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Game 7
Hurricanes Win the Stanley Cup "I don't think they sat down the whole game. I don't think they stopped yelling the whole game. And they are Caniacs," exulted Peter Laviolette after his club's game seven victory over the very game Edmonton Oilers. Commissioner Gary Bettman was succinct. "Peter Karmanos thought that the NHL belonged in Carolina. Peter Karmanos was right," smiled Bettman, who then handed the Stanley Cup to Rod Brind'Amour. Sweet vindication for a club that struggled mightily to grab a toehold in college basketball and NASCAR land. Critics be damned, the NHL's last two champions have come from the Southeast division! The Carolina Hurricanes, who moved from Hartford, Connecticut to Carolina in 1997-98, stormed through the regular season, then made two very astute moves in acquiring Doug Weight and Mark Recchi at the deadline. Ducks in a row, they hit the playoffs figuring that they would ride Martin Gerber, and who wouldn't, considering how he tore through the regular season? As fate would have it, they were down 2-0 to Montreal in round one, in came rookie Cam Ward and the rest is history. Ward captured the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP. One for the ages, this final went down to the very last two minutes, when Jason Williams tore in alone and put the puck in an empty net, sealing the Oilers fate, 3-1. In game seven, it was pretty simple, yet very dramatic. The Oilers could not establish their offense in the offensive zone through the first thirty minutes. Late in the second, they then blew a 5-3 power play with the 'Canes leading 2-0. After forty minutes, the Oilers were outshot 21-13. The 'Canes had fed off the energy from their home crowd, then got a game seven lift from the swift, well-rested legs of Erik Cole, and won this contest in the first forty. The Oilers then came alive at the top of the third period, playing exactly how they should have for the first forty minutes. Two or three skaters crashing the net. Shots (10 in the third) followed by rebounds. Cam Ward was brilliant in the third, but Oiler faithful had to be frustrated by the Oil's inability to play the first two periods (when the game was decided, as it turned out) the same way they played the third. In the end, Frank Kaberle and Aaron Ward would provide nice surprises; two different defensemen scoring the 'Canes first two goals. Major confidence boost there. Too little, too late for the Oilers, who couldn't stay out of the penalty box in game seven. Kaberle's goal was a power play marker, and in return, the Oilers did themselves no favors by going 0-4 with the man advantage. Edmonton's Jussi Markkanen deserves special recognition, having made numerous big saves throughout the series. Even in game two, when the Oilers lost, 5-0 in Carolina, Markkanen did a tremendous job helping the Oilers overcome the loss of Dwayne Roloson, who injured an MCL in game one.
FROM NHL: HURRICANES’ CAM WARD CAPTURES CONN
SMYTHE TROPHY AS PLAYOFF MVP FACTS from NHL:
STILLMAN WINS CONSECUTIVE STANLEY CUPS WITH DIFFERENT CLUBS Hurricanes LW Cory Stillman, a member of the Stanley Cup-champion Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, is the first player since Claude Lemieux to win the Stanley Cup with different clubs in consecutive seasons. Lemieux was a member of the 1995 New Jersey Devils and 1996 Colorado Avalanche.
Stanley Cup Wins By Current NHL Clubs (since
1917-18)
HURRICANES WHO HAVE WON MULTIPLE STANLEY CUPS
REMEMBER THE WHALE They moved from Hartford, Connecticut, where they were an invisible franchise lurking in the shadows of New York, and New Jersey. They had some great players over the years, but no playoff success, where memories are built and the club makes its greatest imprints on the larger league. Ron Francis, Pat Verbeek, Ray Neufeld, Mike Rogers, Blaine Stoughton, Brendan Shanahan, Glen Wesley, Andre Lacroix, Mark, Marty and Gordie Howe. Mike Liut. Hey, even Chris Pronger was a Whaler. They wore those green jerseys with the big "W" and they even wore Cooperalls (as did the Flyers) for a while in the early 80s. Hats off to Hartford Whalers and their fans everywhere!
