Posted by admin on 10th, 2008
Ross McKeon of Yahoo! Sports has released the weeks power rankings, this week based on the people between the pipes, the netminders. While it’s no surprise who leads the pack with regards to rankings, you might be surprised to ended up quite a way down the list.
The San Jose Sharks lead the pack with the Evgeni Nabokov / Brian Boucher combination. Boucher actually has a better GAA and SV% than Nabokov.
Coming in at #2 are the Boston Bruins who are led by the Tim Thomas / Manny Fernandez combination.
Third place belongs to the annual-cup-contenders, the Detroit Red Wings who have managed to get by with Chris Osgood actually being off his game. Backup Ty Conklin has been solid at his role.
The surprises?
For me, no bigger surprise than to see the Tampa Bay Lightning at #30. Mike Smith is the only reason that team hasn’t been beaten back into the 1700’s! Just ahead of the Lightning are the Islanders who, fair enough, have suffered from medical issues for starter Rick DiPietro. Backup Joey MacDonald has been spectacular and is starting to show he’s ready to challenge for DiPietro’s starter role. Right in the middle of the pack see’s the Vancouver Canucks sitting in spot #15. The Canucks have what is considered by many the best netminder in the league, Roberto Luongo.
View the full Power Rankings by visiting Ross McKeon’s column on Yahoo! Sports.
Technorati Tags: nhl, ice hockey, power rankings
Posted by admin on 4th, 2008
Avery Alert: With so much news surrounding the Sean Avery situation, our new section “Avery Alert” will bring you all the news comments you need in one handy location. Don’t worry though, this section will only last a short time and will stop once we all get sick off hearing about Avery.
- Avery to meet with Bettman and the NHL Thursday.
The date of the hearing has been set; this Thursday. Avery will travel to New York to face the NHL. Stars co-GM Brett Hull is said to be traveling with Avery. (The Full Story on TSN)
- No Way Out For Avery
Ross McKeon of Yahoo! Sports breaks down the Avery situation and explains that there may be no way for Avery to come out of this in a good position. (The Full Story on Yahoo)
- Avery Apologises to NHL, Team, Ex’s
Avery’s publicist wasted no time in drafting a well written apology. (The Full Story on Yahoo)
- NHL Suspends Avery Indefinitely
After making the “sloppy seconds” comment, the NHL quickly jumped in and indefinitely suspended the agitator. (The Full Story on TSN)
News
- Fan injured in fall at Senators game
A male fan was injured at Scotiabank Place on Wednesday during the Ottawa Senators’ 5-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers after falling from the top level of the arena. The man, who Senators president Roy Mlakar stated was not inebriated, originally fell over in row D of the 300 level. He then plummeted into row D of the 200 level, falling on a woman who also sustained injuries. Mlakar believes the man was not seriously hurt. (The Full Story on Yahoo)
- Canes Sack Peter Laviolette
Carolina fired Peter Laviolette on Wednesday. The Hurricanes brought back Paul Maurice to take over as coach, and moved assistant general manager Ron Francis behind the bench as Maurice’s associate coach. Laviolette led the team to the 2006 Stanley Cup title. He’s the career victory leader among U.S.-born coaches.
Trades & Transactions:
- Anaheim acquired defenseman Logan Stephenson from Phoenix on Wednesday for left wing Joakim Lindstrom. Stephenson will report to Iowa of the AHL.
Injuries:
- Brian Rolston (NJ Devils) – Expected back thursday.
- Joe Sakic (C – Avalanche) Expected to miss 6 weeks.
- Marian Gaborik (Wild) Not yet ready to return.
Rumours & Gossip:
- What to do with Avery?
Rumours are ripe that Avery has played his last game in a Stars jersey. If that’s the case, there are a few options the team has, which include: Demoting him to the minors, buying out his contract, looking for a trade, or going through legal channals to void his contract. Either way, if it’s true that Avery is on the out, this could mean a very positive thing for the team.
