Sunday, Sunday, Sunday — a notably exciting day for sports in the realm of football. For once, hockey took center ice in a Stanley Cup Final rematch, live from Chicago. The last time the Boston Bruins faced the Chicago Blackhawks, the final buzzer marked more than a regular season win for Chicago, it marked the winning of hockey’s ultimate prize: The Stanley Cup.
It was a well fought series between the two teams, skating hard into late June and a Game 6 matchup on Boston ice. It looked as though Boston was poised to make it a forced Game 7 as they led the scoreboard in the closing minutes. But with Stanley in sight, the Blackhawks managed to score two goals, just 17 seconds apart in the remaining 1:16 of the game, for a 3-2 win and the title Stanley Cup Champions.
Of course, a regular season matchup doesn’t hold nearly as much meaning as a Game 6 elimination, but the emotions were still on overdrive during a cold day in Chicago. The goaltenders remained the same, Tuukka Rask presided of the pipes for Boston, while Corey Crawford held reign at the opposing end.
In June, the Blackhawks were the last to strike, in January, they were the first. Marian Hossa, opened the first period scoring with his 20th of the season from Patrick Sharp (25) and Niklas Hjalmarsson (18) at 4:13. But the lead was equalized at 19:41, as Brad Marchand netted lucky 13 from Patrice Bergeron (18) and Adam McQuaid (5).
Just 50 seconds into the second period, Marchand put the Bruins up 2-1 with his second of the game from Reilly Smith (20) and birthday boy, Johnny Boychuk (12). The goal marked a small milestone in Marchand’s career, his tenth multi-goal regular season game — the drive to make it a hat trick kept number 63 as an offensive force throughout the remainder of the period. Blackhawks Brandon Bollig made it 2-2 at 9:44,with his 5th of the season, assisted by Marcus Kruger (17) and Duncan Keith (42).
With a battle of goaltending in full swing, Rask facing 37 shots, Crawford, 36, each goaltender made incredible saves at their respective ends. But both teams skated a scoreless third period right into overtime. Chicago found themselves on the power play heading into the overtime period, as Bruins Matt Bartkowski crosschecked Blackhawks Ben Smith during the final seconds of the third period.
Unlike in the playoffs, shootouts are an option during regular season, and that’s just where the teams headed after a scoreless 5-minute overtime period. The Bruins have only prevailed in one of their three shootouts this season, while the Blackhawks have won four of ten faced.
Shooters:
Bruins; Ryan Spooner -0
Patrice Bergeron – 0
Brad Marchand -1
Blackhawks; Jonathan Toews – 1
Patrick Sharp – 0
Patrick Kane – 1
Patrick Kane’s goal gave Chicago the 3-2 win and the continued title of champions, for now. The two teams will face each other for a second tilt this season on Boston ice in March.
It will be minimal rest for Boston as they play host to the LA Kings for a 3 pm start tomorrow afternoon. The game will mark the middle of a 5 game road trip for the Kings who tallied a 4-1 win in St. Louis on Thursday, followed by a 3-2 loss in Detroit on Saturday. The Kings will look to reign over the Bruins before continuing their road trip in Columbus on Tuesday. The black and gold themselves will have a light game week, as they don’t play until Saturday when they face the Flyers in Philadelphia.
The roster for Team Canada in Sochi was announced on January 7th, and it’s inclusion or lack thereof of certain players has been picked apart by hockey connoisseurs for weeks now. Hockey Canada announced today the players that would be hopefully leading their team to a medal placement during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
In the men’s corner, Pittsburgh Penguin and Cole Harbour, N.S. native Sidney Crosby will wear the “C” for Canada while Blackhawks Jonathan Toews and Predators Shea Weber will be alternates.
“Sidney, Jonathan and Shea have been leaders on the international stage in the past, as well as with their NHL teams,” said Mike Babcock, head coach of Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team. “These three players will be at the forefront of our efforts in Sochi, but we are confident we have 25 players on our roster that will lead in their own way and allow our team to be successful.”
