On Tuesday night, Carolina defeated New Jersey 2-1 in overtime to get a much needed two standings points. This was a huge test for a team playing without its Captain for the rest of the season. Carolina answered the challenge and then some.
Earlier this month, Carolina lost two ugly games in Newark. They also lost an ugly game at home to the Devils in January. In all, the Canes were 0-3 against the Devils and were outscored 15-3. Carolina was trying to avoid the sweep. They were also trying to protect their five point SE lead. They were also trying to continue their hot streak at home, and their hot streak overall. They accomplished all of that.
Carolina's newest member, Tuomu Ruutu nearly didn't make it. After being traded for Andrew Ladd, Ruutu's flight from Chicago to Raleigh was delayed for several hours. His flight finally landed 36 minutes before gametime. He was given a police escort to the arena, and he was dressed in time for the puck drop.
Right away, he made a mark. He delivered a huge hit in just his second shift. The rest of the first period was chippy. Defenseman Tim Gleason left the game with a "head injury" after being boarded. A scuffle ensued, then later in the period a fight and some other extracurricular activity.
Afer a scoreless first, Bret Hedican got the second period off on the wrong foot. Just as he did against Washington on Saturday, a committed a miscue which led directly to a goal. This time, he deflected a Brian Gionta shot into his own net. Gionta was given credit for an unassisted goal at 1:50 of the second. His "shot" from the right circle would have been well off net, but Hedican's stick redirected it off the left post and in.
Sergei Samsonov leveled the score at 5:57 with a power play goal. After some good stuff at the points from Matt Cullen and Joe Corvo, Keith Aucoin snuck down low and took a shot from the right dot, which was handled by Martin Brodeur. Samsonov jumped right on the rebound and wristed it in from the top of the goalie crease. Ruutu got the secondary assist. His first point in his first game with the Canes.
The rest of the second was a defensive battle, and the third was more of the same.
Ruutu was caught by an inadvertant high stick late in the third, which opened a cut above his nose. If it had been detected by the officials, it would have been a four minute minor. However,it wasn't. Credit the officiating crew for refusing to give a "make-up" call. I'm not, and never have been a fan of that.
The game went into overtime, and the Canes knew that at the very least, they would get one standings point.
Just 1:36 into the bonus frame, Samsonov struck again. He accepted an awkward bank pass from Scott Walker along the right wing, handled the bouncing puck and took a shot on Brodeur. The shot was handled, but the rebound was not. Samsonov tapped it into the left corner for the win. Walker and Hedican got the helpers.
Samsonov was, and continues to be amazing. He's now got five (3/2) points in his last three games. In 22 games with Carolina, he has 18 (9/9) points. He earned the first star.
The "official" and the RBH three stars are identical:
THIRD STAR Tuomo Ruutu, CAR --- 1 assist, 3 hits, 2 blocked shots, 2 takeaways
SECOND STAR Cam Ward, CAR --- win, 23 saves
FIRST STAR Sergei Samsonov, CAR --- 2 goals, GWG, 2 takeaways
Washington got ahead early and won their game, which put pressure on Carolina. The big win for Carolina does so many things, but the most important is that it helps them maintain a five point cushion in the SE division with just 16 games to play.
This was the fourth of six straight home games for Carolina. They have gone 3-0-1 in those games. They have gone 7-0-1 in their last eight home games, and they have gone 7-2-1 in their last ten games overall. Right now, they are a flaming hot team. Included in that is the 5-1-1 they have gone since Captain Rod Brind'Amour tore his ACL.
The Canes will take on the Rangers on Thursday, then will finish the homestand against the new-look Lightning on Saturday.
On March 12, there will be a special treat when Carolina visits Chicago. By then, Kevyn Adams is expected to be back in the Blackhawks lineup. If all goes well, the former Canes Kevyn Adams, Craig Adams and Andrew Ladd will be in the lineup. They might even be on the same line.
Showing posts with label Devils. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Devils. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Illness, Devils pound Carolina.
In a rare lunchtime game, the Devils trounced the Hurricanes 5-1 on Monday. This is the second time in as many visits to the Devils' new arena that the Canes have been thoroughly beaten.
With Erik Cole feeling the effects of the flu, Carolina had to make an emergency callup. Two weeks ago, they acquired forward Joe Jensen in a prospect trade with the Penguins. The Canes had no choice but to call him up, but things did not go well for him. Jensen became ill during the game, and by the time the game was over, he was so violently ill that he required hospitalization.
After receiving IV fluids and other treatment, Jensen was released and will fly to Raleigh to join the rest of the team.
Carolina will play host to the Bruins on Tuesday. No word yet on whether Cole will be back or if someone else will be called up to take Jensen's spot.
This is getting ridiculous.
The Bruins last played on Saturday, a 4-3 overtime loss at Toronto. In their last seven games, they are 2-4-1 and have been outscored 23-15.
Carolina is 4-3 in their last seven games, and have been outscored 22-16.
The two teams met last Tuesday in Boston. In a 3-2 Hurricanes victory, Sergei Samsonov had the game-winning goal against his former team.
With Erik Cole feeling the effects of the flu, Carolina had to make an emergency callup. Two weeks ago, they acquired forward Joe Jensen in a prospect trade with the Penguins. The Canes had no choice but to call him up, but things did not go well for him. Jensen became ill during the game, and by the time the game was over, he was so violently ill that he required hospitalization.
After receiving IV fluids and other treatment, Jensen was released and will fly to Raleigh to join the rest of the team.
Carolina will play host to the Bruins on Tuesday. No word yet on whether Cole will be back or if someone else will be called up to take Jensen's spot.
This is getting ridiculous.
The Bruins last played on Saturday, a 4-3 overtime loss at Toronto. In their last seven games, they are 2-4-1 and have been outscored 23-15.
Carolina is 4-3 in their last seven games, and have been outscored 22-16.
The two teams met last Tuesday in Boston. In a 3-2 Hurricanes victory, Sergei Samsonov had the game-winning goal against his former team.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Devils stomp Canes
On Saturday night in Newark, the Hurricanes had a chance to build off their great effort Friday night and perhaps open their lead a little in the Southeast division. Unfortunately, they didn't bother showing up and were embarrassed 6-1.
After the win against Washington, I was having an IM chat with The Sliding Pokecheck. We were talking about the Devils and how they've struggled to find offense all season long and how Marty Brodeur just isn't the Marty Brodeur that we've seen in the past. I said something like "Like the 2001-02 Hurricanes, they're hoping that they can win every game 2-1, coz they can't score more than that." A few moments later, I said "Now that I've said that, watch them drop a touchdown on us." I had no idea how prophetic that would be. Well, they missed the PAT, but they still scored the touchdown.
The Devils were on the board early. Defenseman Colin White fired a shot from the left point that went through Mike Commodore's legs, off the far side post and in the goal behind Cam Ward. Officially, it was White from David Clarkson and Jay Pandolfo at 3:08 of the first. It was kind of a crazy goal, and it was a harbinger of things to come. Everything went well for the Devils.
At 5:53, another defenseman scored. Paul Martin took a shot from the right circle which hit Cory Stillman's stick in the slot and deflected in the goal, top shelf. Hepatitis Boy and Jamie Langenbrunner had the assists on the power play goal.
