Don't hate me 'coz I'm lazy. Things have gotten to be a little bit of a mess around here. The template is getting a little tired, the masthead is boring and the blogroll is out of order.

After reading a post over at BFLOBLOG, I was inspired to go through ye olde blogrolle, and I was shocked into shame to discover that no fewer than eight of the blogs over there are no longer active. It saddens me that some of the really great ones (namely Sabre Rattling) are no longer doing business.

I used to do a better job of tidying up, but I've slipped up recently. I don't wanna look like a dunce linking to blogs that aren't active anymore. I'd rather let my writing speak for my duncehood.

I know it's difficult since most teams aren't playing anymore, but it's not that hard to find something to blog about, even during the offseason. Bloggers who fail to post anything at all in over a month are put into question. Those whose teams were still alive when they disappeared are banished

I'm always open to adding a blog to the blogroll. I just don't link to cricket blogs or soccer blogs or golf blogs or basketball blogs. Try as you may, I won't add you if your blog is one of those, or if you contact me via bulk email asking for linkage.

If you write a hockey blog that I don't link, zip me an email or a comment. If you know of one that I should be linking to, please do the same. As long as the writing is decent and the updates are frequent, I'll usually add it.

If anyone feels like using their awesome creative and artistic abilities to design a banner/header/masthead for me, please do.

Maybe during the summer, I'll spruce up the place with a new blogger template. I just feel like rearranging the furniture.

Labels: tidying up

1000th post!!!
For a very long time, I've been waiting for the day that Bret Hedican would announce his retirement. I might finally get my wish in the very very near future.

Last summer, everyone was under the impression that Hedican had a "player option" on his contract that could be exercised. Turns out, it was never up in the air, and Hurricanes fans let out a groan when it was officially announced that he would return to the Canes for the 2007-08 season. Now, his contract is up, and everyone hoped he would make a decision when the Canes were eliminated from playoff contention on the last day of the season. However, his wife was involved with that "Dancing with the Stars" thing, and he needed to be with her.

Kristi won the DWTS championship and a really uncomely trophy, which will most likely be hidden in the couple's attic. Now Bret can make that decision that we've all been waiting for. Given that he's already said that the couple will move to California this summer, that's a pretty good indicator that he won't be playing for the Hurricanes. He'll either try the free agent waters or (more likely) retire.

The Hurricanes will have a lot of work to do to shore up the blue line this summer, and shedding Hedican's $2.432M salary will be a step in the right direction. Nic Wallin, Joe Corvo and Frantisek Kaberle are under contract. "Snuggles" Tanabe is under contract, but will probably never return from concussion-related issues. Glen Wesley is a RFA-to-be, and will wait till the last second to sign a one-year deal. Tim Gleason is a UFA-to-be, and simply MUST be re-signed. Dennis Seidenberg is also a UFA-to-be. I'll take him or leave him.

There's work to be done, and the sooner Hedican hangs up his skates, the sooner JR can formulate a game plan for working the free agent/trade market.

Congratulations to Kristi on winning that absurd competition!

My favorite memory of Kristi is from the 2002-03 season. Mid-way through the season, I "stole" some dude's girlfriend, and by virtue of doing so, I took his seat next to her at Hurricanes games. That was my first year in section 112. I kept noticing Kristi Yamaguchi over in section 113, several rows behind us. I never did figure out why a player's wife and an Olympic gold medalist had such a mediocre seat. Certainly a worse seat than mine. I never saw her at a game after that season.

I would imagine that Hedican and Jim Rutherford will get together some time this week and put us all out of our misery. It's been a nice run, but it's been time for him to retire for too long.

This is, by the way, the 1000th post at Red and Black Hockey

Labels: Hedican, Kristi Yamaguchi

On Monday night, the Red Wings finally finished off Dallas with a 4-1 victory to take the series four games to two. They advance to the Stanley Cup finals against Pittsburgh.

Make no mistake. I'm rooting for the Pens. I went so far as to order some Pens gear from the NHL shop. As a secondary team, I like the Pens anyway, and I didn't mind jumping on the bandwagon by buying a couple of t-shirts.

This guy, this girl, these guys, and this guy are among the millions of Penguins fans who are about to burst with excitement and nervousness. I will be standing behind them and I will be rooting hard for the Pens.

However, I think the Red Wings are just too damn good.

That's my inexpert analysis.