- Havlat on the block?
After recent changes which ended up with Martin Havlat being demoted to the teams 3rd line, speculation suggests the Hawks could be looking to move him at some stage.
Scores:
- Pittsburgh Penguins 2 – 3 NY Rangers (Shootout)
- Atlanta Thrashers 1 – 5 Ottawa Senators
- St Louis Blues 0 – 4 Minnesota Wild
- Anaheim Ducks 2 – 4 Chicago Blackhawks
- Dallas Stars 2 – Edmonton Oilers 5
Source: NHL.com, Yahoo! Sports, TSN
Posted by admin on 27th, 2008
30 Teams Play in 1 day – the stats
Ross McKeon of Yahoo! Sports has a fantastic article today in which he breaks down October 26, the 2nd day in NHL history were all 30 teams played in the same day. Accoring to McKeon, on October 26…
- The home team earned two points in nine games, the visitors snatched a pair of points in six. Five of the 15 games needed more than 60 minutes to decide as two ended in sudden death and three required a shootout.
- Philadelphia’s Jeff Carter at 3:44 and Washington’s Alexander Semin at 2:17, both even-strength goals, accounted for the winners in sudden death.
- Fredrik Sjostrom of the Rangers, Ryan Smyth of the Avalanche and Marian Hossa of the Red Wings scored the deciding goals in shootouts. Henrik Lundqvist, Peter Budaj and Ty Conklin were the winning goalies. In all, shooters went 9-for-24 in the shootouts.
- A total of 96 goals were scored in regulation and overtime of the 15 games. Three goals came short-handed (Anaheim’s Travis Moen, Ottawa’s Dean McAmmond and Sean Bergenheim of the Islanders) and one filled an empty net (Jarome Iginla).
- Ten of the 15 games were decided by one goal. Four goals was the largest margin of victory (St. Louis 4-0 over Florida).
- The power play was very good across the board. Teams combined to covert 30 of 127 chances for 23.6 percent, well above the league average. Vancouver cashed in most, going 4-for-6. The Islanders had the most power-play chances, but went just 1-for-8.
- A total of 460 penalty minutes were assessed of which 120 minutes accounted for the 12 fights. New Jersey and Philadelphia, division rivals meeting for the second time in as many days, featured the most bouts with four. The Devils and Flyers accrued the most combined minutes (80) while the Blue Jackets-Wild and Sabres-Avalanche combined for the least (12 each game).
- There were a combined 984 shots on goal during regulation and overtime. Carolina’s Cam Ward faced the most. He stopped 57 of the New York Islanders’ franchise-record 60. Florida managed the fewest, only 17 on the road in St. Louis. Five teams replaced their starting goalies because of either injury or ineffectiveness including Montreal, Los Angeles, Columbus, St. Louis and the New York Islanders. Montreal’s Tomas Plekanec led the world with 13 shots (three others were judged to be missed shots). Bill Guerin of the Islanders was in double figures, too, with 10 shots.
- There were a grand total of 872 faceoffs. Detroit and Chicago visited the circle the most (82) while San Jose and Tampa combined for the least draws (46). Boston’s Marc Savard (14-4), Vancouver’s Ryan Kessler (16-6), Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour (15-5) and Washington’s Boyd Gordon (13-4) had strong nights on faceoffs while Phoenix’s Olli Jokinen (4-13), Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf (4-15) and Edmonton’s Shawn Horcoff (9-18) struggled.
- Teams extended winning streaks (Colorado to five in a row, Detroit to four, Anaheim and Calgary to three and Philadelphia to two) and extended losing streaks (Islanders to three in a row) and had streaks snapped (Montreal had won five in a row, Pittsburgh had won two straight and Washington had lost three in a row).
- The 15 games drew nine capacity crowds. The United Center in Chicago housed the biggest showing, a franchise-record 22,690 to see the 698th all-time meeting between the rival Red Wings and Blackhawks. The smallest crowd was an announced 11,219 gathering at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island for the Hurricanes and Islanders. A total of 267,729 attended the 15 games for an average of 17,849 per contest.
