By Kelsie Plesac
Celebration was the theme at the United Center Friday night as Blackhawks players and fans celebrated Pat Foley, the voice of the Blackhawks, and a 5-4 victory against the Nashville Predators on Friday night. The Blackhawks honored Foley for his 30th season as play-by-play announcer in Chicago. The Blackhawks also cemented a perfect 5-0 record against the Predators this season.
Duncan Keith tallied the first goal of the game ending the Blackhawks recent power play drought. The goal was Keith’s 3rd of the season and his first in 16 games. However, at 6:31 Matt Halischuck evened the score, tallying his 3rd goal of the season. The Predators pulled ahead at 10:48 with Kevin Henderson’s first goal as a Predator. The goal was assisted by Bobby Butler and Mueller. Brandon Saad would even the score up before first intermission registering his 10th goal of the season.
In the second period, the Blackhawks struck first with Patrick Kane registering his 21st goal of the season at 4:48. However, Halischuck would strike again at 6:31 scoring his 4th goal of the season and his 2nd of the night.
The Blackhawks regained the lead at 10:07 with Michal Handzus registering his 2nd goal of the season and his 1st as a Hawk. The goal was unassisted. The Predators would tie the score though at 16:26 with Butler scoring his 4th goal of the season. At 19:14 the Predators were a man down with a Rich Klune high-sticking four minute penalty. The penalty would carry over into overtime, where Marian Hossa would end the game with a power play goal (his 17th goal of the season).
The win brings the Blackhawks to 34-5-4 and the Predators to 15-21-9. The Hawks next match-up will take place Saturday night at home against the Phoenix Coyotes.
The American Hockey League has just one final weekend left in the regular season. Between Friday and Sunday, there are 40 games left on the AHL schedule. While 9 of the playoff spots have been claimed, the remaining 7 are still up for grabs. This weekend will also determine who wins the remaining three divisions that have not been clinched as well as who wins the conference titles. There are a lot of different possibilities but this is a breakdown of what could happen this final weekend.
In the Eastern Conference…
The Providence Bruins have locked up the Atlantic division and are currently sitting atop their conference. They have three games on their schedule this weekend, the first being against the Springfield Falcons. The Falcons are second in the conference. With a win, the Bruins will seal the conference championship. If the Bruins lose, they need to win one of their remaining games and at least send the other game to overtime to earn at least a point.
The Springfield Falcons are second in the conference with just two games left to go. Their hopes at winning the conference are not yet over, but they would need help from the Bruins. To win the conference, they would need to win their game against the Bruins on Friday. If they can do that, then they would just need to finish at least tied with the Bruins for overall points. If the two teams finish tied for points, the tiebreaker goes to Springfield. The first tiebreaker is the number of wins (excluding shootout wins).
In the East division, the Syracuse Crunch and the Binghamton Senators battle for the division title. Each team has three games remaining with the Crunch having a one-point advantage in the division. The magic number for the Crunch to clinch is six points. That can come from points that the Crunch earn along with points that the Senators do not earn. However, since the teams play each other for their last game of the season, that will likely be the deciding factor for the division winner.
The leading contenders in the Eastern Conference for the remaining three playoff spots are the Portland Pirates, the Norfolk Admirals, and the Connecticut Whale. The Pirates are the most likely to be the next team to clinch in the conference. On Friday, the Pirates can clinch the spot with a point in their game, or any kind of loss by Manchester or Connecticut, or a regulation loss by Norfolk. The spots will take a little bit more to claim for Norfolk and Connecticut. Each of them has a magic number of 5. They need to earn wins while the other teams not mathematically eliminated (Manchester, Hershey, and Bridgeport) need to lose games.
In the Western Conference…
The Texas Stars are leading their conference and can lock in the conference title Friday. If they get at least a point, regardless of what else happens, they win the conference. But, if the Stars do not earn at least a point in their game Friday, they just need to see the Toronto Marlies earn no more than a point in their game.
The Marlies are also looking to clinch their division during this final weekend. They currently sit five points ahead of the next team in their division. If the Marlies earn just a point in their game on Friday, they seal the division no matter what happens with the Rochester Americans who sit second in the North Division.
In the Midwest division, the Grand Rapids Griffins are five points ahead of the next team in the division, the Milwaukee Admirals. With a win on Friday, the Griffins will seal their division. The Griffins have three games over the final weekend to clinch their division title.
There are four spots left up for grabs in the Western Conference. The Houston Aeros and Rochester Americans look to both clinch spots on Friday. The Aeros are in their last season in Houston, as announced by the AHL today, and can clinch the playoff spot easiest with a win against the Texas Stars on Friday. However, if they lose, they could still clinch a spot with losses from Rockford and Chicago. The Americans can also clinch a spot most easily if they win their game against the Toronto Marlies. But, they can also clinch their spot with losses by Rockford and Chicago on Friday.