In the women’s corner, three-time Olympic gold medalist Caroline Ouellette will serve as captain. While Hayley Wickenheiser will serve as permanent assistant captain. Jayna Hefford and Catherine Ward will wear the “A” on an alternating basis throughout the games.
“There is a tremendous amount of experience in our dressing room, and there is no shortage of qualified candidates to wear a letter,” said Kevin Dineen, head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Team. “The players we have selected as captain and alternates in Sochi have shown their dedication and commitment to the team and its end goal throughout a long season, and we feel they are the ideal choices to lead our team through the Olympic experience.”
The 2014 Olympic Winter Games run from Feb. 7-23 in Sochi, Russia, with the women’s tournament running from Feb. 8-20, and the men’s event from Feb. 12-23.
On the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Saturday’s matinée game at Tampa Bay Times Forum, team captain Martin St. Louis achieved a feat which has not been done since 1992 when he posted a four goal game. It’s been a record held by Chris Kontos since he did it at the Lightning’s inaugural game against the Blackhawks.
For St. Louis, three of those goals came in the first period alone, with the fourth coming early in the second period. Fans were on their feet as soon as the announcement was made that captain had a hat trick and play was stopped so hats could be tossed onto the ice, one of those hats belonging to St. Louis’ son, who could be seen sitting in the stands with his grandmother and brother.
Despite the feat made by Marty, the team still fell to San Jose in regulation. Matt Nieto opened the scoring for the Sharks halfway through the opening frame, two minutes later Martin St. Louis scored his first of four goals, a goal that was followed by Patrick Marleau’s twenty-first of the season. Marty gave the Bolts a lead, but that did not satisfy Joe Pavelski who got a one period hat trick of his own.
While these duelling hat tricks are not as memorable as the one seen by Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin from the 2009 playoff series, but when it’s taken into account that both hat tricks happened in one period, this will be a game memorable to Sharks and Bolts fans.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
The Alaska Aces will host the Stockton Thunder on February 7th and 8th for the ECHL CCM Hockey Heritage Weekend in Anchorage, Alaska. Historical displays from Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame celebrating the heritage of the game will be at Sullivan Arena for both game days. Both the Stanley Cup and the Kelly Cup will make an appearance in Anchorage, Alaska and the Seventh Annual ECHL Hall of Fame Luncheon presented by BFL Canada will take place on Friday February 7th. The seventh class of the ECHL Hall of Fame includes former Aces forward and ECHL all-time leading goal scorer Wes Goldie, along with James Edwards, Al MacIsaac and John Spoltore.
The event continues with two specialty games sponsored by Sutton Special Risk on the nights of Feb. 7 and 8, as the Aces take on the Stockton Thunder. Both teams will take the ice with specialty jerseys that have their roots in their NHL affiliates, the Calgary Flames and the New York Islanders, respectively.
The Alaska Aces will wear the colors of the Flames, red with white and yellow trim, symbolic of the jerseys worn by the Flames during their Stanley Cup championship season in 1988-89 and Cup Final appearance in 1986. The Aces’ bear head mascot will sport flames reminiscent of Calgary’s logo.
Image: Alaska Aces
The Stockton Thunder will don a new name and logo for the event, the Rough & Ready Islanders, featuring the Isles’ traditional white, navy and orange colors and the signature 4-stripe stick, but instead of Long Island as part of the logo, the front will feature Stockton’s Rough and Ready Island, located three miles west of Stockton, California and used by the U.S. Navy as a supply center, ordnance depot and emergency ship repair facility beginning in the 1940s.
Image: Stockton Thunder
“The first time I visited Stockton, I was greeted by the sign, “Port of Stockton – Rough & Ready Island” which intrigued me”, explains Team President Brian Sandy. “When I learned that we were selected to be a part of the Heritage Games, I thought of how great it would be to become the Rough & Ready Islanders, as that name pays tribute not only to the history and importance of Stockton, California, but also the importance of our NHL Affiliate, the New York Islanders.”
