jacked up….so if I don’t get any points, I might as well start hitting guys and get more aggressive.”
After game 1 Head Coach Kromm commented on what Hayes brought to the table. “He played with a huge amount of intensity tonight and battled hard all over, he was finishing checks battling to get pucks out. He was strong on the puck all over the ice, created some opportunities and scored a huge goal in the third, he really played a playoff type game. He was a man possessed tonight.”
Looking ahead: Two games in Ontario
The Thunder, by a stroke of scheduling luck (Thank Disney on Ice) were able to play the first two games on home ice, despite being the lower seed. Now up 2 games in the series, they head to Ontario ice, where the crowd plays a big role in the home team’s dominance. Thunder forward Joey Martin put it best on the Reign’s response to being down two games: “It’s going to be a battle, for sure. They are a really good team, they are well coached and they are not just going to roll over. It’s big that we were able to get two wins at home but it’s going to be difficult in their barn.”
Head Coach Kromm wants his team to keep the momentum they built in the first two games and knows it’s crucial to get the win on Tuesday night.
“We’ve had success in their building.We have to play the way we’ve done at home and just keep our game consistent. We want to make sure we keep getting pucks in deep and working around their net which has been very successful for us.”
The Reign will look to right the ship on Tuesday night and find a way to beat the Thunder defense and shut down both the top line of Clark, Langlois and Martin and kill Stockton’s power play opportunities. Taking fewer penalties may be a tall order, especially given the bad blood that exists between the two teams. However, Ontario has lost one of its main PIM leaders, forward Jeremy Yablonski was suspended by the league after some particularly rough play in game 2 involving Thunder dman Andrey Pedan and Scott Langdon. He will miss the rest of the series.
Games 3 and 4 between the Stockton Thunder and the Ontario Reign will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights at Citizen’s Business Bank Arena. If necessary, Game 5 will return to Stockton Arena on Saturday April 26th.
It was one of the most highly anticipated series of the opening round. Sadly, the first two games have failed to live up to the hype. Instead of looking like Cup contenders with a Vezina quality goaltender, the Los Angeles Kings and Jonathan Quick have gotten shelled in San Jose.
On Sunday night, the Kings took an early 2-0 lead in the first period. Jake Muzzin scored just two minutes in and Trevor Lewis tipped in a Jeff Carter shot mid-way through the period. It wasn’t their best period, but Quick was doing all he could to keep his team in the game.
The San Jose Sharks were excellent in the second period, opening with a goal from Mike Brown off an ugly Kyle Clifford turnover. No biggie, Kings still very much in this game. Well, San Jose’s fourth line had other plans as the rest of the Kings were sleeping and Raffi Torres scored off the rush.
To that point, it wasn’t Quick’s fault; Los Angeles was in full on collapse mode by then.
Tommy Wingels gave the Sharks their first lead of the evening with over five minutes to go in the period. Still, blowing a 2 goal lead isn’t the worst thing LA had done in the entirety of its regular season so there was a chance. Nope. The third period was the absolute most terrible, horrendous period Kings have had in a few years.
Not only did they full on turn into the Vancouver Canucks with their epic collapse, they allowed an additional four goals with one from a 5-on-3 powerplay. Who’s to blame? Quick? The defense? The forwards? The coach? Well… All of the above, really. And I don’t mean to be harsh and lament the job head coach Darryl Sutter is doing, but after six periods, I remain unimpressed with the effort Los Angeles has put into trying to win a hockey game.
The best way to describe the way this game ended… Well, to say that the Kings looked like garbage a second game in a row would be an insult to garbage. The third period started off rocky. A quick strike and the Kings gave up all hope of getting back in the game. Instead of digging in, pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and applying pressure to San Jose’s defense (which is arguably far weaker in comparison to LA’s), they just… gave up. I don’t know if the players felt like they were giving up, but watching it, as a hockey fan, it was just brutal to see LA roll over and not even bother. Quick was hung out to dry and unable to handle the quality of shots sent his way. He hasn’t been as impressive as he was for the last two seasons, but these two losses certainly can’t be pinned on him alone (though he was less than stellar in Game 1).
After the fifth goal with still almost an entire period left to play, Sutter chose to leave Quick in for the remainder of the game. It’s odd because, what’s the point? Why not at least mercy pull him? He’d done all he could but with a save percentage in the .830’s and sinking fast, it seemed an unusual move.