Game 5
Not only did Pisani (Playoffs - 22GP; 12-3-15 PTS; 4 GWG) score his twelfth goal of this playoff season, he scored his fourth game winner. Amidst talk about Conn Smythe winners, it's an appropriate reminder that Pisani served up last night. He's tied with Rod Brind'Amour for top goal getter. With the Edmonton power play sputtering (Hemsky managed one tonight), it was a sweet turn of events for the maligned Oiler special teams. Shawn Horcoff was asked what he thought of Fernando. " Huge. Obviously stepping up, getting big goal for us. For it to be shorthanded is a bigger boost," said Horcoff."(Pisani's) got the touch right now. Always been a guy that's had a great shot and he has got lots of confidence right now and he's scoring huge goals for us. Obviously none bigger than tonight." Pisani's first goal of the night opened the scoring just sixteen seconds into the contest on an even-strength goal. Defenseman Steve Staios sees the Oilers' even strength play as a positive on which to build."Hopefully we can clean up our PK (penalty kill) a little bit because we feel five-on-five we're starting to take over." Steve Staois said. The Oilers are homeward bound for Game Six on Saturday (8PM ET/5PM PT; CBC/NBC). "We wanted to come in here, steal a game and bring it back to Edmonton where we're pretty good at home. So if we can go back and play similar style hopefully we can force a Game 7." Correction, Shawn. It's not stolen if it's earned. Pisani Not es Courtesy NHL:
Passing thought: Notice that in the New NHL, we never hear the argument that the "talent pool is diluted" anymore. Guess it never was. Hmm....What do you think? Email us!
Game 4 Some of the Oilers must have had a rough night late last night, must have been tossing and turning...they've heard it before, it's an old adage. Appropriately, the phrase was coined by none other then Wayne Gretzky, the Greatest Oiler of Them All: "100 percent of the shots you don't take, don't go in." It's a simple concept, made difficult by Carolina's dedicated backcheckers and defenders, who did an excellent job clogging the slot, forcing the Oilers to shoot from the perimeter. After Ryan Smyth's game winner in game 3, one would expect the 'Canes to play tough in their zone. However, the Oilers managed only eight shots in the first and second periods, then only five in the third. The Oilers also went 0-5 on the power play, all in the first two periods. Then, the composed Hurricanes (and they are a patient, composed club) stayed out of the penalty box for the entire third. Most of the Oilers spent the night looking for another pass, and in the end, it was their undoing. You would think that they would have figured out that they needed to hurl the rock at the net from all angles. Better yet for the 'Canes, Mark Recchi and Eric Staal got off the schneid and on the scoring sheet (Recchi with one goal, Staal with two assists). Cory Stillman scored again, further proof of his playoff prowess, as he stands on the verge of two titles with two different clubs in two consecutive seasons. Game five at home should do it for the 'Canes. What in the name of Blaine Stoughton?! The Whaler/Hurricanes are one win from a Stanley Cup!
"It hit my shaft. It hit my chest," Oiler Ryan Smyth explained of his game-winning goal. Talk about stars "stepping up" and being stars. Smyth was that tonight. His game winner came in the crease, just another in a long career spent in, near, around over and above the crease. It's where Smyth makes his living, his name, his legend. "It was a gritty goal, but hey, it counts," said Smyth. Gritty wins Cups, and Smyth is Phil Esposito with wheels.