- The biggest minute-muncher on Saturday was Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom with 32:01 of ice time. Buffalo’s young defenseman Andrej Sekera was the only other skater in the league to log more than 30 minutes (30:44). Philadelphia’s Riley Cote (1:34) and New Jersey’s Mike Rupp (1:44) saw the least amount of ice time.
- Of miscellaneous note, Calgary traveled the most miles (1,600 from Nashville to Glendale, Ariz.) while New Jersey traveled the least (less than 100 miles to Philly). … The 30 bench bosses combined for more than 180 seasons of NHL head coaching experience. … Tampa Bay’s Gary Roberts (42 years, five months, two days) was the oldest player performing and Atlanta’s Zach Bogosian (18 years, three months, 10 days) was the youngest.
Injury Updates:
- Islanders G DiPietro questionable Vs Rangers
New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro will see a doctor on Monday for an undisclosed injury and is questionable to play that night against the New York Rangers.
- Red Wings LW Franzen out 3-4 weeks
Red Wings forward Johan Franzen will be out for three to four weeks because of a sprained left knee, the team said Sunday.
- Blues G Bishop injured Vs Panthers
St. Louis Blues goaltender Ben Bishop left Saturday’s 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers in the third period with a lower body injury and did not return. Bishop made 12 saves without yielding a goal before being replaced by Marek Schwarz, who was recalled from Peoria of the American Hockey League earlier in the day.
- Blue Jackets G Leclaire suffers ankle injury
Leclaire left Saturday’s game 5:24 into the second period with an ankle injury, the Associated Press reports.
- Joni Pitkanen: Leg Injury
Pitkanen sustained a leg injury late in the second period of Saturday’s
game against the Islanders, and did not return to action.
- Maple Leafs Jeff Finger back in action
Finger (foot) made his regular-season debut with the Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
- Hurricanes C Sutter leaves hospital after concussion
Carolina Hurricanes center Brandon Sutter left a Long Island hospital on Sunday after suffering a concussion during Saturday’s 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders.
Game Results:
- No games were played today.
Source: Yahoo! Sports | TSN.ca | ESPN | NHL.com
Technorati Tags: nhl, ice hockey, game results, trade rumours, trade rumors, nhl contracts
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Posted by admin on 12th, 2008
Todays article by Ross McKeon of Yahoo! Sports is all about the Brad Richards trade to the Dallas Stars, and talks about how Richards shines during the post season. Richards fit into the Dallas system didn’t come easy however. After a career best 5pt game in his first appearance for the Stars, the star forward went the next 11 games with only a handful of points.
“It was a lot tougher than I ever imagined,” Richards said in preparation for Saturday’s Game 2 of a best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series the Stars lead over the Anaheim Ducks. “The last couple of weeks I wasn’t doing anything wrong but I wasn’t doing anything right either. I had clogged my head with too many things. It’s tough when you get traded and your new team loses. It’s a new experience for me.”
- Yahoo! Sports
And then there was 2 days ago in Anaheim, in the Dallas Stars post season opener against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks. A game that saw the Stars, with Richards assistance win by a convincing 4-0 shutout.
…Tippett said it was Richards’ best game as a member of the team, and that includes the Feb. 28 score-a-thon against the Chicago Blackhawks.
“It’s like when a traded player finishes up and comes back the next season. Everything comes easier, and that’s what we’re looking for right now,” Tippett said. “And (Game 1) was a byproduct of that transition from one phase to another.”
- Yahoo! Sports
Anaheim Ducks players and coaches alike had nothing but praise for Richards after his impact on Game 1 of the series.
“You’re talking about an MVP of the playoffs, we’re not talking about a player who doesn’t know how to get around the rink,” Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said.
“He’s one of those guys who can cause everyone a lot of headaches when they’re on the ice because it’s up to everybody to play smart and be in position to protect breakout passes and stuff like that,” Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer added.