Keith Aucoin gave the Canes a brief glimmer of hope with a crazy goal of his own at 10:35 of the opening stanza. He was in the right place at the right time to deflect an impossible angle shot by Scott Walker from behind the net. He was just there by the left post and got a lucky carom. Walker and Andrew Ladd had the assists.
The game pretty much ended at 15:47 of the first. The Canes were killing the final seconds of a penalty when Johnny Oduya was bringing the puck through neutral ice. He detected that nobody was marking him and he had an unabated path all the way to the goal. He charged in on Ward and easily scored as four and a half Hurricanes skaters stood and watched. The goal was unassisted.
Dainius Zubrus scored a power play goal at 17:58 to make it 4-1. This goal looked a lot like Andrew Ladd's goal against Washington on Friday. The Devils were charging in the zone with numbers. Brian Gionta put a shot on net from the bottom of the right circle. The juicy rebound went to Zubrus with no white sweaters anywhere in the same area code. Andrew Green had the secondary assist.
To everybody's surprise, Cam Ward started the second period. Despite giving up four goals, it wasn't because he was playing poorly. The first goal was through a screen and off the post. The second was a crazy bounce off Cory Stillman's stick. The third, he was hung out to dry, and the fourth was just an amazing play by the Devils. At best, two of those goals were Cam's fault.
At 1:29 of the second, Paul Martin scored his second goal of the game and his fifth of the season. Again, it was assisted by Hepatitis Boy and Langenbrunner.
Jay Pandolfo finished a pretty two-on-one rush at 14:41 to make it 6-1. John Madden and Pandolfo rushed into the Carolina zone with Frantisek Kaberle the only Hurricane back. Kaberle laid down to take the left wing shot away from Madden, but he patiently passed to Pandolfo for the finish. David Clarkson had the second assist.
John Crackers Grahame took over between the pipes after the Pandolfo goal and he steered the boys home without crashing into anything else. Huzzah to him for coming off the bench cold and stopping the bleeding.
The defense sucked. The penalty killing was terrible. The power play was awful. Forechecking was non-existent. The penalties were frequent and lazy. Nothing about the Canes performance was good. Nothing. Well, maybe John Grahame.
The "official" three stars were Oduya (third), Pandolfo (second) and Martin (first), but I have it a little differently. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Patrick Elias, NJD -- 2 assists
SECOND STAR Jay Pandolfo, NJD -- goal, assist
FIRST STAR Paul Martin, NJD -- 2 goals (including GWG), 2 blocked shots, 2 takeaways.
On Tuesday, the Hurricanes will conclude the five game road trip and the "pretend it's a playoff series" seven game stretch following the ASG. After winning two in a row at home after the ASG, Carolina has lost three of these four road games. They will have the day off Sunday, then will practice in Boston on Monday before Tuesday's game with the Bruins.
After the win against Washington, I was having an IM chat with The Sliding Pokecheck. We were talking about the Devils and how they've struggled to find offense all season long and how Marty Brodeur just isn't the Marty Brodeur that we've seen in the past. I said something like "Like the 2001-02 Hurricanes, they're hoping that they can win every game 2-1, coz they can't score more than that." A few moments later, I said "Now that I've said that, watch them drop a touchdown on us." I had no idea how prophetic that would be. Well, they missed the PAT, but they still scored the touchdown.
The Devils were on the board early. Defenseman Colin White fired a shot from the left point that went through Mike Commodore's legs, off the far side post and in the goal behind Cam Ward. Officially, it was White from David Clarkson and Jay Pandolfo at 3:08 of the first. It was kind of a crazy goal, and it was a harbinger of things to come. Everything went well for the Devils.
At 5:53, another defenseman scored. Paul Martin took a shot from the right circle which hit Cory Stillman's stick in the slot and deflected in the goal, top shelf. Hepatitis Boy and Jamie Langenbrunner had the assists on the power play goal.
Keith Aucoin gave the Canes a brief glimmer of hope with a crazy goal of his own at 10:35 of the opening stanza. He was in the right place at the right time to deflect an impossible angle shot by Scott Walker from behind the net. He was just there by the left post and got a lucky carom. Walker and Andrew Ladd had the assists.
The game pretty much ended at 15:47 of the first. The Canes were killing the final seconds of a penalty when Johnny Oduya was bringing the puck through neutral ice. He detected that nobody was marking him and he had an unabated path all the way to the goal. He charged in on Ward and easily scored as four and a half Hurricanes skaters stood and watched. The goal was unassisted.
Dainius Zubrus scored a power play goal at 17:58 to make it 4-1. This goal looked a lot like Andrew Ladd's goal against Washington on Friday. The Devils were charging in the zone with numbers. Brian Gionta put a shot on net from the bottom of the right circle. The juicy rebound went to Zubrus with no white sweaters anywhere in the same area code. Andrew Green had the secondary assist.
To everybody's surprise, Cam Ward started the second period. Despite giving up four goals, it wasn't because he was playing poorly. The first goal was through a screen and off the post. The second was a crazy bounce off Cory Stillman's stick. The third, he was hung out to dry, and the fourth was just an amazing play by the Devils. At best, two of those goals were Cam's fault.
At 1:29 of the second, Paul Martin scored his second goal of the game and his fifth of the season. Again, it was assisted by Hepatitis Boy and Langenbrunner.
Jay Pandolfo finished a pretty two-on-one rush at 14:41 to make it 6-1. John Madden and Pandolfo rushed into the Carolina zone with Frantisek Kaberle the only Hurricane back. Kaberle laid down to take the left wing shot away from Madden, but he patiently passed to Pandolfo for the finish. David Clarkson had the second assist.
John Crackers Grahame took over between the pipes after the Pandolfo goal and he steered the boys home without crashing into anything else. Huzzah to him for coming off the bench cold and stopping the bleeding.
The defense sucked. The penalty killing was terrible. The power play was awful. Forechecking was non-existent. The penalties were frequent and lazy. Nothing about the Canes performance was good. Nothing. Well, maybe John Grahame.
The "official" three stars were Oduya (third), Pandolfo (second) and Martin (first), but I have it a little differently. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Patrick Elias, NJD -- 2 assists
SECOND STAR Jay Pandolfo, NJD -- goal, assist
FIRST STAR Paul Martin, NJD -- 2 goals (including GWG), 2 blocked shots, 2 takeaways.
On Tuesday, the Hurricanes will conclude the five game road trip and the "pretend it's a playoff series" seven game stretch following the ASG. After winning two in a row at home after the ASG, Carolina has lost three of these four road games. They will have the day off Sunday, then will practice in Boston on Monday before Tuesday's game with the Bruins.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Sabres screw Numminen
Darcy Regier can add one more thing to the growing list of things he has done to screw the Buffalo Sabres franchise. Hasek, Satan, Grier, Briere, Drury, and now Numminen.
I'm not a Sabres fan, and I'm unqualified to speak at length about the above things, but this latest one is something that goes beyond being a Sabres fan, or even a hockey fan.
On Thursday, the Sabres quietly announced that they were suspending Teppo Numminen without pay. They said that he failed to show up to camp in good shape. It wasn't that he had been eating Krispy Kreme all summer and was all overweight. It wasn't that he was drunk. It wasn't anything like that. It was that he needed to have heart surgery.