"The puck was batted out of the air by the goalie, it bounced off of the Edmonton player and went into the net," Steven Walkom, NHL SVP and Director of Officiating. Edmonton's Jussi Markkanen stopped 24 of 25 shots. "The 'D' blocked a lot of shots, especially in the end and that helps. But I got to give a lot of credit to our forwards for coming back and helping because Carolina's forwards are really skillful and if they get a lot of room, they can capitalize on their chances," said Markkanen. Carolina goaltender Cam Ward gave his club every chance to win, stopping 28 of 30 Edmonton shots. The Oilers woke up and realized that they needed to get a wider variety of shot angles, really needed to throw the puck at Ward from as many angles as possible. They did, and they also played better in the slot, crowding it more than in game two, when they were forced to the perimeter more often in the 5-0 shutout loss. The home game also helped the Oilers get the matchups they wanted. Brind'Amour was up against the Raffi Torres/Michael Peca/Fernando Pisani line. In games one and two, Brind'Amour went up against Ryan Smyth more often when Carolina coach Peter Laviolette had the last word on line changes in Raleigh. The 'Canes proved to be their squirrely selves when Brind'Amour was in the right spot at the right time and banged home the game-tying goal halfway through the third. Brind'Amour's ability to be in the right place at the right time is a quality that can win a Cup. Tonight, he benefited from Jason Smith taking a painful puck to the chest, which he pounced on and banged home. In a losing effort, the Brind'Amour goal should help keep Hurricane confidence up. They held the Oilers to just one goal for over two periods and managed to tie the game. For game four, Eric Staal, Doug Weight and Ray Whitney will have to prove their own mettle as stars for the 'Canes. Like the Smyth goal, it was a power forward goal, which is what both Smyth and Brind'Amour epitomize. Both love the slot, the front of the net, both pay the price, both get to play in a Cup final. It's justice for two deserving players. It's great entertainment for the rest of us. Game four Monday in Edmonton: (8PM ET/5PM PT). Game 3 Select Stats: Blocked Shots Shots MORE QUICK SHOTS:
Game 2 June 8, 2006 -- Last night, the Hurricanes glided to a 5-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. On the power play, they're better. They're better at staying out of the penalty box and have remained composed. Three of ten on the power play, these 'Canes were on Wednesday night. They're looking precise, while the Oilers are still searching for quality shots. They clog the middle, yet the Oilers have not figured out that it's time to start launching shots from every angle of the ice. Certainly from the faceoff circles, and certainly anything from the top of the slot is welcome. Veterans: The Hurricanes have some sturdy veterans who are outplaying the Oilers. Cory Stillman, Matt Cullen, Mark Recchi, Doug Weight, are all outplaying similar forwards on Edmonton, including Shawn Horcoff, Michael Peca (what happened to the hands he found), Sergei Samsonov, Ethan Moreau and Raffi Torres. As for the stars, Ryan Smyth and Ales Hemsky looked okay in game two, but unfortunately for the Oilers, Eric Staal's star power outshined theirs. In general, and all over the ice, the Hurricanes have taken command of play in the last four periods, since Edmonton built a 3-0 lead that they have now so famously squandered. How lucky can the Hurricanes be, though, the question remains? In the conference final their opponent was missing one half to two thirds of its defense. Now, their finals opponent is without its starting goalie. Edmonton is good at home, so taking the next two is not out of the question. The Rexall Place crowd might be the tonic for the Oilers to turn their game around. A change of scheme is necessary. Hockeytalk game 3 prescription for the Oilers: 35 shots on net AT LEAST. Stick with Markkanen in net. Find a new route for the defensemen to clear the zone. Put a speed guy on Stillman. The rest is desire.
NEIL SMITH AND TED NOLAN
Neil Smith (friend of Hockeytalk -- see Hockeytalk Audio) is hired as GM of the Islanders, the club that drafted him in 1974. Smith, long before winning the Stanley Cup with the Rangers in 1994, played for the club before moving into management in the late 70s. Later, Smith joined Jimmy Devellano in jumping from the Islanders to Mike Illitch's Detroit Red Wings. From there, it's the stuff of legend: Smith plays a role in the scouting and drafting Steve Yzerman, Nick Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov and countless others, then moves on to New York for his legendary claiming of the Cup after 54 years. Listen to Neil's recent Hockeytalk Audio feature. Includes memories of Russian defectors and the price of freedom. Great stuff!