Also, there's this game the hockey gods are playing with us. Pittsburgh has been to the Stanley Cup finals twice before and won both times. But the hockey gods have this game they've been playing with us since 1989. Take a look at this list of Stanley Cup runners-up:

• 1989 Montréal Canadiens
  
• 1990 Boston Bruins
  
• 1991 Minnesota NorthStars
  
• 1992 Chicago Blackhawks
  
• 1993 Los Angeles Kings
  
• 1994 Vancouver Canucks
  
• 1995 Detroit Red Wings
  
• 1996 Florida Panthers
  
• 1997 Philadelphia Flyers
  
• 1998 Washington Capitals
  
• 1999 Buffalo Sabres
  
• 2000 Dallas Stars
  
• 2001 New Jersey Devils
  
• 2002 Carolina Hurricanes
  
• 2003 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
  
• 2004 Calgary Flames
  
• 2005 no cup
  
• 2006 Edmonton Oilers
  
• 2007 Ottawa Senators
  
• 2008
  

That's a list of 18 different teams. No team is on there twice. The NorthStars and the Stars are "sort of" the same team. Different ownership, different fans, blah blah blah.

I wrote about this last June 7, and even offered this bit of advice:

"Pittsburgh fans, prepare yourselves for heartbreak."

For the Wings, check out this gal, this guy, and these guys.

I may or may not make a more detailed post about the whys and hows, but for now I'll predict the Wings in six. Just to be clear, though, I'm rooting for the Pens.

Buckle up!

Labels: hockey gods, Penguins, Red Wings, Stanley Cup

Since about the beginning of February, it has been a common conjecture in Carolina that John Crackers Grahame had reached the end of the line in Carolina. He appeared in only four of Carolina's last 32 games. Only one of those was a start.

It has become official: John Grahame will not be back. On Friday, he was signed to a two-year deal by Avangard Omsk of the Continental Hockey Association (Russian Super League). Grahame, according to a bad translation from the original Russian, is "owner of Stanley Cup". He will, presumably, sulk on the bench whilst ogling the Russian puck bunnies.

This paves the way for the inevitable signing of Michael Leighton to an NHL contract. Some folks think it would be in Carolina's best interest to go after an aging veteran RFA goaltender so Cam would have a mentor, but I really don't think that Cam needs any more guidance than Tom Barrasso can give him. Leighton, who was the AHL's top goaltender last season, is more than ready to make the jump back to the NHL. Leighton has appeared in 50 NHL games, dating back to 2002-03. Most of those were on the horrendously bad Blackhawks team in the 2003-04 season. That team won only 20 games all season long.

To Grahame's credit, he never complained about his lack of playing time or his obvious #2 status. He didn't complain when he was reassigned to Albany. Things just didn't work out for him here. I wish him well, but I can't say that I'll miss him.

Labels: Grahame, Leighton

After last year's disasterous double booking of the NHL playoffs and the Preakness Stakes, NBC has not learned its lesson. And they have decided not to be any nicer to the NHL.

Today's game 5 of the Western Conference final between Dallas and Detroit is set for a 1:30 eastern time start. NBC has announced that, just like last year, it will switch its coverage from hockey to horseracing at 4:30, regardless of the status of the hockey game. If the game ends in regulation, there won't be a problem. If, however, the game goes to overtime like last season's Sens-Sabres game 5, NBC will pull the plug at exactly 4:30. Viewers will have to switch over to Versus. Unless they're in a hotel, which means they probably don't get Versus.

For the record, the horse race doesn't start until 6:15 eastern time. That's right. They need an hour and 45 minutes to lead into an event that will last two and a half minutes. (Refraining from obvious sex joke) They can't won't join the ridiculous pre-race coverage in progress, but they will leave what would hypothetically be an exciting game at a crucial moment.

Next season, I hope the NHL actually learns its lesson and leaves the third Saturday in May blank on the playoff schedule.

It's obvious that the reason both series took an extra day off is so both series could have a weekend afternoon (read: NBC) game. When will the league learn that this is the way NBC conducts itself? What if game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals goes past its allotted time? Will they pull the plug because Deal or No Deal needs its airtime?

I wish I was Canadian.

Labels: idiots, nbc

On Thursday, the Penguins failed to complete the sweep of Philly. After an explosive three-goal first period, the Flyers were able to hold on, win the game 4-2 and live for at least one more day.

I predicted a seven game series, but after the Penguins took a 3-0 lead, I thought there would be a sweep. The Flyers, who had played without verve for the first three games, came flying (sorry) out of the gates. Although Jordan Staal and the Penguins had a late surge, they couldn't quite make up the difference.

The Series will shift back to Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, in the AHL, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton "Baby Penguins" lost their game to the Portland Pirates (Ducks). That Eastern Conference final series is knotted at one game apiece. There isn't any standard for series set-ups in the AHL. Some series go 1-2-2-2; some go 2-3-2; most go 2-2-1-1-1. This one happens to go 2-3-2, meaning the next three games are in Portland.