The Games will be televised nationally and presents a great opportunity for both the Aces and Thunder Organizations, their respective cities and the league.
“Fans that are unfamiliar with our league will learn that the ECHL combines a high quality brand of hockey with affordable family entertainment,” said Sandy. “The fact that we can integrate a historic Stockton landmark and our tremendous partnership with the Islanders is extremely satisfying. I certainly believe that you want your hockey team to be “rough” and “ready,” so it seems like a perfect fit.”
As we check in at the season halfway point with all the AHL teams, next on the list is the East Division. This is the third, and final, division of the Eastern Conference. The East Division is the tightest knit of the divisions in the AHL with only 11 points separating the first place team from the last place team.
Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators)
Binghamton is coming off of a season where they managed to secure the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Unfortunately, they were swept by division rivals, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Senators seek to return to their success from the 2010-2011 season where they won the Calder Cup.
Binghamton started out strong and have seemed to hold onto that strong play. They handed the Penguins their first loss of the season in a shootout when the rivals met for the first time. It was a rematch of the previous season’s playoffs. Recently, the Senators have only gotten better. They are 7-3 in their last ten and won 7 straight between December 20th and January 4th. But, they have dropped their last two straight games.
This season, the Senators have a young team with all but three being 24 or younger. The team has been led by forwards Mike Hoffman, Stephane Da Costa, and Cole Schneider, who have been with the Senators for a few seasons now. Hoffman leads in all scoring categories but each of the them has 30 or more points this season. Hoffman and Da Costa have also spent time in Ottawa already this season.
So far, through 38 games, Binghamton is 23-12-0-3 for 49 points. Through the second half of the season, the Senators will look to put some space between them and the rest of their tight knit division.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Last season the Penguins made it all the way to the conference finals after being the fifth seed. It came as a bit of a surprise as they first swept the Senators and then came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Providence Bruins in 7 games. After getting so close to the Calder Cup Finals, the Penguins came out of the gate hot.
The Penguins took 17 of 20 points in their first ten games, making them one of the top teams in the league. After that, they cooled off a bit but have still been impressing. They are on a two game winning streak and are 6-3-0-1 in their last 10. They are coming up on a weekend stint against some of the Atlantic Division.
This season, the Penguins have been led by an older core of players rather than the younger players or rookies. As Pittsburgh has struggled with injuries, players like Brian Gibbons and Harry Zolnierczyk have gotten their chance to show their skills. They have also been successful at the AHL level. In general, though, the Penguins have not been putting up a lot of goals considering their record. They average just under 3 goals per game so far.
After 37 games, the Penguins are 22-11-1-3 for 46 points and a record nearly identical to the Senators.
Norfolk Admirals (Anaheim Ducks)
The Admirals entered the season having missed the playoffs, only narrowly. They finished tied for 9th just two points out of 8th in the conference. They are now in their second season under a new affiliation with the Anaheim Ducks. In the city’s previous affiliation with the Lightning, they won the Calder Cup.
As the Ducks have shuffled players trying to find the right combination to keep up their wins, the Admirals have had to make use of ECHL call-ups and PTOs. The biggest problem has been at goaltender. Ducks goalie Viktor Fasth is back on injured reserve which made it necessary to call-up John Gibson. Gibson is a rookie this season but has impressive between the pipes. But, part of being in the AHL means adjusting to these issues.
Over their last 10 games, the Admirals have gone 7-3. It will be interesting to see if that is a trend they can maintain without Gibson. According to the AHL website, Frederik Andersen will also be joining the Ducks. But, while they Emerson Etem and Devante Smith-Pelly down from Anaheim, they will hope to capitalize on their offensive talents.
At exactly their halfway point of 38 games, the Admirals are 20-13-1-4 for 45 points. Being just 4 points from the first place Senators, the Admirals are perfectly placed to make a surge.
Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals)
The Hershey Bears are the longest continuously active member in the league, having received their franchise in 1938. They have also been arguably the most successful team. They are riding a streak of making the postseason for 8 straight seasons, but have exited after the first round in the past three years.