Click here to listen NOLAN AND THE RACE CARD: The Islanders are also said to be bringing Ted Nolan on board as coach, which creates an interesting media angle. Nolan claimed he couldn't get a job due to racism. He might have to defend that one. It always seemed somewhat fantastical to most observers. To his credit, Nolan is a Jack Adams winner and certainly merits another shot. Funny that Nolan and Smith couldn't get work for so long. Funnier still that Nolan had a "race" card to play. Smith didn't. Looks like merit trumps Nolan's opinion about his predicament. --ED. Game 7: Say no more. June 1, 2006 -- The Buffalo Sabres have been a resilient bunch, to say the least, this playoff season. Tuesday night in Buffalo, they outdid themselves, winning in overtime over Carolina, 2-1. Every Stanley Cup winner has stories to tell about thresholds crossed, mountains climbed, new challenges met. The Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres, regardless who goes on to meet the Edmonton Oilers for the Cup, have a supply of these types of stories, growing on an every-other-day basis. The 'Canes will talk of overcoming a 3-1 Buffalo lead to seal game five at home in overtime. The Sabres will talk of a depleted defense corps (have you ever seen such wreckage?) causing four healthy pros to go the distance in a game six overtime victory of their own. The 'Canes earlier spotted Montreal a two-game lead before triumphing in round one. The Sabres endured a series with Ottawa decided by one one-goal lead after another. These Eastern foes will have earned their trip to the Finals, just as surely as Edmonton did, when it toppled the Detroit Red Wings. In the upcoming final, it says here that the winner of the East will beat the West's best, regardless who wins on Thursday in Carolina. Game Seven Performers of Note: CAROLINA: MARK RECCHI has played four Game 7s in his career, and has scored two goals and two assists in those games. BUFFALO: CHRIS DRURY has two goals, both game-winners, in career Game 7s. Game Seven Tidbit: Four of the last six (1999-2004) Game 7 Conference Final winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup. Great Quotes: BUFFALO COACH LINDY RUFF: …Pretty arrogant bunch (Carolina), you know, they want to blame it on ice, they want to blame it on officiating. I said after the game in Carolina it was a tough call but I also said that J. P. shouldn't have put a stick on him. I by no means think that that penalty has been called all year long. Did he hit him from behind? Damn right he hit him from behind. Pominville has absolutely zero reputation except for working hard and trying to score goals. CAROLINA COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: I have no comments on Lindy. Get the gag order out. That's the only comment I have got. EDMONTON WAITS: COACH MACTAVISH, GM LOWE CONFERENCE CALL QUOTES WED May 31, 2006 Q. Can you just give me one quick comment about the comparisons to your club this year to 1990? Obviously, that was the post Wayne era and people didn't think the Oilers were going to go far. You rode a hot goalie kind of like you're doing now. Do you draw some parallels to that team? COACH MacTAVISH: Yeah, a lot of similarities I think. As you mentioned, both the emergence of Bill Ranford and in this run with Dwayne Roloson. Both goaltenders emerged during the playoffs, and both teams continued to get better during the course of the playoffs. It wasn't completely expected certainly that the 1990 Edmonton Oilers would have success in the postseason. It certainly wasn't expected for our recent run. But both teams got better as the playoffs progressed because of the nature and the level of the competition that they faced. And you know, I don't know whether I feel - I was pretty confident in 1990, and I'm getting more and more confident this year. Q. Congratulations guys. Can you talk about how important the new economic system was to the health of your team? GM KEVIN LOWE: Yeah. I think to not only us, but to many teams in the League, they really obviously Edmonton was one of the teams perhaps most vocal throughout the lockout. We I personally have lived it for a number of years, and thought the economics were getting to a point where it was getting increasingly difficult. I think the 24 percent rollback was the immediate dividend for a lot of teams. In our case, it allows us to - right away to go out and make a deal for a guy like Chris Pronger and then eventually Michael Peca. But I think none of us felt at the time that - or anybody in hockey - that the results would be immediate. What I liked about the new CBA was at least we knew there was a ceiling. At least we knew if we were competing with other teams that they could only go to a certain level in terms of comparison to players and arbitration and things like that. You know, it would be a little tighter, a little more restrictions on what teams could do so we could compete in that. More importantly, to be able to draft and develop players. And if we wanted to keep those players, we had the resolve economically to do that. We wouldn't be - our hands wouldn't be tied because other teams could go above and beyond what we could do. Q. Did you purposely give yourself kind of the flexibility and the wiggle room. You and Carolina both made big deals at the deadline because you had that space. How imperative was that? GM KEVIN LOWE: I personally had a lot of beliefs that the CBA was going to get done and it would be a much better deal than what existed previously. I don't think anyone could have predicted the end result. But we allowed ourselves room thinking ahead trying to envision what the new CBA would look like. We've always had a young team and a lower salaried