Detroit also failed to complete their sweep of Dallas on Wednesday, and that series will shift back to Detroit on Saturday.

In IIHF action, the two semi-final games are today. Russia will take on Finland, and Sweden will play Canada. Good luck to the Canes players in IIHF play. Tuomo Ruutu for Finland; Nic Wallin for Sweden; Cam Ward and Eric Staal for Canada.

Labels: Flyers, IIHF World Championship, Penguins, playoffs, Red Wings, Stars

The other day, I got an email indicating that I was about to receive a package from the Carolina Hurricanes. Season ticket renewal stuff. What was odd, though, is that it was being shipped via courier. Whichever the hell one of those companies has the yellow truck.

I thought it was weird, and I didn't have time to talk to any of my fellow season ticket holder friends. I was able to gather that that was the way they sent them out to everyone this year, and I assumed that it was just a silly waste of money.

Today, said package arrived. Immediately, I saw why they sent these things via courier instead of USPS. They included a two-disc DVD set highlighting the 10 years the Hurricanes have been here. It looks pretty spiffy, and I haven't watched it yet, but the jacket makes it look like a pretty comprehensive retrospective.

I guess I'm watching these tonight.

The second thing is that, as expected, prices went up. By quite a bit. My 10-game package last year cost me a little over $500. This year, I'll have to pay $720. However, it's not quite that bad. The package is now a 12-game package, and apparently they throw in two vouchers for extra games. So I'll be getting 14 games. Looking at it like that, it's not so bad. Plus, they've thrown in some incentives to keep people on board. At my level, I can get a free Hurricanes tailgating chair or a Hurricanes messenger bag, or a Hurricanes gym bag, or a Hurricanes beach cooler, or a couple of other small gifts.

I'll withhold judgment until I've watched the DVDs, but I'm still a little sore that the Hurricanes didn't produce their own DVD celebrating the Stanley Cup win in 2006.

Labels: season tickets

In IIHF action on Monday, team USA demolished Norway 9-1 behind a hat trick by Brandon Dubinsky. Robert Esche was in nets again, and wasn't challenged much, but got the job done.

Timmmay Gleason, who was cheapshotted by Olli Jokinen on Sunday, did not play.

In another important game, Canada outlasted Finland 6-3 to remain perfect in the tournament. Cam Ward watched from the bench, and Eric Staal didn't register any points. Tuomo Ruutu scored one for Finland.

The wins by USA and Canada set up a rematch of the bloody USA-Finland game. They will meet on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the elimination round.

After sitting out with a suspension, Jokinen will return to play on Wednesday. David Backes and Anssi Salmela will return to their respective teams after also sitting out suspensions.

After the bad blood on Sunday, Wednesday's game should be a fun one to watch. I guess I'll have to subscribe to WCSN.

Video goal judge Peter Andersson (Sweden), who allowed Finland's bogus goal to stand, will not be working this or any game for the rest of the tournament.

Labels: Canada, Dubinsky, Finland, IIHF World Championship, Norway, team USA

In IIHF action on Sunday, team USA was beaten 3-2 by Finland. The game started chippy, anded chippy, and featured a bogus goal by the Finns.

Very early in the game, Olli Jokinen delivered a crushing blow, driving Carolina Hurricanes defenseman into the boards from behind. Jokinen, who has always been regarded with disdain by RBH, was ejected from the game. Gleason was woozy but okay.

USA got off to an early 2-0 lead in the first frame, but they wouldn't score any more after that.

In the third period, the Finns got on the board with a completely bogus goal. The puck clearly entered the net by going through the right side, under the skirt. The play was reviewed, but allowed to stand. TSN has the highlights. A fuming coach John Tortarella said after the game "I'm suggesting blindness" when asked about the call.

The phantom goal wasn't the game winner. It was the first of three. Team USA still has a very valid complaint about the goal, though.

As the game ended, there was a nasty bench clearing brawl that resulted in several ejections and suspensions.

For Today's Finland-Canada game, Finland will be without Jokinen because of the boarding incident. Anssi Salmela, who was pummeled in the fight, will also serve a suspension.

USA takes on Norway for the right to advance to the elimination round. USA will be without David Backes because of his role in the brawl.

According to the IIHF, they have acknowledged that the phantom goal should not have counted. The video judge has been suspended for the remainder of the tournament.

Labels: Canada, Finland, idiots, IIHF World Championship, team USA

Johan Franzen, leading goal scorer in these Stanley Cup playoffs, was forced to sit out of Saturday's 2-1 win in game 2 between the Red Wings and the Stars. He will also miss game three Monday in Dallas. Apparently, is suffering from "concussion-like symptoms" which have been persisting since the Colorado series. He will remain in Detroit where he will undergo baseline testing among other medical examinations.