This summer, the Sabres re-signed the 39-year old Finn to a $2.6M one year contract. Last year, whilst wearing the A, he tallied 29 (2/27) points in 79 regular season contests and added 10 assists in 16 post-season games. The previous season, he had 40 (2/38) points in 75 regular season games. Recently, he set the record for most games played by a European player.
He has been the heart of the Sabres blueline.
Heart. He has had two previous heart surgeries, and this one supposedly has nothing to do with correcting either of them. Nor is it for some new cardiac problem. This one is to correct a pre-existing condition. This pre-existing condition rendered his $2.6M contract uninsurable, so the Sabres wouldn't be able to recoup any of his salary from their insurance company. Their solution: suspend him without pay, citing some bullshit "out of shape" excuse.
By last check, even when you include Numminen, the Sabres are well below the salary cap limit. This can't be about that. They still have six NHL-calibre defensemen, so it probably isn't about the need to sign someone else. I'm not sure what this is about.
In situations like this, most teams would place Numminen on the long-term IR, which means his salary would not count towards the salary cap anyway. The Devils did this with Hepatitis boy. Even the Sabres did this before, with Tim Connolly and his concussion.
This is about being cheap. And disrespectful. This is about kicking a man while he's down. Darcy Regier and Tom Golisano should be ashamed of themselves.
The NHL Players' Association is investigating the matter, and should file a grievance on Numminen's behalf.
In their defense, Regier and Co dug up some subsection to some rule in the CBA saying that a player must show up for camp ready to play and he must pass his physical. If he doesn't his SPC can be nullified. Tim Graham of the Buffalo News:
It CAN be but it doesn't HAVE TO be. I don't think the verbage suggests that the contract is automatically null and void. They are using this to weasel their way out of paying him. Under those same rules, the Oilers could have suspended Fernando Pisani when he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (By the way, I hate to say I told you so, but Carter was invited to the Oilers camp). For once in his life, Kevin Lowe did something right. Pisani might miss the entire season, leaving the Oil on the hook for $2.5M, but Lowe et al refused to treat a sick player as a casualty of a business decision.
After the Tomas Vanek fiasco, it seems funny to say this, but Darcy Regier needs to take a page out of Lowe's book. Lowe may be an idiot, but he's not a cold, callous, heartless idiot.
Say what you will about the Sabres "doing what they had to do". Say what you will about this being a "business rather than personal decision". Say what you will about it being "fair" according to the CBA. This is a crap move.
Kevin BFLOBLOG wrote about it here.
Tom from Sabre Rattling has a more levelheaded approach. He always does.
Some folks are comparing the Numminen situation to the Scott Niedermayer situation in Anaheim, but it isn't even remotely the same. Niedermayer, who is pondering retirement, didn't show up to Ducks' camp, and was suspended. This is very very different.
With Drury and Briere gone and with Numminen suspended (and undergoing career-threatening surgery), the Sabres have nobody back who wore a letter last season. After everything that's gone on this summer, and especially the Numminen thing, more than a few feathers have been ruffled in the Lake Erie area.
I'm not a Sabres fan, and I'm unqualified to speak at length about the above things, but this latest one is something that goes beyond being a Sabres fan, or even a hockey fan.
On Thursday, the Sabres quietly announced that they were suspending Teppo Numminen without pay. They said that he failed to show up to camp in good shape. It wasn't that he had been eating Krispy Kreme all summer and was all overweight. It wasn't that he was drunk. It wasn't anything like that. It was that he needed to have heart surgery.
This summer, the Sabres re-signed the 39-year old Finn to a $2.6M one year contract. Last year, whilst wearing the A, he tallied 29 (2/27) points in 79 regular season contests and added 10 assists in 16 post-season games. The previous season, he had 40 (2/38) points in 75 regular season games. Recently, he set the record for most games played by a European player.
He has been the heart of the Sabres blueline.
Heart. He has had two previous heart surgeries, and this one supposedly has nothing to do with correcting either of them. Nor is it for some new cardiac problem. This one is to correct a pre-existing condition. This pre-existing condition rendered his $2.6M contract uninsurable, so the Sabres wouldn't be able to recoup any of his salary from their insurance company. Their solution: suspend him without pay, citing some bullshit "out of shape" excuse.
By last check, even when you include Numminen, the Sabres are well below the salary cap limit. This can't be about that. They still have six NHL-calibre defensemen, so it probably isn't about the need to sign someone else. I'm not sure what this is about.
In situations like this, most teams would place Numminen on the long-term IR, which means his salary would not count towards the salary cap anyway. The Devils did this with Hepatitis boy. Even the Sabres did this before, with Tim Connolly and his concussion.
This is about being cheap. And disrespectful. This is about kicking a man while he's down. Darcy Regier and Tom Golisano should be ashamed of themselves.
The NHL Players' Association is investigating the matter, and should file a grievance on Numminen's behalf.
In their defense, Regier and Co dug up some subsection to some rule in the CBA saying that a player must show up for camp ready to play and he must pass his physical. If he doesn't his SPC can be nullified. Tim Graham of the Buffalo News:
“There’s a clause explicitly in the contract that states the player must pass the physical and be fit to play,” Regier said. “It’s the collective bargaining agreement, and in no way is it personal to Teppo.
“I had the conversation with Teppo. He understands it’s business. It has a lot of implications on the salary side, on the cap side.”
It CAN be but it doesn't HAVE TO be. I don't think the verbage suggests that the contract is automatically null and void. They are using this to weasel their way out of paying him. Under those same rules, the Oilers could have suspended Fernando Pisani when he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (By the way, I hate to say I told you so, but Carter was invited to the Oilers camp). For once in his life, Kevin Lowe did something right. Pisani might miss the entire season, leaving the Oil on the hook for $2.5M, but Lowe et al refused to treat a sick player as a casualty of a business decision.
After the Tomas Vanek fiasco, it seems funny to say this, but Darcy Regier needs to take a page out of Lowe's book. Lowe may be an idiot, but he's not a cold, callous, heartless idiot.
Say what you will about the Sabres "doing what they had to do". Say what you will about this being a "business rather than personal decision". Say what you will about it being "fair" according to the CBA. This is a crap move.
Kevin BFLOBLOG wrote about it here.
Tom from Sabre Rattling has a more levelheaded approach. He always does.
Some folks are comparing the Numminen situation to the Scott Niedermayer situation in Anaheim, but it isn't even remotely the same. Niedermayer, who is pondering retirement, didn't show up to Ducks' camp, and was suspended. This is very very different.
With Drury and Briere gone and with Numminen suspended (and undergoing career-threatening surgery), the Sabres have nobody back who wore a letter last season. After everything that's gone on this summer, and especially the Numminen thing, more than a few feathers have been ruffled in the Lake Erie area.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Eastern Conference hot seats (part one)
A few days ago, The Score presented its list of players who will be in "the hot seat" for their respective team. Not necessarily that their job is on the line, but the suggestion is that the success or failure of the team would be predicated upon the success or failure of a single player. Unfortunately, their list puts too much pressure on the goaltender to be the guy. I don't really buy that. Too often, goalies become the fall guy he's not getting any goal support. I like to look elsewhere.