This season, they struggled a lot to kick off the season. They won just 3 of their first 10 games. Although they have started to string some wins together, they still do not appear to have returned to the team that was consistently in the Calder Cup finals.
During the offseason, the Bears saw the return of Jeff Taffe paired with Brandon Segal joining the team from Connecticut. Both are veteran presences and have provided both experience and scoring for the team. Although the team is older than others around the league, having those two has definitely been good for the team.
As of the first 36 games, the Bears are 17-13-3-3 for 40 points. They have won 6 of their last 10 and are looking to gain ground in their incredibly close division. They play 3 of their next 5 games against divisional rivals, the Syracuse Crunch.
Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Last season, the Syracuse Crunch made it all the way to the Calder Cup Finals and seemed to be the odds on favorite to win. It was the first season that the Tampa Bay prospects were in Syracuse after those same prospects won it all in Norfolk in 2011-2012.
The Crunch seemed to get off to somewhat of a shaky start, winning just 1 of their first 4 games. But then they went on to win 8 of the next 9, seeming to have found their step from the previous two seasons. That streak was short lived, though, as they fell from the top again. Over the past 10, they are just 4-4-1-1.
There are currently 7 members of last year’s Calder Cup Finals team in Tampa Bay showing the importance of working hard at the AHL level. Rookie sensation Nikita Kucherov is also currently spending time in the NHL. Without the use of any of those players, the Crunch have been relying on their young talents to carry their weight with the leadership of the veteran players. Young players can sometimes take time to adjust but can also fall victim to the midseason slump. At the halfway point, the Crunch at least have the rest of the season and anything can happen.
Through 36 games, Syracuse is 16-14-2-4 for 38 points. Even though they are at the bottom of their division, it is a close enough division that every point matters. All 4 of their next games are against division rivals and mark a good chance to gain those points.
It’s been a busy couple of days for the Kings. In a curious move that caused widespread concern throughout the fan base, GM Dean Lombardi announced yesterday that they reassigned their top prospect and potential future 20+ goal scorer back to the Manchester Monarchs.
It’s an interesting move that’s “performance based” according to Darryl Sutter. What makes it so interesting is that advanced metrics suggest that the Kings are better off with Toffoli in the lineup than without him.
Robert wrote a great post expanding on these numbers.
In other news, the Kings have officially recalled Linden Vey from Manchester and he, along with Martin Jones, is expected to join the team in St. Louis.
According to various sites, these moves could be the result of a rule heading into the Olympic break. According the a rule, any player that plays in more than 15 of the 20 games before we break for Sochi cannot play in the AHL during that break. If Toffoli stayed in LA he would be ineligible to get into games with the Monarchs while the NHL takes some time off for the Olympics. Or it could be no more than a performance based problem, as Sutter said.
AP Photo/Chris Carlson
Martin Jones will now serve as LA’s new headgear model Jonathan Quick’s backup with the trade of Ben Scrivens to Edmonton for a third round pick. This leaves JF Berube as the official starter for the Monarchs and Matthias Niederberger, who signed with the Monarchs over the summer but was assigned to the Ontario Reign of the ECHL at the beginning of the season, will be recalled to serve as Berube’s backup in Manchester.
And as always, don’t consider the Kings done by any means. They’re still looking to increase scoring and get a top 6 left wing to bring more balance to the lineup.
Second on the list as The Pink Puck checks in with the divisions around the AHL is the Northeast Division, part of the Eastern Conference. There is a pretty large discrepancy in the points of teams in the Northeast. At the bottom, the Hartford Wolf Pack have just 27 points. The Springfield Falcons top the division with double that at 54 points.
Springfield Falcons (Columbus Blue Jackets)
The Falcons are coming off one of the best seasons they have had in a long time. They made the playoffs for the first time since the 2002-2003 season. After being swept in the second round of the playoffs by Syracuse, they felt like they had something to prove.
Over the offseason, the Falcons saw a number of changes come to their lineup. Jonathan Audy-Marchessault leads the team in goals, assists, and points as a returning forward. However, the next two leaders in points are Frederick St. Denis and Darryl Boyce, both veteran additions to the roster.