The Wings have had a fairly balanced attack and some marvelous goaltending, but this is a huge loss. If the baseline tests are not favorable, Franzen will be forced to miss at least a week or more.

Unfortunately, there is a tendency for the team doctors and the players themselves to look the other way concerning concussions. I've written about this before with specific points about how concussions need not be taken so lightly because of the long term and devastating consequences they might bring about. The Toronto Star ran a two part piece about concussions that everyone should read. Even if you've already read it, you should revisit.
Part one
Part two

Even though this is a crucial time for a team to be without one of its best players, they really need to take his health quite seriously. Just ask Kevin Kaminski.

In addition to leading the playoffs in goals (12), Franzen is the author of the prizewinning novel The Corrections. Okay. He's not, but I never get tired of that joke.

Labels: concussion, Johan Franzen, playoffs, Red Wings

In IIHF action on Saturday, Carolina Hurricanes star Eric Staal potted four goals and added one assist to lead the host Canada to a decisive 10-1 win over Germany. See the scoresheet and stats here.

Until today, Staal had been quiet. He hadn't scored a goal, and only had two assists in the four previous games played. Suddenly, he's second only to Dany Heatley (7) in goals scored for team Canada.

Hurricanes netminder Cam Ward earned the victory, his third. Canada is using a revolving goalie system. A lot has been written about the demerits of a two goalie system, but it's working just fine for now. Normally, I wouldn't find anything positive to say about Pascal Leclair, but he's really been doing a great job shouldering the other half of the load.

Canada, who is a perfect 5-0, will play their final qualifying game on Monday against Finland.

USA will play that same Finnish team on Sunday, followed by Norway on Monday.

Labels: Cam Ward, Canada, Eric Staal, IIHF World Championship

On Thursday, at the IIHF World Championships, USA barely got by Germany 6-4. The Americans got off to a 3-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game, but the rest of the game was decidedly Germany's.

One thing is abundantly clear. I didn't watch or even listen to the game, but it's clear that Craig Anderson did not have a good game. He faced only nine shots, and he surrendered four goals before being lifted in favour of Robert Esche. If you're scoring along at home, Anderson's save % is a nightmarish .555. That won't cut it. In 15 minutes of relief, Esche was perfect, stopping all six shots he saw.

Germany is not a very good team, but Finland is. If Anderson plays like that on Sunday, the Finns are likely to beat USA 12-2.

Zach Parise had two goals and an assist to pace the Americans. Our native North Carolinian Patrick O'Sullivan scored his third marker of the tournament. Dustin Brown and Jason Pominville had the other goals.

Hopefully, Anderson can snap out of it. Otherwise, it's going to be embarrassing.

Now. Here's the big question.

WHY IS RYAN MILLER NOT ON THIS TEAM?

Ryan Miller is without a doubt the best active American-born goaltender. The simple answer to the big question is that he declined an invitation to play. My guess is that he's still pissed about getting snubbed with respect to the 2006 Olympics roster. Miller had a thumb injury early in the 2006 season and was taken off the USA Hockey's radar. He returned from injury and had a sensational first half of the season. He was named to the "taxi squad", which didn't make any sense to him or to anybody else for that matter.

As for his refusal to play at the IIHF World Championships, he is using "I need to train" and "I need to focus on securing a new contract" as excuses. The real reason is that he wants to drink USA Hockey's milkshake.

I... Drink.... Your..... Milkshake. I drink it up!!!

Labels: goaltending, IIHF World Championship, Patrick O'Sullivan, Pominville, Ryan Miller, team USA, Zach Parise

I've only recently discovered Hockey-Reference.com. It's a wonderful statistics resource. They also have football-reference and baseball-reference and so on, but who really cares about that?

If you need to know any statistical detail at all, this outstanding site can help you. Need to know the trophy winners from any given year? Easy. Final standings from any given year? Kid's stuff. These kinds of things you can find anywhere.

Hockey-reference. com is outstanding because you can find and sort any stats you want , whether it's your favorite player or your favorite team or whatever. You need to know the score of a game on a specific date back in 1943? No problem. You need to see Pavel Bure's seasonal shots on goal per game stats sorted in ascending or descending order? No problem. Ever wanna know the names of every guy who ever played for the Montréal Maroons? No problem.

I've had a lot of fun clicking around.

Anyway, the webmaster has come up with a fun and innovative way to help finance the site. Users are allowed to "sponsor" a player's stats page, or a specific team stat page, or a the stats page of a coach. Most pages can be sponsored and linked to a blog for just $10. Some, however, are a little spendy. Wayne Gretzky went for $200. Many hall of famers, including Ron Francis, are going for $100.