Things got chippy towards the end and penalties upon penalties upon penalties were handed out. Dustin Brown, Kyle Clifford, Mike Brown and Andrew Desjardins were all given match penalties with 5:35 left in the game followed by a four minute double minor to Mike Richards for spearing. Sharks didn’t bother to do anything with their super long power play and were ready to celebrate early. Kings meanwhile looked like they wished they could be anywhere but there.
Tuesday will be an interesting test for the team. Their core is a hardened, tested group that went down early in the series against St. Louis a year ago and is the same core that steamrolled their way to the first championship in franchise history all the while making NHL history. Not many players have changed since that fateful June day in 2012. Dustin Penner and Rob Scuderi left while Kevin Westgarth was eventually traded. But the core who won it all and experienced euphoria is now the same core struggling to do much in this series.
As Lisa Dillman of the LA Times noted, fans have higher expectations now and certain players are simply not getting the job done.
Tweeps making off-season trades between periods of Game 2. Yes, you could say expectations are different now.
[Loud, crackly speakerphone] Paging Mike Richards to the black and silver courtesy phone, Mike Richards. Please pick up the black and silver courtesy phone. Thank you.
For a guy who gets paid a boatload of money to be an elite (or at least a very good) two way center, he sure has been mighty invisible this entire season. Don’t worry, everyone said, it’ll be fine. He’s a big game player, a playoff player. He’ll come alive in the postseason. Well, two games in and there has been no sign of Spectacular-Postseason-Big-Game-Player Mike Richards. The biggest contribution so far seemed to be that four minute double minor he took on Sunday night. What’s interesting is that the numbers don’t bear it out. He has a +6.1% Corsi rel rating in all situations. At 5-on-5, it drops to +4.8%, but it’s still a positive number, especially compared to a guy like Kyle Clifford who is a major drag on his teammates’ possession, posting a -17.9% Corsi rel rating.
Basically, despite looking invisible, the Kings still control more shots with Richards on the ice than they do with Clifford. It’s not a huge difference, especially compared to Anze Kopitar (+22.7% at 5v5), but it proves he is beneficial. Still, it’d be nice if the eye test (aka confirmation bias) supported the numbers. He’s a highly skilled player who was brought to LA for his grit, tenacity and leadership skills. At the time, Lombardi was still putting together the pieces to make his team a contender. Having a winning pedigree and being one game removed from a Stanley Cup in 2010 made Richards an ideal piece in Lombardi’s eyes. Now here we are, two and a half years after the trade, Mike Richards looks like his career is in serious decline and fans are beginning to question if he should have a roster spot come October. Personally, I’m not willing to give up on the guy after a bad season. Some rotten shooting luck happens occasionally, but if he doesn’t show up soon in the postseason, well, it’ll be too late to say “Maybe we should’ve played someone else instead.”
As for the lineup, I don’t think Sutter has chosen the best possible combination available to him. This is a team that has the speed, will and skill to hang with the Sharks in just about any game. Perhaps they can’t compete with the Sharks’ high powered offense, but defense is supposed to win championships, right?
My ideal lineup would probably look something like this:
So all told that leaves Matt Greene, Colin Fraser and Jordan Nolan all in the press box where they belong. They have no business being on the ice and are not helping the team’s cause. With Mike Richards on the fourth line, Sutter can utilize him in short bursts and hope to get the most out of his underperforming star centerman. At least that’s the hope.
Dustin Brown didn’t have much of a response for why the Kings allowed seven unanswered goals in less than 40 minutes. He cited odd man rushes and a need for consistency throughout the entire lineup. “If their fourth line can have that big of an impact on the game, we have to have a response and we didn’t have a response from anybody, really.”
It’s difficult to judge or predict what’ll happen on Tuesday. Having a two goal lead then blowing it, while uncharacteristic (a word that’s come up a lot over the last two games), is less concerning than the poor way the entire team has been playing. They seem so off. The passes are not crisp, they aren’t connecting well, there are guys who are just flat out missing passes and the breakout is not very clean. Part of that is the Sharks’ consistent forecheck, but most of it is just the Kings’ playing poorly. The response to Game 1 was not the desired one. At least they only allowed six goals in that game and one of those was an empty net goal.
This team won the Jennings Trophy by being a good, shutdown defensive team, often at the cost of their offense. It’s unusual to see them play so poorly as a whole. While you can usually pinpoint holes in their game, in this case it’s not just one thing; it’s everything.