In additions to the changes up front, the Falcons have an entirely new goaltending duo. Last season’s starter Curtis McElhinney, who was absolutely phenomenal between the pipes, is backing up Sergei Bobrovsky in Columbus this year. But Mike McKenna and Jeremy Smith have been more than holding up their end of the bargain.
Through the 37 games so far, Springfield is 25-8-1-3 for 54 points and the best winning percentage in the conference. They are the only team remaining in the league with a single digit in the regulation losses column.
Albany Devils (New Jersey Devils)
Albany is only in its fourth season as the Devils affiliate after the franchise moved from Lowell. They missed the playoffs during each of their first three seasons and are looking to change that this season. It would appear that through the first half of the season, they are poised to see post season action.
Third year forward Joe Whitney, out of Boston College, leads the charge in goals, assists, and points while he is on pace to have the best season of his professional career. Albany has had 9 players spend time both with them and in the NHL with New Jersey. As a result, they have had to make use of a number of ECHL players, but it has not stopped them from claiming second in the division.
Although the Devils appear to have cooled off slightly, going 4-4-1-1 in their last 10, they could pick back up at any point. At the end of November and into December, the team went on a 6 game winning streak.
The Devils have also played 37 and are 21-11-3-2 for 47 points. The Devils have finished their previous three seasons with a winning percentage under .500 but are now well over that mark. In addition, they have the fewest penalty minutes in the conference.
Adirondack Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers)
The Adirondack Phantoms franchise is currently in it’s fifth season and looking to make the playoffs for the first time. This could also be their last chance. It has been announced that the team will move to Allentown, PA for the 2014-2015 season. Fans are hoping to see their team make the playoffs but also stay around for them.
Jason Akeson, an undrafted forward in his third season, continues to be a leading force in terms of offense. In second and third in scoring are Kris Newbury, a veteran that played primarily for Connecticut last season, and Brandon Manning, a defenseman who was also undrafted and is in his third year with the team. Not only are those two in the top three for points, they are tied for first in penalty minutes with 101. This is a team that can also be tough.
So far this season, the Phantoms have been incredibly streaky. They won their first game of the season before dropping the next 6. Following that, they went on a 6 game winning streak. Currently, the Phantoms have won 7 of their last 10 and are making a clear push to challenge the Albany Devils.
Through 35, Adirondack is 19-14-0-2 for 40 points. Although they are still 7 points out of second place in the division, they are hot right now. If this keeps up, the other teams in their division should be concerned.
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NY Islanders)
The Sound Tigers are coming off a season having missed the playoffs. Although there were two teams ahead of them, they were only 5 points behind the team in eighth place and it could have gone either way at the end of the season.
This season did not start off very strong for Bridgeport with them winning only three of their first 10 games. Although they have had brief spurts of playing well, overall their play has not been anywhere near what they would need to see playoff action. In their last ten, they have been just 3-6-0-1.
Bridgeport has had a lot of adversity to deal with through call-ups and injuries. Seven players have played for Bridgeport and the Islanders, 5 of whom are still in the NHL. Ryan Strome is still the leading scorer despite being currently in the NHL. The Sound Tigers have already dressed 38 different skaters and 3 different goalies this season.
After 39 games, the Sound Tigers are 14-20-1-4 for 33 points. With their current skid, they really need to find a way to turn it around and find a new source of offense.
Hartford Wolf Pack (NY Rangers)
The Hartford Wolf Pack round out the Northeast Division at the bottom of the conference as well as the division. Last season, going by the Connecticut Whale, the team just missed the playoff being in the ninth position. Since joining the league in the 1997-1998 season, the team has only missed the playoffs twice: in the 2009-2010 season and last season.
This season, the Wolf Pack came out incredibly strong and looked like they were going to make a real push. After dropping their first game, they won the next five straight games. Between November 29th and December 21st, the Wolf Pack dropped nine straight games and generally seemed to struggle.