Red and Black Hockey has sponsored the stats page for Chad "Sharpie" LaRose. The Chuck Norris of hockey.

I can think of a lot worse ways to spend $10, and helping to keep this excellent stats reference afloat is a pretty good way. Plus, you get to put your mark on the page, and possibly generate traffic to your blog. I don't expect to see an increase in traffic based on my sponsorship.

Stop by, have fun with the stats, and sponsor a page!

Labels: LaRose, stats

On Wednesday, team USA made some adjustments to its IIHF roster. They learned that captain Jeff Halpern (Potomac, MD / Princeton University / Tampa Bay Lightning) will require knee surgery after sustaining an injury in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to Canada. Also, goaltender Tim Thomas (Flint, MI / University of Vermont / Boston Bruins) has been sent home after being hurt in the same game.

USA has added defenseman Jordan Leopold (Golden Valley, MN / University of Minnesota / Colorado Avalanche) and center Brandon Dubinsky (Anchorage, AK / New York Rangers). Leopold has played for Team USA a number of times, and this will be Dubinsky's first time representing his country.

I can't even guess who will replace Halpern as USA's captain. He is one of just a few "older" players. Many of these guys have little or no experience in international play.

Halpern had registered only one assist and was a -1 rating, but he had the experience and the leadership that will be sorely missed.

Tim Thomas was playing very well and will be missed. Craig Anderson will be in the hot seat as his replacement.

All preliminary games are over, and the qualification matchups have been set. Team USA will play Germany on Thursday night, Finland on Sunday, and Norway on Monday.

Good luck, boys!

Labels: Finland, Germany, IIHF World Championship, Jeff Halpern, Norway, team USA, Tim Thomas

On Wednesday, the Maple Leafs announced that they have fired head coach Paul "Chairman Mo" Maurice. They have also relieved his long-time assistant Randy Ladouceur. Maruice had one year remaining on his contract, but had coached the Leafs to two consecutive losing seasons and the last two of three straight playoff-less seasons in Toronto. This lack of success is unacceptable in Toronto, and I'm pretty surprised that he lasted this long. Frankly, I'm surprised that they hired him in the first place.

Maurice was the head coach of the Whaler/Canes team between 1995 and 2003. When he was fired in December of 2003, he was the longest tenured coach in the NHL, and one of the youngest. Randy Ladouceur had been with him every step of the way.

Maurice had his job on the line in 2002, but the boys put together a miracle run to the Stanley Cup Finals, saving the Sault Ste Marie native's job. The following year, the Canes were the worst team in hockey and the natives were restless. They stumbled out of the gates again in 2003-04, and Maurice was quickly fired after starting the season 8-12-8-2.

He didn't coach at all during the lockout, then lucked into a head coaching job with the Toronto Marlies for the 2005-06 season. He parlayed that into a job with the Leafs, but it didn't go well.

Maurice is remembered around here for the bag skate he put the boys through at the tail end of "the season from hell" (2002-03). The tactic had worked the previous season, but that time, it didn't. There was a bit of a rebellion, a mutiny headed up by Jeff O'Neill. The two got in a highly publicized shouting match, and neither the player or the coach were the same afterwards. Most importantly, the coach had lost his control of the room.

Interim general manager Cliff Fletcher has stated that the point of firing Maurice and Ladouceur is that it will give an incoming GM the freedom to put his own coaches into place.

There are a few people around here who think that Jim Rutherford is in line for that GM position and that it would make sense for associate head coach Kevin McCarthy to go with. I'm not buying that, and I certainly won't be selling it.

Dave Nonis needs a job. Loads of other people are qualified and available for the
GM position in Toronto. I don't have any clue who will be Maurice's successor.

Labels: Chairman Mo, Maple Leafs

In IIHF play On Tuesday, team Canada and team USA played a great game in the final game of round robin play for their group. Both teams headed in undefeated, and Canada stayed that way with an exciting 5-4 win.

All accounts are that the American team outplayed the Canadians for most of the game, but Canada's Dany Heatley was again the hero. He tallied two more goals, including the game winner with less than a minute to play. Heatley leads the tournament in goals (six) and points (ten) after three games played.

Brent Burns, Jonathan Toews and Derek Roy also scored goals for Canada.

Tim Thomas started in nets for USA, but was replaced by Craig Anderson at the start of the third period. Cam Ward got the nod for Canada, and picked up the win despite giving up four goals.

Patrick O'Sullivan (Winston-Salem, NC) scored his second goal of the tournament for USA, and also added an assist. Also scoring were Jason Pominville (Buffalo, NY), Zach Parise (Minneapolis, MN / University of North Dakota) and Dustin Brown (Ithica, NY).