The other two spots in the Western Conference look like the Oklahoma City Barons and the Milwaukee Admirals could claim them. While the Milwaukee Admirals will not have a chance to seal their postseason on Friday, Oklahoma City has a chance with a lot of help. Once again, they would require losses by Rockford and Chicago on Friday night in addition to the Barons beating Abbotsford. But if all of that does not happen, the Barons have two more games to clinch their spot. The Milwaukee Admirals have a magic number of 5 in order to earn a playoff berth, but have three games over the weekend in which to do so.
It is an exciting time of the year for those teams who are fighting for a playoff spot. This might be the last weekend of the regular season, but the playoffs will start up the following weekend. The Pink Puck will be following the AHL playoffs and all the match ups all the way to the Calder Cup Finals.
Just two days after the tragic events in Boston, the Bruins were tasked with holding the first sporting event for the city. Their hearts were no where else but with the victims, as were the fans and the Buffalo players, but a game was to be played. It’s been shown before that sports can help provide a temporary relief from tragic events and that’s all the Bruins wanted to do for their fans and their city.
It was a very somber start to the game with a moving tribute to the victims showing on the jumbo-tron before the anthem. The entire crowd, as well as some players, sang the national anthem and started shouting “U S A” and “We Are Boston.” You could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of emotions while watching this hockey game that would hopefully prove to be a relief for some Bostonians. I could not help but think that as a Sabres fan, if we were able to beat Boston, would we look like bad people for not allowing them to win for their city?
The game, while not meaning too much for the city right now, would prove to be a tough battle for both teams. The Sabres are trying to win games so that they can make the playoffs and the Bruins are trying to win for their city, which was successful. With an outrageously loud crowd on hand, the Bruins were unable to hold off the Sabres with a 3-2 Sabres Shootout win. The beginning of the game would be slow and just not all that interesting and important. It needed to be played. Boston needed to get back into a rhythm of everyday things, whether they wanted to or not.
Sabres Ryan Miller would get the nod in goal after having the last two games off and Boston’s Anton Khudobin would start in net for the Bruins. Boston was first on the board just 5 minutes into the game being scored by previous Sabres player, Daniel Paille, his 9th of the year. The Sabres would be able to get onto the board before the end of the first period on a Power Play goal by Thomas Vanek. The second period would prove costly for Buffalo as their poor play in their own end would allow Chris Kelly to give Boston a 2-1 lead with 6 minutes left in the second. The third period would then prove to be a goalie’s game as only one goal was scored by Buffalo with only 30 seconds left to tie the game.
The game would eventually go to a shootout as no goals were able to be scored during the overtime five minutes. Recap of the shootout:
Boston- Seguin- Save
Buffalo- Vanek- Miss
Boston- Bergeron- Save
Buffalo- Gerbe- Save
Boston- Marchand- Save
Buffalo- Stafford- Goal- and the win
Boston’s job for tonight was to help their fans feel better and get some relief from the tragedy that unfolded before them. Whether they were going to win or lose, Boston was going to help their city and the best part of the game was the salute to the crowd by both teams. They may have a big rivalry during the season and game, but the Sabres stood right next to the Bruins for a salute to their fans and their city.
Boston has 6 more games to play, with one being the makeup for the cancelled Monday game against Ottawa. There next game will be in Boston on Sunday against the Florida Panthers. Buffalo has only four games left and are looking at a very slim chance of a playoff run. Their next game is back in Buffalo against the NY Rangers.
The NHL has just announced they’re adding 5 outdoor games to the 2014 season, including the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium, the New York Rangers versus both the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils at Yankee Stadium, the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Chicago Blackhawks at Solider Field, and the Heritage Classic will return as the Ottawa Senators face the Vancouver Canucks at B.C. Place.
The Springfield Falcons have three games left to play in a season where they will finish with the most wins and probably the best winning percentage since joining the American Hockey League during the 1994-1995 season. The way the team has played this season has been nothing short of impressive. With the NHL locked out to start the season, this team benefited with a number of players. However, the NHL announced that they were starting back up halfway through the AHL season and that was when the Falcons showed how strong they really were. On January 12th, they went on a six game winning streak and have not gone more than two games without at least a point for the entire season.
Looking at the success of this group, it has definitely been a full team effort with players stepping up as needed. One player that has been consistently wowing, would be veteran goaltender Curtis McElhinney. In just 47 starts so far this season, he has recorded an amazing nine shutouts. Despite his impressive numbers, he remains humble and puts a lot of the credit for the success on the efforts of the team as a whole.
“There have been a lot of blocked shots in front of me. I would give a lot of credit to the people playing out front,” McElhinney said humbly of his season. “For myself there have been only a few small changes.”