As the Rangers have struggled with their line-up, the Wolf Pack have struggled with that and with finding scoring. In addition to have a number of skaters going up and down, the Wolf Pack have been hurt by Chris Kreider and JT Miller spending so much time with the Rangers. They have also dressed 5 different goalies so far. The Rangers have struggled with Martin Biron retiring after the start of the season as well as Henrik Lundqvist being injured for a period.
After 36 games, Hartford is 11-20-0-5 for 27 points. In their last 10, the Wolf Pack are just 2-6-0-2 and are winless in their last 6 games. Looking to the second half of the season, the Wolf Pack will likely see if they can orchestrate a serious turnaround.
With the AHL set to hit the halfway point in games following the games on Friday, we thought it would be a good time to check in and let you know how things are going. First up is the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference.
Manchester Monarchs (LA Kings)
The Monarchs started off the season strong and have stayed strong throughout, despite battling call-ups and injuries. Top goaltending prospect Martin Jones got the call to LA when Jonathan Quick was injured. While he was gone, JF Berube really rose to the occasion starting 25 straight games including 5 weekends where he started games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. With Jones back, Berube will likely get less playing time but has proven he has what it takes.
Forwards Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, and Linden Vey came into the season looking like they would clearly be a line to reckoned with in Manchester. All have spent time with the Kings. Despite that, other players have stepped up and helped Manchester to stay atop the division.
The Monarchs are currently 25-10-2-4 with 56 points through their first 41 games. They have not lost more than two games in a row yet this season. Although the Monarchs have only 4 wins in their last 10 games, with the recent return of Martin Jones and the announcement that Tyler Toffoli has been sent down, they are likely to turn around.
Last season, the Monarchs made a last minute push to make the playoffs. At the beginning of April, they seemed like a long shot but managed to move all the way into the 7th spot. This season, they seem to want to be more sure of that spot.
Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
Providence got off to a little bit of a shaky start, winning only four of their first ten games. For the most part, they did not seem to have a whole lot of trouble scoring. However, the goalie tandem of Niklas Svedberg and rookie Malcolm Subban really seemed to fall into step. Svedberg even got into his first NHL game, recording a win against Nashville in overtime. Unfortunately, Subban recently got hurt but had been impressing prior to that.
The Bruins have faced their fair share of call-ups as well. Matt Fraser, Nick Johnson, and Ryan Spooner seemed to be an unstoppable line. So far this season, the three of them have combined for 35 goals. All three have spent time in Boston, but Spooner is the only player still currently there. In total, 9 players have spent time with the Boston and Providence Bruins this season.
Providence is 20-13-1-6 for 46 points through 39 games. They might have lost their last two, but prior to that, they had won 6 of the previous 8 games. The Bruins have recorded the second most goals in the conference and most in the division with 125 so far.
Last season saw Providence top the league in terms of points before being disappointed in the second round by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. They turned it on in the second half of the season last year, could this year bring the same fate?
St. John’s IceCaps (Winnipeg Jets)
The IceCaps have been a team skating down the middle for the first half of the season. They have not been bad, but not been a standout team either. They have had some impressive wins against better teams like Manchester but struggled against a struggling team like Worcester.
So far this season, a few key contributors seem to have been on the shuffle from St. John’s to Winnipeg. Defensemen Julian Melchiori and Zach Redmond along with forwards John Albert and Eric O’Dell have all gotten multiple calls. Winnipeg seems to have struggled with injuries and are relying on their AHL affiliate to fill the gaps. The IceCaps have relied on returning veteran and captain, Jason Jaffray, along with Andrew Gordon, a veteran who spent most of last season with the Chicago Wolves, to fill in for the gaps in offense. Kael Mouillierat and rookie Brenden Kichton are tied for the points lead, each with 30.
Through 37 games, the IceCaps 19-15-1-2 for 41 points. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games but look to close out their current home stand strong with a three game series coming up against Manchester.
Last season the IceCaps missed the playoffs after dominating their division the season before. This year, the IceCaps hope to avoid missing the playoffs for the second straight season.