team. So we are in that position. It's not like we had to work very hard it achieve that. But as this season moved on, talked about having wiggle room mostly from our budget standpoint. But the Canadian dollar helped out a lot this year. We knew that if we were in a position that we could make some deals, and that we had a little money to spend. Friesen's Ghost and Rookie Power Play Haunt DucksNote: MAY 23 - In Edmonton, Carlyle again sits Friesen for much of the game and went with the rookie forwards on the power play. Ducks lose, 5-4. What we wrote two days ago hold true again: ANAHEIM, May 21, 2006 -- Down 1-0 in their conference championship series against the Edmonton Oilers, coach Randy Carlyle assembled an all-rookie power play offensive front of Dustin Penner, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry as the club's second power play unit. I suppose it was kind of cute through the first two periods, but it started to get a bit ugly late in the game. Not that these three kids haven't earned an opportunity, but leaving veterans Todd Marchant and Jeff Friesen off the ice in favor of a bunch of kids was not the Ducks' strongest move by any means. The Duck power play was ineffective in game two, going zero for five. In game one, it managed to scrape together one goal on eight opportunities. Friesen and Marchant surely can bear down on their opportunities a lot better than the young trio Carlyle preferred Sunday. Friesen and Marchant could surely use a boost to their offensive efforts by getting some special teams time. Didn't happen, and the Duck power play struggled to the game's end, blowing its last opportunity midway through the third. Veteran experience is a far better gamble than the rookie mistake that the rookie coach made on Sunday night. Keep an eye on the Duck power play Tuesday night and Thursday. Let's see whether Carlyle gambles on a youthful special teams unit again. FRIESEN'S GHOSTLY ENTRANCE, EXITS: Hard to believe that a guy like Friesen, who famously scored the game winning goal for the New Jersey Devils in the 2003 Cup Final over these same Ducks, barely cracked the Duck lineup for nine minutes Sunday (Friesen played 9:02). Friesen, who saw time on a line with Samuel Pahlsson and Rob Niedermayer, scored the Ducks' lone goal. Then he was gone. Vapor. A ghost. He sat on the bench for a while, then the ghost reappeared for more tenacious play. Why Friesen is riding the pine most of the time is a curiosity. Only Teemu Selanne (5) and Joffrey Lupul (7) have more goals this playoff season than Friesen. Yet Friesen's a ghost while younger, less experienced players spend time on the power play and more time in even strength opportunities, too. That's the kind of night it was for the veteran forward, who has earned more ice time than many of the Ducks, having scored three goals in this playoff season and being more tenacious in the forecheck as well. If Friesen continues to be relegated to the bench, the Ducks may miss out on an opportunity to gain from his clutch play. Not only did he score their only goal Sunday, Friesen has five game-winning goals in NHL playoff game sevens (which is where the Ducks may have to win this series, if they are fortunate enough to survive Rexall Place). Finally, Peca Shoots, ScoresMay 20, 2006 I noted that he'd gotten it going in the past two games (scoring two goals). He corrected me. “A couple really nice goals, actually!” Michael Peca reminded me with a smile after Edmonton’s game one victory Friday night in Anaheim. Peca scored to help kill the Sharks in round two, and again in game one against the Ducks on a goal assisted by Oiler goaltender Dwayne Roloson. “Peca just picked up the puck at the blueline and made a good move on me,” said Mighty Ducks goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. “It’s not something you practice,” Peca said of the rare goal that is actually assisted by the goaltender, this time on a huge pass from Roloson. In the past two playoff contests, Peca has silenced critics like me who noted his low goal totals (71GP; 9-14-23) throughout the regular season. Peca’s goal pace was roughly once per month this year. Is Peca the second coming of Darren McCarty, who once scored five goals 01-02 during the regular season for the Wings, only to go on to score a hat trick in the Finals that year? Peca, a former Selke trophy winner, even wondered aloud whether he’d be “better off someplace else” earlier in the year. Surely, it was a somewhat frustrating campaign, offensively.
Ryan Smyth (right) (Drafted 1994; 4-8-12), Ales Hemsky (’01; 4-6-10), Shawn Horcoff (’98; 5-10-15) and Jarrett Stoll (’02; 4-4-8) represent a core group of forwards who bring a quality that doesn’t get a lot of press: Chemistry.GM Kevin Lowe is fielding a crop of guys who have all been drafted and developed in the same system, have now played at least three (and in Smyth’s case, eleven) years in the league. But through the “Old NHL” and “New NHL”, Lowe has been smart enough to keep this group of draftees together. 2003 pickup Raffi Torres (2-4-6) and 1999 acquisitions Ethan Moreau (0-1-1) and captain Jason Smith (24:10) have been around long enough to factor into the chemistry as well. This kind of familiarity brings the speedy Oilers a certain chemistry that helps considerably. Not too many clubs have kept so many key players in place and continued to rely on its homegrown talent for so long. Lowe is rightly rewarded with this deep push into the playoffs. BUFFALO BLOCKS ITS WAY TO GAME ONE WIN Teppo Numminnen, Rory Fitzpatrick, Toni Lydman, Jay McKee and Brian Campbell all blocked between four and six shots apiece. Speaks volumes about how the Sabres beat the Hurricanes in game one of the East final.