Some people aren’t quite ready to throw in the towel yet, though. The Kings’ mascot, Bailey, is doing his best to keep the positive vibes flowing as the Kings will need their home crowd pumped and ready to go if there’s any chance at all of winning.
No matter how many goals we lost by… It only counts as one game!!! DO NOT GIVE UP!! IT IS A SEVEN GAME SERIES!!! #believe
So for those who haven’t started planning the parade just yet, there’s still a chance for the Kings to take the series in six or seven games. Hopefully at least the next two are more entertaining.
Here’s hoping the Madhouse on Madison restores a little sanity to the Chicago Blackhawks before it’s too late.
Down 2-0 in the first round to the St. Louis Blues, this game on home ice is instrumental in the difference between continuing hockey and, well, I don’t want to think about it.
The Blackhawks haven’t been playing Blackhawks hockey. They’ve been trying to play Blues hockey; and, frankly they are terrible at it and look terrible doing it.
I don’t know where this came from. I’m not sure if all the criticism for not defending Jonathan Toews when Brooks Orpik did, well, what Brooks Orpik does March 30, leaving Toews injured and out for the remainder of the regular season, is the place to lay the blame.
No one attacked Orpik. Not even the league, much to my chagrin. But, for the Blackhawks, not going after Orpik was the smart thing to do. They needed to go play hockey and get back at him where it really mattered–on the scoreboard. They tried, anyway, in the 4-1 loss.
However, up until Toews’ return for Game 1, reporters were asking about the team’s response (well, the lack of response) to Orpik’s hit. Despite official statements that the team wanted good hockey to be the perfect revenge, actions haven’t spoken louder than words.
Now, here they are in the playoffs. The Blackhawks and Blues have an ugly history. The Blues are a very physical team. Hits favored them 26-18 Saturday, 42-27 in Game 1, 40-23 April 6, 36-20 March 19, 30-12 Dec. 28, and 22-20 Oct. 9. The Hawks edged them by two hits one game this season, with 26-24 on Oct. 17.
So, this series has been ugly. David Backes may rescue puppies, but on the ice his reputation is far from pristine; as seen here, here, here, here, etc. His history with the Hawks is no better. So, frankly, it isn’t surprising that a Chicago player would seize an opportunity for a hard hit.
That said, no, I don’t think Backes deserved a concussion. No, I didn’t want him injured. I also don’t believe Brent Seabrook had an intent to injure him when he saw the puck headed toward Backes and went in for a hit. Unfortunately, Duncan Keith got the puck, Backes turned, and Seabrook got Backes’ head. I don’t believe Seabrook’s hit was any worse than Orpik’s above, so, yes, I’m very frustrated at the league’s disparity in handing out punishment and suspensions–Seabrook received a three game suspension and a penalty/game misconduct that cost the Hawks Game 2. I’m equally frustrated Seabrook didn’t just go for the puck, which is a higher priority.
(As a further sidenote, I find the commentary on leaked “chirping” ridiculous because very little said on the ice is appropriate for our dinner tables or living rooms. That’s why we don’t get to hear it live on TV.)
Maybe the Hawks felt the need to act tough. Maybe it’s some machismo thing I can’t process because, well, I think that goals scored is a far more important stat than hits, I hate injuries, and, I already love hockey so the bashing of players’ skulls isn’t really a selling point to me.
It’s a sport. It isn’t some vigilante justice league. The Blackhawks tend to get pushed around a bit on the ice, historically, but the way they’ve chosen to deal with it recently is a disservice to them, their fans, and the fine sport itself.
The Hawks were far outhit by other physical teams in the 2010 and 2013 playoffs — the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins. They didn’t try to up their physical game then. They played their own game harder. That’s what they need to do now.
If they truly want to make it further in the playoffs, expect the Blackhawks to take more shots tonight–using their sticks and the puck toward the net, rather than their bodies at their opponents. They need to be smart. They can’t take stupid penalties. They penalty kills are exhausting and the Hawks need their energy high all the way to the finish.
They need to strike early and often; again, I mean on the scoreboard. Closing has been a problem this season and now into the off-season. If they are able to get and maintain a lead, they’ll be able to take pressure off of Corey Crawford who, despite an uncanny ability to perform gymnastics to stop shots and rebounds, has let late game game-tying (and overtime game-winning) goals slide by fairly easily in Games 1 and 2.