Worcester Sharks (San Jose Sharks)
The Sharks have been inconsistent through their first 35 games. So far, Worcester has struggled to put goals up. It was not until their 18th game that they recorded more than 3 goals in any single game, when they blew out the Portland Pirates 8-2. They still only average about 2.5 goals per game. Worcester has scored the least goals in the division with 85 and scored the second least in the conference.
Coming into last weekend, things looked to be a serious struggle. The Sharks swept their three-in-three home weekend for the first time in nearly 6 years. This came after added two players from the ECHL, sending two players down to the ECHL, and dealing with some call-ups to San Jose. The San Jose Sharks have dealt with some incredibly unexpected injury troubles. Although only 6 players have skated for both teams, Matt Nieto has spent the majority of the season in San Jose when most assumed it would be the other way around. He only played two games in Worcester, scoring 2 goals and adding 3 assists in one.
Through those 35 games, the Sharks are 17-15-2-1 for 37 points. They are tied for the least games played in the league with a number of other teams, but for awhile they were there all alone. Worcester has won 3 straight to improve them to 5-4-1-0 in their last 10 and it will be interesting to see what the next week holds.
The Sharks finished towards the bottom of the conference and missed the playoffs for the third straight season. The team likely hopes they can keep up their play lately to turn things around.
Portland Pirates (Phoenix Coyotes)
The Pirates sit at the bottom of the division through about the halfway point but only by a point. They have been trading back and forth with Worcester and lost the edge when they lost their game against the Sharks in regulation on Sunday afternoon.
In addition to their struggle, the Pirates have also had to deal with playing 45 minutes north of Portland in Lewiston, ME after a problem with contract negotiations on the rink in Portland. Andy Miele has easily led the scoring charge for the Pirates this season. He also had his first professional hat trick earlier in the season against the Sharks.
So far, the Pirates have skated through 35 games and are 15-14-1-5 for 36 points. They are 5-4-0-1 in their last 10 games. They will also look to gain ground on Worcester once again this weekend before the teams have a rematch in Lewiston next Tuesday.
The Pirates managed to hang onto the sixth spot in the conference where they had to face the Syracuse Crunch in the first round. The prospects playing in Syracuse had been in Norfolk the season before and had won the Calder Cup.
I want to wish all the collectors out there a Happy New Year and pass on some information to help you keep your resolutions (assuming one of them is to collect more autographs). January is a cold month, both in temperature and in the amount of signings that are going to take place. Remember some venues allow you to take a picture with the athlete, so make sure you ask before trying to take one, and always remember to thank the player for signing your item and as always, happy collecting…
Assuming you weren’t nursing a hangover on New Year’s Day, maybe you got a chance to meet Bruins’ legend Johnny Bucyk. He’s a great guy and very personable. If you weren’t able to meet Mr. Bucyk in person, you can always send him (or any current Boston Bruins player) something to sign care of the Boston Bruins at: TD Garden, 100 Legends Way, Boston, MA 02114. Make sure to include a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) for the player’s convenience.
Monday, January 20th (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) will be “Bruins Day” at the Big Sports Card & Memorabilia Show at the Holiday Inn located at 31 Hampshire St. in Mansfield, MA. Free admission to anyone wearing anything Bruins related (otherwise a $2 admission fee). Signing autographs will be Rick Middleton ($10 dollars an autograph, $8 for each additional), Ken Linesman ($9 for one autograph, $7 for each additional) and Ken Hodge Jr. (free for the first, $5 for each additional). The players will be signing from 10:30AM-12:30PM. Door prizes include 2 autographed copies of Bobby Orr’s new book, “Orr My Story”.
Sunday, February 2nd in a RARE public signing Willie O’Ree will signing autographs at the Knights of Columbus at 462 Broadway in Methuen, MA. Autographs are $20 each and he will be signing from 10-12PM. Willie O’Ree played wing for the Boston Bruins but is best known as being the first African American player to play in the NHL when the Bruins called him up on January 18, 1958.