The rest of the crew over at SESO have been kicking this around for a few days, everyone putting their own two cents in. I thought it would be fun to take it team-by-team and give my own unqualified opinion. I'm in no way qualified to comment on Western Conference teams, and in many cases, I have no business commenting on Eastern, but I'll take a shot at all 15 teams in the East. Here, at least is part one of this project. Please excuse the length.
Boston Bruins. The Score says Manny Fernandez is in the hot seat. They traded to get him, and the idea is that he's going to right the goaltending ship. I'm not looking that way at all. Tim Thomas is by no means Ken Dryden, but I just don't think that the Bruins main problem was between the pipes. Their goaltending was suspect, but even more suspect was their offensive production. The Bs scored just 210 goals last season, putting them in 25th place league-wide. This is clearly an area that needs improvement. I'll pick on the youngster Phil Kessel. He's gonna have to step it up in this, his sophomore season. The Teddy Bears have been all about Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron, but that's going to have to change. He is going to have to show everyone why the Bs took him with the #5 overall pick in 2006 and why they sent him straight to the big club. Take a quick look at his rookie numbers. 29 (11/18) points in 70 games. Look at Eric Staal's rookie season, when he was also sent directly to the big club. 31 (11/20) points in 81 games. If Kessel can have a Staal-esque sophomore season, I think the natives in Boston will be quite happy with how the rest of the squad responds. It's unfair to pin it on the kid, but I really think that if they want to be any good, it's going to take a breakout season by Kessel.
Montréal Canadiens. The Score picks on Alexei Kovalev. He's grossly overpaid, and he needs to prove his worth, but that 95-point season was a freak combination of playing over one's head and playing alongside Jagr and Lemieux. It was a perfect storm, and it'll never happen again. I'll pick on Michael Ryder. He's been good, but there's probably more in the tank. He needs to find it. With Sheldon Souray gone, someone will have to pick up the slack in point production. Koivu can't do it all, and I don't see the need to demand more of Kovalev in that department. Ryder was the Habs' leading goal-scorer last season, but he needs to pick it up even more. If he should have a letdown of a season, they're done.
Washington Capitals. The Score put Ovechkin in the hot seat. Not me. I put Michael Nylander there. He was an uber-expensive free agent acquisition, and it is up to him to bolster that one man show up there. Okay, so with Alexander Semin there, it's a two man show. But anyway, it's all on him to make it a three-man show. He has to stay healthy and motivated. He has to have the kinds of numbers that he had the last two seasons (83 points, 79 points). Elsewise, the Caps will have wasted their money and they will finish out of the playoffs again. I think they'll finish out of the playoffs either way, but Nylander can help them to be competitive.
New Jersey Devils. The Score chose Dainius Zubrus. That pick is too obvious. The Devils need a Scott Gomez replacement. Zubrus ain't it. He put up good numbers in 2005-06 when he played on a very very crappy Capitals team, but whenever he's surrounded by talent, those numbers won't be as high. After he was acquired by Buffalo at the trade deadline last season, he did virtually nothing for them in the regular or post season. at $3.4M, he's way overpaid, and he needs to have a 70+ point season to justify the big contract. He won't, but the Devs will be just fine. Unless.... My hot seat selection for them is Zach Parise. The youngster had a semi-breakout season last year with 62(31/31) points. He'll need to have another career best season this year This season, he won't have the beautiful playmaking of Scott Gomez to help him out, and who knows whether Hepatitis Boy will stay healthy all season. In any case, Parise should step up his game, and my opinion is that as he goes, so too will go the Devils.
Philadelphia Flyers. The Score said Marty Biron was the guy. The Bullies went all apey in the free agent market, and really you could pick any of those new guys with the huge price tags. I'll take the easy way out and pick the former Sabres captain Danny Briere. He's making $10M this year, and if he doesn't score over 150 goals and add 150 assists while leading the Flyers to their third Stanley Cup, it will have been a waste. Who wants to bet that it won't happen?
Unfair to pin it all on Briere? I don't think so. This dude's salary has been skyrocketing at a rate non-commensurate with his production. In 2003-04, Briere made $1.6M while putting up 65 (28/37) points. Before the lockout, an arbitrator "awarded" him a $2.55M contract for the season that never happened. In 2005-06, he made $2M and put up 58 (25/33) points in just 48 games (1.21 ppg). Last seson, he was awarded a "huge" $5M contract via arbitration and he scored 95 (32/63) points (1.17 ppg). This season, his pay will literally double. Even when you average out the "cap hit" to $6.5M, this is a hefty raise. I don't think he deserves it, and unless he accomplishes the aforementioned impossible tasks, it won't have been worth it. Can Briere handle the pressure of living up to this huge contract? With all these "sexy" acquisitions, the Flyers should be competitive, but I think it all depends on the little Quebeccer.
Speaking of the Buffalo Sabres, The Score puts Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek sitting in each other's laps in the "hot seat". Those two were among the Sabres' top five scorers, and they'll certainly need to put up the same kinds of numbers if the Sabres want to be good. They'll be good, but if Maxim Afinogenov can crank it up a couple of notches, they'll be great. He's been a frustrating player for Sabres fans. With such flashes of brilliance interspersed with sloppiness and a trademark inability to finish scoring chances, I think there's a phenom trapped in the body of a near-phenom. If he busts out, the Sabres will be (to borrow from Rick Jeanneret) "Scary Good" despite losing their two co-captains to ridiculous free agent poaching. In the 2004 season, Afinogenov scored one of the most incredible goals I've ever seen. Enjoy the YouTube clip and Jeaneret's call.
As a special treat for Sabres fans, that's Carolina's current #2 goaltender "Johnny Crackers" getting abused by Maxi in the clip.
The Score puts Cam Ward in Carolina's "hot seat". This is purely based on the way Cam came down to earth last season after playing way over his head on the way to winning the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe trophy in 2006. Will Cam have to be good? Sure. However, I pick Matt Cullen. When Carolina struggled last season, everyone had a million excuses for why they weren't the same as the Cup-winning team. Almost everyone agreed that the absence of Cully was a huge factor. A lot of people rated it as the #1 factor. Carolina spent a lot of money to re-acquire Cullen via trade with the Rangers. Now that Carolina has replaced Cullen with Cullen himself, they should be able to return to 2006 form. Cullen will have to put up at 50 or more points and push the Canes back into a deep playoff run to justify going over the self-imposed budget. If he can't produce, the Canes will be on the links in April. He's the "hot seat" guy.
New York Islanders. In keeping with their "pick on the new guy or the goalie" theme, The Score put Billy Guerin in the Isles' "hot seat". The Isles are going to stink this year. They've made some acquisitions, but they're all old guys, except Mike Comrie, and they overpaid like hell for him. Charles Wang is running a clown factory over there, and the Isles' new sweaters are going to make a lot of eyes sore. Defenseman Emma Bergeron had a great season last year, and he'll probably be the Isles leading point-getter this season. Just for giggles, I'll put Jeff Tambellini in the "hot seat". In what was a pretty strong draft class in 2003, Tambellini was taken with the 27th overall pick. He put up point-a-night numbers in two AHL seasons, but has yet to make an impact on the NHL level. The Isles will have a bunch of 10-goal scorers, and a small handful of old dudes scoring 20. I don't see anyone scoring 30, unless this guy has a breakout season. If he does, the Isles might be competitive. I don't think old man Billy Guerin will be able to carry the weight of the team. One of the young guys will have to step to the front. I nominate Tambellini.