The Blackhawks also need to be attentive. They need to keep their heads up because there’s no doubt St. Louis is seeing red right now and will capitalize on any chance to bite back.
Sheldon Brookbank will be stepping in for Seabrook. Brookbank had two goals, five assists, and was a plus-two in 48 games this season. He last played April 12.
Patrik Berglund is back in the lineup for the Blues. Backes skated today but is not expected to play tonight.
People to watch (in red) tonight:
Duncan Keith. It’s no secret the Blackhawks defense has been hot this series. Duncs has one goal already. Seabrook has had a goal and an assist each of the two games. With Seabs out, we’ll see how bright his D-partner shines.
Brandon Saad. The Saadfather has one goal and nine assists in his 27 career playoff appearances.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Captain Serious (2 assists) and Kaner (1 goal) had some rust to shake off returning to the playoffs from injuries. With extra scrutiny lately, the duo has everything to prove.
Marian Hossa. Hoss has had all the right moves. He just needs to hit the net.
People to watch (in blue/white) tonight:
Kevin Shattenkirk. He has four points (one goal, three assists) in the playoffs already
Barret Jackman. With one goal and one assist in the playoffs, and a penchant for physical play, he’ll be working to continue a streak.
Ryan Miller. Miller has made 70 saves this series.
Since 2009, the Blackhawks have a 27-11 home-ice record in the playoffs. They’ve come back from playoff deficits before — down 0-3 to Vancouver in 2011, and 3-1 to Detroit last year. They have the talent to beat the Blues, which they’ve shown through the majority of both playoff games and in the regular season (2-1-2 record).
The Blackhawks face the Blues at 7:30 P.M. CT Monday and 7 P.M. CT Wednesday at the United Center, where, on the bright side, fans don’t taunt with goalie name chanting.
Meanwhile, at my house, a whole new set of clean Blackhawks shirts are ready for wardrobe changes according to the pace of the game and hot dogs (last year’s playoffs’ “lucky meal”) are back on the menu. You know, because it’s the Cup.
Let me start by saying: I know. If your team didn’t make the cut, one does not simply walk into the playoffs and decide to root for a team. There are politics involved, old allegiances, unhealed wounds. You have to do what your heart tells you to do.
But hear me out. Speaking as someone who desperately loves the Pittsburgh Penguins, who was introduced to hockey through the Pittsburgh Penguins, and who would like almost nothing more than to see those crazy kids hoist another Cup, just hear me out for a second.
The Columbus Blue Jackets won its first playoff game in franchise history on Saturday, against a team that they absolutely could not solve during the regular season. It’s fitting that the game-winning goal was scored by Matt Calvert, who CBC Sports described as an “undersized pest.” First of all: rude; secondly, it’s pretty on point. Calvert has carved out a place for himself on the team as the feisty underdog, picking fights with guys twice his size and refusing to back down.
He’s like the human equivalent of the Blue Jackets themselves: scrappy, determined, and capable of taking everyone by surprise.
The Blue Jackets pride themselves on being a “blue-collar” team, a team which doesn’t depend on star power to pull out big wins (Ryan Johansen sometimes being Ryan Johansen excepted). They stick to their systems and play a decidedly team game, pieces in a machine that does its best not to require a Crosby or a Malkin. The Blue Jackets are tough, physical, and efficient, even if they aren’t fancy. There’s rarely any showboating in the Blue Jackets’ offense, and in its place is a kind of buckled-down determination to get a goal however they can get it. It’s not about the highlight reel; it’s about the points.
Are teams like the Penguins sometimes more fun to watch play? Absolutely. They have verve. They’re the kind of team that sports movies try to look like. They’re the sports car of hockey teams (probably, like, European? A stick shift? Convertible? I know nothing about cars). And there are a lot of reasons to want them to win.
For one thing, they’re a team undoubtedly worthy of it; they play in a messy division but they’ve been, overall, consistent. Their injuries this season would have shut another team down, and this one not only battled through the losses but did it all from the top of the standings. It would be cool if people like me would stop bringing up Marc-Andre Fleury And The Playoffs: A Novel Of Apparently No One Ever Being Over It, but since that seems unlikely to happen, another Cup win would be a great way to shut everyone up.
That being said, there’s also a lot to be said for a team like Columbus, whose motto for the season seems to have just been “put your head down and play.” Play when you’re one of three available defensemen. Play when your home arena is overrun with fans of the other team. Play down to the last second of double overtime. Play until you win.