(photo credit: bluejackets.nhl.com)
Spoiler alert: I don’t actually know the answer to this question. (To be honest, I’m not sure that Todd Richards or Jarmo Kekalainen know the answer to this question.) CBJ is by turns remarkable and kind of embarrassing, like a Seth Rogan movie or your math-savant geek cousin trying to make it through his first date. They’re the kind of team that can’t seem to find a happy middle ground of play that falls between “GAME SEVEN OF THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS” and “schoolyard shinny with kids you babysit.”
The problem is that playing like it’s the Stanley Cup Finals isn’t sustainable over an entire season and apparently the kids we babysit are like 6’5″ and have a mean streak a mile wide.
Every time you read analysis about CBJ, there are certain buzzwords that are going to come up: young team, consistency, injury. Similar buzzwords that also come up with Edmonton, actually; not surprising, given that Edmonton is Crown Champion of Unrealized Potential. Those are buzzwords that come up because those are real issues that we have. After all, clichés are clichés because there’s a least of grain of truth in them.
But those words are the “what.” They don’t really account for the “why.”
THE STATE OF THINGS:
(source)
Rank: 23rd Overall, 7th in the Metropolitan Division
Points: 46
Win Percentage: 0.511%
Penalty Kill Percentage: 79.6%
Shot Differential: -3
Team Shooting Percentage: 9.79%
There are obviously a lot of statistics to choose from and look at, and the best analysis is going to take into account most or all of them (consider this parenthetical the placeholder for my usual rant against the value of plus/minus). But let’s just look at these for now, since I think they’re pretty telling as a snapshot.
23rd out of 30 is a fairly discouraging rank, on the surface of things; luckily, that’s really only valuable to think about in terms of Stanley Cup match-ups, since it’s not going to have too drastic effect on actual playoff chances. Even still, 7 out of 8 isn’t exactly a huge turn around. But, as in all areas, Columbus isn’t exactly what it seems–or rather, it isn’t necessarily what it seems, because some games we certainly play like we deserve 7th.
If, however, we take a look at, say, Philadelphia, who currently ranks 3rd in the Metropolitan division, we’re not quite as badly off as the numbers may suggest.
The Flyers have 23 wins to CBJ’s 21; we have the same number of games that went into OT. At home, CBJ is 10-9-2, and away they’re 11-11-2; at home, Philly is 12-8-0 and away they’re 11-10-4. Philly has a -5 shot differential to CBJ’s -3 (both of whom kind of look like Hodor standing next to Cersei Lannister when we look at the Pens’ +40).
Basically, the issue is that our numbers aren’t terrible. Some of them aren’t great. It’s clear that when CBJ melts down, they melt down hard. I’m talking The Secret Life of Alex Mack levels of viscosity. But, ultimately, that’s a reflection of their mental game, not their . . . actual game.
Of course, the mental/physical divide doesn’t actually matter all that much when you get down to it. Points are points, wins are wins, and losses are losses. But it is, at the very least, a comforting differential. It’s the kind of potential that’s not based on beautiful hopes and dreams, but actual numbers. Take, for example, the shooting percentage, which is 6th in the NHL (11th with the differential). 9.79% of our shots on goal are successful–compare that, again to Philly, which comes in at 8.72% (16th overall). That’s not a bad place to be.
The conclusion here seems a little obvious and a lot like nobody needed me to break down the numbers to discover the secret: take more shots on goal. Depend less on Bob and McElhinney. Win more? Is that valuable advice? These are all conquerable problems, most of which can be solved by doing exactly what CBJ has done over the course of the last three games, which is sticking with their system and focusing on more of a transition game than an open one. As often happens in sports, winning grows confidence, improves gameplay, builds morale. Winning makes it easier to win.
When the problem lies with meltdowns, not actual gameplay, the solution rarely lies in the numbers.
So: how do you solve a problem like Columbus? Kekalainen, Richards and I aren’t exactly sure, but if anyone has the name of a captain nanny they could recommend, at this point we’re really open to anything.
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