This is taking way longer than I anticipated. Look for part two by Friday evening. Lemme know what you think.
The rest of the crew over at SESO have been kicking this around for a few days, everyone putting their own two cents in. I thought it would be fun to take it team-by-team and give my own unqualified opinion. I'm in no way qualified to comment on Western Conference teams, and in many cases, I have no business commenting on Eastern, but I'll take a shot at all 15 teams in the East. Here, at least is part one of this project. Please excuse the length.
Boston Bruins. The Score says Manny Fernandez is in the hot seat. They traded to get him, and the idea is that he's going to right the goaltending ship. I'm not looking that way at all. Tim Thomas is by no means Ken Dryden, but I just don't think that the Bruins main problem was between the pipes. Their goaltending was suspect, but even more suspect was their offensive production. The Bs scored just 210 goals last season, putting them in 25th place league-wide. This is clearly an area that needs improvement. I'll pick on the youngster Phil Kessel. He's gonna have to step it up in this, his sophomore season. The Teddy Bears have been all about Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron, but that's going to have to change. He is going to have to show everyone why the Bs took him with the #5 overall pick in 2006 and why they sent him straight to the big club. Take a quick look at his rookie numbers. 29 (11/18) points in 70 games. Look at Eric Staal's rookie season, when he was also sent directly to the big club. 31 (11/20) points in 81 games. If Kessel can have a Staal-esque sophomore season, I think the natives in Boston will be quite happy with how the rest of the squad responds. It's unfair to pin it on the kid, but I really think that if they want to be any good, it's going to take a breakout season by Kessel.
Montréal Canadiens. The Score picks on Alexei Kovalev. He's grossly overpaid, and he needs to prove his worth, but that 95-point season was a freak combination of playing over one's head and playing alongside Jagr and Lemieux. It was a perfect storm, and it'll never happen again. I'll pick on Michael Ryder. He's been good, but there's probably more in the tank. He needs to find it. With Sheldon Souray gone, someone will have to pick up the slack in point production. Koivu can't do it all, and I don't see the need to demand more of Kovalev in that department. Ryder was the Habs' leading goal-scorer last season, but he needs to pick it up even more. If he should have a letdown of a season, they're done.
Washington Capitals. The Score put Ovechkin in the hot seat. Not me. I put Michael Nylander there. He was an uber-expensive free agent acquisition, and it is up to him to bolster that one man show up there. Okay, so with Alexander Semin there, it's a two man show. But anyway, it's all on him to make it a three-man show. He has to stay healthy and motivated. He has to have the kinds of numbers that he had the last two seasons (83 points, 79 points). Elsewise, the Caps will have wasted their money and they will finish out of the playoffs again. I think they'll finish out of the playoffs either way, but Nylander can help them to be competitive.
New Jersey Devils. The Score chose Dainius Zubrus. That pick is too obvious. The Devils need a Scott Gomez replacement. Zubrus ain't it. He put up good numbers in 2005-06 when he played on a very very crappy Capitals team, but whenever he's surrounded by talent, those numbers won't be as high. After he was acquired by Buffalo at the trade deadline last season, he did virtually nothing for them in the regular or post season. at $3.4M, he's way overpaid, and he needs to have a 70+ point season to justify the big contract. He won't, but the Devs will be just fine. Unless.... My hot seat selection for them is Zach Parise. The youngster had a semi-breakout season last year with 62(31/31) points. He'll need to have another career best season this year This season, he won't have the beautiful playmaking of Scott Gomez to help him out, and who knows whether Hepatitis Boy will stay healthy all season. In any case, Parise should step up his game, and my opinion is that as he goes, so too will go the Devils.
Philadelphia Flyers. The Score said Marty Biron was the guy. The Bullies went all apey in the free agent market, and really you could pick any of those new guys with the huge price tags. I'll take the easy way out and pick the former Sabres captain Danny Briere. He's making $10M this year, and if he doesn't score over 150 goals and add 150 assists while leading the Flyers to their third Stanley Cup, it will have been a waste. Who wants to bet that it won't happen?
Unfair to pin it all on Briere? I don't think so. This dude's salary has been skyrocketing at a rate non-commensurate with his production. In 2003-04, Briere made $1.6M while putting up 65 (28/37) points. Before the lockout, an arbitrator "awarded" him a $2.55M contract for the season that never happened. In 2005-06, he made $2M and put up 58 (25/33) points in just 48 games (1.21 ppg). Last seson, he was awarded a "huge" $5M contract via arbitration and he scored 95 (32/63) points (1.17 ppg). This season, his pay will literally double. Even when you average out the "cap hit" to $6.5M, this is a hefty raise. I don't think he deserves it, and unless he accomplishes the aforementioned impossible tasks, it won't have been worth it. Can Briere handle the pressure of living up to this huge contract? With all these "sexy" acquisitions, the Flyers should be competitive, but I think it all depends on the little Quebeccer.
Speaking of the Buffalo Sabres, The Score puts Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek sitting in each other's laps in the "hot seat". Those two were among the Sabres' top five scorers, and they'll certainly need to put up the same kinds of numbers if the Sabres want to be good. They'll be good, but if Maxim Afinogenov can crank it up a couple of notches, they'll be great. He's been a frustrating player for Sabres fans. With such flashes of brilliance interspersed with sloppiness and a trademark inability to finish scoring chances, I think there's a phenom trapped in the body of a near-phenom. If he busts out, the Sabres will be (to borrow from Rick Jeanneret) "Scary Good" despite losing their two co-captains to ridiculous free agent poaching. In the 2004 season, Afinogenov scored one of the most incredible goals I've ever seen. Enjoy the YouTube clip and Jeaneret's call.
As a special treat for Sabres fans, that's Carolina's current #2 goaltender "Johnny Crackers" getting abused by Maxi in the clip.
The Score puts Cam Ward in Carolina's "hot seat". This is purely based on the way Cam came down to earth last season after playing way over his head on the way to winning the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe trophy in 2006. Will Cam have to be good? Sure. However, I pick Matt Cullen. When Carolina struggled last season, everyone had a million excuses for why they weren't the same as the Cup-winning team. Almost everyone agreed that the absence of Cully was a huge factor. A lot of people rated it as the #1 factor. Carolina spent a lot of money to re-acquire Cullen via trade with the Rangers. Now that Carolina has replaced Cullen with Cullen himself, they should be able to return to 2006 form. Cullen will have to put up at 50 or more points and push the Canes back into a deep playoff run to justify going over the self-imposed budget. If he can't produce, the Canes will be on the links in April. He's the "hot seat" guy.