On Wednesday, the preliminary round will conclude, then Team USA will play the #3 team from pool C on Thursday. That will probably be Slovakia, unless Slovakia upsets Finland on Wednesday. If that's the case, it'll be Germany. On Sunday, USA will play Finland, who will be the #1 team from pool C. Then they'll play Germany (#2) on Monday. All of this assumes that Finland beats Slovakia and Germany beats Norway on Wednesday. That's not assuming too much.

Labels: Canada, IIHF World Championship, Patrick O'Sullivan, team USA

On Monday, there were again four games at the IIHF World Championships. Hurricanes players had key roles in two of them.

In the biggest surprise of the tournament (so far), Norway forced overtime against Finland. Just 1:27 into the extra frame, however, Hurricanes RFA-to-be Tuomo Ruutu potted the game winning goal for the Finns.

Sweden, who is playing without their best players (read: the Detroit Red Wings), routed France in what wasn't a surprise, but was the most lopsided game of the tournament (so far). The thing that was surprising is that some no-name backup French goaltender held the Swedes scoreless in the first period. Sweden ended up getting nine goals, and one of them came via Hurricanes defenseman Nic "The Secret Weapon" Wallin.

Germany pulled a minor upset, defeating Slovakia 4-2. Hurricanes defenseman Dennis Seidenberg didn't figure into the scoring in that one.

The "big game" is Tuesday afternoon. Team USA against Team Canada.

Labels: Finland, Germany, IIHF World Championship, Sweden, Tuomo Ruutu, Wallin

The second round of playoff games are over, and we're down to just four teams remaining.

In the first round, I correctly picked half of the series winners, while Maggie the Monkey was good on five and wrong on three. In the second round, I again got half of them right, and Maggie got just one. For the third year in a row, after 12 playoff series, I'm tied with a monkey in my prognosticating skills.

This round, I correctly predicted that the Pens would beat the Rangers, but I guessed that the Habs would beat the Flyers. Out west, I missed badly when I said that the Sharks would beat the Stars, but I was good in picking the Red Wings to advance. Maggie only correctly picked the Wings.

Here are my picks for the conference finals, followed by some brief analysis:






The Eastern Conference final promises to be excellent. The two teams, separated by 300 miles of Interstate 76, don't like each other one bit. The Flyers won five of the eight regular season games between the teams. They have met in the playoffs thrice before, and the Flyers have won all three series. Most recently, in 2000, the Flyers beat the Pens 4-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

For the Penguins, they've been getting it done with a balanced offensive attack and a very stingy defense. M-A Fleury has allowed just 16 goals in nine games, and the penalty killers have killed 34 of 38 manpower disadvantages.

The Flyers have been getting it done with some spectacular goaltending by Marty Biron. Save a couple of stumbling blocks, he's been very solid. He's certainly been challenged way more than Fleury has. Biron has faced 395 shots at an average of 32.9 per game. The next guy on that list, Evgeni Nabokov, faced 333 shots at an average of 25.6 per game. Fleury, for comparison's sake, has faced a total of 256 shots at an average of 28.4 per game.
They've also been getting it done by "Mr. Playoffs" Danny Briere, who stumbled in the regular season but has 14 (8/6) points in 12 playoff games. Also, RJ Umberger, who had 50 points in the regular season, has 11 (9/2) in the playoffs.

The Penguins have three guys with 10 or more playoff points. Evgeni Malkin has 14 (6/8). Sidney Crosby has 14 (2/12) and Maid Marian Hossa has 10 (5/5).

By contrast, the Flyers (who have played three more games), have four guys with 10 or more. Briere leads the Flyers with 14. Umberger has the aforementioned 11. Vaclav Prospal (whom I refuse to call "Vinny") has 12 (3/9) and Mike Richards has 11 (4/7).

After cruising through the first two rounds, this will be a challenge for the Penguins. The Flyers are a more physical, more motivated group than the Pens have seen thus far. I fully expect this one to go the distance, with lots of road games won and lots of overtime. And some spectacular goaltending. Oh, and probably some fighting.

Out west, I haven't been folowing as closely, but I don't think the Stars can put up much of a fight against the Red Wings juggernaut. The Stars have been playing some low-scoring games, and that won't cut it against the Red Wings. The Wings have been averaging 3.8 goals for per game, while the Stars have only been managing 2.9. In the six game series against the Sharks, they scored just 15 times for an average of 2.5.

The Red Wings have been on fire, thanks largely to the outstanding play of Johan "The Mule" Franzen, who leads all players with 11 goals. To that, he has added 3 assists, for a total of 14 points. Henrik Zetterberg (7/6) and Pavel Datsyuk (5/8) have 13 points apiece.