It’s absolutely no secret that the Blue Jackets are the underdogs this round, that most Penguins fans came into the series ready with brooms. But Columbus didn’t claw their way to the playoffs to get swept, and they’ll leave everything out on the ice. Saturday was their first playoff victory, but nobody intends for it to be their last.
Tonight the playoffs come home to Columbus’ Nationwide Arena, where the Blue Jackets will battle to prove that one win wasn’t a fluke, that they’re capable of being a top-tier NHL team, and that Nick Foligno really does give the league’s best hugs.
(source: crashthenet.com)
If that’s not enough to tug your heartstrings, I don’t know what is.
After a disappointing loss on Sunday’s game, the Rangers are now tied with Philadelphia 1-1 in the series. What seemed to be a great start for New York, they let the Flyers pick up quick goals by taking bad penalties. The Flyers are known to be able to bounce back late in games, winning 11 total games this season after trailing in the third period.
Within the first five minutes of the game, Marty St. Louis found the back of the net giving the Rangers a fast lead. The Rangers had a lot of momentum in the first period, as they did in game 1. After another five minutes ticked away, Rangers Benoit Pouliot scored, assisted by Nash and Zuccarello.
As the confident Rangers relaxed, Philadelphia capitalized on every opportunity they had. Late in the first period, Flyers Jakub Voracek scored on a wrist shot that beat Henrik Lundqvist.
In the second period, the only goals scored were on Philadelphia’s efforts. A power play goal by Jason Akeson, and later a backhand shot by Luke Schenn.
The third period’s only goal was an empty net goal by Wayne Simmonds, after the Rangers coaches foolishly pulled Lundqvist from the net while the Flyers were on a power play. It was an attempt to add an extra skater, but Philadelphia quickly gained control and was able to score.
The Rangers out-shot Philadelphia 33-24, and actually took fewer penalties, only totaling to 6, whereas Philadelphia took 9. New York has a right to be frustrated with this loss. On technical terms, they were the better team. However, Flyer’s goalie Ray Emery stepped up and made a lot of big saves, which eventually cost the Rangers the game.
Game 3 will be in Philadelphia at Wells Fargo Center at 8 pm on the 22nd of April, 2014.
A team that won 54 games. Led the league in points. Was top three in team defense and scoring. The Boston Bruins encapsulate all that is a first place Stanley Cup contender. A “well-oiled machine” that coasted through the end of the regular season with victory after victory. They won so many games they even had time to rest their best players at season’s end. They’re a given in the east, right?
There’s still something though–something missing. And it isn’t good. Deeply rooted in the makeup of the group, it is their inability to play the way they want to unless pushed to the limit; almost forced to. If they win the Cup, there are no complaints–doesn’t matter how they got there or how they did it. But this ongoing theme could come back to bite them at some point.
The excuses were there for Game One. Corey Potter, Justin Florek and Jordan Caron all forced into game action. The lingering “flu bug”. Whatever it may be. But it was the Bruins top players who really struggled. They couldn’t breakout, couldn’t get through the Detroit Red Wings’ “wall”, failed to establish a forecheck and generate any sustained offensive attack. Given their regular season success, it was tough to watch.
And the Bruins now found themselves in that similar situation–playing poorly at the start of a playoff series. Its been way worse, yeah, but Game Two was as “must-win” as it got to this point of the season. And just like the previous postseason runs, with their backs against the wall, it brought out the best of their play.
Not wanting to head to Detroit down 0-2, the team responded.
“Yeah I think we played more of our game, and kind of took the hesitation out of our game. I think that was there in that first game,” Milan Lucic said of his team’s effort. “I know we talked about how important this game was ever since the loss, and it was good to have a response here to get the series back to 1-1.”
The Bruins started the game exactly as expected. They were physical, broke out their zone well, sustained an attack and thumped the Red Wings with that awfully imposing style of play we’ve grown accustomed to watching here in Boston.
Florek capitalized on a god-awful turnover by Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard, who chose to play the puck and make an errant pass rather than clearing it or covering up for a whistle. Later, Reilly Smith scored on the power play extending the lead to 2-0. Loui Eriksson’s phenomenal net-front presence and screen of Howard allowed the puck to sneak through, with Smith eventually slamming home the rebound.
“Getting pucks to the net was obviously a big factor, especially last game not scoring a goal,” Smith said postgame. “So I think power plays definitely helped us in the start and changed the tide. You know we’re not getting too many pucks to the net at the start, and then you get the 5 on 3 and you’re able to fire as many as you want. So that does definitely change the pace of the game and we benefited off of it.