Muckler's
No Geek: NHL isn't "Fantasy Hockey" I'm bitchy today, eh? On to happier topics!
From 1974 until his trade from the club in 1981, Gare exemplified leadership. As John Van Boxmeer told Hockeytalk Audio Features, "You want to talk about a leader? Danny Gare was the epitome of a leader," said the former King assistant and Sabre player. "He did whatever the team needed to win, whether it was a goal, a fight, often against bigger guys." Chris Drury represents the tonic the Sabres have been looking for since that fateful day in May 1975 when Bernie Parent shut down a superior Sabre club. Drury has, this playoff season, responded with an overtime game winner and the Sabres' key second goal in their game five victory over the Sens. Drury (11GP; 6-7-13) is a Stanley Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche, and a Hobey Baker Trophy winner. They brought him to Buffalo for his winning psyche. After two rounds, it sure looks like it's working.
MAY 12, 2006 --
"We're very aware how good a team that is," said Sabres defenseman Jay McKee.
"The first three games could've gone either way with just one bounce. So I don't
think it's a matter of being too relaxed. We wanted this tonight, but that's a
great hockey team over there. They're going to win games. Sabre fans are on pins and needles now. The toughest job in any series is delivering the knockout blow. The Sabres, after being up, 3-0, now are holding steady at 3-1. Despite the fact that it's only been done twice before, the Sens could come back in this razor-thin margined series. The Sabres say that they know that. Here's hoping that they do. They didn't lose by much, just one goal, but they won games one through three by the same margin. This series could go either way! WE PICKED 'EM! Got to applaud the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for moving on to the Western Conference final vs the Oilers or Sharks. Now it's time to remind fans that Hockeytalk picked the Ducks, way back in September, to win the Western Conference. Gotta love Todd Marchant ending his goal drought with his first two of the playoffs, including the empty-netter at the end. Of course, we felt like schmucks, did Jason Reed and I, when the Ducks took a tailspin early in the year, then dispensed with Sergei Fedorov and Petr Sykora. What would happen next, would the Ducks just hope for a good finish with an eye toward next season? Nope. Boy are we standing by our pick of the Ducks to win the West now!
"Not only do they have to tighten the tendons," Forsberg said, "my feet are crooked and they'll have to go in and crack the bones in my feet." When is enough enough? To hear the details of this can make a person cringe. Anything involving tendons is difficult enough, but to have your bones broken and reset? Yeesh. Forsberg has battled injuries too numerous to mention over the past few years. While he surely wants to drink from Stanley's Cup one more time, Hockeytalk wonders whether it's time to hang it up, or go play in Sweden where the games are fewer. It's too bad, especially considering his status as a hockey legend, competitor and a class act. In the first round against Buffalo, Forsberg (Playoffs: 4-4-8) scored both of his clubs two game-winning goals, and managed a total of four goals on just 12 shots.
HASEK? Despite the news that Dominik Hasek practiced with the club today, Ray Emery's performance throughout this razor-close series should convince coach Bryan Murray to resist the temptation of gambling on Hasek's groin in game four Thursday. In Edmonton, it's time for Ryan Smyth to be rewarded, and he was. He crashed the net in game three, lost some "toothage" and when Sean Horcoff scored to dump the Sharks in triple OT, Smyth and the Oilers dodged a big bullet. Here's to a changing of the guard: The Devils are down, 3-0 to the Hurricanes, a crew featuring a very solid crop of centers. Ducks, 'Canes, Oilers, Sabres, Sharks...New blood late in the playoffs...some of them have gone to the finals before, but none have won Cups. Here's to watching the Devils, Avs and Stars take a hike. Gotta love it.