Detroit won the season series 3-1. Including the Minnesota North Stars days, the Wings and Stars have met three times in the playoffs, and the Wings have won all three series. Most recently, the Wings won 4-2 in the 1998 Western Conference final.

The Stars, like the Flyers, have four players with 10 or more points. In 12 games played, Mike Ribeiro has 14 (3/11). Brendan Morrow (7/4) and Brad Richards (2/9) each have 11, and Mike Modano has 10 (4/6)

While Marty Turco has been good, I think it will come down to the even better goaltending of Chris Osgood and a superior Wings team dictating the flow.
I think the Red Wings will have a pretty easy time of this, with the Stars winning their lone win at home.

So far as I can tell, Maggie hasn't made her picks yet, but we have a few days off before the series start. The West will begin on Thursday and the East will start on Friday.

Labels: Flyers, Penguins, playoffs, Red Wings, Stars

On Sunday, Canada and the United States again rolled to easy victories in IIHF play. Both teams are 2-0-0 and will face each other on Tuesday.

Dany Heatley scored a goal and three assists to lead Canada to a 7-0 drubbing of Latvia. Heatley has eight (4/4) points in two games played to lead all skaters in the tournament.

Bruins star Phil Kessel (Madison, Wisconsin/ University of Minnesota) notched a hat trick as the Americans cruised to an easy 5-1 win over Slovenia. The Slovenians could only muster 12 shots on net, and Anze Kopitar from the Kings potted their only goal. Three of USA's goals came via the power play, and by my count they were 3-5 on the power play. They are now a very scary 7-13 (53.85%) with the manpower advantage, leading all teams in that category. The Americans have killed all 10 shorthanded situations they have faced.

Canada has scored 12 goals and given up one while the United States has scored nine and given up one. Anze Kopitar has been the only one to score against both teams.

Kopitar, apparently was lit up by defenseman Keith Ballard (Baudette, Minnesota / University of Minnesota / Phoenix Coyotes) with a huge hit. Ballard was given a game misconduct penalty for a blow to the head and neck area. As of now, there isn't any video. I'll try to get some when it becomes available.

On Tuesday, the top two teams will face each other in what promises to be a great game. Tim Thomas should remain between the pipes for USA, and there's no telling for team Canada.

Labels: Anze Kopitar, Canada, IIHF World Championship, Phil Kessel, team USA, Tim Thomas

The IIHF World Championships began on Friday, and things went pretty much according to plan for the United States and Canada.

Cam Ward made 22 saves and Dany Heatley recorded a hat trick, leading Canada to a 5-1 win over Slovenia. Eric Staal had one assist.

Team USA, who wore vintage 1960 sweaters for the game, cruised to a 4-0 victory over Latvia. The Americans got all four goals via the power play. The Blackhawks' rookie sensation Patrick Kane (Buffalo, NY) netted one goal and two assists to lead the way. Devils' Defenseman Paul Martin (Minneapolis, MN ) registered three assists. Winston-Salem, North Carolina native Patrick O'Sullivan also potted a goal. The standout for the Kings most certainly became the first native North Carolinian to score a goal in international play.

On Sunday, Canada will play Latvia and the USA will play Slovenia.

Labels: Canada, IIHF World Championship, Latvia, Patrick Kane, Patrick O'Sullivan, Paul Martin, Slovenia, team USA

The 2008 IIHF World Championships begin today. This year's tournament is hosted by Halifax and Quebec City. There will be four games today.

The sixteen team touranment begins with four groups of four teams playing round robin. After that, the elimination round begins next Thursday. Like UEFA soccer, the worst two teams at the end of it all get relegated to the lower division of play next year.

In today's games, Team Czech will take on Denmark at 1:00; Canada will take on Slovenia at 3:30; Russia will play relegation-bound Italy at 7:00; USA will play Latvia at 7:15.

Team USA features just one Hurricane: defenseman Tim Gleason. There is also a native North Carolinian on the roster. Patrick O'Sullivan, who plays center for the Kings, was born in Winston-Salem. He had a respectable 53 (22/31) points this year on a very bad Kings team.

Team Canada features goalie Cam Ward and center Eric Staal.

Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg will be suiting up for Germany, defenseman Nic Wallin will play for #1 ranked Sweden, and center Tuomo Ruutu will represent Finland.

Good luck to all of these Canes in international play. Obviously, we'll be giving our unwavering support to team USA.

Labels: Cam Ward, Eric Staal, Gleason, IIHF World Championship, Ruutu, Seidenberg, team USA, Wallin

On Tuesday night, the River Rats were defeated by the Phantoms 2-0. Philly has won the series four games to three and the season is over for the Rats.

This was a phenomenal series for both goaltenders. Scott Munroe got the job done when everything was on the line, but losing goaltender Michael Leighton was probably the best "losing" goaltender any playoff series has ever seen.