- Yahoo! Sports
Game 2 between the 2 clubs starts this evening, and the Stars can be sure to see a much more physical and determined Ducks team than they did in game 1.
Posted by admin on 12th, 2008
Joe Pavelski and Milan Michalek led the San Jose Sharks to a new record tonight, defeating the Nashville Predators 2-1 on the road. The win, the Sharks 10th in row has them sitting atop the Pacific Division, 1 point ahead of the Dallas Stars and 4 points ahead of the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Anaheim Ducks.
The Sharks, 10-0-0 in their last 10 games have been surging since acquiring Brian Campbell from Buffalo at the Trade Deadline. They have been favorites to win the cup since the beginning of the season, and are starting to make the push at the right time of the season.
Ross McKeon commented in his latest column…
“It is a battle in that Pacific Division,” said Joe Thornton, the team’s leading scorer. “I believe we’re going real good right now, and it’s a good time to play those good teams and see how good we actually are.”
Three key factors have put San Jose on track. First, Jonathan Cheechoo is healthy. Second, Patrick Marleau rediscovered his game. And last, the addition of defenseman Brian Campbell at the trade deadline added a new dimension to the team.
- Yahoo! Sports
Threatening the Sharks for the Division Title are the Dallas Stars who are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games. The Stars made big news recently by acquiring Brad Richards from Tampa Bay in a blockbuster move at the Trade Deadline. The Stars have been leading the Division for the last month, but a few recent losses now see them having to compete hard to win the Division.
4 points back from the Sharks sit the Anaheim Ducks, who have also started to make a push. They are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. The Ducks have been on again off again however and will need to push harder if they wish to compete with the Sharks and Stars.
The Sharks have 2 games in hand over both the Stars and the Ducks which could put them a few points ahead of their Division Rivals come the end of March.
Posted by admin on 27th, 2008
Ross McKeon of Yahoo! Sports has been busy today, grading all 30 teams of the NHL according to how they did with the Trade Deadline.
It may come as a suprise to some that Dallas and Pittsburgh, the 2 teams who made the blockbuster trades yesterday are graded so differently.
McKeon grades the Dallas Stars at #1, citing their trade as “the big strike”.
1. Dallas Stars – Grade: A+: The Stars made the big strike by acquiring arguably the best player available for now and moving forward. Center Brad Richards was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner when Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup in 2004. He’s 27, skilled and durable – just a perfect fit for any team. Never mind that $7.8 million owed for each of the next three years. The Stars parted with backup goalie Mike Smith, who may emerge as a No. 1 with the Lightning, Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern and a fourth-round pick. Dallas did not have to surrender any of its young defense, another key. That deal makes a lot more sense than what Pittsburgh gave up to Atlanta in the day’s other blockbuster.
The Pittsburgh Penguins however, failed to gain such a high ranking, coming in at #22 with a D+ grade.
22. Pittsburgh Penguins – Grade: D+: No one can accuse the Penguins of being shy at the deadline. Pittsburgh changed more than any team by adding three players and deleting two from the roster and one from the pipeline and parting with three draft picks in two separate deals. Pittsburgh got rental Marian Hossa to play alongside either Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby. They got versatile and dependable Pascal Dupuis in the same deal with Atlanta but surrendered young, popular teammates Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen and prospect Angelo Esposito. You have to wonder what team chemistry will form out of all these moves. In addition, Hal Gill comes aboard to add size and a physical element on defense. First-, second- and fifth-round picks were dealt away.
Filling out the top 10 are:
2. Atlanta Thrashers – Grade: A
3. Washington Capitals – Grade: A-
4. Colorado Avalanche – Grade: B+
5. San Jose Sharks – Grade: B
6. Columbus Blue Jackets – Grade: B
7. Carolina Hurricanes – Grade: B
8. Chicago Blackhawks – Grade: B
9. New York Rangers – Grade: B-
10. Buffalo Sabres – Grade: B-