New York Islanders. In keeping with their "pick on the new guy or the goalie" theme, The Score put Billy Guerin in the Isles' "hot seat". The Isles are going to stink this year. They've made some acquisitions, but they're all old guys, except Mike Comrie, and they overpaid like hell for him. Charles Wang is running a clown factory over there, and the Isles' new sweaters are going to make a lot of eyes sore. Defenseman Emma Bergeron had a great season last year, and he'll probably be the Isles leading point-getter this season. Just for giggles, I'll put Jeff Tambellini in the "hot seat". In what was a pretty strong draft class in 2003, Tambellini was taken with the 27th overall pick. He put up point-a-night numbers in two AHL seasons, but has yet to make an impact on the NHL level. The Isles will have a bunch of 10-goal scorers, and a small handful of old dudes scoring 20. I don't see anyone scoring 30, unless this guy has a breakout season. If he does, the Isles might be competitive. I don't think old man Billy Guerin will be able to carry the weight of the team. One of the young guys will have to step to the front. I nominate Tambellini.This is taking way longer than I anticipated. Look for part two by Friday evening. Lemme know what you think.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Sabres, Ducks take early lead
On Wednesday night, both the Sabres and the Mighty Ducks crushed their opponent and took 1-0 series leads. Buffalo trounced the Rangers 5-2 while Anaheim whipped the Canucks 5-1. Each team won on their home ice.
The Rangers' game plan was to irritate and frustrate the Sabres and cause them to take penalties. However, it was the Rangers who had discipline issues. They took more penalties than did the Sabres and they failed to convert a full two minutes of five-on-three.
The Blueshirts will have to be more focused if they want to have any chance in this series.
In the second period, the Rangers lost defenseman Michal Rozsival to a leg injury. He didn't return. As is typical in the playoffs, no details about the nature of the injury are available. He's listed as "day-to-day". During the regular season, Rozsival led Rangers defensemen with 40 (10/30) points. He had totaled three (2/1) points in the Rangers four game sweep of the Thrashers and was third in the league with a +/- rating of +5. This will be very bad news for the Rangers if he is unable to return.
In the West, it was just about the same story. The Nucks had discipline issues and couldn't take care of their own scoring chances. Although the Canucks struck first blood, they were unable to do any damage. Andy McDonald netted a hat trick for the Ducks in what turned out to be a very one-sided game. Vancouver is going to have to make some big adjustments. This isn't Dallas anymore, and the high-flying Ducks won't let you beat them with just two goals.
Tonight, the Wings host the Sharks and the Devils host the Sens. I think the Detroit-San Jose series should be very good. The New Jersey-Ottawa series will be extremely physical, but I think it will be all about Marty Brodeur. I don't think the Devils will have much trouble.
The Rangers' game plan was to irritate and frustrate the Sabres and cause them to take penalties. However, it was the Rangers who had discipline issues. They took more penalties than did the Sabres and they failed to convert a full two minutes of five-on-three.
The Blueshirts will have to be more focused if they want to have any chance in this series.
In the second period, the Rangers lost defenseman Michal Rozsival to a leg injury. He didn't return. As is typical in the playoffs, no details about the nature of the injury are available. He's listed as "day-to-day". During the regular season, Rozsival led Rangers defensemen with 40 (10/30) points. He had totaled three (2/1) points in the Rangers four game sweep of the Thrashers and was third in the league with a +/- rating of +5. This will be very bad news for the Rangers if he is unable to return.
In the West, it was just about the same story. The Nucks had discipline issues and couldn't take care of their own scoring chances. Although the Canucks struck first blood, they were unable to do any damage. Andy McDonald netted a hat trick for the Ducks in what turned out to be a very one-sided game. Vancouver is going to have to make some big adjustments. This isn't Dallas anymore, and the high-flying Ducks won't let you beat them with just two goals.
Tonight, the Wings host the Sharks and the Devils host the Sens. I think the Detroit-San Jose series should be very good. The New Jersey-Ottawa series will be extremely physical, but I think it will be all about Marty Brodeur. I don't think the Devils will have much trouble.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Nucks grab last spot
On Monday night, the Vancouver Canucks, wearing their third sweater, finally finished off the Dallas Stars 4-1. There were two empty net goals, so it wasn't the blowout that the score might suggest. Finally, the playoff picture for the second round is complete.
In the first round, I correctly predicted six series winners and missed two. Last year I correctly picked only three in the first round. For comparison, Maggie the Monkey correctly picked four in this season's first round. I'm half again as smart as a monkey!
I hope that I'll take a close look at each series, but for now, I'll just cut to the chase and make my second round predictions.
So without further ado, after re-seeding:
I agonised over the Sabres-Rangers series. For the reason that there are about 7 former WhalerCanes on the Rangers roster, I have to pull for them. As long as Ryan Miller stays healthy and effective, this should be a great series that will go the distance. The only problem with rooting for the Rags, though, is that Jaro Jagr comes with that territory.
Nucks-Ducks and Sabres-Rags will start on Wednesday while Devils-Sens and Wings-Sharks will begin Thursday.
In the first round, I correctly predicted six series winners and missed two. Last year I correctly picked only three in the first round. For comparison, Maggie the Monkey correctly picked four in this season's first round. I'm half again as smart as a monkey!
I hope that I'll take a close look at each series, but for now, I'll just cut to the chase and make my second round predictions.
So without further ado, after re-seeding:
I agonised over the Sabres-Rangers series. For the reason that there are about 7 former WhalerCanes on the Rangers roster, I have to pull for them. As long as Ryan Miller stays healthy and effective, this should be a great series that will go the distance. The only problem with rooting for the Rags, though, is that Jaro Jagr comes with that territory.
Nucks-Ducks and Sabres-Rags will start on Wednesday while Devils-Sens and Wings-Sharks will begin Thursday.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Canes take a few days off after beating Brodeur
On Saturday, the Canes did what few teams have been able to do this season. They solved Marty Brodeur. In fact, they chased him from the game, scoring four goals on their first 12 shots. With the score 4-0 midway through the second, Brodeur left. The Canes went on to rout the Devils 7-2 to split the home-and-home.
Just two days prior, the same two teams met in the RBC Center with the Devils emerging with a 3-2 victory. I didn't have time to write about it, or the back end of that home-and-home due to a very hectic work schedule.
During the first second intermission of the home game, my friend Bill and I argued the usefulness of Chad LaRose. I said that I like him, that I've always liked him, and he should be given the ice time that he gets. Bill doesn't think he deserves to play while a more skilled Anson Carter rides the pine. I agree that Carter is more talented, but I don't think the fourth line is the right place for Carter. On Saturday, that problem was solved when Trevor Letowski was scratched, Carter played on the third line and LaRose played center on the fourth line. After the shift from wing to center, LaRose had the best game of his NHL career, notching two goals. The first was an absolutely gorgeous pump fake followed by the slapper from the left dot that beat Brodeur on the short side. The pump fake was so good that I actually thought it was a long rebound.
His second goal was almost the same, but on the right dot and to Clemmensen's short side.
He earned first star props for his two-goal effort.
In that game, Carolina shut down the Devils' power play, and now they've allowed just one pp goal over the last nine games. On their own end, they managed to score two power play goals. Hopefully, this will kickstart that special teams unit while the PK keeps on keepin' on.
Carolina will have its second four-day vacation this week. They won't play again until Thursday night at home against the lowly Capitals. In the meantime, some of the teams with games in hand will be playing those out.
After the Caps, the Canes will be entertaining the Sharks, who haven't been to Raleigh since the 2003-04 season. That will be the culmination of a very long superfunday. My second in as many weeks. More on that later.
Just two days prior, the same two teams met in the RBC Center with the Devils emerging with a 3-2 victory. I didn't have time to write about it, or the back end of that home-and-home due to a very hectic work schedule.