Now that the Rats have been, um, exterminated, the Hurricanes organ-eye-zation can make signing Leighton the #1 priority. Johnny Crackers is already gone. There's no way in the world he sniffs an offer sheet from the Hurricanes.

Labels: Leighton, River Rats

Tonight there are three NHL playoff games. That's an unusual number for the second round, but we should be glad to have it. The Detroit-Colorado series took an extra day off, which left yesterday with just the one game.

John Forslund, who has been with the Whaler/Canes organ-eye-zation since the early nineties, and who has been the teevee play-by-play guy since 1995, will be making the call for Versus for games three and four of that Detroit-Colorado series. He's been logging a lot of miles for Versus, and he's been doing a great job. It's weird, I must say, to hear him say "And Colorado is off and running!" or "Budaj says no!" rather than to have "Carolina" and "Cam Ward" plugged into those formulae.

Earlier in the night, of course, the Penguins and Rangers head into MSG for game three of their series. I don't expect the Penguins to sweep the series, but I don't expect the Rangers to win both home games either.

The biggest thing for me, though, will be game seven between the River Rats and the Phantoms in the Wachovia Center tonight.

In other AHL news, former Hurricane and female fan favorite Bates Battaglia scored a dramatic goal with less than a minute to play to give the Toronto Marlies (Maple Leafs) a series victory over the San Antonio Rampage (Coyotes). I'm not a fan of Battaglia on a personal level, but it's good to see him doing well.

Go Pens!
Go Rats!

Labels: Battaglia, playoffs, River Rats

On Saturday afternoon, the River Rats and Phantoms again needed overtime to settle their playoff game. On Thursday, they set a new AHL record for longest game at 142:58. Today, they needed "just" 70:38. Fortunately, the Rats were on the right end of this one, forcing a game seven on Monday night.

Kirk MacDonald's game winning goal at 10:38 of the overtime period ended a ridiculously long shutout streak by Phantoms netminder Scott Munroe. Kiel McLeod gave the Rats a 2-1 lead way way back at 17:14 of the second period of game five. Counting the rest of that game (105:46) and this game (70:38), Munroe went 176:24 without allowing a goal. That's almost three games.

Michael Leighton, who stopped 98 of 101 shots on Thursday, stopped all 40 shots he faced on Saturday. He's faced a total of 284 shots during this playoff series. He has given up just eight goals and has two shutout wins. His GAA is 1.06 and his save percentage is an unbelievable .972.

It really is a shame that these games aren't televised and that nobody gives a crap about them. There's been some sensational goaltending on both sides.

After the winning goal was scored, Phantoms captain Boyd Kane was given a major penalty for cross-checking and a mandatory game misconduct penalty in accordance with rule 59.5. I assume that he will be unavailable for Monday's game seven.

Go Rats!

Labels: Leighton, Phantoms, playoffs, River Rats

On Thursday night, the River Rats fell 3-2 in a marathon 5-overtime game to the Phantoms. The Phantoms now have a 3-2 series lead with two chances to wrap up the series on their home ice.

Rats goaltender Michael Leighton made 98 saves. This is not a misprint. I don't know how in the world a guy makes 98 saves and loses the game.

I'm not sure what the record books have for the AHL, but the winning goal came 2:58 into the fifth overtime period. This game lasted an eye-popping 142:58. The Phantoms had a total of 101 shots, while the Rats "only" had 67.

Check the scorecard here.

Sadly, this may be lights out for the Rats. No matter what, though, Michael Leighton has had a hell of a series. He deserves every bit of credit. He deserves any and all accolades he gets. He deserves a contract in Raleigh next season.

Labels: Leighton, overtime, Phantoms, playoffs, River Rats

At RBH, we are making no secret of our support for the Penguins. We supported them last season, only to watch them bow out. We're supporting them again this season.

There are some obvious and easy reasons to root for the Penguins. They have a Staal, Carolina has a Staal. They have a Ruutu, Carolina has a Ruutu. The connections from the past. Ron Francis. Tommy B.

I also have some friends who are lifelong Penguins fans, and I won't hesitate to support their club to live vicariously through them.

One such friend is a great comic book artist Rob Ullman. I recommend his blog any day of the week. Mostly, his blog is about the drawings that he does of scantily clad young busty women. Sometimes, these busty women are wearing hockey sweaters.
Here, for example, are his first round picks in the form of "girl in hockey sweater" drawings. Last season, the drawings weren't quite so polished.

If you're into hockey or comics, or more importantly -- scantily clad girls, check out Rob's blog. He's good peeps.

Labels: blogs, Penguins

On Tuesday, the conference quarterfinals we