Tortorella fired as coach of Tampa Bay Lightning

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Tortorella fired as coach of Tampa Bay Lightning - NHL - Yahoo! Sports

It comes as not surprise to those who have been watching the Tampa Bay Lightning over the last few weeks.  Now, it’s officially confirmed.  Tortorella has been fired as head coach of the Lightning, opening up yet another head coach position around the NHL.

It is rumored that former LA Kings coach Barry Melrose is interested in the job.

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Ribeiro Shines as Stars Losing Streak Ends

Losing 8 of the last 9 games is never a good thing, especially in the month of March.  That’s exactly the position the Dallas Stars were in going into todays battle with division rivals, the Los Angeles Kings. Fresh in the minds of the Stars was the devastating and embarrassing 4-2 loss to the Kings last week.  In that game, the Stars led 2-1 right up to the last minutes, and then went on to give up 3 quick goals. Also fresh in their minds was the knowledge that with just 5 games left in the season, more losses could easily mean not making the playoffs.

After a few minutes and a goal by Dallman to put the Kings up 1-0 it looked as those this game could end up like other recent ones.  That, fortunately for the Stars was not the case, and this was the closest the Kings ever got to competing with the Stars.  At the 13th minute point, Stars defenseman Stephan Robidas tied the game, taking the 1-1 score to the first break.

During the second and third periods the Stars shone bright.  The second period saw 4 goals by the Stars, including goals by Stu Barnes, Brenden Morrow and a duo by Loui Eriksson.  The third perid blasted away with Jere Lehtinen, and then Niklas Hagman net a goal each.  Kings forward Michael Cammalleri slipped one past Turco in the closing minutes, but the damage was already done.

“This is something to build on, and we need more of the same. We’re in a lockdown mode,” goaltender Marty Turco said. “The beauty of the whole game was not the score, but how the game went down—just the relentlessness of every period and every facet of the game. It’s great to see. But that’s what we expect, really. Today was a great example of what we need to do every shift from now on.”
- Yahoo! Sports

The Stars ended the game with a very convincing 7-2 victory, with 3 points games from Mike Ribeiro (3A) and Stephan Robidas (1G 2A) and go into tomorrows game against division rivals the Anaheim Ducks brimming with confidence.

* Photo courtesy of Dallas Stars 

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Trade Deadline Mania

As the February 26 Trade Deadline approaches more and more people will find themselves glued to their TVs, Newspapers, Radios and Computers waiting to hear any news on trades.  Not during any other time of the year do we see this kind of absolute mania.

It’s not without reason though.  Just look at last year and how, in the closing minutes of the Trade Deadline there was movement galore across the league.  This year we don’t expect to be any different.

But the question, before any of this happens, is what position are specific teams in; Buyers or Sellers?  Or, in the case of teams with low cap space, both.

Take the top 3 teams in each conference.  In the east, Ottawa, New Jersey & Carolina are only holding their spots by 2 points or less.  In the West there is a little more space with Detroit, Dallas & Minnesota.

Ottawa Senators:  Ottawa have come back to life since the return of Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson.  Many believe Ottawa will remain quiet after having already traded away Joe Corvo & Patrick Eaves to the Carolina Hurricanes.  If the Senators do make moves, look for them to be buyers.

New Jersey Devils:  New Jersey have been strong over their last 10 games (7-1-2).  Zack Parise leads the team in Goals, Assists & Points.  There are rumours that the Devils are keen to pick up Marian Hossa, however this is to be seen.  I don’t personally see them making many moves at the deadline, but if they do they could be buyers for either a solid defenseman or another scorer up front.

Carolina Hurricanes: Having already made a 2 player trade with Ottawa, giving up Mike Commodore & Cory Stillman, the Hurricanes may not be very active come the deadline.  If they do, i see them making picking up a 2-way scorer up front.

Detroit Red Wings: Detroit have recently come off a 6 game losing skid, which revealed to the rest of the league that they are not unbeatable.  It became clear during that skid that the Red Wings could do with both another scorer up front and another solid defenseman at the blue line.  A potential buy/sell trade scenario could be possible here.

Dallas Stars: Co-GMs Brett Hull & Les Jackson have been 2 of the busiest GMs in the league over the last few weeks, having scouted almost every team looking for that special person.  Initially it was believed the Stars would be looking for a scoring winger to play with Mike Modano, but it’s possible the Stars could be looking for a solid scoring 2nd line center instead.  Modano has been playing solid defensive hockey and would make a killer scoring checking line center, a role the Stars currently have as the 2nd line.  If they do pick up a center, look for Modano to keep the Powerplay minutes, and remain an 18min average ice time guy.

Minnesota Wild:  Minnesota have a solid forward pack, with the only concern being Marian Gaborik being prone to injuries.  The Wild may look to pick up a scoring winger just in case Gaborik goes down.

Special Mention:

Phoenix Coyotes:  The Yotes have been making a run for the playoffs all season and currently hold a very unstable 8th spot in the West.  The Coyotes rely on youth rather than big names, so it’s really hard to say what Wayne Gretzky’s team will do come the Trade Deadline.  I do see the Yotes making moves to buy both a reliable scorer and also another solid blueliner.  They do have a LOT of cap space, so it’s possible they could be a big player in the coming days.

Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins sniffed the playoffs last year and liked what they smelt.  Malkin has stepped up with Crosby out due to injury, so it’s hard to say what they might do.  They have a lot of cap space to work with, so maybe strengthening their blueline could be the way they go.

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