During the first second intermission of the home game, my friend Bill and I argued the usefulness of Chad LaRose. I said that I like him, that I've always liked him, and he should be given the ice time that he gets. Bill doesn't think he deserves to play while a more skilled Anson Carter rides the pine. I agree that Carter is more talented, but I don't think the fourth line is the right place for Carter. On Saturday, that problem was solved when Trevor Letowski was scratched, Carter played on the third line and LaRose played center on the fourth line. After the shift from wing to center, LaRose had the best game of his NHL career, notching two goals. The first was an absolutely gorgeous pump fake followed by the slapper from the left dot that beat Brodeur on the short side. The pump fake was so good that I actually thought it was a long rebound.
His second goal was almost the same, but on the right dot and to Clemmensen's short side.
He earned first star props for his two-goal effort.
In that game, Carolina shut down the Devils' power play, and now they've allowed just one pp goal over the last nine games. On their own end, they managed to score two power play goals. Hopefully, this will kickstart that special teams unit while the PK keeps on keepin' on.
Carolina will have its second four-day vacation this week. They won't play again until Thursday night at home against the lowly Capitals. In the meantime, some of the teams with games in hand will be playing those out.
After the Caps, the Canes will be entertaining the Sharks, who haven't been to Raleigh since the 2003-04 season. That will be the culmination of a very long superfunday. My second in as many weeks. More on that later.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
The Kaberle incident
I am completely disgusted by what occurred in New Jersey last night. Just barely a week after the "incident" in Buffalo, we see another example of what unfortunately happens when the instigator rule is in place. A useless goon of a player takes out a star player with a late and dirty hit. The on-ice officials miss the call, the players can't take the law into their own hands, and the offending player gets off scot free.
Last week, Buffalo's Chris Drury was taken out by a hit from Ottawa's Chris Neil that was high, late, unnecessary and dirty. That escalated into a full scale brawl. The brawling didn't occur in New Jersey, but we saw a carbon copy of the incident that precipitated it. The talentless goon, played by New Jersey's Cam Janssen made a late, high, unnecessary and dirty hit on a star player, played by Toronto's Tomas Kaberle. Janssen is nothing more than an agitator and Kaberle is one of the best defensemen in the League and arguably Toronto's best player.
I won't detail the hit. Damien Cox of the Toronto Star has a ... um... strongly worded piece about the hit. I recommend reading that. Here's the footage:
No penalty was called on the play. I don't get that. It looks like Janssen left his feet. That could be charging. Because of the way Kaberle was spun around and slammed face first into the boards, this could be boarding. This could be elbowing. This could be roughing. Because Kaberle was clearly not in possession of the puck, this could be interference. No call was made.
When Kaberle went down, play was immediately stopped and Janssen stood there anticipating a confrontation. The Leafs players never stood up. Perhaps they were afraid of the instigator rule. Perhaps they didn't want another Wrestlemania '07. Perhaps they were more concerned about Tomas' health than in kicking Janssen's ass. Neither Darcy Tucker nor Wade Belak were in the lineup, and maybe that also had something to do with it.
By the time it was all said and done, Toronto won the game in a shootout. Kaberle was held overnight in a hospital and is being examined. Clownshoes Campbell will investigate the tape today to determine Janssen's fate.
I've written about this before, and I'll say it again. I think the NHL needs to take a stance against blows to the head. Any blow to the head should be penalized, followed by a fine and/or suspension. This makes at least a half dozen times this season where a player has been knocked out by a blow to the head and carried off on a stretcher. In each case, the hit was late and of very very questionable legality. I would argue that this one had questionable intent. Pittsburgh's Colby Armstrong wasn't trying to hurt Carolina's Trevor Letowski back in October. Edmonton's Raffi Torres wasn't trying to kill Detroit's Jason Williams back in November. Calgary's Robyn Regehr didn't attempt to knock Montréal's Aaron Downey out (although he probably enjoyed it). There have been a few others, and then the incident in Buffalo last week.
Chris Neil probably was trying to hurt Chris Drury with his late and high hit. Cam Janssen had no business being that aggressive in that situation, so I have to think that he may have been head hunting.
Cam Janssen didn't play at all after that incident, which occurred late in the second. Was he being punished, or is Claude Julien too chickenshit to send his player out there to face the music? Methinks the latter.
On the incident, I have a few cheers and jeers to hand out:
CHEERS:
Colin White, NJD. Throughout the entire thing, he was hovering around, showing concern. He also gave a hand to the steet-shoed folks coming on the ice to tend to the injured player.
Darcy Tucker, TOR. Jeez, this pains me to compliment Tucker. Dressed in his civvies, he approached the Devils bench from the tunnel to "have a word" with Janssen. Nobody would do it on the ice, so he figured he may as well.
JEERS:
Referees Kelly Sutherland and Brad Watson. No penalty was called when at least three different penalties could have been.
Toronto Maple Leafs. Nobody "cleaned up" the situation.
New Jersey coach Claude Julien. Janssen didn't play a single shift after the incident, giving him a free pass. This is in violation of the unwritten code pertaining to facing the music.
New Jersey Devils organist. While a player was knocked out and could have had a very serious injury, the organist played on. Give the rah-rah stuff a rest in situations like this.
Yes, I know that players are taught at a young age to "finish your check" and to "play through the whistle" and I know that hitting is part of the game. Obviously. However, hitting high and late is not "part of the game". Lining up a star player like that is not "part of the game". Refusing to face the music is not "part of the game".
Again, I'll recommend that you read Damien Cox's scathing take on the incident. Just remember that he's a Leafs journalist.
The two teams will meet again in Toronto on March 20.
Last week, Buffalo's Chris Drury was taken out by a hit from Ottawa's Chris Neil that was high, late, unnecessary and dirty. That escalated into a full scale brawl. The brawling didn't occur in New Jersey, but we saw a carbon copy of the incident that precipitated it. The talentless goon, played by New Jersey's Cam Janssen made a late, high, unnecessary and dirty hit on a star player, played by Toronto's Tomas Kaberle. Janssen is nothing more than an agitator and Kaberle is one of the best defensemen in the League and arguably Toronto's best player.
I won't detail the hit. Damien Cox of the Toronto Star has a ... um... strongly worded piece about the hit. I recommend reading that. Here's the footage:
No penalty was called on the play. I don't get that. It looks like Janssen left his feet. That could be charging. Because of the way Kaberle was spun around and slammed face first into the boards, this could be boarding. This could be elbowing. This could be roughing. Because Kaberle was clearly not in possession of the puck, this could be interference. No call was made.
When Kaberle went down, play was immediately stopped and Janssen stood there anticipating a confrontation. The Leafs players never stood up. Perhaps they were afraid of the instigator rule. Perhaps they didn't want another Wrestlemania '07. Perhaps they were more concerned about Tomas' health than in kicking Janssen's ass. Neither Darcy Tucker nor Wade Belak were in the lineup, and maybe that also had something to do with it.
By the time it was all said and done, Toronto won the game in a shootout. Kaberle was held overnight in a hospital and is being examined. Clownshoes Campbell will investigate the tape today to determine Janssen's fate.