Another important factor to note is first year head coach, Brad Larsen. Larsen was an assistant coach in Springfield from 2010-2012 before earning the promotion to head coach for the 2012-2013 season. Prior to coaching, he spent 12 seasons playing professional hockey in the AHL and NHL. Nolan Pratt returned for his second year as an assistant coach with the Falcons. He brings 16 seasons of experience playing professional hockey, 12 of which were in either the AHL or NHL. Between Larsen and Pratt, they have 886 NHL games played under their belts. Rounding out the team is assistant coach Jared Bednar who has played 9 seasons of professional hockey primarily between the ECHL and AHL. These three have been a big part of the success of the team. There have been a lot of call-ups to contend with during the second half of the season, but the team has continued to win. Despite that, the coaches still put the emphasis on the players and the fact that nobody wants to let up.
“The players put a lot of work into getting that position in the playoffs. At the end of the day, nobody is satisfied. There are still games and then the playoffs,” said Larsen.
This has been a team that worked hard and refused to place the credit on any one member. They have also been fortunate to be led by veteran captain Ryan Craig. He currently sits at third on the team in points (47) and tied for first in goals (20) with Jonathan Audy-Marchessault. Craig returned to the organization after having been a Falcon during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons. It is clear that everyone in the organization respects their captain and really enjoys playing with him. With 190 games in the NHL, he has a lot to offer and can really help shape the game his teammates play.
Although it is sometimes an overlooked statistic, the Falcons have two players gracing the top fifteen in the league in plus/minus rating. One is Jonathan Audy-Marchessault who participated in the 2013 AHL All-Star Classic and was recently named to the 2012-2013 AHL First All-Star team. The other is defenseman and assistant captain Nick Holden. It might not seem as important a measure of success as goals or assists, but it shows that good things happen with those players on the ice. Audy-Marchessault leads the team with 20 goals and 44 assists in 71 games this season. Nick Holden is third on the team in assists with 30. In the three games from April 5th to April 7th, Holden recorded 7 assists.
“I think I just got lucky and got secondary assists,” Holden joked of the 7-assist weekend. “I think a lot of guys are plus because we’ve been good defensively and we’re scoring lots of goals.”
This is going to be the first playoff trip fans in Springfield have seen since the 2002-2003 season, when the team lost in the first round. The team has not made it past the first the 1996-1997 season. There are also a number of players on the team that have not had the chance to take part in a playoff game yet in their professional careers. It offers an entirely different atmosphere to regular season games and it is something everyone on the team is looking forward to.
“It’s nice to win and clinch the division. For the city of Springfield and the franchise, it’s great,” Holden said. “Obviously our goal is to win. I’m just excited to have the chance to play for the first time in the pros. I’m excited to see what we can do with this team.”
The Falcons were the first team to clinch their division, but that did not mean that they were willing to let up at all. This past weekend they had another three games and went 2-1 on the weekend. The Providence Bruins, who sit atop the conference, handed them a 2-0 loss on Saturday night. It has been important to Brad Larsen and the rest of the team to keep playing their game so that they do not lose any momentum. Making the playoffs for the first time in ten years is something that the team definitely celebrated. However, they have been a team that worked hard all season and that was certainly not something that would change through the end of the regular season.
“It’s just about worrying about ourselves,” Coach Larsen said. “We can’t control other teams and what they’re going to do. It’s just about making sure we’re all on the same page and still bringing compete.”
With it being the end of the season, the Falcons currently have 30 players listed on the roster on their website, including 3 goaltenders. This means that some players do not get into as many games as others. For some of those players, they get a little bit of extra attention at practice. At the end of practice, the Falcons have what they call their 3 on 3 where the coaches take on three of the players that have not been cracking the line-up lately. Last week Larsen, Pratt, and Bednar took on forwards Nathan Moon, Cody Bass, and Tim Spencer. The mood is light but that does not mean that they do not keep score. In fact, lately the coaches have been victorious far more than their players.
The Falcons only have three games left on their schedule before they start the playoffs. They are currently in second place in the conference and are not out of the race for the top spot. It might be only a slim chance as they are four points behind the Bruins, but the two teams do square off this weekend. If the Bruins are able to win that game, it will seal the conference for them. The AHL season comes to an end on Sunday, April 21st. Springfield closes their season on the road in Adirondack on Saturday, April 20th. Then it comes to the most exciting time of the hockey season, the playoffs which will be kicking off the following weekend. Springfield will hope to bring the Calder Cup home for the first time in franchise history.
Photo Credit: masslive.com
Wilmington, MA – It’s hard to return to normalcy after a tragedy strikes close to home. Less than 24 hours following the Boston Marathon Bombing, in a somber rink 30 minutes outside Boston, the Bruins did just that.