It was as big of a turnaround as it could get for the Bruins, who headed to intermission with a two-goal lead.
The second period felt more like Friday’s game. The Wings maintained puck-possession, whizzing around the Bruins zone and reeking havoc in front of Tuukka Rask’s net. After yet another failed power play, they finally cashed in on their first goal of the game. Darren Helm beat Jarome Iginla off the half-wall with a nifty shimmy and shot the puck past Rask, off teammate Luke Glendening and into the net. Bruins defenseman Torey Krug still has work to do in his own end, which was apparent on the goal after failing to step up once Helm beat Iginla.
But it’s a 200-foot game, and he quickly redeemed himself.
Shortly after the Detroit goal, Krug went on an impressive rush and sprung Lucic with a tape-to-tape neutral zone feed. Lucic and Iginla then worked the perfect give-and-go, resulting in Lucic’s first tally of the playoffs and third Bruins goal of the game. After a lifeless start to the middle frame, the Detroit goal was the needed fix to revive the sleeping bear, and get the home team rolling again.
“It’s not really an each line thing or whatever. But it definitely feels good if you can get things going in the right direction as a line and feel like you’re contributing,” Iginla said postgame. “But also we’re trying to be physical and each line is trying to be physical and other things, but it definitely felt good to see Looch [Lucic] put that one in at the end of the second, that was a big goal for us.”
It was all Bruins from that point forward. While Detroit’s urgency showed in the shot column, their chances were limited to the outside and the Bruins netted the only third period goal, cruising to a 4-1 victory and evening up the series.
“I think last game, we mentioned that they were winning more races, their battles, their will to get to the puck first and hang on to it was better than ours in Game 1,” head coach Claude Julien said postgame. “But tonight, I think we were a little bit better in all areas, from our breakouts with their pressure to the neutral zone, where we were able to get through that with a little bit more speed today than we did the last game, and able to get our forecheck going like we talked about doing after Game 1.”
With the series now tied, can the Bruins take care of business in Detroit and get out of this first round fairly easily for once?
This being their best club in years, paired with the maturation of the core, they should be able too. But as previously stated, Game One was the needed “butt-kicking” to bring out the real Bruins club, what’s it gonna be next? Hopefully nothing. Just go out and do it. You’re better than them.
Yet again, the St. Louis Blues overcame regulation, and overtime to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4 to 3. This overtime thriller included another last minute goal by the Blues Vladimir Tarasenko with 6.4 seconds left in the third period.
This time around, the Blues took the early lead and dominated the first period. Chris Porter lead the scoring for the Blues when his slap shot beat Corey Crawford. Kevin Shattenkirk gave the Blues a strong two goal lead with two seconds left in the first period. The second period belonged to the Blackhawks and they cut the Blues’ lead in half by the end of the period when Duncan Keith’s slap shot from the point sailed through traffic and into the back of the net.
The Blackhawks seemed to be taking over the game at this point, as they tied the game up at the start of the third period. They scored two goals within three minutes of each other, and both were shots from the point. The was first from Brent Seabrook, who picked up a bounce off the boards and took a slapper from the point that ricocheted off of players in front of the net. Ryan Miller lost track, and the puck went into the back of the net. Michal Rozsival then gave the Blackhawks their first lead of the game scoring off of a wicked snapshot from the point that went through traffic and behind Miller.
The Blues would not give up. Their resilience and determination proved fruitful with just seven seconds left in the game. This is the greatness of playoff hockey, it is not over until the buzzer sounds. The Blues were on the power play and pulled the goalie to create a 6 on 4 opportunity. Head coach Ken Hitchcock made the right call as Tarasenko took a shot from the top of the circle, and T.J. Oshie and Jaden Schwartz created traffic in front of Crawford, and the puck just slid between Crawford and the post.
With the momentum on the Blues’ side, they were bound to start strong in overtime. Chicago was stunned, as were the fans, and Chicago did not stand a chance. The Blues had too much adrenaline having gained that last second goal to force overtime. This time only one OT would be needed for the Blues to steal the game. Barret Jackman’s snapshot from the point beat Crawfrord to give the Blues another win at home, and increase the series lead to two games.
The next two games head to the Madhouse on Madison, the first game being on Monday night at 8 PM ET, and game four will be on Wednesday at 9:30 PM ET.
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