I've written about this before, and I'll say it again. I think the NHL needs to take a stance against blows to the head. Any blow to the head should be penalized, followed by a fine and/or suspension. This makes at least a half dozen times this season where a player has been knocked out by a blow to the head and carried off on a stretcher. In each case, the hit was late and of very very questionable legality. I would argue that this one had questionable intent. Pittsburgh's Colby Armstrong wasn't trying to hurt Carolina's Trevor Letowski back in October. Edmonton's Raffi Torres wasn't trying to kill Detroit's Jason Williams back in November. Calgary's Robyn Regehr didn't attempt to knock Montréal's Aaron Downey out (although he probably enjoyed it). There have been a few others, and then the incident in Buffalo last week.
Chris Neil probably was trying to hurt Chris Drury with his late and high hit. Cam Janssen had no business being that aggressive in that situation, so I have to think that he may have been head hunting.
Cam Janssen didn't play at all after that incident, which occurred late in the second. Was he being punished, or is Claude Julien too chickenshit to send his player out there to face the music? Methinks the latter.
On the incident, I have a few cheers and jeers to hand out:
CHEERS:
JEERS:
Yes, I know that players are taught at a young age to "finish your check" and to "play through the whistle" and I know that hitting is part of the game. Obviously. However, hitting high and late is not "part of the game". Lining up a star player like that is not "part of the game". Refusing to face the music is not "part of the game".
Again, I'll recommend that you read Damien Cox's scathing take on the incident. Just remember that he's a Leafs journalist.
The two teams will meet again in Toronto on March 20.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Devils come to town, Canes lose again.
On Friday night, in what the club ridiculously called "Opening Night II", the Canes were shut out by the visiting Devils. Just as the Sabres had done two nights prior, the Devils were able to have their way with the team that ousted them from the 2006 playoffs.
I don't think "have their way" is precise enough for what happened on Friday, though. If you looked at the shot count and the penalty log, you might think that it was an evenly played game. It wasn't. New Jersey was much better right from the puck drop than Carolina. Except for a span of perhaps five minutes during the second period, Carolina looked flat and unfocused. New Jersey looked like they were scrimmaging against a B team.
I wish I could find something positive to say other than "at least we gave up fewer than 5 goals".
I forgot to DVR the game, so I'll have to rely on my notes and my memory. I'll update/correct when I get a look at some footage.
Zach Parise, who is one of USA Hockey's best prospects, got things started very early. The red light came on at 0:26, after Parise tipped in a Colin White point blast. On the live look, I thought it was White's goal, but instead he got the first assist and Brian Gionta got the second.
At 11:30, Jamie Langenbrunner tipped one in from in close to make it 2-0. Rifalski and Brad Lukowich got the assists. Again, my live-look first impression was wrong. I thought it was Travis Zajac who tipped it in. These two goals were basically the same thing. Lots of traffic out front, a long point shot, and a deflection from in close.
Late in the first period, the Canes were having an awful lot of trouble staying out of the box, and the Devils took their Texas time doing it, but they made Carolina pay. During the back end of two consecutive short 5-on-3 sequences, Hepatitis Boy was left all alone on the front porch, and scored a goal on which Carolina seemed to put forth no effort. Gomez and Gionta got the helpers.
At the end of the first stanza, the Canes had only mustered six shots on goal, but none of them were quality scoring chances. The Devils, on the other hand, made the most of their 14 shots, scoring on three of them.
At 6:01 of the second, Parise scored again, making it 4-0. Gomez and Gionta each picked up another assist. Immediately following the goal, as the ensuing face-off was taking place, Kevyn Adams did something very out of character: He dropped the gloves. He and Dan Lacouture squared off in what was really nothing more than a glorified grappling match. I have no idea what sparked it, but it was definitely pre-arranged.
Unfortunately, the fight didn't motivate the team at all. They remained flat and listless until the final horn finally went off. Thankfully, the Devils didn't score any more after that, and the final was 4-0. Already, the Canes have lost two home games. By comparison, they didn't lose their second home game until November 20 last season.
I'm not sure why, but the Canes dressed seven defensemen and sat Chad LaRose. Anton Babchuk was the "extra" defenseman. My guess is that eventually, even before Frantisek Kaberle's return, David Tanabe will be out of the lineup and Anton Babchuk will be in.
Seriously, I have nothing positive to add about the game. It was an utter disaster. In earning the shutout, Marty Brodeur was only seriously challenged twice. Zach Parise deservedly got the first star of the game, Brodeur the second and Elias the third.
On Saturday, the Canes will travel to DC to take on the Capitals. Being the back end of two consecutive games, I'm sure we'll get our first look at John Grahame. Hopefully, the end result will be more savory than Wednesday or Friday.
I don't think "have their way" is precise enough for what happened on Friday, though. If you looked at the shot count and the penalty log, you might think that it was an evenly played game. It wasn't. New Jersey was much better right from the puck drop than Carolina. Except for a span of perhaps five minutes during the second period, Carolina looked flat and unfocused. New Jersey looked like they were scrimmaging against a B team.
I wish I could find something positive to say other than "at least we gave up fewer than 5 goals".
I forgot to DVR the game, so I'll have to rely on my notes and my memory. I'll update/correct when I get a look at some footage.
Zach Parise, who is one of USA Hockey's best prospects, got things started very early. The red light came on at 0:26, after Parise tipped in a Colin White point blast. On the live look, I thought it was White's goal, but instead he got the first assist and Brian Gionta got the second.
At 11:30, Jamie Langenbrunner tipped one in from in close to make it 2-0. Rifalski and Brad Lukowich got the assists. Again, my live-look first impression was wrong. I thought it was Travis Zajac who tipped it in. These two goals were basically the same thing. Lots of traffic out front, a long point shot, and a deflection from in close.
Late in the first period, the Canes were having an awful lot of trouble staying out of the box, and the Devils took their Texas time doing it, but they made Carolina pay. During the back end of two consecutive short 5-on-3 sequences, Hepatitis Boy was left all alone on the front porch, and scored a goal on which Carolina seemed to put forth no effort. Gomez and Gionta got the helpers.
At the end of the first stanza, the Canes had only mustered six shots on goal, but none of them were quality scoring chances. The Devils, on the other hand, made the most of their 14 shots, scoring on three of them.
At 6:01 of the second, Parise scored again, making it 4-0. Gomez and Gionta each picked up another assist. Immediately following the goal, as the ensuing face-off was taking place, Kevyn Adams did something very out of character: He dropped the gloves. He and Dan Lacouture squared off in what was really nothing more than a glorified grappling match. I have no idea what sparked it, but it was definitely pre-arranged.
Unfortunately, the fight didn't motivate the team at all. They remained flat and listless until the final horn finally went off. Thankfully, the Devils didn't score any more after that, and the final was 4-0. Already, the Canes have lost two home games. By comparison, they didn't lose their second home game until November 20 last season.
I'm not sure why, but the Canes dressed seven defensemen and sat Chad LaRose. Anton Babchuk was the "extra" defenseman. My guess is that eventually, even before Frantisek Kaberle's return, David Tanabe will be out of the lineup and Anton Babchuk will be in.
Seriously, I have nothing positive to add about the game. It was an utter disaster. In earning the shutout, Marty Brodeur was only seriously challenged twice. Zach Parise deservedly got the first star of the game, Brodeur the second and Elias the third.
On Saturday, the Canes will travel to DC to take on the Capitals. Being the back end of two consecutive games, I'm sure we'll get our first look at John Grahame. Hopefully, the end result will be more savory than Wednesday or Friday.
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