The team hit the ice for a full practice after the postponement of Monday evening’s contest against Ottawa and facing a Wednesday night tilt.
It may have been practice as usual on the ice, but the locker room atmosphere was not. Many players have worn the spoked Boston “B” for quite some time, celebrating triumphs and now sadly devastation within a city they call home and amongst a community that considers them a family.
It will be the black and gold that brings the Commonwealth together tomorrow evening in the first sporting event since the attack on Monday. It’s a task the players don’t take lightly. They’ll hope to provide joy if only for a moment as Boston looks to rebuild the faith one stride at a time.
While nations rally around Boston, players and teams from across the league have showed support with moments of silence before games and “Pray for Boston” scrawled across equipment, as just a few examples. As Herb Brooks once said, “The name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back,” and last night everyone was a Bruin, a Celtic, a Patriot, a Red Sock.
Bruins players reflected on yesterday’s events post practice, sharing the sentiment that although a game will be played tomorrow, Boston will remain at the forefront of their thoughts.
[tubepress video=”EMDF5djKyKE”]
[tubepress video=”ILQ5_jSraJ0″]
[tubepress video=”YSBYwpk6YZM”]
[tubepress video=”SOyuuoHorjA”]
[tubepress video=”RyJljTHYlTw”]
[tubepress video=”QOUDjxkTiD8″]
By Kelsie Plesac
Fans got a taste of what could possibly be a first round playoff match up on Monday at the United Center when the Blackhawks took on the Dallas Stars. The Blackhawks defeated the Stars 5-2 snapping Dallas’s five-game winning streak and adding to their own five-game winning streak. The Blackhawks struck first at 7:56 in the first period with captain Jonathan Toews’s 21st goal of the season. Marian Hossa and Brandon Saad registered assists.
Viktor Stalberg would double the lead with his 9th goal of the season at 12:14 in the second period. Michal Handzus and Andrew Shaw were credited with assists. The Stars would answer though at the 14:12 mark when Jamie Benn registered his 9th goal of the season. The goal was assisted by Ray Whitney.
Benn would strike again early in the third period with his 10th goal of the season, tying the score. Whitney was credited with another assist along with Alex Goligoski. The Blackhawks would soon regain their lead, however, with a Shaw goal at 4:31. The goal marked Shaw’s 9th of the season and was assisted by Patrick Kane. Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson would add to the Blackhawks lead at 7:46, tallying his second goal of the season and his first in 27 games. Hossa and Toews registered assists. In the final minute of the game Hossa would put the game away for Chicago registering his 16th goal of the season, an empty-netter.
The win takes the Hawks to 33-5-4 and the loss brings the Stars to 21-18-3. The Blackhawks will have three days of rest before facing the Nashville Predators for the last time in the regular season Friday night in Chicago.
On days like today, no words can fill the void felt among us. As many of you know, the city of Boston was struck by tragedy at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
We here at The Pink Puck hold Boston close to our hearts, with quite a few of our writers, myself included hailing from Boston and it’s surrounding suburbs. We can’t express our thoughts as well as we may like, that being said- please keep Boston in your hearts and thoughts, we certainly will be.
In light of the tragedy and concern for safety in the city of Boston, the NHL made the correct decision in postponing tonight’s tilt between the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators. A re-scheduled date has yet to be announced although speculation surrounds the date of April 28th.
Bruins President Cam Neely issued the following statement today, April 15, regarding the postponement of Monday’s game against Ottawa:
“After consultation with City, State and NHL officials we collectively
made the decision to postpone tonight’s game. Public safety personnel
from the City and State are still gathering information regarding
today’s events and it is vital they have all resources available for
their investigation. The thoughts and prayers of everyone in the Bruins
organization are with the city of Boston and all those affected by
today’s tragedy.”
Photo: Linkoping
In what has been a stressful week for Bruins fans with the temporary loss of Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, Boston has found themselves on Soderberg watch. Fans hemmed and hawed at the potential loss of the yet another player, when it was ruled by Sweden that Soderberg couldn’t come to the NHL.
Well, the watching can finally cease and fans can collectively sigh relief. Boston announced the signing of the Swedish forward yesterday to a three-year, one-way contract through the 2014-15 season. Soderberg will join the team for Wednesday’s tilt against Buffalo at the TD Garden; with eligibility to play in the remaining regular season games and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli issued the following statement in regards to Soderberg:
“We are fortunate to get a player like Carl at this stage of the season.
I would like to thank the President of the Linkoping hockey club, Mike
Helber and their GM, Johan Hemlin, in playing a significant part in
allowing Carl to play for the Boston Bruins. Carl is a big strong two
way center who can also play wing. We look forward to him joining our
team this week.”
Prev1...365366367...412Next 
Page 366 of 412