Colorado came at the Ducks tonight with a far better effort than in the first two games, but to no avail. "We understand our effort needs to be greater in the next game because they matched it (tonight) and beat us again," said Rob Blake to the Canadian Press after the Avs fell behind, 3-0 in the series. The clubs meet again Thursday in Denver. Ilya Bryzgalov saw his shutout streak end thanks to Colorado's burst of life after two somnolent efforts in SoCal. Colorado's Ian Laperriere, as Hockeytalk called it, saw his ice time increase greatly. As I predicted on XM Satellite Radio on Tuesday, the twenty-goal scorer who also led the Avs in penalty minutes this season, was the best Avalanche player in games one and two and if the club had another 11 or so of Laperriere, they wouldn't be this far behind. The former King saw his time crack the 20 minute mark Tuesday.
He joins the play behind the opposition's goal, rushes the net as a wing, but plays extremely solid defense as always, but he's speedier than his peers, Rob Blake, Nick Lidstrom. Niedermayer also bears down on his shots and is an excellent passer. An all-around game like the one Scott Niedermayer is playing right now is a rarity.
2009 Western Hockey Network |
TV RATINGS PROBLEM: Carolina GM Jim Rutherford uttered some revealing words about the anemic television ratings that the NHL has received on OLN. Recently, the league registered an 0.9 (during the conference final), which supposedly amounts to just under one million homes. Some question whether "small markets" like Carolina and Edmonton are anathema to television ratings. In Hockeytalk's view, there are about 1000 things that go into television ratings, and market size of finals combatants is only so important. Rutherford was grilled on the subject prior to the finals. Are the Hurricanes and Oilers a detriment to the league's television reach? Rutherford let slip an important truth: "There's teams that are more popular in this league such as Detroit and Colorado and probably the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers," Rutherford said. "But the fact of the matter is when you get into June, it's basically those two markets that have the most interest whether it's small markets or big markets." Knowingly or no, Rutherford pointed out a truth about the NHL that transcends the Gary Bettman era, beyond Gil Stein, and includes the John Ziegler era. Playing this late into the spring has a diminishing effect on interest in the game, even in hot hockey markets, and the league has never taken action. That diminishing effect has much more to do with the city of the participating clubs, because many large cities are not on the list Rutherford enumerated. It says here that the league should consider whether the calendar is an enemy of the league's TV ratings. Even in hot hockey markets like Buffalo, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Detroit or Boston, the simple fact is that when late May or early June comes along, people who live in cold climates are more likely to tune out. They're simply too relieved to finally see the sun, finally be able to go outside. The league should think about moving the end of the final to the beginning of May at the latest, a full month earlier than at present. It sounds unrealistic, but think about it. The NCAA's are done. The NBA has not gotten far into its playoffs. It's the perfect time for hockey to wrap it up. I'll bet that much of a change would tick the TV numbers by a full point. Has the NHL been sabotoging its product by playing too close to summer? Looks like it from here. LACK OF PROMOS ON NON-SPORTS TV: Let's give OLN a chance to prove itself over the course of another season, but it's also clear that the league needs to market these broadcasts regularly on non-sports channels, both on network and cable television. The league is running promos now on non-sports channels, and that's good, but Hockeytalk also thinks that this should have been happening earlier in the playoffs.
SEE ALSO REGULAR
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Carolina
defenseman Glen Wesley
(left)
captured his first career Stanley Cup. The 18-year NHL veteran has played in
1,480 career NHL games (1,311 regular season, 169 playoff). The only players
with more games who had not won a Stanley Cup: Dale Hunter (1,593), Phil Housley
(1,580), Mike Gartner (1,554), Norm Ullman (1,516), Adam Oates (1,500), Scott
Mellanby (1,498) and Doug Mohns (1,484).
June
15, 2006 -- Wednesday night,
Game
3
Carolina
captain 
The
Canadian Press is reporting that finally someone came to their senses, and
believe it or not, it's the ISLANDERS!
DRURY
FOLLOWS GARE TRADITION, 
MAY
11 -- FORSBERG: THE AGONY OF DA FEET
MAY
11 -- SHARK TALK:
One of the things we love about the Sharks (up 2-1 vs EDM) is
Speaking of Cheechoo,
opponent 
May 10, 2006 -- DUCKS 4 COLORADO 3 (OT) --
REMEMBER
